************************************************************************** * * * THIS IS THE AMSAT-NA CBBS at ST. LOUIS MO, 24HR 7DAY AT (314)447-3003 * * 300/1200/2400 BAUD * * Mike Parisey WD0GML SYSOP * * Norm Newman NZ0Z Co-SYSOP * * * ************************************************************************** SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-175.01 AMSAT-NA SPACE SYMPOSIUM CHANGE HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 175.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD JUNE 24, 1989 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT AMSAT-NA Officials Move Space Symposium "Up" One Week to Weekend of NOV. 3-5 Because of the scheduled launch of the MICROSATs on November 9, 1989 comes within two days of the AMSAT-NA Space Symposium, AMSAT-NA officials have decided to change the date of this annual AMSAT event. Those who have attended this Space Symposium in years past know that it normally "falls" on the second weekend of November -- and this year was to be no exception. But since many of the "key" personnel for the MICROSAT Program will be delivering papers at the Space Symposium, it was felt that it would be impossible for them to also provide support for the MICROSATs which would have only been launched 48 hours before the start of the Symposium! Therefore, in recogniz- ing this critical conflict between the launch and the Space Symposium, AMSAT officials have decided to move the Space Symposium ONE WEEK AHEAD to November 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Everything else will remain the same, that is, the location will be in Des Moines, IA, registration will be on Friday, seminars will begin Saturday morning, the Annual AMSAT-NA Banquet will be Saturday evening at 7:00 P.M., and the Board of Directors meeting will be on Sunday. With the launch of the MICROSATs this year along with UOSAT D & E, there will be many papers devoted to all aspects of these new OSCAR satellites. It is hoped by AMSAT officials that this change in the Space Symposium date will not prevent anyone who was planning to attend not to be present. At no other time has there ever been a launch of an OSCAR satellite scheduled within two days of this annual AMSAT event. If you wish to obtain more information about the AMSAT-NA Space Symposium, please contact AMSAT-NA HQ's at (301) 589-6062. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-175.02 BOD NOMINATIONS PERIOD EXTENDED HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 175.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD JUNE 24, 1989 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT AMSAT-NA HQ Extends The Period For Submitting Board-of-Director Nominations AMSAT-NA Headquarters wants to remind members that nominations for the office of Director are now in order. According to the AMSAT-NA Bylaws (see ASR #187), four out of the seven Board-of-Director (BOD) seats will be up for election this year. The seats on the "Board" which are up for election this year are currently filled by the following individuals: 1) Bill Tynan (W3XO) 2) Jan King (W3GEY) 3) Bob McGwier (N4HY) 4) Andy MacAllister (WB5ZIB) Each Director will serve for a two year term. Any five "current" AMSAT-NA members or a Member Society, can nominate an individual for a seat on the "Board." Nominees will be asked to provide minimal background and bio- graphical data for publication in Amateur Satellite Report (ASR) and for inclusion with the ballot. Please send your "nominating" petitions to: AMSAT-NA HQ Suite #600 850 Sligo Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910 The NEW deadline for submitting petitions for your nominee to the AMSAT-NA "Board" has now been extended to July 30, 1989. AMSAT-NA officials felt that not enough time had been allocated for members to submit nominating petitions. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-175.03 NEW AMSAT HF NET PLANNED FOR 17M HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 175.