[amsat-bb] Reminder of historical amsat-na archives available on KA9Q's website

[Samudra Haque N3RDX]

Hello all AMSAT-NA members, I had some curiosity in learning about
early AMSAT-NA projects and the people behind the early AMSAT
satellites that were built, launched, failed etc. I contacted Martha,
and she quickly pointed me in the direction of KA9Q's vast archive in
PDF format: http://www.ka9q.net/newsletters.html; Perhaps some of the
archives will be soon offered to collectors / researchers on a CD-ROM
to help AMSAT earn revenue from its publication archives !

Of particular historical note: Volume I, Number 1, with a note from
the "President's Desk" by Perry Kline, AMSAT-NA's Founder-President,
who was a great help to me at the symposium just completed and also
the very first Editorial by S.H. Durrani, reprinted through the magic
of Adobe PDF OCR below. I think newbie's (like me) exploring Amateur
Satellite as a hobby should be guided by their respective "elmer" to
read some of these early documents as they come up to speed on the
various fun stuff to do, and to gain an understanding of the past work
done by individuals they meet at conferences, events in this field !

[Following material (c) June 1969, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation, extracted from
http://www.ka9q.net/AMSAT-Newsletter-June1969Brev.pdf] - reproduced
for education purposes only!

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
The Australis-OSCAR A satellite, which was delivered to AMSAT
on April 14, is currently undergoing a series of tests by AMSAT
members at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Jan King, K8VTR, who
has been designated AMSAT's Australis-OSCAR A Project Manager, has
been doing a superb job of coordinating all activities involving the
satellite hardware, including the test program.

Australis-OSCAR A is an Australian-built satellite containing
two and ten-meter beacon transmitters. While the previous four OSCAR
satellites were launched by the Air Force, AMSAT has been discussing
with NASA the possibility of placing Australis-OSCAR A in the second
stage of a two-stage Thor-Delta vehicle along with another satellite.
Details on the design and operation of the satellite are described in
the July and August 1969 issues of QST. Be listening to W1AW for late
bulletins as the launch date approaches, and in the meantime, be sure
you have your equipment ready for receiving the satellite's beacons
on 144.050 and 29.450 MHz. At least 10 dB of antenna gain is
recommended to receive the 2-meter transmissions, but a dipole should
be sufficient for 10 meters.

Response to the introductory AMSAT article in the June 1969
QST has been very good and AMSAT membership has already passed the
one-hundred mark.

We are pleased to announce the receipt of a $150 donation from
Project OSCAR to assist with the expenses of Australis OSCAR A. We
are also pleased to announce the election of Captain Charles Dorian,
W3JPT, to the Office of Secretary by the AMSAT Board of Directors on
June 19. Chuck will replace Jim Puglise, W3CBJ, who in preparing to
leave the Washington area feels he does not have the time to handle
the responsibility competently. We wish to thank Jim for his
significant contributions to AMSAT from its inception in January.

One of AMSAT's more recent members, Reginald Atkins (C/O NASA
Tracking Station, Dan Dan, Guam 96910, USA), is interested in seeing a
synchronous satellite repeater constructed for the 1296 MHz amateur band
and has offered to assist with the project. Anyone interested in
undertaking this project, please contact us.

Perry Klein K3JTE

Editorial

INTRODUCING THE NEWSLETTER

With this, the first issue of the AMSAT Newsletter, we
are embarking on a new project to keep the membership informed
of what is going on in AMSAT. Actually, this is not quite the
first issue, because an embryonic newsletter was issued in May
by Geørge Kinal, our Engineering Vice President, in the form of
a one-page progress report. In it he described the current
AMSAT efforts to prepare the ham satellite Australis-Oscar A
for launch, and AMSAT's decision to participate in Project
"Moonray," which aims at placing a ham relay package on the
moon.

These are exciting activities — Oscar and Moonray
and amateur space communications in general — and AMSAT
is deeply interested in them. As our membership expands
and our involvement in various projects grows, so does
the need for a newsletter increase.

The main objectives of the Newsletter are to document
AMSAT activities and to report the progress on current
projects. In addition, the Newsletter will carry special
articles deemed to be of interest to the members. In the
beginning, these articles will be mainly concerned with
Australis-OSCAR, (which is our most important activity at
present) or with providing information to new members for
their orientation. Later issues will cover a wider field—as
wide as the members wish it to be and make it to be.

Did you wonder "why a newsletter?" Well, now you
know! And if you wondered what AMSAT is all about, and who
is responsible for what, we have the answers in this issue.
But there must be several other questions that you'd like
to discuss. So we'll have a Reader's Column in future
issues, which will give you a chance to air your views and
propagate them out to fellow members. We'll be happy to
hear from you, whether it is a matter of gravity or levity!
Please direct your transmissions to Newsletter Editor,
AMSAT, Box 27, Washington, D. C. 20044.

S. H. Durrani
Editor

P.S. How about a proper name for the Newsletter? We have
considered the BEACON, TRANSMITTER, TRANSCEIVER,
TRANSPONDER, UPLINK, and some others. But before settling
on one, your Board of Directors decided to ask for
suggestions from members. If you have any ideas on the
subject, please pass them on to the Editor. (Hint: ask
your wife to help us name this baby!)