AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-298

ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America,
The
Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS 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.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:




In this edition:
* New AO-51 Whole Orbit Data decoder released
* SumbandilaSat Designated as SO-67
* New items for sale at the AMSAT online store
* New EMI Calculator Available From Australian ACMA
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* Iran May Put Satellite in the Ham Satellite Bands
* ARISS Status - 19 October 2009


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-298.01
New AO-51 Whole Orbit Data decoder released

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 298.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 25, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-298.01

Thanks to our resident telemery guru Mike Rupprecht DK3WN a new AO-51
whole orbit data (WOD) telemetry decoder has been released! The file
with decoder and coefficients file can be downloaded from he

http://www.dk3wn.info/files/ao51wod.zip

The AO-51 telemetry archive is on the AMSAT FTP server. DK3WN's new
decoder is for processing "raw" WOD telemetry files. For example, the
WOD data collected for October 2009 is he

ftp://ftp.amsat.org/pub/amsat/teleme...t2009/raw1009/


The decoder generates a .CSV (comma separated) file that can be opened
in Excel, etc. A nice feature is that the telemetry program actually
graphs the data, too!

THANKS, Mike DK3WN!

[ANS thanks Mark, N8MH, for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-298.02
SumbandilaSat Designated as SO-67

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 298.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 25, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-298.02

AMSAT's OSCAR Number Coordinator Bill Tynan, W3XO announced he has
received an e-mail sent to the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors by Hans
van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV, Secretary SA AMSAT requesting that an
OSCAR number be allocated to SumbandilaSat.

In the e-mail Hans states that the amateur radio transponder on
SumbandilaSat was successfully switched on from the ground by ZS6BPZ
during the test phase on Sunday 18 October 2009 and that several QSOs
were made through the transponder.

The amateur radio payload on SumbandilaSat was developed by SA AMSAT
and incorporated by the University of Stellenbosch into the main pay-
load. The SA AMSAT payload was officially coordinated through the
IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination Panel with an uplink of 145.880
and downlink of 435.350 MHz

Bill replied, "Therefore, by the authority vested in me by the
AMSAT-NA President, I hereby designate this latest amateur radio
satellite as SumbandilaSat Oscar 67 or SO-67. On behalf of AMSAT-NA
and the world's amateur radio satellite community I congratulate those
responsible for building, testing and launching this new satellite.
May it have a long and successful life."

You can hear more of these initial and QSO's through this new South
African ham radio satellite at:
http://previews.matogen.com/sunspace...ds/Sumbandila-
FirstActivePass-Recording-2009-10-18.mp3

[ANS thanks Bill Tynan, W3XO and SA AMSAT for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-298.03
New items for sale at the AMSAT online store

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 298.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 25, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-298.03

Did you miss the symposium? Now available at the AMSAT online store --
a 40th Anniversary Tote as well as the Proceedings of the Symposium.
Get yours while supplies last.

[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-298.04
New EMI Calculator Available From Australian ACMA

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 298.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 25, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-298.04

Australia's Swinburne University, together with EM Software and
Systems, has developed an online tool that will allow users to
calculate exclusion zones around antennas where radiation levels
exceed safety standard limits.

Commissioned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority,
the exclusion zone calculator will allow people to conduct safety
assessments of transmitting antennas, such as those found on boats,
four wheel drives, at fixed station locations and even communication
networks operating in the VHF and UHF spectrum. This includes ham
bands from 2 meters on up through 2.4 GHz.

To calculate the zone, all users need to do is enter the antenna
type, transmitter power, antenna gain and frequency band into the
online tool. Click your mouse and the program will automatically
calculate the safe distance around the antenna in metric distance.

The ACMA has also produced a booklet entitled Human Exposure to
Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Radiation Information for Licensees
of Radio-Communications Transmitters. Both the on-line tool and
a booklet that explains EME health exposure can be found at:
http://www.acma.gov.au. (ACMA)

[ANS thanks ACMA and Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1679 for the
above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-298.05
Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 298.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 25, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-298.05

+ The AMSAT Symposium was held over the October 9 - 11 weekend in
Baltimore, Maryland. AMSAT President Barry Baines' presentation
has been posted to the AMSAT Web site. A video of symposium high
lights was put together and has been posted on YouTube.
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1efXlL75dvA

+ Drew, KO4MA says the QSL cards for the July Apollo anniversary event
on AO-51 have arrived and he is starting on the stack this weekend.
He is pretty sure they should all be in the mail by next week and
thanks all for the interest and support.

