Date: June 6th 2010

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-157

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

NOTICE: BoD Nominations Due June 15 *
It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on *
the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors A nomination requires either *
one Member Society or five current individual members to nominate *
an AMSAT member for the position Three director's terms expire *
this year: Tom Clark, K3IO, Lou McFadin, W5DID and Gould Smith, *
WA4SXM Nominations must be in writing and mailed to: AMSAT, *
850 Sligo Ave #600, Silver Spring MD 20910 They can arrive no *
later than June 15th *

In this edition:

AMSAT-NA 2010 Symposium Announcement
China President Hu Jintao Visits HO-68 Operation
AO-51 Operations Team Says New Power Control Settings
AMSAT-OH Reports P3E S/X Band Transponder Prototype Operational
Canberran Students Enjoy ARISS Ham Radio Contact
AMSAT-India Announces Re-Organization
AMSAT Awards
New Items at the AMSAT Online Store
AO-51 Operations Team Announces Field Day Schedule

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 01 AMSAT-NA 2010 Symposium Announcement

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 01

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 01

AMSAT announces the 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, October 8 through Sunday, October 10 This year we have selected the Chicago/Elk Grove Holiday Inn which is near O'Hare Airport for the event This is the same hotel that recently has hosted the Central States VHF Conference, Digital Communications Conference and NIDXCC events

All Amateur Radio Operators interested in space communications are invited to participate in the Symposium offerings including:

Space Symposium with Amateur Satellite Presentations
Operating Techniques, News, & Plans from the Amateur Satellite World
Board of Directors Meeting open to AMSAT members
Meet Board Members and Officers
Annual General Membership Meeting
Annual Banquet-Keynote Speaker and Door Prizes
President's Club Reception
Area Coordinator's Breakfast

The Chicago/Elk Grove Holiday Inn is located at 1000 Busse Road, Elk Grove, IL (near O'Hare Airport with free hourly shuttles) The room rate and reservation information will be announced shortly

Also with the 2010 Symposium Announcement please keep in mind the Call For Papers:

This is the first call for papers for the 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting The Symposium Committee invites proposals for:

Papers for publication in the Proceedings
Symposium Presentations
Poster Presentations
Equipment and Operating Demonstrations

These can be on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy submitted by September 1, 2010 for inclusion in the printed proceedings

Abstracts and papers should be sent to JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM at k9jkm@comcast net Dan Schultz, N8FGV will assist as Co-Editor of the Proceedings

Watch http://www amsat org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/index php for more news as it becomes available

[ANS thanks the 2010 Symposium Committee for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 02 China President Hu Jintao Visits HO-68 Operation

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 02

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 02

Michael Chen, BD5RV/1 reported that on May 31 he, along with BA1DU, BG1TTA, BA1EO, BG1HOB accompanied Chinese President Hu Jintao as he visited the amateur satellite station set up in the China Science and Technology Museum in Beijing Several children was operating HO68 while the president was watching Michael reported, "He encour- aged them for further activities and confirmed the positive effects of amateur satellites "

AMSAT-China Web Page: http://www camsat cn

[ANS thanks Michael Chen, BD5RV/1 for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 03 AO-51 Operations Team Says New Power Control Settings

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 03

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 03

AMSAT-NA VP Operations, Drew KO4MA reported on the current status of AO-51 The satellite is currently operational with the main V/U repeater, 67 Hz PL enabled

June 1 - June 21 FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145 920 Mhz FM, PL 67Hz Downlink: 435 300 Mhz FM

The power management routine adjusts the power output in three stages based on illumination state and battery voltage The high setting is 1 57 watts The mid-setting is at 290 mw, and the low setting is off

During passes over the eastern US, especially in the morning, the Op- erations Team has been collecting telemetry on the 435 150 transmitter, so users may have heard the power levels toggle on 435 300 The rest of the time outside of eclipse it should be pretty steadily at the high setting Soon after entering eclipse, if in use, the transmitter will shut off Please do not use AO-51 when it is in eclipse

Eclipses continue to lengthen until about July 1, then drop back to zero by the third week of August This last period of continuous illumination will last until January 2011 AO-51 will likely only be operational while illuminated after this date

Drew thanks Mark Hammond N8MH, Kevin Schuchmann WA6FWF, and Jim White WD0E for their help with the satellite during this period of rearrang- ing our operational plan, and learning new tricks to keep AO-51 available as much as possible We are approaching 6 years in orbit!

