AMSAT News Service

February 27, 2000

The latest ARRL Letter reports UO-14 is proving that you can 'teach an old bird new tricks'. The venerable British satellite recently was switched to Amateur Radio operation -- in a FM repeater mode much like AO-27.

Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO reported on the AMSAT bulletin board that UO-14 -- launched in January 1990 -- spent its first 18 months in orbit operating as a store-and-forward satellite. It was then switched for use by Volunteers in Technical Assistance, who used it for medical messaging into Africa. "Since the computer which is used for store-and-forward communications is no longer able to perform that task, UO-14 is no longer usable in this mode," reported G7UPN. "It is, however, possible to use the satellite as a single-channel FM voice repeater, and I have configured the satellite to do this."

The satellite works as a FM bent-pipe repeater in full duplex. The uplink is 145.975 MHz and the downlink is 435.070 MHz.

Houston AMSAT Coordinator Bruce Paige, KK5DO, says no more than 5 watts is required to make a contact with UO-14, and some have made it with much less. "Cool satellite!" was the reaction of W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q. ANS Principle Satellite Investigator Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, told ANS "it's nice to have an FM bird around at night." Operation is also reported to be heavy over other parts of the globe in addition to North America. Both VK3JT and G7NFO reported several contacts via UO-14.

Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information page with UO-14 information, see http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc

[ANS thanks the ARRL and Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO for this information]

ARISS Crews Receive Training

The first International Space Station expedition crew and its backup crew have received training on the use of the initial U.S.-provided Amateur Radio ISS station. The equipment will be installed as part of the initial ARISS effort on the International Space Station.

The training session was conducted at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia.

As part of the ARISS training effort, NASA's Matt Bordelon, KC5BTL, has prepared a consolidated schedule for training in the United States and Russia that will include familiarization with equipment, packet theory and hands-on simulation. The ARRL reports that the training will focus on general principles of ham radio as well as preparations to use station equipment-operating modes, including software.

Bordelon has held an initial training session with astronauts and cosmonauts that provided exposure to the actual hardware. Other training has included information required to obtain an Amateur Radio license.

The first ISS crew will include Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR.

[ANS thanks NASA and the ARRL for this information]

AMSAT-DC Meeting Announcement

All space enthusiasts and Amateur Radio satellite operators are invited to the Maryland-DC AMSAT Meeting and Space Seminar gathering on Sunday, April 2, 2000. The event gets underway at 1:00 p.m. EDT in the auditorium of the Visitor Center at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, located in Greenbelt, Maryland.

All topics at the seminar will relate to the amateur space program, Amateur Radio satellite operation, high-altitude balloon experiments, telemetry, homebrew electronic projects and similar technology.

The format is a combination of presentations, informal 'show-and-tell' demonstrations and a social period. The first presentations and the event keynote address are designed to be especially valuable to beginners.

The GSFC Visitor Center will be open to the public during the event. Visitors can enjoy a walking tour of the Hubble Space Telescope Operations Control Center and the NASA Communications (NASCOM) Center. There will also be a tour of the Goddard Amateur Radio Club Station WA3NAN -- known worldwide as the voice of the Space Shuttle retransmissions.

More information about the Maryland-DC AMSAT Meeting and Space Seminar can be found at http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/~simsat/ssamsatdc.html

[ANS thanks Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ, for this information]

ANS in Brief

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

Peter, KD7MW, recently received his OSCAR Satellite WAS award. Congratulations from ANS!
-NN0DJ

The Canadian special event call sign VC4X has been assigned for use through March 26, 2000, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1950 Winnipeg Flood.
-Derrick, VE4VV

This year could be one of the worst for solar storms -- surges of charged particles that knock out satellites, power grids and even garage door openers. No one can predict which month or week will be worst, but the sun is at the height of its 11-year cycle of storms, which means the Earth can expect several barrages of excess charged particles.
-Reuters

