HAM Radio 3/hamradioversion3.0examsandprograms1992.iso/news/amsat020/amsat20.sep

Text File | 1986-09-29 | 19KB | 342 lines

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*                                                                             *
*                        AMSAT News Service Bulletins                         *
*                                   News263                                   *
*                        Saturday, 20 September, 1986                         *
*                                                                             *
*  [ This edition written for ANS  by  WA2LQQ  based on reports by: W3GEY,    *
*  [ W0PN, VK5AGR, W0RPK, ZL1AOX, KB2M, DJ4ZC, K6DUE, W0ORE, W6SP, WB5PMR,    *
*  [                   WD0ETZ, JR1FIG, KE3D, KA1M                             *
*                                                                             *
*  [   Copyright 1986 by AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation    ]  *
*  [ Permission is granted for unlimited redistribution by electronic or   ]  *
*  [ other means provided credit is given to the AMSAT News Service (ANS)  ]  *
*                                                                             *
*     This edition was forwarded by the W0RPK-AMSAT Bulletin Board System     *
*     operating on 515-961-3325                Ralph Wallio, W0RPK  SYSOP     *
*                                                                             *
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  Headline Stories This Week: (N=New story; U=Updated story; Reprieved story)

1.(N)     FO-12 Turned Off Two Days Per Week For Eclipses
2.(U)     Phase 4 Study Plan Goes to Engineering Team and Directors
3.(U)     Team To Propose Permanent Amateur Facility On Space Station
4.(U)     Efforts To Save AO-10 Continue With Some Success
5.(U)     Harris To Donate Special Rad-Hard Memory For Phase 3C
6.(U)     Space Symposium and Annual Meeting Registration Opens
7.(U)     Ballots Mailed
8.(U)     Short Bursts

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                                 News In Brief

1. FO-12 will be turned off 2 days per week to allow sufficient battery
   recharge time.  It is currently experiencing moderately long eclipses.

2. W3GEY has developed a technical study plan which could be the first step
   towards the long-heralded geo-synchronous OSCAR concept by 1990.

3. Amateur Radio will seek a permanent berth on NASA's Space Station under a
   proposal to be developed by a special team of Amateurs from AMSAT, ARRL and
   NASA.

4. AO-10 faces the prospect of loss of power around mid-October.  However,
   efforts contine to coax as much useful life as possible from the satellite.
   Information recently acquired by AMSAT concerning the memory chips on AO-10
   has lowered expectations from previously held optimism about early recovery
   prospects.

5. Measures are being taken to insure the problems with AO-10's memory are not
   replicated on Phase 3C.  Harris Corporation has agreed to donate up to
   $80,000 of custom memory modules especially designed for space applications.

6. AMSAT's Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held in Dallas on
   November 7 through November 9.  Speakers from across the globe, $3000 in
   prizes, the annual awards and world-famous Texas-style hospitality will make
   this a weekend to remember.

7. Ballots for the election of Directors were mailed to all AMSAT members.

8. FO-12 Ground track templates are available

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1.(N)     FO-12 Turned Off Two Days Per Week For Eclipses

The JARL Research Laboratory, which is responsible to operate FO-12, has
decided to switch FO-12 off on Monday and Friday every week.  This condition is
necessary during long eclipses  - currently more than 20% long - to charge the
Ni-Cd battery in the satellite. Current eclipse ratio is 28%. It will decrease
at the begining of October.

Another test of JD-mode had initiall been planned during this period. However
there is some difficulty in stable commanding and loading programs to FO-12.
This means improvements are first needed in the command system.  The JAMSAT
JAS-1 development team is still hopful transmission of PSK telemetry can be
carried out during Sept.28 - Oct.10. An attempt will be made on  September
20th.

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2.(U)     Phase 4 Study Plan Goes to Engineering Team and Directors

The dream of an easily accessible amateur satellite communications system
apparently has taken a giant step forward.  In a concept for the next
generation satellites, AMSAT sees intercontinental QSOs via HTs, high-speed
packet trunks and even digital ATV by decade's end.