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA VP Operations, Drew KO4MA for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 04 AMSAT-OH Reports P3E S/X Band Transponder Prototype Operational

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 04

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 04

Michael, OH2AUE has written the latest news of the AMSAT-OH S/X band coherent/linear transponder for P3E project The Coherent mode is a fully functional testbed for the P5A ranging transponder

The Finnish team meets on a regular basis every 4 - 6 weeks for testing and to followup on the work of each individual The team has assembled the linear transponder prototype and verified it with over- the-air tests and laboratory tests Flight versions of the submodules are being produced at this time with the goal of integrating them and cabling the S/X transponder

Full verification of the Coherent Mode is awaiting a fully functional command station AND a functional IHU + CAN environment Preliminary testing and evaluation of the Coherent Processor have shown proper oper- ation of the design and circuitry (e g locking onto a "modulated" uplink carrier, tracking this etc )

The general design, block diagrams, and photos can be found on-line at: http://www rats fi/rats/amsat-oh/ It is currently in Finnish but the team hopes you will enjoy it

This transponder is especially complex as you can see from these key on figures on the web page:

 * 9 different local oscillators
 * All local oscillators locked to the common 10 MHz USO
 * 21 different frequency mixers
 * 13 different intermediate frequencies
 * Linear Mode output power on 10 GHz: 3 W PEP
 * P5A Mode output power on 10 GHz:  1 mW PEP
 * 38 control lines on the CAN interfaces
 * 2 CAN interfaces, one in multiplexed mode
 * 4 dedicated direct control lines interfacing with the IHU
 * 14 analogue telemetry lines to the CAN bus
 * Coherent Mode Uplink/Downlink ratio is fixed at 30:7

Michael concludes, "Our team sincerely hopes funding will eventually be found for P3E/P5A - this is the only thing that keeps us motivated to continue our work On the other hand we are clearly behind schedule, so the delays are welcome But then again, any news of progress would boost our production rate phenomenally!"

[ANS thanks Michael, OH2AUE for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 05 Canberran Students Enjoy ARISS Ham Radio Contact

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 05

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 05

A very successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) was completed this week Jim Linton, VK3PC provided this information to the SouthGate ARC News site; the story is reprinted below:

Ten students from the Trinity Christian School at Wanniassa in the Australian Capital Territory made history at the weekend with the first Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) pro- gram contact to be held in Canberra

The event was part of the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) centenary dinner attended by 200 people including international guests, Australian Communications and Media Authority Chairman Chris Chapman, and WIA Centenary Patron Dick Smith VK2DIK

A telebridge ON4ISS in Belgium (operator Philippe Van houte, ON5PV) made the contact with ARISS Asia-Pacific Coordinator, Tony Hutchison VK5ZAI at the controls in Canberra for the contact on Saturday, 29 May

The audience remained quiet and listened intently as the Year 12 stu- dents asked Astronaut and Flight Engineer Tracy Caldwell-Dyson KF5DBF, on her assignment on the space station, a series of questions

The session began with a brief speech by Tracy who congratulated the WIA on its centenary and commented briefly on amateur radio's history and amateur satellites

Student William Shaw, asked: When you are in space, are you "above" the law? If there was a legal issue that arose on the space station which nation's law would apply?

Tracy replied that she did not foresee that there would be a legal problem on the space station and added that there were controls on what could occur in space

Another student, Elizabeth Shen, asked about living is space with zero gravity, its effects on the body and whether there were changes to the normal blood pressure and pulse rate

It was learnt in Tracy's response that the crew are constantly moni- tored, there are effects and rehabilitation on return to earth can take up to three months

In other questions the topics of sleeping in an environment with 16 sunrises and sunsets a day, space walking - Tracy is to have that experience soon - and the potential for collision with solid matter in space

After the ARISS contact Elizabeth Shen and William Shaw said they were both extremely impressed by the efforts made by astronauts to qualify and fly in space, giving them encouragement to strive in their chosen careers

Elizabeth, aged 17 added: 'The opportunity to speak to someone above the space station was one of the best experiences in her life '

While William, aged 18, said 'It was really cool to be able to talk to someone who is in a completely different situation - with the zero grav- ity and what not '

Trinity Christian School Principal, Carl Palmer VK2TP/VK1TP was justi- fiably very proud of his students

WIA President Michael Owen VK3KI presented each with a participation certificate WIA Centenary Patron Dick Smith VK2DIK - aviator, advent- urer and entrepreneur - shook their hands, spoke to them about their experience and had his photograph taken with them