+ For those going to the Ft. Wayne, Ind. Hamfest, Nov. 14-15, there
will be an AMSAT Forum on Sat. the 14th at 1:15pm. There is also an
APRS forum on Sun. 15 Nov. at 10 am. More info can be found at:
http://www.fortwaynehamfest.com

+ Page 43 of the October issue of SatMagazine features an article on
CubeSats titled 'A Costing + Pricing Challenge', see:
http://www.satmagazine.com/2009/SatMag_Oct09.pdf

+ USA Today has a flash graphic showing the step-by-step construction
of the International Space Station:
http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/...line/flash.htm

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-298.06
Iran May Put Satellite in the Ham Satellite Bands

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 298.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 25, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-298.06

The SouthGate Amateur Radio News Site and Amateur Radio Newsline
reported this week there is a possibility that Iran's Mesbah-2
satellite, slated for launch early 2010, could operate on frequencies
allocated to the Amateur Satellite Service.

An on-line report at astronautix.com says that the original Mesbah
satellite, lost in a 2005 launch failure, was to have operated on
Amateur Satellite Service frequencies. Now its being reported that
Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Reza
Taqipour, has said that the replacement Mesbah satellite has success-
fully completed pre-launch tests and is now ready for liftoff early
next year.

Most observers think that there will be little difference between
the transponder set-up between the lost Mesbah satellite on the new
replacement bird. See: http://www.astronautix.com/craft/mesbah2.htm

[ANS thanks SouthGate and Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1680 for
the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-298.07
ARISS Status - 19 October 2009

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 298.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 25, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-298.07

1. Upcoming School Contacts

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been
scheduled with Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday,
October
27 at 09:33 UTC via telebridge station VK4KHZ in
Australia. The centre organized
a student competition for naming asteroids, using rules of the science
naming
process. In October the winners travel to Warsaw for the competition finale
and
will take part in the ARISS event.

Sherbrooke Community School in Sassafras,
Victoria, Australia has been scheduled
for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on
Wednesday, October 28 at 07:13 UTC. This will be a telebridge contact via
station W6SRJ in California. Sherbrooke Community School fosters student
participation and the advancement of amateur
radio in the community. It operates
Sherbrooke Community Club station, VK3KID. The school has invited
representatives from neighboring schools to pose
questions to the astronauts and
asked its sister schools in China and Bhutan to also submit questions for
students to ask the ISS crew.

David Thompson Middle School (DTMS) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada has been
scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact on Friday, October 30 at 21:12 UTC via station LU8YY in Argentina.
DTMS
and the University of Calgary's science department have collaborated on this
event.


2. ARISS Contact Between Thirsk and Boundary Beach Students

On Tuesday, October 13, students from Boundary
Beach Elementary School in Delta,
British Columbia, Canada spoke with astronaut Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA on the
ISS
via an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact.
Seventeen questions were answered, including one from the radio team. The
contact was made possible through the Langley Amateur Radio Association. To
prepare for the contact, students got involved in many space related
activities
and participated in Dr. Thirsk's "Get Fit for Space" program.


3. Glenmore Christian Academy Experiences ARISS Contact

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact occurred
on
Wednesday, October 14 between Glenmore Christian Academy students in
Calgary,
Alberta, Canada and Robert Thirsk, VA3CSA. Nearly six hundred students,
teachers, parents and guests gathered to watch
the youth ask 20 questions of the
astronaut. CBC (Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation) and CTV (Canadian television)
covered the event.


4. ARISS Contact with UNICEF - Mali

Children in Gao, Mali participated in an Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, October 15 via telebridge station
K6DUE in Maryland. The contact was held as part of the UNICEF WaSH (Water,
Sanitation, Hygiene) campaign. Astronaut Frank De Winne, ON1DWN, a UNICEF
Belgium goodwill ambassador, spoke to the children, answering 5 questions.


5. ARISS - JOTA Contact Unsuccessful

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was
scheduled for Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), Boy Scouts of America Headquarters
in
Irving, Texas on Saturday, October 17. Due to technical difficulties, the
contact did not take place. Contact demonstrations on other satellites were
given during the day, however, and there was an amateur radio balloon flight
as
well. Scouts also took part in a Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI) activity.
Approximately 400 Scouts, parents and officials attended the event.


6. NASA Reports on ARISS Contact

NASA posted as one of its "Daily Top Stories" an article from the Vancouver
Sun
about the October 9 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact with Belmont Elementary School:

Hundreds Of Students "Enthralled" Talking To ISS Astronaut. The Vancouver
Sun
(10/10, 178K) reported, "Canadian astronaut Robert Thirsk zipped through the
heavens above Langley's Ecole Belmont elementary school Friday, riding the
International Space Station and chatting with 533 enthralled students." The
event was organized by "ARISS (Amateur Radio International Space Station), a
NASA- sponsored educational outreach program." According to the article,
"Judging by the reaction of the children sitting cross-legged in the gym,
the
program was an obvious hit."

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]

/EX


In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's
Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project
Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms
are
available from the AMSAT Office.

73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS