AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-208
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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
You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www amsat org/mailman/listinfo/ans
In this edition:
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-208 01 ANS-208 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 208 01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD DATE July 26, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-208 01
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office
is closed until further notice
For details, please visit
https://www amsat org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/
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AMSAT Partners with UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab to Develop Maine's First Small Satellite
The University of Maine Wireless Sensing Laboratory (WiSe-Net Lab) and AMSAT have signed an agreement to collaborate on building and operating MESAT1, Maine’s first small satellite, to be launched in space in the next three years
MESAT1 is Maine's first CubeSat — one of 18 small research satellites selected by NASA to carry auxiliary payloads into space between 2021– 23 It is part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative that provides opportunities for nanosatellite science and technology payloads built by universities, schools and nonprofit organizations to ride share on space launches
UMaine’s WiSe-Net Lab, established in 2005, is involved in aerospace and space research The lab was founded by Ali Abedi, KB1VJV, assistant vice president for research and director of the Center for Undergraduate Research Lab researchers have developed the first wireless sensor network for NASA’s lunar habitation project and launched wireless leak-detection to the International Space station
The MESAT1 initiative will enable K–12 students and teachers in Maine to access space data for educational and research purposes, and encourage students to pursue STEM careers
AMSAT will provide a Linear Transponder Module (LTM) along with integration and operational support for MESAT1 AMSAT's LTM incorporates a VHF/UHF telemetry beacon, command receiver, and linear transponder It will be available for radio amateurs worldwide to use when the satellite is commissioned
AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, celebrated the announcement "This is a great day for AMSAT and UMaine's Wise-Net Lab This partnership is a true win-win for both education and the amateur radio community The collaborative effort under AMSAT's engineering and operations teams has once again succeeded to bring another opportunity to AMSAT "
[ANS thanks AMSAT and UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab for the above information]
AMSAT-UK Announces OSCAR Satellite QSO Party
The objective of the AMSAT-UK OSCAR Satellite QSO Party is to encourage all radio amateurs around the world to get on the air and make contacts via satellites during northern hemisphere summer We would like to attract both seasoned die-hard operators as well as all newcomers who are just getting involved
While points are given per QSO this isn’t a contest, but we hope it will encourage people to get on the air and enjoy the excitement of making contacts through satellites
The AMSAT-UK OSCAR Satellite QSO Party will be supported by an online leaderboard which will be available from the start of the event which runs from 00:00 GMT on 1st August until 23:59 GMT on 22nd September
Prizes will be awarded to those from first to thirteenth place and are open to both AMSAT-UK and non-members around the world
● First Place £250 Amazon Voucher ● Second Place £150 Amazon Voucher ● Third Place £50 Amazon Voucher ● Fourth to Thirteenth Place One Year AMSAT-UK Membership
Download the rules for the AMSAT-UK OSCAR QSO Party at https://tinyurl com/OSCAR-QSO-Party
Leaderboard https://leaderboard amsat-uk org/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE – a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control Come along for the ride The journey will be worth it!
https://tinyurl
com/ANS-GOLF
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JARL Announces FO-29 Operation Schedule for August
FO-29 will be activated by ground command at the following times in August 2020 The satellite will remain active after each command until the undervoltage controller shuts the satellite off to prevent overdischarge of the now-24 year old NiCd batteries
1 03:40 05:25 13:55 2 02:45 04:30 8 02:30 04:15 14:30 9 03:25 05:05 13:35 10 02:25 04:10 15 03:05 04:50 16 02:10 03:55 14:10 22 01:55 03:40 13:55 23 02:45 04:30 13:00 29 02:30 04:15 14:30 30 03:20 05:05
[ANS thanks JARL and JA1OGZ for the above information]
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Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront
25% of the purchase price of each product goes
towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space
https://www
zazzle
com/amsat_gear
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Christopher Brault, KD8YVJ, Named 2020 Newsline Young Ham of the Year
Christopher Brault, KD8YVJ, of suburban Cincinnati, has been selected as the 2020 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF Memorial Amateur Radio Newsline Young Ham of the Year
Chris, 18, is the son of Jocelyn Brault, KD8VRX, and Kimberly Brault, of Liberty Township, Ohio Chris earned his Technician class license in 2014 and passed his General ticket about a year later He said his father was his guide into amateur radio Chris recalled car trips, watching and listening to his father operating mobile "We would be on a road trip somewhere," Chris said "We'd be talking to people along the way, it seemed like fun " Chris is a member of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association, the West Chester Amateur Radio Association, and the Ohio Valley Experimenters Club
An honor student entering his senior year at St Xavier High School, Cincinnati, Chris helped restart the school's amateur radio club (W8GYH) He has earned recognition for his many achievements in promoting amateur radio including the Hiram Percy Maxim Award (2015); the Ohio Section Special Recognition Award (2016); and the Great Lakes Division Young Amateur of the Year (2017) In 2017, Chris was invited to join the Dave Kalter Youth DX Adventure to Costa Rica where he worked the stations with Bryant Rascoll, KG5HVO, the 2018 YHOTY award winner, and Austin Harris, WA8CCS, in making more than 3,100 contacts
Chris also helped in the planning of an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact in 2016 and spoke with Astronaut Kate Rubins KG5FYJ while she flew overhead Chris is social media director for the Youth on the Air organization and is a contesting mentor for youth who are involved in its programs He is also a tour guide for the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester, Ohio, and actively assists in mentoring young operators at its amateur radio station, WC8VOA Chris also works annually with his father on putting youth on the air in the annual Jamboree on the Air in October He has also been a presenter at the Dayton Youth Forum (2017) and Orlando Hamcation (2017) Chris recently started working a part-time job at the Butler County Regional Airport near his home and was invited to take flying lessons He is pursuing his private pilot's license and is exploring a career in aviation as a commercial pilot
The YHOTY award is traditionally presented during the Huntsville Hamfest in August in the Von Braun Center, Huntsville AL However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hamfest was cancelled Chris recently received a certificate of recognition presented in West Chester, Ohio by Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW The Young Ham of the Year Award was inaugurated by William Pasternak, WA6ITF, in 1986 Upon his passing in 2015, Bill's name was added to the award as a memorial to his commitment to recognizing the accomplishments of young people to the amateur radio service
Amateur Radio Newsline, CQ Magazine, and Yaesu USA are primary sponsors of the award, along with Heil Sound Ltd and Radiowavz Antenna Company
[ANS thanks the CQ Newsroom and Amateur Radio Newsline for the above information]
Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events
Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space?
AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events
Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been canceled or postponed While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there may be some that we missed
No events are currently scheduled We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon
[ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Services, for the above information]
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Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows,
and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://amsat org/product-category/hardware/
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Upcoming Satellite Operations
Note: all @ signs refer to Twitter usernames
Quick Hits:
Do you need Hawaii? NH7WN on AO-7 Most days Reach out for a schedule
How about IL38 + IL39 Lanzarote, Canary Islands? Check out @EA4NF for details
FN44/54, 7/22 – 7/31, KQ2RP: Just like last time, FM only
EN20/30 Line, July 28-31, @KX9X : Sean is moving quickly towards his VUCC/R award by heading out again for two more grids Watch his Twitter for details
DM97/98 & EM08/09: Super Rover @AD0DX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E More to come
Schedule to come: FN11+21 then 12+22 grid lines, @NS3L Steve is heading out to these lines Schedule to come
@WY7AA is heading out again!!!
