ANS

Jerry Buxton, N0JY selected as AMSAT’s VP-Engineering

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AMSAT-NA Engineering VP Jerry Buxton, N0JY
New AMSAT-NA VP-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY

In a special AMSAT Board of Directors meeting held via GoToMeeting on Tuesday, April 1st, the board unanimously approved the selection of Jerry Buxton, N0JY of Granbury, TX as AMSAT VP-Engineering.  Jerry replaces Tony Monteiro, AA2TX who passed away on March 26th.

Given the significance of completing Fox-1 for delivery on time later this year, the Board recognized that the Fox Program must continue under leadership that is focused on completing AMSAT’s latest satellite.  Selecting a new VP-Engineering is an important step towards maintaining the momentum that was developed under Tony’s leadership and to avoid creating an engineering  leadership vacuum as work continues on the satellite.  The Engineering Team deserves to have the new leadership identified in order to be in position to make the appropriate engineering decisions.

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AMSAT VP Engineering/Director Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, SK

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Anthony “Tony” J. Monteiro, AA2TX (SK)

Tony, AA2TX with Fox-1 model
Tony, AA2TX and Fox-1 model

AMSAT VP-Engineering and Board Member Anthony J. Monteiro, AA2TX of North Andover, MA died on Wednesday morning, March 26, 2014 while
hospitalized in Boston, MA from cancer. He was 55. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou and daughter, Veronica, a college freshman.

Tony was first licensed in 1973 as a Novice and subsequently held an Extra Class Amateur Radio License. An avid operator, he described his
first contact in an AMSAT BoD Candidate’s Statement in 2011: “I earned my novice ticket in 1973 and made my first ham radio contact with a
transmitter made from parts out of an old TV set. A Heathkit HR-10B receiver and a 65-foot piece of wire strung out of a window for an antenna made up the rest of my station, which was pretty modest even by 1973 standards! Even so, I will never forget the thrill of my very first contact.”

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E. Mike McCardel, KC8YLD Appointed AMSAT VP-Educational Relations

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E. Mike McCardel, KC8YLD, new AMSAT-NA VP-Educational Relations
E. Mike McCardel, KC8YLD, new AMSAT-NA VP-Educational Relations

AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW has accepted the resignation of Mark Hammond, N8MH as VP-Educational Relations and appointed E. Michael McCardel, KC8YLD as his replacement.

Mark Hammond, N8MH of Coats, NC has served as VP-Educational Relations since December 2011.  During his tenure, Mark established a team focused on educational issues and supporting the educational objectives of AMSAT.  A highlight for the team was the ARISS contact conducted during the 2012 Pacificon Convention in October 2012  in Santa Clara, CA that provided an opportunity for a group of selected  young people from the Santa Clara area to ask questions directly to an astronaut on board the International Space Station with an audience of the participant’s family members and amateur radio operators in attendance.  Managing a school contact during an ARRL Convention provided a unique opportunity to highlight ARISS before a much wider audience that appreciated both the technical details of communications technology and the wonder of students speaking to an astronaut.  Members of Mark’s Education Team, including Joe Spier, K6WAO, Dale Hunzeker, KJ6VUC and E.Mike were all involved in the management of the ARISS contact at Pacificon.

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Fox-1 Z Axis Solar Panels Approved

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The AMSAT Fox engineering team has completed the design of the printed circuit boards for the satellite's "Z" solar panels. Each of these printed circuit boards (PCBs) will accommodate two Boeing/Spectrolab UTJ solar cells. There is a hole in the panel for the lens of the Camera module that is being developed by Virginia Tech. A sample PCB was fabricated and sent to our partner SpaceQuest who approved it for manufacturing into our solar panels.

The AMSAT Fox engineering team has completed the design of the printed circuit boards for the satellite’s “Z” axis solar panels. Each of these printed circuit boards (PCBs) will accommodate two Boeing/Spectrolab UTJ solar cells.There is a hole in the panel for the lens of the Camera module that is being developed by Virginia Tech. A sample PCB was fabricated and sent to our partner SpaceQuest who approved it for manufacturing into our solar panels.

[ANS thanks Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, VP for Engineering for the above information]