AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-152

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:

• AMSAT Prepares for ARRL Centennial Celebration
• May/June 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready
• First Call for 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium Papers
• AMSAT Forum and AMSAT/TAPR Banquet Videos from Dayton Hamvention
• Soyuz-2 Launch June 28 Satellite List
• Dnepr Launch June 19 Satellite List
• LituanicaSAT-1 FM Transponder Active until June 4
• SPROUT Slow Scan TV and Digitalker Active
• KLETSkous Linear Transponder Demonstration
• TshepisoSAT / ZACUBE-1, Six Months on Orbit
• 2014 FUNcube missions – May Update
• Shin-En2 Satellite Linear Transponder Frequencies
• Radio hams help attempts to command NASA spacecraft
• Upcoming AMSAT Events
• ARISS News
• Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-152 01 ANS-152 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 152 01

From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD DATE June 01, 2014 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-152 01

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AMSAT Prepares for ARRL Centennial Celebration

AMSAT is preparing for its participation at the ARRL Centennial Celebration and National Convention in Hartford Connecticut July 17 through 19

On Thursday an AMSAT team with present the all day Training Track, "An Introduction to Amateur Satellites", AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW will be the facilitator for the event which will begin at 8:30 am and run through 4:30pm Baines explains, "The training session is to serve as a 'Soup to Nuts' approach to getting started with working Amateur Radio Satellites "

Baines will lead the training with an Overview of the History of Amateur Radio in Space, including our future;

Director of Educational Outreach Joe Spier K6WAO will cover Understanding Orbits, Kepler Elements, and Doppler Shift;

V P for Educational Outreach E Mike McCardel KC8YLD will discuss Satellite Tracking and Tracking Software with an emphasis on SATPC32;

Director Field operations Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK/VA7EWK and Area Coordinator Peter Portanova W2JV will address Station Configuration and Satellite Operation including general operation, Easy Sats, FM Birds, CW and SSB Birds and telemetry;

AMSAT Fox-1 Software Team Co-Leader Burns Fisher W2BFJ will present an overview and discuss the capabilities of AMSAT's Fox-1 Satellite due to launch in 2015

AMSAT will also host a Forum, "An Overview of AMSAT" Friday at 2pm in room 25 Immediately following the Forum Peter Portanova W2JV will present "Working the Amateur Radio FM Satellites with Your HT", in the same room

Throughout the weekend AMSAT will be staffing Booths 500 and 501 The booth will feature the legacy of Amateur Radio in Space with prototypes and models of OSCAR-1, AO-07, and Fox-1 on display

During the weekend an ARISS contact will be held nearby the convention venue at the Connecticut Science Center Local students will be asking questions directly to an astronaut via Amateur Radio The contact time has yet to be determined

For more information on the ARRL Centennial and National Convention visit http://www ARRL2014 org

[ANS thanks AMSAT for the above information]

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May/June 2014 AMSAT Journal is Ready

The May/June 2014 AMSAT Journal is completed and is at the print shop Look for it in your mailbox soon In this issue you will find:

• AMSAT Announcements 2014 Symposium First Call for Papers 2014 Board of Directors Election Reminder

• Apogee View by Barry Baines, WD4ASW

• AMSAT Office Moves to New Quarters

• AMSAT at Ham Radio University by Peter Portanova, W2JV

• AMSAT at the Greater Houston Hamfest by Allen Mattis, N5AFV and Andy MacAllister, W5ACM

• Full Circle - 1983 to 2014 Inspiration of a Student by Dr Michael Butler, G4OCR

• The FUNcube Dongle and SDR Software School Experiments at UCF in Cuba by Hector Martinez, CO6CBF/KF5YXV

• Insights Into Fox-1 Development - The IHU and Telemetry Simulator by Burns Fisher, W2BFJ

• Stefan Wagener, VE4NSA Named ARISS Canadian Delegate

• WRAPS Rotor Enhancements Add a Second Beam and Circular Polarization by Mark Spencer, WA8SME

Our editors, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM; Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW/5; Bernhard Jatzeck, VA6BMJ; and James Howard, K3JPH look forward to receiving your articles, photos, and news Please send your material to journal@amsat org

There is an AMSAT Journal Author's Guide posted at: http://www amsat org/?page_id=1709

For circulation problems and address changes please contact Martha at the AMSAT Office (martha@amsat org) for fastest service You can also give Martha a call at: 301-822-4376

[ANS thanks the AMSAT Journal Editors for the above information]

