****************************************************************************** * AMSAT NA News Service Bulletins * * NEWS079 19Mar88 * * [ Copyright 1988 by AMSAT NA, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ] * * [ Permission is granted for unlimited redistribution by electronic or ] * * [ other means provided credit is given to AMSAT NA News Service (ANS). ] * * [ Edited for AMSAT NA by WA2LQQ. ] * * [ This edition was forwarded by the W0RPK-AMSAT Bulletin Board System ] * * [ operating on 515-961-3325 24-hours Ralph Wallio, W0RPK SYSOP ] * ****************************************************************************** [Note to NCS and other communicators: Beginning with this ANS bulletin, we will no longer be carrying the "Recent News In Review" section. This action is taken to save on communication costs. You should, however, assure you have the prior week's bulletins on hand to recap important items. Most news items have a lifetime of about two weeks. Also, for packet BBS activities, a special formatted version of the bulletins will be available to facilitate transmission through the packet network beginning next week.] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Headlines: 1. Brazil AMSAT To Build Educational Satellite With AMSAT NA 2. Latest SKITREK Progress Report (direct from Rich Ensign) 3. Board Meeting Highlights 4. Motorola Donates Complex DSP Package 5. Board Reviews Dues Structure; New Rates Reflect Postal Increase 6. Short Bursts ***************************************************************************** 1. Brazil AMSAT To Build Educational Satellite With AMSAT NA Brazil AMSAT (BRAMSAT) and AMSAT North America (AMSAT NA) have agreed in principle to collaborate on a joint educational satellite project. The satellite will carry an advanced voice synthesizer and be designed for easy reception by Amateurs with minimal equipment. Called "Brazil Peacetalker", the satellite will transmit voice telemetry of spacecraft operating conditions as well as a voice greeting to other space faring nations to work towards the peaceful use of space. This theme may lead into the International Space Year now planned for 1992. Brazil Peacetalker will be designed to be received by schools using minimal equipment and for Amateurs who wish to explore space sciences by logging and studying the telemetry. Preliminary plans have the telemetry read in English while the greeting messages would be articulated in Portuguese, English and Russian. Other languages could be added. The specific messages will be programmable by a ground command station which shall be under the control of international authorities. The preliminary agreement was reached in Boulder Colorado March 6 when BRAMSAT President Dr. Junior De Castro, PY2BJO, met with AMSAT NA officials. A definitive agreement is imminent these officials stated. The AMSAT Board of Directors which met March 12 and 13 has reviewed the project and finds it in AMSAT NA's interest to consummate a final accord with BRAMSAT. If plans go forward as expected, the Brazil Peacetalker will be launched in early 1989 into an approximately 800 km high orbit. Plans call for Brazil Peacetalker to be launched with AMSAT NA's packet radio satellite and perhaps a third satellite of the same class. These satellites will be small but highly capable. An important design criterion is that they be easily heard on the ground with omni-directional antennas. The satellite will be funded by BRAMSAT and the tasks partitioned between organizations based on a to-be-negotiated Statement of Work. A preliminary design has been completed and construction will begin upon signing of the definitive agreement. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2. Latest SKITREK Progress Report (direct from Rich Ensign) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 3. Board Meeting Highlights The AMSAT Board of Directors met at AMSAT Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland March 12 and 13. Here are the highlights of the two day meeting. Jan King, W3GEY, currently Vice President of Engineering, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors. Jan co-founded AMSAT in 1969 and has been a Board member since then. He is the only original member of the Board still active. He replaces John Browning, W6SP, who resigned from the Board last month. John Henry, VE2VQ, formerly First Alternate Director, was seated upon W6SP's resignation and participated in the Board meeting as a full voting member. Andy, MacAllister, WA5ZIB, elevated to First Alternate Director, did not attend. Administrative Director Martha Saragovitz was recognized and applauded on having completed 10 years as an AMSAT employee. She will receive a plaque to display on the office wall together with her other meritorious service awards. Deliberations of the Board covered matters such as liability insurance and hazard insurance, accounting for volunteer labor expenditure, ASR costs and the 1988 budget. Income has sagged probably due to AO-10's demise. As a result, unless renewals turn around, the budget will have to be trimmed sharply. The influx of new members and renewals associated with the Phase 3C launch should revive a healthy financial picture, however, all agreed. Field Operations progress was reported by VP of Field Ops, Doug Loughmiller, KO5I. A strengthened Field organization is at hand Doug said. The AMSAT News Service bulletins will be partitioned into smaller blocks to