AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-024
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.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/613821872656/list.admin/aus-city.com/ 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:
* In Memory of Robert J. (Bob) Carpenter, W3OTC-SK by Bill Tynan, W3XO
* AMSAT SKN Winners and Changes for Next Year
* Student Internship CubeSat Opportunities in Greenbelt, MD USA
* VHF Groups Join Forces to Sponsor "Super Conference"
* 2016 NASA Student Airborne Research Program
* AMSAT Events
* ARISS News
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-024.01
ANS-024 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 024.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE January 24, 2016
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-024.01
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In Memory of Robert J. (Bob) Carpenter, W3OTC-SK by Bill Tynan, W3XO
Bob, a longtime friend, one-time business partner and devoted AMAST
volunteer became a Silent Key Friday, January 8th. Bob was born July 31,
1930 in Washington, DC.
I first met Bob in the late 1940s on six meters. At the time, we both lived
in Silver Spring, Maryland. After a few QSOs we decided to meet and compare
notes. I found that, in addition to the interest we shared in the VHF bands,
he was very intrigued with FM broadcasting, as I had been for years.
Following graduation from The University of Maryland, in 1951 with a degree
of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Bob served in the U.S. Air
Force, at the US Air Force Research Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On
completing his Air Force commitment, he joined the Johns Hopkins Applied
Physics Laboratory in the DC area where I was employed. Leaving the
Laboratory 1955, Bob joined, what was then called the National Bureau of
Standards, first in Boulder, Colorado and later at their facility at
Gaithersburg, Maryland. In his early work at the Bureau, he was instrumental
in the development of technology for passing message traffic via the short
bursts of VHF frequency propagation caused by the ionization produced by
meteors entering the Earth's atmosphere. When Bob returned to Maryland, he
was involved in development of computer networking, retiring from what is
now called The National Institute for Standard and Technology in 1992. In
1988, he received the US Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award for
Distinguished Service.
Following retirement from NIST, Bob became available to assist AMSAT, of
which he was an early member, holding AMSAT Life Membership Number 21. His
knowledge of computers, was invaluable to Martha in keeping the office
computers up to date and the various data bases current. He regularly came
into the AMSAT office up until the last few days of his life.
Bob was active on six meters up until the time he sold his home in
Rockville, Maryland and moved to a retirement facility in nearby
Gaithersburg.
In earlier years, Bob did extensive traveling in Europe and elsewhere, his
favorite country to visit being France. He became quite fluent in the French
language. He went on one DXpedition, journeying to the French Caribbean
island of Guadalupe. I, and a number of other six meter operators, were able
to work a new country through Bob's efforts.
As mentioned earlier, Bob and I shared in interest in FM broadcasting. That
interest blossomed during the late 1950s when Bob rented half of the house I
then owned in Rockville, Maryland. After much discussion of the pros and
cons, we decided to construct a station of our own. So, we applied for a
Construction Permit (CP) from FCC to build a station in Bethesda, Maryland,
a nearby suburb of Washington. Bob handled most of the technical work, while
I concentrated on the business side. He always has been more adept at the
technical side of radio and electronics than I. After receiving our CP, we
went to work in earnest to build the station. Finally, in June, 1961, FCC
came out with standards for broadcasting stereo. Bob and I reasoned that,
for a new station, such as ours, to have any chance of success, it had to
hit the air with stereo. Since there was no stereo broadcasting equipment
available at the time, much of what we needed had to be constructed by us.
This herculean task could not have been completed without Bob's expertise,
but on November 12, 1961, only five months after FCC's establishment of
standards for stereo broadcasting, WHFS, the DC area's first stereo FM
station, hit the air on 102.3 MHz.
Once on the air, Bob kept WHFS on the air while I struggled with the
multitude of paperwork associated with running a small business, especially
a radio station. Each of us was smart enough to keep our “day jobs,” making
running a radio station especially difficult.
We sold the station in 1963, affording Bob and me more time for ham radio.