AMSAT Engineering Vice President Jan King, W3GEY, has just completed a
so-called "Phase 4 Technical Study Plan" by which AMSAT hopes to determine the
viability of a concept for a pair of geo-synchronous AMSAT satellites.

According to King, the main thrust of Phase 4 should be Public Service. Only in
this way, he says, can the program work. Phase 4 needs the support of a much
broader coalition of amateurs than has ever previously thought of itself as
satellite communicators according to King. And, significantly, amateurs need to
promptly justify their use of (especially) the UHF spectrum; a resource of
incalculable worth!

To garner that support the Phase 4 Study Plan proposes a multi-transponder
package using the 2 meter, 70 cm, 24 cm and 13 cm bands.  Features would
include linking selected repeater teleports through the satellite for dial-up
inter-city or intercontinental communications between stationary or mobile
platforms...even HTs; a dedicated high-speed packet transponder for linking
terrestrial regional networks into a semi-global network; a linear transponder
for SSB and CW; a special facility for ATV using digitized video and, for the
UHF experimenters, a microwave beacon experiment.

There would even be the facility to transmit emergency bulletins to an entire
hemisphere from a national or regional emergency operations center.
"Receive-Only" teleports or gateway repeaters by the thousands could be linked
to receive the emergency bulletins upon receipt of a special alert code
transmitted via satellite.  The network thus established would comprise one of
the most robust networks anywhere and would be available to support emergency
operations from sub-regional to national extent.  Simple 1 meter dishes aimed
at the satellite with inexpensive integrated LNA/mixers at the feed would
suffice to capture the the 13 cm downlink.  With a broad interest by potential
users, many manufacturers will respond eagerly to the new market.

While the traditional linear transponder-type access, Frequency Division
Multiple Access (FDMA) will continue in the form of a Mode JL transponder, the
emphasis of Phase 4 clearly will be on ease of access, convenience,
predictability and, important for the emergency communications community,
reliability and availability; it'll be there when/as required to support
emergency operations.  And the traditional bugaboos of tracking and predicting
access will be gone since one will merely one's antennas at a given spot in
the sky...and "weld" them in place!

AMSAT says it will be briefing leaders in the Amateur Radio community on the
overall Phase 4 plan over the next several months.  It is especially interested
in developing liaison with emergency communications and other public
service-oriented organizations. ATVers, microwave experimenters, repeater
organizations and especially repeater consortia who have a long-term interest
and who might be interested in a risk-sharing partnership with AMSAT are
sought.  AMSAT says that while Phase 4 is a long-term program,  early
indicators of interest and helpful suggestions are most welcome even now. Write
to AMSAT, Phase 4 Program Manager, P.O. Box 27, Washington, D.C., 20044.

Meanwhile, watch ASR, QEX-SAT, QST and various ham publications for the
unfolding story of Phase 4.

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3.(U)     Team To Propose Permanent Amateur Facility On Space Station

In an historic meeting, representatives of NASA, AMSAT and ARRL met recently to
begin a long-term program which could lead to Amateur Radio literally being
built into the NASA Space Station instead being added-on later.  Leaders of the
SAREX (Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment) and others met at the ARRL National
Convention in San Diego September 6 to discuss initial ideas on what Astronaut
Dr. Tony England, W0ORE, is calling the SSAR Project for Space Station Amateur
Radio.  The SSAR program will be one of the longest ever undertaken in Amateur
Radio running from concept to fruition at least nine years.  The Space Station
is currently slated to fly in 1995.

A working group was organized to develop the basis for a plan which would lead
to a formal proposal to NASA during 1987.  AMSAT will be the lead agency in the
working group for the first steps.  Then, when tasks are identified in the
proposal effort, ARRL may appoint a task leader and ARRL will assume the lead
role.

According to W0ORE's view of the project, it could play a strong role in
developing interests in students for engineering, mathematics and science
education.  In this area his views are zealous and follow the theme of W5LFL
before him.