The Galileo spacecraft made its third and closest flyby of Jupiter's volcanically active moon Io. The spacecraft passed only 199 kilometers above Io's surface. Although battered by Jupiter's strong radiation, Galileo continues to provide useful imagery and other data, now operating under its second mission extension.
-S&T

Two Vermont hams, Bob, N1MEZ, and Lloyd, W1CX, have recently departed for PJ8 land, vacationing for the next two weeks. They have a tripod mounted VHF/UHF beam antenna and a pair of HT's with receive preamp, and will attempt to operate AO-27 and possibly UO-14. Operation may also take place on RS-13 (SSB) and RS-15 (CW). The grid should be FK88.
-Mike, N1JEZ

Over the past six months, the southern hemisphere of Mars has passed through spring and into summer. Spring started in early August 1999 and summer arrived toward the end of December 1999. On Earth, we are about to observe our first leap day with a year ending in 00 since the year 1600, nine years before Galileo used his first telescope!
-S&T

The restructuring of Amateur Radio licensing in Israel earlier this month brought an extension of frequency privileges for some license classes. The code-free Grade D license has had band access extended to 50 MHz, 1.2 GHz and 5.6 GHz. The Grade A license now has access from 2.4 - 2.45 GHz and 5.275 - 5.875 GHz.
-AR Newsline

Some northern hemisphere doorstep astronomy -- the brightest star nearly straight overhead as twilight fades is Capella. The brightest light in the west-southwest is Jupiter and the brightest in the south-southeast is Sirius. Sirius appears so bright because it's very close as stars go, only 8.6 light-years away, and it really is bright, putting out 22 times as much light as our Sun.
-S&T

Weekly Satellite Report

Mir . RS-12 . RS-13 . RS-15 . AO-10 . AO-27 . UO-14 . FO-20 . FO-29 . KO-23 . KO-25 . UO-11 . AO-16 . DO-17 . WO-18 . LO-19 . UO-22 . IO-26 . TO-31 . GO-32 . SO-33 . PO-34 . SO-35 . UO-36

RS-13

Uplink 21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.460 to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.504 MHz
Robot Uplink 21.140 MHz, Downlink 29.458 MHz

Operational, in mode-KA with a 10-meter downlink and a 15-meter and 2-meter uplink.

Ray, W2RS, recently worked Dan, OK1DIG, who has been active on RS-13 -- reporting reception of below-horizon signals. W2RS worked Dan when the bird was 5 degrees below his horizon (5 degrees above for W2RS). Signals were 559 for both stations.

AC5DK's RS-12/13 Satellite Operators Page: http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html

RS-15

Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.352 MHz (intermittent)
SSB meeting frequency 29.380 MHz (unofficial)
Semi-operational, Mode A (2m uplink, 10m downlink)

Mike, N1JEZ, reports RS-15 is in a "real funky" mode. Mike says the beacon is active, but it's an unmodulated carrier on for 5 seconds, then off for 2 seconds, continually repeating the cycle. The transponder is only active when the beacon is on! Despite this Mike reports downlink signals were S-3 to S-5.

Dave, WB6LLO, has operating information for both RS-15 and RS-13 on his personal web site. In addition to satellite data, antenna information for mode A operation is also featured. The WB6LLO web site URL is http://home.san.rr.com/doguimont/uploads

AO-10

Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB
Beacon 145.810 MHz (unmodulated carrier)
Semi-operational.

DX continues to be worked (and heard) on AO-10. Tony, AB2CJ, has been QRV using PSK31 via AO-10.

Stacey Mills, W4SM, has more information about the satellite at http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html

[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, for his AO-10 status information and web site]

AO-27

Uplink 145.850 MHz FM
Downlink 436.792 MHz FM
Operational.

Tony, W7EWC, tells ANS he plans to be active on AO-27 from the Bahamas as W7EWC/C6A during the entire month of March. Markus, HB9JNH, will be operating from Svalbard as JW/HB9JNH from March 2-5th.

