[Qcwa] ARLS006 AMSAT-OSCAR 7 returns to life

[Rick Gryder K9WED ARLHS #365]

You just never know I guess!!!

Subject: ARLS006 AMSAT-OSCAR 7 returns to life


> SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS006
> ARLS006 AMSAT-OSCAR 7 returns to life
> 
> ZCZC AS06  
> QST de W1AW  
> Space Bulletin 006  ARLS006
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington, CT  June 25, 2002
> To all radio amateurs
> 
> SB SPACE ARL ARLS006
> ARLS006 AMSAT-OSCAR 7 returns to life
> 
> The AMSAT-OSCAR 7 satellite suddenly has come back to life after
> being dormant for more than 20 years. First heard June 21 by Pat
> Gowan, G3IOR, AO-7 subsequently has been monitored and used by
> several other amateurs. AO-7 was launched November 15, 1974. It
> remained operational for more than six years before succumbing to
> battery failure in 1981.
> 
> ''I'm blown away,'' was the reaction of AO-7 Project Manager Jan King,
> W3GEY. ''So, this old war horse of a spacecraft seems to have come
> back from the dead if only for a few moments.''
> 
> Exclaimed satellite enthusiast and AMSAT Vice President for User
> Services Bruce Paige, KK5DO, ''This is really awesome.'' Paige said
> the latest turn of events makes AO-7 is the oldest amateur satellite
> that's still working. AMSAT-NA has now listed AO-7 as
> ''semi-operational.''
> 
> AMSAT says it seems certain the satellite is running only off its
> solar panels, not from the onboard batteries, so it will be
> operational only while it's in sunlight. King speculates that the
> batteries, which shorted as they failed two decades ago, now are
> ''un-shorting'' and causing the satellite to come back to life.
> 
> For those attempting to use AO-7, Mode A (2 meters up/10 meters
> down) is not a problem, but Mode B (70 cm up/2 meters down) is.
> Because of changes in the international Radio Regulations that went
> into effect in the 1970s as AO-7 was under construction, the 432.1
> MHz uplink frequency is no longer authorized for space
> communications.
> 
> AMSAT advises potential users that when uplinking to a satellite,
> they are operating in the Amateur-Satellite Service. AMSAT says
> uplinking to AO-7 ''is possibly illegal since the Amateur Satellite
> Service is not permitted at 432.1 MHz.'' The current band plan
> earmarks the 432.1 MHz range for weak signal work. Section 97.207(c)
> of the FCC's rules authorizes space station operation only in the
> 435-438 MHz segment.
> 
> Built by a multinational team under the direction of AMSAT-NA, AO-7
> carries Mode A (145.850-950 MHz uplink; 29.400-500 MHz downlink) and
> Mode B (432.180-120 MHz uplink; 145.920-980 MHz downlink) linear
> transponders plus beacons on 29.500 and 145.700 MHz. A 2304.1 MHz
> beacon was never turned on because of international treaty
> constraints.
> 
> AMSAT has additional information on AO-7 on its Web site,
> http://www.amsat.org.