Shareware Grab Bag/Shareware Grab Bag.iso/090/gwlsp88.arc/GATEWAY.610

Text File | 1988-06-15 | 18KB | 415 lines

This report is brought to you courtesy of Scott, W3VS, Roy, AA4RE,
HAMNET (a feature of COMPUSERV) and the Garlic Valley Packet Society,
Gilroy, California.
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    Gateway: The ARRL Packet Radio Newsletter is published by the

    American Radio Relay League          Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
          225 Main Street                       Editor
        Newington, CT 06111

    Larry E. Price, W4RA                    David Sumner, K1ZZ
         President                       Executive Vice President

    Volume 4, Number 19                          June 10, 1988

    PHASE 3C LAUNCH IMMINENT

    A June 10 launch date is slated for the first flight of
Ariane 4 (the V-22 mission) which includes AMSAT's Phase 3C
satellite.  If all goes according to plan, the Amateur Radio
world's newest and most capable satellite will be launched into
the sky this morning from the Guiana Space Center of the European
Space Agency in Kourou, French Guiana.  After deployment from the
launcher it will become AMSAT OSCAR 13 (AO-13).  (Phase 3C is a
joint project of AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL with significant
assistance from several affiliated AMSAT organizations.)

    The launch date had been holding at June 8 following the
recent successful launch of an Ariane 2 on May 17.  However, late
last week, the V-22 mission schedule experienced a some slipage.
A routine inspection of a launcher first stage turbine suggested
a little deeper look might be appropriate.  Consequently, all
seven first stage turbines had to be inspected over the weekend
causing a two-day slip from June 8 to June 10. Unofficial sources
indicate if the turbines need to be replaced it will take a week.
That will push the launch date out to Friday, June 17.

    Otherwise, progress towards the launch has been good.  On May
26, the upper portion of the payload containing Meteosat and
Phase 3C was integrated and enclosed within the fairing.  On May
27, the fueling operation of the third stage rocket was begun and
completed overnight.  On May 28, the assembly of the two payload
sections consisting of Panamsat and Meteosat/AMSAT P3C were mated
into the combined payload assembly.

    The Phase 3C satellite is complete and ready to launch.  Its
safe/arm plug has been swapped so that the spacecraft is nearing
its fully-armed condition.  The AMSAT Third Team's main task is
to monitor telemetry until launch to insure all systems are
"green."  The Phase 3C satellite is in excellent condition and
continues to send good telemetry data to the command station
according to Don Moe, DJ0HC/KE6MN, who is part of the AMSAT-DL
team in Kourou.

    (Related Phase 3C stories are contained elsewhere in this
issue of Gateway.)

      from AMSAT-NA News Service


    "STANDARD" NUMBERING FOR ARRL BULLETINS

    In an informal meeting at the annual packet radio dinner
during the Dayton HamVention, PBBS SYSOPS representing much of
the country agreed to a uniform system of bulletin
identifications (BIDs)  for ARRL bulletins entered on packet
radio.  This standard has become necessary as improvements in
network connectivity, particularly among the forwarding PBBSs,
bring bulletin input from several sources into a common pool.

    At present, there are at least three different sets of
"standard" BIDs for ARRL bulletins (not including BIDs generated
by individuals who provide occasional bulletin uploads).  The
SYSOPs' proposed standard is, as follows.

    ARLx###  where ### is the bulletin number (padded with
leading zeros) and x represents the bulletin type from the
following list:

       B .... General Bulletin
       C .... CRRL Bulletin (from W1AW)
       D .... DX Bulletin
       J .... JARL Bulletin
       K .... Keplerian Bulletin
       S .... Satellite Bulletin
       X .... Miscellaneous (none of the above)
     The same format should also be used for uploading of IARU
Bulletins.  In that case, the BID would appear as IRUx### (x
representing the language - E for English or H for Hispanic).
The CRRL is asked to adopt a compatible format for those CRRL
Bulletins issued in London.