He also emphasized the pivotal role an AMSAT geo-synchronous capability could
have on SSAR success.  Tony pointed out that since the Space Station's orbital
inclination will be 28.5 degrees, it will need the potential relay capability
an AMSAT Phase 4 system could provide to reach the more extreme northerly and
southerly latitudes.

The SSAR program has an excellent chance of flying according to knowledgeable
sources.  Senior NASA officials are well-familiar with both the OSCAR and the
prior SAREX programs.  They are said to view them very favorably and thus would
seem amenable to building on them further.

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4.(U)     AO-10 Remains Out Of Reach

A team of specialists from Europe, North America and the South Pacific
continued intense work to regain control of AO-10 in recent days.  Their
efforts have yielded some encouraging results.  However, it now seems
inevitable that AO-10 will undergo an uncontrolled power-down soon due to
worsening sun-angles. Seasonal changes will reduce solar power to zero as the
earth-satellite make their way around the sun. That could happen by mid-October
if attitude change efforts are unsuccessful.  If, on the other hand, a
magnetorquing routine can be executed in the next week or so, the power-down
episode might be postponed for a few months.

There are a number of views as to precisely what approach is best-suited to the
current and anticipated scenario.  All agree, however, that the root cause of
the problem is radiation damage to the IHU memory.  Recently developed
information on the physics of the memory annealing process has not been
encouraging.  Steve Robinson, W2FPY, has been investigating the failure
mechanism in the MOSTEK 4116 NMOS RAMs and finds that, although the annealing
process is real enough, the extent of the therapeutic effect of the process is
far less than had been thought.  In short, the effect on extending the useful
life of AO-10 will be small to negligible.

On the other hand, there are some very newly discovered effects in these RAMs
which indicate that when the total radiation dose gets significantly higher, a
different process will set in which could have a beneficial effect.  Steve says
what we really need right now to get AO-10 back on the air is several very
large solar flares!  It sounds paradoxical but it's apparently true that to
offset damage caused by radiation, we need a good stiff jolt of ....radiation!

In accord with the guidance of the command team, this is an especially critical
juncture in the AO-10 rescue attempt.  While the new software package is being
developed, the transponder may inadvertently be turned on.  Please resist the
temptation and do not use the transponders on AO-10 until further notice.

In sum, much has been learned about the condition of the IHU memory with the
novel approach developed by W0PN.  Much work is yet to be done, however.
Attempts to load software preparatory to magnetorquing continue.  If nothing
changes, however, October 15 is nominally doomsday for AO-10.  Whether it comes
back later in another incarnation will be a matter of what we know, what we can
do and a considerable component of good fortune!  However, the more we learn
about the 4116's, the less we believe AO-10 will be back soon for any length of
time.

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5.(U)     Harris To Donate Special Rad-Hard Memory For Phase 3C

Harris Corporation of Melbourne Florida has agreed to supply AMSAT with special
memory modules for its Phase 3C spacecraft.  The modules are especially
radiation-hardened and qualified under Class S parts; suitable for space use.9
The parts are Harris HS-6564RH modules.  Each consists of sixteen 4k by 1 bit
rad-hard synchronous CMOS static RAMs.  AMSAT will organize the modules to
provide 32k bytes of 12 bit wide memory to its 1802 CPU.  This is twice the
memory now on AO-10.  The HS-6564RH is latchup free and able to absorb at least
100,000 rads total dose (in silicon).

The new Harris modules are produced by Harris' Custom Integrated Circuit
Division in Melbourne.  Initial contact with Harris' Custom Program Manager,
Joel Alcorn, was made by AMSAT's Harold Winard, KB2M.  Harold is a free-lance
electronics editor who was aware of AMSAT's current problems with AO-10 and
Harris' CICD rad-hard product line.

Meanwhile in Colorado, Gordon Hardman, KE3D, is making swift work of building
up a completely new IHU for Phase 3C.  The current flight unit which uses the
same 4116 NMOS memories as AO-10 will be replaced by the new unit KE3D is
building if the tight delivery schedule can be met.  Phase 3C is due to go to
shake and vibration testing in Germany soon.  It is necessary the new IHU and
memory be in place prior to "shake and bake" testing.

