AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-256

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:

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• 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 *
• Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport *
• Details - http://www amsat org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index php *

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In this edition: * Sumbandilasat Launch on Track * September 2009 AO-51 Schedule * AMSAT Symposium Breaking News: Low Cost Airfare * Special Event Coinciding with AMSAT Symposium * Dutch Authorities Propose Rebanding D-STAR Into 70cm Satellite Band * ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference) Forum Schedule Announced * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status - 7 September 2009

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 01 Sumbandilasat Launch on Track

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 01

The latest information on the SA AMSAT web page says that the launch of SumbandilaSat is on track for 15 September 2009 Monitor the web pages at http://www amsatsa org za/index htm for the latest infor- mation

In an interview with SA AMSAT, Johan Erasmus, SunSpace systems engineer speaking from Baikonur, said that the satellite travelled well and that all system performed to specification during the testing phase Tests were carried out in the clean room at the Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan "All payloads operated well and we were able to test the amateur payload from a little distance away The parrot, voice repeater and the voice beacon responded well"

The voice beacon message was recorded by Anton Coetzee, at the time a learner at the Technical High School Kimberley His message was select- ed from entries in a competition to find the best message with which to launch SumbandilaSat It reads: "This is ZSOSUM in space I am the voice of the South African youth We are knocking on the door of opportunity, marking our place in the orbit of space research and communication Hear us!" You can preview the audio message on-line: http://www amsatsa org za/Anton%20Cotezzee%20Sumbandila%20Sat%20Message mp3

During the week the butane propulsion system tank was filled and the batteries were charged On Wednesday 2 September SumbandilaSat was inte- grated with the launch platform The main payload, a Russian weather satellite, has also arrived at Baikonur and is currently being integrat- ed into the launch structure Next week the launch structure will be transported to the launch site and integrated with the Soyuz rocket "With all now in place we can expect a launch on 15 September", Johan Erasmus said

A few members of the SunSpace team will remain behind to give the batteries a final charge so that when SumbandilaSat is separated from the final stage of the rocket the batteries are in a healthy state and to remove the last of the protective covers The focus is now shifting to the ground station at the University of Stellenbosch where the satellite will be commanded approximately 30 minutes after separation and three hours into the flight

An intensive period of payload qualification will follow during which each system will be tested This is expected to take up to 3 months after which the command will shift to the CSIR's Satellite Application Centre at Hartebeeshoek, north of Pretoria

Once the main payload, a Multi-spectral imager which has a 6 25m Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) with 6 spectral bands and is supported by an on-board storage of 24 Giga byte of memory and a main downlink of 72 Mb/s is fully put into service, will a schedule be set up according to which the various experimental payloads on board will be operated

FREQUENCIES Mode VU FM voice Transponder and Parrot

Uplink 145 880 MHz Downlink 435 350 MHz

Voice Beacon 435 300 MHz

AMATEUR OPERATION OF ZS0SUM PAYLOAD

• The details of the CTCSS tones will be made available after the payload has been commissioned

• On receipt of a "X" CTCSS tone the control unit will command the satellite in the transponder mode

• On receipt of a "Y" CTCSS tone the control unit will command the satellite in the parrot mode

• If for a period no tones are received, the system will activate a voice beacon

  [ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information and sends our congratulations and best wishes for a successful mission]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 02 September 2009 AO-51 Schedule

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 02

All 435 150 repeater downlinks are subject to interruption for telemetry, generally one AM pass/day over the eastern US

August 31 - September 7 (~1200Z)

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

FM Repeater, L/U Uplink: 1268 700 MHz FM Downlink: 435 150 MHz FM

September 7 - September 13

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

9k6 BBS, L/U Uplink: 1268 700 MHz 9k6 FM Downlink: 435 150 MHz 9k6 FM

September 14 - September 20

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

QRP Only FM Repeater, V/U (<10 watts and hand held or omni antennas only) Uplink: 145 880 MHz FM Downlink: 435 150 MHz FM

September 21 - September 27

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

9k6 BBS, L/U Uplink: 1268 700 MHz 9k6 FM Downlink: 435 150 MHz 9k6 FM

September 28 - October 4

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

QRP Only FM Repeater, V/U and College Radio Night (October 1-2) (<10 watts and hand held or omni antennas only) Uplink: 145 880 MHz FM Downlink: 435 150 MHz FM

October 5 - October 11 AMSAT Symposium week

FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 MHz FM Downlink: 435 300 MHz FM

9k6 BBS, L/U Uplink: 1268 700 MHz 9k6 FM Downlink: 435 150 MHz 9k6 FM

[ANS thanks Mark,N8MH, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 03 AMSAT Symposium Breaking News: Low Cost Airfare

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 03

The 2009 AMSAT Symposium is rapidly approaching! And we hope you can join us especially given that there are some low-cost airfares out there for those of us in the US

