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****************************************************************************** * AMSAT NA News Service Bulletins * * NEWS128 07May88 * * [ Copyright 1988 by AMSAT NA, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ] * * [ Permission is granted for unlimited redistribution by electronic or ] * * [ other means provided credit is given to AMSAT NA News Service (ANS). ] * * [ Edited for AMSAT NA by WA2LQQ. ] * ****************************************************************************** Headlines: 1. New OSCAR One Month From Launch 2. Record Crowds Flood Dayton Hamvention 3. Transpolar Skitrek Progress Report #15: May 7,1988 4. Educators To Learn About Amateur Radio 5. Plan AO-10 Return To Service 6. UoSAT OSCAR 11 DCE and Third Party Traffic 7. Short Bursts 8. FO-12 Sked For May Announced * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1. New OSCAR One Month From Launch Preparations are reaching their final stages for the early June launch of AMSAT's new OSCAR, Phase 3C. If all goes well, the most powerful, capable OSCAR ever will be in orbit in early June. Best estimates now suggest June 6 as the launch date. The launch will occur around 1200 hour UTC. A number of factors could move that date a few days forward or back, however. Chief among these factors is the launch of the V-23 mission from Kourou now planned for May 17. If V-23 launch goes well on May 17, it will clear the way for the Phase 3C launch in early June. Then, after launch and orbital insertion, Phase 3C will obtain its operational appellation, AMSAT OSCAR 13. Phase 3C, a joint project of AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL (with help from affiliated AMSAT organizations), will be placed in orbit by the big new Ariane 4 rocket of the European Space Agency. There will be three satellite payloads on the Ariane 4 mission designated V-22. In addition to AMSAT's Phase 3C, V-22 will carry Meteosat P2 and PANAMSAT. Phase 3C will carry 4 transponders covering the 2 meter, 70 cm, 24 cm and 13 cm bands. Transponder modes employed include Modes B, JL, S and RUDAK. These modes have the following band combinations: Mode B: 70 cm up; 2 m down Mode JL: 24 cm and 2 m up; 70 cm down Mode S: 70 cm up; 13 cm down. RUDAK: 24 cm up; 70 cm down. (RUDAK is a type of digital repeater). Specific frequencies and uplink power requirements have been previously addressed in Amateur Satellite Report, the bi-weekly newsletter of AMSAT-NA. These data will be reiterated periodically in the AMSAT News Service weekly bulletins. An overview of Phase 3C is the cover article in the upcoming June QST. Required ground station capabilities including detailed frequency tables and uplink power requirements appear there. An explanation of RUDAK, the digital repeater developed by AMSAT-DL Project Leader DK1YQ will appear in the Amateur Satellite Communications column of the July and August editions of QST. The launch of Phase 3C will be covered by an AMSAT Launch Information Network Service (ALINS) being organized by AMSAT Operations VP Ralph Wallio, W0RPK. Combining the station assets of several major HF facilities around the world including ARRL HQ station W1AW, as well as WA3NAN and W6VIO at the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Lab, respectively, the Phase 3C ALINS will assure most who wish to may listen to the launch process in real-time. Several VHF repeaters will also be linked in according to W0RPK. ALINS coverage will be extended by AMSAT-UK, SA AMSAT, JAMSAT and others. ALINS will also provide current information on daily nets in the days leading up to launch and status reports in the days immediately following the launch including, as conditions allow, real-time reports of the first kick motor burn. In the past Arianespace has booked broadcast time on the SPACENET S1 C-band commercial satellite. This has provided live video to all TVRO users who can see SPACENET S1. It is anticipated Arianespace will again book broadcast satellite time for both upcoming launches (V-23 and V-22). When the times and transponders are announced, this information will be circulated in these bulletins. Operating plans for Phase 3C have not yet been announced. However, based on previous discussions, it seems likely Mode JL operation will predominate. There are several reasons for this. With 290 kHz of transponder bandwidth, Mode JL can handle higher user loads by far than Mode B, for example. Furthermore, because of the satellite's attitude in orbit and the antennas' beam patterns, Mode JL will certainly be used most often at apogee. Mode S can only be used in combination with Mode B since both use 70 cm receivers on the satellite. And, since the beam of the Mode S downlink antenna is narrow, it too will need to be employed near apogee. Thus, there are several technical constraints on operations planning. An operating schedule presented in terms of Modes and Mean Anomaly will established after launch and then subject to refinement as on-orbit operating experience is gained. Similarly, the bulletin format presented on the General Beacon will be disclosed after launch. The telemetry format will be published in a future ASR. No formal bandplan for the various transponders has yet been published. It is assumed, however, that the general 1/3 band partitioning which has become more or less traditional, will be the leading candidate for the Phase 3C bandplan. In that scheme the upper one third is for voice modes, the lower one third for digital modes including CW, packet and RTTY and the center one third for mixed modes. At the beginning of its operational life Phase 3C will have its apogee nearly over the equator. The initial argument of perigee is planned to be 178 degrees so both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere stations will experience excellent DX on Phase 3C right from the outset! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Following optional for NCS use] Mode B: Uplink: 435.420 - 435.570 MHz Downlink: 145.975 - 145.825 MHz GB: 145.812 MHz EB: 145.985 MHz Mode JL: Uplink 1: 1269.620 - 1269.330 MHz Uplink 2: 144.425 - 144.475 MHz RUDAK up: 1269.710 MHz Downlink 1: 435.715 - 436.005 MHz Downlink 2: 435.990 - 435.940 MHz RUDAK down: 435.677 MHz GB: 435.651 MHz Mode S: Uplink: 435.601 - 435.637 MHz Downlink: 2400.711 - 2400.747 MHz Beacon: 2400.325 MHz * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2. Record Crowds Flood Dayton Hamvention With the reports now in, the 1988 Dayton Hamvention appears to be the high water mark of Hamventions; perhaps even the largest gathering of Amateurs ever held! Nearly 35,000 persons jammed the Hara Arena and surrounding grounds on a pleasant late April weekend last week. The combination of splendid weather and a rebounding Midwest economy is seen as underpinning this year's record performance. The previous high attendance was about 25,000. Traffic at the joint AMSAT/TAPR booth was brisk throughout the weekend. Interest in Phase 3C was high and a significant proportion of visitors were well familiar with the progress towards launch of the new satellite. Questions concerning suitable equipment for Phase 3C and where to find it predominated the discussions at the booth. Doug Loughmiller, KO5I, led a team of AMSAT and TAPR volunteers working the double booth. AMSAT held two forums over the weekend. The Saturday forum moderated by KO5I featured Jan King, W3GEY who spoke on Phase 3C progress, Phase 4 and PACSAT. Vern Riportella, WA2LQQ, gave a presentation on future projects and Garth Hamilton, VE3HO, gave an update on the SKITREK project. On Sunday, Bill Tynan, W3XO, spoke on upcoming manned space activities; Tom Clark, W3IWI and Bob McGwier, N4HY, spoke on PACSAT, Amateur Radio's next packet satellite. Keith Pugh, W5IU, described suitable Phase 3C ground station equipment. Excellent attendance was reported at both AMSAT forums. Member renewals were strong suggesting interest levels are increasing with the approach of the Phase 3C launch. New and renewing members totaled 152 memberships according to KO5I. Receipts of over $11,000 also represented an all-time high AMSAT HQ said. KO5I characterized the event a "complete success" and congratulated those supporting in the AMSAT/TAPR booth for their excellent work. Booth workers included N9HR, WA3GOV, W3XO, N5BRG, W5IU, W8JLE, K9PVW, K8QKY, WB9FLW, W0SL, W3IWI, N4HY, WA2LQQ and W3GEY. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3. Transpolar Skitrek Progress Report #15: May 7,1988 Last week, UO-11's Digitalker programmer, Michael Meerman, G0/PA3BHF, travelled to the North Pole at the invitation of the Soviets. He shared in the celebration as the Transpolar Skitrek Expedition arrived at the Pole and marked this major milestone in their 1730 km trek from Russia to Canada. Somewhere between 100,000 and 250,000 students and other interested parties monitored SKITREK and NORDSKI-COMM on UoSAT OSCAR 11. Michael's (edited) report said in part: "It was an excellent, very exciting trip. Unfortunately, we spent too little time at the actual North Pole. I arrived in Moscow Sunday, the 24th of April after a 4 hour flight from England. Next day morning, we went to the assembly point not far from the Kremlin to meet with the Russian delegation and the press. We then set off on a six and one half hour flight to Sredniy Island in Siberia by AN-74 cargo plane. The plane was stuffed with about 30 passengers and their equipment. We spent the "night" on Sredniy Island and the next day, sometime in the afternoon, we set off with the same airplane to the Soviet ice island North Pole 28. "We travelled by helicopter to the North Pole arriving at about 2300 GMT on April 26th. The arrival time is only my guess since there is no local time; not even a local date at the Pole. The organizers had laid a small ring on the ground round an ice pillar (the Pole itself) with a flame on top and some meridian lines stretching in the direction of the South Pole. Naturally, there was a sign saying `Welcome to the North Pole'. "Among the dignitaries attending were Canadian Minister of Mining, Energy and Resources Marcel Masse and his Russian counterpart, Mr. Y. Izraeli. We only stayed at the Pole about four hours. The official celebration lasted for about an hour out in the open with both ministers addressing the skiers and the press. I estimated a hundred to 150 people were gathered together; probably the largest meeting ever held at a Pole. There were flags, balloons, a MacDonalds restaurant (model 10 cm high), champagne, a post-office and a radio shack. McDonalds is one of the Canadian sponsors of the trek. "The Russians had put up a few tents (with heaters!) but the weather was excellent with blue sky, only a light wind from the south (of course, south, it's the