It has been a great pleasure to have known Bob all these years. I will miss
him and I know that Martha and all of AMSAT will miss him as well.
73, Bob.
With thanks to Perry Klein, W3PK, and Tom Pyke, K4DSD, who were responsible
for providing valuable information for this tribute to Bob.
Martha at the AMSAT Office reports: "The memorial service for Bob
Carpenter,
W3OTC has been postponed for 1 week due to weather. It is now scheduled to
take place at 7:00 PM on Saturday, January 30th at the chapel of Asbury
Methodist Village in Gaithersburg MD."
[ANS thanks Bill Tynan, W3XO, AMSAT President Emeritus for the above
information]
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AMSAT SKN Winners and Changes for Next Year
Thanks again to all who participated in AMSAT's Straight Key Night 2016,
held in memory of Ben Stevenson, W2BXA. The following participants each
received at least one Best Fist nomination: AA5PK,. WA5KBH, WA8SME,
W3TMZ, W4CVV, W5PFG. Special kudos to Glenn Miller, AA5PK, who received
three.
Activity was down this year, for a variety of reasons, some having to do
with availability of suitable satellites and some to do with changes in
amateur radio in general. Since this was AMSAT's 25th annual SKN, it's
a good time to consider changes. While Morse as a license qualification
has gone the way of the spark gap, amateur CW activity is as popular as
ever. Straight keys and "bugs", however, have found a niche primarily with
the boat anchor crowd, and AMSAT's insistence on their use in OSCAR SKN is
probably holding down participation. Similar considerations have led ARRL
to broaden its annual HF event to include all forms of CW, even
computer-generated. The idea is to encourage everyone to enjoy CW
operation,
no matter how they choose to do it.
So, in with the new: AMSAT CW Activity Day on OSCAR. As with the old SKN,
it will be a fun event, not a contest, and will run for 24 hours on
January 1. All forms of CW will be welcome. Instead of best fist
nominations, all participants will be encouraged to post "Soapbox"
comments to AMSAT-BB.
A further announcement will be posted in December 2016.
[ANS thanks Ray, W2RS for the above information]
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Student Internship CubeSat Opportunities in Greenbelt, MD USA
APPLY NOW: Paid NASA Intern Opportunities Summer 2016
The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is offering student internship
positions for the Summer 2016 semester. Applications are being taken
on the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative (OSSI) recruiting web site.
Go to:
http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/433303985565/list.admin/aus-city.com/ --> Student Opportunities -->
then click on the first dropdown link to start reading all about
the internships and the process of applying. There is no need for
students to upload a resume in OSSI when they apply. The resume
is essentially built through the student's responses to the
questions within the online application.
Go to:
http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/316643966704/list.admin/aus-city.com/to search and filter through the many Opportunities at the
different NASA locations across the country in addition to the
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Search
on "cubesat" without the quotes to see examples from which
the student may select to apply.
One such Opportunity, "CubeSat Ground Station Development,"
Is being offered by NASA engineer and fellow AMSAT member
Pat Kilroy, N8PK. He is looking for university level students
with a course of study in engineering. Electrical or Electronics
Engineering (EE) or Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
majors in their junior class or higher this fall are sought for
the 10-week summer program. Pat says experience in hardware
and certain skills are required, as described in the text of
his Opportunity listing.
Open to U.S. citizens.
The student application instructions provide a deadline of March 1
to apply, but mentors have already started to evaluate applications
and make their selections. The word to the wise is to get in one's
application immediately. Don't wait.
Applications must be made via the OSSI web. Please be sure to
include your Amateur Radio callsign under the Special Skills
section -- or that you are studying for it.
[ANS thanks NASA and Pat, N8PK for the above information]
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VHF Groups Join Forces to Sponsor "Super Conference"
The Southeastern VHF Society (SVHFS), North East Weak Signal Group (NEWS)
and Mount Airy VHF Radio Club (Pack Rats) are cosponsoring a VHF Super
Conference, hosted by the Grid Pirates Contest Group (K8GP) and Directive
Systems and Engineering. The conference will take place April 15-17 in
Sterling, Virginia.