An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA web site. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html

AO-27 uses a method called Timed Eclipse Power Regulation (TEPR) to regulate the on-board batteries. In simple terms, TEPR times how long the satellite has been in the eclipse (or in the sun) and decides what subsystems to turn on or off. The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web site include an explanation of AO-27 operations at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html

Chuck, KM4NZ, recently reset the TEPR states on AO-27 (on February 12).

TEPR 4 is 22 TEPR 5 is 58

[ANS thanks Chuck Wyrick, KM4NZ, and Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information]

UO-14

Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Operational.

Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information Site with UO-14 information, see http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO, for UO-14 information]

SunSat SO-35

Uplink 436.291 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 145.825 MHz CW/LSB
Operational.

SunSat was launched February 23, 1999 aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SunSat stands for Stellenbosch University Satellite and takes it name from the South African university whose students constructed the payload.

The SunSat package includes 1200 and 9600 baud digital store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater system that will be used primarily for educational demonstrations. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF transmit-receive systems.

Peter, G4AJG/4S7PE, will be in Sri Lanka for the next three weekends and the SunSat team is making the satellite available for Peter's operations from that area.

The announced SunSat schedule is as follows (all times are UTC):

March 4th

Sri Lanka	02:43 to 02:57
RSA	07:31 to 07:45
Europe	07:54 to 08:08
USA	14:30 to 14:44

March 5th

Sri Lanka	03:42 to 03:56
RSA	06:51 to 07:05
Europe	07:14 to 07:28
South America	13:33 to 13:47

For more information on SunSat, visit http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za

A summary of the active modes and frequency allocations for SunSat is available at http://esl.ee.sun.ac.za/~lochner/sunsat/modes.html

[ANS thanks Garth Milne ZR1AFH, for this information]

JAS-1b FO-20

Uplink 145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB
Operational.

FO-20 is in mode JA continuously.

JAS-1b (FO-20) was launched in February 1990 and continues to function quite well. Tony, AB2CJ, has been operating SSTV on FO-20.

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK for the FO-20 status reports]

JAS-2 FO-29

Voice/CW Mode JA: Uplink 145.900 to 146.000 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 to 435.900 MHz CW/USB
Operational, rotated with digital mode and digi-talker.
Digital Mode JD: Uplink 145.850, 145.870, 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK
Operational, rotated with analog mode and digi-talker.

JAS-2 was successfully launched on August 17, 1996, by an H-II launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center.

Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29, addressing analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy e-mail Mike at kf4fdj@amsat.org

Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports the FO-29 operational schedule (announced by the JARL) is as follows:

February 22 - 27	JD1200 mailbox
February 28 - March 5	JA

Mineo, JE9PEL, has updated his FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis program. The software will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite such as current, voltage and temperature. The JE9PEL FO-29/software update is available at http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports]

KITSAT KO-23

Uplink 145.850, 145.900 MHz FM
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Operational.

AA7KC reports KO-23 is operational again, returning to service on February 16th. KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part of the problem with non-operation has been the power budget aboard the satellite.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, for KO-23 status information]

KO-25

Uplink 145.980 MHz FM
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK
Operational.

Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 is operational with good data throughput.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-25 status information]

UO-22

Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Operational

Chris Jackson, G7UPN, reports to ANS that UO-22 has now entered full sunlight and the temperatures have increased considerably. Controllers have turned the satellite upside down to point the critical systems to cold space. This has reduced the temperature on various systems (such as the batteries) by between 5 and 10 degrees. The unfortunate by-product of this is that the downlink is now quite weak.

The satellite will remain in full sunlight until late March, when controllers will turn it back 'over' again. According to G7UPN "over the next few years this situation will become worse as the no eclipse periods become longer."

Only the 145.900 MHz receiver is usable for communications at the moment.

