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>Path: infoac!unido!mcsun!uunet!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!n8emr!gws
>From: gws@n8emr.uucp (Gary Sanders)
>Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur.misc
>Subject: HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
>Message-ID: <1991May26.154024.12@n8emr.uucp>
>Date: 26 May 91 15:40:24 GMT
>Sender: gws@n8emr.uucp (Gary Sanders)
>Organization: HAM BBS, 614-895-2553 (1200/2400/v.32/pep)
>Lines: 457



==============================================================
| 		Relayed from AMSAT BBS  NETWORK              |
| 		 N8EMR's Ham BBS, 614-895-2553               |
==============================================================

SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.01
AO-21 RECOVERED

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

AO-21 Mode B Transponder Heard

Bob McGwier, N4HY, reports working the AO-21/RS-14/RM-1 second tranponder
(435.123 - 435.043 MHz up, 145.866 - 145.946 MHz down) on 21 May 90.  
Contacts at AMSAT-DL report that an oscillating preamp in the primary 
receiver apparently caused the command desensing problem but that system 
redundancy provided a succesful work-around.  The team is now working on 
activation of the RUDAK II subsystem.  Currently, the transponders will 
not be regularly available until checkout, now resumed, is completed.

Watch ANS for further developments on the AO-21 deployment.

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.02
U2MIR DE-ORBITS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

Musa, U2MIR, Bids Earthbound Amateurs Farewell

On USA passes during the afternoon and evening of Friday 24 May 1991, the 
following came down from the amateur radio packet station on MIR:

U5MIR>CQ:FROM 24.05.91 YOU CAN CONNECT WITH U5MIR, PMS: U5MIR-1
       U2MIR SENDS HIS BEST 73s TO ALL !!!

U5MIR is the callsign of one of the cosmanauts on the new crew which just
arrived last week.

In a packet QSO with students in Australia Musa indicated that he is not
sure whether he wants to go up to MIR again. He has personally logged a year 
and 6 months in space (a record) and has been on 7 spacewalks, one for 6 
hours.  He is in his early 40s and with a wife and two children who would 
probably not mind him being earthbound now!  Perhaps he will be heard on 
the ham bands from a terrestrial QTH in the not to distant future.

[ANS thanks N8IWJ for the information in this bulletin.]

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.03
UOSAT-F LAUNCH DELAY

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

UOSAT has received word that the Ariane V44 launch with UoSAT-F and 
ORBCOM-X will be delayed for at least several weeks.  The following is
excerpted from the notification.
 
"After analysis of recent third stage motor test and flight data, 
Arianespace along with CNES and SEP has concluded that a modification 
should be implemented in order to improve the operating margins of the 
motor by suppressing an undesirable transient in the H2 feed line during 
the start up phase. This transient has been aggravated due to some 
dispersion in the manufacturing process and has been consequently noted 
on several past flights.
 
"The modification involves the introduction of an LH2 pump discharge system 
downstream of the main H2 feed valve. For this modification, a 
qualification test program is required and has in fact already been 
initiated; the first results are positive. The test schedule and schedule 
for hardware modifications to the V44 third stage on the pad would allow 
a launch of flight V44 in July 1991.
 
"The V44 payload composite with the ERS-1 and the four microsatellites 
will be taken off the launch vehicle and transported to S3B. The fairing 
will be demated and ERS-1 reconditioned to be ready for an early July 
launch."

Watch ANS for further developments in the UOSAT-F launch campaign.

[ANS thanks K8KA/G0 for the information in this bulletin.]

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.04
AO-16 EXPERIMENTER'S DAY RESUMES

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

Experimenter's Day Returns to Pacsat

AO-16 Command Team Leader, Bruce Rahn, WB9ANQ, announces the resumption
of Experimenter's Days on Pacsat.  Pacsat users have probably noticed
that the Pacsat Raised Cosine PSK transmitter (which is on 437.050 MHz, as
opposed to the normally used "straight PSK" transmitter on 437.025 MHz)
has been in use on the last two Wednesdays UTC, May 15 and 22.