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First Call for 2014 AMSAT Space Symposium Papers

This is the first call for papers for the 2014 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 10-12, 2014, at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton, Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), Baltimore, Maryland Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, but no later than August 1 The final copy must be submitted by September 15 for inclusion in the printed proceedings Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv at amsat org

[ANS thanks the 2014 Baltimore Symposium Committee for the above information]

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AMSAT Forum and AMSAT/TAPR Banquet Videos from Dayton Hamvention

Links to videos from Dayton Hamvention 2014 have been posted on the AMSAT NA webpage The videos are from the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet and the AMSAT Forum by Steve Belter, N9IP

The videos included are presentations from: Tom Clark, K3IO - 60 Years a Slave to Amateur Radio Barry Baines,WD4ASW - AMSAT Update Jerry Buxton, N0JY - Fox Satellites Update Howard Long, G6LVB - FUNcube Satellite Update Drew Glasbrenner, K04MA - Satellites on the Horizon Frank Bauer, KA3HDO - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station EMike McCardel, KC8YLD - AMSAT Education Update

http://www amsat org/?p=2766

[ANS thanks Steve Belter, N9IP and AMSAT-NA for the above information]

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Soyuz-2 Launch June 28 Satellite List

Launch of Soyuz-2 1b, Fregat-M [28 Jun 2014, 15:58 UTC, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan]

Satellites Manifest

AISSat-2, University of Toronto, Institute for Aerospace Studies, Norway Baumanets-2, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia DX-1, Dauria Aerospace, Russia Meteor-M-N2, NPP VNIIEM, Russia M3MSat, CSA/COM DEV, Canada Relek (MKA-PN-2), Lavochkin, Russia SkySat-2, Skybox Imaging, USA TechDemoSat-1, SSTL, UK UKube-1, UK Space Agency, UK Venta-1, Ventspils University, Latvia

UKube-1 Transponder uplink 435 040 - 435 020 MHz Transponder downlink 145 940 - 145 960 MHz (Inverting) Telemetry downlink 145 840 1200bps BPSK S Band downlink 2401 000 QPSK or OQPSK myPocketQub 437 425 - 427 525 MHz http://amsat-uk org/2014/04/01/ukube-1-june-19-launch-date/

FU Ncube-2 boards subsystem Transponder uplink 435 080 - 435 060 MHz Transponder downlink 145 930 - 145 950 MHz (Inverting) Telemetry downlink 145 915 1200bps BPSK http://amsat-uk org/2012/10/20/funcube-2-boards-delivered-to-clyde-< br>space/

DX-1 Uplink Command and Control 144 975 - 145 025 MHz Downlink Telemetry data 434 975 - 435 025 MHz Uplink AIS ship tracking RX 162 0125 - 162 0375 MHz Downlink data 2269 500 - 2270 500 MHz http://amsat-uk org/2014/04/27/dx-1-microsatellite-baikonur/

< br>[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]

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Dnepr Launch June 19 Satellite List

Launch of Dnepr [19 Jun 2014, 19:11 UTC, Dombarovsky SC, Russia]

Satellite Manifest

1. AeroCube6 (non-amateur) The Aerospace Corporation, USA

2. ANTELSat Antel (the national telecom service provider) and FING (Facultad de Ingenieria de la Universidad de la Republica), Uruguay 437 575MHz 1200bps AFSK, 2403 000MHz 1Mbit GFSK/MSK, 437 280MHz CW

3. AprizeSat-9,10 (non-amateur) SpaceQuest, USA

4. BRITE-Toronto(CANX-3E) (non-amateur) UTIAS (University of Toronto, Institute for Aerospace Studies), Canada

5. BRITE-Montreal(CANX-3F) (non-amateur) UTIAS (University of Toronto, Institute for Aerospace Studies), Canada

6. BugSat-2,3 (unknown) Satellogic S A , Argentina

7. Deimos-2 (non-amateur) Satrec Initiative (SATRECI), Spain

8. ESTELLE University of Tartu, Estonia UHF GMSK/BPSK downlinks up to 19k2 bps and a series of HDRT experiments including 2 4GHz downlink using GFSK/BPSK at up to 1Mbps, 5 8GHz downlink using GFSK and BPSK at up to 10Mbps and 10GHz downlink at up to 10Mbps

9. Hodoyoshi-3,4 (non-amateur) University of Tokyo, Japan

10 KazEOSat-1 (non-amateur) Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary (KGS), Kazakhstan

11 Kompsat-3A(Arirang-3A) (non-amateur) Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), South Korea

12 Lemur-1 (unknown)

13 NanosatC-Br1 Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil Uplink UHF 1200bps FM, Downlink 145 865MHz 9600bps BPSK

