SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-193.01 ECHO becomes AMSAT OSCAR-51 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 193.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 11, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-193.01 AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH has asked me to handle issuance of OSCAR numbers, and has written me requesting an OSCAR number for the ECHO satellite. Therefore, in response to his communication, I hereby issue ECHO the number AMSAT-OSCAR-51 (AO-51) to this exciting new amateur radio spacecraft. Thus, AO-51 joins a long line of amateur radio satellites beginning with OSCAR-1 launched in December, 1961. I wish to congratulate everyone involved in the design, construction, testing, preparing for launch, launching and commissioning of this latest Amateur Radio spacecraft. I trust that amateurs all over the world will have an opportunity to avail themselves of the many features offered by AO-51. May AO-51 have a long and productive life. Best wishes and 73, William (Bill) Tynan, W3XO [ANS thanks Bill, W3XO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-193.02 ECHO Progress Update - 11 July 2004 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 193.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 11, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-193.02 On the 06 July 2004, during the 0310 UTC pass, the SQRX was set to a VHF frequency and the antenna relay switched to the VHF whip. Once the various modulator/switch functions where set to the right configuration the SQRX audio path proved to work fine. In an additional test of the SQRX the receiver was retuned to an L-band frequency and connected to the L-band antenna on the bottom of AO-51. Testing has also been done on S-band using a frequency of 2401.200 MHz. The second 70cm transmitter has also been tested as well as the ability to command frequency changes to the transmitters should that be needed in the future. All transmitters have been confirmed to be operational. Friday, 09 July 2004 the 38k4 digital downlink was enabled for the first time on the UHF A transmitter. Mike was able to copy packets at 38k4. Further testing will be done, and some WOD data will be downloaded at 38k4. The modulator settings for that mode will need to be tweaked as testing continues. Mike, KE4AZN has taken some WOD data at 3 second intervals during daylight passes over his station to get a better look at the satellite's attitude. That data is being analyzed. When AO-51 is not in view of the command stations, WOD at 30 second intervals is gathered continuously during the period from the time last time they see the satellite after a group of passes until their next AOS. The EDAC count in Echo is not counting the actual number of physical memory errors, but the number of times the software detects a memory error while it is running. If the software loops through that section of memory a number of times before the error is cleared, the EDAC count will increase by a large value. There is a routine that runs on a specific time interval to "wash" memory and clear any errors. Until that routine runs, if the program loops through that memory area, it will count an EDAC error. With the file system now running, the downlink is going to show the BBS is open even though the BBS has NOT been made available for general use. Everyone is requested to please not transmit to ECHO until checkout and commissioning has been completed. Unexpected uplinks may cause delays in verifying the proper operation of ECHO and delay the opening of the transponders to general use. The commissioning and checkout activities are going very well. During this checkout period activities and plans are very dynamic and frequent mode and transmitter changes should be expected. [ANS thanks Jim, WD0E and Mike, KE4AZN for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-193.03 ECHO telemetry software update AMSAT News Service Bulletin 193.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 11, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-193.03 Some users are having difficulty uploading their telemetry data to the website. They receive an error message when trying to send in the data. The problem has been identified and a program change to handle it will be available soon. In the meantime, here is a description of the problem, and a method to edit your data. The problem involves the beginning of a pass. TlmEcho appends the I/O data from the TLMS-1 record with each received analog TLMI-1 data record. If at the start of a pass, a station receives a TLMI-1 record, and has yet to receive a TLMS-1 record, there is no I/O data available for the last field of the CSV file, the "Last Good I/O Telemetry" field. TlmEcho leaves this field blank, and the database entry system does not like this. To manually edit the data and correct the is problem, delete all records in both CSV files that do not have the I/O telemetry data. This will happen at the beginning of a pass as mentioned above. Also note, that multiple passes during the day are stored in the same CSV file. So check throughout your CSV files for missing I/O data. Backup your files before editing in case you make a mistake. You can go back to the original files again. The Command Team appreciates all of the ECHO telemetry being gathered and submitted. Due to the volume of incoming data, operators are strongly encouraged to use the ECHO telemetry archive web page for submitting data. The URL is http://www.coloradosatellite.com/echo [ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-193.04 AMSAT Treasurer AMSAT News Service Bulletin 193.