AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-163

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

In this edition:

• ARISSat-1 Reception Challenge
• Call for Papers
• AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Due by June 15th
• New Items in AMSAT Store
• Grid Trip to Slovakia
• Satellite Shorts From All Over
• 2011 AMSAT Field Day Competition
• ARISS Report
• AMSAT Server Upgrade

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 01 ARISSat-1 Reception Challenge

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 01

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 01

ARISSat-1 Reception Challenge

ARISSat-1 is scheduled for deployment from the ISS in July It has a composite VHF downlink that will easily fit into the FUNcube Dongle receive spectrum The telemetry is 1000 bps BPSK and can, of course, also be received with a normal SSB 2 metre receiver

The expected signal levels from ARISSat should be similar to those we expect from FUNcube itself (and also eventually from UKube) and the team are keen to discover what will be the minimum and best type of antennas for schools to use with a FCD Therefore user experience with the ARISSat signals will be very valuable in making this determination

To encourage everyone to receive ARISSat signals we are offering a FUN reward for listeners!

There are a number of categories for this challenge including:

1. The first FCD user, from each continent, who can post a spectrum recording of the received signal together with evidence of decoding the data using the ARISSat software and of sending it to the ARISSat data warehouse

2. The first non-FCD user, from each continent, who can provide evidence of having decoded the signals and of sending it to the ARISSat data warehouse

3. The listener, using a FCD or not, who can demonstrate satisfactory reception of the telemetry in the same ways as described above, using the "smallest" possible receive antenna The actual closing date for this part of the challenge will be announced later

4. All other entrants who can demonstrate that they have been having FUN!

Please submit your "entries", including your location, station details (including FCD serial number where applicable), postal address and reports to g0aukamsat org

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the Southgate ARC News Site for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 02 Call for papers

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 02

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 02

Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 30th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 16-18, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings) The submission deadline is July 31, 2011 Please send papers to:

Maty Weinberg ARRL 225 Main St Newington, CT 06111

Or you can make your submission via e-mail to: maty@arrl org

Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights

73 Steve, WB8IMY ARRL

[ANS thanks Steve, WB8IMY, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 03 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Due by June 15th

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 03

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 03

It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors The deadline is June 15th A valid nomination requires either one Member Society, or five current individual members in good standing, to nominate an AMSAT member for the position

Four director's terms expire this year:

Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Tony Monteiro, AA2TX

The four candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be seated as full Board members for two year terms The two candidates receiving the next highest number of votes will be seated as alternate Board members for one year terms

Beginning this year, in addition to traditional submissions of written nominations which remains unchanged and is the preferred method, initial nominations may be made by electronic means =A0 These include e-mail, FAX, or electronic image of a petition Electronic petitions should be sent to MARTHA@AMSAT ORG or faxed to 301-608-3410 Written nominations, consisting of names, calls, and individual signatures, should be mailed to:

AMSAT-NA 850 Sligo Ave #600 Silver Spring, MD, 20910

No matter what method is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required If it is other than this, i e electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXIST- ING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS

Alan Biddle WA4SCA AMSAT Corporate Secretary

[ANS thanks Alan, WA4SCA, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 04 New Items in AMSAT Store

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 04

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 04

Hot off the presses, you don't want to miss out on these new additions to the AMSAT online store for 2011

The latest from Gould, WA4SXM, Getting Started With Amateur Satellites - 2011 Excellent for the beginner to learn the ins and outs of the most popular satellites Also contains information on ARISSat-1, P3 Express and AMSAT Fox

There is a new 2011 Frequency chart, updated May, 2011 by Mike, N1JEZ

Catch a fly ball or keep the sun off your head with the new 2011 Baseball Cap

Show off your support for ARISSat-1 with a handsome red Polo Shirt or gray T-Shirt

Visit the AMSAT online store and see pictures and pricing to your door http://www amsat org click on link in left margin

73 bruce (AMSAT online store manager)

[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 05 Grid Trip to Slovakia

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 05

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 05

OM3BD Looking for North America Satellite Contacts

Bill, NZ5N says he is heading for his annual 7-week trip to Slovakia, grid locator JN88mf He has been issued a new Slovak callsign OM3BD

Bill wrote, "I will be active on the satellites North American stations, please contact me for OSCAR 7 mode B skeds, if we will have any mutual footprints Time permitting, there's also a possibility of some portable operations to different grids, and/or satellite expeditions to Austria and Hungary Both are less than 20 miles from my Slovakian QTH "

Bill said last year he was able contact Ohio and Virginia via AO-7 from this location

[ANS thanks Bill, NZ5N for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 06 Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 06

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 06

Satellite Shorts From All Over

• NASA has released photos of Endeavour docked at the International Space Station (ISS) These are the first ever images taken of a space shuttle while still attached to the orbiting lab complex from the perspective of a crewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft The photos were captured by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 vehicle as he and two crewmates were departing the ISS for their return trip to Earth See: http://www nasa gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/e27depart html

