HAMSAT approaches 5th birthday

On May 4, the Indian Amateur Radio satellite HAMSAT (VO-52) will have completed 5 years in orbit and Mani, VU2WMY is requesting information from radio amateurs regarding its usage.

Since it was launched HAMSAT has provided consistent service to the Amateur Radio community using its two 435 to 145 MHz transponders.

One of the transponders was developed by Indian Radio Amateurs with the expertise of ISRO and the experience of AMSAT-India. The second transponder was developed by Dutch Radio Amateur William Leijenaar PE1RAH.

On the AMSAT bulletin board Mani VU2WMY writes:
On behalf of the Programme Director, Mission Director, Operations Director and the entire "HAMSAT" project team, I convey their message to the Global Amateur Radio Satellite enthusiasts & users through my mail.

It gives us a great pleasure to inform the World Amateur Radio community that, on 4th May 2010, HAMSAT (VO-52) is completing 5 years of successful existence in Space rendering useful and fruitful services to the Amateur radio community.

We as well take this opportunity with great pleasure to inform the Global Amateur Radio community, that the overall system health and performance of "Hamsat" - "The gift from INDIA/ISRO to World of Ham Radio" is good and satisfactory.

To commemorate this milestone achievement, we have intended to bring out a 'Comprehensive Performance & Utilization Report' of the payload (Transponder) based on the user feed back from across the Globe.

In this regard, we request all the Amateur Satellite Enthusiasts and users to kindly send us their feed back about the performance and utilization of the transponder. A detailed report expressing their views, suggestions, comments, ratings and preferably a comparison note made with other linear transponders, those already been flown and currently available one's would be greatly appreciated.

Looking forward to hear from you all.
Thanking you
73 de
Mani, VU2WMY
Secretary & Station-In-ChargeUpagrah Amateur Radio Club VU2URC

ISRO Satellite CentreAirport Road,

Bangalore-560 017.

Phone:(O)91-80-2508 2054/2192/2537

Mobile: 91-80-98803 41456

E-mail ID: wmyisac.gov.in

vu2wmy_maniyahoo.com

isrohamsyahoo.com

The full email including a copy of the request from the Operations Director at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) can be seen at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/48hour/msg79250.html

ISTRAC is responsible for providing Space Operation services that include spacecraft control, TTC support services and other related projects and services, for the launch vehicle, low earth orbiting spacecraft and deep space missions of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and other space agencies around the world.

HAMSAT (VO-52) : http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sat_summary/hamsat.php
AMSAT-India: http://www.amsatindia.org/

Courtesy : www.southgatearc.org

HAM Radio activity from Haiti

Some ham radio activity from Haiti is beginning to be heard, following devastating earthquake.

Father John Henault, HH6JH, in Port-au-Prince, made contact lateWednesday morning with the Intercontinental Assistance and TrafficNet (IATN) on 14.300 MHz, the IARU Global Centre of Activityfrequency for emergency communications. Based on relays monitored atW2VU, Father John reported that he and those with him were safe, buthad no power and no phone service. He was operating on battery powerand hoping to get a generator running later in the day. He asked thestation copying him, William Sturridge, KI4MMZ, in Flagler Beach,Florida, to telephone relatives with information that he was OK.

The following frequencies are in use for earthquake-related trafficand should be kept clear unless you are able to provide requested assistance:14300 (IATN), 14265 (SATERN); 7045 (IARU Region II) and 3720 (IARURegion II) kHz. Additional frequencies may be activated on different bands at different times of day, so be sure to listen carefully before transmitting to make sure you are not interfering with emergency traffic.

Earthquake Net Frequencies - 7045, 3720 kHz - Please keep clear

Major earthquake in Haiti

From the CQ / WorldRadio Online Newsroom:

All radio amateurs are requested to keep 7045 kHz and 3720 kHz clear forpossible emergency traffic related to today's major earthquake in Haiti. International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region II Area C EmergencyCoordinator Arnie Coro, CO2KK, reports that as of 0245 UTC on January 13, nothing had been heard from radio amateurs in Haiti, but that the above frequencies were being kept active in case any Haitian hams manage to get onthe air, and in case of other related events in surrounding areas, including afters hocks and a possible tsunami.