Experimenter's Days managed by AMSAT-NA have been held on UTC Wednesdays
since the days of AMSAT-OSCARs 6 and 7 when Wednesday was "battery
recharge day."  (Incidentally, this is also the reason that the continental
U. S. 75 meter nets were originally scheduled for Tuesday evenings.)

Currently, Experimenter's Day on AO-16 is designed to meet several objectives:

First, the "Straight PSK" and "Raised Cosine PSK" modulation techniques
used on the Microsat PSK transmitters exhibit different spectral and peak
envelope power characteristics, making subtle differences in user downlink
operation and performance.  Use of the alternate transmitter occasionally
allows users to experiment and gain experience with the differences.  Note
that the Pacsat transmitters are not always operated at the same power
levels, so S-meter and signals strength comparisons alone are not necessarily 
valid.

Second, many users are experimenting with S band downconverters, and
are interested in gaining experience with narrowband demodulation of
a weak, quick moving, rapidly doppler shifted source.  On most Experimenter's
Days, the Pacsat 2401.143 MHz beacon is activated to allow for such
experiments.  (Note also that AO-13 Mode S is nearby with a beacon at
2400.664 and transponder output at 2400.715 - 2400.749 and the DOVE
S band beacon is currently active on 2401.2205.)

Third, the AO-16 command team is carefully characterizing Pacsat electrical
system (solar cells, batteries, computer, and transmitters) performance in 
various loading modes.  Experimenter's Days allow for various transmitter 
combinations and power settings to be tried.

Inasmuch as AO-16 has been in stable, routine BBS operation for over six 
weeks, it was felt that resumption of these test activities was appropriate
at this time.  Future experimenter's days are scheduled for:

29 May  0513  through  30 May  0445  RC only, No S-Band, high rate telemetry
05 June 0334  through  06 June 0306  RC and S-Band
12 June 0515  through  13 June 0625
18 June 2054  through  19 June 2026
26 June 0516  through  27 June 0448  RC only, No S-Band
03 July 0336  through  04 July 0309

On 29 May, the BBS may be SHUT over the U.S. for one pass for special
calibration purposes.

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.05
LUSAT EXPERIMENTS DAY ANNOUNCED

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

LO-19 CW Beacon Active on Fridays

Friday is "Experiments Day" at AMSAT-LU (as Wednesday is Experimenter's
Day at AMSAT-NA).  The LO-19 CW Beacon is ON in at 437.125 Mhz (+/-
doppler shift, up to 9 KHz either way) simultaneously with the BBS and the
PSK transmitter on 437.150 Mhz. The performance of the PSK TX-A (437.150)
is different from that of the Raised Cosine PSK transmitter ordinarily
used (which is on 437.125), and the circular polarization is opposite of 
PACSAT and WEBERSAT.

To arrange for special demonstrations of the CW beacon, send a message
to Nestor, LU7XAC @ LUSAT-12.

To decode the CW telemetry you can use the following simple program, which
contains updated engineering formulas:

10 INPUT "N1";N1
20 PRINT 636/N1
30 INPUT "N2";N2
40 PRINT 8.095101*N2/N1
50 INPUT "N3";N3
60 PRINT .354*(134.7-N3)
70 INPUT "N4";N4
80 PRINT 65.379*((2.4843*N4/N1+.2102)^2)
90 INPUT "N5";N5
100 PRINT .356*(136-N5)
110 INPUT "N6";N6
120 PRINT 89.5566*N6/N1
130 INPUT "N7";N7
140 PRINT 18.99123*N7/N1
150 INPUT "N8";N8
160 PRINT 7.12277*N8/N1

Be sure to remember the CW-Telemetry format:

Example:

|<---------------- 35 sec. -------------------->|<------ 25 sec. ---->|
E LUSAT HI HI AO 129 171 125 184 120 169 000 155

This beacon send cw telemetry at 12 WPM in reduced morse
codification, allowing energy savings of 44 % :

 L     U     S     A      T       H    I     H   I      1   O
.-..  ..-   ...   .-      -     ....   ..   .... ..    .-  ---

