AMSAT NEWS SERVICE<br />ANS-331<br /><br />ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North<br />America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the<br />activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an<br />active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating<br />through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.<br /><br />Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:<br /><br />ans-editor@amsat.org<br /><br />In this edition:<br />* PCSat (NO-44) Operational<br />* PCSat2 Awaiting Improved Sun Angles<br />* SuitSat Deployment Delay<br />* SA AMSAT Satellite Conference 2006 - Call For Papers<br />* POSAT Update<br />* OSCAR 11 Report - 21 November 2005<br />* AMSAT Awards<br />* ARISS Status - 21 November 2005<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.01<br />PCSat (NO-44) Operational<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.01<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.01<br /><br />PCsat (NO-44) Will be OPS NORMAL for 2 weeks starting 25 November 2005.<br />PCsat was last operating OPS-NORMAL back in Jan/Feb 2005 for about a<br />month until it returned to negative-power-budget mode on 16 Feb 2005.<br />PCsat enters full sun every 2 months or so, but the energy budget is<br />only high enough during the winter months for full receovery due to the<br />better sun angles then on its +Z solar panel.<br /><br />PCsat is using the same path as ARISS for convenience:<br />UNPROTO APRS VIA ARISS.<br /><br />APRS mobiles in the USA will also see occasional packets from the Side B<br />downlink on the USA APRS frequency of 144.39.<br /><br />Please remember the rules for PCsat as published in the User Service<br />Agreement, and that is "no unattended beacons via PCsat" to conserve<br />power for those people trying live contacts.<br /><br />[ANS thanks Bob WB4APR for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.02<br />PCSat2 Awaiting Improved Sun Angles<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.02<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.02<br /><br />PCSAT2 shut down due to low voltage sometime after 1855z on 23 Nov due<br />to high beta angle. Nothing was heard on the 2032z pass.<br /><br />PCSAT2 is attached to the outside of ISS and only gets sun when ISS is<br />maintaining an attitude with good sun angle on our location. The worst<br />angle is on Saturday, 26 November 2005. Recovery is not expected until<br />later next week when sun angles begin to improve. At that time it is<br />hoped that joint ops with PCsat (NO-44) will be possible.<br /><br />Last telemetry was showing the 16 volt Lithimu-Ion Battery down to 11.6<br />volts. Load current was the usual 313 mA and Solar current was 377 mA<br />near local noon. Even with load sheding, and re-charge, the PCSat2<br />receivers will be on and the only power savings due to the shut-down<br />will be the 60 mA of the TNC's. This is only 20% of the nominal load<br />current and is insufficient to gain much ground until the entire system<br />returns to better sun angles sometime after 1 Dec.<br /><br />[ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR, for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.03<br />SuitSat Deployment Delay<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.03<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.03<br /><br />Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight reports that he<br />has received information that the Russian EVA that will deploy SuitSat,<br />which had been planned for December 8, has been delayed to late<br />January/Early <br />February. <br /><br />[ANS thanks Frank KA3HDO for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.04<br />SA AMSAT Satellite Conference 2006 - Call For Papers<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.04<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.04<br /><br />CALL FOR PAPERS FOR THE SA AMSAT SATELLITE CONFERENCE 2006<br />(SA AMSATCON2006)<br /><br />The Southern Africa Amateur Radio Satellite Association (SA AMSAT)<br />will be holding its annual satellite conference on 25 March 2006 at<br />the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The key note speaker will be Prof<br />Justin Jonas who will deliver a presentation on the SKA (Square<br />kilometre Array) project. Prof Takawira, head of the Department of<br />Electrical and Electronic Engineering will open the conference.<br /><br />SA AMSAT is calling for proposals for papers on subjects covering<br />the various aspects of satellite and weak signal communication<br />including equipment and antenna design and construction.<br /><br />Prospective authors should send a brief synopsis of their proposed<br />paper to saamsat@intekom.co.za for consideration by the conference<br />committee. The deadline is 30 January 2006. Proposals and<br />submission may also be mailed to SA AMSAT, PO Box 90438, Garsfontein<br />0042.<br /><br />Authors will be advised by 6 February 2006 of acceptance of their<br />papers. Final papers in Microsoft word format are required by 10 March<br />2006.<br /><br />The morning sessions will be focussing on technologies while the<br />afternoon sessions will include practical aspects of satellite<br />communication for both experienced satellite enthusiast as well as<br />newcomers.<br /><br />Attendance to the conference is open to all satellite enthusiasts.<br />Details of registration and fees will be announced during January 2006.<br /><br />[ANS thanks JoAnne, WB9JEJ, for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.05<br />POSAT Update<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.05<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.05<br /><br />During the AMSAT-UK Colloquium in late July it was announced that it was<br />expected that the POSAT satellite would be reconfigured for amateur<br />radio use.<br /> <br />We are pleased to confirm that this is still the plan but it is taking a<br />little longer than expected to make the necessary non-technical<br />arrangements.<br /> <br />The final operating configurations will take into account the various<br />options discussed on the AMSAT-BB within the constraints imposed by the<br />operating system on board and by the load on the command station.<br /> <br />As soon as we have more detailed information we will make a further<br />announcement<br /><br />73 Jim Heck, G3WGM<br />Hon Sec AMSAT-UK<br /><br />[ANS thanks Jim, G3WGM, for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.06<br />OSCAR 11 Report - 21 November 2005<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.06<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.06<br /><br />During the period 20 October to 21 November 2005 the VHF beacon on<br />145.826 MHz. resumed transmissions on 21 October, and continued until 30<br />October. Transmissions then resumed, as expected, on 10 November.<br />However, the beacon stopped transmitting prematurely, some time between<br />14 and 16 November. If the watchdog resets as expected, then the beacon<br />should restart around 06 December.<br /><br />Signals have been very variable during this period. Sometimes received<br />at good strength, at other times they were inaudible , even with the BFO<br />switched ON (ie. in CW mode).<br /><br />The on-board clock continues to show a very large error. Currently it is<br />19.9 days slow.<br /><br />All the analogue telemetry channels, 0 to 59 are zero, ie they have<br />failed. The status channels 60 to 67 are still working.<br /><br />The eclipses have now ended, and the satellite should be in continuous<br />sunlight for the remainder of this year, and next year until early May.<br />This should help the satellite to continue transmitting, although<br />continuous sunlight can cause problems due to excessive temperatures.<br />Power supply problems can be caused by poor earth pointing attitude, ie<br />the sunlight illuminating the ends of the satellite, instead of the<br />solar arrays.<br /><br />The watchdog timer appears to be operating on the 20 day cycle, ie.<br />approximately ten days ON followed by 10 days OFF. It appears to be<br />unaffected by problems of the on-board clock. However, poor solar<br />attitude, and battery problems, may be combining to produce a low 14<br />volt line supply. This appears to be causing the beacon to switch OFF<br />prematurely, and resets the watchdog timer cycle. It seems very likely<br />that the battery is now unable to retain its charge, due to having<br />endured around 100,000 partial charge/discharge cycles, always a problem<br />with NiCad cells. When analogue telemetry was transmitted, it showed an<br />unexplained current drain from the 14 volt line. This just adds to the<br />present problems.<br /><br />The Beacon frequencies are -<br />VHF 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry<br />UHF 435.025 MHz. OFF<br />S-band 2401.5 MHz. OFF<br /><br />Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting my website which<br />contains an archive of news & telemetry data. It also contains details<br />about using a soundcard or hardware demodulators for data capture.<br />There is software for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry. The<br />URL is
www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/<br /><br />If you place this bulletin on a terrestrial packet network, please<br />use the bulletin identifier $BID:U2RPT115.CWV, to prevent duplication.<br /><br />[ANS thanks Clive G3CWV for the above information]<br /><br />/EX<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.07<br />AMSAT Awards<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.07<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.07<br /><br />This week, congratulations go out to all of the following.<br /><br />Sebastiano Trovato, IW9HBY, Satellite Communications Achievement Award<br />#425<br />Jonathan Poulton, W0CK, Satellite Communications Achievement Award #426<br /><br />Keith Austermiller, KB9STR, 51 on 51 Award #42<br />Brock Thomsen, W6GMT, 51 on 51 Award #43<br />Mike Herr, WA6ARA, 51 on 51 Award #44<br /><br />To see all the awards visit
http://www.amsat.org or<br />
http://www.amsatnet.com<br /><br /><br />[ANS thanks Bruce KK5DO, for the above information] <br /><br />/EX<br /><br /><br />SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.08<br />ARISS Status - 21 November 2005<br /><br />AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.08<br /> From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.<br />November 27, 2005<br />To All RADIO AMATEURS<br />BID: $ANS-331.08<br /><br />1. Hermann Middle School Contact Successful<br /><br />On Wednesday, 16 November 2005, Hermann Middle School, in Hermann,<br />Missouri, contacted the ISS via ham radio. The school library was<br />standing room only, as seven students asked questions of Bill McArthur,<br />KC5ACR. The audio was distributed over the PA system to the rest of the<br />school. MSNBC carried the event live through the school's Hermann<br />Bearcat Amateur Radio Club webcam. Two television stations, channel 5,<br />St. Louis and channel 13, Jefferson City, covered the event and ran<br />video clips in their news casts. The students, volunteers and teachers<br />who participated will receive DVDs as a remembrance of the event. The<br />Hermann Middle School radio contact coordinator reported, "This was a<br />wonderful thing that happened to our rural school district. They are<br />all smiles right now."<br /><br /><br />2. Takatsuki Education Center Contact Successful<br /><br />On Thursday, 17 November 2005, Takatsuki Education Center in Takatsuki,<br />Osaka, Japan, experienced a successful contact with the ISS. Ten sixth<br />graders from Hiyoshidai Elementary School posed twenty questions to Bill<br />McArthur, KC5ACR, as an audience of approximately 400 students, parents<br />and others gathered to watch the event. Two television stations,<br />including NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), three newspapers, and<br />other media covered the contact. The contact audio is available at:<br />
http://jk1zrw.dyndns.org/takatsuki.html.en<br /><br />For the video, see:<br />
http://www.city.takatsuki.osaka.jp/multimedia/media/ariss-hiyosidai.asf<br /><br /><br />3. ARRL Article on Negri and Furtherwick School Contacts<br /><br />ARRL ran an article covering the Instituto Comprensivo Francesco Negri<br />and Furtherwick Park School contacts. "Students in Italy, England<br />Entertained, Educated via Ham Radio" may be found at:<br />
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/11/16/1/?nc=1<br /><br /><br />4.Italian School Contact Video<br /><br />On Wednesday, November 9, students from Instituto Comprensivo Francesco<br />Negri spoke with astronaut Bill McArthur via amateur radio. Radio<br />operator Claudio Ariotti, IK1SLD, posted a video clip and photos of the<br />event on the following website: <br />
http://scuola.spaceonline.tv/<br /><br /><br />5. Furtherwick Park School Contact<br /><br />On Wednesday, November 9, Furtherwick Park School successfully contacted<br />the ISS. The BBC covered the event in an article, "Pupils link up with<br />International Space Station." See:<br />
http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2005/11/11/space_station_feature.shtml<br /><br />ARISS member, Howard Long has made available a video of the contact.<br />See:<br />
http://www.howardlong.com/images/Furtherwick.wmv<br /><br /><br />6. Russian EVA to Deploy SuitSat Postponed<br /><br />SuitSat, a Russian spacesuit containing ham radio equipment and a CD of<br />student artwork, was scheduled to be deployed during a Russian EVA on<br />December 8. This EVA has been postponed and is not expected to take<br />place until late January/early February 2006. <br /> <br />This unique satellite continues to receive news coverage, as Frank<br />Bauer's SuitSat paper has been translated into French and posted on the<br />AMSAT-France website. See:
http://www.amsat-france.org/ariss<br /><br />[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information]<br /><br />/EX