More information on the satellite is available at http://www.sstl.co.uk

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO for UO-22 status information]

OSCAR-11

Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 baud PSK
Beacon 2401.500 MHz
Operational.

Clive Wallis, G3CWV, reports that during the period of 15-January to 15-February good signals have been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The battery voltage during daylight passes has dropped slightly. The average value observed was 13.8 volts, with a range of 13.6 to 14.1 volts. The internal temperatures have decreased slightly. They are now 5.0C and 3.2C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively. A WOD survey dated January 6th has been transmitted. The mode-S beacon is on and transmitting an unmodulated carrier. The beacon is a useful test source for testing mode-S converters prior to the launch of P3D.

The operating schedule is unchanged.

ASCII status (210 seconds)
ASCII bulletin (60 seconds)
BINARY SEU (30 seconds)
ASCII TLM (90 seconds)
ASCII WOD (120 seconds)
ASCII bulletin (60 seconds)
BINARY ENG (30 seconds)

The ASCII bulletin is currently a static message, detailing modes and frequencies of all the amateur radio satellites.

More information on OSCAR-11 is available at the following URL:

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/

[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for OSCAR-11 status information]

LUSAT-OSCAR-19

Uplink 145.840, 145.860, 145.880, 145.900 MHz 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK
Currently semi-operational.

The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry channels and one status channel. Currently, no BBS service is available. The digipeater is active.

Mineo, JE9PEL, recently recorded LO-19 CW and PSK telemetry and placed the information on his Internet homepage site at http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/

Telemetry is as follows:

Time is Sat Feb 26 22:18:50 2000 uptime is 575/08:35:33
+10V Bus 10.770 V RC PSK TX Out 0.659 W
Total Array C= 0.008 Bat Ch Cur=-0.273 Ifb= 0.119 I+10V= 0.164
TX:017 BCR:1E PWRC:62D BT:3C WC: 0

General information and telemetry samples can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/lo19.htm

[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report.]

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT)

Uplink 145.900, 145.920, 145.940, 145.860 MHz FM, 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK
Beacon 2401.1428 MHz.
Semi-operational.

Russ, WJ9F, reports ground stations are currently running memory test software on the satellite. After loading the file server software the satellite reverted back to MBL mode after about 3 minutes. Russ and his team are evaluating if a write to memory glitch may have caused the problem. In addition to the memory testing, the spacecraft spin rate around the vertical (Z) axis has created a less than ideal condition for battery charging.

The S-band transmitter is currently off.

Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports the AO-16 signal is weaker than before but perfectly decodable. The JJ1WTK spin rate measurement is also on going. The current spin rate is about 18 revolutions per minute.

Telemetry is as follows:

Time is Sat Feb 26 22:14:01 2000 uptime is 013/18:44:51
+10V Bus 10.200 V  +X (RX) Temp -5.448 D
RX Temp 10.285 D  +Z Array Temp -7.868 D
Bat 1 V 1.214 V  Bat 2 V 1.210 V
Bat 3 V 1.229 V  Bat 4 V 1.257 V
Bat 5 V 1.208 V  Bat 6 V 1.232 V
Bat 7 V 1.208 V  Bat 8 V 1.249 V
Bat 1 Temp 6.049 D  Bat 2 Temp 6.049 D
Baseplt Temp 5.444 D PSK TX RF Out 0.816 W
+Y Array Temp -12.104 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -0.607 D

General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu

A complete collection of WOD graphics corresponding to the year of 1998 can be found at http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/wod1998.zip

[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report.]

TMSAT-1 TO-31

Uplink 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 436.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Operational.

ProcMail V2.00G has been released by G7UPN. This software permits the processing of image files from TO-31. It has been posted to the AMSAT-NA FTP site at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp

Many of the high-resolution color images transmitted by TMSAT are compressed using a UoSAT compression format. This format is supported by the VK5HI CCD display program.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this report]

UoSAT-12 UO-36

Uplink 145.960 MHz, 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 437.025, 437.400 MHz, 9600 baud FSK

UoSAT-12 was successfully launched on April 21, 1999 from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome. UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward communications and mode L/S transponders.

The BBS is open, although uploading may be disabled at times.

UO-36 ground control finished Merlion operations recently with limited coverage over the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The operations generated a carrier at about 1-watt of power on 2401 MHz.

The VK5HI TMSAT viewer shareware is available on the AMSAT-NA web site at ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/display/ccddsp97-119.zip

Further information on UO-36 is available from: http://www.sstl.co.uk/

[ANS thanks Chris G7UPN/ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey, for this information]

ITAMSAT IO-26

Uplink 145.875, 145.900, 145.925, 145.950 MHz FM
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK
Semi-operational.

Digipeater function is on.

IO-26 was launched on September 26, 1993.

Alberto, I2KBD, reports IO-26 has been opened to APRS use.

[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for this information]

The following satellites are in orbit but are non-operational at this time:

RS-12

Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.408 MHz
Robot Uplink 21.129 MHz, Downlink 29.454 MHz

Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed.

TechSat-1B GO-32

Downlink 435.225 MHz, HDLC telemetry

Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line, however no additional information has been received by ANS since November 1999.

The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998.

Last reported, the satellite does not have a continuous beacon, but does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for about 3 seconds in length), currently on 435.225 MHz.

The TechSat team has constructed a home page about TechSat. To view the site, point your web browser to:

http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/

PANSAT PO-34

Uplink/downlink frequencies have not been established.
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions.

PANSAT, developed by the Naval Postgraduate School, was launched from the shuttle Discovery. PANSAT spread-spectrum digital transponders will be available to amateur radio operators in the near future along with software to utilize this technology.

For more information, visit the official PANSAT web site at:

http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/

PanSat was the featured cover article in the July/August 1999 issue of the AMSAT-NA Journal (written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).

[ANS thanks Dan Sakoda, KD6DRA, for this information]

Mir Space Station

Ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station came to a close on August 28, 1999 as the crew returned to Earth, leaving the station unmanned. Mir is in a stable orbit with only essential systems running. All amateur radio activities have ceased.

Current Amateur Radio equipment aboard Mir includes:

SAFEX II 70cm Repeater: Uplink 435.750 MHz FM with subaudible tone 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed.
SAFEX II 70cm QSO Mode: Uplink 435.725 MHz FM with subaudible tone 151.4 Hz
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM
Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed.
Packet Radio PMS: Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM, 1200 baud AFSK
Not operational.

DO-17 (DOVE)

Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK
Beacon 2401.220 MHz
Non-operational.

DOVE stopped transmitting in March 1998. The 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air and the satellite has not responded to ground station control.

No additional information is available at this time.

WEBERSAT (WO-18)

Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK AX.25
Non-operational.

WO-18 is reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash.

No additional information is available at this time.

SEDSAT SO-33

Downlink 437.910 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions. Recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.

SEDSAT-1, signifying Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Satellite number one, was successfully launched and placed in orbit on Saturday, October 24, 1998.

SedSat-1 has downlinked months worth of telemetry data on the performance of its electrical power system parameters. The Nickel Metal Hydride batteries on the spacecraft were experimental and experienced some abuse due to a power negative situation. This information has provided NASA with useful information. With the exception of the imaging system and the use of the transponders, SedSat-1 has been judged a success.

For more information on SedSat-1 visit the satellite web site at http://www.seds.org/sedsat

No additional information is available at this time.

ANS would like to thank Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, ANS principal satellite investigator, for helping provide current satellite information for ANS.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to the ANS Editors at ans-editor@amsat.org, or to ANS Editor Dan James, NN0DJ, at nn0dj@amsat.org.

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This week's AMSAT News Service bulletins were edited by AMSAT News Service Editor Dan James, NN0DJ.