SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS001
ARLS001 Ham radio power supply aboard Mir fails

ZCZC AS09
QST de W1AW
Space Bulletin 001  ARLS001
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington, CT  January 19, 1996
To all radio amateurs

SB SPACE ARL ARLS001
ARLS001 Ham radio power supply aboard Mir fails

German cosmonaut Thomas Reiter, DF4TR/DP0MIR, aboard the Mir orbital
complex, reports that a power supply used for some of the
spacecraft's ham radio equipment failed on New Year's Eve.  The
remaining, older power supply is only capable of powering the old
Icom 2-meter transceiver and one 1200-baud TNC.  The digital voice
module also has failed, so there will be no more automatic voice
recordings in the near future.

Reiter reports all four fuses in the two connected transceivers have
blown and only two spare fuses remain.  Last month, Reiter used the
digital voice recorder, built by Thomas Kieselbach, DL2MDE, to
broadcast holiday messages.  The primary transmitting frequency is
145.800 MHz.

Recently, the cosmonauts on Mir unpacked new Amateur Radio equipment
delivered by rocket, including a 70-cm FM transceiver and 9600-baud
packet gear.

Reiter was philosophical.  ''Well, at least we can be reached and
still can talk with the world,'' he said in a message to Dave Larsen,
N6JLH.
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/EX