Mon 7/20 SSB and FM passes from DN67/68 Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00
Tues 7/21 SSB and FM passes from DN57/58 Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00
Wed 7/22 Travel day no sats
Thurs 7/23 SSB and FM passes from DN55/56 Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00
Fri 7/24 SSB and FM passes from DN65/66 Every pass from about 16:00 – 04:00
Watch his QRZ page for details and updates
@Kx9x is heading out on an EN rove to end all EN roves!!!!! The KX9X
Itinerary for the #KX9X #MidwestMegaRove:
7/28 EN40, 41 (Casual) 7/29 EN32/42 grid line (IA) 7/30 EN20/21/30/31 intersection If turned away, 20/30 & 21/31 lines 7/31 EM38/39 (MO) 8/1 EM48/49 (IL, QRT 1700z) QRT by 2200z daily
@AD0HJ, is heading out again for the South Dakota Super Rove Part I Rove Map: Grids DN74, DN75, DN84, DN85, DN94, DN95, EN04, EN05, EN14, EN15, EN16, and EN17 July 31st through August 7th Pass times at https://twitter com/AD0HJ/status/1284669314637930499
Then as if that isn’t enough, there is more: South Dakota Super Rove Part II Rove Map: Grids DN73, DN82, DN83, DN92, DN93, EN02, EN03, EN12, EN24, and EN25 August 17th through August 21st
Then Mitch is going for Part 2 of the South Dakota Super Rove: EN24/EN25,DN73/DN83, DN82/DN92, DN93/EN03, EN02/EN12 Part 2 details at https://twitter com/AD0HJ/status/1285747202367852544
Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr at gmail com
[ANS thanks Paul Overn, KE0PBR, for the above information]
Upcoming ARISS Contacts
Quick list of scheduled contacts and events:
American School of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Thu 2020-07-30 16:41:42 UTC 78 deg
Watch for live simulcast starting about 10 minutes before AOS at: https://youtu be/MSyfzEHYwrE
[ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, ARISS Operations, for the above information]
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AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit
Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www amsat org/donate/
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
Congratulations to Hector Martinez, W5CBF, on earning AMSAT GridMaster Award #13 The AMSAT GridMaster Award is available for amateur radio operators who confirm two-way QSOs with all 488 grids in the continental United States Hector's last needed grid was DL98 AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, made the 12 hour round-trip drive to activate the grid for Hector (via KK5DO and W5CBF)
Ballots for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors election were mailed on July 14th via presorted standard mail to US addresses and via first class mail to overseas addresses to all members in good standing as of July 1st Members desiring a replacement ballot package should contact AMSAT Secretary Brennan Price, N4QX, at brennanprice@verizon net no earlier than August 12th AMSAT members may log on to the membership portal at launch amsat org to verify that their address was correct as of July 1st (via N4QX)
The La Mesa Courier has published an article about Kerry Banke, N6IZW, and his involvement in developing the ARISS Multi-Voltage Power Supply https://lamesacourier com/space-radio/
The IARU has coordinated a frequency for AMSAT Nepal's SanoSat-1 PocketQube The satellite is planned for launch Q4 2020 http://www amsatuk me uk/iaru/finished_detail php?serialnum=732
The IARU has also completed coordination for the Tevel Mission This series of 8 identical CubeSats will be able to be commanded to operate as V/u FM transponders with a downlink of 436 400 MHz and an uplink of 145 970 MHz http://www amsatuk me uk/iaru/finished_detail php?serialnum=744
Peter Goodhall, 2M0SQL, has released Pass Recorder 2 0 This software is designed to automate the recording of satellite passes and interfaces with SatPC32 Changes in version 2 0 include support for SatPC32ISS, improved memory usage, and slight UI improvements Download the software at https://www 2m0sql com/pass-recorder/
JARL reluctantly announced the cancellation of Tokyo Ham Fair 2020 scheduled on October 31st and November 1st, as JARL cannot guarantee the safety and perfect prevention from COVID-19 infection, even if we take all possible preventive measures The schedule of Tokyo Ham Fair 2021 is yet to be fixed, but we will announce it when we fix the venue and dates (via JARL and JAMSAT)
After HO-107's return last week, the satellite has again gone silent with the last telemetry received on July 20th at 00:00:22 UTC Please continue to track the satellite in FoxTelem so additional telemetry can be gathered if the satellite begins transmitting again
All issues of The AMSAT Journal dating back to 2014 are now available to AMSAT members on AMSAT's new membership portal The 1969-2013 archive will be added at a later date All editions of AMSAT's Symposium Proceedings are also available for members If you're a current AMSAT member, get logged on today If you are not yet a member, consider joining today at https://launch amsat org/
The 2020 edition of AMSAT’s Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available on the AMSAT store A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation The book is presented in DRM-free PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite The digital download is available for $15 at https://tinyurl com/2020GettingStarted
The AMSAT Folding at home team continues to climb the rankings Now in the top 800 of all teams at the time of this writing, the team has grown to 48 members with 67 active CPUs within the past 50 days and includes 14 members in the top 100,000 of all users Alex Free, N7AGF, is our top contributor with nearly 170,000,000 points credited to AMSAT's team For more information about the Folding at home project and how you can contribute to scientific research, including the fight against COVID-19, see https://foldingathome org/ AMSAT's team number is 69710: https://stats foldingathome org/team/69710
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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 President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl com/ANS-PresClub
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
Join AMSAT today at https://launch amsat org/
73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space,
This week's ANS Editor,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org
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