• NASA's Spirit rover on Mars stopped transmitting in March 2010 when it went silent at the onset of the cold and dark Martian winter Assembled by Dr Ken Kremer and Marco Di Lorenzo from publicly-avail able NASA imagery, these mosaics show Spirit's final resting place: http://spaceflightnow com/news/n1106/05spirit/

• NASA Science News posted "A Salute to Spirit" at: http://tinyurl com/3ce4zp2 (science nasa gov)

• Video of the June 7 Soyuz launch with NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa can be viewed at the UniverseToday web site: http://tinyurl com/6c2gews

• A new yahoo group dedicated to Digital Amateur Television has been created The purpose of the group is to share knowledge & experiences using & developing DATV technology for amateur use You can join the group at: http://groups yahoo com/group/DigitalATV/ (Mark, WB9QZB)

• Copenhagen Suborbital, a group of amateur rocketeers successfully launched the world's first amateur-built rocket made for human space travel Two videos of the launch can be found at:

http://www universetoday com/86306/copenhagen-suborbitals-launch-videos/

• Send an audio report of your SumbandilaSat contact and you may be one of 3 lucky winners drawn to receive a first day postal cover of the SumbandilaSat Closing date is 30 June 2011 E-Mail to: saamsat@intekom co za (http://www amsatsa org za/)

• Martha at AMSAT Headquarters says she now has 7 Elk Antennas in stock The cost is $125 plus shipping She also has the bag which is $25 If you are interested, please call the AMSAT Office at 301-589-6062 A portion of your purchase price benefits AMSAT

• Andy, VK3ASI hopes to operate the FM satellites Oscar 50 and 51 from Spitsbergen next week Some of the operation may be maritime mobile

• The Central States VHF Conference will convene in Irving, TX on July 29 - 30 Most attendees traveling from a good distance will arrive on July 28th and checkout on July 31st Information will be posted at: http://www csvhfs org/

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 07 Reminder-2011 AMSAT Field Day Competition

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 07

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 07

Field Day is June 25 & 26 Annual readiness excersize is a great way to demo Satellite Operations

AMSAT Director of Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says, "It's that time of year again: Summer and Field Day!"

Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as an emergency preparedness exercise The event takes place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June For 2011 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 25, 2011 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 26, 2011 Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 25 can operate only 24 hours

The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event

Bruce advises, "If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellites like AMRAD-OSCAR-27, SaudiSat-Oscar-50, or AMSAT-OSCAR-51 for your AMSAT Field Day focus Don't, unless you are simply hoping to make one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points "

The congestion on FM LEO satellites was so intense in prior years that we must continue to limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite This includes the International Space Station You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non- store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational)

Please refer to these links for the full document of the AMSAT Field Day rules: http://www amsat org/ (link on AMSAT org front page to PDF file) And, an alternative site is: http://www amsatnet com/2011fd doc (MS-Word Doc File) http://www amsatnet com/2011fd pdf (PDF File)

These documents also cover the message exchange format, scoring requirements, reporting requirements, station classes, etc

[ANS thanks AMSAT Director of Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 08 ARISS Report

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 08

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 08

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report June 6, 2011

1. Amateur Radio Newsline on ARISS

On June 3, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1764 included a story on the new ARISS proposal process for U S schools “Ham Radio in Space: New US Only Selection Process Announced for ARISS Contacts” may be found at: ftp://ftp arnewsline org/quincy/News/news txt

1. Astronaut Training Status

An ARISS simulated contact is planned with Kevin Ford, KF5GPP on June 13 Ford is scheduled to fly with Expedition 33 in September 2012

Don Pettit, KD5MDT and André Kuipers, PI9ISS are scheduled for an ARISS preflight session on June 22 The two astronauts are part of Expedition 30 which will launch in November 2011

1. ARISS Presentations at Ham-Com 2011

The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) National Convention will be held at the Ham-Com 2011 in Plano, Texas on Friday and Saturday, June 10 - 11 Several ARISS presentations will be given during the event:

ARISSat-1 a Satellite for STEM Education and Fun Presented by Keith Pugh, W5IU

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Presented by Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO

Introduction to Amateur Radio Satellites Presented by Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW

For more information, see: http://www hamcom org

[ANS thanks Carol Jackson, KB3KLI, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163 09 AMSAT Server Upgrade

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163 09

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163 09

AMSAT Server Upgrade News

AMSAT's network manager Paul Williamson, KB5MU reminded users of the http://www amsat org features and news that, "The AMSAT ORG computer has been upgraded and moved to a new location Although it still re- mains on the UCSD campus, the new location required that a new IP ad- dress be assigned The transition should theoretically be seamless, but some users may have trouble until their network's DNS servers take notice of the update "

Unless your network admin has done something unusual, any problems should clear up by themselves within a few days at most

Please report any ongoing problems to Paul via kb5mu@amsat org or paul@mustbeart com if the problem prevents email from getting through to amsat org

[ANS thanks Paul Williamson, KB5MU for the above information]

/EX

73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org nb2f at amsat dot org

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