The following is from an e-mail from CO2KK:

A few minutes after the earthquake was felt in eastern Cuba's cities, theCuban Federation of Radio Amateurs Emergency Net was activated, with netcontrol stations CO8WM and CO8RP located in the city of Santiago de Cuba,and in permanent contact with the National Seismology Center of Cuba locatedin that city. Stations in the city of Baracoa, in Guantanamo province, were also activatedimmediately as the earth movements were felt even stronger there, due to itsproximity to Haiti. CO8AZ and CO8AW went on the air immediately , withCM8WAL following. At the early phase of the emergency, the population ofthe city of Baracoa was evacuated far away from the coast, as there was aprimary alert of a possible tsunami event or of a heavy wave trains sequenceimpacting the coast line at the city's sea wall ...Baracoa could not contact Santiago de Cuba stations on 40 meters due to longskip after 5 PM local time, so several stations in western Cuba and one inthe US State of Florida provided relays. CO2KK, as IARU Region II Area CEmergency Coordinator, helped to organize the nets , on 7045 kHz and also on3720 kHz, while local nets in Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa operated on 2meters.As late as 9,45 PM local time 0245 UTC we have not been able to contact anyamateur or emergency services stations in Haiti.Amateurs from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela were monitoringthe 40 meter band frequency, that I notified to the IARU Region II executiveRamon Santoyo XE1KK as in use for the emergency, requesting that 7045 kHz bekept as clear as possible ...We are still keeping watch on 7045 kHz hoping that someone in Haiti may haveaccess to a transceiver and at least a car battery to run it.All information that has so far come from the Cuban seismologists tell us ofa very intense earthquake, and also of the possibility of other eventsfollowing.Following the advice of the geophysicists, we are keeping the 7045 and 3720kiloHertz frequencies active until further notice.

New Indian Amateur Radio Satellite- STUDSAT

India's first student satellite-STUDSAT(STUDent SATellite)-The first pico-satellite being developed indigenously in India, by an enthusiastic group of under-graduate students from across India, with support from Indian Space Research Organization and seven different Engineering Academic Institutions.

This project started off in December,2007 as an ambitious aspiration of a bunch of under-graduate students. Today, it is heading towards completion, manifesting the undaunting spirits of the team of students. With most of the technical work under the credit of students in the team,we want to be an example for further such endeavours for all students, within and outside India.

StudSat is slated for a March 2010 launch and will carry a camera capable of 90 metre resolution. The IARU Satellite co-ordination page says it is planned to launch in March 2010 on an Indian launcher.

The satellite resembles a small cube of size (10 cm x 10 cm x 13.5 cm), weighing about 850 gm and has a volume of 1.1 litres. The satellite is intended to be launched in 700 km Sun-synchronous orbit.

It will perform the function of a remote sensing satellite and take images of earth’s surface with a resolution of 90 metres, the best achieved by any “PICO” category satellite in the world.

It is proposed to use a 10mW CW beacon on UHF and also a half duplex 9k6 or 4k8bps FSK TC/TLM link with 1 watt output also on UHF.

Further information on StudSat can be found at http://www.teamstudsat.com/
STUDSAT - IARU Satellite Frequency coordination page http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/formal_detail.asp?serial=164

How to Participate in a Ham Radio Contest

A ham radio contest, often referred to as an amateur radio contest, is a challenge offered by various ham radio groups, clubs and publications. Contesting, also known as radio sport, offers individual ham radio operators and teams to test their skill and speed in contacting as many stations as possible in a designated period of time.

Read more at: http://www.ehow.com/how_2042173_participate-ham-radio-contest.html

Courtesy :www.ehow.com

ICOM IC-706MKIIG - the final word!

Amateur Radio Victoria reports that the Icom IC-706MkIIG transceiver will definitely cease production.

