[amsat-bb] ANS-117 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

Sun Apr 27 09:49:07 PDT 2014

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-117

The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including 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.

The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.

In this edition:

* AMSAT-NA Office Relocation Underway
* 2014 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice
* GS3PYE/P Isle of Lewis Operations Start April 26
* Top 10 Reasons to Come to Dayton
* ARISS News

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.01
ANS-082 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 117.01
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 27, 2014
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-117.01

AMSAT-NA Office Relocation Underway

After 30 years in the same location, AMSAT-NA is moving to a new
office. The office will be closed Friday, 25 April, and will reopen
Friday, 2 May. During the move, our e-mail will be operational,
however responses will be delayed. Purchases through the AMSAT Store
may be made normally, but they will not be processed until the move is
completed.

Our new street address will be:

Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT-NA)
10605 Concord St, #304
Kensington, MD 20895

For those visiting, we are about 5 miles north of the old office,
outside I-495, the Capital Beltway.

During the move, we are changing some phone numbers. After the new
office opens, the new numbers will be:

  From the US call toll free:          (888) 322-6728 (Unchanged)
  From all other locations call:       (301) 822-4376
  FAX:                                 (301) 822-4371

The deterioration of the current building has been discussed in the
AMSAT Journal Apogee View. Martha Saragovitz and the rest of the
office team have gone to great lengths to minimize disruptions under
very trying, uncomfortable, and sometimes unsafe circumstances in the
old office. Finally, the county authorities ordered the building
closed.

It will take some time to get the new office fully up and running.
However, the improvements in building facilities and especially safety
will be worth it. If you are in the area after the move, give us a
call, and come by and visit.

[ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above
information]

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2014 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Notice

It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on the AMSAT-NA
Board of Directors. A nomination requires either one Member Society or five
current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT-NA member for
Director. Three terms expire normally this year. In addition, a forth Director
will be elected for one year to fill the remainder of an unexpired term. Up to
two Alternates may be elected for one year terms.

In addition to traditional submissions of written nominations, which remains
unchanged and is the preferred method, nominations may be made by electronic
means. These include e-mail, FAX, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic
petitions should be sent to MARTHA at AMSAT.ORG or 
faxed to (301) 822-4371. Written
nominations, consisting of names, calls and individual signatures should be
mailed to:
  AMSAT-NA
  10605 Concord St,
  #304 Kensington, MD 20895.

No matter what means is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at
the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no
other action is required. If it is other than 
this, i.e. electronic, a verifying
traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the
above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th.
ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID
UNDER THE EXISTING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS.

Please note the new mailing and FAX instructions.

[ANS thanks Alan, WA4SCA, AMSAT Corporate Secretary, for the above information]

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GS3PYE/P Isle of Lewis Operations Start April 26

Camb-Hams will be operating on the amateur radio satellites, EME and HF using
the call sign GS3PYE/P from the Isle of Lewis (IO68UL, EU-010) on April 26 to
May 3, 2014.

The Camb-Hams have been activating the Scottish Isles each year since 2008 and
will be travelling to the Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Outer Hebrides in 2014.
Thirteen operators will be active on all bands 
and many modes from 4m to 80m, 2m
& 70cm for Satellites and 2m & 23cm for EME from 26 April to 3 May 2014.

The HF bands will be covered by five simultaneous stations, while the 6m & 4m
stations will have a great take-off towards the UK and Europe from the island’s
northern tip in IO68 square. All stations will be able to run at the full UK
power limit.

EME operations will use 150W to 55 elements on 23cm and 400W to 17 elements on
2m. Primarily on JT65 but also available for CW skeds  if your station is big
enough.

Satellite operations on 2m & 70cm will use X-Quad 
antennas and a fully automatic
Az/El tracking system. Activity is planned on 
AO-7 (mode B), VO-52, FO-29, SO-50
& AO-73.

Contest operations will take place in the RSGB 70MHz UKAC on 29 April.

A number of the group are planning to make an extra trip to operate as GS6PYE/P
from the Shiant Isles (EU-112). They are aiming for afternoon/early evening
operations on 28 April, but may switch to 30 April if the weather is bad.

The group will be active on HF mobile and APRS as they travel, starting on 25
April. All the up-to-date plans and progress will be on the camb-hams site.

Most importantly, this is a group of good friends doing what they enjoy, so
please give them a call and enjoy the trip with 
them. Active on the major social
networks before, during and after the trip, you can check on progress and
interact with the operators via their blog at http://dx.camb-hams.com/ or
through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube [links below].

Please email skeds-2014 at camb-hams.com to arrange skeds on the more challenging
bands and modes. VHF and EME skeds will also be 
made via ON4KST, HB9Q (1296) and
N0UK’s EME Chat (144). All links are available via the camb-hams site.