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD JUNE 24, 1989 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT Join KO5I & N4QQ For A New AMSAT HF Net On Sundays At 18.155 At 23:00 UTC Doug Lougmiller (KO5I), President of AMSAT-NA, wishes to remind radio amateurs that the new 17 Meter AMSAT Net will commence operations on Sunday evenings beginning July 2nd, 1989 at 23:00 UTC. The frequency for this new 17M Net will be 18.155 MHz. The Net Control Stations (NCS) will be KO5I and John Shew (N4QQ). KO5I cited several unusual aspects about this band for starting this new AMSAT HF Net. Among the most important considerations which makes this a ideal band for HF Net operations is the lack of QRM. Another aspect of the 17M band is the unusual "openings" which make this band ideal for "DX" stations around the world. So start to prepare your station today so you can join KO5I and N4QQ on 18.155 MHz on Sundays evenings at 23:00 UTC. If you are unable to check into any of the several AMSAT Nets on Sunday afternoons, you will now have another opportunity late Sunday evening. KO5I and N4QQ are looking forward to seeing many OSCAR enthusiasts next Sunday on this "inaugural" session of the 17M AMSAT Net. SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-175.04 AMSAT-NA BBS HAS NEW 40 MEG DISK HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 175.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD JUNE 24, 1989 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT AMSAT-NA BBS Has A New 40 Megabyte Hard Disk Installed Mike Parisey (WD0GML) System Operator for the AMSAT-NA BBS reported last week to AMSAT-NA officials that a hard disk "crash" occured on the BBS computer and that he was temporarily using a smaller sized hard disk until a replacement could be installed. WD0GML is happy to announce today that the AMSAT-NA BBS has a new 40 Megabyte hard disk installed and the BBS is now back up to "full-strength." AMSAT-NA regrets any inconvenience which this temporary reduction in service might have caused BBS users. As always, the latest information concerning all the OSCAR satellites, operating events, Keplerian elements, and many other items of interests to radio amateurs can be found on the AMSAT-NA BBS. You can also leave messages for AMSAT-NA officials if you wish to do so on the BBS. In the first year of operation of the AMSAT-NA BBS, over 9500 calls have been made to the BBS. At the present time there are over 700 users which check into the BBS at least once of month! Many of those using the BBS are from overseas, that is, calls have been logged from over all Europe, Japan, and Australia. AMSAT-NA appreciates the many hours that WD0GML spends to make this an excellent BBS for radio amateurs and OSCAR enthusiasts. If you haven't checked into the AMSAT-NA BBS lately, you can do so at (301) 447-3003. The BBS will support 300/1200/2400 baud modems. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-175.05 AMSAT SHORT BURSTS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 175.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD JUNE 24, 1989 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT AMSAT Short Bursts O S C A R - 1 3 Date : 14Jun89 until 16Aug89 ! 16Aug89 until 16Nov89 BLON/BLAT : 178.3/2 ! 210/0 Mode-B : MA 000 to MA 110 ! MA 003 to MA 160 Mode-JL : MA 110 to MA 145 ! MA 160 to MA 200 Mode-B : MA 145 to MA 255 ! MA 200 to MA 240 OFF : % ! MA 240 to MA 003 Mode-S : MA 150 to MA 160 ! MA 210 to MA 222 Transponders will be in operation during the whole orbit from June 14 until August 16 due to excellent sun angles and power budgets. However, no perigee operations will occur between August and November due to perigee solar eclipses! The 70cm and 2M omni-directional antennas will be used from MA 230 until MA 30. The ZRO Memorial Technical Achievement Award Program, or just "ZRO Test" will be reactivated in July. The following schedule of Mode "B" ZRO tests with a was chosen for convenient operating times and favorable "squint" angles. The frequency for the "ZRO Test" will be a downlink frequency of 145.840 MHz. AO-13 users who don't wish to participate in the ZRO Test are asked to avoid operating on or near that frequency during these ZRO Test times. Please post the following list of times in your ham shack for the ZRO Tests so that you will have them handy for quick reference: Saturday July 1, 1989 at 21:10 UTC Saturday July 8, 1989 at 04:50 UTC Sunday July 16, 1989 at 07:20 UTC Saturday July 22, 1989 at 20:50 UTC Saturday July 29, 1989 at 04:20 UTC Saturday August 12, 1989 at 20:20 UTC Any changes will be announced as soon as possible via the AMSAT HF and AO-13 Operations Nets. ZRO brochures are available from WA5ZIB, Andy MacAllister, AMSAT V.P. of User Operations, 14714 Knightsway Drive, Houston, TX 77083 for