TRANSPOLAR SKITREK PROGRESS REPORT #5: February 26, 1988

     Prepared by Rich Ensign, N8IWJ, AMSAT Science Education Advisor
                 For Use With The AMSAT Teachers Guide
            "Exploring The High Arctic From Your Classroom"


                  UOSAT OSCAR 11 DIGITALKER ACTIVITY

This week the UO-11 beacon on 145.825 MHz has displayed a great deal of
activity, most notably a test and preview of the NORDSKI COMM Transpolar
Skitrek Position Report via the Digitalker. On Saturday, February 27th, the
Digitalker said the following, "Number 00, Priority 000, Date 26 of February,
Time 19 hours and 20 minutes GMT. You are at 00.00 degrees N and 123.45
degrees E. 73's." This information format is, of course, all that is needed
by teachers and students around the world to plot the skiers progress on
their classroom maps. Four hundred AMSAT teachers guides to the expedition
have been mailed literally around the world to interested teachers and hams.
They in turn have copied the guides and spread them further afield. Guides
have gone to Brazil, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, India, nearly all the
countries of western Europe and nearly all provinces in Canada and states in
the U.S. A special center of interest is South Africa, where Hans Van de
Groenendaal, President of AMSAT South Africa, has involved more than a
hundred classrooms. Hundreds of thousands of students world-wide will be
following the trek across the ice via the Digitalker and learning about
amateur radio.

The Canadian Communications Support Base team has found that getting to
Resolute Bay, N.W.T. is not easy. Bill Hardie, VE3EFX, was not able to go due
to illness and has been replaced by Garth Hamilton. The first trip north
February 23rd was aborted when bad weather prevented air traffic into
Resolute. This was not unexpected as flights had not made it into this arctic
outpost for several weeks. The team arrived safely on the evening of February
26th. Communications from Resolute are now expected on the 20 and 40 meter
bands using the call CI8C.

The expedition continues on track for a start date around March 1st. Since 
press releases and media coverage have been scanty, the digitalker may well
be the first indication of the skiers start across the ice. Monitor UO-11
during its 8:30-11:30 AM and 8:30-11:30 PM (local time) passes.

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A continuing series of Progress Reports like this one may be accessed via
packet BBS, AMSAT Nets and the main educator source, the W0RPK AMSAT Bulletin
Board (1-515-961-3325). Comments and questions about the reports should be
addressed to Rich Ensign, 421 N. Military, Dearborn, MI 48124, U.S.A.

Progress Report #6 will be issued when the expedition begins around 
March 1, 1988.