In a news report just received, they say:

Despite deniers in the USA, it has been confirmed that Wednesday 9 December is the last day that the ICOM plant in Wakayama, Japan will produce the IC-706MKIIG transceiver.ICOM Australia said it has checked with Japan and been reassured that the earlier advice received that the popular transceiver has been discontinued is correct.The reason is that some components used in the IC-706MKIIG are no longer available and the model had to cease production.For more on this story see the news section of the Amateur Radio Victoria website www.amateurradio.com.au

Sources: Amateur Radio Victoria , G4TUT (QRZ.COM)

Logbook of the World

About Logbook :

ARRL's Logbook of the World (LoTW) system is a repository of log records submitted by users from around the world. When both participants in a QSO submit matching QSO records to LoTW, the result is a QSL that can be used for ARRL award credit.

for moe info and download : http://www.arrl.org/lotw/

40m band expaned for VU

VU (India) Amateur Radio operators are now authorized to use 7.00 to 7.20 MHz (previously it used to be 7.00 to 7.10 MHz). Here is an extract of a message from ARSI (Amateur Radio Society of India which represents India in IARU) :

"I spoke to WPC just now and they have confirmed that the extra bandwidth has been officially released to VU radio amateurs based on the petitions given by ARSI on 15 April 2009, soon after the band was to be released as per agreement inWRC2003 The notification will appear on the WPC webpage shortly VU hams can now officially use that extra band width.They have also confirmed that the other requests made by ARSI regarding 10 MHz and 50 MHz are also under consideration, so please wait for further news

73 Gopal VU2GMN"

Be alert and Take Care.

Suspect quake of around 5.5M over KOYNA, MAHARASTRA

within the next 15 days (max.)from 15th November 2009.

Be alert and take care.

-VU2RSSQUAKE PREDICTOR R.Shanmugasundaram, Coimbatore, India

I am a regular user of ECHOLINK and managed to have a lot of contacts all over the world. One day I got VU2RSS, OM Shan and the qso was verymuch interesting because of his another hobby he described. He wakes up early in the morning to watch the rising sun, as everyone do occasionally, but he watches it carefully on daily basis and then do some calculations and he predicting the earth quake.

I haven't taken care of much about the same and sometimes visit his site to read his predictions and results.On October 02, 2009, was a holiday for me and I have visited his site and noticed his prediction on 01-10-2009 about the expected quake in Koyna, Maharashtra and the same taken place...

To See latest predictions and results visit http://earthquake.itgo.com/today.htm
Preparedness: SOME USEFUL HINTS DURING QUAKE TIME

Hamfest India '09-HAMFEST INDIA'10

The Hamfest India 2009 in Bangalore went very well almost 700 delegates attended in it. All enjoyed the eyeball. It was represented by many states of india. Congratulations to the Hamfestindia 2009 committee members and Bangalore Hams for making the Hamfest India 2009 a remember one to all Delegates.

Hamfest 2010 will be in Pollachi (Tamilnadu.) VU2WDP OM Vijayan and his Team from Pollachi are Takes the Next Hamfest to Pollachi and the proposed date in 10.10.10.

More info about Pollachi : Pollachi is a town and a municipality in the Coimbatore district of the Tamil Nadu state of India. It is located 40 km south of Coimbatore. It is satellite town for Coimbatore City.Due to its proximity to the Western Ghats, Pollachi has a pleasant climate throughout the year. Pollachi is also famed for its market especially for jaggery and cattle. The Jaggery Market in Pollachi is Asia's biggest Jaggery Market.

Airport : Coimbatore airport is the nearest international airport to Pollachi. International and domestic flights are available Domestic airlines fly to Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai and other Indian cities.
Bus Stand : Pollachi has a central bus stand which is used by TNSTC, and the private operators. This is situated inside the town.
Railway Station: Pollachi has a railway junction. Presently only metre gauge trains are operated in this section, the major routes being Coimbatore - Pollachi - Dindigul and Palakkad - Pollachi - Dindigul. broad gauge conversion of this section is in progress and are expected to be completed shortly. Once this completion is over then Pollachi, Udumalai, Palani will get direct link to Chennai, Bangalore and all other parts of India. Pollachi - Podanur section was recently been added to the Palakkad Railway Division.Broad gauge work from Palakkad side has been started by the Palakkad Division, soon Pollachi & Palakkad will be connected by BG trains.
More information about Pollachi will be added soon..

