AO-51 Configured for Earthquake/Tsunami Support

In an effort to lend any assistance possible to the Earthquake/Tsunami
disaster area, AO-51 will be will be configured and opened for use as a
store and forward message satellite for those in the disaster area.
Therefore the current schedule for AO-51 has been cancelled.
The planned mode change to the FM Repeater in high power will not occur.

AO-51 will be reconfigured at approximately 0305 UTC on 30 DEC 2004 to operate as a Store and Forward PBBS. The PBBS will still be open to general amateur use, but amateur operators should be ready to cease BBS operations at any moment, when we start to receive message traffic. We ask that all unattended PBBS operation stop until further notice. AO-51 PBBS users may be requested to help download and forward messages. More information about how amateur operators can help will be forthcoming.

73 paul.2E1EUB

posted 30 Dec 2005

AMSAT UK MONTHLY SATELLITE REPORT:
As compiled by PAUL 2E1EUB.Inclusions to be included in this monthly report to reach me by the 25th of each month please, at: 2E1EUB@AMSAT.ORG. This report can also be found at www.uk.amsat.org and on packet Radio or may be heard live on 3.780 mhz on the last Sunday of each month.

AO-51 ECHO
Status: operational//Testing
Current Mode: FM Repeater, V/U modes l/s and v/s working well, but takes some tracking! Reports welcome from stations using the digital side of ao51.

Dec 29
Experimenters Wednesday
FM Repeater v/s on

Dec 30
FM Repeater, V/U, High Power Mode ON

Jan 2 Kid's Day on Amsat Echo
Uplink: 145.880 mhz FM voice, 67hz tone
Downlink: 435.300 mhz FM voice
The event will run from approximately 1600 utc 2 Jan to 0345 utc 3 Jan. We ask that all amateur radio stations give this short time window to promote satellite operations with kids.

Jan 3
FM Repeater, V/U, High Power Mode ON

Jan 5
Experimenters Wednesday
FM Repeater, L/S, ON

Jan 6
FM Repeater, V/S, ON

Jan 12
Experimenters Wednesday
38k4 Digital Downlink, V/U Mode
FM repeater OFF

Jan 13
FM Repeater, V/U, ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS, OPEN for Users

Jan 19
Experimenters Wednesday
9k6 Digital, V/U, High Power, PBP BBS
FM repeater OFF

Jan 20
FM Repeater, V/U, ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS, OPEN for Users

Jan 26
Experimenters Wednesday QRP Mode
v/u on

Jan 27
FM Repeater, V/U, ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS, OPEN
For further scheduled modes/tests, check out the Echo status page at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/
13 Dec -- N5AFV/VP9 MM - N8QGC/PA MM Contact
Congratulations to Allen (N5AFV) operating as N5AFV/VP9 and John (N8QGC) operating as N8QGC/PA for their ship to ship contact via AO-51 today. They are both currently operating from cruise ships during their vacations.

AO-51 Echo Mode Suggestion Email Address

Amsat-NA has established an email address for AO-51 users to submit requests and ideas for Experimenters Wednesday operations. This is your chance, the user, to request from the Amsat Operations Team the modes you are interested in seeing operated on the satellite during the weekly Wednesday times. All input will be noted by the individuals monitoring the address. Do not expect a reply to your email though, as we will not have the time to respond to each individual email.

The email address to send your requests or ideas to is: ao51-modes@amsat.org

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) - ARISS
Status: Operational
Current Mode: Packet
Digipeater: Active

Russian callsigns RS0ISS, RZ3DZR
USA callsign NA1SS
Packet station mailbox callsign RS0ISS-11
Packet station keyboard callsign RS0ISS-3
Digipeater callsign ARISS
The Expedition 10 crew made ready for the Christmas arrival of an unpiloted resupply spacecraft this week while continuing research and maintenance activities aboard the International Space Station.

The Commander and Flight Engineer are, a third of the way through their planned six-month mission, they have put the Station's 58-foot robotic arm through its paces. They also installed cables and a switching unit for the docking system that will guide the European Space Agency-provided Automated Transfer Vehicle to docking when it makes its maiden voyage next year.

Research activities focused on bone and abdominal scans for the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity experiment, which is evaluating the ability of crewmembers with minimal medical training to work with doctors on the ground and diagnose medical problems.

Preparations for the launch of the ISS Progress 16 resupply ship are on schedule at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress 16 is scheduled for lift-off at 4:19 p.m. CST Dec. 23, carrying 2.5 tons. The cargo ship is scheduled to dock with the Station at about 6:04 p.m. CST Christmas Day.

Due to the length of the crew's day on Dec. 25, the hatch to the Progress will not be opened until the next morning, when they will begin to unload their Christmas cargo.

Maintenance activities this week included turning off the Russian oxygen generation system so that remaining oxygen in the Progress 15 tanks could be used, preventive work on the Zvezda Service Module's ventilation system and charging the batteries of the heart defibrillator that would be used in the event of a medical emergency.

AO-7 AMSAT OSCAR 7
Status: Semi-operational in sunlight.
Return to active status: June 21,2002
Emily, W0EEC has created a website to allow the users of AO-7 to record contacts, observations and use of the satellite more effectively at: http://www.emilyshouse.com/experthams/ao7/main.php This includes the ability to log contacts.Mostly in mode B, with dx stations heard regularly, with some qrm on the 2m down link.

AO-27 AMRAD
Status: Operational
Evening time uk/europe,FM repeater on first part off each pass.
The latest information on AO-27 can be found at: http://www.ao27.org An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA web site,

FO-29 JAS-2
Status: Operational
working well, with strong downlink signals at times.
Voice/CW Mode JA
Please send the reception reports to lab2@jarl.or.jp . Please use the subject line: 'FO-29reception report'.

SO-50 SAUDISAT-1C
Status: Operational.
Uplink: 145.850 MHz
There have been unconfirmed reports on the amsat-bb emailer that So-50 has shifted downlink frequency as much as 5khz up. To switch the transmitter on, you need to send a CTCSS tone of 74.4 Hz.

UO-11 OSCAR-11
Status: Semi-operational.
On November 18th, Clive, G3CWV reports:
Between 15 November 15:56 UTC, and 17 November 16:26 the telemetry shows that the Mode-S beacon has switched OFF. I would be interested in receiving any reports of MODE-S reception after 15:56 UTC on 15 November.

The telemetry is also showing problems with other channels, including the Y & Z magnetometers. OSCAR -11 has been heard transmitting continuous ASCII telemetry from 04 December to 14 December. During this period good signals have been received, in spite of the problems, which were reported last month. On several occasions the signals have been stronger than usual. The beacon operates under control of the watchdog timer. Observations have indicated that the cycle is approximately 10.3 days ON followed by 10.4 days OFF. Assuming that this cycle continues, the beacon should switch ON around 25/26 December. OSCAR-11 now operates in a default mode, . The satellite transmits continuous ASCII telemetry for approximately 10.3 days on 145.826 MHz., followed by 10.4 days of silence. This regular sequence might be interrupted by ground control, at any time. At the present time the mode-S beacon 2401.5 MHz. and the UHF beacon 453.025 MHz. are both OFF
More information on UO-11 OSCAR-11 can be found at: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/

AO-16 PACSat
Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater command is on and open for
APRS user
Broadcast Callsign: PACSAT-11
BBS: PACSAT-12

GO-32 TECHSAT-1B
Status: Operational
Roni, 4Z7DFC, reports:
Techsat1b BBS's is back ..but still having problems
Uplink freq. ; 145.859, 145.890, 1269.800
More information of GO-32 can be found at: http://www.iarc.org/techsat/techsat.html

NO-44 PCSAT
Status: Operational
PCSat is a 1200-baud APRS digipeater
http://pcsat.aprs.org

The APRS-equipped PCSat was built by midshipmen from the U.S. Naval AcademyPCsat working fine. Please do not use PCsat in the dark, and she should live a long time....

Another Near Future Hamsat
Amsat India has indicated that in early 2005, Feb-March, there will be a new Leo Hamsat. It will have an onboard linear UHF/VHF transponder. There are several AMSAT organizations contributing various components. More details from AMSAT India's website (amsatindia.org)according to Nagesh, VU2NUD. Santa "is" listening

SSETI Express news:
with a visit from the amsat uk team in mid october the mode s transmitter was integrated and tested over a few days, results looked good, with a few minor problems, to be sorted. The next stage is the shake and vac test, if all goes well the sseti express project should make space in the first part of 2005,more information can be found in the December oscar news.

December 12th, marks the 43rd anniversary of the Launch of OSCAR-1. This also marks the 43rd anniversary of amateur radio in space. OSCAR was built by the Project OSCAR Amateur Radio Club which remains the oldest amateur radio club devoted entirely to amateur satellites. OSCAR was successfully launched from Vandenberg AFB in California. The satellite carried a 140 mW VHF transmitter that transmitted a beacon in the 2 meter band at 144.983 MHz. OSCAR transmitted a simple "HI-HI" Morse Code stream, the speed of which was controlled by a temperature sensor inside the spacecraft. It was too fast to copy at times. OSCAR was battery powered as solar cells and battery chargers were not really within the reach of amateurs at that time. It discharged its batteries three weeks later on January 1 1962. 570 Amateurs in 28 countries reported receiving the OSCAR beacon and sent contact reports to the Project OSCAR team, who used a mainframe computer to compile data on radio propagation, orbit and thermal design. This data later led to design improvements when OSCAR II and III were launched. OSCAR re-entered the atmosphere January 31, 1962 after 312 revolutions.

STRAIGHT KEY NIGHT ON OSCAR 2005

Once again AMSAT North America is pleased to sponsor Straight Key Night on OSCAR for enjoyment by all radio amateurs.

OSCAR SKN 2005 will run for 24 hours, 0000-2400 UTC, on 1 January 2005. It's very simple: no rules, no scoring, and no need to send in a log. Just operate CW through any OSCAR satellite using a straight hand key, working as many other SKN participants as you can. Contacts via the moon (OSCAR Zero) count too.

Unfortunately, however, this year there again appears to be a distinct shortage of satellites that will relay CW. As of this writing, only FO-29 and AO-7 are available. So, please make the best possible use of those.

As in past years, all participants are requested to nominate one of the operators they worked for "Best Fist" recognition. Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you heard, just of those you worked. Please send all nominations to me at w2rs@amsat.org. A list of those nominated will be published via the AMSAT News Service in early February, and in The AMSAT Journal.

wishing you all a happy new year paul . 2E1EUB. (AMSAT UK 6236)