an S.A.S.E. with one unit of postage. The brochure characterizes test proced- ures, means for obtaining certificates, and gives some historical background about the program. All listener reports with date of test and numbers copied should be sent to WA5ZIB at the address above. A report will be returned verifying the level of accurate reception. de DB2OS 01May89: *** AO-10 TRANSPONDER SCHEDULE *** 01May89 to 13Jul89 Mode-B : from MA 025 to MA 225 OFF : from MA 226 to MA 024 /EX FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! FLASH! THE FOLLOWING ADDED BY AMSAT-NA CBBS at St. Louis (314) 447-3003 24hr 7day 300/1200/2400 baud. This section may have additions through the week! RESPONSES TO "READ MY LIPS": by Ray Soifer, W2RS VP-Special Programs Judging by the mail I received, my brief note in the last issue of ASR, "Read My Lips: No More Hype!", seems to have struck a chord beyond the audience to whom it was originally addressed--prospective authors of articles on forthcoming satellites. More than a few rank-and-file members wrote in to say that, in their view, some of our current programs have become too complicated and expensive for them to use, and pleaded for simpler satellites which are accessible to a wider cross-section of Amateurs. Typical of this response was a letter from Nick Laub, W0CA, whom many remember as the first person ever to achieve Satellite WAC, long before the advent of AMSAT-Oscar 10 made it so easy. I happen to hold WAC-S No. 6, also from the Phase II era, and remember how astounded I had been at Nick's accomplishment years before I was able to do it. An unfortunate lightning strike destroyed much of Nick's equipment several years ago, and being retired, he has not been able to replace it all. He is still operational on the RS birds, however, and notes that many Amateurs who use the Soviet spacecraft do not join or continue their membership in AMSAT because they simply do not see themselves as benefiting from programs such as AO-13 and the digital MICROSATs for lack of funds to purchase the necessary ground stations. To Nick and the other friends who have taken the trouble to write, I agree with you part of the way. Much of AMSAT's role in life is to advance the state of the art, and as both an AMSAT official and an ordinary member, I have always supported the high-tech projects. I still do. But, it does seem that our user-support programs and publications have not always given enough support and encouragement to "ordinary" Amateurs interested in taking part in the satellite program with their existing, "low-tech" stations. We can and must do a better job. AMSAT-NA is actively involved in at least one such program--SAREX. Working W0ORE aboard Challenger was one of the true highlights of my 34 years in Amateur Radio, as I'm sure it was for many others. I did it with a standard, 2-meter tropo-MS type station, the same one I used for QRP EME minus the GaAsFET preamp, not with any specialized satellite gear except for an Apple //e computer and the oldest of the old W3IWI tracking programs (since replaced with a PC-XT clone and AMSAT-UK's SATSCAN). But I'll bet that 99% of Amateurs do not even identify SAREX with AMSAT, despite the critically important role we played in it. I hope that we can fix that misperception on subsequent SAREX missions, by publishing lots of helpful "how-to" information with our name on it, aimed at those with little or no present background in satellite communications. Think of all the new members that can help attract! We'll soon have RS-12/13 in orbit, and it's likely that we'll see a resumption of activity from MIR later in the year. True, AMSAT was not responsible for these projects being there. But we can sure help people use them if we want to, and generate new sources of membership in the process. Although they're not two-way communication in the usual sense, we'll also have DOVE and two new members of the UoSAT family as well. The worldwide AMSAT movement can certainly take credit for those, which can be received with the simplest of 2m FM equipment. These birds are simple to use (even a few of the UoSAT functions), and they will not only be educational but FUN. So, all you "low-techies" out there, take heart. There ARE satellite programs for you, too. Let's everyone in AMSAT get out there and help people use them properly, and while we're at it, sign them up for membership!