ARLS013 Useful life of UO-22 satellite appears over
According to AMSAT-UK, the UO-22 satellite is not in good shape and its useful life may be over. The
Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) Ground Station control center has tried several times in recent
weeks to reactivate the satellite, AMSAT-UK reports. The satellite did come back to life briefly following
one attempt, but other tries have failed completely. The SSTL ground control station may make further
attempts to reactivate UO-22, "but it seems unlikely that they will be completely successful." The cause of
the satellite's failure is not known for certain, but SSTL believes it may be related either to the spacecraft's
batteries or to the fact that the satellite is very hot due to orbital precession, which has generally put the
spacecraft in full sunlight. The elevated temperature has been causing problems with the receivers as well
as with the batteries. Launched on July 17, 1991, UO-22 has served for many years as the 9600 baud
store-and-forward satellite for the Amateur Radio packet radio worldwide SatGate service, which linked
packet radio networks in many countries. AMSAT-NA reports UO-22 as "non-operational." For further
information on UO-22 contact Jim Heck, G3WGM, via email at, g3wgm@amsat.org.
- W1AW Bulletin via the ARRL. [via eHam.net]
UK amateurs to get additional 100 kHz on 40 meters October 31
Effective at 0100 UTC October 31, the 40 meter band in the British Isles will effectively double in size when
radio amateurs there gain access to 7100 to 7200 kHz. Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulatory
authority, announced the Notice of Variation October 26. The change is a result of actions taken during
World Radiocommunication Conference 2003, where conferees agreed to move broadcasters out of 7100
to 7200 kHz in Regions 1 and 3 to make room for the Amateur Service. Coincidentally, the Great Britain
band expansion--in the works since last year--will occur just about halfway through the CW World Wide
Contest (SSB) this weekend. Contesters take note! The Ofcom NOV makes the segment available on a
secondary basis, and amateur stations in Great Britain may not cause interference to stations operating in
other radio services inside or outside the UK. Great Britain appears to be the second Region 1 country to
authorize access to the additional spectrum, although the WRC-03 change does not formally go into effect
until 2009. Last December, Croatia announced it would permit its amateur licensees to operate between
7100 and 7200 kHz on a secondary basis with a maximum power of 1 kW PEP.
--thanks to Lawrence Woolf, GJ3RAX; RSGB [ARRL Web Extra]
40 Meter Allocation Extended in EI:
The Irish Radio Transmitters Society is pleased to announce that the 7.100 to 7.200 MHz segment of
40 meters has been released to EI Experimenters ( i.e. “hams”) with immediate effect. Operation in this
segment will be on a secondary basis and is subject to a power limit of 20dBW (ERP). Taken from IRTS
news Sunday October 31st 2004. [EI8JE on eham.net]
Two New 5MHz Beacons Soon
The RSGB is close to installing and operating two new beacons on 5290kHz. The new beacons, which
some have monitored during their hardware test phase, will be installed shortly and operate under the
callsigns GB3WES and GB3ORK. GB3WES will be located in Cumbria and GB3ORK in the Orkney
Islands. Both will have a stepped transmit power sequence and a 30-second sounder sequence of 0.5ms
pulses at 40Hz prf identical to that of the current GB3RAL beacon. Their transmit times will follow GB3RAL
by one and two minutes respectively. With GB3RAL located in Oxfordshire, the three beacons will provide
an excellent spread of signal source across Great Britain and thus offer experimenters a unique opportunity
to study propagation effects at 5MHz from their own QTH. [GB2RS]
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