General

Scheduled to launch on Monday March 31st, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry the Fram2 mission to space. Comprised of four astronauts, the mission is designed to take a polar orbit around Earth for a 3-5 day period. During that time, astronaut and amateur radio operator Rabea Rogge (LB9NJ/KD3AID) will be transmitting SSTV images from the Dragon spacecraft between 435 and 438 MHz. (A simulation conducted from the International Space Station in February occurred on 437.550 MHz utilizing mode PD-120.)

Fram2Ham is an experimental radio competition open to high school and university ages. Rogge will send pictures of three geographical locations via an onboard ham radio, but here’s the twist: they’ll be cut into pieces and mixed up! Participants will receive only fragments of the locations and need to guess where on Earth they are and what their role in polar history was.

Visit the Fram2Ham website for more information or join the Discord server.

The Great Falls Masonic Amateur Radio Club (GFMARC), KK7MR, in Great Falls, Montana, received a grant from the ARRL Foundation to purchase five library book kits to give to local and rural libraries in Montana. The library book kits contain 11 books dealing with amateur radio and testing guides for all three license classes. Two kits were given to the Great Falls Public Library for their shelves and bookmobile. One kit was given to the Wedsworth Memorial Library, the Fairfield Public Library, and the Arden G. Hill Memorial Library within the Malmstrom Air Force Base.

All the libraries lacked information about amateur radio, and providing the books will allow patrons throughout Montana access to the information. With many libraries in Montana being rural, it is another way to reach more patrons, inspire a small community about becoming licensed to help with emergency communications within their community, or even help a farmer or rancher while out in their fields tending to crops or cattle touch base with their home station or contact emergency services. The ARRL library book kits will provide information and start them on their journey to becoming licensed amateur radio operators.

By GFMARC Public Relations & Media Chair Char Ross, KK7KBM.

AMSAT-EA has confirmed that the FM repeater aboard the HADES-R satellite has been successfully activated and is now available for amateur radio operators worldwide. The activation took place on February 19th, 2025, following a series of telemetry and command tests to ensure the satellite’s stability and performance. Early reports indicate that the repeater is functioning as expected, providing strong two-way FM voice communications. AMSAT-EA expressed its gratitude to the amateur radio community for submitting telemetry reports, which contributed to the successful commissioning of the satellite.

HADES-R was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on January 14th, 2025, as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission. Developed by AMSAT-EA, the satellite carries an FM and digital repeater payload designed to provide communication services to amateur radio enthusiasts worldwide. It was deployed from the D-Orbit ION-SCV-016 orbital transfer vehicle on January 22nd and has since been transmitting telemetry data while undergoing operational testing. With the repeater now active, operators can use the uplink frequency of 145.925 MHz and the downlink frequency of 436.885 MHz for communication, with additional support for digital modes such as APRS and FSK telemetry at various data rates.

At the request of AMSAT-EA, AMSAT has officially designated HADES-R as Spain-OSCAR 124 (SO-124) in recognition of its contributions to amateur satellite communications. This designation underscores the satellite’s role in expanding access to space-based communications for the amateur radio community. AMSAT congratulates AMSAT-EA on this achievement and looks forward to the continued success of this and future projects. Meanwhile, amateur radio operators eagerly anticipate the upcoming launch of HADES-ICM on the Transporter-13 mission in March 2025, which will further enhance satellite-based communication capabilities.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-EA and Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations / OSCAR Number Administrator for the above information]

The CQ World Wide WPX RTTY Contest begins at 0000 UTC on Saturday, February 8, and concludes at 2359 UTC on Sunday, February 9. The objective is for amateurs world-wide to contact as many stations and prefixes as possible. Single Operator stations may operate for 30 hours of the 48-hour contest period. Multi-operator stations may operate for the full 48 hours. Complete rules are available at www.cqwpxrtty.com/rules.htm.