Early registration discounts are available. Conference Proceedings in
printed and digital form will be available after the event. Sign up when
registering. All registrations include lunch and all-day beverages.
The event will feature an array of forums and workshops, a test lab, and a
conference banquet. A microwave loop Yagi workshop will be offered during
the weekend at an additional fee. The workshop will explain how loop Yagis
work, how to adjust them, and how to build one. Free shuttle service will be
available to the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum.
A second call for papers and presentations for the VHF Super Conference has
been issued. The conference sponsors are seeking presentations or papers
dealing with all aspects of VHF, UHF, microwave, and higher. Topics may
include operating, contesting, homebrewing, software, EME, surplus,
antennas, test equipment, amplifiers, and SDR. Photos are encouraged.
Steve Kostro, N2CEI, and Paul Wade, W1GHZ, are coordinating Proceedings.
Direct submissions and questions to them via e-mail.
View the ARRL press release at:
http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/719875581503/list.admin/aus-city.com/[ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information]
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2016 NASA Student Airborne Research Program
The NASA Airborne Science Program invites highly motivated undergraduate
students currently in their junior year to apply for the NASA Student
Airborne Research Program, also known as SARP 2016. The program provides
students with hands-on research experience in all aspects of a major
scientific campaign, from detailed planning on how to achieve mission
objectives to formal presentation of results and conclusions to peers and
others. Students will assist in the operation of airborne instruments aboard
the NASA DC-8 aircraft. They also will analyze remote-sensing data collected
during the program from the NASA ER-2.
The program takes place in summer 2016. Instrument and flight preparations,
and the research flights themselves, will occur at NASA's Armstrong Flight
Research Center in Palmdale, California. Postflight data analysis and
interpretation will take place at the University of California, Irvine.
Successful applicants will be awarded a stipend plus a travel allowance for
eight weeks of participation in the program. Housing and local
transportation also will be provided.
The deadline for applications is Feb. 2, 2016.
For more information and to download the program application, visit
http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dad...T/933633977211/list.admin/aus-city.com/.Specific questions about the program should be directed to
SARP2016@nserc.und.edu.
[ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Jan. 21, 2016 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 and Saturday, 19-20 February 2016 – Yuma Hamfest and 2016 ARRL
Southwest Division Convention in Yuma AZ
*Friday, 4 March 2016 – presentation for the Associated Radio Amateurs
of Long Beach meeting in Signal Hill CA
*Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 March 2016 – ScienceCity science fair, on
the University of Arizona campus in Tucson AZ
*Saturday, 19 March 2016 – Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Spring
Hamfest 2016 in Scottsdale AZ
*Saturday, 26 March 2016 – Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ
*Saturday, 7 May 2016 – Cochise Amateur Radio Association Hamfest in
Sierra Vista AZ
*Saturday, 4 June 2016 – White Mountain Hamfest in Show Low AZ
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
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ARISS News
Sucessful Contacts
Brihaspati Vidyasadan, Kathmandu, Nepal, telebridge via VK5ZAI
The ISS callsign was NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut was Timothy Peake KG5BVI
Contact was successful: Wed 2016-01-20 08:37:04 UTC 26 deg
A telebridge contact via VK5ZAI with students at Brihaspati Vidyasadan,
Kathmandu, Nepal was successful 01/20/2016 at 08:37:04 UTC 26 deg.
Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI answered 17 questions for students. An
audience of about 300 included students from 10 other schools, as
well as the British Ambassador to Nepal, the Cultural Affairs Officer
from the US Embassy, and a member of the National Human Rights
Commission and former Ministry for Science and Technology.
Brihaspati Vidyasadan is a 32 year old High school, located in
Kathmandu, Nepal. Brihaspati runs classes from nursery to 100 at
secondary level and the 10+2 program in Science and Management at the
higher secondary Level. Besides these Brihaspati also runs Diploma in
Hospitality Management and Tourism in affiliation with Confederation
of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH), UK.
