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AMSAT SA
Registered as a non-profit company
Registration 2016/111111/08
Follow AMSAT SA on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/AmsatSA00/
AMSAT SA
P O Box 90438
Garsfontein 0042
South Africa
Tel: 012 991 4662
Email:
admin@amsatsa.org.za
Weekly satellite News
Amateur Radio Today is
Sundays 10:00 CAT
7082 kHz
Mondays 18:30 CAT
3230 kHz
Quick links
SA AMSAT EZINE
To request a trial copy send your email address here with trial copy in the subject line
AMSAT SA Space Symposium 2023
Make Space your techno past time
To register click here and complete the form
AMSAT SA has announced that the 2023 AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held on Saturday 23 September 2023
It will be a virtual event opening participation to people anywhere in the world.
The aim of the AMSAT SA Space symposium is to take amateur radio into space, encourage more amateur satellite operation, development, and research.
Programme
09:25 Opening announcements
09:30 Keynote presentation
SANSA Space weather centre for Africa.
Speaker: Jonathan Ward, Acting Managing Director SANSA Space Sciences
10:15 OSCAR 100 for beginners
Speaker: Hannes Coetzee ZS6BZP
11:00 Application of the AMSAT SA dual band yagi in amateur
radio
Speaker Brian Jacobs ZS6YZ
11:30 An innovative approach to
power AfriCUBE
Speaker Anton Janovsky ZR6AIC
12:30 Amateur Radio
satellite orbital predictions using Smart Phones for portable operations
Speaker: Hennie Rheeder ZS6ALN
13:15 Refreshment break
13:30 High-Definition video on OSCAR100
Speaker: Gary Immelman ZS6YI
14:15 AMSAT NA current programmes
Speaker Burn Fisher WB1FJ
15:00 Last word
AMSATSA Space Symposium 2022
Theme:
“Space, the
next frontier for expansion of amateur radio”
Videos and presentations
Satellites for beginners and restarters
Download PowerPoint presentation here
A networked OSCAR100 DATV Receiver
Presentation by Tom van den Bon ZR6TG
NEW
OSCAR100 – the easy way
Hannes Coetzee
ZS6BZP looks at how low cost, off-the-shelf DSTV components can
be used to monitor the QO-100 activity. Some proposals for a complete,
narrowband Oscar-100 station are also made.
More to follow
AfriCUBE UPDATE
AfriCUBE has been running on the test bench for the past six weeks and will in the next few week be tested on the air from Rooihuiskraal. Development of the control system software has reached an advanced stage and will be incorporated in the AfriCUBE on board computer to carry out practical evaluations. The control software will enable AfriCUBE to be programmed from the ground to place the satellite in a specific mode.
Previous conference presentations
Presentation by Dr Gary Immelman ZS6YI
AfriCUBE Challenging the limits
Presentation by Anton Janovsky ZR6AIC
AMSAT SA Dual band 70cm/yagi Mark II
AMSAT SA has launched Mark II of is dual band 70cm/2m handheld beam antenna with a new, easier to hold handle and improved coaxial terminations. The Yagi has been retuned for maximum performance in the amateur radio 2 m and 70 cm satellite bands.
The coax cable is terminated crimped brass lugs instead of being soldered making it environmental more robust. The driven element has been adjusted to accommodate the change in the connection.
More about the Yagi
The antenna has a 50-ohm designed driver. The Yagi has a unique element called a ‘Open Sleeve’ which is a director very close to the driven element. The driven element is sized for 2M. When operating on 70cm the ‘Open Sleeve’ acts as part of the driven element on 70cm (Third harmonic of 2M).
The original concept was developed in 1946 by Dr J T Bolljahn of the Stanford Research institute but was not introduced into amateur radio until the 1950s. The AMSAT SA version is based on a design by DK7ZB with modifications by WB5CXC.
The first South African version was a collaboration between Guy Eales ZS6GUY and Dr Gary Immelman ZS6YI. It was developed for YOTA 2018 where young people successfully used the antenna operating satellites using hand-held transceivers.