Hamfest India 2009

Hamfests are events organized by amateur radio enthusiasts, for social gathering and comparison and sales of radio equipment. Most hamfests feature a flea market, where the attendees buy and sell equipment, generally from and for their personal stations. Some of the larger hamfests have another section, separate from the flea market, where vendors and manufacturers of new equipment demonstrate and sell their products at trade show-like booths. Some hamfests offer seminars on technical, operational, and legal aspects of amateur radio. Hamfests are usually annual or semiannual events lasting from several hours to several days, usually over a weekend.

Hamfest India is the biggest annual event in India. The 18th Hamfest in India, HamfestIndia 2009 is being conducted in Bengaluru city, Karnataka, on 7 & 8 November 2009.

The venue is Sri Nijagunara Kshetra, opposite to Bull Temple, Basavanagudi, Bengaluru.

The brief outlay of the two day programme is as below

Day One: Saturday, 7 November 2009
8.00 am - 9.30 am : Breakfast at the venue
8.45 am - 11.00 am : Inaugural of HamfestIndia 2009 Lighting of the Lamp Welcome address by General Convener Talk by Special Guest Talk by Chief Guest Inauguration of Exhibition & Stalls
11.00 am -11.15 am : Tea Break
11.15 am - 1.30 pm : Presentation by representatives of various Amateur Radio Clubs in India
1.30 pm - 2.30 pm : Lunch at the venue
2.30 pm - 4.00 pm : Technical presentations by Hams & SWLs
4.00 pm - 4.15 pm : Tea Break
4.15 pm - 5.30 pm : Technical presentations by Hams & SWLs
6.30 pm - 8.30 pm : Cultural Programme
8.30 pm - 10.00 pm : Dinner at venue

Day Two: Sunday, 8 November 2009
8.00 am - 9.00 am : Breakfast at venue
9.00 am - 11.00 am : Inauguration of Golden jubilee Celebration of Bangalore Amateur Radio Club - VU2ARC Lighting of the Lamp Welcome address by President of BARC Talk by Special Guest Talk by Chief Guest Distribution of prizes for winners in the events conducted through the year 2009
11.00 am -11.15 am : Tea Break
11.15 am -12.00 pm : Bidding and Handing-over of Hamfest Flag
12.00 Noon - 1.30 pm : Valedictory Function
1.30 pm - 2.30 pm : Lunch at the venue
2.30 pm - 3.30 pm : Auction sale of New & Used Equipment
3.30 pm - 4.00 pm : High Tea and Farewell

For more Details, visit http://www.hamfestindia.com/

Jota-Joti 2009 Photos

Some Photos of Jota - 2009 held at V.K.High School, Panvel on 18-10-2009 available at the following link.

Jota_Joti 2009 Photos

JOTA-JOTI -2009

Jamboree Of The Air (JOTA)
Jamboree Of The Internet (JOTI)
Yes, it is on again!
Come in and talk to the world!

Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) and Jamboree On The Internet (JOTI) is an annual event (an international day for Scouts & Guides! ) in which around 500,000 Scouts and Guides from all over the world make contact with each other by means of amateur radio and the internet.

Every Member of Scouts can make friends, exchange stories, experience different cultures and have fun as part of the largest activity in world Scouting. JOTA-JOTI also gives Youth Members an awareness that they belong to a worldwide Movement.

You don't need any technical knowledge to join in - just ask the right people to help you. To participate in JOTA you must have a licensed Amateur Radio Operator(HAM)to assist you. Please find out the HAM near by you, and your operator will provide all the necessary equipment and expertise.

for more information visit :

http://www.scout.org/en or mail to vu2wsm@gmail.com