SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-274.01 IARU APPOINTS SATELLITE ADVISOR HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 274.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD OCTOBER 1, 1994 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-274.01 IARU Appoints Satellite Adviser In a news release dated 26-SEP-94, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) announced that it has appointed Hans van de Groenendaal (ZS5AKV) to the newly created post of IARU Satellite Adviser. According to the IARU release, the principle task of this position will be to keep the IARU Administrative Council informed on all technical and operational aspects of the Amateur Radio Satellite Service in order to enable the Council to adopt appropriate policies to advance the interest of the Amateur Satellite Service before the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and regional telecom- munications agencies. The IARU release noted that ZS5AKV, as past President of Southern African AMSAT and an Executive Committee member of IARU Region 1, brings many years of satellite related experience to this appointment. The IARU release further noted that the appointment is a direct result of recommendations made to the IARU Administrative Council by the IARU Ad Hoc Satellite Advisory Committee which took up the interim report at the recently com- pleted IARU Administrative Committee meeting in Singapore. The IARU release commented that this action is "tangible proof" of IARU's interest and involvement in the Amateur Satellite Service. The release continued by citing IARU's many year role in protecting the Amateur Satellite Service, in particular its work during the 1979 World Administrative Radio Conference which led to most of the present Amateur Satellite Service frequency allocations. The IARU release also stated that the "exponential development of new tech- nologies and ever increasing complexity of the Regulatory Agencies, the IARU Administrative Council deemed it necessary to involve itself closer with the Amateur Satellite Service in order to represent it effectively on a coordin- ated world-wide basis while cementing its relationship with the AMSAT and other Amateur Radio Satellite groups." In the release the IARU said that in his new capacity and by the powers delegated to him by the IARU, ZS5AKV will have the task of appointing someone to the post of IARU Satellite Frequency Coordinator. The IARU said that ZS5AKV is now soliciting nominations for volunteers willing to serve the function of IARU Satellite Frequency Coordinator. Such nominations should be sent to him by FAX at +27-31-765-6456 or via INTERNET at amsat@uctvax.uct.ac.za before 31-OCT-94. Hans said that each nomination should include a comprehensive summary of the nominee's background and qualifications. He stated that it is his intention to discuss the various nominations with major AMSAT groups in order to seek their recommendations. He underscored the importance of finding the right person to be appointed to this very important job. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-274.02 WEEKLY OSCAR STATUS REPORTS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 274.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD OCTOBER 1, 1994 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-274.02 Weekly OSCAR Status Reports: 01-OCT-94 AO-13: Current Transponder Operating Schedule: N QST *** AO-13 TRANSPONDER SCHEDULE *** 1994 Sep 12 - Dec 19 Mode-B : MA 30 to MA 150 |<- OFF Oct 22 - Nov 07 for eclipses Mode-B : MA 150 to MA 190 | max duration 2h 12m Mode-BS : MA 190 to MA 218 | Mode-S : MA 218 to MA 220 |<- S beacon only Mode-S : MA 220 to MA 230 |<- S transponder; B trsp. is OFF Mode-B : MA 230 to MA 30 | Blon/Blat 230/0 Omnis : MA 250 to MA 140 | Move to attitude 180/0, Dec 19 The battery charge state is of paramount importance during the eclipse seasons. As always the command team may have to have to make temporary changes to the published schedule. In that case we will try to minimize the inconvenience, setting Mode-B OFF from MA 230-256 in the first instance. ========================================================================== [G3RUH/DB2OS/VK5AGR] FO-20: FO-20 has been switched back into the analog mode as of 14:30 UTC 28-SEP-94. The command station announced that "mailbox software ran away" and there is a malfunction known as UVC (Under Voltage Control) has been confirmed by command station. FO-20 will be staying in its analog mode until 10-OCT-94. [JJ1WTK] MIR: German Astronaut Dr. Ulf Merbold will be QRV aboard the space station MIR signing DP3MIR during the ESA EUROMIR 94 mission starting 03-OCT-1994. In order to give actual information regarding the mission to as many radio amateurs and SWLs as possible, he will use the digital voice memory of MIR's HAM RADIO rig designed and built by Thomas Kieselbach (DL2MDE). Thomas made an arrangement with Ulf Merbold, DP3MIR, to load actual spoken reports into the digital memory frequently, as time permits however, probably every 2-3 days. The reports in English and German will then be retransmitted auto- matically during the consecutive orbits at 145.550 Mhz (FM) in regular time intervals. Ulf Merbold will stay aboard MIR for 30 days. [DF5DP] RS-10: WA6ARA reports that RS-10 is operating well with a good mix of SSB and CW. Orbit times are great for late evenings to the East and with early evening passes to the West. [WA6ARA] RS-12: WA6ARA reports that Mode-K is alive and very well. RS-12 is just starting to appear in late evenings. Over the next month the passes will be great for evening passes. [WA6ARA] The AMSAT NEWS Service (ANS) is looking for volunteers to contribute weekly OSCAR status reports. If you have a favorite OSCAR which you work on a regular basis and would like to contribute to this bulletin, please send your observations to WD0HHU at his CompuServe address of 70524,2272, on INTERNET at wd0hhu@amsat.org, or to his local packet BBS in the Denver, CO area, WD0HHU @ N0QCU. Also, if you find that the current set of orbital elements are not generating the correct AOS/LOS times at your QTH, PLEASE INCLUDE THAT INFORMATION AS WELL. The information you provide will be of value to all OSCAR enthusiasts. /EX