BANGALORE AMATEUR RADIO CLUB

Post Box 5053, GPO, Bangalore-560001, India www.barc.in Email: info@barc.in

May 2010
World Amateur Radio Day Each year on 18 April, radio amateurs celebrate World Amateur Radio Day. On this day in 1925 the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) was founded. For the year 2010, the IARU theme is sophisticated, there was a rise in modes such as Clover, PACTOR, and G-TOR that were capable of error-free exchanges even under unfavourable band conditions. In the late 1990's, there was an invention that harnessed personal computer technology to create PSK31. In the VHF-UHF frequency ranges, Packet Radio had less activity at the close of the century than it did in the 1980's and 1990's. However, Packet Radio was reborn as the popular Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) and traditional packet systems still exist to support public service activities with greatly enhanced functionality. Thanks to individual amateurs, hams now enjoy digital meteor scatter contacts and even moon-bounce on VHF and UHF frequencies with modest stations. An ordinary computer sound device and software that can be downloaded free from the internet is all that is needed. The Japan Amateur Radio League developed the D-STAR digital voice and data standard and there has been significant amateur growth as amateurs establish D-STAR repeater networks on the VHF, UHF and microwave bands. All of this development has inspired amateurs around the world to experiment in HF, VHF, UHF and microwave band digital communication. Activities that went on, on the occasion of World Amateur Radio Day 2010 were a great opportunity to spread the word about what the "hams" are doing in the 21st Century.
Source: chennaihams.blogspot.com

Five Years of Hamsat (VO52) HAMSAT, OSCAR VU-52 turned 5 on Wednesday, 5 May 2010. BARC wishes HAMSAT VO-52 a very Happy Birthday with 5 years of healthy service to hams all over the world. HAMSAT also known as HAMSAT INDIA and VU2SAT is a microsatellite weighing 42.5 kilograms (93.7 lb), providing amateur radio communications services for Indian and international amateur radio operators. This satellite carries the in-orbit designation of VO-52, and is an OSCAR series satellite. It was launched by PSLV-C6 on May 5, 2005 from the SHAR Centre (Satish Dhawan Space Centre), Sriharikota, India. The main payload was an Indian Remote Sensing satellite, CARTOSAT-1 weighing 1,560 kilograms (3,440 lb). HAMSAT was placed into a polar sun synchronous orbit. It carries two transponders, one built by William Leijenaar (Call Sign: PE1RAH), a Dutch Radio Amateur and graduate engineering student from the Higher Technical Institute at Venlo and the other developed indigenously involving Indian

"Amateur Radio: Combining communication experience with modern digital techniques."

Amateur radio has truly entered the 21st Century. In less than 100 years, amateur radio communications has evolved from crude spark-gap technology to digital signal processing and software-defined radios. The amateur's HF choice between voice and CW has been expanded to a broad range of communication choices from television to spread spectrum. Amateur digital communications has evolved. At the end of World War II until the early 1980's, radio teletype, also known as RTTY, was the only HF digital mode available to amateurs. In the 1980's, AMTOR made its debut along with the increased popularity and availability of personal computers. AMTOR was the first amateur digital communication mode to offer error-free text transmission. From the early 1980's, the rate of change increased dramatically. Packet Radio emerged and for a period of time was the most popular form of amateur digital communication. As digital technology became more

HAM's with the expertise of ISRO and the experience of AMSATIndia. The satellite joins many previous satellites in amateur radio service; mostly launched by AMSAT. VO-52 is India's contribution to the international community of Amateur Radio Operators. This effort is also meant to bring ISRO's satellite services within the reach of the common man and popularize space technology among the masses. This satellite will play a valuable role in the national and international scenario by providing a low cost readily accessible and reliable means of communications during emergencies and calamities like floods, earthquakes etc. It will stimulate technical interest and awareness among the younger generation by providing then with an opportunity to develop their technological projects including offering a platform. Some of the new technologies being tested in VO-52 include Integrated Processor based Electronic Bus Management Unit, Lithium Ion Battery and Gallium Arsenide based Solar Panels.

Downlink: 145.900 MHz Beacons - 145.936 MHz (Unmodulated Carrier) OR 145.860 MHz CW Telemetry Transponder Bandwidth: 60 kHz Transmitter Output: 1 watt Modes of Communication: CW, SSB The K7RA Solar Update Sunspots made a strong return this week -- and so did geomagnetic activity. The average daily solar flux increased 4.2 points to 79.6; on Wednesday, May 5, the daily sunspot number reached 77, the highest in nearly four years. The sunspot number hasnt been as high since May 28, 2006, when it was 78. Sunspot numbers for April 29-May 5 were 0, 12, 13, 47, 61, 70 and 77, with a mean of 40. The 10.7 cm flux was 76.2, 78.6, 77.8, 79.5, 80.3, 81.7 and 83.2, with a mean of 79.6. The estimated planetary A indices were 6, 4, 4, 39, 27, 10 and 8, with a mean of 14. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 4, 2, 1, 18, 19, 7 and 6 with a mean of 8.1. Friday, April 30, sunspot group 1064 appeared and then faded after the third day. Last Sunday, groups 1065, 1066 and 1067 appeared, and the next day 1063 made a reappearance, along with new group 1068. Group 1069 arose on May 4 and 1065 disappeared. 1070 appeared on May 5. Group 1069 grew quickly and the sunspot number rose from 61 to 70 and then 77 on Wednesday, but dropped to 45 on May 6 when groups 1066 and 1077 disappeared. The solar flux rose steadily from 76.2 on April 29, to 83.2 on May 5 but dropped more than four points to 79.1 on May 6. NOAA and USAF predict solar flux to decline over the next few days, with the May 7-10 flux values at 78, 76, 75 and 75. This probably indicates another short, quiet

period with little or no sunspot appearances. A look at the STEREO mission image on Friday morning shows no bright spots (indicators of magnetic activity and sometimes sunspots) coming up. STEREO achieved 89 percent coverage on May 6, and is expected to reach 90 percent on June 18, 2010. We should expect 95 percent coverage by October 12. Along with increased sunspots comes rising geomagnetic activity. The peak days were Sunday and Monday when the planetary A index was 39 and 27, and the K index went as high as 6 over several three hour periods. NOAA and USAF predict planetary A index for May 7-13 at 9, 12, 12, 8, 8, 5 and 5. Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions for May 7, unsettled May 8, quiet to unsettled May 910, unsettled May 11 and quiet May 12-13. Now that April has ended, we can look at sunspot averages for the past month and the past three month period. The average daily sunspot number for April was only 11.2, down from 21.3, 31 and 25.2 for January through March. The three month moving average centered on March was 22.3, close to the averages of 22.4 and 25.7 centered on January and February.

Satellite Features:
Physical: 630 mm X 630 mm X 550 mm Cuboid Mass: 42.5 kg Orbit: Near Circular Polar Low Earth Orbit Structure: Aluminum Honeycomb Structure Power: Body mounted Gallium Arsenide Solar Panels, Lithium Ion Battery Stabilization: Spin Stabilized (4 +/- 0.5 RPM) Antennas: UHF Turnstile VHF Turnstile Uplink: 435.250 MHz

Source: www.arrl.org

About BARC Bangalore Amateur Radio Club BARC Meets 2nd SUNDAY of every month at the Bharath Scouts & Guides Headquarters, adjacent to Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore at 6 pm. Newsletter compiled by VU2LU & VU2JHM. This Newsletter-VU2ARC is meant for private circulation only among the members of BARC.