Brihaspati is known for its academic excellence. To date Brihaspati
has produced over 2000 SLC graduates and over 600 +2 graduates who
have achieved excellent academic achievements. Brihaspati has also
been awarded the "Best School in Nepal" in 2055BS.
Brihaspati is also known for its co-curricular and extra-curricular
activities including sports, debates and concerts. Over the years
the school has achieved Inter-school successes in football (soccer),
cricket and basketball at national levels. School has also successes
in inter-school competitions like debate, elocution and concerts.
For its academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements
Brihaspati has been placed among the Class A schools of Nepal by the
Ministry of Education, Government of Nepal.
Brihaspati staff and students have been known for their innovation
in education. The school is reputed to be the first school in Nepal
to introduce computer education. Brihaspati houses clubs like
Lokopakar, which is a student club that looks into Humanitarian aid.
Brihaspati students recently started gThink Inkh, an activity
designed using the principles of Extreme Design from Stanford for
instilling critical thinking and problem solving skills in students.
This program has gained attention of a lot of people in the academia
at a very rapid pace.
Brihaspati is located in a 25 acre land space at the heart of
Kathmandu within the Balmandir compound. It has academic facility
that is of very high standards. It houses the Free and Open Source
Research Lab and Ham (amateur radio) facility that students and staff
have access to.
Recently during the earthquake of Nepal, one of the buildings of
Brihaspati was used by ham radio operators from Nepal and India to
coordinate search and reconciliation of families where over 500
families were reunited with their loved ones.
Some local news media video reports are available at
http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/280737328519/list.admin/aus-city.com/students-to-follow-their-cherished-dreams/
http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/660321781684/list.admin/aus-city.com/http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/257051493206/list.admin/aus-city.com/Upcoming Contacts
A direct contact with students at PSU. Wittayanusorn School, Kho Hong
District, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand is scheduled for Sat
2016-01-30 11:06:23 UTC 63 deg.
PSU. Wittayanusorn School, established in 2005, is a Prince of Songkla
University affiliated private high school in Hatyai, Songkhla Province,
Thailand. The school serves approximately 1,200 students in 7th to 12th
grade.
The school's identity colors are blue and grey. The blue represents
sustainability and grey stands for wisdom. The school motto is "wisdom
brings
lasting success and happiness". The guiding principle is "our soul is
for the
benefit of mankind". The desired characteristics of our students are
"SMART+"
which are referred to scientific mind, good manner, aesthetic appreciation,
responsibility and reliability, teamwork, and +global citizenship. Green
education is our school's uniqueness which focuses on education for
sustainable
development.
PSU. Wittayanusorn School is dedicated to create an exceptional teaching and
learning environment in which morality is emphasized, science and
mathematics
concepts are embedded. The school curriculum is designed to maximize each
student's potential for critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, community
involvement, and responsible leadership. Additionally, the school has been
selected by the Ministry of Science and Technology to be one of the
first four
regional schools of the country to host a special three-year science
classroom
program for high school level, grades 10 to 12, according to the proactive
human resources development project to upgrade the science and technology
capability of the country. The selection of students with high ability in
mathematics and science for the science classroom program is carried out
by the
Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology and closely
collaborated with Prince of Songkla University. Each student who passes the
selection will be entitled to a scholarship from grade 10 onwards, and
subjected to certain additional criteria, he/she will be eligible for a
scholarship until he/she can complete his/her education up to a doctoral
degree
level.
PSU Wittayanusorn School was accredited with the score 97.02% by the
Office of
National Education Standards and Quality Assessment on May 26, 2015.
Watch
http://www.aus-city.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/RADIOCOMM_LIST/238988998321/list.admin/aus-city.com/for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled.
[ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
Yuri UT1FG is on the move
For those who chase Yuri in new grids, I received an update that he has left
port in Montreal and is headed to Algiers.
[ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President for Operations for the above
information]
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/EX