14 QB50p1/FUNCube-3 The Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Belgium 435 035-435 065MHz transponder uplink 145 935-145 965MHz transponder downlink 145 815MHz 1200bps BPSK packets

15 QB50p2 The Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Belgium 145 880MHz 1200bps BPSK 145 840MHz 9600bps FSK

16 SaudiSat-4 Saudi National Satellite Technology Program (NSTP), Saudi Arabia Ka-Band Transponders

17 Serpens (unknown)

18 SkySat-3 (non-amateur) Skybox Imaging, USA

19 TigriSat (non-amateur) La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

20 UniSat-6 GAUSS, La Sapienza University of Rome, Italy 437 425MHz 9600bps GMSK

21 UNSA-SAT1 QB50 & Instituto Astronomico y Aeroespacial Pedro Paulet, Peru Downlink 3 4GHz 230kbps BPSK

[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]

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LituanicaSAT-1 FM Transponder Active until June 4

The LituanicaSAT-1 team have announced the FM transponder should be active until June 4, 2014

Dear radio amateurs,

Due to favorable orbit conditions LituanicaSAT-1 is now operating under 100% sunlight until about 4th of June Thus we have decided to turn the transponder on during this period The CW fm beacon and packet telemetry are also on right now

73, Laurynas Maciulis LY1LM, LY5N

LituanicaSAT-1 FrequenciesFrequency are approximately 435 1755 MHz (+/- 10 kHz Doppler shift) for the downlink and 145 950 MHz for the uplink with 67 Hz CTCSS

The tiny satellite is just 10x10x10 cm with a mass of 1 090 kg yet it has a VGA camera and a 145/435 MHz FM voice transponder, designed and built by Lithuanian radio amateurs

The prototype of the FM repeater has been operating in the home of its designer Žilvinas Batisa LY3H in Elektre nai, Lithuania Further information at http://ly3h epalete com/?p=303

FM transponder operating techniques http://www dk3wn info/p/?p=44412

LituanicaSAT-1 CubeSat http://amsat-uk org/2014/02/27/lituanicasat-1-cubesat/

Reports should be sent to: ly5n at qrz lt

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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SPROUT Slow Scan TV and Digitalker Active

Slow Scan TV (SSTV) images in Scottie 1 format have been successfully received from the amateur radio satellite SPROUT on 437 600 MHz FM (+/- 9 kHz Doppler shift) The Digitalker has also been active

SPROUT, a 20 x 20 x 22 cm amateur radio nano-satellite with a mass of 7 1 kg, launched successfully with the L-band (1236 5 MHz/1257 5 MHz/1278 5 MHz) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite ALOS-2 on May 24, 2014 at 0305 UT SPROUT is now in a 654 km, 97 9 degree inclination Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO)

SPROUT (Space Research On Unique Technology) was built by students from Nihon University and its objectives are:

1. Operation of satellite by radio amateurs

A FM Digitalker will enable the satellite to speak to amateurs around the world The Voice Message Box will record transmissions from radio amateurs and play them back

Pre-loaded images from the Message Gallery can be transmitted using Slow Scan TV (SSTV) Pictures of the Earth can be transmitted by SSTV and radio amateurs can receive it using free software such as MMSSTV As part of the Earth mapping project the team ask radio amateurs to contribute pictures they have received from the satellite for display on the SPROUT website

The satellite also has a packet radio Digipeater and Text Message Box function Demonstration of the deployment of the combined membrane structure and verification of the design method of the structure SPROUT has a triangular membrane supported by two tubes like framework They are folded and stored in the satellite before the launch After the launch, the nitrogen gas is injected into the tubes in space, and they extend, so that the membrane deploys (called “combined membrane structure”)

1. Demonstration of attitude determination and control of a nanosatellite using the sun sensors, gyros, geomagnetic sensor and magnetic torquers

Callsign: JQ1ZJQ Size: 214x210x220 mm Weight: 7 1 kg Mode: 1200bps AFSK, 9600bps GMSK CW downlink 437 525 MHz FM packet downlink 437 525 MHz Digipeater uplink 437 600 MHz Digitalker downlink 437 600 MHz SSTV downlink 437 600 MHz

