************************************************************************** * * * THIS IS THE WD0GML-AMSAT-ST.LOUIS BBS 24HR 7DAY AT (314)447-3003 * * 300/1200/2400 BAUD * * Mike Parisey WD0GML SYSOP * * Norm Newman NZ0Z Co-SYSOP * * * ************************************************************************** SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-345.01 AO-13 OPERATING SCHEDULE CHANGE HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT OSCAR-13 Operating Schedule Change Starting January 6, 1989 AMSAT-DL Ground Command Station, DB2OS, has announced that there will be a spacecraft attitude change performed on OSCAR-13 around January 6, 1989. This reorientation of AO-13 is necessary inorder to efficiently manage battery charging. Because the attitude change will result in a change in "squint" angles around apogee, Mode L operating times will be adjusted so that the antennas will point directly toward the earth's center at that point in the orbit. The following is the schedule which will be become effective on January 6, 1989: OSCAR-13 Operating Schedule: V5.0 Effective 06Jan89 |------|-----------|----------|----------------------| | Mode | From | Thru | Remarks | | | (Inclus) | (Inclus) | | |======|===========|==========|======================| | Off | MA 240 | MA 003 | Solar Eclipse Window | | B | MA 003 | MA 100 | | | L | MA 100 | MA 150 | Mode JL Optional | | B | MA 150 | MA 240 | | |======|===========|==========|======================| The Bahn Coordinates after the attitude change on January 6th will be: Bahn Latitude=0.0 degrees, Bahn Longitude=180.0 degrees. Mode S operational times will be announced later on the AO-13 beacon. This schedule will remain in effect until March 15, 1989. At that time the schedule again be adjusted to account for solar eclipse periods. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-345.02 N4HY QUIKTRAK 3.2 BUG HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT Leap Year Bug Appears Again in QUIKTRAK Version 3.2 Due to the way N4HY performs "internal" time-keeping functions in his Quiktrak 3.2 versions, there is a "pesky software bug" which keeps popp- ing up from time to time. Users will note that Quiktrak 3.2 losses a day starting December 31, 1988. However, this is NOT a fatal problem! Users can work around this problem by performing the following: 1) Wait until you have a complete set of Keplerian elements for 1989 for the satellites in your Quiktrak 3.2 database, i.e., the satellite epoch year is 89. 2) Enter all the 1989 epoch year Keplerian data sets into your Quiktrak 3.2 database at one time. 3) Then go to the "QTH" data storage function and replace the current year (dennoted by "CY") with 89. This will fix the "leap year bug" for another four years. Because N4HY will be releasing Quiktrak 4.0 in about one month, there will be no "bug fix" release on version 3.2. AMSAT-NA apologizes for any incon- venience and confusion which this may have caused users. N4HY has fixed this problem in his new Quiktrak 4.0 and has very much enhanced the capabilities of the 4.0 version of his Quiktrak program. Stay tunned to AMSAT Nets for further word on the new options which N4HY has incorporated into his 4.0 version. /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-345.03 SPACE EDUCATION NET SCHEDULE HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT Space Education Net (SEN014) Scheduled Set December 17, 1988 The fourteenth session of the Space Education Net (SEN) has been scheduled for Saturday, December 17, 1988. The Mode B session will run from 14:30 to 15:30 UTC. The downlink frequency will be 145.960 MHz. No mode L session has been scheduled because of a lack of Mode L Net Control Station. Please note that a change has been made to the SEN Slow Scan TV. This week SSTV will be transmitted for approximately the first 10 minutes of the bulletins. After the SEN bulletins, an informal SSTV net will convene on a downlink frequency of 145.965 MHz. Tests have shown that a SSTV signal at beacon strength provides a full quieting, P-5 picture. The SEN would like to hear from stations that have been watching the SSTV. Additional Net Control Stations are needed, particularly for the Mode L sessions of the SEN. If you would like to assist the SEN in this important position please volunteer today. Contact K.O. Learner, K9PVW, at P.O. Box 5006, Kokomo, IN 46904 or via packet @KD9QB with your SEN questions or comments or to volunteer to assist the SEN. ***** NOTE: No SEN will be held on Dec 24, 1988. ***** /EX SB ALL @ AMSAT $ANS-345.04 Short Burst Items HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 10, 1988 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT Short Burst Items For those of you wondering about OSCAR-13 First Day QSL Cards, they are now being processed and should be mailed out soon. AMSAT-NA President Doug Loughmiller, KO5I, has announced that the 1989 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium will be held in Des Moines, Iowa on the week- end of November 10, 1989. The sponsoring group for that Symposium will be the Central Iowa Technical Society, Ralph Wallio, W0RPK, Chairman. We would like to thank Peter, DB2OS, for the following items: MIR: ON6UG, Freddy and DL4AAZ using DL0VW worked U2MIR on Nov 27 at 19:55 UTC for the first time. Due to heavy QRM only a few contacts were made from Europe with MIR. I also tried to make a contact but there was no chance -- too many stations calling CQ. I heard another QSO with one station from SM and OH and on Nov 28th with a G and I. That's all; in the past week there was no activity over Western Europe. UA3CR reported on the Russian Sputnik Net that U1MIR/U2MIR has worked around 35 different Soviet stations. OSCAR-13: Mode-S schedule has been curtailed until late December, since we have now the lowest power generation with 36 degrees sunangle. Also, there appears to be some interference caused to Mode B operations when Mode S is operational and when there is a low battery voltage condition. This will be investigated further. Users may notice that the Mode-L beacon shows some FMing at the end of the window (around MA 200). This is normal due to low battery voltage and big current changes on the power line. Mode-J is switched Off at MA 190 and MA 200. As James Miller, G3RUH, reported the spacecraft attitude is now 209.4 deg longitude and -4.8 deg lattitude. The following schedule was installed on AO-13 this week because of poor sunangles: OSCAR-13 Operating Schedule: V4.3 Effective 09Dec88 |------|-----------|----------|----------------------| | Mode | From | Thru | Remarks | | | (Inclus) | (Inclus) | | |======|===========|==========|======================| | Off | MA 241 | MA 003 | Solar Eclipse Window | | B | MA 003 | MA 175 | | | L | MA 175 | MA 200 | Mode JL Optional | | B | MA 200 | MA 241 | | |======|===========|==========|======================| NORD>