We have an outstanding venue this year at the Four Points Sheraton at the BWI Airport Your symposium committee recently did a walkthrough of this facility The accommodations and meeting rooms are superb I do a lot of traveling and I must say that the rooms are absolutely beautiful You will definitely get a substantial bang for your buck (or Euro, etc) at this symposium And planned 40th Anniversary celebratory events will be truly memorable

And to make things even better, Southwest Airlines has a phenomenal Nationwide (US) fall sale $59-109 one-way airfares are available to BWI until Sept 3 And remember, with Southwest, there are no baggage fees

Also, Airtran has a sale to and from BWI until September 17 $39-119 with a 10 day advance purchase Sign up now to get the best fares before they are taken by others

Airtran does charge for checked luggage

We will be posting the Symposium agenda this week For planning purposes, the BoD meeting starts Thursday morning and runs until noon Friday The symposium starts at 1 pm Friday and runs until noon Sunday The AMSAT annual meeting with be Saturday afternoon And there will be an ARISS ops meeting (all are invited) on Sunday The 40th anniversary celebration is Friday night and the Banquet is Saturday night

So we'd love to see you in "Charm City"-Baltimore Maryland for the symposium presentations, 40th anniversary celebrations, poster sessions, and BoD meeting

And don't forget to submit a symposium paper to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, ASAP!!

Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer 2009 Symposium Co-Chairs

[ANS thanks Frank and Janet for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 04 Special Event Coinciding with AMSAT Symposium

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 04

Those of you into Edgar Allan Poe there is a special treat if you come to this year's symposium The famous poet is celebrating his 200th birthday this year He lived in Baltimore for several years and died and was buried in the city And there is a Poe Museum at the Baltimore house he lived in before his death

The year-long commemoration of Poe will culminate with a recreation of his funeral that occurs around the Symposium dates Poe died on October 7, 1849 There will be a recreation of a wake for Poe from noon to 11 pm at the Poe House This will be followed up with a mock-funeral for Poe on Sunday October 11 (12:30 and 4:30) John Astin (Gomez Addams from the Addams family fame) will officiate the funeral services

If you want more information on this, go to the following web sites:

www nevermore2009 com

www poebicentennial com

www annabelleetavern com This "all Poe" tavern was named after one of Poe's last poems a virtual shrine to Edgar Allan Poe with his poetry covering the walls

www westminsterhall org Where he is buried and where a mystery man dresses in black leaves a bottle of cognac and three red roses on Poe's birthday

If you didn't know it before, now you know why the Baltimore Football team is called the Ravens

73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO 2009 AMSAT Symposium Co-Chair

[ANS thanks Frank, KA3HDO, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 05 Dutch Authorities Propose Rebanding D-STAR Into 70cm Satellite Band

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 05

Information received from the Netherlands this week indicated a growing threat to frequencies allocated and used by the Amateur Satellite Service

Worldwide, including the Netherlands, amateur use of frequencies in many portions of the 70cm band are allocated as secondary users The threat arises from proposals to move the output frequency band of terrestrial D-STAR repeaters from the 439-440 MHz range down to 437-438 MHz Dutch regulators have halted amateur D-STAR repeater licensing in that country because they plan to reallocate 439 500 MHz and upward to the Differential GPS (DGPS) service

Despite protest from Dutch amateur radio operators, amateur clubs in the surrounding countries, and regulators in nearby countries it seems as if the Dutch authorities are still planning on this frequency re- allocation to favor DGPS operation in violation of ITU allocations

If completed this reallocation of the terrestrial D-STAR repeater outputs would place them right in the downlink band of the Amateur Satellite Service This would have immediate operational impact on European amateur satellite stations Longer term it may open the door for future infringement on satellite operations in other countries

[ANS thanks Geert Jan, PE1HZG for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 06 ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference) Forum Schedule Announced

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 06

TAPR is the premiere national digital organization covering all digital voice & data technologies and digital techniques such as SDR More information about TAPR can be found at: www tapr org

TAPR is active throughout the year At the Dayton Hamvention TAPR sponsors a digital forum and a joint banquet with AMSAT TAPR publishes a quarterly journal, the PSR and develops digital techniques such as SDR TAPR holds in conjuntion with the ARRL an annual national Digital Communication Conference You can follow TAPR's activities, events & updates regularly on Twitter at: www twitter org/taprdigital

The ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference) will be held on September 25 - 27, 2009 again in the northwest suburbs of Chicago at the Elk Grove Village Holiday Inn near O'Hare airport with a free hotel shuttle bus

The DCC has something for everyone from those new to digital modes to those experienced with digital communications The DCC has 2 full days of Technical forums on Friday & Saturday On Saturday there is an additional concurrent track of Introductory forums On Sunday morning there is a 1/2 day technical session which is a deep dive into one or more digital topics, such as SDR

The DCC is well known for introducing new technologies & concepts This year presentations include:

     * Two Ham DTV, Digital Television presentations by Art, WA8RMC & Ken,
  W6HHC

     * "Use of Digital Communications at the Marine Corps Marathon in
  Washington D
C
"  by Tom, N4ZPT

     * "Universal Ham Radio Text Messaging" 

by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, creator of APRS

After the Friday night social we plan to have another D-STAR get together

The Saturday night banquet speaker will be Bill Brown, WB8ELK Bill is a pioneer in flying BalloonSats, balloons with payloads including amateur radio digital communication technologies

You can learn more about the DCC & register on-line at: www tapr org/dcc Registration is preferred prior to September 17th for planning purposes, but walk-in registrations will be accepted

If you can't attend the DCC the Proceedings can be purchased at the TAPR web site at: www tapr org/pub_dcc html

Starting last year, 2008 and continuing this year DCC presentations are being recorded by Amateur Radio Video News DVDs of the prresentations are available at: http://www arvideonews com

If you have any questions you can reach the TAPR Office at: taproffice@tapr org

Look foward to seeing many of you at the DCC

73, Mark, WB9QZB DCC Local Co-Host Chicago, IL

The 2009 DCC forum & speaker schedule is attached & is available online at the TAPR web site at: http://www tapr org/pdf/DCC_2009_Schedule_Preliminary2009-09-08 pdf

[ANS thanks Mark, WB9QZB, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 07 Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 07

• FO-29 Control Team operator Yutaka Murata, JA1COU says that data analysis and recovery efforts continued this week The control team confirms their suspicion that FO-29's outage is caused by the long eclipse periods currently encountered FO-29 is only commanded on when it is over Japan although with luck it may remain on depending on illumination of its solar panels and be heard elsewhere If you capture any telemetry from FO-29 over your location please forward your data via e-mail to lab (at) jarl or jp and include your QTH, date and time

• Allen, KK4AK plans to active on the FM satellites from the mountains of North Carolina (Grid EM96) this coming week

• Operating from the Hawaiian Island of Kauai W6ZQ made contact with stations in Hawaii, Alaska, and the US mainland via AO-51

• Luc, VE2DWE has made available a recording of his experimentation using D-STAR through the AO-27 satellite He reports using an uplink frequency of 436 797 MHz and monitored downlink audio on 145 850 MHz The entire recording can be heard at Luc's website: http://www qsl net/ve2dwe/

• http://spacesat blogspot com/2009/08/uma-noite-memoravel-no-ao-7 html is the link to a video of AO-7 DX operations posted by Piraja, PS8RF

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256 08 ARISS Statuts - 7 September 2009

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256 08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD September 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-256 08

1. ARISS Contact with Craigmore High School

On Wednesday, September 2, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held between Craigmore High School in Blakeview, South Australia and Expedition 20 Astronaut Frank De Winne, ON1DWN, on the ISS An audience of 40 people gathered for the event and one newspaper provided media coverage

1. ESA Astronaut De Winne Speaks with Vrije Basisschool, Belgium

On Thursday, September 3, Frank De Winne, ON1DWN, participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Vrije Basisschool in De Haan, Belgium via telebridge station VK4HZ in Australia De Winne answered twenty-two questions posed to him by the students Approximately 240 students, teachers and parents as well as radio, television and newspaper reporters attended the event The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers This was a European Space Agency (ESA) event Students who participated in the ARISS contact were chosen through an ESA competition

1. ARISS Contact with ESA/ESOC Successful

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held at the European Space Agency (ESA)/European Space Operation Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany on Friday, September 4 via telebridge station LU8YY in Argentina The contact was held during an open day event, “The Long Night of the Stars ” Students from a local school, “Schuldorf Bergstrasse,” in Seeheim participated in the contact Astronauts Robert Thirsk, Frank de Winne and Christer Fuglesang took turns answering eleven questions posed to them An audience of 200 gathered at the stage for the contact and several audio and video links were provided for all the visitor rooms of the Open Day event at ESOC, so that an additional 750 visitors could connect to the contact The event was covered by the television station Hessischer Rundfunk HR3, the radio station HR-Info Radio Hessischer Rundfunk Frankfurt and two newspapers, Frankfurter Rundschau and Darmstaedter Echo There was also a live coverage via the Internet (Kosmologs) and five freelance journalists were present The audio was also fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers

1. Stockholm Students Question Fuglesang via ARISS Contact

On Sunday, September 6, students from Sätraskolan in Skärholmen, Stockholm, Sweden participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact via telebridge station LU8YY in Argentina STS-128 Mission Specialist Christer Fuglesang, KE5CGR, answered 14 questions as an audience of 400 gathered for the contact Media covered the event and the audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers

1. Astronaut Training Status

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell is scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) licensing session on Wednesday, September 9 Caldwell is scheduled to fly with Expedition 23 in April 2010

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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