The mechanical structure was redesigned by Dr Gary Immelmann ZS6YI. A choke around the boom was added to isolate the antenna from the coax and reduce the effect human contact has on the antenna. A handle was added on the boom end which makes it more comfortable to hold and further isolates the antenna from the handler. The AMSAT SA yagi is manufactured in one of Dr Immelmann’s factories in Vereeniging. It has two elements on 145 MHz and 3 elements on 435 MHz.
For its size the antenna has excellent gain:
145 MHZ: 4.12 dBd or 6.3 dBi
435 MHz: 6.23 dBd or 8.4 dBi
The Yagi is broadband with measured SWR as follows and almost flat over the entire bands
The antenna is plug and play. No tools are needed except for soldering on a connector to suit the application. It comes complete in a carry bag with full instructions. This antenna can be assembled and dissembled in minutes.
The price of the MKII Yagi is R400 for AMSAT SA and SARL members. Non-members pay R500. The courier charge is R150 (Postnet to Postnet) Ask for a quote for other courier options.
SARL NEXT GENERATION BEACON CROWD FUNDING
Current Fund R30 400
visit the SARL beacon page here Beacon
The SARL has provided funding for the first beacon.
However, the project will have to rely on crowd funding to accelerate
the project. AMSAT SA has launched a crowd funding project on behalf of
the SARL VHF work group.
Contributions can be made by clicking on the pay button for R50,
R250 or R1000. Your contribution is appreciated and will be
acknowledged.
R50
R250
R1000.00
Thank You. You an make it happen!
Trailblazer in Space Science leaves a remarkable legacy
Dr
Lee-Anne McKinnell, Managing Director of the South African National
Space Agency’s Space Science Programme passed away on Saturday 19 August
2023 after a short illness.
Lee-Anne was born in Vereeniging in 1970 and grew up in Witpoortjie, close to Krugersdorp. She was the first female learner to complete a technical matric at the John Orr Engineering School of Specialisation. Her father, an Electrical Engineer wanted her to follow in his footsteps, however, she developed a passion for physics. True to her nature, she decided to satisfy both and enrolled in a BSC Physics and Electronics course.
After obtaining her degree, Lee-Anne pursued her Honours, Masters and PhD in Physics through Rhodes University. She later obtained an MBA from the Business School Netherlands (BSN) in 2015, with distinction.
She was accepted as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Graz University of Technology in Austria and fondly remembered the time she spent there.
Lee-Anne was appointed as a junior lecturer at Rhodes, but not for long, as she rose through the academic ranks and was appointed Honorary Research Professor at Rhodes University in 2011. She was well known for managing the Ionosonde Network in South Africa.
Lee-Anne was appointed to the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) in 2004 as a researcher and was then appointed as the Acting Managing Director in 2010, after which she moved to Hermanus part-time. Her husband, John McKinnell, joined her in Hermanus in 2012 when the HMO was incorporated in the newly established South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and they relocated permanently.
Lee-Anne played a crucial role in the establishment of the Space Agency, as a board member and an executive and many of the students she supervised are now full-time researchers at SANSA and around the world.
She served as SANSA Space Science Managing Director for 12 years and during this time made a tremendous contribution to the space science, skills development, and science engagement fields.
The Space Weather Project was her crowning achievement which produced a Space Weather Capability for the country in three years, on time, and on budget. The launch of the 24/7 Space Weather Centre in November of last year was a highlight for her and the SANSA team. Lee-Anne was a space weather advocate and custodian of the unique SANSA Hermanus facility which she loved and is now a National Key Point, thanks to her continued efforts to protect the site.
Dr McKinnell served on numerous international committees and working groups, including as the Space Weather co-chair for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), ensuring Africa’s interests are maintained in the field of space science and related technology. She also received a long list of awards for her contribution to the Space Science field.
Lee-Anne loved animals, especially dogs. She owned several dogs during her life, including a border collie named Skye and a dachshund named Pixie. She loved listening to music and took up baking as her lock-down hobby. She was also a skilled seamstress, a hobby she learned from her grandmother and practiced often.
Her husband, John McKinnell, expressed his gratitude for all the messages that have been pouring in since the announcement. “I received several messages from prominent scientists who told me they owe their current positions to Lee-Anne. SANSA was Lee-Anne’s life. She gave so much to the organisation, but also received so much in return, particularly from the wonderful Hermanus Space Science team. She will be sorely missed by me and sorely missed by them.