facilitate transmission through the packet radio network and on to packet BBS. The changes will go into effect in late March. AMSAT will play a key role in the International Space Year (ISY), if plans continue on course. AMSAT is forced to defend its copyright on its corporate name several times per year at least at a cost of several thousands of dollars in legal fees. New accounting software is being installed at Headquarters to make the bookkeeping easier and more auditable. Telecommunications costs are running at about 10% of the annual budget or about $20,000. Electronic mail comprises more than half of that amount but the expense was recognized as reasonable and the cost of doing business in a dispersed office environment; with volunteers spread all over the world. Recognition of launch insurance donations will be made in ASR at the earliest opportunity. A very important joint AMSAT-TAPR Digital Signaling Processing project was given the go-ahead. The object will be to manufacture for sale special DSP boxes later this spring. The hardware sales will generate a revenue stream to help pay for the PACSAT satellite now being developed and will complement an on-going software sales effort. A joint Brazil AMSAT and AMSAT NA project for an educational satellite was approved subject to final contract definitization. This satellite will tentatively be launched in 1989 with AMSAT NA's PACSAT. A collaborative effort with Weber State University in Ogden, Utah is highly desirable and likely the Board was told. Discussions on this subject will continue apace. Weber State built the NUSAT-1 satellite and operated as well. Fund raising program initiatives were very much on the Board's mind with PACSAT coming up after Phase 3C and Phase 4 looming large on the horizon. The minutes of the meeting will be available as soon as the Secretary to the Board finalizes them. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 4. Motorola Donates Complex DSP Package Steve Sagerian, KA0YRE of Motorola (at least partially responsible for the 68000 board network controller that CAPRA has done) has really come through for the joint AMSAT-TAPR Digital Signal Processing (DSP) project. He arranged for the DSP operations branch of Motorola to come up with two 56001 EXP kits. This kit comes with bare boards, boot ROMs (a debugger, monitor), PAL's, and several manuals. Just to get things rolling in a hurry Motorola decided to be very generous and throw in two DSP56001 chips. This board has a 20.48 MHz clock and processes 10.25 million instruction per second. Using the architecture to its fullest one could do a 1024 point Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in 3.48 ms. Steve and Bob McGwier, N4HY, will be building these two units up. They expect further support from Motorola as they get applications back from AMSAT/TAPR. AMSAT expresses it thanks Motorola, Inc. for its generous support in the form of several thousand dollars worth of hardware and software! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 5. Board Reviews Dues Structure; New Rates Reflect Postal Increase AMSAT Headquarters announces that a member dues increase will go into effect May 4. Effective May 4th, the new rates are: U.S. Domestic members: $30 Canada and Mexico: $36 Other foreign: $45 In accord with the Bylaws, a member dues change comprises a Bylaws change. Consequently, the dues change shall be effective thirty days after publication unless 10 % of the voting members object in writing. If so, then a general membership vote will be held by mail. The dues increase was made necessary by increased production and especially postal costs. The Board has directed a 25% reduction in the cost of ASR and has asked the president to provide members a view as to how dues are spent. (Currently ASR consumes more than 25% of the AMSAT annual budget, i.e., costs more than $50,000 per year.) The Board meeting held March 12 and 13 approved the dues changes. The last due increase was in April 1983. Beginning May 1, all overseas annual members will receive ASR directly from AMSAT via Air Mail. Previously, re-mailers had helped in distribution by re-mailing from their locale. However, the additional delays incurred and complaints from members concerning the re-mailing process has resulted in the change in overseas mailing method and rates. Overseas Life Members may opt to have their ASR sent by Air Mail by remitting the additional postage costs. Otherwise ASR will be mailed sea mail to overseas Life Members. Annual members should renew early to beat the dues increase. You may renew for several years in advance. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 6. Short Bursts Dave Medley, KI6QE will be handling the AMSAT 75 Pacific Coast net according to Regional Coordinator Ross Forbes, WB6GFJ. *** Rumors suggest the launch of the Russian space shuttle is imminent. *** The USSR has launched and Indian Remote Sensing satellite according to Max White at the Royal Greenwich observatory. The IRS payload was launched March 17 at 0600 southbound from Tyuratam in the USSR. It will be handed over by the Russians for use at the end of the month. The launcher was the SL3 Vostok. Imagery is on S and X band, but RGO believes that a beacon may exist on known Indian frequencies in the 137 MHz band and a search of this region may prove fruitful. The weight of the payload is 950 kg ******************************************************************************