    Since this system uses only alphanumeric characters common to
all codes (CW, Baudot, ASCII, AMTOR), the SYSOPs hope that the
BIDs will soon be included in the original bulletin header from
W1AW.  Even so, their use in packet-radio networks should begin
as soon as practical.

      from Joe Subich, AD8I


    10TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMATEUR PACKET RADIO

    The past month marked the tenth anniversary of the first
successful transmission and errorless reception of Amateur Radio
packets.  It was back in May 1978, when that a group of Montreal,
Canadian hams accomplished this feat at a meeting of the Montreal
Amateur Radio Club.  Congratulations to all participants in this
historic amateur packet-radio first!


    RSGB 75TH ANNIVERSARY

    The Radio Society of Great Britain will be celebrating the
organization's seventy-fifth anniversary with a number of events
next month.  The RSGB National Convention will be held July 15-17
at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham.  Prince
Philip, the patron of the RSGB, has been invited as Guest of
Honor to perform the official opening day ceremony and to attend
a special anniversary luncheon at the convention.

    RSGB Headquarters in Potters Bar will be open to visitors
from 10 AM to 4 PM on July 19-21.  Tours of the Headquarters
building will be conducted in parties up to 10 and visitors will
be able to see the workings of the Society.

    On July 22-23, the first RSGB Data Symposium will be held at
the historic Harrow School in northwest London.  The two-day
symposium will cater to all those interested in amateur data
communications and will cover all modes currently in use by radio
amateurs as well as looking at developments for the future.
(Refer to Gateway, Volume 4, Number 17, for the symposium's
tentative program.)

    On July 28, an International Satellite Seminar will host a
meeting of amateur satellite administrators with the aim of
coordinating all amateur satellite activities worldwide.  On July
29-31, the Third AMSAT-UK Colloquium will be held in Guilford at
the University of Surrey.  The colloquium is a focal point for
all satellite enthusiasts providing a comprehensive lecture
program, open forums and social events.

    In addition, a Families and Activities Day will be held on
July 24 and, on August 7, the RSGB National Mobile Rally will be
held on the grounds of the Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire.

    For more information, contact RSGB, Lambda House, Cranborne
Road, Potters Bar, EN6 3JE, England.


    NEW OSCAR DX POTENTIAL SUPERB!

    With the imminent launch of Phase 3C, analysts have agreed on
a general plan to place the new satellite in its final orbit with
minimum risk.  Meanwhile, potential users are beginning to look
at the orbital profiles the new bird will fly once in its final
orbit.  What they are seeing is fascinating DX scenarios never
before attainable. Computer analysis of the visibility contours
suggest new breakthroughs in long-awaited DX windows from major
user population centers to areas only rarely accessible on
earlier birds.  The result could be a sharp upsurge in satellite
activity according to those now preparing to join the ranks of
satellite users.

    The final orbit, which will be achieved within about four
weeks of launch and after two or perhaps three burns of the kick
motor, has the following approximate characteristics:

       Apogee               35,800 km
       Perigee               1,500 km
       Inclination              57 degrees
       Argument of perigee     178 degrees (initial)
       Period               656.48 minutes
       Longitude Increment   195.4 degrees East/orbit

    Based on these values, would-be orbital analysts can
visualize the characteristics of the final orbit using their
tracking programs and the following test orbital element set.
Please note the following is not for tracking, but merely to
demonstrate the general characteristics and viewability of the
new satellite.  The actual Keplerian element set for the final
operational orbit will be available only after the final kick
motor burn, which will occur approximately one month after
launch.

