ubuntu-us-ohio team mailing list archive

[Stephen Michael Kellat <skellat@xxxxxxx>]

Something geeky for a change of pace as the weather is set to get nasty/nastier this week.  This is a case of "ghostly tech" that was presumed dead in orbit but after enough chance perturbations came back to life.  Thankfully we don't have too many zombie packages in the archive... :-)

Stephen Michael Kellat
Point of Contact/Leader, Ubuntu Ohio 
Member, LoCo Council 


Begin forwarded message:

> From: "ARRL Web site" <memberlist@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: November 11, 2014, 3:44:37 PM EST
> To: skellat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: ARLS007 AMSAT Celebrates 40 Years in Space for AO-7
> 
> SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS007
> ARLS007 AMSAT Celebrates 40 Years in Space for AO-7
> 
> ZCZC AS07  
> QST de W1AW  
> Space Bulletin 007  ARLS007
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington, CT  November 11, 2014
> To all radio amateurs
> 
> SB SPACE ARL ARLS007
> ARLS007 AMSAT Celebrates 40 Years in Space for AO-7
> 
> Saturday, November 15, will mark 40 years since the AMSAT-OSCAR 7
> (AO-7) ham radio satellite went into space from Vandenberg Air Force
> Base in California. Special Event W7O will be on the air November
> 15-24 to commemorate the launch of AO-7, the oldest working Amateur
> Radio satellite. Satellite aficionado Patrick Stoddard,
> WD9EWK/VA7EWK, who secured W7O for the occasion, plans to work
> satellite passes during the special event from Arizona, including
> AO-7 passes. He also hopes to recruit other operators to participate
> in the celebration from other locations and on other bands,
> including HF.
> 
> "I am thinking of incorporating the original QSL card design AMSAT
> used to confirm AO-7 reception reports from the 1970s in the W7O
> card," Stoddard said. He's still seeking a good scan of both sides
> of the 1970s card. "The QSL cards will be printed after the W7O
> activity wraps up," he added, noting that he plans to upload W7O
> contacts to ARRL's Logbook of The World (LoTW).
> 
> AO-7 was the second so-called "Phase 2" Amateur Radio satellite that
> AMSAT-NA constructed and launched into low-Earth orbit. It remained
> in operation until a short circuit occurred in a battery in 1981.
> More than 20 years later, however, AO-7 unexpectedly returned to
> life, its 2 meter beacon showing up on 145.9775 MHz. AMSAT describes
> the Mode A/B bird as "semi-operational" and dependent upon its solar
> panels for a reliable power source; AO-7 works only as long as its
> solar panels are illuminated by sunlight. Satellite experts
> speculate that AO-7's resurrection occurred when the short circuit
> in the battery opened up for some reason, allowing the solar cells
> to power the spacecraft. When the satellite goes into eclipse, it
> powers down. Since the satellite became undead, terrestrial users
> have enjoyed numerous contacts via AO-7.
> 
> The eclipse period, during which AO-7 falls silent, lasts from
> mid-spring to mid-summer. According to its operating plan, AO-7
> switches to Mode B (70 centimeters up/2 meters down) at 0000 UTC.
> AO-7 has beacons on 29.502 MHz (used in conjunction with Mode A)
> and, nominally, on 145.972 MHz (used in conjunction with Mode B and
> Mode C - low power Mode B). The 435.100 MHz beacon has an
> intermittent problem, switching between 400 mW and 10 mW
> 
> Stoddard said he has had heard from a lot of hams interested in
> taking part in the W7O operation, but he pointed out that W7O can
> only be used in areas where Amateur Radio is regulated by the FCC.
> He said that he's seeking satellite operators in different parts of
> the US, especially in the Eastern US capable of working Europe,
> North Africa, and South America, as well as other North American
> station.
> 
> In addition to satellite bands, Stoddard said, he'll take signups
> for 1-hour increments on HF (excluding 60 meters) plus 6 meters, for
> CW, SSB, and digital modes, but he'd like to avoid having two
> stations operating at W7O on the same band/mode combination at the
> same time.
> 
> Contact Stoddard for more information at, patrick@xxxxxxxxxx .
> 
> "Once I get some operating commitments from operators, I will
> publish the schedule through a link on my WD9EWK QRZ.com entry and
> my web page," Stoddard said. "This way, others will know where and
> when to look for W7O during this 10-day period."
> 
> AMSAT has posted a series of photos documenting the early OSCAR
> years, including AO-7, on the AMSAT web at,
> http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/images/fck_images/AMSAT-OSCAR_Space_Day_5-7-11(1).pdf
> .
> NNNN
> /EX