Help has also come from Andy Deskur, KA1M, who located the original artwork for
the IHU and supplied it to KE3D recently.  Gordon is building up the IHU and
memory using commercial parts.

With 32k of IHU memory aboard Phase 3C, many more features can be programmed-in
compared to AO-10's 16k memory.  Features such as extensive RTTY bulletins,
orbital data dumps and yet-to-be-determined functions could be provided by the
expanded memory capacity on Phase 3C.

Current launch schedule for Phase 3C is August, 1987.  No firm date has yet
been established.

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6.(U)     Space Symposium and Annual Meeting Registration Opens

AMSAT will hold its Fourth Annual Space Symposium and Annual Meeting at the
Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Hilton Hotel November 7-9.  Speakers at the Saturday
Symposium include experts from around the world who will address the latest in
OSCAR news including FO-12, Phase 3C and the new Phase 4 Program.  Featured
speaker is Dr. Marty Davidoff, K2UBC, satellite expert and author of the
popular Satellite Experimenter's Handbook.

The bountiful banquet prize list is capped by a new ICOM 1271A transceiver.
The early registrant's prize list includes an ALINCO ALM-203T 2 meter HT worth
more than $300.  Early registration is now open.  Mail in the application you
recently received with your ballot for a chance at the ALINCO 2 meter HT!  And,
with over $3000 in prizes and banquet awards, this event could be very
rewarding in more ways than one! Send the form in today.  For further
information you may call AMSAT Headquarters at 301-589-6062.  The Planning
Committee is doing a superb job of preparing for your visit with the best of
Texas-style hospitality.  This could be the best meeting ever, so y'all come
down to Dallas this November 7, 8 and 9.

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7.(U)     Ballots Mailed

AMSAT Headquarters says the 1986 Director election ballots have been mailed.
All members of record as of August 21 should receive their ballots in a few
days.  Read the instructions carefully and return the ballots promptly in the
envelope provided.  Return only the ballot in the envelope provided.  Do not
enclose orders for anything nor any special requests. Please cast your vote and
help determine AMSAT's leadership and thus its future course.

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8.(U)     Short Bursts

FO-12 users without computer tracking capability can use the ARRL locator with
a new ground track template that's available from AMSAT.  Since the altitude of
FO-12 is close to the RS satellites, you can use the range circles for the RS
birds provided in the ARRL OSCARLOCATOR package.  You'll need a new ground
track, though, since the inclination of FO-12 is 50 degrees compared to 83
degrees for RS-5.  A template for the FO-12 ground track scaled for use with
the OSCARLOCATOR can be obtained from AMSAT for an SASE to AMSAT, P.O. Box 27,
Washington, D.C. 20044.  There is no charge to AMSAT members supplying their
member number.  All others need include $2.00 in check or money order.  All
donations are appreciated.

                                      ***

One of the SA AMSAT members will be operational from Gough Island on hf and
FO-12 from  October 3 until October 23.  Kalie, ZS6AEN, will be using a ZD9
call. Permission has been received from the UK administration. The actual
callsign to be used will be deterMR'ed in the next few days.  QSL for FO-12
contacts via SA AMSAT QSL Bureau, P.O. Box 7354, Roggebaai, 8012, South Africa.

                                      ***

The W0RPK-AMSAT dial-in bulletin board has handled 1460 calls from AMSAT
members and other interested parties since it became operational on 28 June.
Currently there are 220 registered users from 40 states, 5 Canadian provinces
and 7 countries.  The best DX is Australia.  The user list continues to grow at
a rate of approximately 10 new users per week.

The W0RPK-AMSAT bulletin board can be accessed by calling 515-961-3325.  On
file is the latest AMSAT news, orbital elements and other technical topics of
interest to OSCAR operators.  Users are encouraged to provide wider
dissemination of AMSAT information offered by this service by relaying what
they find to packet radio and other Amateur Radio bulletin boards.  There is no
charge for this service.  On the other hand, donations to AMSAT from
appreciative system users are rarely turned away!

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ive system users are rarely turned away!

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