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Winter 2005 Issue |
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SATELLITES
AMSAT
Annual Meeting & Space Symposium, By Keith Pugh, W5IU |
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For a satellite operator, October is one of the busiest months of the year. In 2004 the activity started on 6 October when I left for Arlington, Virginia to attend the AMSAT and ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) meetings. I returned home on 14 October and immediately left for Microwave Update 2004 on 15 and 16 October. On 23 October I “showcased” satellites at a new ARRL Mentorfest in Irving, Texas. On 29 and 30 October I conducted a satellite forum, performed satellite demos, and ran an AMSAT booth at the Texoma Hamarama at Lake Texoma, Oklahoma. Things then slacked off, with only a trip to Corpus Christi, Texas for another round of forums, demos, and booth activities at the Costal Bend Hamfest on 13 November.
This column will feature the AMSAT and ARISS
meetings and construction of a cheap Az-El Antenna Positioner. Numerous
inquiries have been answered regarding the Az-El Positioner since its
introduction at hamfest satellite demos during the AO-40 heyday. It was
pictured in my last column in the Fall 2004 issue of CQ VHF and again
received attention, so a long-delayed description is presented here. BoD Meeting: Activity at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Crystal City, Virginia started with the AMSAT board meeting on 7 and 8 October. The newly elected and returning board members were introduced by retiring President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH (photo 1). After a review of the agenda, the first order of business was election of officers for 2004–2005. After nomination by Robin Haighton, Rick Hambly, W2GPS, was elected to the office of president. From that point on, Rick presided over the meeting. Rick presented his nominations and his logic for revision of the slate of offices. After some discussion, the remaining offices were filled, and the new slate of officers is shown in photo 2, with the exceptions of Manager Martha Saragovitz and Vice President of Engineering Stan Wood, WA4NFY. Robin Haighton and Gunther Meisse, W8GSM, set the stage for the remainder of the meeting with president and treasurer reports for 2004 and a proposed budget for 2005. Meisse presented a North American Fund Raising Feasibility Study followed by the results of a membership survey conducted in 2004. These two items were then discussed by all and became part of the strategy for the future as outlined by Hambly. Click here to return to Winter 2005 highlights Click here to subscribe to VHF _________________ © Copyright 2004, CQ Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or republished, including posting to a website, in part or in whole, by any means, without the express written permission of the publisher, CQ Communications, Inc. Hyperlinks to this page are permitted.
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 Photo 1. The AMSAT Board of Directors (left to right): Gunther Meisse, W8GSM; Paul Shuch, N6TX; Lou McFadin, W5DID; Barry Baines, WD4ASW; Dr. Thomas A. Clark, W3IWI; Robin Haighton, VE3FRH; and Richard Hambly, W2GPS.
Photo 2. AMSAT officers (left to right): Secretary Steve Diggs, W4EPI; Treasurer Gunther Meisse, W8GSM; Executive Vice President Lee McLamb, KU4OS; Vice President Operations Mike Kingery, KE4AZN; President Richard Hambly, W2GPS; Vice President of Human Spaceflight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO; and Vice President of Marketing and User Services Barry Baines, WD4ASW.
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