Date: September 17th 2006

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-260

ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation ANS 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

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor@amsat org

AMSAT 2006 Space Symposium

Online registration and hotel reservation for the 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium has been posted to the AMSAT website, and information about the Symposium has been expanded The 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held October 6, 7 and 8 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City, California in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area

Please visit http://www amsat org/amsat-new/symposium for additional information and an index to the expanded Symposium web pages

In this edition:

Results of AMSAT 2006 BoD Election
Space Traveler to Try QSOs From ISS
AMSAT Symposium Pre-Registration Extended to September 24
Call For AMSAT Journal Articles
PCSAT-2 10 Meter Receiver Debugging
AMSAT Member Wins QST Cover Plaque Award
AMSAT-UK Welcomes Foundation Satellite Access
ARISS Status for the Week of September 11, 2006
French Amateurs Bounce Laser Signals Off a Rain Cloud

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 01 Results of AMSAT 2006 BoD Election

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 01

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 01

The results of the 2006 AMSAT Election:

Tom Clark, K3IO - 800 votes- Director Lou McFadin, W5DID - 652 votes- Director Bob McGwier, N4HY - 647 votes- Director Lee McLamb, KU4OS- 321 votes - First Alternate Paul Shuch, N6TX - 312 votes- Second Alternate

Please note Directors serve a two year term The total number of votes cast was 937

Martha Saragovitz AMSAT Manager

[ANS thanks Martha at AMSAT Headquarters for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 02 Space Traveler to Try QSOs From ISS

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 02

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 02

US businesswoman Anousheh Ansari, will travel to the ISS on September 18 as part of the Russian Soyuz "taxi mission," and hopes to try ham QSOs from space Ansari had decided originally not to do ham contacts after realizing her heavy schedule didn't allow her to study for her ham exam

She was scheduled to fly in 2007, but when Daisuke Enomoto was grounded due to medical issues, her ETA was moved up Ansari was trained on the ISS radios by the Russian ARISS Team quite a few months ago

Now, she has decided to go for a potential QSO with students at George Washington University, her alma mater, on September 22 "The ARISS AMSAT Washington DC Team was asked just recently to support this QSO, and have done an outstanding job pulling everything together quickly," says ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO

"Mark Steiner, K3MS, is leading the effort In addition, Anoushe hopes to talk with US-licensed school children, and take advantage of the astronauts as her Control Operator She will be listening at various times on Thursday, September 21, through Tuesday, September 26, using RS0ISS " Because of third-party issues, Ansari may only speak to youths who have ham licenses She is the fourth private citizen and the first female civilian, to fly to the ISS

[ANS thanks Rosalie White, K1STO for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 03 AMSAT Symposium Pre-Registration Extended to September 24

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 03

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 03

Since most (about 90%) of Symposium Registrations have been through the website the Symposium Committee has made a decision to extend pre-registration at the $45 rate through the 24th of September We were able to do this because the production cycle for badges, etc is now automated and requires very little human intervention except some minor paper handling!

So if you haven't signed up now is your chance to get in at the last minute without having to pay the additional fee! Registrations received after September 24 will cost $55

Hotel registrations have filled the initial block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel that were set aside for Symposium attendees The Symposium Committee worked with the hotel management and they are now happy to report that additional rooms have been added to the AMSAT block

A glitch in the hotel's reservation system causes an occasional error when trying to book rooms at the special AMSAT rate If you try to book your room through the central Crowne Plaza reservation system (toll free number) they may tell you the dates are unavailable If this happens call the hotel directly (information on AMSAT web) and be sure to mention the AMS group code

If you still have problems please send Emily Clarke (n1did@amsat org) an email with your arrival and departure dates and she will arrange to speak with the hotel manager directly

One thing that isn't available through the website is that we can upgrade to the Executive rooms The rate for executive rooms increases from $109 per night to $129 per night Call the hotel directly to take advantage of this offer

Information about the Spouse Tours and Activities can be found online See: http://www amsat org/amsat-new/symposium/2006GroupTours php

The 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held October 6, 7 and 8 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City, California in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area

Please visit http://www amsat org/amsat-new/symposium for additional information and an index to the expanded Symposium web pages

[ANS thanks the 2006 Symposium Committee for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 04 Call For AMSAT Journal Articles

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 04

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 04

Ed, WA4SWJ, the Editor of the AMSAT Journal issued a call for articles this week Ed wrote, "Attention all you authors out there I am calling for more articles for the Journal I would like to have anything you would like to publish by September 22nd Articles on many subjects about amateur satellites are interesting and are good subjects for the Journal

Get your computers warmed up and fly those fingers over the keyboard and send me something! The e-mail address is journal@amsat org