1 = .-     (A)      
2 = ..-    (U)
3 = ...-   (V)
4 = ....-  (4)
5 = .      (E)
6 = -....  (6)
7 = -...   (B)
8 = -..    (D)
9 = -.     (N)
0 = -      (T)

128=CH# 1= 4.93 V.       (Reg +5 V.)                      4.97 CH#10
181=CH# 2= 10.73 V.      (Battery 10 V.)                 10.97 CH#16
129=CH# 3= 03.43 grad.C (Temp. TX-CW)                     2.9  CH#57
186=CH# 4= 921 mw        (Pwr out CW 437.125 Mhz)          -
124=CH# 5= 05.69 grad. C (Temp. CW Box 4)                  -
173=CH# 6= 117.3 ma      (10V CW current)                  -
142=CH# 7= 00.0 V.       (Tension panel +Z)               0.2 CH#19
156=CH# 8= 8.55 V.       (Reg. +8.5V.)                   8.48 CH#13


[ANS would like to thank LU4ENQ of the LO-19 command team for the 
information in this bulletin.] 

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.06
CHANGE TO AMSAT KEPLERIAN SETS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

Checksum Feature Added to AMSAT Keplerian Element Sets

As a way of improving distribution of orbital elements, and enhancing the
service to AMSAT members, a new feature has been implemented effective May
25, 1991.

After months of discussion and review with tracking software authors and
users, Dick Campbell, N3FKV, the AMSAT Orbital Data Manager has published
the AMSAT KEPLERIAN ELEMENT SET STANDARD.  This document is the explicit
definition for the creation of AMSAT format element sets, and should
therefore be of benefit to future software authors, element set
distributors, and end users to ensure consistency and accuracy.

To enhance transmission accuracy, a checksum feature has been added 
as the last line of each set.  This checksum will allow the user to
verify that data has been received as created by the AMSAT distributor.
Initial tests show that the addition of this line will NOT interfere with
current tracking software conversion routines, and it is expected that
later releases (of tracking software) would incorporate this verification
feature.  In brief, the checksum is merely the decimal sum of all numerical
characters (and +/-) between "Satellite:" and the beginning of the
"Checksum:" line.

A short BASIC listing to check a file of AMSAT orbital elements is included
below.  Complete details may be found in the AMSAT STANDARD.  A hardcopy 
listing of this program is available from AMSAT HQ for an SASE, as are copies 
of the STANDARD for interested users.  The program has also been posted to 
the DRIG BBS as AMSATCS.BAS (ASCII file).

Questions or comments about this new feature may be addressed to Dick
Campbell, N3FKV via AMSAT HQ, by packet: N3FKV@WD5KAL.NTX., or INTERNET:
n3fkv@tomcat.gsfc.nasa.gov

10 ' Procedure AMSATCS v1.0
20 ' Orbital Element Checksum Verification
30 '
40 '      by Dick Campbell, N3FKV
50 '      AMSAT Orbital Data Manager
60 '      Copyright 1991
70 '
80 ' Free and unlimited distribution for amateur radio
90 ' and amateur satellite purposes is granted. There
100 'are no warranties, express or implied.  AMSAT-NA
110 'may charge a handling fee for diskette copies.
120 '
130 'This program performs checksum verification of an AMSAT format
140 'orbital element set created in compliance with the "AMSAT
150 'Keplerian Element Set Standard" dated May, 1991.  See
160 'paragraph 4.3 for checksum definition.
170 '
180 'The AMSAT format element set(s) must be contained in a
190 'standard ASCII text file for proper processing.
200 '
210 PRINT" This verifies the checksum of an"
220 PRINT"AMSAT Orbital Element Bulletin File."
230 INPUT"ENTER FILENAME TO BE CHECKED: ",F$
240 '
250 OPEN F$ FOR INPUT AS #1
260 '
270 INPUT #1,L$
280 IF LEFT$(L$,10)="Satellite:"OR LEFT$(L$,10)="SATELLITE:"THEN290ELSE460
290 CS = 0
300 N$ = RIGHT$(L$,LEN(L$)-INSTR(L$,":"))
310 IF LEFT$(L$,9)="Checksum:" OR LEFT$(L$,9)="CHECKSUM:" THEN 400
320 FOR J = 1 TO LEN(L$)
330 P$ = MID$(L$,J,1)
340 IF P$ = "-" THEN CS=CS+1
350 IF P$ = "+" THEN CS=CS+2
360 CS = CS + VAL(P$)
370 NEXT J
380 INPUT#1,L$
390 GOTO 310
400 CH = VAL(RIGHT$(L$,LEN(L$)-INSTR(L$,":")))
410 PRINT
420 PRINT"The Element Set for";N$;" checks ";
430 IF CS=CH THEN PRINT"GOOD." ELSE PRINT "* BAD *."
440 PRINT "Computed = ";CS;"      Checksum = ";CH
450 PRINT
460 IF NOT(EOF(1)) THEN 270
470 CLOSE#1
480 END

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.07
NEW AO-16 TELEMETRY EQUATIONS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

The AO-16 command team has revised the telemetry coefficients for Pacsat.
Users of TLMDC and TLMDC-II will want to update their PACSAT data files
accordingly.  The equations which have been updated are for channels 0x1F, 
0x20, 0x21, 0x2D, and 0x2E.

New AO-16 Telemetry Equations:

 0    Rx D DISC:     +9.202       -0.08990     0.000       kHz
 1    Rx D S meter:  +0.000       +1.000       0.000       Counts
 2    Rx C DISC:     +9.179       -0.09277     0.000       kHz
 3    Rx C S meter:  +0.000       +1.000       0.000       Counts
 4    Rx B DISC:     +9.837       -0.08838     0.000       kHz
 5    Rx B S meter:  +0.000       +1.000       0.000       Counts
 6    Rx A DISC:     +9.779       -0.09144     0.000       kHz
 7    Rx A S meter:  +0.000       +1.000       0.000       Counts
 8    Rx E/F DISC:   +10.817      -0.09911     0.000       kHz
 9    Rx E/F S meter:+0.000       +1.000       0.000       Counts
 A    +5 Volt Bus:   +0.000       +0.0305      0.000       Volts
 B    +5V Rx Current:+0.000       +0.000250    0.000       Amps
 C    +2.5V  VREF:   +0.000       +0.0108      0.000       Volts
 D    +8.5V Bus:     +0.000       +0.0391      0.000       Volts
 E    IR Detector:   +0.000       +1.000       0.000       Counts
 F    LO Monitor I:  +0.000       +0.000037    0.000       Amps
10    +10V Bus:      +0.000       +0.0500      0.000       Volts
11    GASFET Bias I: +0.000       +0.000026    0.000       Amps
12    Ground REF:    +0.000       +0.0100      0.000       Volts
13    +Z Array V:    +0.000       +0.1023      0.000       Volts
14    Rx Temp:       +101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
15    +X (RX) temp:  +101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
16    Bat 1 V:       +1.8225      -0.0038046   0.000       Volts
17    Bat 2 V:       +1.9418      -0.0046890   0.000       Volts
18    Bat 3 V:       +1.8699      -0.0041641   0.000       Volts
19    Bat 4 V:       +1.7403      -0.0032880   0.000       Volts
1A    Bat 5 V:       +1.8792      -0.0042492   0.000       Volts
1B    Bat 6 V:       +2.0499      -0.0054532   0.000       Volts
1C    Bat 7 V:       +1.9062      -0.0045331   0.000       Volts
1D    Bat 8 V:       +1.7536      -0.0033192   0.000       Volts
1E    Array V:       +8.055       +0.06790     0.000       Volts
1F    +5V Bus:       +2.864583    4.090715E-2 -1.930042E-4 Volts  << Rev
20    +8.5V Bus:     +7.720951    +8.25979E-3 -1.76254E-5  Volts  << Rev
21    +10V Bus:      +8.882535    +1.39771E-2  0.000       Volts  << Rev
22    BCR Set Point: -6.1130      +1.1270      0.000       Counts
23    BCR Load Cur:  -0.0477      +0.00767     0.000       Amps
24    +8.5V Bus Cur: -0.00179     +0.000894    0.000       Amps
25    +5V Bus Cur:   -0.00104     +0.00406     0.000       Amps
26    -X Array Cur:  -0.00995     +0.00243     0.000       Amps
27    +X Array Cur:  -0.02370     +0.00254     0.000       Amps
28    -Y Array Cur:  -0.02220     +0.00273     0.000       Amps
29    +Y Array Cur:  -0.01810     +0.00259     0.000       Amps
2A    -Z Array Cur:  -0.02230     +0.00221     0.000       Amps
2B    +Z Array Cur:  -0.02000     +0.00232     0.000       Amps
2C    Ext Power Cur: -0.02000     +0.00250     0.000       Amps
2D    BCR Input Cur: -2.103334E-2 +3.382738E-3 0.000       Amps  << Rev
2E    BCR Output Cur:-7.146611E-3 -5.247935E-5 4.878499E-5 Amps  << Rev
2F    Bat 1 Temp:    +101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
30    Bat 2 Temp:    +101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
31    Baseplt Temp:  +101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
32    PSK TX RF Out: -0.0291      +0.00361     +0.0000869  Watts
33    RC PSK TX Out: +0.0055      +0.00172     +0.0001180  Watts
34    PSK TX HPA Temp+101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
35    +Y Array Temp: +101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
36    RC PSK HPA Temp+101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
37    RC PSK BP Temp:+101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C
38    +Z Array Temp: +101.05      -0.6051      0.000       Deg. C 
39    S band HPA Temp:  0.00       1.0000      0.000       Counts
3A    S band TX Out: -0.0088      +0.00435     0.000       Watts