       Name                  AO-13
       Catalog Number       000000
       Element Set              T1
       Ref Epoch             88183.0
       Inclination              57.0 degrees
       RAAN                      0.0 degrees
       Eccentricity              0.6850
       Argument of perigee     178.0 degrees
       Mean Motion               2.19351693 rev/day
       Drag                      6.0e-08 rev/day^2
       Epoch rev                48

    Based on these values, AO-13's orbital period will be 43
minutes shorter than AO-10's and its inclination will be more
than twice that of AO-10.  The shorter period is due to AO-13's
planned lower perigee of 1500 km as compared to AO-10's 3900 km.
The shorter period means that one MA "tick" on AO-13 will be
2.564 minutes as compared to 2.732 minutes on AO-10; a 6%
reduction. (There are 256 MA "ticks" per orbit.  Operating
activities are scheduled according to the on-board MA clock which
determines which transponders are activated and when.)

    The longitude increment of AO-10 is 185 degrees per orbit.
This causes footprint positioning (to within 10 degrees of
longitude) and coverage patterns to be replicated approximately
every 18 days (37 orbits) on average.  However, with AO-13,
footprint positioning and coverage patterns will be replicated
much more frequently.  With a longitude increment of 195 degrees
East per orbit, similar visibility patterns (to within 10 degrees
of longitude) return after only five days (11 orbits); more than
three times more frequently than has been the experience with AO-
10.  How this will affect operating habits is open to debate.

    Moreover, for users all over the world, for the first several
months of operation, AO-13 at apogee will give nearly precisely
the coverage of a geosynchronous satellite since it will have its
apogee right over the equator.  AO-13's planned apogee of 36,000
km is the altitude of geosynchronous satellites.  Thus, its
footprint at apogee will be exactly the same as a geosynchronous
bird.  The difference is, of course, that a Molniya orbit, such
as that into which AO-13 will be placed, is elliptical.  So after
a few hours at very high altitude, AO-13 will dive towards
perigee and then make its way up to an apogee nearly half an
earth away.

    Satellite footprints from geosynchronous altitude are
exhilarating.  With satellite longitude of 100 degrees West, for
example, all of the Western Hemisphere is in the footprint except
for parts of Greenland.  Moved to 15 degrees West longitude, all
of the U.S. and Canada East of the Mississippi, all of South
America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East are in view!  With DX
windows like this, AO-13 is bound to become the most popular
satellite of all time by far.

      from AMSAT NA News Service


    PHASE 3C OPERATING FREQUENCIES

    The following frequency information from the AMSAT-DL team in
Kourou is based on final measurements of the satellite following
complete assembly and prior to shipment to Kourou.  (This list
updates the frequency list that was published in Gateway, Volume
4, Number 16.)

       Mode JL:

          144.425 - 144.475 MHz : uplink
          435.990 - 435.940 MHz : downlink
          435.651 MHz           : general beacon

       Mode L:

          1269.620 - 1269.330 MHz : uplink:
           435.715 - 436.005 MHz  : downlink

       Mode S:

           435.601 - 435.637 MHz  : uplink
          2400.711 - 2400.747 MHz : downlink
          2400.325 MHz            : beacon

       Mode U:

          435.420 - 435.570 MHz : uplink
          145.825 - 145.975 MHz : downlink
          145.812 MHz           : general beacon
          145.985 MHz           : engineering beacon

       RUDAK:

          1269.710 MHz : uplink
           435.677 MHz : downlink

    There will be no transponder operation during periods of
eclipse.

    Following separation of OSCAR 13 from the carrying structure,
the general beacon on Mode U will be in operation, until a
control station switches to Mode L operation for command
operations. In that case listen for the Mode L beacon.

      from Don Moe, DJ0HC/KE6MN
        via CompuServe's HamNet


    PRODUCT REVIEW: MACKET

    Macket is a packet-radio terminal program for the Apple
Macintosh computer that was written by Steve Fine, WD8PUH.
Being a Macintosh program, you would expect Macket to be easy to
use because it should implement the Macintosh user friendly
interface.  Well, you will not be disappointed because Macket
provides a user-friendly front-end to your TNC to alleviate the
lost-in-the-TNC-command-set syndrome.

