From mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu Sun Jan 5 00:00:00 2020 From: mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu (Mark D. Johns) Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2020 18:00:00 -0600 Subject: [ans] ANS-005 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-005 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Member KC9ZJX Receives 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Award * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 2, 2020 * Space Fence nearing operational acceptance by U.S. Air Force * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for January 2020 * Winter Field Day to Include Limited Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-005.01 ANS-005 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 005.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Jan 05 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-005.01 AMSAT Member KC9ZJX Receives 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Award Congratulations to AMSAT member Dhruv Rebba, KC9ZJX, winner of the Bloomington and Normal (Illinois) Human Relations Commissions 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. award. The commission chooses people who re- flect the ideology of the late Dr. King. Rebba is a sophomore at Normal Community High School. He is a volun- teer and/or member of YMCA/YWCA, Illinois 4-H, Multicultural Leader- ship Program (MCLP), National Computer Science Honor Society, and First Robotics. He is also Amateur Radio Newsline's 2019 Young Ham Of The Year. Rebba gave the youth presentation at AMSAT 36th Annual Symposium Huntsville, Alabama in 2018 where is also received AMSAT's Presidential Award. The announcement is posted on-line at: https://www.wglt.org/post/bloomington-normal-mlk-awards-announced [ANS thanks WGLT.org, NPR Radio from Illinois State University, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 2, 2020 Correction to the addition of FloripaSat 1 to last week's TLE distri- bution: FloripaSat 1 is NORAD CAT ID 44885. Also the first part of the TLE distribution was left off the orb19360.2l.amsat file sent last week. The second file sent orb19361.2l.amsat contained the full list of satellites. We are still awaiting the identification of CAS-6. Or... Use the keps for FloripaSat 1 (NORAD CAT ID 44885) for CAS-6 per suggestion of Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P. This, of course, assumes that CAS-6 is in fact transmitting??? [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Fence nearing operational acceptance by U.S. Air Force According to NASA?s most recent Orbital Debris Quarterly News, NASA calculates about 17.6 million pounds of objects are in earth orbit. That number will only grow as more commercial space projects launch massive constellations with thousands of smallsats, presenting a huge problem for both U.S. government and commercial organizations. That?s where the U.S. Air Force?s Space Fence will play a crucial role. Using advanced solid-state S-band radar technology, the Space Fence radar located on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, it will play a critical role in the everyday lives of Americans who are becoming more dependent on space-based technologies for everything from weather forecasting, banking, global communications to GPS navigation. Today, these critical services are being threatened by hundreds of thousands of objects and space debris orbiting the Earth. Frequent col- lisions and deterioration of assets, such as defunct satellites and rocket boosters, have increased the amount of space debris and raised the risk of future collisions in space. The Air Force Space Surveillance Network currently tracks about 25,000 objects. When Space Fence comes online, the catalog will experience significant growth and when fully operational, Space Fence will be the world?s largest and most advanced radar system, providing unprecedented space situational awareness. Beyond cataloging objects, Space Fence will detect closely-spaced ob- jects, breakups, maneuvers, launches and conjunction assessments from LEO through GEO. Space Fence is currently in a trial period and expected to become fully operational in 2020. [ANS thanks Milsat Magazine for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for January 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period December 3, 2019 through January 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! DEC JAN AA5PK 1064 1074 AA8CH 620 641 N3GS 601 624 WD9EWK(DM43)585 597 NS3L 526 551 W5CBF 179 533 K9UO 500 528 AA9LC 416 514 W7QL 451 478 PS8ET 303 326 G0ABI 306 320 WB7VUF 206 319 AA4QE 204 305 KC9VGG 200 228 KC9UQR 172 196 N9FN 103 194 W4AQT 153 179 W5CBF(EM21) New 179 W0NBC 152 176 KJ4M 102 170 W9VNE New 169 VE1VOX 126 155 W4DFU 116 151 AI9IN 125 150 WD9EWK(DM41)127 148 WD9EWK(DM23)104 137 N7AME 127 128 WA9JBQ 104 125 VU2LBW 100 114 KC8AMH New 101 N3CAL New 100 YO2CMI New 100 If you find errors or omissions, please contact W5RKN at w5krn.com. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apolo- gies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are rov- ing to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Field Day to Include Limited Satellite Operations Winter Field Day runs for 24 hours during the last full weekend in Jan- uary each year from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. For 2020 the dates are January 25th and 26th. Station set-up may commence no earlier than 1900 UTC (2pm EST) on the Friday before. Station setup may consume no more than 12 hours total. All Amateur bands, HF, VHF, & UHF except 12, 17, 30 and 60 meters. Any mode that can faithfully transmit the exchange intact without a conver- sion table... CW, SSB, AM, FM, DStar, C4FM, DMR, Packet, PSK, SSTV, RTTY, Olivia, Satellite, etc... (note FT8 is excluded). Satellite contacts do not count as a new mode/band multiplier. Satel- lite contacts are limited to ONE ONLY per entry so as to not tie up satellite frequencies with stations calling CQ WFD. Three operating categories are available: Indoor: Operation from inside a remote, insulated, heated, and weather- protected structure where an Amateur station is normally not available. Outdoor: Operation from a location partly or fully exposed to the ele- ments and at least 30 feet away from your normal station location and not using any part of a previously erected antenna system or station. Home: Operation from inside a home or inside another structure attach- ed to a home that could or would be the usual location of an Amateur station. For additional information, see: https://www.winterfieldday.com/ [ANS thanks the Winter Field Day Association for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: January 6, 2020 West Valley Amateur Radio Club, Sun City, AZ January 11, 2020 Thunderbird ARC Hamfest, Glendale, AZ January 17-18, 2020 Cowtown Hamfest, Fort Worth, TX February 7-9, 2020 Hamcation, Orlando, FL March 6, 2020 Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX May 15-17, 2020 Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020 Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download at: https://tinyurl.com/yx7lc7m8 This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. For additional information on the AMSAT Ambassador Program, see: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Director, AMSAT Ambassadors for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Due to weather concerns, the W5M/MM satellite expedition to EL58 is being postponed to Sunday Jan 5th. For updates, follow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ad0dx Lucas Gusher Special Event (EM20) January 11-12, 2020 The Beaumont Amateur Radio Club will be operating using the call- sign K5S on various HF bands including as many CAS-4A, CAS-4B, AO-91, AO-92 passes that we can. SO-50 and XW-2A also possible. More information about K5S can be found on qrz.com. Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2020 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP User Services for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + TAPR PSR Digital Journal Winter 2020 Edition Available at: http://tapr.org/psr/psr143.pdf (ANS thanks TAPR for the above information) + The January/February 2020 SARC Communicator newsletter is available at: http://bit.ly/SARC20JanFeb This edition has 75 pages of projects, news, views, and reviews from the SW corner of Canada. Find out about the northernmost amateur radio station: "VY0ERC: What is life like at the farthest north Amateur Radio Club in Canada?" starting on page 14. (ANS thanks Surrey Amateur Radio Communications for the above info) + A CBC Hamilton news feature on John David, VA3JHD, and his work with the Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio Systems (CFARS), briefly mentions amateur satellites. See the article at: https://tinyurl.com/rmbpfxa (ANS thanks CBC Hamilton for the above information) + Work is going "smoothly" on the Chandrayaan-3 mission to put a rover probe on the moon's surface, Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K. Sivan told a press conference. India is seeking to become only the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to put a mission on the moon's surface and boost its credentials as a low-cost space power. The country's Chandrayaan-2 module crashed on the moon's surface in September. (ANS thanks spacedaily.com for the above information) + China has just released the first batch of #ChangE4 science data! The first ever mission to land on the the far side of the Moon. This is actually a really cool and user friendly website. To access in En- glish visit: http://moon.bao.ac.cn/index_en.jsp + E-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the December 2019 edition of OSCAR News, issue 228. For details, see: https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/31/december-2019-oscar-news/ Also, a video on a recent moonbounce and satellite expedition to Botswana may be found on the AMSAT-UK website: https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/27/a21eme-moonbounce-qo100/ (ANS thank AMSAT-UK and Trevor Essex, M5AKA, for the above informa- tion) + Congratulations to Chris Taron, NK1K, on the achievement of DXCC via LEO satellite! This is a remarkable achievement matched by few. (ANS thanks Twitter @NK1K for the above information) + Congratulations to WA7FWF on uploading 1 million Fox Telemetry frames to the server. For more information on capturing telemetry from the Fox satellites, see: https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/ (ANS thanks Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org From k9jkm at comcast.net Sun Jan 12 00:00:04 2020 From: k9jkm at comcast.net (JoAnne K9JKM) Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2020 18:00:04 -0600 Subject: [ans] ANS-012 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for January 12 Message-ID: <14a169db-a357-e23b-ce97-a844e3c2f6e4@comcast.net> AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-012 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Virgin Orbit Plans Flight Test of LauncherOne Rocket in February * AMSAT Awards Update * AMSAT at Cowtown Hamfest - Ft. Worth - January 17-18 * JARL Announces FO-29 Activation Schedule * CAMSAT Says CAS-6 Activation for Amateur Use has been Delayed * Telemetry Dashboard Available for SMOG-P and ATL PocketQubes * MIT Radio Society W1MX January Lecture Series on ?Everything Radio? * AMSAT-DL Announces a New QO-100 DownConverter V3d * AMSAT South Africa Space Symposium 2020 First Call for Papers * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-012.01 ANS-012 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 012.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 12, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-012.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ If you missed the live HamTalkLive podcast featuring Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP on January 9 you can listen on demand any- time at hamtalklive.com; or a podcast version on nearly all podcast sites a few minutes after the live show is over including Apple Pod- casts, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, and iHeart Podcasts; and it's also available on YouTube. A replay is also broadcast on WTWW 5085 AM on Saturday nights at approximately 6:30 pm Eastern. Look for Episode 195 - AMSAT 50th Anniversary Recap 09 Jan +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Virgin Orbit Plans Flight Test of LauncherOne Rocket in February Virgin Orbit, AMSAT's launch for RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E, has announced they expect to have their first test launch of LauncherOne, their airborne-launched rocket, sometime in the second half of February. The LauncherOne rocket is carried on the VO 747 Cosmic Girl aircraft. If this first test flight is successful RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E is planned for launch on the second flight of LauncherOne during 1Q 2020 on the ELaNa XX mission. RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E ----------------- Uplink:???? 145.860 MHz - 145.890 MHz LSB/CW Downlink:?? 435.790 MHz - 435.760 MHz USB/CW (inverting) Telemetry:? 435.750 MHz 1K2 bps BPSK Investigate the excitement at: https://virginorbit.com/ - and - https://twitter.com/Virgin_Orbit/status/1214605925228482560 [ANS thanks Virgin Orbit for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Update Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, reported, "Now that 2019 is behind us, I thought I would catch up with the awards issued the last half of the year." AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO + Daniel Rahn, K8EC + Bernd Peters, KB7AK + Shane Hale, KE5HSS + Benny Chandra, YD0SPU + Martin Lipert, OK1UM + Helene Charbonneau, VE2AQM + Spiro Andy Loizos, VE2LZS + Stelios Alex Loizos, VA2LZS + Souly Loizos, VE2FFS + Adam Warrix, KD9NRT + Steffen Gross, DM3CW ---------- AMSAT Communications Achievement Award + Jonathan Zylstra, KL2DN #620 + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #621 + Sloan Davis, KN4GQB #622 + Walter Mercado Vazquez, KP4T #623 ---------- AMSAT Sexagesimal Satellite Communications Achievement Award + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #184 ---------- AMSAT Century Club Award + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #54 ---------- AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award + Jonathan Zylstra, KL2DN #US222 + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #US223 + Sloan Davis, KN4GQB #US224 ---------- AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award (1,000-4,000) + Ron Parsons, W5RKN upgrade to 4000 ---------- AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award 5,000 + Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA #35 + Ron Parsons, W5RKN #36 ---------- AMSAT Rover Award + #043 N7EGY + #044 CU2ZG + #045 K9EI + #046 KR5Z + #047 N4DCW + #048 KC9VGG + #049 W3ZM/9 (OP KC9VGG) + #050 W5PFG ---------- The next batch of AMSAT 50th Anniversary Satellite Friends of 50 awards are hot off the presses. Congratulations to: + BH4IWK + F4HVO + K0CFI + KC9VGG + VE2FFS + WP4T Visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/ To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org and click on Services then Awards. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and ?Awards, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at Cowtown Hamfest - Ft. Worth - January 17-18 AMSAT will be represented at the 2020 Cowtown Hamfest in Fort Worth, TX on January 17 and 18 with a table, demos and presentations. If you live in the North Texas area, this is a great event, well attended and lots of vendors. Please put it on your calendar. Info posted at http://www.cowtownhamfest.com/ AMSAT Ambassador Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, says he has openings to staff the table, do the demos and assist with the presentations. The Cowtown amateur Radio Club was a home for our dearly beloved and SK, Keith Pugh, W5IU.? The organizers offered AMSAT a no charge table space in the market area so a big thank you to them is in order. Tom hopes you can plan to be a part of this fine event. If you can assist in any way for AMSAT, please drop Tom an email at: N5HYP at arrl.net Keep an eye on https://www.amsat.org/other-events/ for updates on coming AMSAT events. [ANS thanks AMSAT Ambassador Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, for the above ?information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ??? Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, ?? and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through ????????? AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards ???????????????? Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. ?????? https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ JARL Announces FO-29 Activation Schedule Due to battery problems FO-29 has been largely inactive - usually activated over Japan while in range of the command station. Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, FO-29 Command Station has posted an activation schedule for additional access: FO-29 Transponder Active (UTC) ------------------------------ 1/12 05:05- 17:00 1/13 04:10- 05:55 1/18 04:50- 06:35 1/19 03:55- 05:40 1/26 04:30- 06:15 2/1? 06:00- 2/2? 06:50- 2/8? 04:50-15:00 2/9? 03:55-15:50 2/11 03:50-05:35 2/23 03:20-05:05 2/24 04:10-5:55-14:20 3/1? 04:00-05:40-15:55 3/2? 04:45-14:55 FO-29 ----- Uplink:?? 145.900 - 146.000 MHz LSB/CW Downlink: 435.900 - 435.800 MHz USB/CW (inverting) Beacon:?? 435.795 MHz [ANS thanks Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, FO-29 Command Station for the above ?information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAMSAT Says CAS-6 Activation for Amateur Use has been Delayed 01/07/2020 - via ARRL Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, tells ARRL that some problems with the precise attitude determination of the newly launched CAS-6 amateur radio satellite have delayed deploy- ment of the antennas. The satellite was to have been put into service within 3 days. ?If the V/UHF antennas are deployed now, additional torque may affect determination of the satellite attitude,? Kung said. ?Engineers need to modify and upload the software, which will take some time.? He said that taking into consideration the upcoming long Chinese New Year holiday, the test work is planned to be completed sometime in late February or early March. At that time, VHF/UHF antennas will be deployed, and the amateur radio payload will be available for use. Kung points out that the satellite?s CW beacon has been turned on, although the antenna has not yet been deployed. ?If you have a ?big ear,? you may be able to receive weak signal leaked from an undeploy- ed antenna on 145.910 MHz,? he said. ?A polyimide cover on the anten- na chassis can help to leak some RF signal.? CAS-6 launched successfully on December 20, piggybacked on a TIANQIN-1 technology test satellite. The microsatellite will be known as CAS-6/TIANQIN-1, and the call sign is BJ1SO. The primary launch pay- load was the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite, CBERS-4A. CAS-6 is in a sun-synchronous orbit with an apogee of 390 miles. It carries a U/V linear transponder, with a downlink of 145.925, 20 kHz passband (inverted) and an uplink of 435.28 MHz. The CW telemetry beacon is on 145.910 MHz, while 4k9 baud GMSK telemetry will be trans- mitted on 145.890 MHz. [ANS thanks CAMSAT and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Telemetry Dashboard Available for SMOG-P and ATL PocketQubes The SMOG-P and ATL PocketQube team at the Budapest University of Tech- nology and Economics has released additional information about their satellites recently launched by RocketLab from New Zealand. SMOG-P digital downlink:? 437.150 MHz ATL??? digital downlink:? 437.175 MHz More information on both satellites is posted at: http://gnd.bme.hu SMOG-P (MO-105) is a 1p PocketQube (5x5x5 cm, 250 grams), a fully re- dundant tiny satellite with an actual scientific payload: a flying spectrum analyzer. It measures the scattered RF energy over the UHF band (specifically, in the digital terrestrial TV band) that can be detected in space. ATL-1 (MO-106) is a larger 2p PocketQube featuring the same spectrum analyzer experiment. Both satellites transmit almost identical telemetry data. In addition to basic CW telemetry carrying callsign, battery voltage and tempera- ture, there is digital telemetry with variable data rate and coding scheme. Most frequently, modulation is 1250 or 5000 bps GMSK. The data is encoded either by the well-known "AO-40" FEC, or a shorter, pro- prietary variant of it, but they can also use a more powerful, state- of-art repeat-accumulate (RA) coding scheme. Some practical information about receiving the telemetry: A GUI telemetry receiver is available for Windows and Linux (soon for OS X as well), and a command line receiver can also be used (Linux only). Both can be downloaded from: https://gnd.bme.hu:8080/index The programs are able to submit the received packets to the central telemetry data base. This requires a quick registration, the login credentials can be used with either of the decoders. There are some issues with the GUI software that hopefully will be resolved within a few days. These decoders assume either a USB receiver connected through the sound card or an rtl-sdr receiver. Thanks to Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ, a high quality, full decoder and packet uploader is also available for GNU Radio 3.8 within the out- of-tree module gr-satellites. For uploading to the received packets, it uses the same login as the "official" programs do: https://github.com/daniestevez/gr-satellites/tree/maint-3.8 This decoder can unleash the full potential of the RA FEC. You'll need to put an FM demodulator in front of the flowgraph. The team is looking forward to seeing many submissions on the "Leader- board" from around the world: https://gnd.bme.hu:8080/leaderboard Having many receiving stations around the globe could greatly improve the global picture the spectrum analyzer payload can offer. [ANS thanks the PocketQube team at the Budapest University of Tech- ?nology and Economics for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- MIT Radio Society W1MX January Lecture Series on ?Everything Radio? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radio Society (W1MX) and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are hosting a lecture series in January that may answer? some of your questions about such topics as radar techniques, interferometry, imaging, and radio astronomy, to antenna design and? modern chip- scale RF devices. No prior experience with radio is necessary, and all are welcome. All lectures will take place in the Green Building ? MIT?s tallest academic building. Sessions will be live streamed and archived for later viewing. The lectures have already kicked off on January 10 ?with ?The Next Generation of Weather Radar.? Other topics include ?Lightning Interferometry? (January 13); ?Radio Noises from the Sky? (January 15); ?EDGES:? Measuring the Early Universe? (January 22); ?Antennas? (January 24), and ?Chip-Scale THz Circuits and Sensors? (January 29). Lectures begin at 5? PM ET and conclude at 7 PM. MIT has posted details at: http://w1mx.mit.edu/iap/2020/ [ANS thanks the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the above ?information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-DL Announces a New QO-100 DownConverter V3d The first version of the AMSAT-DL down converter was built in early 2019, enabling many stations to become active on QO-100 for the first time. Since then, a lot of operating experience and new insights have been gained, which have flowed into the new board V3d. The AMSAT-DL DownConverter V3d is a completely new development. It offers important functions for all QO-100 stations, no matter if you work with VHF/UHF, HF transceiver, or an SDR. This new board can be used as a central frequency converter assembly for your QO-100 sta- tion providing stable clocks for all components meaning that addi- tional external GPS modules are not required. The specification for the AMSAT-DL DownConverter V3d includes: + Centralized clock generation with GPS or OCXO + Reference clock for the PLL in the LNB + Reference clock for a transmit mixer + Reference clock for an SDR + Short-circuit proof LNB phantom power + Connection for a dual LNB (for simultaneous NB and WB reception) + Downward mixing of the NB transponder into an amateur band ? (UHF/VHF or HF) + OLED display for displaying the operating status and the station ? coordinates The full specification and list of features is posted at: https://amsat-dl.org/der-neue-amsat-dl-qo-100-downconverter-v3d and you can order your unit at: https://shop.amsat-dl.org/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ????????? The digital download version of the 2019 edition of ???? Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a ??????? DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store.? Get yours today! ?????????? https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT South Africa Space Symposium 2020 First Call for Papers Papers are invited for presentation at the conference and publi- cation on the web. Please send your synopsis by 28 February 2020 in a word document of no more than 300 words to: admin at amsatsa.org.za. Please tell us if you will be available to present your paper at the conference ... speakers attend free. The Symposium date is July 18, 2020 at the Premier Hotel Midrand. The theme this year is "Amateur Radio in Space ? exploring VHF, UHF and Microwaves". Watch http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ for the latest information. [ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ?? AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur ?? radio package, including two-way communication capability, to ???????? be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. ? Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: + Sayama Mizutomi Community Center, Sayama, Japan, direct via 8J1SS ? The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS ? The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP ? Contact is go: Mon 2020-01-13 11:58:07 [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, and David Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS opera- tion team members, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ????????? Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. ???????? 25% of the purchase price of each product goes ?????????? towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space ???????????? https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts + January 17-19 EM17 KN6DBC? AO-91 & AO-92 night passes (@KN6DBC) New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) ??? January 14 ? February 1, 2020. Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving ??? EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14th ? Feb 1. In between, ??? Adam will be EL58, January 18th or 19th depending on weather, ??? and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes and updates ??? on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Lucas Gusher Special Event (EM20) January 11-12, 2020 ??? The Beaumont Amateur Radio Club will be operating using the call- ??? sign K5S on various HF bands including as many CAS-4A, CAS-4B, ??? AO-91, AO-92 passes that we can. SO-50 and XW-2A also possible. ??? More information about K5S can be found on qrz.com. Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2020 ??? Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC ??? in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour ??? Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they ??? may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. ??? Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on ??? FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing ??? through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no ??? promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Brennan Price, M/N4QX, will be active from grid square IO91 *as work ??? permits* January 20-24. QSL *exclusively* via Logbook of the World. Montserrat, January 26 to February 2 ??? Mel, W8MV, will be working the FM satellites using the callsign ??? VP2MCV. He will then be operating from Antigua from February 2 to ??? February 9. Mel is still waiting for the license so it is not yet ??? known what the callsign will be from Antigua. QSL via LoTW. Isla Perez, Mexico - EL52dj February 11-17 ??? Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla ??? Perez (grid EL52dj), Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators ??? mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/ ??? XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/ ??? 10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). ??? QSL via XE1SY. ADDED NOTE: Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing ??? CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm ??? from EL51. (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1446) Big Bend National Park (DL88)? March 16-17, 2020 ??? Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend ??? National Park to put grid DL88 on the air.? Details will be added ??? here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to ??? keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: ??? https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and ??? https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP User Services for ?the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Need help getting your Icom IC-9700 working with SatPC32? Check ? out this guide written by Stefan Wagener, VE4SW posted on at: ? http://www.amsat.org --> Satellite Info --> Station and Operating ? Hints --> "The new Icom IC-9700 is a great satellite radio ..." ? document is at the bottom of the page. The direct URL to the PDF ? document is: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-012-IC9700-SatPC32 + NASA's Texas Space Grant Consortium announced the summer program ? for STEM Educators (grades 5-12), LiftOff 2020: Moon to Mars, a ? weeklong professional development training for teachers, June 21-26, ? 2020. The application deadline is March 2, 2020. Workshops include ? learning experiences by incorporating a space science theme support- ? ed by NASA missions. Teacher participants are provided with infor- ? mation and experiences through speakers, hands-on activities and ? field investigations that promote space science and enrichment ? activities for themselves and others. Visit the program website ? at: http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/liftoff/ + A new distance record has been set on the PO-101 (Diwata2H) FM ? transponder. F4DXV worked R9LR on 08-Jan-2020 at 22:57 UTC for ? a distance of 4,542 km. More posted at: ? https://twitter.com/PRStoetzer/status/1215441267976523777 ? https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/ + The AMSAT-DL radome to house their QO-100 antenna made it to Ant- ? arctica and is installed on top of Neumayer-Station III. Further ? work will be needed to be install it permanently. The station is ? also waiting for the AMSAT-UK FUNcube relay to arrive, pending wea- ? ther conditions for flying there. See the photo posted by HB9HCF: ? https://twitter.com/pa3weg/status/1215642731336404995 + A tweet from @AlbaOrbital reports that AMSAT Spain is signed up to ? fly on Alba Cluster 3. The Spanish satellite is a 1.5p PocketQube ? called Hades which is a satellite for amateur communications imple- ? menting a Bent-Pipe type repeater and with Store & Forward capabil- ? ities. See: ? https://twitter.com/AlbaOrbital/status/1214932730045194240 + AMSAT-EA (Vocal?a de Satellites de URE) has registered with IARU ? and the Spanish administration their G?NESIS-L and G?NESIS-N sat- ? ellites for launch in mid-2020. An introduction to the project: ? https://www.ure.es/satelites-genesis-de-amsat-ea/ - and - ? https://twitter.com/ure_es/status/1214911584927133701 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=698 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=699 + A 3-axis rotor based on the Celestron NexStar telescope mount with ? hamlib and rotctl drivers is demonstrated at: ? https://youtu.be/Avp1ROEkgeA -and- https://youtu.be/BDTjnJm41mc + Stuart Thomas, KB1HQS, author of the ARRL book, "Portable Operating ? for Amateur Radio", describes construction of a Hiking Pole Yagi ? Antenna for Extreme Environments" on his web page: https://kb1hqs.com/2019/12/26/ultralight-hiking-pole-yagi-antenna/ + Amateur radio talks featured at the popular DEF CON 27 event in ? Las Vegas during August 8-11, 2019. Watch Mark KR6ZY - Hunting tape ? measure yagis and offset attenuators - DEF CON 27 Ham Radio Village: ? https://youtu.be/KGQDQZT9lRQ - and - feast on the videos of hundreds ? of additional DEF CON talks posted at: ? https://www.youtube.com/user/DEFCONConference/videos ? (via Southgate) + In April 2020, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will celebrate ? 30 years since its launch. ESA/Hubble has produced a commemorative ? calendar of the telescope?s Hidden Gems that is now available for ? everyone to use and enjoy. See: ? https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic2001/ + Opensource.com has published 12 open source resources for kids and ? young adults to learn from open source technology: ? https://opensource.com/article/19/12/kids-students-education + Did you ever dream of being a NASA astronaut? This spring, NASA once ? again will be accepting applications for New Astronauts! Stay tuned ? to http://nasa.gov/astronauts for upcoming information on how you ? can explore places like the Moon and Mars. + The Signal Path presents, "Tutorial on Theory, Characterization & ? Measurement Techniques of Phase Noise" in a video posted at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOHjFtw0sgo&feature=youtu.be + If phase noise doesn't keep you up at night you've probably found ? yourself wondering why do mirrors flip left & right but not up and ? down? A video giving you the answer that this has to do with specu- ? lar reflection, mirrors being like windows into another world like ? alternate universes, just with in and out flipped! There's your ? answer! Have a good night after you watch at: ? https://youtu.be/1t4dOPxKgrY --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to behave and to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM k9jkm at amsat dot org From n1uw at gokarns.com Sat Jan 18 23:31:20 2020 From: n1uw at gokarns.com (Frank Karnauskas) Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2020 16:31:20 -0700 Subject: [ans] ANS-019 Draft_200118_2329 Message-ID: <002701d5ce57$640f0440$2c2d0cc0$@gokarns.com> This is what will fly at 0000 unless anyone has any final corrections or additions. Mostly the same but some style changes in the API article and reformatting some lines with extra spaces. 73 F AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-019 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat dot org. In this edition: * GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestones * ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 * Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website * Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released * China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations * Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-019.01 ANS-019 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 019.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. January 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-019.01 GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestone A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint - Technology Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. The boards are laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The interconnected boards include: - An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit (i.e. computer) prototype, - A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and - A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got GOLF-TEE this far, with much work yet to be done before flight units are ready. GOLF-TEE is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO(Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). To help support the GOLF program, please consider volunteering or donating today. https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/ https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ [ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Flight Software, and the entire GOLF team for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window which will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 2021. and June 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31. 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on two different date and times. The first is at January 23 at 2100 ET and the second is at January 27 at 1800 ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. For More Information For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education at gmail.com . [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website Thanks to an initiative by Heimir, W1ANT, AMSAT added Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to the AMSAT web site to make it easy for developers to write apps for mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, the satellite status page www.amsat.org/status does not work well on small screens. By accessing the status data directly developers can easily present the data in a way appropriate for their screens. These APIs also make it easy for IoT homebrewers to do things like build next pass reminder gizmos so they can beep out notices in CW. The developers have set a goal of February 15, 2020 to finalize the APIs, and consider them operational on March 1, 2020. Developers are encouraged to send suggestions or questions to www.amsat.org/webmaster-contact/ For details of API use visit www.amsat.org/status/api/ and www.amsat.org/track/api/ [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released QARMAN, a nano-satellite designed and built at VKI, was launched to the International Space Station on December 5, 2019. Deployed is expected to take place in the week of February 12, 2020. QARMAN (Qubesat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on AblatioN) is the world's first CubeSat designed to survive atmospheric re-entry. Work on it started in 2013 at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI). The aim of the QARMAN mission is to demonstrate the usability of a CubeSat platform as an atmospheric entry vehicle. Spacecraft descending towards a planet with an atmosphere experience very harsh environment including extreme temperatures (several thousand degrees). Information about Qarman's 437.350 MHz 9600 bps GMSK AX.25 beacon has now been released by the team. Download the Qarman Beacon Definition QARMAN_BCNdef_v1.1 at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndef_v1.1.pdf Download the Beacon Decoder spreadsheet QARMAN_BCNdecoder at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndecoder.xlsx Reports can be sent to operations at qarman.eu [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations China's telecommunications regulator has proposed amending the Measures for the Administration of Amateur Radio Stations, and some amateur bands are in danger of being eliminated. Lide Zhang, BI8CKU, told ARRL that the proposal would prohibit amateur operation on the 2200-meter band as well as on 146 - 148 MHz, 1260 - 1300 MHz, 3400 - 3500 MHz, 5650 - 5725 MHz, and all bands above 10 GHz. Radio communications engineer and Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that government efforts to eliminate some amateur bands are nothing new, but proposals that have been aired for a while now are on the regulatory agency's schedule. Kung said he does not anticipate that all of the bands proposed will be taken away, but he conceded that the climate will "undoubtedly" become increasingly more dangerous for China's amateur radio community. "The attempt to crowd out the amateur radio bands has a long history throughout the world," he said, "but it may never have become so urgent for the amateur radio community as it is today. We all understand that radio spectrum resources have become a bottleneck for further development." He said today's radio communication industry "is working hard to share spectrum resources." Kung characterized spectrum as "the soil on which amateur radio depends." [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT Phil Karn, KA9Q shares the following announcement: "As you know, Brian Kantor, WB6CYT passed away suddenly on November 21, 2019. We will hold a memorial service for Brian on Saturday, Feb 1 2020 at 1:30 PM in La Jolla, CA (part of San Diego). Please see this link for details: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-019-Kantor-Memorial "Please bring any photos, mementos and (above all) stories and anecdotes about Brian to share. Brian wasn't exactly a highly formal person who stood on ceremony, so we'll keep this informal. If you have a story to tell, it's up to you whether you stand up and relate it to the whole group or just a few others at a time. There will be plenty of time for both. "Everyone who knew Brian is welcome. His friendships spanned at least three distinct social circles, and I know he'd be very happy to see everyone meet and enjoy everyone else's company. Even if he'd be a little embarrassed that we were doing it in his honor. "Free snacks and refreshments will be provided, so please RSVP through the evite link so we can tell the hotel how much to make available. If you have special dietary needs, please say so; the hotel has a menu we can choose from. "Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested. Hope to see you on the 1st." [ANS thanks Phil Karn, KA9Q for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 - February 1, 2020 Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14 - Feb 1. In between, Adam will be EL58, January 18 or 19 depending on weather, and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Montserrat (FK86) January 26 - February 2, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Montserrat 26 January until 2 February, operating under the call sign VP2MCV on FM Sats. QSL via LOTW. Antigua (FK97) February 2 - 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 - 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News (Editor's Note: See school contact opportunity story above.) + Upcoming Contacts Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shorts from All Over + ARISS-US Educators Review Processes for US Proposal Window A team of educators who are members of the ARISS-US Education Committee is finalizing the last few processes related to the late 2019 ARISS-US Proposal Window. The team had ranked the education proposals and then sent a list to the ARISS-US leaders of the top schools and education groups recommended for hosting an ARISS contact. A news release is in draft stage. The organizations selected will be in the queue for scheduled ARISS contacts during the second half of 2020. A new ARISS-US Proposal Window will open soon and details on this will be forthcoming. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] + WIA 2020 Annual Conference Presentations The Wireless Institute of Australia Annual Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania May 8-10 2020 and registrations are open. On the Saturday afternoon a wide range of presentations are organized to showcase the conference theme which is the "Antarctic Gateway". Following lunch there will be two presentation streams which can be categorized as the "Antarctic" stream and the "Radio" stream. Complete information can be viewed at: https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2020/20200111-3/index.php [ANS thanks the Wireless Institute of Australia for the above information.] + AMSAT Argentina Celebrates LO-19 30th Anniversary On Feb-22-1990 LUSAT/LO-19 was launched along with AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, UO-14 & UO-15. It was the first Argentina Satellite, and one of first to use PACSAT protocol. LUSAT is still calling home with its carrier at +/-437.125. Members of AMSAT Argentina (LU7AA) celebrate the 30th anniversary of the LUSAT (LO-19) satellite between Jan. 18 and 26 on HF on SSB, FT8, CW. An award is available as well. QSL via LU7AA (d), eQSL. Find complete information at: http://lu4aao.org/lu7aa/cert_30_aniv_lusat_2020.htm and http://amsat.org.ar/certlusat30.htm [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter and AMSAT-LU for the above information.] + AMSAT-SA Announces A New Date Fre Their Space Symposium The annual AMSAT SA Space symposium date has changed to Saturday, 11 July 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box: Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. Prospective authors are invited to propose other papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin at amsatsa.org.za before 28 February 2020. + Cardiff Microwave Roundtable Saturday, March 7, 2020 The Cardiff University ARS will host a meeting of the UK Microwave Group on Saturday March 7, 2020 at our campus in Cardiff. This one day event is a mix of talks, measurements, and socializing about activities in the GHz frequencies. GNU Radio Workshop On the following day, Sunday March 8, there will be a hands on Introduction to GNU Radio and Software Defined Radio. More info coming soon, please send an email to officers at cardiffars.org.uk if you are interested. [ANS thanks the UK Microwave Group for the above information.] + Lockheed Martin Launches First Smart Satellite Enabling Space Mesh Networking Recently, Lockheed Martin launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U spacecraft. Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built and integrated in nine months. Some of the key technologies being flight-tested include: - Software validates advanced adaptive mesh communications between satellites, shared processing capabilities, and can take advantage, of sensors aboard other smart satellites, - A software-defined radio that allows for high-bandwidth hosting of multiple RF applications, store-and-forward RF collection, data compression, digital signal processing and waveform transmission, - 3D-printed wideband antenna housing. Read the full story at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55121 [ANS thanks Spaceref.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb From n1uw at gokarns.com Sun Jan 19 00:52:09 2020 From: n1uw at gokarns.com (Frank Karnauskas) Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2020 17:52:09 -0700 Subject: [ans] AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin ANS-019, January 19, 2019 Message-ID: <002f01d5ce62$ae90f4f0$0bb2ded0$@gokarns.com> AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-019 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat dot org. In this edition: * GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestones * ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 * Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website * Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released * China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations * Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-019.01 ANS-019 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 019.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. January 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-019.01 GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestone A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint - Technology Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. The boards are laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The interconnected boards include: - An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit (i.e. computer) prototype, - A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and - A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got GOLF-TEE this far, with much work yet to be done before flight units are ready. GOLF-TEE is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO(Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). To help support the GOLF program, please consider volunteering or donating today. https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/ https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ [ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Flight Software, and the entire GOLF team for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window which will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 2021. and June 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31. 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on two different date and times. The first is at January 23 at 2100 ET and the second is at January 27 at 1800 ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. For More Information For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education at gmail.com . [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website Thanks to an initiative by Heimir, W1ANT, AMSAT added Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to the AMSAT web site to make it easy for developers to write apps for mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, the satellite status page www.amsat.org/status does not work well on small screens. By accessing the status data directly developers can easily present the data in a way appropriate for their screens. These APIs also make it easy for IoT homebrewers to do things like build next pass reminder gizmos so they can beep out notices in CW. The developers have set a goal of February 15, 2020 to finalize the APIs, and consider them operational on March 1, 2020. Developers are encouraged to send suggestions or questions to www.amsat.org/webmaster-contact/ For details of API use visit www.amsat.org/status/api/ and www.amsat.org/track/api/ [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released QARMAN, a nano-satellite designed and built at VKI, was launched to the International Space Station on December 5, 2019. Deployed is expected to take place in the week of February 12, 2020. QARMAN (Qubesat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on AblatioN) is the world's first CubeSat designed to survive atmospheric re-entry. Work on it started in 2013 at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI). The aim of the QARMAN mission is to demonstrate the usability of a CubeSat platform as an atmospheric entry vehicle. Spacecraft descending towards a planet with an atmosphere experience very harsh environment including extreme temperatures (several thousand degrees). Information about Qarman's 437.350 MHz 9600 bps GMSK AX.25 beacon has now been released by the team. Download the Qarman Beacon Definition QARMAN_BCNdef_v1.1 at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndef_v1.1.pdf Download the Beacon Decoder spreadsheet QARMAN_BCNdecoder at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndecoder.xlsx Reports can be sent to operations at qarman.eu [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations China's telecommunications regulator has proposed amending the Measures for the Administration of Amateur Radio Stations, and some amateur bands are in danger of being eliminated. Lide Zhang, BI8CKU, told ARRL that the proposal would prohibit amateur operation on the 2200-meter band as well as on 146 - 148 MHz, 1260 - 1300 MHz, 3400 - 3500 MHz, 5650 - 5725 MHz, and all bands above 10 GHz. Radio communications engineer and Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that government efforts to eliminate some amateur bands are nothing new, but proposals that have been aired for a while now are on the regulatory agency's schedule. Kung said he does not anticipate that all of the bands proposed will be taken away, but he conceded that the climate will "undoubtedly" become increasingly more dangerous for China's amateur radio community. "The attempt to crowd out the amateur radio bands has a long history throughout the world," he said, "but it may never have become so urgent for the amateur radio community as it is today. We all understand that radio spectrum resources have become a bottleneck for further development." He said today's radio communication industry "is working hard to share spectrum resources." Kung characterized spectrum as "the soil on which amateur radio depends." [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT Phil Karn, KA9Q shares the following announcement: "As you know, Brian Kantor, WB6CYT passed away suddenly on November 21, 2019. We will hold a memorial service for Brian on Saturday, Feb 1 2020 at 1:30 PM in La Jolla, CA (part of San Diego). Please see this link for details: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-019-Kantor-Memorial "Please bring any photos, mementos and (above all) stories and anecdotes about Brian to share. Brian wasn't exactly a highly formal person who stood on ceremony, so we'll keep this informal. If you have a story to tell, it's up to you whether you stand up and relate it to the whole group or just a few others at a time. There will be plenty of time for both. "Everyone who knew Brian is welcome. His friendships spanned at least three distinct social circles, and I know he'd be very happy to see everyone meet and enjoy everyone else's company. Even if he'd be a little embarrassed that we were doing it in his honor. "Free snacks and refreshments will be provided, so please RSVP through the evite link so we can tell the hotel how much to make available. If you have special dietary needs, please say so; the hotel has a menu we can choose from. "Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested. Hope to see you on the 1st." [ANS thanks Phil Karn, KA9Q for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 - February 1, 2020 Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14 - Feb 1. In between, Adam will be EL58, January 18 or 19 depending on weather, and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Montserrat (FK86) January 26 - February 2, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Montserrat 26 January until 2 February, operating under the call sign VP2MCV on FM Sats. QSL via LOTW. Antigua (FK97) February 2 - 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 - 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News (Editor's Note: See school contact opportunity story above.) + Upcoming Contacts Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shorts from All Over + ARISS-US Educators Review Processes for US Proposal Window A team of educators who are members of the ARISS-US Education Committee is finalizing the last few processes related to the late 2019 ARISS-US Proposal Window. The team had ranked the education proposals and then sent a list to the ARISS-US leaders of the top schools and education groups recommended for hosting an ARISS contact. A news release is in draft stage. The organizations selected will be in the queue for scheduled ARISS contacts during the second half of 2020. A new ARISS-US Proposal Window will open soon and details on this will be forthcoming. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] + WIA 2020 Annual Conference Presentations The Wireless Institute of Australia Annual Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania May 8-10 2020 and registrations are open. On the Saturday afternoon a wide range of presentations are organized to showcase the conference theme which is the "Antarctic Gateway". Following lunch there will be two presentation streams which can be categorized as the "Antarctic" stream and the "Radio" stream. Complete information can be viewed at: https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2020/20200111-3/index.php [ANS thanks the Wireless Institute of Australia for the above information.] + AMSAT Argentina Celebrates LO-19 30th Anniversary On Feb-22-1990 LUSAT/LO-19 was launched along with AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, UO-14 & UO-15. It was the first Argentina Satellite, and one of first to use PACSAT protocol. LUSAT is still calling home with its carrier at +/-437.125. Members of AMSAT Argentina (LU7AA) celebrate the 30th anniversary of the LUSAT (LO-19) satellite between Jan. 18 and 26 on HF on SSB, FT8, CW. An award is available as well. QSL via LU7AA (d), eQSL. Find complete information at: http://lu4aao.org/lu7aa/cert_30_aniv_lusat_2020.htm and http://amsat.org.ar/certlusat30.htm [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter and AMSAT-LU for the above information.] + AMSAT-SA Announces A New Date Fre Their Space Symposium The annual AMSAT SA Space symposium date has changed to Saturday, 11 July 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box: Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. Prospective authors are invited to propose other papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin at amsatsa.org.za before 28 February 2020. + Cardiff Microwave Roundtable Saturday, March 7, 2020 The Cardiff University ARS will host a meeting of the UK Microwave Group on Saturday March 7, 2020 at our campus in Cardiff. This one day event is a mix of talks, measurements, and socializing about activities in the GHz frequencies. GNU Radio Workshop On the following day, Sunday March 8, there will be a hands on Introduction to GNU Radio and Software Defined Radio. More info coming soon, please send an email to officers at cardiffars.org.uk if you are interested. [ANS thanks the UK Microwave Group for the above information.] + Lockheed Martin Launches First Smart Satellite Enabling Space Mesh Networking Recently, Lockheed Martin launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U spacecraft. Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built and integrated in nine months. Some of the key technologies being flight-tested include: - Software validates advanced adaptive mesh communications between satellites, shared processing capabilities, and can take advantage, of sensors aboard other smart satellites, - A software-defined radio that allows for high-bandwidth hosting of multiple RF applications, store-and-forward RF collection, data compression, digital signal processing and waveform transmission, - 3D-printed wideband antenna housing. Read the full story at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55121 [ANS thanks Spaceref.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb From n8hm at arrl.net Sun Jan 26 00:00:06 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2020 16:00:06 -0800 Subject: [ans] ANS-026 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-026 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * HuskySat-1 With AMSAT VHF/UHF Linear Transponder Planned for Deployment Soon * Celebration of 50th Anniversary of Australis-OSCAR 5 * ARRL to Argue for Continued Access to 3-GHz Spectrum as FCC Sets Comment Deadlines * FO-99 (NEXUS) 1st Anniversary Report * Amateurs in the News: ?96-year-old Amateur Radio operator at Ontario Science Centre speaks with astronaut" * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Upcoming AMSAT Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-026.01 ANS-026 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 026.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 26, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-026.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF-TEE satellite recently reached a major milestone when prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time. Help support AMSAT's path back to HEO by donating today! https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HuskySat-1 With AMSAT VHF/UHF Linear Transponder Planned for Deployment Soon The University of Washington's HuskySat-1 3U cubesat was launched on the Northrop Grumman NG-12 Cygnus supply mission to the ISS on Novem- ber 2. HuskySat-1 has remained stowed aboard Cygnus scheduled for de- ployment after the cargo ship unberths from the International Space Station. Unberthing is scheduled for 1435 UTC (9:35 am EST) on Jan 31 and will be covered live on NASA TV. Within 24 hours after departure from the ISS, HuskySat-1 and SwampSat will be deployed into orbit. After deployment, HuskySat-1?s 1,200 bps BPSK beacon on 435.800 MHz should be active and decodable with the latest release of AMSAT's FoxTelem software. HuskySat-1 is expected to run its primary mission before being turned over to AMSAT for amateur radio operation. HuskySat-1 features a 30 kHz wide 145 to 435 MHz linear transponder for SSB/CW. HuskySat-1 ---------- Uplink: 145.910 - 145.940 MHz LSB/CW Downlink: 435.840 - 435.810 MHz USB/CW (inverting) Telemetry: 435.800 MHz 1K2 bps BPSK 24049.00 MHz (U of Washington experimental downlink) The latest version of FoxTelem software to decode the 1200 bps BPSK beacon is available at: https://www.amsat.org/tlm The Fox-In-A-Box FoxTelem software has been updated for HuskySat-1 Operation at it's download website: http://burnsfisher.com/AMSAT/FoxInABox This release now contains the SD card image, FIAB-distro8-V1.08w.zip. This file, when unzipped and written to a 16Gb SD card will give you the latest software for FoxTelem and will run on a Raspberry Pi 4. This is an image of the same SD card that has been shipping from the AMSAT store for several weeks. (It should work on an 8Gb card as well with less room to spare of course). Version 1.08w has a few fixes from the previous 1.08r which was the previous download version. Improvements to the decoder will capture data a bit better. Remember that the later 1.08 versions (including r and w) know how to switch bands between listening on VHF and UHF based on which of Fox and Husky satellites are overhead at the time. (Fox-In-A-Box information thanks to Burns Fisher, WB1FJ) The linear transponder and telemetry system carried aboard Fox-1E was designed for use in different CubeSats by merely adding an inter- face adapter for connection to the host bus. Noting the prevalence of CubeSats built and launched by universities and other organizations, AMSAT adopted a goal of ?amateur radio in every CubeSat.? Interested CubeSat programs wanting to fly an amateur radio payload may partner with AMSAT to carry one of these modules on their spacecraft. By pro- viding amateur radio capability, the CubeSat program gets a worldwide ground station network to receive their telemetry and experiment data while the amateur radio community gets a transponder to use in orbit. Additional information is posted on the University of Washington Husky Satellite Lab pages: https://sites.google.com/uw.edu/huskysatellitelab/huskysat-1 https://sites.google.com/uw.edu/huskysatellitelab/huskysat-1/com1 [ANS thanks the HuskySat-1 Team, AMSAT Engineering, AMSAT Operations, the Fox Telemetry Team, and NASA for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Celebration of 50th Anniversary of Australis-OSCAR 5 January 23, 2020 was the 50th anniversary of the launch of Australis- OSCAR 5. The first satellite built in Australia, arranging its launch was AMSAT's first project following the creation of the organization in 1969. AO-5 launched along with TIROS-M (later ITOS-1) on a Delta rocket from the west pad of Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Built by students at The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Battery powered, Australis-OSCAR 5 transmitted telemetry on both 2 meter (144.050 MHz at 50 mW) and 10 meter (29.450 MHz at 250 mW) bands that operated for 23 and 46 days respectively. Passive magnetic attitude stabilization was performed by carrying two bar magnets to align with the Earth's magnetic field in order to provide a favorable antenna footprint. The University of Melbourne compiled tracking reports from hundreds of stations in 27 countries. Australis-OSCAR 5 was the first amateur satellite that was remotely controlled. The control logic is a direct predecessor to the control systems used by AMSAT in AMSAT-OSCAR 6, AMSAT-OSCAR 7, and AMSAT-OSCAR 8. Two of the builders of AO-5, Dr. Owen Mace and Richard Tonkin, spoke at the 2019 AMSAT Space Symposium this past October and participated in a panel on "The Foundations of AMSAT." Video of the panel presentations can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-AO-5 On January 22nd, Tonkin appeared on The Space Show Australia Summer Edition on 88.3 Southern FM in Victoria to discuss AO-5. The episode can be heard at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-SpaceShow Mace and Tonkin have written a book about the story of AO-5. The second edition of the book was released in December. More information about the satellite and the book can be found at https://australis-oscar5.weebly.com/ A 50th anniversary celebration will be held on February 27th at the University of Melbourne. [ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL to Argue for Continued Access to 3-GHz Spectrum as FCC Sets Comment Deadlines At its January meeting, the ARRL Board of Directors instructed the League?s FCC counsel to prepare a strong response to protect amateur access to spectrum in the 3 GHz range. In its Notice of Proposed Rule- making (NPRM) in WT Docket 19-348, the FCC proposed to relocate all non-federal operations, including amateur uses, to spectrum outside the 3.3 ? 3.55 GHz band. The Commission anticipates auctioning this spectrum to expand commercial use of 5G cellular and wireless broad- band services, if agreement can be reached on relocation of ? or sharing with ? the federal incumbents that operate in the same band. Publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register on January 22 established deadlines of February 21 for comments and March 23 for reply comments. The FCC has requested comment on the uses radio amateurs make of the spectrum and appropriate relocation options. Complicating matters is the fact that radio amateurs must consider the possibility that the immediately adjacent 3.1 ? 3.3 GHz band is included in the spectrum that Congress has identified for similar study. FCC Commissioner Michael O?Rielly, in a December statement, referenced the fact that the lower band may also be considered for non-federal reallocation, potentially limiting relocation possibilities. Amateurs make substantial use of the 3.3 ? 3.5 GHz band that would be hard to replicate elsewhere, and they have filed more than 150 comments before the designated comment period even began. Among users looking at options are those who use this spectrum for Earth-Moon- Earth (moonbounce) communication, mesh networks, experiments with communication over long distances, radiosport, and amateur television. A portion of the band also is designated for use by amateur satellites in ITU Regions 2 and 3 (the Americas and Asia/Pacific). A report is due by March 23 from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) evaluating the feasibility of having federal users share all or part of the 3.1 ? 3.55 GHz band with commercial wireless services. This report is required by the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (MOBILE NOW) Act. The results of the NTIA report will impact how much spectrum ultimately may be re- allocated for auction to wireless providers. ARRL urges amateurs who comment to inform the FCC about the uses they make of the 3 GHz spectrum. Short comments and longer statements may be filed electronically. Visit the FCC ?How to Comment on FCC Proceedings? page for more information. Commenters should reference WT Docket 19-348. Editor's Note: As this rulemaking would delete the 3.4 - 3.41 GHz amateur satellite service band, AMSAT is also preparing comments to be filed on this matter. Continued access to microwave spectrum is crucial for GOLF and future AMSAT missions to HEO, GEO, and beyond. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-99 (NEXUS) 1st Anniversary Report NEXUS, an amateur radio technology demonstration satellite was developed by Japan Amateur Satellite Association (JAMSAT) and NEXUS project team in Department of Aerospace Engineering, College of Science and Technology, Nihon University, Japan, and launched by Japanese Epsilon#4 rocket from the Uchinoura Space Center at JST 9:50:20, 18 January 2019. We would like to express our deep appreciation to all concerned and report the results of the operation after the launch, i.e. one year?s operation from 18 January 2019 to 18 January 2020. The comprehensive report of operations can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-FO-99 [ANS thanks the NEXUS Project Team at Nihon University for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Amateurs in the News: ?96-year-old Amateur Radio operator at Ontario Science Centre speaks with astronaut" A successful International Space Station (ISS) contact was held on January 22 with participants at the Ontario Science Centre?s Amateur Radio station VE3OSC in Toronto, Ontario. As described below this was no ordinary ARISS contact. ?Jean Moffet, VE3WAD, has been a volunteer at the VE3OSC station for more than 30 years. Having recently celebrated her 96th birthday, Jean indicated one of her bucket list items is to speak to an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS). To honour her invaluable contribution, the Science Centre worked in partnership with the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Canada to help Jean check this item off her list.? The event was featured on Global News at 5:30 Toronto ? in an interview with Anchor/Producer Broadcast Journalist Susan Hay ? and on CTV News Toronto by Videojournalist Scott Lightfoot. Nick Westoll of Global News wrote: ?Jean Moffett crossed an item off her bucket list on Wednesday by speaking with Commander Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut from the European Space Agency, aboard the International Space Station. ?Commander Parmitano, I have two questions to ask you: Do you have an opinion about extraterrestrial life before being on the International Space (ISS) Station and has being on the ISS changed your views?? she asked. Moffett was asked how long she has been waiting to do this. ?Since I was 60? I was an amateur radio operator and my voice was going up to satellites and I could hear the astronauts speaking, but I could never speak to them,? she recalled. ?I thought to myself, that?s my bucket wish?.? Scott Lightfoot of CTV News wrote: ?Moffatt grew up in North Bay and moved to Toronto as a young girl with her family hoping that there would be opportunities for a girl interested in science and technology. ?When we moved to Toronto I desperately wanted to go to university, but my mom and dad had bought a house, and there was just enough money for my brother to go to university.? Undeterred, Moffatt said she took a course in Amateur Radio and shortly after, got her licence. More than 30 years ago, after retiring, and the death of her husband, Moffatt started volunteering at the Ontario Science Centre, an endeavor she admits wasn?t successful at first. ?I was working in the greenhouse, killing all the plants because I cannot keep plants alive?. Armed with her radio licence, she helped set up the centre?s first radio shack with the call sign VE3OSC. The idea to connect the nonagenarian with the ISS came just after Moffatt?s 96th birthday. ?She mentioned to me that one of the things she?s always wanted to do was talk to an astronaut? Christine Pigeon, the volunteer coordinator at the Science Centre told CTV News Toronto. It all started with an e-mail, and three months later with the help of ham radio operators and NASA, Moffatt made her connection.? Congratulations and Thank You! Radio Amateurs of Canada would like to congratulate Jean Moffet, VE3WAD, on this significant achievement and thank everyone who was involved with this very special event. We hope to bring you additional information about this event in a future issue of The Canadian Amateur magazine. We would especially like to thank Global News and CTV News for their coverage of this event. For the full story and links to the quoted stories and videos, see https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-RAC [ANS thanks the Radio Amateurs of Canada for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contacts Agrupamento de Escolas Serafim Leite, S?o Jo?o da Madeira, Portugal, direct via CS2ASL The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Mon 2020-01-27 16:33:34 UTC 64 deg (***) Primary School ?Jovan Jovanovi? Zmaj?, Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia, direct via YU7BPQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Tue 2020-01-28 15:51:19 UTC 48 deg Possible Russian supported contact with Ecuador, via TBD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RS?ISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka (***) Contact possibly is go for Fri 2020-02-07 14:00 UTC (***) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS [ANS thanks Charlie Sulfana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming AMSAT Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: + February 7-9, 2020, Hamcation, Orlando, FL + February 14-15, 2020, Yuma Hamfest and ARRL Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, AZ + February 15, 2020, Cabin Fever Reliever Hamfest, Saint Cloud, MN + March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX + March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ + March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN + March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ + March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ + March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA + May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ + May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ + May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH + June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-Hamfest This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP - User Services, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 15 CN78 AD0DX FM and Linear (Twitter @ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 ? February 1, 2020 Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14th ? Feb 1st. In between, Adam will be in EM60 January 29th. Adam will announce passes and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ 160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Light- house, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Montserrat (FK86) January 26 ? February 2, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Montserrat 26 January until 2 February, operating under the call sign VP2MCV on FM Sats. QSL via LOTW. #SnowBirdRove (EL79) ? February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe?s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ There is a possibility that Joe may have to make a pit stop in EM54 and EM53 on his way down South on February 1st. Monitor Twitter for updates. Antigua (FK97) February 2 ? 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 ? 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he is doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP - User Services, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + Want to make a satgate out of your Raspberry Pi? Check out how at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-SatGate + CQ operators of PO-101! If you have successfully operated PO-101, you can request a QSL card from the PO-101 team! Just fill in the necessary info and they will send it to you as a token of appreciation for using PO-101 https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-PO-101 + Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, notes that PSK31 transponders on NO-84 and NO-104 are underutilized. If you are looking to try something new this week, why not give it a shot? Uplinks are on 10m and downlinks are on 70cm. More information at http://aprs.org/psat.html and http://aprs.org/psat2.html + Justin McAllister, K5EM, reports that he updated his SatMatch tool with a new advanced search user interface. He has also made the tool more mobile responsive. Check it out at https://www.satmatch.com/ + FO-29 remains operational. However, the batteries on the 23 year old satellite cannot maintain a safe voltage throughout an entire eclipse during this point in its orbit with lengthy eclipse periods. The satellite is commanded on over Japan periodically and will remain active after the command until the battery voltage drops below a set threshold, at which point it is automatically switched off to preserve the batteries. Upcoming command times follow: 2/1 06:00 2/2 06:50 2/8 04:50 15:00 2/9 03:55 15:50 2/11 03:50 05:35 2/23 03:20 05:05 2/24 04:10 05:55 14:20 3/1 04:00 05:40 15:55 3/2 04:45 14:55 + Scott Chapman, K4KDR, reports that AISAT-1 is active again on 2m packet. He reports that the best success at digipeating is achieved using NFM and Doppler correction if possible. iGates should be proxied through KE6BLR to correct the satellite's malformed packets so they are visible to the greater APRS-IS network. + Scott further reports that Taurus-1 remains active. Taurus-1 carries a VHF FM to UHF Codec2 transponder. For more information about this unique analog uplink, digital downlink system, see N8HM's AMSAT Journal article / Symposium paper about LO-90 at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-LO-90 Operation via Taurus-1 is similar to LO-90, except with an uplink of 145.840 MHz and a downlink of 435.840 MHz. For more information, see https://www.amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2019-September/074905.html + Finally, Scott also reports, that despite the telemetry from Duchifat-3 reporting the FM transponder to be on, nothing is heard when uplinking at 145.970 MHz. We await further information about the status of this satellite's FM transponder. + Hackaday featured an article entitled "Lessons Learned from a CubeSat Postmortem" regarding problems encountered by KRAKsat, a 1U CubeSat deployed from the ISS in June 2019. Read the article at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-Hackaday [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio In Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From n8hm at arrl.net Fri Jan 31 15:01:42 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 07:01:42 -0800 Subject: [ans] ANS-031 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-031 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.01 ANS-031 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 31, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-031.01 Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, has tendered his resignation as AMSAT President, citing personal reasons. Spier had served as AMSAT's President since October 2017. Prior to his tenure as President, Spier served as AMSAT's Executive Vice President and Vice President - Educational Relations. He also served as an AMSAT News Service Editor and as a member of the ARISS Education Team. Under the AMSAT bylaws, Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, assumes the office of President until the next meeting of the Board of Directors. Stoetzer said "I want to thank Joe for his many years of service to AMSAT in a variety of roles. I especially want to recognize his efforts to mark AMSAT's 50th Anniversary with special events at the Dayton Hamvention and AMSAT Symposium. His leadership in bringing together a variety of figures from the history of amateur radio in space in Arlington, VA this past fall helped to make the Symposium a very special event." [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From n8hm at arrl.net Fri Jan 31 17:00:46 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 09:00:46 -0800 Subject: [ans] =?utf-8?q?ANS-031=2E02_AMSAT_News_Service_Special_Bulletin_?= =?utf-8?q?-_Free_Digital_Copy_of_=E2=80=9CGetting_Started_with_Ama?= =?utf-8?q?teur_Satellites=E2=80=9D_Now_Available_for_New_or_Renewi?= =?utf-8?q?ng_Members?= Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-031.02 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Free Digital Copy of ?Getting Started with Amateur Satellites? Now Available for New or Renewing Members SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.02 ANS-031.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.02 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 31, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-031.02 Free Digital Copy of ?Getting Started with Amateur Satellites? Now Available for New or Renewing Members The University of Washington's HuskySat-1 CubeSat is scheduled to be deployed from the Cygnus NG-12 spacecraft at 22:30 UTC today. HuskySat-1 carries an AMSAT VHF/UHF linear transponder that will be made available for amateur use following its primary mission to test a pulsed plasma thruster and experimental K band (24 GHz) communications system. While the satellite completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the ?Getting Started With Amateur Satellites? book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT?s other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you?ll never see an option to add your free gift. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From n8hm at arrl.net Sun Feb 2 00:22:57 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2020 19:22:57 -0500 Subject: [ans] ANS-033 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-033 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat dot org. In this edition: * HuskySat-1 Deployed, Telemetry Beacon Active * Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Now Available for New or Renewing Members * Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President * Melissa Pore To Be Honored at Hamcation February 2020 * W1ANT Pro Satellite Tracker Announced * AMSAT Argentina Drifting APRS Buoy on 145.825 MHz * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 2020 * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Upcoming AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-033.01 ANS-033 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 033.