SPROUT English website http://sat aero cst nihon-u ac jp/sprout-e/

SPROUT Japanese website http://sat aero cst nihon-u ac jp/sprout/

Nihon-Univ Miyazaki Laboratory on Facebook https://www facebook com/pages/Nihon-Univ-Miyazaki-Laboratory/406566642818860

Telemetry Software http://sat aero cst nihon-u ac jp/sprout-e /2-Software-e html

Tele metry format http://sat aero cst nihon-u ac jp/sprout-e/2-Formats%20of%20 telemetr y-e html

SPROUT launch data page http://sat aero cst nihon-u ac jp/sprout-e/2-Launch%20data-e html

TLE’s from the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) are also available at http://celestrak com/NORAD/elements/tle-new txt

Adding new satellites to SatPC32, Gpredict and Nova http://amsat-uk org/2013/11/23/adding-new-satellites-to-satpc32/

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

The JE9PEL website has information on other satellites on this launch http://www ne jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/jaxalos2 htm

[AN S thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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KLETSkous Linear Transponder Demonstration

A video shows a demonstration, given on May 24, 2014, of the KLETSkous 1U Cubesat amateur radio transponder

A 435/145 Linear transponder is planned with a bandwidth of 20 kHz

Currently the team are considering frequencies in the 435 100 to 435 140 MHz range for the uplink and 145 860 to 145 980 MHz for the downlink

The scientific payload will be an experiment analysing “Worm Holes” This experiment will try and find the portholes between Sun and Earth

Further information at http://zr6aic blogspot co uk/search/label/KLETSkous and at http://www amsatsa org za/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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TshepisoSAT / ZACUBE-1, Six Months on Orbit

The South African CPUT TshepisoSAT team were invited to give a mission update at the SA AMSAT‘s Space Symposium on Saturday, May 24, 2014 at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria

The event was well attended and even had representatives from SANSA in attendance Presentations on other CubeSats included Denel Dynamics’ DynaCube, FUNcube-1 and SA AMSAT’s own KLETSkous project

This paper gives a brief introduction to the F’SATI programme, the constructed CubeSat and mission An outline of the milestones reached thus far with the Tshepiso nano-satellite are given, the outstanding activities that must still be completed and challenges faced Some of the images captured by the satellite are also presented

Read TshepisoSAT, six months on orbit http://www cput ac za/blogs/fsati/files/2014/05/Paper-SA-AMSAT-Spa ce- Symposium-Pretoria-2014 pdf

CPUT F’SATI News http://www cput ac za/blogs/fsati/blog/

Southern African Amateur Radio Satellite Association (SA AMSAT) http://www amsatsa org za/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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2014 FUNcube missions – May Update

The FUNcube team have received confirmation that UKube-1, which is hosting the FUNcube-2 payload, is now scheduled for a Soyuz-2-1b Fregat-M launch from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on Saturday, June 28 with the following day as a back-up The launch time has been quoted as 15:58:28 UT with separation some 9253 seconds later

The team still understand that, immediately after deployment and activation, UKube-1 will commence transmitting a CW beacon and that this will be later followed by an AX25, 1200 bps BPSK beacon Both beacons will be on 145 840 MHz The FUNcube-2 payload, with its telemetry downlink for educational outreach, is expected to be tested later

FUNcube-3 is the transponder only payload on the QB50 precursor CubeSat “QB50P1" This mission is now scheduled to launch on June 19 on a Dnepr launch vehicle from Dombarovsky near Yasny The launch time has been quoted as 19:11:11 UT but this has not yet been confirmed The initial beacon signals, from the main transceiver, are also expected to be AX 25, 1200 bps BPSK packets on 145 815 MHz

Again more information will be provided as soon as it becomes available!

UKube-1 communications subsystem: • 145 840 MHz Telemetry, CW, 1k2 BPSK • 2401 0 MHz S Band Downlink • 437 425-437 525 MHz UKSEDS myPocketQub Downlink • 145 915 MHz FUNcube beacon • FUNcube 400 mW inverting SSB/CW transponder - 435 080-435 060 MHz Uplink LSB - 145 930-145 950 MHz Downlink USB

QB50p1 communications subsystem: • 145 815 MHz 1200 bps BPSK telemetry • FUNcube inverting 400 mW SSB/CW transponder - 435 035-435 065 MHz Uplink LSB - 145 935-145 965 MHz Downlink USB

FUNcube website http://www funcube org uk/

FUNcube Yahoo Group http://amsat-uk org/funcube/yahoo-group/

FUNcube Forum http://forum funcube org uk/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Shin-En2 Satellite Linear Transponder Frequencies

The IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel has announced frequencies for the Shin-En2 linear transponder

Shin-En2 is a 2 85 kg satellite measuring 490×490×475 mm built by students at Kagoshima University in Japan which will carry a 145 to 435 MHz linear transponder into a deep space orbit

The aims of the mission are: • To establish communication technologies with a long range as far as the moon • To establish a new technology of the ultra-light-weight satellite Proposing a WSJT 29dBm UHF downlink and a 29dBm 20 kHz linear transponder and a CW beacon all on UHF with a VHF uplink for the transponder

The orbit will be quite different from the previous satellites Shin-En2 will have an elliptic orbit around the Sun and travel to a deep space orbit between Venus and Mars Its inclination will be almost zero, which means Shin-En2 will stay in the Earth’s equatorial plane

The distance from the Sun will be between 0 7 and 1 3 AU An Astronomical Unit (AU) is 149,597,871 km

Shin-En2 IARU coordinated frequencies: • 437 505 MHz CW beacon • 437 385 MHz WSJT telemetry • Inverting SSB/CW transponder - 145 940-145 960 MHz uplink LSB - 435 280-435 260 MHz downlink USB

Shin-En2 is expected to launch in the 4th quarter of 2014 with another amateur radio satellite ARTSAT2:DESPATCH on a H-IIA rocket with the asteroid explorer Hayabusa 2 as the main payload

Kagoshima University satellite development team http://tinyurl com/Kagoshima-Satellite

Shin-En2 English Website http://www eee kagoshima-u ac jp/~fuku-lab/sinen,english html

ARTSAT2:DESPATCH – Art and Ham Radio in Deep Space http://amsat-uk org/2013/11/03/art-and-ham-radio-in-deep-space/

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Radio hams help attempts to command NASA spacecraft

An IEEE article describes how volunteers, including many radio amateurs, are attempting command a 35-year-old NASA spacecraft, the International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (ISEE-3)

Rachel Courtland interviews Dennis Wingo KD4ETA about the project and mentions the Bochum facility where AMSAT-DL members will be using their 20 metre dish antenna to help establish communications

Software-defined radio peripherals built by Ettus Research (founded by Matt Ettus N2MJI) have been purchased, which can be used to implement modulator and demodulator programs that would once have had to be built in hardware

Read the IEEE article at http://spectrum ieee org/tech-talk/aerospace/satellites/space-hackers- prepare-to-reboot-35-year-old-spacecraft

The Watts Up With That website has a more detailed article on the project The section about the AMSAT-DL Bochum facility mentions two of the team, Achim Vollhardt DH2VA and Mario Lorenz DL5MLO The problems caused by ITAR are noted

Read the Watts Up With That article ISEE-3 Reboot Project: Aiming for First Contact at http://wattsupwiththat com/2014/05/15/update-isee-3-reboot-project- aiming-for-first-contact/

ISEE-3 / ICE Telecommunications Summary http://mdkenny customer netspace net au/ISEE-3 pdf

Dennis Wingo KD4ETA blog http://denniswingo wordpress com/

Can radio amateurs command the ISEE-3 / ICE spacecraft ? http://amsat-uk org/2014/03/19/can-radio-amateurs-command-the-isee-3-ice-spacecraft/

Radio amateurs receive NASA ISEE-3 / ICE Spacecraft http://amsat-uk org/2014/03/09/radio-amateurs-receive-nasa-ise e-3ice- spacecraft/

ITAR restrictions on US radio amateurs to be eased http://amsat-uk org/2014/05/19/itar-restrictions-to-be-eased/ ISEE-3/ICE on Facebook https://www facebook com/ISEE3returns

[ANS thanks IEEE & AMSAT-UK for the above information]

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Upcoming 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)

Saturday, 7 June 2014 – Kachina Amateur Radio Club‘s White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ (eastern Arizona, south of US-60/AZ-77/AZ-260) – AMSAT will have a table at this hamfest, and satellite demonstrations are planned

Friday and Saturday, 13-14 June 2014 – Ham-Com in Plano TX (north of Dallas)

Thursday through Sunday, 17-20 July 2014 – ARRL Centennial Convention in Hartford CT AMSAT will host a day-long Satellite Workshop on Thursday, and have a booth at the convention along with an AMSAT Forum and demonstrations throughout the convention

