April 18 is a strong operating day with 14 passes during the 9 AM–3 PM window — 9 FM and 5 linear transponder opportunities. The morning opens with AO-7 (Mode B) and SO-50 simultaneously from 9:01–9:18 AM, then AO-123 soars near-overhead at 76° from the WNW at 9:26 AM. The midday is the highlight: ISS reaches 88° — almost directly overhead at 12:04 PM, overlapping with RS-44 rising at 49° from the east (prime cross-Atlantic DX geometry). A second RS-44 pass follows at 1:54 PM, and AO-73 closes the session with a short cross-Atlantic window at 2:47 PM. Assign two operators for the 12:00 PM RS-44 / ISS overlap.

Pass Schedule — April 18 (9 AM–3 PM ET)

Quick Reference

RS-44 continues to offer excellent geometry this week with low-to-moderate eastern passes where the satellite footprint covers both New Jersey and Europe simultaneously. Cross-Atlantic contacts favor passes below ~50° from the ENE/E/SE. All times ET, 8 AM–10 PM window only.

RS-44 is an inverting V/u transponder — transmit LSB on 145.935–145.995 MHz, receive USB on 435.610–435.670 MHz. Full duplex (IC-9700) recommended. CW beacon on 435.605 MHz. Coordinate cross-Atlantic skeds via AMSAT Discord or DX cluster in advance for the best results.

AMSAT’s Students On The Air (StOTA) Days are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. The initiative encourages licensed student operators to get active on the amateur satellites — student-to-student contacts are the goal, but all satellite operators are encouraged to get on and make students feel welcome.

Upcoming StOTA Tuesdays

For each StOTA session, check pass predictions for Woodruff Middle School (Upper Deerfield, NJ) on N2YO or SatNOGS. The Yaesu FT-991A on site handles FM satellites well. JO-97, AO-123, SO-50, and the ISS FM repeater are all solid targets.

The club’s ground station at the Mullica Hill clubhouse is a contributing node on SatNOGS — the global network of amateur radio satellite ground stations. Our station is listed as Station #223 (W2MMD), one of the most capable receiving sites in the Northeast.

Ten-Koh 2 (NORAD #68261, Nihon University 6U CubeSat with V/U linear transponder) continues to show weak-to-absent signals. Only a faint CW signal on 435.860 MHz has been detected. The Okuyama Lab continues to request SatNOGS reception reports. Schedule an observation on Ten-Koh 2 and upload the waterfall — even a null result is useful data.

👉 Our station observations: network.satnogs.org/stations/223

Hamvention 2026 — AMSAT Full Lineup (May 15–17, Xenia OH)

Jon is already booked for Hamvention — here’s the full AMSAT schedule to put on the calendar:

• TAPR/AMSAT Banquet — Friday May 15, 6:30 PM, Kohler Presidential Banquet Center, Kettering OH. Tickets $75, purchase deadline May 11 at 5 PM EDT. amsat.org store. No door sales.
• AMSAT Forum — Saturday May 16, 1:50–3:10 PM EDT, Forum Room 2.
• Informal Dinner — Thursday May 14, 6–8 PM, Tickets Pub & Eatery, Fairborn OH. No reservations needed.
• AMSAT Booth — Building 1, booths 1007–1010 and 1107–1110.

44th AMSAT Space Symposium — October 8–11, 2026 · Jacksonville, FL

Save the dates: October 8–11, 2026 at the Crowne Plaza JAX Airport, Jacksonville, Florida. Rooms at $109/night. Board meeting Thursday, Symposium presentations Friday–Saturday, Annual Membership Meeting Saturday afternoon, Breakfast Sunday. Watch AMSAT News Service for registration details.

ARISS School Contact Applications Due May 22

ARISS is seeking education institutions to host ISS crew amateur radio contacts between January 1 – June 30, 2027. Proposals due by May 22, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT. Informational webinar: April 30 at 8 PM ET. See ariss.org — Woodruff Middle School would be an ideal candidate.

AMSAT Tracking Artemis 2 Lunar Mission

A consortium of ARISS and AMSAT volunteers is participating in NASA’s passive tracking network for the Artemis 2 lunar flyby mission. Using a multinational ground station network including SatNOGS stations, the team will independently track Orion via its S-band communications — the same approach that worked for Artemis 1.

CubeSatSim Lite — $150 from AMSAT Store

The AMSAT CubeSatSim Lite ($150, U.S. shipping included) is a fully assembled satellite simulator: Raspberry Pi Zero 2W, SMA antennas, USB sound card, Pi Camera. Transmits simulated telemetry in 7 modes including FUNcube and crossband repeater simulation on 434.900 MHz. An excellent hands-on classroom demo for the STEM club — students can track “their own satellite.” amsat.org/product/cubesatsim-lite-complete/

New FCC Application Fees — Amateur Upgrades Exempt

The FCC’s new application fee structure will not apply to amateur license upgrades. Club members planning to upgrade from Technician or General are in the clear — no additional FCC fees for the upgrade itself.

AMSAT TLE Distribution Update (April 3)

AMSAT updated its TLE distribution effective April 3, 2026. If your tracking software pulls TLEs directly from AMSAT servers, verify your source URLs are current. Space-Track.org and Celestrak remain reliable alternative sources.