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. February 2, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-033.01 HuskySat-1 Deployed, Telemetry Beacon Active The University of Washington's HuskySat-1 CubeSat was deployed from the Cygnus NG-12 spacecraft on Friday, January 31 at approximately 2230 UTC. HuskySat-1's 1,200 bps BPSK beacon is active on 435.800 MHz and is decodable with the latest release of AMSAT's FoxTelem software. HuskySat-1 will be made available for Amateur Radio use following its primary mission to test a pulsed plasma thruster and experimental K band (24 GHz) communications system. HuskySat-1 features a 30 kHz wide 145 to 435 MHz linear transponder for SSB/CW: HuskySat-1 - Uplink: 145.910 - 145.940 MHz LSB/CW - Downlink: 435.840 - 435.810 MHz USB/CW (inverting) - Telemetry: 435.800 MHz 1K2 bps BPSK 24049.00 MHz (U of Washington experimental downlink) The TLE as of January 31, 2020 at 2339Z are: HuskySat-1 1 99934U 1001D 20031.87746807 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 13 2 99934 51.5569 307.6644 0013532 287.5589 72.3913 15.32433103 16 The latest version of FoxTelem software to decode the 1200 bps BPSK beacon is available at: https://www.amsat.org/tlm The Fox-In-A-Box FoxTelem software has been updated for HuskySat-1 Operation at it's download website: http://burnsfisher.com/AMSAT/FoxInABox [ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, N?JY AMSAT Vice President - Engineering for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Now Available for New or Renewing Members While the HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder satellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe Spier, K6WAO, Resigns as AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, has tendered his resignation as AMSAT President, citing personal reasons. Spier had served as AMSAT's President since October 2017. Prior to his tenure as President, Spier served as AMSAT's Executive Vice President and Vice President - Educational Relations. He also served as an AMSAT News Service Editor and as a member of the ARISS Education Team. Under the AMSAT bylaws, Executive Vice President Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, assumes the office of President until the next meeting of the Board of Directors. Stoetzer said "I want to thank Joe for his many years of service to AMSAT in a variety of roles. I especially want to recognize his efforts to mark AMSAT's 50th Anniversary with special events at the Dayton Hamvention and AMSAT Symposium. His leadership in bringing together a variety of figures from the history of amateur radio in space in Arlington, VA this past fall helped to make the Symposium a very special event." [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Melissa Pore To Be Honored at HamCation February 2020 Melissa Pore, an ARISS-US Education Committee member, recently earned Orlando HamCation's 2020 Carole Perry Educator of the Year award. She will be feted at their February convention; the award recognizes teachers making outstanding educational contributions. Melissa is an engineering and computer science teacher at Bishop O?Connell High School in Arlington, VA. She led weeks of STEM and radio activities leading up to the school?s 2018 ARISS contact. She heads the school?s engineering and ham radio clubs. At her previous school, she worked with the STMSAT-1 CubeSat project, the first satellite built by elementary school students. She helped staff an ARISS exhibit at the 2019 Space Explorers Education Conference in Houston and will present a workshop there in 2020. At the 2019 Space Port Area Conference for Educators, she received a plaque from the ISS National Lab SSE program citing her ?service, commitment, and desire to push the boundaries of STEM Education.? She brings her students to staff some of ARISS's outreach exhibits, such as a 2019 one at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- W1ANT Pro Satellite Tracker Announced Heimir, W1ANT announces that the Pro version has no ads and adds some features. Most notably the ability to group the satellites. The groups can then be enabled and only satellites from enabled groups will show up in the satellite overview. Other features include: - Get a list of Amateur Radio satellites visible from your current location in the next 24 hours. - Get an overview over their paths from acquisition to loss of signal (AOS to LOS). - Only passes above the minimum elevation are shown on the list. - Select one of them and get information on their on-board radios. - Select one of their radios and be able to point your phone directly at it so you can easily operate it. - Extra information, i.e. the actual frequencies to use for uplink and downlink is also presented taken the Doppler effect into account. Get full information on the app at the Google Play Store. [ANS thanks Heimir Thor Sverrisson, W1ANT for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Argentina Drifting APRS Buoy on 145.825 MHz On Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 1400 GMT AMSAT Argentina deployed a drifting buoy on South Atlantic Seas that aims to transmit APRS on the satellite packet frequency of 145.825 MHz. WSPR will also be transmitted. AMSAT Argentina reports the APRS beacon, callsign LU7AA-11, will initially be on Argentina's APRS frequency of 144.930 MHz but will change frequency to 145.825 MHz so that it can be digipeated by the amateur packet radio satellites. The WSPR beacon will run 900 mW on 14095.6 kHz with the call sign LU7AA. Release will be 100 km offshore Mar del Plata coast, seeking east aiming currents/winds. The objective is to track sea currents tracking and HF/VHF/SAT QRPp propagation tests. AMSAT Argentina, LU7AA, will appreciate WSPR stations receiving/reporting 20M. Further information and pictures at http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy [ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an Amateur Radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for February 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period January 1, 2020 through February 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! KO4MA 1701 1750 WA5KBH 744 759 KE4AL 602 625 WD9EWK (DM43) 597 600 K0FFY 260 576 N1AIA 257 494 G0ABI 320 453 AB5SS 306 411 AD0HJ 375 405 AC9E 353 401 W5TD 392 396 K5IX 350 375 MI6GTY 354 360 W7JSD 336 355 PS8ET 326 350 ND0C 250 301 KJ4EU 206 261 KC9UQR 196 240 W4DTA 180 217 N9FN 194 207 N0RSR 154 200 VE1VOX 155 157 PU4JOE 101 150 WA9JBQ 125 150 K5ZM 101 135 S57NML 100 126 KN6DBC New 125 AB4GE 100 122 XQ3SA New 114 KE0WPA New 108 RA3S New 107 EA2AA New 101 W4ZXT New 100 WR0H New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at @.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Shorts - Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (@ad0dx) - Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) + SnowBirdRove (EL79) ? February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe?s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ. There is a possibility that Joe may have to make a pit stop in EM54 and EM53 on his way down South on February 1. Monitor Twitter for updates. + Antigua (FK97) February 2 ? 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW. + Key West and Boca Grande Key (EL94, EL84+) February 9-11,2020 Clayton, W5PFG, will be in Key West, Florida (EL94) February 9 through the 11, 2020. Monday, February 10, 13:15-17:30 UTC, Clayton will operate FM & SSB satellites from EL84xm, Boca Grande Key. Listen for W5PFG near these dates for additional Florida grids such as EL79, EL89, EL99, EL86, EL96, & EL95. Keep an eye on Clayton?s Twitter feed for further announcements https://twitter.com/w5pfg + Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 ? 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. + Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] + DX Satellite Operations on QO-100 Matteo, IZ4YGS will be QRV as 9G5GS from Sanzule, Ghana from February 1 - 26. He plans some activity on Satellite QO-100. QSL direct to home call. Special event station II3BIA will be QRV from February 1 - 29 during the Biathlon World Championships 2020 being held in Antholz. Activity includes possible activity on Satellite QO-100. QSL via IN3ZWF. [ANS thanks ARRL DX News for the above information.] + FJ, ST. BARTHEMELY. Operators Pat/N2IEN, Lee/WW2DX, Rock/WW1X and Ray/W2RE will be active as FJ/N2IEN, FJ/WW2DX, FJ/WW1X and FJ/W2RE respectively from St. Barthemely (NA-146) between February 15-22. Activity will be holiday style on various HF (160-6m)/VHF/UHF bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and satellites. QSL via their home call signs. [ANS thanks the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin for the above information.] + ZS95SARL celebrates the 95th anniversary of the South African Radio League, founded in May 1925 as South African Radio Relay League(renamed after WW II). QRV during the whole year on HF, VHF, UHF and via satellites. QSL via bureau. [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming AMSAT Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through Amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: - February 7-9, 2020, Hamcation, Orlando, FL - February 14-15, 2020, Yuma Hamfest and ARRL Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, AZ - February 15, 2020, Cabin Fever Reliever Hamfest, Saint Cloud, MN - March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX - March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ - March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN - March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ - March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ - March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA - May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ - May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ - May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH - June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF-TEE satellite recently reached a major milestone when prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time. Help support AMSAT's path back to HEO by donating today! https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS News + Upcoming School Contacts Possible Russian supported contact with Ecuador, via TBD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RS?ISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka Contact possibly is go for Friday, February 7, 2020 UTC. + ARISS congratulations Satoshi 7M3TJZ who has now mentored 138 schools. + The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over + AMSAT-Spain Readies Two Satellites The Hades and EASAT-2 PocketQubes from AMSAT-Spain will carry VHF/UHF linear transponders and analog and digital two-way communications capability, including store-and-forward. Launch is planned for late 2020. More information is available at https://amsat-ea.org [ANS thanks AMSAT-EA for the above information.] + Training course: Product Assurance in ESA projects for SMEs On March, 31 to April 1, 2020 the European Space Agency invites participants interested in either Hardware or Software Product Assurance (PA) to join its specialists for a two-day training session at ESA/ESTEC (Noordwijk, The Netherlands). The course aims at providing SME participants with an overview of the PA tasks to be performed throughout a project. While a generic overview of Product Assurance tasks is provided to all participants on day 1, day 2 treats Hardware and Software PA aspects in more detail. Participants choose either the Hardware PA or Software PA module, depending on their needs and interests. More information and registration is available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-033-ESA-PA [ANS thanks the ESA for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org From n8hm at arrl.net Wed Feb 5 15:00:57 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2020 07:00:57 -0800 Subject: [ans] ANS-036 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-036 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-036 ANS-036 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 036.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE February 5, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-036.01 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President At a special meeting held via teleconference, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, President. Coleman previous- ly served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and also served as AMSAT's Secretary during this time. He has also volun- teered in several other capacities for AMSAT, including chairing the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium held aboard the cruise ship Carnival Liberty. Coleman?s first introduction to amateur radio in space was with SAREX and Mir. An interest in setting up an AX.25 BBS and nodes led to him trying out the Mir Personal Message System (PMS) and digipeater to make contacts in the early 1990s. It wasn?t until a visit from a friend in 2011 that Coleman was bitten by the OSCAR bug and began his AMSAT journey chasing operating awards. Having held other leadership roles in his community, nonprofits, and critical infrastructure, Coleman?s desire is working with constituents to improve organizational processes and align them with strategic goals. Professionally, Coleman works in the industrial process con- trol sector as both a consultant and business development manager. He resides in the North Texas area with his spouse and two children. AMSAT members will have the opportunity to meet Coleman at the Orlando HamCation on Saturday, February 8th. He will hold a meet and greet at the AMSAT booth from 9:30am-10:30am and 2:00pm-3:00pm. He will also make remarks at the AMSAT Forum, which will be held at 12:30pm Satur- day in Room CS III at the Lakeside Pavilion. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors and AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu Sun Feb 9 00:00:00 2020 From: mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu (Mark D. Johns) Date: Sat, 8 Feb 2020 18:00:00 -0600 Subject: [ans] ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-040 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President * Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment * New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following * Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project * 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process * AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-040.01 ANS-040 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 040.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Feb 09 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-040.01 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, Elected AMSAT President At a special meeting held via teleconference, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, President. Coleman previous- ly served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2017-2019 and also served as AMSAT's Secretary during this time. He has also volun- teered in several other capacities for AMSAT, including chairing the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium held aboard the cruise ship Carnival Liberty. Coleman?s first introduction to amateur radio in space was with SAREX and Mir. An interest in setting up an AX.25 BBS and nodes led to him trying out the Mir Personal Message System (PMS) and digipeater to make contacts in the early 1990s. It wasn?t until a visit from a friend in 2011 that Coleman was bitten by the OSCAR bug and began his AMSAT journey chasing operating awards. Having held other leadership roles in his community, nonprofits, and critical infrastructure, Coleman?s desire is working with constituents to improve organizational processes and align them with strategic goals. Professionally, Coleman works in the industrial process con- trol sector as both a consultant and business development manager. He resides in the North Texas area with his spouse and two children. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors and AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Phoenix CubeSat Upcoming Deployment Several CubeSats are scheduled to be deployed from the ISS into orbit on 12 Feb. Among them is the Phoenix CubeSat, which is a 3U CubeSat developed by Arizona State University to study the effects of Urban Heat Islands through infrared remote sensing. Following deployment, the Phoenix operations team would appreciate as much help as possible with identifying the spacecraft and verifying that it is operational. Phoenix is scheduled for a deployment time of *8:30 UTC* on 12 Feb. Please note that two CubeSats being deployed on this date operate on the same frequency. Both Phoenix and QARMAN share the frequency of *437.35 MHz*, and both utilize an AX.25 9600 baud protocol with GMSK modulation. Both CubeSats will also be deployed within 1.5 hours of each other, and will therefore be close to each other in orbit. Please be mindful of this situation, and if you have any doubt about the Cube- Sat that you are receiving, please get in touch with Sarah Rogers, Project Manager, Phoenix CubeSat, sroger13 [at} asu.edu with any ques- tions or concerns. To read more about the Phoenix CubeSat, it's transmitter characteris- tics, and how you can decode the signal, please see the website at http://phxcubesat.asu.edu/content/amateur-operations! [ANS thanks Sarah Rogers, KI7OOY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an Amateur Radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- New ISS Tour Video Goes Inside Cygnus NG-12 A video by astronauts Luca Parmitano and Andrew Morgan posted on the European Space Agency YouTube channel on January 26th, 2020 shows Luca going inside the Cygnus NG-12 vehicle, which took cargo, as well as several satellites, including HuskySat-1, to the ISS. Even more relevant to HuskySat-1 and the the amateur radio satellite community, Luca mentions the "delivery system" they planned to install on the vehicle before it was released, which happened on January 31st. HuskySat-1 was deployed from the delivery system later that day. Luca says he thinks it's really cool that the delivery system provides another way to gain access to space, and I couldn't agree more. The Cygnus tour begins at 24:42 into the video, and the delivery system is mentioned at 26:57. This link to the video goes directly to 24:42: https://youtu.be/Snn1k_qEx20?t=1482 [ANS thanks John Brier, KG4AKV, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The following satellite's NORAD CAT ID has been changed in this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OCULUS-ASR is now object NORAD CAT ID 44348 The following satellites have been deleted from this week's AMSAT TLE distribution: OBJECT H - NORAD CAT ID 44346 (non-amateur satellite TEPCE, decayed February 1,2020) OBJECT J - NORAD CAT ID 44347 (non-amateur satellite FALCONSAT-7) TBEX-A - NORAD CAT ID 44356 (non-amateur satellite) The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this week's TLE distribution: HuskySat 1 - NORAD CAT ID 45117 (Cygnus NG-12 Spacecraft deployment, 1/31/2020). (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HuskySat-1 Gains Enthusiastic Following Initial reports indicate considerable interest among amateurs in tracking and capturing data from the newly deployed HuskySat-1. The satellite, designed at the University of Washington, was launched to the ISS by Cygnus NG-12 on November 2, 2019. It was deployed to a higher orbit from the ISS by Cygnus on January 31, and began telemetry transmissions on 435.800 MHz. HuskySat-1?s 1,200 bps BPSK beacon is active and decodable with the latest release of AMSAT?s FoxTelem software. FoxTelem is available at https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem HuskySat-1 is a CubeSat, and will demonstrate onboard plasma propul- sion and high gain telemetry for low Earth orbit that would be a pre- cursor for an attempt at a larger CubeSat designed for orbital inser- tion at the Moon. HuskySat-1 is expected to carry out its primary mission before being turned over to AMSAT for activation of a 30 kHz wide V/U linear trans- ponder for SSB and CW. Initially it looked like object 2019-071G was HuskySat-1, but our friends at the 18th Space Control Squadron published data on addi- ional objects in recent days, and there is considerable evidence suggesting that HuskySat-1 is actually one of those instead. Element sets for objects 2019-071H and 2019-071J are now distributed in nasabare.txt as candidates for the "Real" HuskySat-1. Usually element sets are good for a week or more, at least for ham purposes where we have fairly wide beam widths. The exception is the ISS, the only spacecraft we have in nasabare.txt that maneuvers, and we keep its element sets "fresh" by applying updates from Johnson Spaceflight Center several times per day. Husky-Sat 1 will be testing a thruster early in its mission, and endeavors to demonstrate a delta- V of 100m/sec or more. This could cause the accuracy of element sets to degrade more quickly than usual. [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, AMSAT IT Team Leader for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Proposes amsatLink Project amsatLink is a proposed three-phased program to ultimately establish a constellation of nanosatellites, linked in a peer-to-peer voice commun- ications network for amateur satellite service. As a wireless ad hoc network, future satellites can be added to the network and ground stations, moving in and out of a nanosatellite node?s footprint, can easily join and exit the network. The proposal is to create an IEEE 802.11 wireless ad hoc network, op- erating within the FCC Part 97 amateur radio frequency allocation of the 2.4 GHz microwave band. Individual satellite and ground nodes would connect directly, dynamically, and non-hierarchically to as many other nodes as possible and cooperate with one another to create one virtual network that can efficiently route data from/to clients. While the idea of cross-link communication between satellites is not new, amsatLink hopes to continue the efforts of NASA?s PhoneSat, EDSN constellation, and NODES missions, by expanding the network to include ground-based nodes, demonstrating the use of voice over internet pro- tocol communications, and organizing nodes into clusters, where each cluster consists of one nanosatellite node and any visible ground nodes. amsatLink will continue NASA?s design philosophy by utilizing commer- cial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objec- tives as simple as possible. Estimated total hardware cost per satel- lite is less than $5,000. Proposed ground stations will also use off the shelf equipment with a total estimated cost of less than $150. For more details, see https://ke4al.github.io/amsatLink/ Robert seeks further discussion of this proposal among AMSAT members. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ --------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 US Schools Moved Forward in ARISS Selection Process Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the schools and host organizations selected for the second half of 2020. Of the proposals submitted during the recent proposal window, 10 were accepted to move forward in the selection process for a scheduled amateur radio contact with a crew member on the ISS. The primary goal of the ARISS program is to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activities and raise their awareness of space communications, radio communications, space exploration, and related areas of study and career possibilities. The schools and host organizations are now engaged in the next step of the acceptance process. When ready, they will be put in the scheduling queue for a contact during the July to December 2020 time period. Al- though ARISS expects to schedule all 10 during this period, changes to NASA crew availability might force some delays to the next time period. The schools and host organizations are: Estes Park Elementary School Estes Park, CO Green Bank Elementary School Green Bank, WV Tecumseh Public School Tecumseh, OK RSU #21 Kennebunk, ME JFK High School Denver, CO Oregon Charter School Mill City, OR Newcastle High School Newcastle, WY Tarwater Elementary School Chandler, AZ Kopernik Observatory Vestel, NY Salem-South Lyon District Library South Lyon, MI [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at Yuma (Arizona) Hamfest, 14-15 February 2020 AMSAT will be at the Yuma Hamfest, which is also serving as the 2020 ARRL Southwestern Division Convention, on Friday and Saturday, 14-15 February 2020. The hamfest will be at the Yuma County Fairgrounds, along 32nd Street, across the street from Yuma International Airport and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, south of Interstate 8. More about the hamfest is available at: http://www.yumahamfest.org/ WD9EWK will be on the satellites during the hamfest, demonstrating satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on a pass, please call and join in the demonstration. The hamfest site is in grid DM22, in Arizona's Yuma County. QSOs made during the hamfest will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and QSL cards are available on request (please e-mail WD9EWK directly with the QSO details). Patrick will tweet updates from the hamfest using the @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can see the tweets in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK In addition to the WD9EWK demonstration, AMSAT member Dave Bartholomew, AD7DB, will give a presentation "Getting Started on FM Satellites" on Saturday (15 February) morning at the hamfest. Dave's presentation is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: February 14-15, 2020, Yuma Hamfest and ARRL Southwest Division Convention, Yuma, AZ (see details above) February 15, 2020, Cabin Fever Reliever Hamfest, Saint Cloud, MN March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale (AZ) Amateur Radio Club Hamfest March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assn. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download: AMSAT Intro Brochure. This color brochure is designed to be printed double- sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (@ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) #SnowBirdRove (EL79) ? February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe?s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ Key West and Boca Grande Key (EL94, EL84+) February 9-11,2020 Clayton, W5PFG, will be in Key West, Florida (EL94) February 9 through the 11, 2020. Monday, February 10, 13:15-17:30 UTC, Clay- ton will operate FM & SSB satellites from EL84xm, Boca Grande Key. Listen for W5PFG near these dates for additional Florida grids, such as EL79, EL89, EL99, EL86, EL96, & EL95. Keep an eye on Clay- ton?s Twitter feed for announcements https://twitter.com/w5pfg Del Carmen Island (EK48cp) February 9, 2020 Ismael, XE1AY, will operate from Del Carmen Island (DL87th) on Sun- day 9 February, using the callsign 4A2L (see QRZ). Ismael only expects to operate FM satellites for a couple of hours. In addi- tion, they plan to operate CW, SSB, and FT8. Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 ? 