Web http://dx.camb-hams.com/
Twitter http://twitter.com/g3pye
Facebook http://facebook.com/CambHams
YouTube http://youtube.com/CambHams

[ANS thanks Trevor M5AKA, for the above information]

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Top 10 Reasons to Come to Dayton

10. Rub shoulders with 25,000 of your best 
friends at the largest hamfest in the
United States, including six of the seven AMSAT Directors and all of the AMSAT
senior officers.

9. Find out how to organize a contact with the astronauts on the International
Space Station for your local school or youth group from our Education and ARISS
experts.

8. Pickup the latest AMSAT golf shirts, T-shirts, and hats.  Get your copy of
the updated "Amateur Satellite Frequency Guide" (laminated frequency chart) and
Gould Smith's just revised "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" (book).
We'll also have assembled wide-band preamps that are great for portable
operation.

7. See the latest equipment from Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood, Alinco, and many other
manufacturers of amateur radio equipment and accessories.  Take advantage of
discounted pricing you won't find anywhere else.

6. See demonstrations of SatPC32 and MacDoppler 
satellite tracking software, and
get your operational questions answered.  Meet Don Agro, author of MacDoppler
(Friday & Saturday, 2-3 p.m.).  See a demonstration of the LVB Tracker, a
computer interface to the Yaesu azimuth-elevation 
rotors.  Talk with Mike Young,
who has built more LVB Trackers than anyone else.  Assembled LVB Trackers will
be available.  Mark Spencer's WRAPS tracker (Jan 2014 QST) circuit board,
programmed PIC, and documentation CD-ROM will also be available.

5. Hear the latest on the Fox Project, the International Space Station, current
and future satellites, Education news, and an AMSAT update at the AMSAT Forum
Saturday, from 11:15 to 1:30.

4. Get one-on-one guidance on setting up your satellite station and making
contacts at our new "Beginner's Corner".  Witness live demonstrations of
contacts through satellites AO-7, FO-29, SO-50, VO-52, AO-73, and the Fox-1
prototype using handheld antennas.

3. Bring your dual-band HT and listen (on 2m) to the engineering prototype of
the Fox-1 satellite which will be on 
display.  Transmit through the prototype on
70cm.  Meet and interact with some of the Engineering Team members working on
the Fox-1 satellites.

2. Get satellite station and operating tips from some of the best satellite
operators in the country, including John Papay K8YSE (1,406 grids confirmed),
Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK, Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA 
(1,036 grids), Doug Papay KD8CAO
(993 grids), and Keith Pugh W5IU.

1. Receive special premiums when you join AMSAT or renew your membership at
Dayton, including an updated "Amateur Satellite Frequency Guide" (laminated
frequency chart), an AMSAT carabiner key ring, and special pricing on the
SatPC32 satellite tracking software.

[ANS thanks Steve, N9IP, for the above information]

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ARISS News

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule

Aboshinishi Elementary School, Himeji-City, Japan, direct via  8N3AB
Contact is a go for: Tue 2014-04-29 09:05:15 UTC 80 deg

Hidden Oaks Middle School, Prior Lake, MN, direct via  NRÃ˜T
Contact is a go for: Thu 2014-05-01 16:28:17 UTC 55 deg

ARISS  is requesting listener reports for the above contacts.  Due to
issues with  the Kenwood radio that are not fully understood at present, the
Ericsson radio  is going to be used for these contacts.  ARISS thanks everyone
in advance  for their assistance.  Feel free to send your reports to
aj9n at amsat.org or  aj9n at aol.com.

*************

Starting  2014-03-11 due to the Koichi's increased work load, ARISS has had
to move 3  schools back to our long term waiting list.  We hope to get to
them in the  fall of 2014.  There are also several other schools that are on
the list  for possible postponement to the fall.  From 2014-05-12 to
2014-06-15,  ARISS will be going into a period of no contacts as there will be
no hams onboard.

*************

Looking  for something new to do?  How about receiving DATV from the ISS?
If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete
details.  Look for the buttons indicating Ham  Video.

http://www.ariss-eu.org/

*************

ARISS  congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100
schools:

Gaston ON4WF with 117
Francesco IKÃ˜WGF with 101
Satoshi  7M3TJZ with  101

*************

US  Hams, don't forget that there is a new process for US school proposals. For
US schools to have an ARISS contact, they must fill out a proposal, submit  it
to NASA, and see if they are approved or not.  Once a school is approved  and
put on the list, an ARISS mentor will be assigned to assist the  school.

NASA will have two open windows a year for  schools to submit a proposal.
The window for contacts during the second  half of 2014 has already closed.
Look for the window for first half 2015  contacts later this year.  You
must go through NASA to get the proposal  material.  Contact Teaching From
Space, a NASA Education office, at  JSC-TFS-ARISS at mail.nasa.gov or by calling
them at (281)  244-2320.

The following US states and entities have never had an  ARISS contact:
Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota,  Vermont, West
Virginia, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas  Islands, and the
Virgin  Islands.

[ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, 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 addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.

Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.

73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org