only direction) and with a temperature somewhere between -20 and -28 degrees Celsius. "I made about 50 QSO's using Barry's rig (an ICOM 761) under both of the skiers calls, EX0VE and CI8UA. The pile-up of contacts was enormous, mostly Canadian and American stations, one station on the Golan-Heights, a few from South America and two or three European. "I taped a short interview with Canadian Trekker Laurie Dexter. Regarding the Nordski-Comm navigation procedure, Laurie reported the conditions on HF have been very reliable and the skiers get their position back via 80/20 meters from Moscow about 2 hours after they switch on their ELT beacons. In the case of UoSAT, there is a 6 to 8 hour delay since at Guildford they have to wait until UoSAT comes into range for programming. The skiers have listened to UoSAT OSCAR 11 and found it very easy to understand. "The Pole looks like a desert; white and very flat. The only hills I saw were actually pressure ridges up to about 2 meters high. Laurie indicated pressure ridges were everywhere but none proved to be impassible although some were difficult forcing a search for a good path. Although it is flat, the surface is not at all smooth. The wind blows constantly leaving strange shapes such as those often seen on the beach. The thickness of the ice cap at the Pole varies between 3 and 12 meters. "Laurie said they haven't seen any forms of life on their journey. However, about 30 km from the Pole they saw polar bear footprints. This was a surprise since no one expected Polar Bears to roam that close to the Pole. The Trekkers do carry a rifle for protection against bears but haven't had occasion to use it so far. "The skiers have not yet used their rubber boats. When they encountered open water, they either went around it or waited until the water froze or the gap narrowed enough to cross it. Expectations are, however, that with warmer weather on the way, more gaps will occur, so they may yet need the boats." (Continued in Skitrek Report #16 next week.) This report has been prepared by Rich Ensign, N8IWJ, AMSAT Science Education Advisor For Use With The AMSAT Teachers Guide "Exploring The High Arctic From Your Classroom". These reports may be regularly accessed on the AMSAT W0RPK bulletin board by calling 1-515-961-3325. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 4. Educators To Learn About Amateur Radio (Courtesy of Westlink) NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Yaesu USA will join forces later this month in presenting a day-long Communications Symposium on the use of Amateur Radio in education. The event will be held Saturday, May 21 at JPL's von Karman Auditorium in Pasadena, California. Guest speakers will include Astronaut/Ham Dr. Anthony England, W0ORE, of the Johnson Space Center; Dr. Mary Duffield, WA6KFA, of the Redwood Youth Foundation; Dr. Patricia Cabrera representing the Los Angeles County Office of Education/Los Angeles Unified School District; Mr. Zach Taylor from the California State Department of Educational Services; Mr. Vern "Rip" Riportella, WA2LQQ, AMSAT North America President and others. The panel will cover topics related to teaching school children to use Amateur Radio and as a medium to communicate with other students and teachers worldwide. Additional items to be covered include the use of technology in education, Amateur Radio space communications, ham radio emergency communications systems for schools and obtaining funding for in-school Amateur Radio stations. The licensing of teachers and students, the practicality of using ham radio in school emergency situations and the inclusion of this important communications tool in existing educational curricula will also be discussed. One of the highlights of the session will be a live international teleconference featuring elementary school students in California linked to students in schools on four other continents! The satellite link-up will permit these school children of divergent backgrounds to interact and discuss the way in which Amateur Radio and communications has benefitted their studies. Teachers and Administrators residing in Southern California or planning to be in the area on May 21 are encouraged to attend this "by-invitation only" event. For reservations or to obtain further information please call Mr. Michael Henderson at Yaesu USA, Inc. (213) 404-2700 or Dr. Gilbert Yanow, K6TOS, of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at (818) 354-6916. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5. Plan AO-10 Return To Service Planned operating times for AO-10 Mode B per ZL1AOX: From May 14 thru May 30: MA 20 through MA 220 From June 01 thru June 14: MA 25 through MA 225 From June 15 thru June 30: MA 30 through MA 230 Please use minimum power required for communications. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 6. UoSAT OSCAR 11 DCE and Third Party Traffic Since early 1986, the Digital Communications Experiment (DCE) onboard the UoSAT OSCAR 11 satellite has been available to a network of Amateur Radio "gateway" stations for use as a long distance digital message forwarding channel. The network of active gateway stations has been steadily increasing, and the UK gateway alone has handled 1 Mbyte of messages so far this year. As the first continuously available Amateur Radio "PACSAT" service, the DCE has also been the first to come up against the international regulations which effect the flow of packet radio messages. In particular, strict third-party traffic regulations in the USA made it impossible to forward messages to or from the UK through the USA packet network. To overcome this problem, UoSAT team members Jeff Ward (G0/K8KA) and Martin Sweeting (G3YJO) contacted the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). This is the government department regulating Amateur Radio in the UK). The DTI recognized the UoSAT-2 DCE as an important experiment and they were willing help solve the USA third-party traffic problem. The solution was simple: the USA has a limited third party traffic agreement with the UK. The agreement covers messages passed by UK stations using callsign prefix "GB", except those with prefix "GB3". Since the PBBS at UoSAT has the callsign GB3UP, its messages were not legal under the existing agreement. To solve this problem, the DCE groundstation at the University of Surrey was granted the callsign GB2UP. Messages passed to and from GB2UP come within the third party agreement between the USA and the UK. Thus, messages received by the US packet network from the UK via GB2UP and the DCE have travelled via a legitimate international link. With recent reactivation of the DCE gateway station run by K1KSY (John Biro) and the expected activation of a station on the west coast of the USA, the UoSAT group feels it should be known by PBBS operators in the USA that messages from the UK via the DCE are not illegal third party traffic. These messages can be easily identified, since they have GB2UP as an intermediate PBBS in their forwarding headers. Individual USA gateway station operators will determine how messages should be routed to the UoSAT OSCAR 11 DCE, and how one can indicate your messages are bound for this authorized international link. With use of the UoSAT OSCAR 11 DCE increasing, and FO-12 and Phase 3C also able to provide international packet message forwarding, we must be careful to distinguish acceptable international traffic from that which should be suppressed. Simply killing all messages containing foreign calls will be "throwing the baby out with the bath water." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 7. Short Bursts AMSAT HQ announces that nominations for the office of Director are now in order. There are seven Directors and two alternates on AMSAT's Board of Directors. A Director serves for two years. There are four seats up for election this year. Any five current AMSAT members may nominate. In addition, a Member Society can nominate. Nominating petitions including the nominator's names and member numbers must reach AMSAT HQ not later than June 30, 1988. Send nominating petitions to AMSAT, 850 Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, MD, 20910. *** The new AMSAT Phase 3C poster debuted at Dayton and is now available from AMSAT HQ by mail. It makes a lovely shack wall display and helps to support AMSAT projects. And AMSAT's official callsign badges are again in production. Inquire at AMSAT HQ regarding obtaining your poster and badge. *** "Spaceweek 88" this year has the theme "Space: A Commitment to Our Future" and will be celebrated July 16 thru 24. Based in Houston, the non-profit Spaceweek organization needs local coordinators to organize celebrations in schools, civic groups, planetariums, etc. For details, call Spaceweek National Headquarters at 713-480-0007. *** AMSAT Belgium has been invited to participate in a large space exhibition at the Royal Army Museum in Brussels. The exhibition runs from May 3 through May 29 according to Patrick Hamptaux of Chenee. Patrick is responsible for arranging a $150 donation to the Phase 3C insurance campaign by AMSAT Belgium which AMSAT greatly appreciates. *** AMSAT is eligible to receive grants under the United Way write-in campaign whereby corporate employees whose firms support United Way fund can specify AMSAT as a beneficiary. Mattie Tynan (XYL of W3XO) recently arranged for a grant to AMSAT through the United Way. For further information on how you can help AMSAT in this way, please contact Martha at AMSAT HQ, 301-589-6062. *** The Soviet Union is planning to continue its program of launching Eastern-bloc Cosmonauts to their space station, Mir. According to Radio Moscow, "The training program for the Soviet-Bulgarian space crew is drawing to an end. On 15 May we are to conduct the final comprehensive examination. The launch will take place on 7 June." A Soviet-Afghan crew is "scheduled for on August 29", Radio Moscow said. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 8. FO-12 Sked For May Announced JARL has announced the FO-12 operating schedule for May. Mode From (UTC) -------------------- JD May 07 10:51 JA = analog mode D 08 09:56 JD = digital mode JA 14 06:33 D = all systems off D 16 06:47 DI = systems off except CPU and memory JA 18 04:59 D 19 06:07 JA 21 06:20 D 23 04:32 JA 25 04:46 D 26 03:52 JD* 27 05:00 * Note: On 27 May a special telemetry format will JD 28 10:16 be employed using a 2-second acquisition D May 30 02:17 cycle. The mailbox will be inoperative during this period. Send reports on FO-12 mailbox to JARL (JJ1ZUT). The transponders will be off at other times. The actual operating schedule may change due to unexpected situations such as variations in available power. *****************************************************************************