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Eduardo/XE2YW and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services, for the above information] Operators Alex/VE1RUS and Pierre/VE3TKB will once again be active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Weather station between now and March 28th. This station is operated by the Eureka Amateur Radio Club [probably the most northerly located amateur radio club in the world] from Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. The suggested bands are 40 and 20 meters (possibly 80m), as well as FM satellites (from ER60, EQ79) using SSB, the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY) and very slow CW. Activity will be limited to their spare time. QSL via M0OXO, OQRS or direct. For updates, see: https://twitter.com/vy0erc [ANS thanks The Ohio/Penn Dx Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + After setting a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman, NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth on Feb. 6, along with Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. Koch launched March 14, 2019. Her first journey into space of 328 days is the second-longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astro- naut and also places her seventh on the list of cumulative time in space for American astronauts. Full story: https://bit.ly/386BTrc (ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information) + SpaceX has been garnering all the headlines when it comes to satel- lite constellations. Their Starlink system will eventually have thou- sands of tiny satellites working together to provide internet access. But on Thursday, Feb. 6, OneWeb launched 34 satellite from the Bai- konur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a Soyuz launch vehicle. Eventually, OneWeb intends to have as many as 5,000 satellites in orbit. (ANS thank universetoday.com for the above information) + An industry report forecasts demand for 14,000 to 20,000 new satel- lites to be launched in the next decade. The report suggests that launch slot availability will be a challenge for satellite operators, and that delays due to longer lead times and additional costs will put pressure on research, commercial, and military operators. (ANS thanks satmagazine.com for the above information) + NASA declared the Spitzer Space Telescope?s 16-year mission complete on Thursday, Jan. 30 after sending final commands for the spacecraft to enter hibernation as it drifts farther from Earth. The Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA?s original four ?Great Observatories,? studied the most distant galaxy ever observed in the universe, gathered data on the characteristics of planets around other stars, and detected a new ring around Saturn. (ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information) + Finnish amateur photographers have discovered a new auroral form. Named 'dunes' by the hobbyists, the phenomenon is believed to be caused by waves of oxygen atoms glowing due to a stream of particles released from the Sun. In the study, published in the journal AGU Advances, the origins of the dunes were tracked to a wave guide formed within the mesosphere and its boundary, the mesopause. (ANS thanks astrowatch.net for the above information) + The JAMSAT general meeting and space symposium will take place at the Tokyo, Odaiba, Science Museum on March 14 and 15. (ANS thanks JAMSAT for the above information) + Bob Atkins KA1GT has documented his recent observations of interfer- ence to 1296 EME from the Galileo navigation satellites' E6 mode. Read Bob's article at https://bobatkins.com/radio/galileo-1296.html (ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information) + Minutes of the 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors meeting are now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/minutes-of-the-board-of-directors/ The December 2018 Annual Financial Review report is also now avail- able at https://www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/ (ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org From n8hm at arrl.net Sun Feb 16 00:00:08 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2020 16:00:08 -0800 Subject: [ans] ANS-047 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins In-Reply-To: null Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-047 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT-OSCAR 85 Declared End of Mission * HuskySat-1 Update * Update from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG * Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Available for New or Renewing Members * Apogee View - January/February 2020 * 5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Satellites * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 13, 2020 * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Upcoming AMSAT Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-047.01 ANS-047 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 047.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE February 16, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-047.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF-TEE satellite recently reached a major milestone when prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time. Help support AMSAT's path back to HEO by donating today! https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT-OSCAR 85 Declared End of Mission After a long decline in the health of its batteries, AO-85 has gone silent. Having not been heard throughout the most recent period of full illumination, it is reasonable to believe the batteries have deteriorated to the point of no longer being able to power the trans- mitter. Should some future event cause a cell to open, it is possible the satellite may be heard again, but for now it is time to declare end-of-mission. AO-85 was conceived as the first AMSAT cubesat, and was designed to be a successor to the popular AO-51 microsat. Accepted into the NASA CubeSat Launch Initative in February 2012, AO-85 was launched October 8, 2015. AO-85's success led to further Fox satellites AO-91, AO-92, AO-95, and RadFxSat2 / Fox-1E which will be launched later this year. The Fox-1E transponder was also spun off into a radio system now in orbitonboard HuskySat-1, and soon to be in several other university cubesats. Development continues on GOLF-TEE and GOLF-1, which will include a legacy V/u linear transponder and a SDR-based multiband uplink and 10 GHz downlink radio system. Your continued support of AMSAT by member- ship and donations will help us Keep Amateur Radio in Space. [ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President - Operations for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HuskySat-1 Update Students in the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington have been celebrating successes since HuskySat-1, a student built sat- ellite weighing about 9 lbs, deployed into space on Friday, January 31st: ? After being deployed, HuskySat turned on, deployed the antennas on the first attempt, and start transmitting in a designated "safe mode". ? On the first active pass over Seattle, just 2 hours after deploy- ment, students used the UW ground station to command the satellite to change operational modes. ? With help from AMSAT and the network of amateurs across the globe, the HuskySat team has been able to closely track the health of the satellite. Health data includes temperatures, battery charge state, and solar panel charging. ? Over the weekend, the camera payload took and transmitted the first pictures from space! The camera included collaboration with Raisbeck Aviation High School and nonprofit Quick2Space. Commissioning of the satellite systems is still underway. The sat- ellite has actually been in space inside a Nanoracks deployer since launch on Nov 2nd. The main research goal of satellite is to demon- strate the new propulsion and communication technologies on the sat- ellite. At the completion of the research phase, the satellite will be utilized as an amateur transponder. The mission of the UW program, housed in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, is to foster interdisciplinary student participation in space systems research, to inspire and train future space scien- tists and engineers, and to advance spacecraft capabilities at the University of Washington. On February 15th, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, hosted a Twitch stream to discuss the AMSAT Linear Transponder Module (LTM-1) and HuskySat-1. You can see a replay of the livestream at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/552209241 [ANS thanks Paige Northway of the HuskySat-1 team and Jerry Buxton, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President - Engineering, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Update from AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG I am humbled by the greetings and congratulatory messages received over the past ten days since becoming the President of AMSAT. Please join me in expressing gratitude to our immediate past president Joe Spier, K6WAO, for his dedication to AMSAT?s mission of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. It was a pleasure to speak with many of our members at the Orlando Hamcation last weekend. Attending Hamcation afforded me the opportun- ity to meet with many of our volunteers and reach out to other organi- zations in amateur radio such as the ARRL and the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. My priority, now underway, is to ensure all Directors have equal access to AMSAT resources to perform their duties. AMSAT complies with Section 29-413.05 of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act of 2010. Most of the information Directors use to perform their duties are already publicly available on the Internet on our website, published in the AMSAT News Service (ANS), and often in print as part of The AMSAT Journal. These resources are not password protected and can be viewed by members and non-members alike. Once I?ve had an opportunity to speak individually with the Directors, I will convene a Board of Directors teleconference to address out- standing business. At any time, three Directors may call on the Pres- ident to schedule a Board of Directors meeting, per our bylaws Article II, Section 5, Paragraph A. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Avail- able for New or Renewing Members While HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Apogee View - January/February 2020 Happy New Year! 2020 promises to be an exciting year filled with new satellites to work and significant progress towards our next genera- tion of satellites. By the time you read this, HuskySat-1 should be in orbit and completing its science mission before being turned over to AMSAT for amateur radio use. I want to congratulate all those involved with this project both at the University of Washington and on AMSAT?s Engineering and Operations teams who worked to make this mutually beneficial partnership happen. More details about HuskySat-1 and our partnership with the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washing- ton can be found elsewhere in the January/February 2020 issue of The AMSAT Journal. While we look forward to the completion of HuskySat-1's primary miss- ion, we also await the launch of the final Fox-1 satellite, RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E, which is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than the first quarter of this year on the ELaNa XX mission. The ELaNa XX miss- ion will fly on the second flight of Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne ve- hicle. As the Fox project wraps up its series of five 1U CubeSats, progress continues on GOLF, the next generation of AMSAT satellites. A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint ? Technology Evaluation En- vironment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14th. During the test, the boards were laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The inter- connected boards included: ? An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit - i.e., computer) prototype, ? A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and ? A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the team has reached this point, AMSAT Engineering has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, our ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got us this far, with much work yet to be done before the assembly of flight units. The GOLF-TEE satellite is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). The work on GOLF is intended for our CubeSat missions to higher orbits. However, much as the Fox-1E linear transponder was adapted as a payload for HuskySat-1, components developed for GOLF, such as the RT-IHU and the microwave SDR transponder, can be adapted to serve as the basis for a hosted payload on a commercial or government sat- ellite in geostationary orbit or perhaps an educational CubeSat des- tined for MEO or GTO. Should an opportunity arise, the work being done on GOLF means that we will be ready to build such a hosted payload. While we continue our work on these satellites, we face the prospect of regulatory roadblocks. Last year, we submitted comments on the Federal Communication Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking re- garding the mitigation of orbital debris. The proposed rules as worded would severely limit the type of missions AMSAT could pursue. While the Commission has not yet issued final rules, we are hopeful that the near-unanimous opposition of commenters to the more harmful as- pects of the rules, such as the requirement for satellite operators to indemnify the United States Government for any potential claims regarding their satellites, will limit the negative impact. Another serious concern is our access to spectrum. While international threats that arose in the months before the 2019 World Radiocommunica- tion Conference to the 144 MHz ? 146 MHz and 1260 MHz ? 1270 MHz ama- teur satellite service bands have subsided for the time being, other threats appear on the horizon. This past December, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would delete the amateur alloca- tion at 3.3 GHz ? 3.5 GHz, including the amateur satellite service allocation at 3.4 GHz ? 3.41 GHz. While that band has not yet been used for any amateur satellites as it is not available in ITU Region 3 (Asia & Oceania), it is still a potentially useful resource for a future amateur geostationary payload over the Americas. Additionally, we know that many AMSAT members also use this band for other purposes, such as mesh networking, contesting, and EME commun- ications. Access to microwave spectrum is crucial for many of our planned activities, including GOLF and amateur radio on the Lunar Gateway, and we must vigorously defend our spectrum allocations. AMSAT is currently drafting comments opposing this proposed rule, and, working alongside the ARRL, we continue to monitor potential legis- lative and regulatory actions that could limit or even preclude some of our current and planned activities. On a final note, I wanted to let the membership know that AMSAT's ser- vers will be migrating to a new operating system and a new hosting service later this year. This is necessary as the operating system currently running AMSAT's servers will reach its end of life in Nov- ember. While AMSAT's capable IT team led by Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, will do their best to minimize any disruptions to AMSAT services, this type of transition can often result in unforeseen problems. Continue to monitor the AMSAT-BB and AMSAT's Twitter and Facebook accounts for any updates. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Satellites The DX Engineering blog On All Bands recently published an article en- titled "5 Tips on Etiquette and Good Manners on the FM Ham Radio Sat- ellites" by Sean Kutzko, KX9X. The article can be found at: https://www.onallbands.com/ham-radio-satellite-operating-etiquette/ [ANS thanks Sean Kutzko, KX9X, and DX Engineering for the above infor- mation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for February 13, 2020 The following Amateur Radio satellite's name and NORAD CAT ID have been changed: 1. HuskySat 1 satellite name is now HuskySat-1. 2. Based on changes in Space-Track TLE data, HuskySat-1's new NORAD CAT ID is now object 45119. (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contacts Maple Dale Elementary School, Cincinnati, OH, direct via K8SCH The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Thu 2020-02-20 18:20:28 UTC 48 deg The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS [ANS thanks Charlie Sulfana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming AMSAT Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: + March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX + March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ + March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN + March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ + March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ + March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA + May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ + May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ + May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH + June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-026-Hamfest This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts Feb 13-16 DM22 AD7DB and N7JY FM Feb 15 CN78 ADODX FM and Linear (Twitter @ad0dx) Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) #SnowBirdRove (EL79) ? February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe?s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ St. Barthelemy Island (FK87) February 15-22, 2020 Operators Pat/N2IEN, Ray/W2RE, Rockwell/WW1X, and Lee/WW2DX will be signing FJ/homecalls from St. Barthelemy (NA-146) between Feb. 15 and 22. QRV holiday-style on 160 to 6m and via satellite on CW, SSB, and digital modes. QSL cards for all calls via NR6M. Vidalia, LA (EM41) February 28 ? March 1, 2020 Brian, KG5GJT, will will be operating from the bank of the Miss- issippi river in Vidalia, La. (EM41), where Jim Bowie was serious- ly wounded in the Sandbar Fight on September 19, 1827. This will be vacation style, so keep an eye on Brian?s Twitter feed for up- dates: https://twitter.com/KG5GJT Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] Operators Alex/VE1RUS and Pierre/VE3TKB will once again be active as VY0ERC from the Eureka Weather station between now and March 28th. This station is operated by the Eureka Amateur Radio Club [probably the most northerly located amateur radio club in the world] from Eureka, Nunavut, Canada. The suggested bands are 40 and 20 meters possibly 80m), as well as FM satellites (from ER60, EQ79) using SSB, the Digital modes (FT8 and RTTY) and very slow CW. Activity will be limited to their spare time. QSL via M0OXO, OQRS or direct. For up- dates, see: https://twitter.com/vy0erc [ANS thanks The Ohio/Penn Dx Bulletin for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + The Nanoracks deployment of several CubeSats has been delayed until no earlier than February 17 due to delays with the launch of Cygnus NG-13. CubeSats scheduled to deploy are RadSat-u, Phoenix, QARMAN, CryoCube, AztechSat-1, SOCRATES, Argus-02, HARP, and SORTIE. + AMSAT-UK OSCAR News Editor Slade Stevens, 2E0SQL, is soliciting articles for the next issue. Send submissions to 2E0SQB at amsat.org + The AMSAT-UK shop is now stocking a 5 watt 2.4 GHz amplifier kit for use with the QO-100 geostationary satellite. For more details, see https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-QO-100 + The first crewed mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon may launch on May 7th. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-SpaceX + Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG, recently released a composite video show- ing all currently orbiting FUNcube family satellites being launched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdjXzPEsuxw + The EIRSAT-1 CubeSat has passed both environmental and vibration testing: https://twitter.com/EIRSAT1/status/1225810684065259520 + Spaceflight Industries recently signed a deal to sell its satellite rideshare launch business Spaceflight, Inc. to Mitsui & Co., in part- nership with Yamasa Co., Ltd. AMSAT purchased the launches for AO-92 and AO-95 from Spaceflight, Inc. https://tinyurl.com/ANS-047-Spaceflight [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio In Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu Sun Feb 23 00:00:00 2020 From: mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu (Mark D. Johns) Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2020 18:00:00 -0600 Subject: [ans] ANS-054 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-054 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * QARMAN and Phoenix CubeSats Deployed from ISS * AMSAT Files Comments Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band * NEMO-1 Buoy Report * GNU Radio Conference - Tickets and Call for Papers * U.S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 Scheduled to Launch in Mid-March * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Available with Membership * ARISS Radio Telebridge Stalwart Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, SK * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-054.01 ANS-054 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 054.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Feb 23 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-054.01 QARMAN and Phoenix CubeSats Deployed from ISS The von Karman Institute in Belgium (VKI) reports the successful de- ployment of the QARMAN satellite from the International Space Station on Wednesday, 19 February. QARMAN is one of several cubesats that were scheduled for deployment this week. Also, Arizona State University reports that its Phoenix CubeSat was successfully deployed from the ISS as scheduled at 9:35 UTC Wednesday. Roughly 30 minutes after deployment, its beacon was heard for the first time at an amateur radio ground station located in Indonesia. VKI also reports successful reception and decoding of telemetry from QARMAN. It is important to note that both of these satellites are using the same frequency, 437.35 MHz, for telemetry transmissions, and that they are in very similar orbits. Both satellites also follow the AX.25 protocol at 9600 baud, with GMSK modulation. It will take some trial and error before each spacecraft?s TLEs can be confirmed. Operators of these satellites are actively seeking observations from amateurs. Please report to: https://community.libre.space/c/satellites-observations ANS is awaiting reports regarding the other satellites that were scheduled for deployment on Wednesday, as listed below: CubeSat Downlink (MHz) Uplink (MHz) Scheduled Deployment Time (UTC) RadSat-u 437.425 437.425 7:10 CryoCube 2261.00 2082.004 12:55 AztechSat-1 437.3 437.3 12:55 SOCRATES 914.7 914.7 14:30 Argus-02 437.29 437.29 16:00 HARP 468.0 450.0 16:00 SORTIE 468.0 450.0 17:40 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK, VKI, and Arizona State for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Files Comments Opposing Deletion of 3.4 GHz Band AMSAT has filed comments on the Federal Communications Commission's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which proposes to delete the 3.3 - 3.5 GHz (9 cm) amateur band, including the 3.40 - 3.41 GHz amateur sat- ellite service allocation. In the comments, AMSAT opposes the deletion of this allocation and em- phasizes the necessity of adequate microwave spectrum for future ama- teur satellite projects, including AMSAT's GOLF program and the Lunar Gateway. AMSAT further notes that the most desirable allocations for use as up- links are the allocations between 2.4 and 5.67 GHz. These allocations total 80 MHz. The most desirable allocation for downlink use is the 10.45 - 10.50 GHz allocation, totaling 50 MHz. As many of the proposed uses include amateur television and high-speed data transmission with satellites in high earth orbit or lunar orbit, these allocations may quickly become inadequate. AMSAT also notes that the 2.4 and 5.67 GHz allocations are widely used for ISM and consumer devices, such as WiFi and Bluetooth-enabled devices. The 3.4 GHz allocation is shared be- tween amateur use and other non-federal and federal licensees, but is free from the unpredictable interference of consumer devices. While acknowledging that the 3.4 GHz amateur satellite service allo- cation is not currently used by any amateur satellites and that it is unsuitable for worldwide communication since it is not available in ITU Region 1, AMSAT identifies a number of potential future uses for the band as worldwide usage of the other available allocations in- creases. These potential uses include a future amateur satellite in geostationary orbit above the Americas. In the comments, AMSAT also noted several non-amateur satellite uses of the broader 3.3 - 3.5 GHz amateur service allocation, including its wide use in mesh networking, EME communications, and contesting. The full text of the comments as filed can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-054-FCC Interested parties may file reply comments on or before March 22, 2020 at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/ The proceeding is WT Docket No. 19- 348. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, Executive Vice President. for the ab- ove information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NEMO-1 Buoy Report AMSAT ARGENTINA launched the NEMO-1 buoy into the Atlantic sea on Jan- uary 30th at noon, using the callsign LU7AA. It was transported 70 km east of Mar del Plata by the fisherman's ship 'Porte?o', from Sandokan. The buoy, which emits in WSPR mode at 14095.6 KHz and FM VHF in APRS mode, navigated drifting free for 12 days traveling about 1100 kilo- meters, until on February 11th it was sighted and taken out of the water by the tuna vessel 'Juan Pablo II'. The captain of the ship, Rinaldi Yaco, considered that the buoy was sailing semi-sunk and decided to rescue it, informing Amsat Argentina of that event. The NEMO-1 then traveled eight more days aboard the tuna vessel, con- tinuing its mission of data capture and broadcasting, until on Feb-19 it arrived at the port of Mar del Plata, where colleagues from the Mar del Plata Radio Club picked it up and kept in custody. A group of AMSAT-LU is traveling to recover NEMO-1. The buoy will be reconditioned and a new launch is planned. It will be tried to take it, on this occasion, to more than 200 km offshore, so that it will con- tinue to navigate freely, reaffirming the commitment and contribution of radio amateurs to QRPp propagation research also helping navigation and the community. AMSAT ARGENTINA especially thanks the Captains and crews of the 'Porte?o', the 'Juan Pablo II' ships and the Mar del Plata RClub in the persons of its Secretary, Jose Luis Hermida (LU9DHJ) and Jorge Garelli (LU5EOR) for the help provided and to the more than 100 'trav- elers' in NEMO-1, who supported this project helping to carry it out. http://amsat.org.ar?f=ce Adventure photos: http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy [ANS thanks LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ GNU Radio Conference - Tickets and Call for Papers GNU Radio is used by spacecraft and ground station developers around the world. GRCon is the annual conference for the GNU Radio project and community. GRCon20 will be held September 14-18, 2020 in Charlotte, N.C. The GNU Radio Conference celebrates and showcases the substantial and remarkable progress of the world?s best open source digital signal processing framework for software-defined radios. In addition to pre- senting GNU Radio?s theoretical and practical presence in academia, industry, the military, and among amateurs and hobbyists, GNU Radio Conference 2020 will have a very special focus: Speed, latency, delay, and timing! Enjoy our racing theme throughout the conference, featured in our con- tests and a high-octane Thursday night dinner. Papers and presentations on theme will be recognized at the conference with an award. But wait, there?s more! We?ll be co-located and coordinated with the TAPR Digital Communications Conference. It?s the weekend immediately preceding GRCon20. Find out more at: https://tapr.org/?page_id=68 Registration and an online and mobile-friendly schedule will be posted at https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon/grcon20/ Developers and users from the GNU Radio Community are invited to pre- sent projects, presentations, papers, posters, and problems at GRCon20. Submit talks, demos, and code! Please share this Call widely. To sub- mit your content for the conference, visit the dedicated conference submission site at: https://pretalx.gnuradio.org/grcon20/cfp First round closes 17 April 2020. If accepted, your content will be immediately scheduled. Notifications go out 26 June 2020. Final round closes 1 September 2019. Submissions received between 18 April 2020 and 1 September 2020 are accepted space permitting, and notifications will be sent out on a rolling basis. Those with questions or need assistance with submitting then please write grcon at gnuradio.org [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 Scheduled to Launch in Mid-March The U. S. Naval Academy's PSAT3 payload is scheduled to launch in mid- March from the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska in Kodiak, AK. PSAT3 is functionally equivalent to NO-104 (PSAT2), but does not in- clude PSK31 functionality. It carries a 145.825 MHz APRS digipeater and SSTV downlink capability. PSAT3 will not be a free-flying satellite. It will remain attached to the upper stage of the launch vehicle. Consequently, the mission dur- ation will be limited to a few months, when the rocket body will de- orbit. More information about PSAT3 can be found at http://aprs.org/psat3.html [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, and the IARU for the above infor- mation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this weeks AMSAT TLE Distribution: SwampSat-2 NORAD CAT ID 45115 (Deployed from Northrop Grumman NG-12 Cygnus 2-3-2020.) (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) Sadly, AO-85 (Fox-1A) has been declared at end of mission. But, I think I will retain AO-85 in the TLE distribution for a while just in case there are some last comments from our friend. (Remember AO-7?) [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Free Digital Copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Avail- able for New or Renewing Members While HuskySat-1 completes it's scientific mission, check out the best resource for learning how to work through linear transponder sat- ellites (and other types of amateur satellites). For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out AMSAT's other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Be sure to view your cart before going to checkout. If you add a membership and then go directly to checkout, you'll never see an option to add your free gift. If you have trouble selecting your free gift, please see this YouTube video to see the steps necessary. https://youtu.be/oRqk5Am-UzE [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Radio Telebridge Stalwart Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, SK When the International Space Station (ISS) orbit is not favorable for a direct Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) con- tact with a particular school or location scheduled to speak with an astronaut, ARISS radio telebridge stations bridge the gap. Gerald Klatzko, ZS6BTD, of Parklands, South Africa, one of the ?regulars? during the earlier years of the ARISS program, died on February 1 at age 95. Klatzko served as an ARISS radio telebridge station in South Africa for many years until he retired. ARISS telebridge stations establish the direct ham radio link and feed two-way audio into a telebridge line for delivery to the contact site. John Sygo, ZS6JON, described Klatzko as ?always bright and cheerful and a great operator,? who made major contributions to the amateur service. ?He was one of the first to experiment with slow-scan television,? Sygo said. ?For many years, he assisted NASA to link astronauts with their families using amateur radio links from Mir, the Space Shuttle, and the International Space Station. For over 2 decades he was the co- producer and presenter of Amateur Radio Mirror International.? [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming ARISS Contacts ARISS lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking directly with crew members of the International Space Station. A con- tact is scheduled with the Kittredge Magnet School, Atlanta, GA, direct via KQ4KMS. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is go for: Monday, 2020-02-24 at 18:23:55 UTC (31 degrees elevation). A contact is also scheduled with the Celia Hays Elementary School, Rockwall, Texas, direct via W5SO. The ISS callsign is presently sched- uled to be NA1SS, and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is go for: Tuesday, 2020-02-25 at 17:35:18 UTC (31 degrees) Watch for live stream at https://live.myvrspot.com/st?cid=NWM5NW The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS operation team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tuscon March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Arizona March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assn Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download: AMSAT Intro Brochure. This color brochure is designed to be printed double- sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations #SnowBirdRove (EL79) ? February 1-29, 2020 Joe, KE9AJ, will cross the border into Florida, seeking climatical asylum in EL79 for the entire month of February. Since he will be there for an extended period, with both FM and linear gear, keep an eye on Joe?s Twitter feed for specific pass announcements: https://twitter.com/KE9AJ There is a possibility that Joe may have to make a pit stop in EM54 and EM53 on his way down South on February 1st. Monitor Twitter for updates. Culebra Island, PR (FK78) February 22-23, 2020 Radio Operadores del Este, Inc, KP3E will be returning to Culebra Island February 21-23. Listen for Rafael, KP4RV, on FM satellites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xSbPgIyhtA&feature=youtu.be Vidalia, LA (EM41) February 28 ? March 1, 2020 Brian, KG5GJT, will will be operating from the bank of the Missis- sippi River in Vidalia, La. (EM41), where Jim Bowie was seriously wounded in the Sandbar Fight on September 19, 1827. This will be vacation style, so keep an eye on Brian?s Twitter feed for updates: https://twitter.com/KG5GJT DN26/36 Mar 14-15 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a side road from ?The Loneliest Road in America.? Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It?s for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there, but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Serv- ices, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Students in the Husky Satellite Lab at the University of Washington have confirmed via their Facebook page that they have been commanding HuskySat-1 to various transmitter power levels and beacon intervals. Some amateurs tracking the bird, which carries a linear transponder to be activated later, had feared that the varying levels were a sign of problems. But this is part of the experimentation. The Husky- Sat team has been providing updates on their operations on their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/UWCubeSat/posts/ You should not need a Facebook account to view that link. (ANS thanks UW CubeSat Team for the above information) + NASA will accept applications for its next astronaut class March 2 to 31. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with a master's degree in a STEM field and two years of relevant professional experience. To sign up, see: https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts (ANS thanks NASA HQ News for the above information) + International Astronomical Youth Camp will take place in Spain from 12 July to 1 August 2020. The camp typically hosts around 65 parti- cipants, aged between 16-24 years old. The IAYC?s main aims are to promote knowledge on astronomy and related sciences in a unique, in- ternational atmosphere. Participants work on a research project of their own choosing over the course of the three weeks, culminating in a final report. See https://www.iayc.org/ for details. (ANS thanks Carys Herbert, IAYC Leaderteam, for the above informa- tion) + The ARISS-UK Team have announced that the Electromagnetic Field 2020 event is to host an ARISS contact during the weekend of July 23-26. The event will be held at Easton Manor Deer Park, near Ledbury in Herefordshire, UK. Information and event tickets available at: https://blog.emfcamp.org/2020/02/14/ticket-sales-dates/ (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information) + The maiden flight of the Long March-5B rocket carrying a trial ver- sion of China's new-generation manned spaceship is expected to take place in April, indicating the imminent start of construction of China's space station. The rocket, the prototype core capsule of the space station, and the experimental manned spaceship are undergoing tests at the Wenchang Space Launch Center on the coast of south China's island province of Hainan. https://bit.ly/2VcjXrO (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + A new version of the game of "chicken" is evolving in outer space. According to Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force Chief, Russian "inspector" satellites are threatening the tenuous stand-off stabil- ity between adversarial spacefaring nations. Since Novemeber, the U.S. Space Command has been tracking a satellite known as Cosmos- 2542 which ejected a smaller, nested satellite referred to as Cosmos- 2543. The Russian satellites have been actively maneuvering near USA 245, a classified military imaging satellite. (ANS thanks Space Daily for the above information) + Amazon has patented a mechanism for throwing satellites into space with a multi-drone-guided whip, mounted on a boat. See details at: https://bit.ly/37KWPmL Note, though, that Amazon (and other tech companies) have a history of patenting things that they?ll never actually build, such as Amazon?s underwater fulfillment centers: https://bit.ly/2Tf7DV9 Has April Fool come early? (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org From n1uw at gokarns.com Sun Mar 1 00:04:50 2020 From: n1uw at gokarns.com (Frank Karnauskas) Date: Sat, 29 Feb 2020 17:04:50 -0700 Subject: [ans] ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin Message-ID: <001c01d5ef5d$0776c980$16645c80$@gokarns.com> AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-061 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat dot org. In this edition: * Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch * FO-29 Operational Schedule * Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation * K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 * New QO-100 Band Plan Announced * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-061.01 ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 061.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 01, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-061.01 Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch The spouse of ARISS Hardware team member Ed Krome, K9EK, pointed out that the ARISS next generation radio system, the InterOperable Radio System (IORS) is prominently described as a primary payload, not secondary, on the SpaceX CRS-20 mission which will be launched no earlier than March 6, 2020 (ET). The ARISS Team wants to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone that has contributed to helping ARISS realize this major milestone It should be noted that the ARISS hardware team is still very busy on IORS development and final certification. While certified for launch and stowage on ISS, the team is still in deep into the final certification of the IORS for flight operations. Also, the build of the second flight unit is in progress in Florida and in San Diego. While CRS-20 represents the launch of SN 1001, the first flight unit, it also represents the beginning of the "ARISS factory build" and certification of all ten units. The ARISS team also notes that November 13, 2020 will represent the 20th year of ARISS continuous amateur radio operation on ISS! [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO AMSAT Vice President, Human Space Flight for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-29 Operational Schedule The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time. The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control) operates. [Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)] March 1 04:00- 14:05 March 2 04:45- 14:55 March 7 03:40- 05:25- 13:50 March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40 March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25 March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15 March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00 March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05 March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50 March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40 Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the transmitter may be turned on for a short time. [ANS thanks JARL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation The Glenn Lightsey Research Group, Space Systems Design Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology is sponsoring a 1U CubeSat mission. The primary function of GT-1 is to be an educational proof of concept and satellite bus demonstrator. It will use this mission as an opportunity for undergraduates to get involved in all parts of a space mission, from design to implementation and sustainment. It will test a prototype deployable antenna and solar panels, which can be used for future missions derived from the same baseline design, and with inclusion of additional experimental equipment. It will operate with AX.25 protocol to collect telemetry data. In partnership with the W4AQL Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, the satellite will also host a digital contact ROBOT payload, inspired by the Russian ham satellites RS-12 and RS-13. It will collect QSO information from individuals who contact the ROBOT as it orbits. The satellite will also function as a standard digipeater. Proposing a 9k6 UHF downlink using G3RUH FSK modulation. Planning a JAXA deployment from the ISS in October 2020. A downlink on 437.175 MHz has been coordinated. [ANS thanks IARU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 In preparation for the upcoming Space Camp at Biosphere 2 , members of the University of Arizona K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club are helping with the placement of an Amateur Radio satellite ground station. The first step was to mount the Yaesu G-5500 az-el rotor system to a Rohn 45 tower. The complete station will include circularly polarized M2 beam antennas for 2m and 70cm, an Icom IC-9700, computers and tracking software. Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, Station Manager for the K7UAZ club reports that Space Camp management is enthusiastic about having UAZ students help with the installation and setup of the station. Student involvement will also include calibrating the rotator system, mapping the artificial horizon for the tracking software and integration and testing the tracking software with the radio. Now in its third year, Space Camp at Biosphere 2 will be held August 3-8, 2020. Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is a joint effort with the University of Arizona Biosphere 2, the Arizona NASA Space Grant Consortium, and the University of Kyoto, Japan. Students attending the camp will experience college-level curriculum and activities focusing on the biological/environmental facets of space travel. More information on Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is available at https://spacegrant.arizona.edu/research/spacecamp [ANS thanks Curt Laumann, K7ZOO for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ New QO-100 Band Plan Announced Just in time for the 1-year anniversary of the successful commissioning of the two transponders of Qatar-OSCAR 100, an encore is pending: The capacity of the NB transponder will be expanded from about 250 KHz to almost 500 KHz. In addition to extended areas for the various operating modes, more space is also being created in particular for "mixed mode" and other special operating cases. In addition to frequencies reserved for emergency radio operations, more experiments are to be made possible here. But all this only with a maximum bandwidth of 2.7 kHz. Automatic operation requires a special license from the local licensing authorities and must be coordinated with the operator beforehand; this task is performed by AMSAT-DL on behalf of QARS and Es'hailSat. To take account of user behavior, AMSAT-DL has almost doubled the SSB range in particular. Detailed information is available at https://amsat-dl.org/en/neuer-qo-100-bandplan/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News * Upcoming Contacts River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL. Direct via WA3YFQ. The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA. The contact is a go for Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 15:17:44 UTC. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations - Shorts Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 - #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a side road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday, March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over AMSAT SA Space Symposium Announced * The AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held on July 11, 2020. Prospective authors are invited to propose papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin at amsatsa.org.za before Friday, February 28, 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box, Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. More information available at http://www.sarl.org.za/ [ANS thanks SARL for the above information.] * MEMESat-1 Proposed Let's Go to Space, Inc.'s first satellite mission is the Mission for Education and Multimedia Engagement, better known as MEMESat-1. This spacecraft will be a 1U amateur radio CubeSat. It's primary mission is to serve as an FM Repeater and to downlink donor submitted memes via UHF SSTV protocol. MEMESat is also being created to engage people through the sharing of memes from space and help fund small satellite focused research. More information available at https://letsgo2space.com/memesat-1-3/ [ANS thanks Michael Frazier, KJ5Z for the above information.] * Two Commercial Satellites Link Up for First Time A Northrop Grumman robotic servicing spacecraft has hooked up with an aging Intelsat communications satellite more than 22,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean, accomplishing the first link-up between two commercial satellites in space, and the first docking with a satellite that was never designed to receive a visitor. Northrop Grumman's first commercial Mission Extension Vehicle, or MEV 1, will take over propulsion responsibilities for Intelsat 901, which is running low on fuel after more than 18 years in service relaying data and television signals. MEV 1 is the first spacecraft of its kind, and officials say the successful link-up with Intelsat 901 is a harbinger for a new era of commercial satellite servicing. The automated docking early Tuesday also marked the first connection of two satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a region high above the equator where spacecraft move at speeds that match the rate of Earth's rotation. Complete information at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-061-Grumman [ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb From n8hm at arrl.net Thu Mar 5 20:25:44 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2020 15:25:44 -0500 Subject: [ans] ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-065 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-065 ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 065.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 5, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-065.01 Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT? Academy ? a unique opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM, linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit. AMSAT? Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc- ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio. The $85 registration fee includes: ? Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most accomplished AMSAT operators. ? Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi- tion ($15 value) ? One-Year, AMSAT? Basic Membership ($44 value) ? Pizza Buffet Lunch ? Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT? get together at Ticket Pub and Eatery in Fairborn. Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds, no cancellations. Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From ki7unj at gmail.com Sun Mar 8 00:00:00 2020 From: ki7unj at gmail.com (KI7UNJ Tucker) Date: Sat, 7 Mar 2020 16:00:00 -0800 Subject: [ans] ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-068 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Welcome Back XW-2D * PSAT3 Launch CANCELED * AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention * The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe * Replacing the International Space Station? * FO-29 Operational Schedule * ARISS News * AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-068.01 ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 068.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Mar 08 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-068.01 Welcome Back XW-2D XW-2D has come back from its apparent issues and is back in action. No official report for the satellite owner, but reports from operators all over the world have shown the satellite is back in operation: Frequency: UPLINK LSB 435.210 MHz to 435.230 MHZ DOWNLINK USB 145.860 MHz to 145.880 MHZ Make sure to post your reception reports for all satellites at https://www.amsat.org/status/ [ANS thanks Hasan Schiers, N0AN, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- PSAT3 Launch CANCELED Four days from Shipping PSAT3 to Kodiak for launch, the launch has been canceled. The launch was part of the DARPA LAUNCH CHALLENGE: https://darpalaunchchallenge.org/index.html The challenge (and $10m prize) was for any launch provider to deliver a rocket with only 30 days notice of what payloads they would have and where they would launch from. And then to do it again only 30 days later. We were on the second launch. But on 2 March the third attempt by the launch provider was scrubbed at T-9 minutes and was not resolved until the launch window (and DARPA challenge deadline) had passed. Therefore the CHALLENGE is over, there was no winner, and we lost the launch. So, if anyone hears of a rocket that needs a CUBESAT PPOD backup replacement, we have one: http://aprs.org/psat3.html [ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT? Academy ? a unique opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM, linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit. AMSAT? Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc- ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio. The $85 registration fee includes: ? Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most accomplished AMSAT operators. ? Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi- tion ($15 value) ? One-Year, AMSAT? Basic Membership ($44 value) ? Pizza Buffet Lunch ? Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT? get together at Ticket Pub and Eatery in Fairborn. Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds, no cancellations. Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 committee is al- ready actively participating in the regulatory work taking place in the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administra- tions (CEPT) to consider coexistence between the secondary amateur and amateur satellite services and the primary radio navigation satellite service, in the 1.2 GHz band. The principal issue is Europe's Galileo system of global navigation satellites. The Galileo services are delivered in a number of bands and one occu- pies the 1260-1300 MHz band. The Galileo team has witnessed interfer- ence from amateur TV transmissions which resulted in station shut down and has experienced interference from high power EME operations too. Work is at an early stage and the IARU will continue to try tp mini- mise the impact on amateur operations however it is likely that some changes will be necessary to the way we use the band. The topic is closely related to the agenda of the next World Radio- communication Conference coming up in 2013 (WRC-23) at which represen- tatives of the United Nations countries who are members of the Inter- national Telecommunication Union will agree on coordinated radio regu- lations. For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/tcrdm4j [ANS thanks Jacques Verleijen, ON4AVJ, and the IARU Region 1 Newsletter for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Replacing the International Space Station? Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), humanity has managed to maintain an uninterrupted foothold in low Earth orbit for just shy of 20 years. But as the saying goes, what goes up must eventually come down. The ISS is at too low of an altitude to remain in orbit indef- initely, and core modules of the structure are already operating years beyond their original design lifetimes. As difficult a decision as it might be for the countries involved, in the not too distant future the $150 billion orbiting outpost will have to be abandoned. Naturally there?s some debate as to how far off that day is. NASA of- ficially plans to support the Station until at least 2024, and an ex- tension to 2028 or 2030 is considered very likely. However, one commer- cial partner is betting on a longer-term future. Axiom has been select- ed by NASA to develop a new habitable module for the U.S. side of the Station by 2024. While the agreement technically only covers a single module, Axiom hasn?t been shy about their plans going forward. Once that first module is installed and operational, they plan on getting NASA approval to launch several new modules branching off of it. Ultimately, they hope that their ?wing? of the ISS can be detached and become its own inde- pendent commercial station by the end of the decade. Read the full article at https://bit.ly/39tsc6V [ANS thanks Hackaday for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ FO-29 Operational Schedule The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time. The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control) operates. [Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)] March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40 March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25 March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15 March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00 March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05 March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50 March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40 Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the transmitter may be turned on for a short time. [ANS thanks JARL for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News An International Space Station (ISS) school contact with an Australian school on 13 March will be audible in USA! The ISS will be over North America at the time, and the Australians will link to it by land line "Telebridge" via a U.S. amateur radio station. The contact will be with the Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, but via Telebridge Station K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is scheduled at 08:56 UTC with downlink signals from ISS heard above Maryland and nearby areas on 145.800 MHz narrowband FM. [ANS thanks Rudy Parisio, IW2BSF, and Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS Operation Team, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15 AMSAT will be supporting the University of Arizona's K7UAZ radio club during the ScienceCity science fair on 14-15 March 2020 (a Saturday and Sunday). ScienceCity will be on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. This science fair is supported by several organizations at the university, and runs in conjunction with the Tucson Festival of Books that will also take place that weekend. More information about ScienceCity is available at: http://sciencecity.arizona.edu/ Information about the K7UAZ radio club is available at: http://k7uaz.com/ The K7UAZ radio club will have a booth in the "Science of Everyday Life" area at ScienceCity. This booth will showcase different facets of amateur radio, including amateur satellites. WD9EWK, and possibly other call signs, should be heard during demonstrations of satellite operating taking place at ScienceCity. If you hear us, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. The University of Arizona campus is in grid DM42, in Arizona's Pima County. QSLing will be determined by the call sign used for QSOs. WD9EWK will upload to Logbook of the World, and will be happy to send QSL cards on request (please e-mail Patrick the QSO details - no card or SASE is required to get a card). K7UAZ will confirm QSOs by QSL card, following instructions posted on QRZ.com. During the weekend, the @WD9EWK Twitter account will be used to post updates from ScienceCity. If you do not use Twitter, you can view these updates in a web browser without having a Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (see above) March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations - Shorts Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) - K7U ROVE March 7-8, 2020 Casey KI7UNJ and Kel KI7UXT will be operating as K7U from CN93, CN94, DN03, DN04 a CN92. Details are posted on QRZ https://www.qrz.com/db/k7u Updates from the road on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and https://twitter.com/KI7UXT - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 - #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a ide road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday, March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has completed frequency coordination HSU-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat to be released from the ISS sometime in the coming year. The satellite will include capability of a camera image dowlinked by Slow Scan Television (SSTV). The camera will take a photograph of the Earth at image pixel size 320x240. The photograph taken will then be converted into analog SSTV signal, and sent by FM-SSTV downlink on 437.280 MHz. This be part of the satellite's main mission, test of a three-axis attitude control system. More info at shorturl.at/dizP0 and shorturl.at/puNW7 (ANS thanks IARU and AMSAT-UK for the above information) + The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) reports that a number of ama- teur radio events planned for March have been cancelled as a result of coronavirus warnings. JARL, in line with government policy, has requested that all events scheduled for the next two weeks be can- celed or postponed for the time being. Also, Dayton Hamvention offi- cials say they are closely following the coronavirus (COVID-19) sit- uation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 ? 17 event nears, but they?re optimistic that coronavirus will not be an issue. (ANS thanks Southgate ARC and ARRL for the above information) + SpaceX-20, a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched at 0449 GMT Saturday from Cape Canaveral?s Complex 40 launch pad. The mission carrying, as a primary payload, the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS is the foundational element of the ARISS next-generation radio system on ISS. If all goes according to plan, the Dragon cargo capsule will dock with the space station on Monday, 9 March. (ANS thanks SpaceflightNow for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ ki7unj at amsat dot org From n8hm at arrl.net Sun Mar 15 00:08:04 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2020 17:08:04 -0700 Subject: [ans] ANS-075 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-075 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced * Update from the AMSAT President * ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS * Minor Update to FoxTelem Released * Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now! * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-075.01 ANS-075 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 075.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 15, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-075.01 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced AMSAT is pleased to announce that the 38th Annual AMSAT Space Sym- posium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday, October 16th - Sunday, October 18th at the Crowne Plaza Suites: MSP Airport - Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Crowne Plaza Suites is conveniently located adjacent to the Amer- ican Blvd station on the Metro Blue Line, providing easy access to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, downtown Minneapolis, and the Mall of America. The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday, October 14th and Thursday, October 15th at the hotel. Further details, including hotel reservation information, tours, and other events will be shared in the coming months. [ANS thanks the 2020 AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above infor- mation] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Update from the AMSAT President The past six weeks since becoming AMSAT President has flown by with great speed. Thankfully I?m not travelling at 27,000 km/hour like our popular satellite AO-91. Speaking with many of our volunteers and members, I?ve felt the level of excitement and enthusiasm for the great launch opportunities ahead. As mentioned in ANS-047, one of my tasks was to speak with the Directors and convene a meeting to conduct AMSAT corporate business. Tuesday, March 3, AMSAT held an informal working session for the Board of Directors. We are moving forward with a called Board of Directors meeting scheduled on Tuesday, March 17. The next meeting will allow Directors to put forward motions for new business, hear a status update from our officers, and set future trajectory. The amateur radio community has felt the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) with the cancellation of some regional events. Even as this health emergency has been raised to World Health Organization (WHO)?s highest level, its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remains hopeful that COVID-19 can be curtailed. AMSAT is closely monitoring the upcoming 2020 Hamvention being held over 60 days away in Xenia, Ohio. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has publicly stated they are following guidance from the State of Ohio and Greene County. Barring further information from DARA, AMSAT will continue to make plans for our representation at the 2020 Hamvention. AMSAT officers are also working on contingency plans if Hamvention is canceled. These plans include virtual presentations and other real- time online activities during Hamvention weekend. Our next edition of the AMSAT Journal will be going through the editing review process soon. It will contain more detailed information about the health of AMSAT, its mission status, and share exciting news for 2020. If you?re not a member receiving the Journal, please consider joining at our website www.amsat.org. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in- formation] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS On Friday, March 6, 2020 at 11:50 EST, SpaceX CRS-20 was successfully launched from Pad 40 at Kennedy Space Center. This was also a signif- icant launch for ARISS since this cargo mission was carrying our Interoperable Radio System to the International Space Station. This system will greatly enhance our capabilities on board Station involving our school contacts with the crew and both our current and planned future educational experiments. A special thanks to all who have donated and continue to donate to our ARISS Next-Generation Hard- ware Upgrade Fundrazr at our website www.ariss.org. You are making it all happen!! I was able to attend the launch along with several other ARISS volun- teers and have created a short video of the experience from our view- ing location at the Banana Creek ViewPoint. Please note that you will hear two moderators on the video. One is actually at our site, announcing the launch. Another audio feed is coming from the PA system there and is delayed 30 seconds from real time, so try not to get too confused as you listen in. Hope you enjoy the video. Dave, AA4KN, ARISS PR The video can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-075-ARISS [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Minor Update to FoxTelem Released FoxTelem has been updated to version 1.08z5 and the latest version is here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/ This is not a mandatory upgrade. It fixes some minor bugs that caused crashes and corrects the calculation of the bit SNR for the Dot Pro- duct BPSK detector. If you use the Dot Product detector and you care about the measured bit signal to noise ratio, then you want to upgrade. Note that if you use Find Signal in IQ mode then the bit SNR level is used to determine if the signal is found. Because the level has changed you will need to adjust the threshold value. Email Chris Thompson at g0kla at arrl.net if you need more information. Please let me know if you see any issues, or log them on GitHub here: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues [ANS thanks Chris Thompson, AC2CZ/G0KLA, AMSAT FoxTelem Developer for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now! Amid reports that NO-84's battery is weakening, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, shared the following message: Before PSAT (NO-84) dies, don?t miss out on trying out its HF 28.120 PSK31 uplink transponder (435.350 MHz FM downlink). Apparently its battery is weakening and cannot make it through some eclipses. And the orbit only has 2 years left (Battery probably wont last that long). But in the sun, it should work fine. PSK31 Xponder is always enabled, all it needs is to see PSK31 on the Ten-meter uplink. It will also send down an SSTV image (in the same waterfall) once every 2 minutes if the sun power is good. [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS Operations Team, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events' web- sites for up-to-date status information. Current schedule: March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ April 4, 2020 River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society Presentation Faribault, MN April 18, 2020 Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Brainerd, MN May 2, 2020 Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club Hamfest, Superior, WI May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED: March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX and Doug N6UA will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx and https://twitter.com/dtabor - Red River Gorge, KY (EM87) March 19-24, 2020 Michael, N4DCW will be in Red River Gorge, Kentucy, March 19th through 24th. Watch Michael?s Twitter feed for more info https://twitter.com/MWimages - Midwinter Madness Rove: (EN24, EN25, EN34) March 20-21, 2020 Mitch, AD0HJ, will roving three central Minnesota grids just prior to the Midwinter Madness Hobby Electronics Show in Buffalo, MN on March 21st, 2020. Look for him to activate grids EN24/EN25/EN35 on the eve- ning of March 20th through the evening of March 21st, 2020. Check Mitch?s Twitter feed for updates on his planned satellite pass sche- dule: https://twitter.com/AD0HJ - River Bend Wireless Rove (EN22, EN33, EN34, EN42, EN43, EN44) April 2-4, 2020 Mitch AD0HJ is looking to add six more grids to his rover basket just before the April 4th AMSAT presentation/demonstration at the River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, MN. Mitch will be activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the EN32/EN42 grid line on April 3rd, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April 4th, 2020. Watch Mitch?s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a detailed sche- dule. https://twitter.com/AD0HJ - From the Mountains to the Bay (CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10, 11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020 RJ, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming to Vaca- ville, CA. He?s attending a class from April 15-19, so most of the roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered include: CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass details will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + A Doppler.sqf file posted on the AMSAT-UK website listed FM freq- uencies for several satellites carrying linear transponders. Operators are reminded that FM is not to be used on linear transponders. (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for this information) + On March 10th, March 10, 2020, the AMSAT-SM group was formed in connection with the closure of the AMSAT-SM organization. The process of creating AMSAT-SM for the future began after the 2019 annual meet- ing and now we are ready to continue with AMSAT-SM in a new and simp- ler way. All activities that were part of the old AMSAT-SM are now transferred to the new group. The website will be updated in March with new steering guidelines and other relevant information. Welcome with us into the future. AMSAT-SM is Amateur Radio via Satellite! (ANS thanks SM0TGU from AMSAT-SM for this information) + ARRL has announced a new book entitled "Amateur Radio Satellites for Beginners" by Steve Ford, WB8IMY. It can be purchased at http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Satellites-for-Beginners/ (ANS thanks the ARRL for this information) + The CAS-4B beacon is again sending telemetry after sending only a continuous tone for the past few weeks. (ANS thanks John Papay, K8YSE, for this information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From n1uw at gokarns.com Thu Mar 19 16:02:44 2020 From: n1uw at gokarns.com (Frank Karnauskas) Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2020 09:02:44 -0700 Subject: [ans] ANS-079 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin Message-ID: <004901d5fe07$d3f14bd0$7bd3e370$@gokarns.com> AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-079 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-079 ANS-079 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 079.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-079.01 AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG has put out a call for new and renewing AMSAT members to act now and register online. Coleman says, "All things considered, cancellation of Hamvention 2020 was the right thing to do and we recognize the difficult decision that the Dayton Amateur Radio Association Executive Committee had to make. "The cancellation of Hamvention will have a dramatic effect on the well-being of many vendors and associations that serve the Amateur Radio community. AMSAT is no exception. Hamvention has always been a major fund-raising tool for both recruiting and renewing members as well as selling AMSAT branded merchandise, software, books and antennas. The loss of this important venue has the potential to adversely affect the projects that AMSAT has underway already and planned for the months and years ahead. "This is a very exciting time for Amateur Radio in Space with the new Interoperable Radio System for ARISS, the GOLF satellite program, updating member services and launching our Youth Initiative. It has been many years since we have seen this kind of excitement and interest in space communications. We would hate to lose that momentum and fall behind. "I am asking everyone to act now and join or renew their AMSAT membership NOW while it is on our minds. Your immediate willingness to act will help strengthen AMSAT and help ensure our mission of 'Keeping Amateur Radio in Space'. There are membership opportunities for everyone to consider: - Basic Membership from $44 - Student Membership from $22 - Additional Household Memberships from $22 - School and Club Memberships from $80 - QRO Membership from $80 - Lifetime Membership $880 (or only $74/mo. For twelve months)" Coleman also adds, "And, while you're at it, don't be afraid to kick in a few extra dollars with a one-time or sustaining donation to AMSAT's general operating fund. Especially appreciated are those Amateurs who can make an extra difference by contributing to the President's Club with contributions of $120 or more. Whatever you can contribute, please understand that every dollar counts. "Additionally, with Hamvention's cancellation, we lost the opportunity to personally greet and thank all of AMSAT's membership and to share our enthusiasm for the upcoming year. Watch for upcoming news on our plans and launches for 2020. We'll be talking soon." [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President for the above information] +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Memberships, both new and renewals, as well as can be made at: https://www.amsat.org/shop For a limited time, AMSAT is making the "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available for a limited time as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store! Make your online donations at: https://www.amsat.org/donate +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org From n1uw at gokarns.com Sun Mar 22 00:14:19 2020 From: n1uw at gokarns.com (Frank Karnauskas) Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2020 17:14:19 -0700 Subject: [ans] ANS-082 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin Message-ID: <000d01d5ffde$d51da4d0$7f58ee70$@gokarns.com> AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-082 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat dot org. In this edition: * AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now * AMSAT Treasurer's Report Posted * 2020 AMSAT Academy Cancelled * IARU Announces R2 Satellite Communication Workshop 31 May 2020 * AMSAT-BR Announces QO-100 FT8 QRPp Experiment * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for March 19, 2020 * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-082.01 ANS-082 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 082.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 22, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-082.01 AMSAT President Urges Members to Renew/Donate Now AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG has put out a call for new and renewing AMSAT members to act now and register online. Coleman says, "All things considered, cancellation of Hamvention 2020 was the right thing to do and we recognize the difficult decision that the Dayton Amateur Radio Association Executive Committee had to make. "The cancellation of Hamvention will have a dramatic effect on the well-being of many vendors and associations that serve the Amateur Radio community. AMSAT is no exception. Hamvention has always been a major fund-raising tool for both recruiting and renewing members as well as selling AMSAT branded merchandise, software, books and antennas. The loss of this important venue has the potential to adversely affect the projects that AMSAT has underway already and planned for the months and years ahead. "This is a very exciting time for Amateur Radio in Space with the new Interoperable Radio System for ARISS, the GOLF satellite program, updating member services and launching our Youth Initiative. It has been many years since we have seen this kind of excitement and interest in space communications. We would hate to lose that momentum and fall behind. "I am asking everyone to act now and join or renew their AMSAT membership NOW while it is on our minds. Your immediate willingness to act will help strengthen AMSAT and help ensure our mission of 'Keeping Amateur Radio in Space'. There are membership opportunities for everyone to consider: - Basic Membership from $44 - Student Membership from $22 - Additional Household Memberships from $22 - School and Club Memberships from $80 - QRO Membership from $80 - Lifetime Membership $880 (or only $74/mo. For twelve months)" Coleman also adds, "And, while you're at it, don't be afraid to kick in a few extra dollars with a one-time or sustaining donation to AMSAT's general operating fund. Especially appreciated are those Amateurs who can make an extra difference by contributing to the President's Club with contributions of $120 or more. Whatever you can contribute, please understand that every dollar counts. "Additionally, with Hamvention's cancellation, we lost the opportunity to personally greet and thank all of AMSAT's membership and to share our enthusiasm for the upcoming year. Watch for upcoming news on our plans and launches for 2020. We'll be talking soon." [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Treasurer's Report Posted During the AMSAT Board of Directors meeting held March 17, 2020 Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Treasurer presented a report to the board members. Bankston said," Now that I?ve had a few months to settle into my new position as AMSAT Treasurer and spend a little time digging through the numbers, I thought it was time to share what I have found and set the record straight about some of the misinformation that is being spread about AMSAT?s financial position. " Despite rumors and misquotes of AMSAT being on an unsustainable path, let?s look at where we really are and how we are doing. - Over the past ten years (2010-2019), AMSAT has averaged a $34,357 - increase in net assets (what most people refer to as profits) per year. - Our combined revenues over expenditures (profits) for the past 5 years (2015-2019) were $110,962, which includes launching 4 amateur satellites into space, readying RadFxSat-2 (Fox-1E) and the ARISS InterOperable Radio System for flight, and getting started on GOLF and Lunar Gateway projects. - In 2019, AMSAT generated $756,256 in revenues with $617,425 in expenditures. "Year to year fluctuations are generally a result of timing differences between project fundraising efforts and when AMSAT needs to spend money. In addition, AMSAT maintains its reserves in investment accounts, which are subject to market price fluctuations and must be included in our financial statements. "2018 is a perfect example: - AMSAT authorized a $62,055 payment to NASA, which was not reimbursed until 2019. - AMSAT spent $62,397 on the initial hardware development for GOLF. - AMSAT launched two satellites in 2018, Fox-1D (AO-92) and Fox-1 Cliff (AO-95). - AMSAT had to report a $77,128 fair market value loss in investments (which was fully recovered in 2019)." Bankston adds, "Don?t get me wrong ? there is certainly room for improvement. I have already identified and started to implement cost- saving and budgetary control measures that can and will make us more efficient. As AMSAT Treasurer, it is my job to safeguard AMSAT?s resources from both fraud and waste, and I intend to do exactly that. I look forward to what more we can achieve." In his report Bankston also summarized a number of other financial matters. Membership - Membership revenues continue to rise and have increased 65.68% in just that past 5 years, all without any increase in dues rates for its members. - New memberships, renewals, life memberships, and AMSAT Store purchases for the first three months of 2020 are on track to exceed the same revenue sources for 2019. Transparency AMSAT is fully committed to financial transparency. Its financial statements and regulatory informational reports (Form 990's) are and have always been publicly available. Furthermore, to add confidence, an independent certified public accounting firm reviews AMSAT's financial statements and includes their report with our financials. AMSAT financial reports and related documents are available online at www.amsat.org/audit-and-other-financial-reports/. Solvency AMSAT is on a solid financial footing and headed in the right direction. AMSAT started this year with over $134,000 in cash and over $591,000 in investments. The level of its reserves, its ability to generate more revenues than expenses, and its ability to continue to grow its members has AMSAT fiscally positioned to accept whatever challenges and opportunities tomorrow brings. Bankston concluded his report by saying, "AMSAT does not expect to fully fund itself with membership dues. Member dues are meant to cover member services and benefits. Funding for everything else must come from other sources. "In 2019, member dues accounted for only $134,570 of AMSAT?s total revenues. The remaining $621,686 came from the kind hearts of our donors and the incredible work of our volunteers ? seeking out new revenue streams and securing grants to further support our mission. "We, at AMSAT, are keeping our promise to Keep Amateur Radio in Space and doing so in a fiscally responsible manner." This report including graphs and charts can be seen at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-treasurers-report. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Treasurer for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020 AMSAT Academy Cancelled Due to the unfortunate cancellation of the 2020 Hamvention, the AMSAT Academy has also been canceled. Registrants will be notified directly with refund information. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President User Services for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ IARU Announces R2 Satellite Communication Workshop 31 May 2020 This 3-hour online workshop is an opportunity for all English speaking Radio Amateurs in IARU Region 2 and specifically the Caribbean to meet and share their experience with amateur satellite communications. No prior experience in satellite communications is required. Tentative workshop agenda will include: - How to get started in satellite communications - A practical demonstration using inexpensive and simple components (Handy and portable Antennas) - Useful tools, helpful tips, techniques and websites to find information on how to get started - Explain the different components of a ground station for more advanced users (LNA, Cross-Polarized Antennas, phased lines, coaxial loss at VHF and upper frequencies, equipment, SDR's, etc.). - Using satellite communications as a way to encourage young people to become Amateurs and generate connections and projects with local universities, college and schools in STEM programs - Attendees are all Amateurs interested in satellite communications, whether experienced or wanting to learn how to get started. Workshops General Information: - Working language will be English for both workshops. - Preference will be given to amateurs in the Caribbean. - Workshops will start at 1400 local time (AST/ET, 1800 UT). - Access will be via Zoom, an easy to use online conference tool available on a number of platforms. - Agenda and information on how to participate will be sent to registered participants in mid-May. Registration for the online workshop can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-082-IARU-Workshop [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-BR Announces QO-100 FT8 QRPp Experiment AMSAT-Brazil is organizing a reverse beacon FT8 QRPp experiment/ contest via the QO-100 geostationary amateur radio transponder. The first ten spotted stations with lower SNR will receive a Certificate of Accomplishment. The dead line will be May 1, 2020. To qualify, the SNR must be lower than -18 dB (as measured by the FT8 decoder). The receiver will be active on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 UTC to 24:00 UTC and will be tuned to 10.489540 GHz with a 3.5 kHz bandwidth. All stations calling CQ will be logged. The objective for the project is to incentive low power experimentation through the QO-100 narrow band transponder. Stations participating in the experiment are welcome to send a brief description of their setup, including information about RF power output, hardware and software setups, antenna type and gain, photos, etc. to the email address py2sdr at gmail dot com. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for March 19, 2020 Ray Hoad, WA5QGD reports, "I am pleased to announce that AMSAT-NA's request to re-distribute TLE elements from Space-Track website has been approved for the period April 1,2020 to April 1, 2021. Our ODR (Orbital Data Request) to re-distribute the Space-Track TLE's was approved by Air Force 18 SPCS on February 27, 2020 (Received March 12, 2020). Thanks to Air Force 18 SPCS, Perry Klein, W3PK and Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for their help in this yearly process. We are 'good to go' for another year." The following Amateur Radio satellites have been removed from this week's TLE distribution: EO-79 - NORAD CAT ID 40025 - Non-operational UKube-1 - NORAD CAT ID 40074 - Non-operational AO-85 - NORAD CAT ID 40967 - End of Mission [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations + River Bend Wireless Rove (EN22,EN33,EN34,EN42,EN43,EN44) April 2-4, 2020 Mitch AD0HJ is looking to add six more grids to his rover basket just before the April 4 AMSAT presentation/demonstration at the River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, MN. Mitch will be activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the EN32/EN42 grid line on April 3, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April 4, 2020. Watch Mitch?s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a detailed schedule at https://twitter.com/AD0HJ. + From the Mountains to the Bay (CM88,89,98,99; DM09,19,29; DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020 RJ, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming to Vacaville, CA. He?s attending a class from April 15-19, so most of the roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered include: CM88,89,98,99; DM09,19,29; DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass details will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events - May 2, 2020 Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club Hamfest, Superior, WI - May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ - May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ - June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX Be sure to check this page and event organizers for cancellations! To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors at amsat dot org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + Completed Contacts Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR. - The ISS callsign was NA1SS. - The astronaut was Drew Morgan KI5AAA. - Contact was successful on Thursday, March 19, 2020. - In an ARISS first due to COVID-19, all of the questions were pre-recorded by the students and no students were on site during the contact. + Upcoming Contacts SPDW Voortrekker Movement, Oranjeville, South Africa, direct via ZS9SPD. - The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS. - The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA. - Contact is go for: Friday, March 27, 2020 at 09:47:49 UTC. Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via RK?J??. - The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RS?ISS. - The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka. - Possible contact on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 2020-03-31 08:50 UTC. "ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates." [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Shorts from All Over * AMSAT February 4, 2020 BoD Minutes Available Online The minutes for the AMSAT Board of Directors meeting held on February 4, 2020 are now available online for viewing at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-082-BoD-Minutes [ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information.] + Sean Kutzko New Article: Upgrading to Linear Satellites Wondering what to do after working the FM birds? Sean Kutzko, KX9X has updated his series of satellite operating tips with "Satellite Basics (Part 3): Upgrading to the Linear Satellites". Covering everything from equipment suggestions to proper tuning procedures, this information-packed article can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-082-Linear-Birds. [ANS thanks the Sean Kutzko, KX9X for the above information.] + Hamvention Announces Refund Information The Dayton Amateur Radio Association has made the following announcement regarding Hamvention refunds: "Due to unfortunate cancellation of Hamvention 2020, we know that tickets, inside booth spaces and flea market spaces have been purchased. These purchases have been made by online credit cards, mail order checks and purchased from our outside vendors. All refunds will be through the same method of purchase. All credit card sales will be refunded to the original card used to make the charge. All check and cash sales will be refunded by check. We anticipate all refunds completed as soon as possible but not later than August 1." Further information is available at https://hamvention.org/. [ANS thanks DARA for the above information.] + Australis OSCAR 5 Book Available in the U.S. Australis OSCAR 5 - The Improbable Story of Australia's First Private Satellite book (second edition) is now available in the U.S. The book details how, in the 1960's, a group of University of Melbourne Science and Engineering students and one Law student banded together to build a satellite in their spare time. You can order the book directly from the publisher at https://isdistribution.com/BookDetail.aspx?aId=122391 [ANS thanks Owen Mace for the above information.] + FUNCube TLM Receive Antenna Available AMSAT-UK is pleased to offer a simple, low cost antenna system, for use with a FUNcube Dongle (or any other receiver) to receive the FUNcube telemetry signals. Based around a Winkler Crossed Dipole antenna, this kit includes the antenna, a RF cable (2m long) for connection between the antenna and a FUNcube Dongle, and a USB cable (approximately 1.8 m long) for connecting the dongle to a computer. Ordering information is available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-082-FUNcube [ANS thanks Graham Shirville, G3VZV for the above information.] + Remote Display over USB for Kenwood TH-D74 Many operators love their Kenwood TH-D74 handheld for satellite operation but there is always room for improvement. Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT offers plans for an external remote display that connects to the radio's USB port. The device is based on a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a 16?2 LCD. The complete plans are available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-082-TH-D74 [ANS thanks Tony Milluzzi, KD8RTT for the above information.] + Amateur Radio Satellite Spreads Fight Coronavirus Message Indonesia?s national amateur radio society ORARI reports the ham radio satellite LAPAN-A2 (IO-86) is being used to send a Fight Coronavirus message using APRS. A translation of the ORARI post says, ?Stay Healthy, Stay at Home #LawanCorona?. See the complete story at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-082-Coronavirus. + M2 Pathfinder Satellite Launch Imminent M2 Pathfinder satellite's next launch window is reportedly no earlier than March 29, 2020. The M2 Pathfinder is a collaboration between the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra Space and the Australian Government. The M2 Pathfinder will test communications architecture and other technologies that will assist in informing the future space capabilities of Australia. The satellite will demonstrate the ability of an onboard software-based radio to operate and reconfigure while in orbit. The mission has been named ?Don?t Stop Me Now? in recognition of Rocket Lab board member and avid Queen fan Scott Smith, who recently passed away. Complete information on the mission is available at https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/next-mission/. [ANS thanks Terry Osborne ZL2BAC for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb From n8hm at arrl.net Mon Mar 23 14:02:03 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2020 10:02:03 -0400 Subject: [ans] ANS-083 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-083 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-083 ANS-083 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 083.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 23, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-083.01 Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, has announced the appointment of Sean Kutzko, KX9X, as Volunteer Coordinator. First licensed in 1982 as KA9NGH, Kutzko served as both ARRL Contest Branch Manager (2007-2013) and ARRL Media and Public Relations Mana- ger (2013-2017). He was the creator and co-administrator of the ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. An active HF and VHF contester, DXer and backpack QRP enthusiast, Kutzko started work- ing satellites in 2011 and has transmitted from over fifty different grid squares. He has written instructional materials on satellite op- erating for the AMSAT website, QST, and blogs regularly on satellite topics for the DX Engineering blog "On All Bands." "It's an honor to be able to volunteer for AMSAT," Kutzko said. "When [new AMSAT president] Clayton [Coleman, W5PFG] asked if I would help coordinate a team of volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity. AMSAT is a great organization and helping find good volunteers who are willing to help all areas of AMSAT's growth and development is the least I could do for the organization that has given me a lot of enjoyment and technical skill." Outside of Amateur Radio, Kutzko is a freelance PR/communications consultant and voiceover artist, as well as a baker of artisan breads, pizza and pastries. He also plays drums in a classic rock/country band, Silverweed. He lives in Urbana, Illinois. [ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in- formation] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From n8hm at arrl.net Mon Mar 23 20:54:40 2020 From: n8hm at arrl.net (Paul Stoetzer) Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2020 16:54:40 -0400 Subject: [ans] ANS-083.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-083.02 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-083.02 ANS-083.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 083.02 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 23, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-083.02 AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice Due to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's order closing all non-essential businesses in the State of Maryland in response to the COVID-19 pan- demic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice, effective to- day at 5:00pm EDT. While the office is closed, AMSAT will continue to accept new and renewal memberships. However, membership packets will not be mailed until the office reopens. T-shirts, hats, and other items stocked in the office will also not be available until the office reopens. Dig- ital downloadable content, including SatPC32 and MacDoppler will re- main available from the AMSAT store. Antenna, name badge, and awards orders will be forwarded for processing. The March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal will be produced on time. However, it may only be possible to publish it in digital format. Stay tuned for further updates. Any questions about memberships, orders, or office operations can be sent to info at amsat.org. Please note that no mail or phone service will be available until the office reopens. Vendors billing AMSAT for goods or services may email the above address to arrange payment. [ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73 and Remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org From mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu Sun Mar 29 00:00:00 2020 From: mjohns+K0JM at luther.edu (Mark D. Johns) Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2020 19:00:00 -0500 Subject: [ans] ANS-089 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins Message-ID: AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-089 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator * AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice * First Satellite Contact to be Noted in May QST * Amateur Radio Satellite Spreads Fight Coronavirus Message * Ham Talk Live! Interviews Frank Bauer, KA3HDO * ISS Crew Transition Affected by CoViD-19 * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-089.01 ANS-089 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 089.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Mar 29 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-089.01 Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, has announced the appointment of Sean Kutzko, KX9X, as Volunteer Coordinator. First licensed in 1982 as KA9NGH, Kutzko served as both ARRL Contest Branch Manager (2007-2013) and ARRL Media and Public Relations Mana- ger (2013-2017). He was the creator and co-administrator of the ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. An active HF and VHF contester, DXer and backpack QRP enthusiast, Kutzko started work- ing satellites in 2011 and has transmitted from over fifty different grid squares. He has written instructional materials on satellite op- erating for the AMSAT website, QST, and blogs regularly on satellite topics for the DX Engineering blog "On All Bands." "It's an honor to be able to volunteer for AMSAT," Kutzko said. "When [new AMSAT president] Clayton [Coleman, W5PFG] asked if I would help coordinate a team of volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity. AMSAT is a great organization and helping find good volunteers who are willing to help all areas of AMSAT's growth and development is the least I could do for the organization that has given me a lot of enjoyment and technical skill." Outside of Amateur Radio, Kutzko is a freelance PR/communications consultant and voiceover artist, as well as a baker of artisan breads, pizza and pastries. He also plays drums in a classic rock/country band, Silverweed. He lives in Urbana, Illinois. [ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in- formation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice Due to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's order closing all non-essential businesses in the State of Maryland in response to the COVID-19 pan- demic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice, effective to- day at 5:00pm EDT. While the office is closed, AMSAT will continue to accept new and renewal memberships. However, membership packets will not be mailed until the office reopens. T-shirts, hats, and other items stocked in the office will also not be available until the office reopens. Dig- ital downloadable content, including SatPC32 and MacDoppler will re- main available from the AMSAT store. Antenna, name badge, and awards orders will be forwarded for processing. The March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal will be produced on time. However, it may only be possible to publish it in digital format. Stay tuned for further updates. Any questions about memberships, orders, or office operations can be sent to info at amsat.org. Please note that no mail or phone service will be available until the office reopens. Vendors billing AMSAT for goods or services may email the above address to arrange payment. [ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ First Satellite Contact to be Noted in May QST Those who are ARRL members may be interested in the Technical Corres- pondence article in the forthcoming May 2020 QST, entitled "The 60th Anniversary of the First Satellite Contact." The contact to which it refers took place on February 6, 1960, six months before NASA's Project Echo, between W2RS and K3JTE (now W3PK), making use of a propagation mode first reported by W8JK (SK), which he called "the satellite ionization phenomenon." The May 2020 QST article describes what we did and what has been learn- ed since then about the ionosphere and how W8JK's mechanism works. For further reading about the contact, see the article in Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, September 1961. For more about the satellite ionization phenomenon, see the chapter by W8JK in S.F. Singer, ed., Interactions of Space Vehicles With an Ionized Atmosphere, Pergamon Press, 1965. The May issue of QST is expected to be published in mid-April. [ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur Radio Satellite Spreads Fight Coronavirus Message Indonesia?s national amateur radio society ORARI reports the ham radio satellite LAPAN-A2 (IO-86) is being used to send a Fight Coronavirus message using APRS. A translation of the ORARI post says: The satellite spreads the text message ?Stay Healthy, Stay at Home #LawanCorona?. This was conveyed by Researcher of the Center for Satellite Technology, Sonny Dwi Harsono when contacted, Friday, March 20, 2020. Sonny explained, this action was a form of support for government pol- icies on social distancing. The policy encourages all of us to reduce activities outside the home and interactions with others. ?So this mes- sage was sent by the LAPAN A2 satellite via the APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) beacon which was transmitted throughout Indonesia. APRS is a text based communication system for short messages such as SMS on mobile phones. But this APRS message can only be received through HT (Handie Talkie) which has the recipient of the APRS mess- age,? he said. Sonny explained, messages that have been disseminated can be received by anyone by setting the HT radio frequency to 145.825 MHz. To date corona?s message has been received by dozens of members of the Indo- nesian Radio Amateur Organization (ORARI) spread throughout Indonesia. The dissemination of the message was carried out starting March 20. For the time being the message dissemination was carried out on the APRS mission only. But it will try to spread the message one time at a LAPAN-A2 / LAPAN-ORARI track every 100 minutes. ?Later if possible, we try to distribute 24 hours nonstop every 100 minutes under certain con- ditions. Currently we are discussing the technicalities. The messages from the government can also be disseminated via the LAPAN-A2 satel- lite," he concluded. Source ORARI https://tinyurl.com/IndonesiaORARI Follow LAPAN-A2 https://twitter.com/lapansat [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Ham Talk Live! Interviews Frank Bauer, KA3HDO Ham Talk Live! host Neal Rapp, WB9VPG recently interviewed Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, for an informative look at recent events in the ARISS program. Bauer, who is AMSAT Vice President, Human Spaceflight and ARISS Inter- national Chair was interviewed on Thursday, March 26, 2020. In the interview Bauer covers ARISS' four-year effort to update the ISS Amateur Radio station with its next generation radio system, the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS consists of a specially modified JVC-Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver and the AMSAT-NA developed multi-voltage power supply. The complete interview can be heard at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-089-Bauer [ANS thanks Neil Rapp, WB9VPG for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISS Crew Transition Affected by CoViD-19 The International Space Station Expedition 62 crew, consisting of NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Meir, Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan, KI5AAA, and Commander Oleg Skripochka, RA0LDJ, are readying their Soyuz MS-15 crew ship for departure on April 17. Meanwhile, the crew that will re- place them is nearing its launch scheduled for April 9 aboard the Soyuz MS-16 crew ship. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner arrived this week at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for final training. The Expedition 63 trio is due to live aboard the station for 195 days with Cassidy as commander. (ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information) NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy?s family will be watching remotely from halfway around the world when he blasts off April 9 from Kazakhstan to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. That?s because travel restrictions and stringent social distancing guidelines instituted to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will limit the ability for family members to travel to the Baikonur Cosmo- drome for the launch. Launch day at Baikonur is usually a festive af- fair. ?But it?ll be completely quiet,? Cassidy said in a satellite in- terview from Star City, Russia. ?There won?t be anybody there." (ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information) NASA already has a long-held strategy in place for preventing astro- nauts from carrying any nasty bugs with them to space. All astronauts going to orbit must go through a two-week period of quarantine called ?health stabilization,? according to NASA. That way, the agency can make sure the crew is not incubating any illnesses before launch. How- ever, NASA said it ?will continue to evaluate and augment this plan, in coordination with its international and commercial partners? if needed. In the meantime, Russia?s state space corporation, Roscosmos, has de- cided to shut down all media activity surrounding the Soyuz launch, barring journalists from covering the mission in person. Russia will still live stream the launch, and NASA typically airs all of its crew- ed launches on its own online TV channel. The return of the Expedition 62 crew in mid-April would typically in- volve large numbers of recovery personnel. SpaceX will be ready to send its first crew of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station aboard its Crew Dragon capsule sometime in May. NASA has not provided any details if those operations would change in light of the pandemic. (ANS thanks theverge.com for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contacts Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via RK?J The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RS?ISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka Possible contact on Tuesday 2020-03-31 08:50 UTC ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancella- tions or postponements of school contacts. As always, ARISS will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates at the ARISS webpage: https://www.ariss.org/ The contact scheduled for Wednesday 2020-03-25 with SPDW Voortrekker Movement, Oranjeville, South Africa, direct via ZS9SPD was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team men- tors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations River Bend Wireless Rove (EN22, EN33, EN34, EN42, EN43, EN44) April 2-4, 2020 Mitch Ahrenstorff, AD0HJ, is looking to add six more grids to his ro- ver basket just before the April 4 AMSAT presentation/demonstration at the River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, Minn. Mitch will be activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the EN32/EN42 grid line on April 3rd, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April 4th, 2020. Watch Mitch?s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a de- tailed schedule. https://twitter.com/AD0HJ >From the Mountains to the Bay (CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020 R.J. Bragg, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming to Vacaville, Calif. He?s attending a class from April 15-19, so most of the roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered in- clude: CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass details will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Nothing to do while quarantined by Covid-19? How about making a paper model of the satellite, DIWATA-1, the first satellite designed and built in the Philippines: https://tinyurl.com/ujukexd (ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information) + There has been lengthy discussion this week on the AMSAT email bul- letin board, amsat-bb, about inconsiderate operators on FM satel- lites. A document by Sean Kutzko, KX9X, published back in 2017, is still an excellent guide to best practices on these birds. See it at https://tinyurl.com/ybw5e2ng (ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, for the above information) + The coronavirus has had effects on many space activities this week: Virgin Orbit is reassessing schedules, Blue Origin in hard-hit Seat- tle is mostly working online, Arianespace suspended launches from French Guiana and Russia recalled and quarantined its personnel, ESA mission control is working from home, and some spaceports are closed worldwide. (ANS thanks orbitalindex.com for the above information) + One thing astronauts have to be good at: living in confined spaces for long periods of time. Find yourself in a similar scenario? NASA astronaut Anne McClain recently posted a lengthy Twitter thread with pro-tips for getting through your time at home. It begins at: https://tinyurl.com/tqh3hke (ANS thanks orbitalindex.com for the above information) + At least on the ISS astronauts don't have the added task of caring for and educating kids. If your current confinement capsul is equip- ped with youngsters in grades K-4, there are resources for you at: https://www.nasa.gov/stem-at-home-for-students-k-4.html (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + The Folding at home project is a distributed computing project that is currently running calculations to analyze protein structures on the COVID-19 project. Donate your spare computer time to help this project and consider joining AMSAT's team (#67910). More information at https://foldingathome.org/covid19/. AMSAT's team standings can be found at https://stats.foldingathome.org/team/69710 --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org