Originally posted at: SouthGateARC http://tinyurl com/22lxg2d

Wireless Institute of Australia posting, including contact audio: http://tinyurl com/2dubf7a

[ANS thanks Jim Linton, VK3PC; Richard Brunton, G4TUT; and the Southgate ARC for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 06 AMSAT-India Announces Re-Organization

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 06

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 06

Nitin, VU3TYG, Secretary, AMSAT-India reported on a May 26 reorgan- ization of the post of President and Vice-President for AMSAT-India Organization update for post of President and Vice President

Current president Air Commodore Suby, VU2UV stepped down from the post citing health reasons As a result, Ramesh, VU2RMS has taken the role of President, AMSAT-India

Dr Ved Prakash Sandlas, VU2VP was elected Vice-President, AMSAT-India

AMSAT-India thanked Suby, VU2UV for his guidance to AMSAT-India during his tenure Suby will continue to hold a seat on the core committee

[ANS thanks Nitin, VU3TYG, Secretary, AMSAT-India for the above information]

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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 07 AMSAT Awards

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 07

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 07

AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says congrat- ulations are in order for these Amateur Radio Operators:

The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO:

Brennan Price, N4QX John Neeley, W6ZKH Ed Empey, WA7ETH Jennifer Melfi, KC2TMA

The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award:

Larry Teran, KI6YAA, #512 John Neeley, W6KZH, #513 Gerry Krebs, N0JE, #514 Hugh Empey, W7ETH, #515

The following have earned the W4AMI Achievement Award for 1000 contacts: Evangelos Kafetzopoulos, SV1EEK, endorsement from 3000 to 4000

The following have earned the W4AMI Achievement Award for 5000 contacts: Evangelos Kafetzopoulos, SV1EEK, #23

The following have earned the South Africa AMSAT Communications Achievement Award

Larry Teran, KI6YAA, #US145 Gerry Krebs, N0JE, #US146 Hugh Empey, WA7ETH, #US147

To see all the awards visit http://www amsat org

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

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 08 New Items at the AMSAT Online Store

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 08

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 08

Wearing his AMSAT On-line Store Manager hat, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says he has added the following items to the AMSAT online store:

2010 Red Baseball Cap with AMSAT logo 2010 Gold ARISSat-1 Tee Shirt 2010 Tan AMSAT Golf Shirt 2010 Getting Started with Amateur Satellites AMSAT - The First Forty Years 2010 Laminated Frequency Guide

If you are interested in any of the limited supply items, now is the time to order Visit the AMSAT Online Store at: http://www amsat-na com/store/categories php

[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-157 09 AO-51 Operations Team Announces Field Day Schedule

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 157 09

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD June 6, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-157 09

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 2010 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 26, 2010 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 27, 2010 Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 26 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

AMSAT Field Day Rules are available on-line at: http://www amsat org/amsat-new/awards/amsatfd php This page also includes instructions on how to report your score

AMSAT-NA VP Operations, Drew KO4MA says the AO-51 Command Team and Operations Group has announced the AO-51 configuration for Field Day:

June 21 10:40Z - June 24 09:35Z FM Repeater, V/S to allow testing of V/S station equipment prior to Field Day: Uplink: 145 880 Mhz FM Downlink: 2401 200 Mhz FM

June 24 09:35Z - June 27 06:40Z FM Repeater, V/U Please observe the 1 QSO per repeater Field Day rule Uplink: 145 920 Mhz FM, PL 67Hz Downlink: 435 300 Mhz FM

June 27 06:40 - June 27 22:00Z FM Repeater, V/S Please observe the 1 QSO per repeater Field Day rule Uplink: 145 880 Mhz FM Downlink: 2401 200 Mhz FM

June 27 22:00Z - July 5 FM Repeater, V/U Post-Field Day Configuration Uplink: 145 920 Mhz FM, PL 67Hz Downlink: 435 300 Mhz FM

AO-51 Echo Mode Suggestion Email Address is: ao51-modes@amsat org

The latest AO-51 Command Team and Operations Group News can be found on-line at: http://www amsat org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews php

[ANS thanks the UNITEC-1 Team, AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-UK, and the SouthGate site 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 And with that, please keep in mind this advice to a student pilot, "A thunderstorm is never as bad on the inside as it appears on the outside It's worse! If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger, if you pull the stick back they get smaller Try to keep the number of your landings equal to the number of your takeoffs "

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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