AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-257

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

In this edition:

• BOD Ballots Must be Recieved by September 15
• ISS SSTV received on SUWS WebSDR
• Send your message “from the Moon”
• Contract to Build Es’hailSat Includes AMSAT-DL Phase 4 Transponders
• Chicago Media Coverage St Joan of Arc School ARISS Contact
• AMSAT Events
• ARISS News
• Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-257 01 ANS-257 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 257 01

From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD DATE September 14, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-257 01

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BOD Ballots Must be Received by September 15

There is still time to vote but remember that Board of Directors ballots must be received at the AMSAT Office by 15 SEP 2014 in order to be counted Your returned ballot should be sent promptly, and those from outside North American preferably by air mail or other expedited means

Normally there would be 3 full Board seats open this year, plus 2 alternates However, with the passing of Tony Monteiro, AA2TX (SK), there will be an additional full Board seat open to fill the remainder of his term This means that the top three recipients of votes will have two-year terms, the fourth most vote recipient serving as full member for one year The fifth and sixth highest vote recipients will serve as first and second Alternate, respectively You may vote for up to 4 individuals

Election of board members is both an obligation as well as an opportunity by our membership to help shape the future direction of AMSAT-NA Please take the time to review the candidate statements that accompany the ballot and determine who you wish to see on the Board

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]

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ISS SSTV received on SUWS WebSDR

On Saturday, September 6, at 1000 GMT Paulo PV8DX emailed the news that the International Space Station (ISS) Slow Scan Television (SSTV) on 145 800 MHz FM had been active again

At the end of the passage (ISS) in northern Brazil where I live I heard the sound of early SSTV So I went to the WEBSDR in your area [the SUWS WebSDR near London, UK] and I got two images

The ISS has been transmitting photographs devoted to the life and work of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin They were sent in the PD180 SSTV mode with additional voice commentary

On August 27, 2014 a test of the ISS Slow Scan Television (SSTV) experiment MAI-75 using the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver and a new cable took place Although a carrier was successfully transmitted on 145 800 MHz no SSTV audio tones were heard It appears that the earlier problem has now been rectified http://amsat-uk org/2014/08/23/iss-sstv-august-27/

The Kenwood TM-D710 was delivered to the ISS in the summer of 2012 The original TM-D700 in the Russian ISS Service Module had been experiencing problems with the PA after giving many years service in space, see ARISS minutes for March 2013 It is thought the Kenwood TM- D710 is set to run at just 5 watts output because convection cooling doesn’t work in zero gravity http://www ariss org/meeting-minutes/archives/03-2013

David Barber G8OQW received some good images in Chelmsford, Essex which can be seen on the AMSAT-UK Facebook page

Listen to the ISS and amateur radio satellites online using the SUWS VHF/UHF/Microwave WebSDR http://amsat-uk org/2014/08/15/suws-websdr-moves-to-new-site/

ISS Fan Club provides status and tracking information http://issfanclub com/

How to hear the ISS http://amsat-uk org/beginners/how-to-hear-the-iss/

Paul Turner G4IJE, co-developer of the SSTV PD modes, says regarding the PD180 mode: “Don’t forget to either enable “Always show RX viewer” or use the “Picture viewer” (magnifying glass icon) to show the picture at its real resolution of 640 x 496 If you just view as normal you will only see 320 x 248 resolution, which kind of defeats the object of using a high resolution mode ”

Tony Falla VK3KKP commented “I received a good picture from ISS on my iPad mid-Saturday evening [AEDT] on 145 800 MHz just using the microphone next to the rig ”

The APRS digipeater in the European Space Agency ISS Columbus module continued to be in operation on 145 825 MHz during the SSTV transmissions

All you need to do to receive SSTV pictures direct from the space station is to connect the audio output of a scanner or amateur radio transceiver via a simple interface to the soundcard on a Windows PC or an Apple iOS device, and tune in to 145 800 MHz FM You can even receive pictures by holding an iPhone next to the radio’s loudspeaker

The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145 800 MHz FM and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be enough to receive it The FM transmission uses the 5 kHz deviation which is standard in much of the world

Many FM rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters For best results you should select the wider deviation filters Handhelds all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard

On Windows PC’s the free application MMSSTV can be used to decode the signal, on Apple iOS devices you can use the SSTV app The ISS Fan Club website will show you when the space station is in range

For more on Slow Scan Television SSTV, see this article SSTV – The Basics http://www essexham co uk/sstv-the-basics

