Foundation for Amateur Radio announces scholarships
The Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) plans to administer 54 scholarships for the 2006-2007 academic
year to assist Amateur Radio licensees attending institutions of higher education full-time. A non-profit
organization headquartered in Washington, DC, FAR is composed of more than 75 area Amateur Radio
clubs. FAR fully funds three of these scholarships, 10 are funded with income from grants and FAR
administers the remaining 41 without cost to the donors. Radio amateurs may compete for these awards
if they plan to pursue a full-time course of studies beyond high school and are enrolled in or have been
accepted for enrollment at an accredited university, college or technical school. The awards range from
$500 to $2500 with preference given in some cases to residents of specified geographical areas or to
those who are pursuing certain courses of study. Clubs, especially those in Delaware, Florida, Maryland,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin, are encouraged to announce these opportunities.
For additional information and an application form, send a letter or QSL card postmarked prior to
April 30, 2006, to: FAR Scholarships, PO Box 831, Riverdale, MD 20738. FAR is an exempt organization
under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. It is devoted exclusively to promoting the
interests of Amateur Radio and those scientific, literary and educational pursuits that advance the
purposes of the Amateur Radio Service.
ARRL Foundation approves more new scholarships
The ARRL Foundation has announced the addition of two new scholarships for the 2006-2007 academic
year, thanks to a generous endowment from the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. The ARRL
Foundation Board recently approved addition of the $1000 scholarships to the 43 awards it now offers.
"The recent success of the Dayton Hamvention prompted DARA to revitalize its scholarship program,"
commented ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH. "These scholarships represent
DARA's commitment to plow some of that success back into Amateur Radio and offer a brighter future to
talented Amateur Radio operators." To be eligible, an applicant must be an Amateur Radio licensee
attending or accepted at an accredited two or four-year college or university. Information on all ARRL
Foundation-administered scholarships is available on the ARRL Foundation Web site. The application
period for ARRL Foundation scholarships closes February 1, 2006.
SSETI Express is now OSCAR 53
AMSAT-NA has designated the now-problematic SSETI Express satellite as OSCAR 53--XO-53 for short.
Launched October 27, the satellite, which carries an Amateur Radio package and deployed three ham radio
cubesats, went silent after about five orbits. Based on telemetry received during its short period of operation,
SSETI Express Project Manager Neil Melville has cited an apparent onboard power system anomaly. The
spacecraft went into a "safe mode" due to an undervoltage caused by battery charging problems, Melville
has said, adding that ground-based hardware tests confirm the possibility of a further failure mode of the
specific component that would allow the batteries to charge and the spacecraft to resume operation. In
thanking AMSAT's Bill Tynan, W3XO, and the AMSAT Board for notifying the project of the designation,
Melville remained upbeat. "As you are no doubt aware XO-53, to use its new designation, has some
significant problems right now," he said. "However, we remain vigilant and hopeful, perhaps it can be
recovered." Graham Shirville, G3VZV, says analysis of the actual cause of SSETI Express's problems
continues, and a full review will take place later this month. Shirville says a number of automated ground
stations have been set up in Europe to listen for SSETI Express on 437.250 MHz. He also invites valid
reception reports via e-mail from the Amateur Radio community, "and if you do hear it first we can promise
you a bigger prize than just a special T-shirt!" he added. "We believe that there is a small but finite chance
of recovery, so your efforts could be very worthwhile."
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