[ANS thanks WB9ANQ for the information in this bulletin.]

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.08
ZRO TEST SCHEDULE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

Popular Station Receiving Tests Continue

The ZRO Memorial Technical Achievement Award Program, or just "ZRO Test" has a 
new schedule for May and early June, 1991 via AMSAT-OSCAR-13.  This activity 
is a test of operating skill and equipment performance.  The following 
schedule of Mode "B" and "JL" ZRO tests were chosen for convenient operating 
times and favorable squint angles.  The "B" tests can be heard on 145.840 MHz 
and the "JL" test on 435.945 MHz.

ZRO Test Times and Dates: (in UTC)

  Saturday June 1, 1991 at 2230 UTC "JL"
  Sunday   June 2, 1991 at 0030 UTC "B"

Note that the dates and days are shown in "UTC", thus the test on June 2nd 
occurs on Saturday nights for those in North America.  Any changes will 
be announced as soon as possible via the AMSAT HF and AO-13 Operations 
Nets.  Recently updated ZRO brochures are available from WA5ZIB, Andy 
MacAllister, AMSAT V.P. User Operations, 14714 Knightsway Drive, Houston, TX 
77083 for an S.A.S.E. with two units of postage.  The brochure characterizes 
test procedures and means for obtaining certificates and gives some historical 
background about the program.

All listener reports with date of test and numbers copied should be sent to 
WA5ZIB at the address above.  A report will be returned verifying the level of 
accurate reception.      Good luck!

/EX
SB ALL @ AMSAT      $ANS-145.09
OPERATIONS NET SCHEDULE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 145.09 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD MAY 25, 1991
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT

AMSAT-NA Operations Net Schedule

AMSAT Operations Nets are planned for the following times.  Mode B nets are
conducted on an AO-13 downlink frequency of 145.950.  Mode J/L nets are
conducted on an AO-13 downlink frequency of 435.970.
 
 Date      UTC   Mode  Phs     NCS     Alternates   U.S. day 

02 Jun 91  0045   B    151   KA5SMA  WJ9F   WB9ANQ  Saturday
09 Jun 91  0200  J/L    97   WB6LLO  N5BF    WJ9F   Saturday
15 Jun 91  1700   B     69   WA5ZIB WB6LLO  KA5SMA  Saturday

/EX


-- 
Gary W. Sanders (gws@n8emr or ...!osu-cis!n8emr!gws), 72277,1325
N8EMR @ W8CQK (ip addr) 44.70.0.1 [Ohio AMPR address coordinator]
HAM BBS 614-895-2553
Voice: 614-895-2552 (eves/weekends)