How to be successful with the ISS Slow Scan Television (SSTV) imaging system http://www marexmg org/fileshtml/howtoisssstv html

Free MMSSTV Slow Scan TV software http://hamsoft ca/pages/mmsstv php

iOS SSTV App https://itunes apple com/gb/app/sstv/id387910013

IZ8BLY Vox Recoder, enables you to record the signals from the ISS on 145 800 MHz while you’re away at work http://antoninoporcino xoom it/VoxRecorder/

ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) Blog and Gallery http://ariss-sstv blogspot co uk/

Information on the MAI-75 SSTV experiment http://www energia ru/eng/iss/researches/education-26 html

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Send your message “from the Moon”

The LuxSpace 4M amateur radio payload is expected to fly around the Moon at the end of October and you can upload a message to the 4M website that will be transmitted on 145 980 MHz using JT65B during the flight

There is room for 2500 messages each up to 13 characters long Your message could be your name/callsign or “73 de M5AKA”

During the lunar flyby, the spacecraft will be about 399,636 km from Earth The LuxSpace team wish to encourage radio amateurs around the world to receive the transmissions and send in data There will be a number of Experiments and Contests with prizes to the winners in each experiment and category Details are given on page 19 of 4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment

4M stands for Manfred Memorial Moon Mission in memory of Professor Manfred Fuchs, founder and chairman of OHB group, Bremen, who passed away on April 27, 2014

Register and Upload your message at http://moon luxspace lu/messages/

4M Mission: a Lunar FlyBy experiment https://ukamsat files wordpress com/2014/09/lxs-4m-eme2014-a4-v3 pdf

Further information on this project is at http://amsat-uk org/2014/09/01/4m-lunar-payload/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Contract to Build Es’hailSat Includes AMSAT-DL Phase 4 Transponders

Gunter Krebs reports on his Space Pages on the web that Es'hailSat has signed a contract with MELCO to build the Es'hail-2 geostationary comsat

Es'hail 2 is a planned communication satellite operated by Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company It will also feature an radio amateur payload

The new satellite will be positioned at the 26° East hotspot position for TV broadcasting and significantly adds to the company’s ability to provide high quality, premium DTH television content across the Middle East and North Africa It will feature Ku-band and Ka-band transponders to provide TV distribution and government services to strategic stakeholders and commercial customers who value broadcasting and communications independence, interference resilience, quality of service and wide geographical coverage Es’hail 2 is expected to be launched at the end of 2016

In September 2014, a contract with MELCO was signed to build the satellite based on the DS-2000 bus

Es'hail 2 will also provide the first Amateur Radio geostationary communication capability linking Brazil and India It will carry two "Phase 4" Amateur Radio transponders The payload will consist of a 250 kHz linear transponder intended for conventional analogue operations in addition to another transponder which will have an 8 MHz bandwidth The latter transponder is intended for experimental digital modulation schemes and DVB amateur television The uplinks will be in the 2 400-2 450 GHz and the downlinks in the 10 450-10 500 GHz amateur satellite service allocations Both transponders will have broad beam antennas to provide full coverage over about third of the earth’s surface The Qatar Amateur Radio Society andQatar Satellite Company are cooperating on the amateur radio project AMSAT-DL is providing technical support to the project

This story is posted at: http://space skyrocket de/doc_sdat/eshail-2 htm

[ANS thanks Gunter's Space Pages for the above information]

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Chicago Media Coverage St Joan of Arc School ARISS Contact

Here is a link to local Chicagoland coverage of the St Joan of Arc ARISS contact:

http://chicago cbslocal com/2014/09/08/students-at-lisle-school-chat- with-astronaut-aboard-international-space-station

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]

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AMSAT Events

Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations)

• Friday through Sunday, 12-14 September 2014 – ARRL Southwestern Division Convention 2014 in San Diego CA (near Montgomery Field and I- 805/CA-163 interchange)
• Sunday, 25 October 2014 – Hamfest Chattanooga 2014 in Chattanooga TN (Alhambra Center, near TN-320 and I-75 exit 3)
• Saturday, 8 November 2014 – Tucson Hamfest 2014 in Marana AZ (along I-10 west frontage road, east of exit 236)
• Saturday, 6 December 2014 – Superstition Superfest 2014 in Mesa AZ (Mesa Community College, Dobson Road between Southern Avenue & US- 60 exit 177)
• Saturday, 10 January 2015 – Thunderbird Hamfest in Phoenix AZ (43rd Avenue, between Greenway and Bell Roads)
• Friday and Saturday, 20-21 February 2015 – Yuma Hamfest in Yuma AZ (Yuma County Fairgrounds, 32nd Street between Pacific Avenue & Avenue 3E, south of I-8 exit 3)

