AM1SAT Special Event Station Award

AMSAT EA will be on air on all available satellites with callsign AM1SAT from Sept 10-17 to celebrate IberRadio 2018 – IV Radiocommunications Fair, the biggest HAM party event in Spain and Portugal taking place on 15-16 September 2018.

Main grid will be IN70 but other ones will be activated as well. Our operators will work transatlantic QSOs too. QSLs by LOTW and eqsl

AMSAT-EA will be transmitting its special call AM1SAT via all active satellites from 10th - 17th September 2018 as part of the IV RadioHam Fair IberRadio 2018 activities. IberRadio is the biggest event for the ham community in SouthWest Europe and will open doors 15th-16th September 2018. AM1SAT callsign will be active from a minimum of 14 different grids during that time to help satellite operators to collect as much EA locators as possible.

As part of this activity and in order to promote the participation, AMSAT-EA is sponsoring the AM1SAT Special Award in two categories: SILVER and GOLD.

AM1SAT Special Event Station Award RULES

  1. This award can be requested and issued to any licensed amateur station and also SWLs
  2. Will be valid contacts all those done via AMSAT satellites from September 10th 2018 to September 17th 2018 in all transmission modes.
  3. There are two different requirements to get the awards, depending of the applicant location.

Applicant in a EU entity.

To get the award in its SILVER category, the applicant has to contact AM1SAT in 5 different grids (We consider “grid” as a 4-digits main locator. For example IN71, IM68, JN00, etc). To get the award in its GOLD category the applicant has to contact AM1SAT in 10 different grids.

Applicant in a Non-EU entity.

To get the award in its SILVER category, the applicant has to contact AM1SAT in 2 different grids (We consider “grid” as a 4-digits main locator. For example IN71, IM68, JN00, etc). To get the award in its GOLD category the applicant has to contact AM1SAT in 4 different grids.

4. There is no need of paper QSLs nor EQSLs to ask for the award. When the applicant gets the requirements, s/he has to send via email a log with the QSOs, listing his callsign, name, and QSO data (Date, GMT time, frequencies, mode, received grid and used satellite). Also we need the applicant email to send the award. The awards will be send, latest in 2 months and only in PDF format, free of charge.

5. Logs and any question about this activity must be send to eb1ao@amsat-ea.org

6. Logs must be received by October 1st 2018. We will consider the AM1SAT operators logs as the valid ones to check and cross the QSOs. Disputes or open issues will be solved by AMSAT-EA committee.

AMSAT-EA - https://www.amsat-ea.org/

Es'hail-2 Amateur Radio carrying Launch Announced

Es'hailSat has tweeted their geostationary satellite Es'hail-2 is expected to be launched by SpaceX in the 4th quarter of 2018

Qatar’s Es’hail-2 satellite have announced a first amateur radio geostationary communications capable of linking amateurs from Brazil to Thailand.

Es’hail-2 will carry two “Phase 4” amateur radio transponders operating in the 2400 MHz and 10450 MHz bands. A 250 kHz bandwidth linear transponder intended for conventional analogue operations and an 8 MHz bandwidth transponder for experimental digital modulation schemes and DVB amateur television.

Es'hail-2 - https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

BIRDS-2 CubeSats to Deployed

JAXA has announced three BIRDS-2 CubeSats with APRS digipeaters were deployed from the International Space Station on 10th August 2018.

BHUTAN-1, MAYA-1 and UiTMSat-1 will transmit 30 minutes after deployment. Initial mode looks CW on 70cm.

They use same frequency 437.375 MHz and transmit in the order of BHUTAN-1, MAYA-1 and UiTMSat-1. Each CubeSat also has an APRS digipeater on 145.825 MHz.

BIRDS-2 Amateur Radio CubeSat Satellite

  • BHUTAN-1 (Bhutan) - BIRD-BT (JG6YKL)
  • MAYA-1 (Philippines) - BIRD-PH (JG6YKM)
  • UiTMSat-1 (Malaysia) - BIRD-MY (JG6YKN)

BIRDS Project - http://birds2.birds-project.com/operation/