    As expected in a Macintosh program, Macket has pull-down
menus that contain a variety of program commands, however, it is
Macket's variety of windows that really makes it shine.  The Send
window is for entering and editing text and commands that are
queued for transmission to the TNC.  The Receive window displays
text that is received over the channel that your radio is
monitoring.  Connection windows display text that is sent to you
from the stations that are connected to your TNC.  In a multi-
connection situation, a separate Connection window is available
for each connection.  The Send Log window contains all of the
commands and text that were sent from your keyboard.  The
Communications Status and File Status windows provide pertinent
information concerning the operation of the TNC and the software.
The Receive, Connection and Send Log windows are buffered.  The
size of the buffers is dependent on the amount of available
memory and the number of open Connection windows, however, the
maximum buffer size is approximately 32,000 characters.

    All of the windows may be displayed, hidden, rearranged and
resized and, once you find a window configuration that you like,
you may save it for later recall when desired.  One problem with
so many windows being displayed simultaneously is that you may
miss something in a window that is covered by other windows.  To
avoid that problem, there also is an Unread Text window that
lists the windows containing text that you have not seen.

    Macket's parameters may be set for a variety of operating
situations and sets of parameters may be saved and recalled when
desired.  For example, one set may be saved for HF operation, one
for VHF operation, one for transceiving, one for monitoring, etc.
In addition, any one set may be selected as the default parameter
set, that is, the set of parameters that will be used whenever
you start up the program.

    Other features include the ability to display characters that
can be transmitted and received, but are not normally displayed.
For example, Control-C <CTRL-C> is not normally displayed, but,
if you wish, Macket will display it (and other control
characters).  (<CTRL-C> will be displayed as a lowercase c with a
bar over it.)

    Ten Macro keys containing up to 255 characters each are
available to reduce the number of keystrokes that repetitive
operations require. For example, to connect to WA1LOU-4, you
would normally type: C WA1LOU-4 <ENTER>.  One Macro could be used
to contain that connect command and instead of entering 11
keystrokes to connect to WA1LOU-4, you would only have to hold
down the Option key and press the desired number key (0-9)
corresponding to the Macro (0-9) containing the desired command.

    Macket supports Host Mode operation with TNCs that provide
the RXBLOCK command and Macket will function in the background
when you use the Macintosh's Multifinder multi-tasking software.

    I have used Macket on the air for a number of months and I
can say unequivocally that Macket is the finest packet radio
terminal program that I have ever used.  It is available for
$39.95 from S. Fine Software, PO Box 6037, State College, PA
16801.


    PACKET RADIO SYMPOSIUM

    The Hex-9 Group of the Barrie Amateur Radio Club will be
sponsoring a Packet Radio Symposium at Georgian College, Barrie,
Ontario.  This year's theme is "Educate for 88," and will
concentrate on basic packet operation.  Anyone with a special
interest is cordially invited to submit a short paper.  For more
information write to: Hex-9 Group, Box 254, Barrie, Ontario, L4M
4T2 Canada.


    GATEWAY CONTRIBUTIONS

    Submissions for publication in Gateway are welcome.  You may
submit material via the U.S. mail to:

       Gateway
       Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
       75 Kreger Drive
       Wolcott, CT 06716-2702

    or electronically, via CompuServe to user ID 70645,247.  Via
telephone, your editor can be reached at 203-879-1348 on evenings
and weekends, and he can switch a modem on line to receive text
at 300, 1200, or 2400 bauds.


    REPRODUCTION OF GATEWAY MATERIAL

    Material may be excerpted from Gateway without prior
permission, provided that the original contributor is credited
and Gateway is identified as the source.


    Subscriptions are available to ARRL members and nonmembers,
at the following rates:

    For 25 issues of Gateway:
      In the US
          ARRL Member $6.00
          Nonmember   $9.00
      In the US, Canada and Mexico by First Class mail
          ARRL Member $11.00
          Nonmember   $14.00
      Elsewhere by Airmail
          ARRL Member $14.00
          Nonmember   $17.00

    Prices are subject to change without notice.  Remittance must
be in US funds, and checks must be drawn on a bank in the US.