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]

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ARISS News

Upcoming Contacts

• A direct contact via 4U1ITU with students at Institut Florimont, Petit-Lancy, Switzerland is scheduled for Wed 2014-09-17 08:17:28 UTC 88 deg

To celebrate ESA’s 50th anniversary, an audience comprised of students from several countries will gather in the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG)

The nearby ITU (International Telecommunications Union) Headquarters hosts the amateur radio station 4U1ITU This ARISS contact will be operated by the station’s trustee Attila Matas (HB9IAJ / OM1AM)

About 20 VIPs will be present in the 4U1ITU radio room (the “shack” in Ham parlance) Via a video link, the audience in the CICG will participate in the event

Latest News

• September 9, 2014

A direct contact with students at Lanier Middle School and Lanier Cluster Schools in Sugar Hill, GA, USA via W4GR was successful at 11:16:25 UTC 83 deg

Read and listen to a local media report about the contact:

http://www gwinnettdailypost com/news/2014/sep/09/radio-contact- allows-lanier-students-to-talk-with/

Welcome to the Lanier Cluster, home of the Longhorns! We are a group of schools with a common goal: Learn, Lead, Succeed We are comprised of one special needs preschool (The Buice School), three elementary schools (Sugar Hill Elementary, Sycamore Elementary, White Oak Elementary), one middle school (Lanier Middle), and one high school (Lanier High) Our schools are located in the greater Atlanta metro area in the largest school district in Georgia Our schools and cluster are named after nearby Lake Lanier, which part of the Chattahoochee River system

Our schools strive to create authentic learning environments for our students Towards that end, our elementary schools, Lanier Middle, and Lanier High have project based learning programs for students At Lanier High, students choose to be a part of a school within a school (academy model) as we guide students towards career and college readiness Lanier High was also recently certified as a Georgia STEM high school, the only all-inclusive, traditional high school in Georgia that has received this STEM certification

Our students are excited about science and space exploration They have participated in regional and state science fairs, designed an experiment flown in microgravity, and chatted with a NASA Earth scientist live on NASA TV They have presented at conferences, participated in robotics and app challenge events, and even won an Emmy for work on a 3D computer animation for a PBS documentary The students of Lanier Cluster are excited to be a part of this ARISS contact!

September 8, 2014

A direct contact with students at St Joan of Arc School, Lisle, IL, USA via K9LEZ was successful at 18:34:45 UTC 84 deg Students interviewed astronaut Alexander Gerst KF5ONO

Listen to a local media report: http://chicago cbslocal com/2014/09/08/students-at-lisle-school-chat- with-astronaut-aboard-international-space-station/

St Joan of Arc Catholic School is located in Lisle, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago We are a pre-K to 8th grade school with about 600 students St Joan provides an educational environment which grants each student access to the highest quality and richest variety of integrated educational experiences within our means We are committed to preparing our students to think critically and become confident, sensitive, Christian leaders capable of adapting and contributing to their community Our school was awarded the National Blue Ribbon Award for Academic Excellence in 2011 Our school was named an IMSA (Illinios Math and Science Academy) Fusion School in 2012 Our school participated in NASA’s microgravity program through the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas in 2013 The teachers directly involves in this contact completed the American Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) summer teacher institute program and are working with local radio amateurs to successfully complete this contact and to provide additional opportunities to our classrooms

September 5, 2014

A direct contact with students in St Petersburg, Russia was successful 2014-09-05 10:00 UTC No other details are available at this time

[ANS thanks ARISS, Keith, W5IU and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information]

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Satellite Shorts From All Over

*Patrick Stoddard in October QST

See AMSAT's own, Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK on page 79 of October's QST The digital version is available online at http://www arrl org

[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information]

*Share your Experience

There are lots of hamfests that occur every month Please try to get out and share your experiences I attended the SFTARC hamfest on Saturday, September 13, 2014 in Gardner, KS Randy, KD0HKD, gave a presentation and made a few contacts including one lady's first satellite QSO My point is that with the new Fox-1 series of satellites being launched next year, the opportunity to welcome new members and operators is increasing Let's begin attracting new membership by being present

[ANS thanks Joe, K6WAO for the above information]

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/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, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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