SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-016.01 AMSAT Volunteer's Effort Top $364K AMSAT News Service Bulletin 016.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 16, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-016.01 Gunther Meisse, W8GSM, AMSAT Treasurer and Board Member announced that the 2004 total "in-kind services" significantly topped 2003 amounts. AMSAT operates a Volunteer Reporting System (VRS) affording members the opportunity to report their efforts on behalf of AMSAT. These efforts include the design, construction and operation of AMSAT spacecraft, Educational outreach and mentoring as well as general member services and starting in 2005 general administration of the organization. In 2004, AMSAT volunteers documented services to the organization totaling $364,947.00. "AMSAT is a volunteer organization and we owe a great deal of thanks to everyone that participated in this important effort", said Gunther. If you are not a participant and would like to know more about AMSAT VRS, go to the web site: amsat.org and take a look at: "Becoming a Volunteer". The process is outlined and the procedures for registration are included. The entire AMSAT organization thanks those dedicated members who work so hard at making our dream a reality!! [ANS thanks Gunther, W8GSM for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-016.02 KG4 Satellite Activity AMSAT News Service Bulletin 016.02 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 16, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-016.02 Jose, N4BAA/KG4SG, is planning to be active on the FM satellites from 15-22 Jan 2005. Jose will be located in gridsquare FK29. He intends to work every possible pass of AO-27, and 25% to 50% of the workable SO-50 and AO-51 passes. Jose has a few requests for those trying for a QSO. In order for Jose to work as many stations as possible, please do not pass your grid during the QSO. He may also acknowledge more than one QSO at a time, but please allow a break for him to reply. He will also try to work some low western passes to give the west coast stations a fair shot at a new one. Good luck and good DX! [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-016.03 First WAC Certificate Awarded For ISS Op AMSAT News Service Bulletin 016.03 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 16, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-016.03 During his International Space Station Expedition 9 duty tour, astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, became the first ISS crew member to contact all seven of the world's continents via Amateur Radio. Now he has the International Amateur Radio Union's Worked All Continents (WAC) certificate for his wall. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Ham Radio Technical Coordinator Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO presented the award to Fincke recently at Johnson Space Center. Operating NA1SS Fincke worked KC4AAC at Antarctica's Palmer Research Station for his last contact--actually a "bonus continent" not required to earn WAC. During that QSO, Fincke and Chuck Kimball, N0NHJ, compared and contrasted life in their respective outposts. After returning to Earth in October, Fincke said he's not sure everyone in the NASA community understands and appreciates what Amateur Radio means for the rest of the world. Fincke said he'd also like to do make the first Amateur Radio contact from the moon. . [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-016.04 AO-51 14 Jan 2005 Schedule Update AMSAT News Service Bulletin 016.04 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 16, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-016.04 Up to now no message traffic on the AO-51 PBBS from the Tsunami Disaster Area has been seen. Echo's mode will change 15 Jan 2005 to allow both FM repeater and 9k6 digital operations. The FM repeater will be back operational and open for amateur use. The plan is to run in this mode until the end of January unless word is received from the disaster area that a different setup would be useful. Anyone that can help contact those in the disaster area and inform them of the Satellite resource is encouraged to do so. Should another configuration of AO-51 be identified as providing more benefit to those in the disaster area, AMSAT will adjust AO-51's operating mode accordingly. http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/ControlTeam.php [ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-016.05 ARISS Status - 10 Jan 2005 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 016.05 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 16, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-016.05 1.Japan Contact Successful On Friday, January 7, students from Mori Elementary School in Hyogo, Japan experienced a contact with the ISS. They were able to ask 20 questions of Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, during the 10 minute pass. Approximately 100 people attended the event. Media coverage included 5 newspapers and 1 local cable TV station. 2.Upcoming School Contacts An ARISS contact has been scheduled for B. Robespierre School, in Rueil Malmaison, France. It will take place on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 16:55 UTC. 3.ARRL Article on Tulsa and Rio de Janeiro Contacts The ARRL ran a web story on two recent ARISS contacts. The article, entitled, “Oklahoma, Brazil Youngsters Visit International Space Station via Ham Radio,” can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/01/05/1/?nc=1 4.ARISS International Teleconference Scheduled The next ARISS International Teleconference will be held on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 12:30 UTC. [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-016.06 AMSAT Volunteer Reporting Expands for 2005 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 016.06 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 16, 2005 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-016.06 AMSAT Members “pitch-in” on work that would cost AMSAT thousands of dollars each year to duplicate. We are wrapping up 2004 totals and we have expanded the eligible activities for 2005 reporting. We are now in the process of wrapping up the gathering of volunteer hours for 2004. If you are interested and have not yet joined the AMSAT VRS (Volunteer Reporting System) please review the material below and, if you qualify, send an e-mail to the AMSAT Treasurer, Gunther Meisse, at in-kind@amsat.org to sign up for this valuable AMSAT program. The time you donate will serve to enhance the appearance of our financial statements, comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP), all with the hope of "putting on a better public face". In-kind donations are not necessarily tax deductible by the volunteer. Please advise a tax consultant if you have any questions. Your submissions will be kept confidential. The aggregate value reported by all volunteers, within each category, will be moved to our financial statements, listed under the appropriate category as "In-Kind Services. Only the total dollar values will be released. AMSAT In-Kind Volunteer time donation system (Revised in 2005): In keeping with the AMSAT mission statement we are seeking documentation of In-Kind hours for the following categories: Satellite Development / Operations * Satellite Design * Satellite Construction * Satellite Ground Control Operations * Software development Educational Outreach * ARISS Design & Construction * ARISS Ground operations (School Contacts) * Journal Editing * Journal Writing * ANS Editing * ANS Writing * AMSAT Publications (Example: “ECHO Operation, Development & specifications”) * University Lecturing or mentoring * University Satellite meetings (Micro & Cube etc) * Hamvention activities including manning booths, making presentations and the like. Member services * Projects related to extending our mission to the general Amateur Radio community and the general public * General operation of the organization If you spent volunteer hours in any of the above categories and you have a good sense of the total hour you are spending, we would like to know about it. We need an hourly rate to assign to the hours you log. The procedure for your selection of that rate is as follows: We ask you to determine your attributable hourly rate based on your judgment of what the value is, based on the specific work you did for AMSAT. AMSAT will create an internal Value list which we will compare against your number to be sure we are not grossly over or under stating these values. If you feel you qualify and would like to participate, your e-mail responses to in-kind@amsat.org should include: Your Name Your Call sign Your e-mail address The name of the qualified project you participated in, and when The hourly rate you feel is reasonable Total hours you spent in this AMSAT endeavor. Multiple projects, which should be calculated at different hourly rates, should be separately listed. In-Kind Services to AMSAT is one more way you can make a difference in the future of Satellite Amateur Radio around the world. We hope to hear from you. If you have any questions regarding the program you are encouraged to send them to the same e-mail address, in-kind@amsat.org. [ANS thanks Gunther, W8GSM for the above information] /EX