September/October AMSAT Journal is Ready

SeptOct2013_Cover
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The September/October AMSAT Journal is ready. This issue is on the way to the print shop. The next stop will be the post office and then your mailbox. Here is a preview of what you will find in this issue:

  • Apogee View by Barry Baines, WD4ASW
  • Exploring the Fox-2 Maximum Power Point Tracking System by Mark Spencer, WA8SME
  • W7LRD Grid Expedition to CN77 by Bob Johnson, W7LRD
  • AMSAT-UK Prepares for November Launch of FUNcube-1
  • 2013 AMSAT Field Day Results by Bruce Paige, KK5DO
  • Museum Ships Weekend 2013 – Satellites and a Balloon by Andy MacAlister, W5ACM and Allen Mattis, N5AFV
  • Kitty Litter Radio Carrier for Portable Operation by Randy Hall, K7AGE
  • AMSAT at Dayton 2013 by Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF
  • Ham Video Transmitter Aboard Columbus by Gaston Bertels, ON4WF

 

Final Call for Papers for the 2013 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium

This is the final call for papers for the 2013 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space
Symposium to be held on the weekend of November 1 – 3, 2013, at the Marriott
Hobby Airport Hotel, Houston, Texas. Proposals for papers, symposium
presentations and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to
the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your
presentation as soon as possible, with final copy to be submitted by October 5
for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent
to Dan Schultz, N8FGV

2013 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Election Results Announced

As a result of the 2013 Board of Directors Election, Barry Baines, WD4ASW; Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, and Mark Hammond, N8MH, will serve on the board for two years. The first alternate is JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, and the second alternate is Steve Coy, K8UD. The results of the voting with 688 ballots cast are as follows;

Barry Baines, WD4ASW          521
Tony Monteiro, AA2TX               518
Alan Biddle. WA4SCA               424
Mark Hammond, N8MH             365

JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM         316
Steve Coy, K8UD                      186

Frank Griffin, K4FEG                 158
Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO              141

Submitted by
Martha Saragovitz
Manager

2013 AMSAT Symposium Tours Announced

AMSAT has arranged for two special tours as part of this year’s Symposium.

BattleshipTexas
Battleship Texas BB-35

On Sunday there will be a tour of the Battleship Texas BB-35, the only surviving US Navy warship that served in both World Wars.  It is currently opened to the public while undergoing extensive restoration to ready her for the 100th anniversary of her commissioning in 2014.  A special tour has been arranged for AMSAT Symposium participants. Transportation will depart the Marriott at 1030, and the formal tour will be completed at 1400. Transportation will be available directly to Houston Hobby airport from the ship.  There will be an optional lunch at a popular local restaurant followed by a return to the Marriott at 1600.  $20 per person.

Saturn5
JSC Saturn V

On Monday there will be a tour of the Johnson Space Center.  The tour will include the Sonny Carter Neutral Buoyancy Lab and the Building 9 Training facility containing high fidelity full scale mockups of the International Space Station modules as well as the Soyuz spacecraft.  The ISS tour will include special emphasis of the amateur radio stations on the ISS. The tour will also include the Building 30 historic mission control room as well as the current International Space Station control room, and a special visit to the JSC ARC station W5RRR. Transportation will depart the Marriott at 0800, and will stop at Houston Hobby airport at 1415 before returning to the hotel at 1430.  $30 per person.

Detailed information and registration on the AMSAT Store for the Battleship Texas and the NASA JSC tours.  Please be aware that due to the requirement for additional information, primarily for foreign nationals, the JSC tour must be booked directly with the AMSAT-NA office. Information on the tour, and the registration procedure, are described in the item on the AMSAT Store.  Attempting to order it on the Store will result in an Out of Stock message.  We regret the inconvenience.  The Battleship Texas tour can be booked through the store, since there is no requirement for additional information.