[ANS thanks Ed, WA4SWJ, AMSAT Journal Editor for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 05 PCSAT-2 10 Meter Receiver Debugging

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 05

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 05

Bob, WB4APR reported some progress toward solving the mysterious lack of sensitivity on the PCSAT2 10 meter PSK-31 uplink Two stations testing on the 10 meter uplink noticed as one of them drifted lower in frequency they could see PCSAT-2's PSK signal appear on the MIXW waterfall display PCSAT-2's 10 meter receiver may have shifted around 3 6 KHz lower than originally configured

PCSAT-2 was retrieved from its position outside of the ISS during a space walk this week It will be returned to Earth for further analysis

[ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR, and the US Naval Academy Satellite Station for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 06 AMSAT Member Wins QST Cover Plaque Award

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 06

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 06

Congratulations are in order for AMSAT member Al Bloom, N1AL, winner of the August, 2006 QST Cover Plaque Award for his article "VHF/UHF Mobile Propagation " The QST Cover Plaque award is given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue which is determined by a vote of ARRL members Al is also a member of the Eagle Sensor Team for AMSAT

See: http://www arrl org/?artid=6767

[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 07 AMSAT-UK Welcomes Foundation Satellite Access

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 07

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 07

The changes to the UK Amateur License mean Foundation holders now have access to the Amateur Satellite Service They will be able to work through the many Amateur Satellites as well use the Voice and Packet repeaters on the International Space Station (ISS)

AMSAT-UK is delighted that the new license will allow full satellite access to Foundation holders This will enable these enthusiastic operators to experience the thrills and challenges of space communications

Every year AMSAT-UK runs a Satellite Beginners Workshop to teach newcomers how to operate through the satellites Now that Foundation holders have this valuable new privilege AMSAT-UK can look forward to record numbers attending the next workshop

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 08 ARISS Status for the Week of September 11, 2006

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 08

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 08

Upcoming School Contacts

Scheduling of ARISS contacts continues for the Expedition 13 and 14 crews Due to shuttle activities, no specific information is available at this time

SuitSat-1 Re-enters Atmosphere

SuitSat-1, a surplus Russian Orlan spacesuit equipped with amateur radio, was deployed from the ISS on February 3 of this year On September 7, 2006 at 16:00 GMT, SuitSat-1 re-entered the EarthÃ‚Â’s atmosphere approximately 1400 km south-southwest of Western Australia For more details, including the winners of the Chicken Little Contest, please go to: http://www amsat org/amsat-new/ariss/suitsatContest php

ARRL Article on Tennessee School Contact

ARRL covered the Northeast Middle School contact in the article, Ã‚Â“Astronaut's Kin among Middle Schoolers for Space Contact via Ham Radio Ã‚Â” See: http://www arrl org/news/stories/2006/09/08/100/?nc=1

ARISS International Meeting, October 9-10

The ARISS International face to face meeting will take place next month in conjunction with the AMSAT-NA Annual Board Meeting and Space Symposium in San Francisco The AMSAT meetings begin on October 5 and the ARISS International meeting will be held on Oct 9-10

Astronaut Training Status

Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan has been scheduled for a training session with Kenneth Ransom at JSC on Wednesday, September 13 Topics covered will include school contacts and radio operations

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-260 09 French Amateurs Bounce Laser Signals Off a Rain Cloud

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 260 09

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 17, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-260 09

Two French radio amateurs have made a successful one way contact over a distance of 40 km scattering laser signals from rain clouds

The flash pulses were at times 12 dB above the noise at 40 km which seem to indicate that under the right conditions a distance of 150 km could be covered

Laser communication systems are wireless connections through the atmosphere

They work similarly to fibre optic links, except that the beam is transmitted through free space While generally speaking the transmitter and receiver must require line-of-sight conditions, they have the benefit of eliminating the need for broadcast rights and buried cables Laser communication systems can be easily deployed since they are inexpensive, small, low power and do not require any radio interference studies The carrier used for the transmission signal is typically generated by a laser diode Two parallel beams are needed, one for transmission and one for reception

Laser communication have been a hot topic lately, as solutions for how to satisfy ever increasing bandwidth needs are in high demand Some have suggested that bandwidth could be distributed in neighbour- hoods by putting laser communication systems on top of homes and pointing them towards a common transceiver with a fast link to the Internet With possible transmit speeds of up to a gigabit per second, this is an exciting area

The French team proved that laser signals can be scattered from clouds thus proving that the notion that laser communication can only be line of sight is wrong

[ANS thanks Amateur Radio Newsline Report #1518 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 additional benefits Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office

73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org

Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA http://amsat org/mailman/listinfo/ans

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