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 11, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-193.04 It is with very deep regret that I, on behalf of the Board of Directors, have received the resignation of Arthur Feller, W4ART as Treasurer of AMSAT. Art's service to AMSAT, over the many years, has been excellent and the Board and Senior Officers thank Art for all the work has done as Treasurer, on AMSAT's behalf. In accordance with the AMSAT By-laws Article II, Section 7, Item C. I appoint Gunther Meisse to be the Treasurer of AMSAT until the meeting of the Board of Directors on October 7th 2004. On that occasion there will be a vote by the members of the Board of Directors for new senior officers in accordance with the bylaws Robin Haighton, VE3FRH President, AMSAT [ANS thanks Robin, VE3FRH for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-193.05 Space Symposium travel tips AMSAT News Service Bulletin 193.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 11, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-193.05 The airlines are having a new round of fare wars for travel through mid October. If you were thinking of coming to this year's Space Symposium in Arlington, VA, it might be a good time to book your ticket before the desirable flights are sold out. When booking your flight, please keep in mind: The AMSAT Board of Directors meeting will be on Thursday October 7 beginning at 8am. All AMSAT members are welcome to attend. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) meeting will be held October 11-13, after the conclusion of the Symposium, all AMSAT members are invited to sit in on the meeting sessions. Washington DC has many new cultural attractions that have opened in the past few years, if you have not been here lately you might want to schedule some time to get out and see the city. Some items of interest to "nerds" can be found at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/N8FGVNerdsTour.php For a guide to Washington's three airports, please see http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/airports.php Remember to check fares to all three Washington area airports, DCA, IAD and BWI, prices can vary significantly between the three airports. If you are going on the Sunday afternoon bus trip to the new Air and Space Museum at Dulles airport, the bus will return to the hotel at 5pm. If you are booking a Sunday evening flight please allow time to get to the airport after that time. The bus WILL NOT be stopping at Dulles airport on the way back from the museum. [ANS thanks Dan, N8FGV for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-193.06 ARISS Status - 05 July 2004 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 193.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 11, 2004 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-193.06 1. Tulsa Contact Postponed, Radios Cycled off For EVA The scheduling of the second EVA attempt to repair the CMG conflicted with the ARISS contact with Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was slated for Friday, July 2, 2004. The Tulsa contact will be rescheduled at a future time. ARISS radio systems were cycled off on June 29 in preparation for the EVA, and were turned on again July 1. ARRL covered the event in the web story, "Repair Spacewalk Trumps ARISS School Group QSO." See: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/07/01/3/?nc=1 2. Space Camp Turkey Contact Successful Space Camp Turkey, located in Izmir, Turkey, is holding a Partner School Project Week from July 4-10, 2004. The purpose of this week is to promote friendship and cooperation, through space education activities, among the students who come from several different countries including Turkey, Greece, Israel, and the U.S. One hundred thirty students, ages 12-16, are attending this week and several had the opportunity to talk to the ISS crew on Monday, July 5 at 0825 UTC via the telebridge station WH6PN. Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, answered 15 questions put to him by the campers. A recording of the contact can be found at http://www.ariss-eu.org/Izmir_05JUL2004.mp3 3. Upcoming School Contact Meizen High School in Kurume-City, Fukuoka, Japan, has been scheduled for an ARISS contact on Tuesday, July 13, at 1031 UTC. Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, who is fluent in Japanese, may delight the students by answering their questions in Japanese. 4. Engineering Tests Engineering tests are being scheduled for the Kenwood D700. Kenneth Ransom has submitted procedures for the repeater check out, and has also submitted pass time options for the voice tests. 5. Girl Scout Ham to Introduce Amateur Radio and ARISS to Other Scouts ARRL's Rosalie White provided lithographs and information to be used at a multi-state Girl Scout camporee in rural Minnesota. A high school Girl Scout, who is also an Amateur Radio operator, is setting up several ham radio stations there with the support of local female ham radio operators. She plans to introduce 2,000 Girl Scouts to Amateur Radio and to tell interested viewers about ARISS. [ANS thanks Carol for the above information] /EX