Friday through Sunday, 12-14 September 2014 – ARRL Southwestern Division Convention 2014 in San Diego CA (north of the city center, near Montgomery Field airport & I-805/CA-163 interchange) – AMSAT will have a booth at this convention, there will be on-air demonstrations using satellites throughout the convention, and a presentation on amateur satellites and AMSAT

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]

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ARISS News

Upcoming Contacts There will be a lapse in contacts during the period from 2014-05-12 to 2014-06-15 Licensed crew members will join crew on board the ISS and contacts are expected to resume in late June

[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]

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Satellite Shorts from All Over

Canadian Hams Attempt to Cross the Pond on Two Meters

A group of Amateur Radio operators from Atlantic Canada will operate from Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, from 4-12 July 2014 in a bid to complete a 2 meter Trans-Atlantic QSO and claim the Brendan Trophy

The expedition will operate from Maidenhead Grid GN37os on 144 155 MHz It will run 750 watts into a 30 meter long rope yagi with a gain of more than 23 dB over a dipole The group will concentrate its efforts on JT65B, a digital mode that offers greatly enhanced performance over more conventional modes It will have the capability to use other modes including CW and SSB if conditions warrant however The callsign used will be VC1T

Members of the expedition include Fred Archibald, VE1FA, Roger Sturtevant, VE1SKY, Helen Archibald VA1YL, Rich Pieniaszek, VA1CHP, and Al Penney, VO1NO The Brendan Trophy is a series of awards offered by the Irish Radio Transmitters Society to the first Amateur Radio operators to complete a 2 meter Trans-Atlantic QSO

Details on the expedition can be found on the team's website www brendanquest org Real time information on operating modes and schedules will be posted during the expedition on the team's web site, the ON4KST site and the G4CQM Shoutbox Facebook users are also welcome to join the group's page "Brendan Quest 2M meterTrans-Atlantic Attempt 2014

Background Information:

2014 Transatlantic Two Meter "Brendan Quest" Objectives:

1. Complete one or more legal, confirmed, two-way QSOs between North America and Europe on the Amateur Radio 2 meter band using terrestrial propagation modes;

2. Complete such contacts using both "traditional" (CW or SSB) and "non traditional" (JT65B or ISCAT) modes; and;

3. Failing the above, to be heard in Europe

Operators (North America): Fred Archibald VE1FA; Helen Archibald VA1YL; Al Penney VO1NO; Rich Pieniaczek VA1CHP; Roger Sturtevant VE1SKY

Operation: 4 to 12 July 2014 Call: A special event callsign will be used - VC1T Frequency and Modes: 144 155 MHz +/- 20 Hz operating 24 hours a day for the entire period, transmitting full legal power on even minutes and receiving on odd minutes using JT65B Other modes may be attempted as required Audible transatlantic JT65B reception and QSO will be followed by a CW attempt

North America QTH: Pouch Cove, Newfoundland, Canada Latitude 47 76942 North, Longitude 52 76384 West Elevation: 65 feet (20 meters) above sea level Grid Square: GN37os IOTA island NA-027 Antenna height is 85 feet (26 meters) above sea level on a bluff on the edge of the Atlantic There is no land between the transmit location and Europe through bearing range of 013 to 108 degrees True The transmit location is 3040 km from Irish coast, 3400 km from Poldhu, and 23 km from Marconi's 1901 reception site

Antenna: Horizontally polarized "rope ladder" Yagi, with 43 elements consisting of 1 reflector, 1 driven element and 41 directors, suspended and aligned on 2 strands of Kevlar rope 65 cm apart Its overall length is 30 meters Because the ground slopes towards the ocean, the height of the antenna varies from 6 meters above ground at the reflector, to 8 5 meters at the opposite end Its feedpoint impedance is 50 ohms, and it will employ a ferrite choke balun The SWR is 1 1 to 1 2 Forward gain is 23 9 dB over a dipole The front to back ratio is 32 db, while the front to side ratio is greater than 25 db (270 degrees) The take off angle of the main lobe is 4 5 degrees The beamwidth is 15 6 degrees at the -3db points, and beam thickness is 4 7 degrees at the -3db points When driven with 750W, the Effective Radiated Power in the center of the major lobe should be about 150kW

Antenna coverage in Europe at -3db points: Based on an antenna azimuth of 062 degrees True and a beamwidth of 15 8 degrees at the -3db points, the antenna beam width will be 069 degrees to 054 degrees True, so straight line propagation will cover all Ireland, UK, and parts of Norway, France, and Holland Of course propagation paths may be skewed

[ANS thanks the Make More Miles on VHF Newsletter 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