Category: Ham Satellite news

Enligt nedanstående är transpondern igång denna vecka:

On December 21, 2015 at 1038 UT, the EO-79 transponder was turned on for a
prolonged period.

The FUNcube transponder subsystem on QB50p1 (EO-79) had been provided by AMSAT-
UK and AMSAT-NL and is a similar subsystem as on FUNcube-1, but without the
telemetry downlink circuitry.

The current software running on EO-79 does experience occasional reboots. When
these reboots happen, the transponder is automatically turned off and will have
to be turned back on by a command station. The FUNcube team has selected a few
command stations to do so, but be advised the transponder may be off.

TLEs:
AMSAT keps name: EO-79
Celestrak keps Name: QB50P1
Celestrak file: cubesat.txt
NORAD #    40025
COSPAR designator    2014-033-R

Frequencies:
*Uplink:* 435.035-435.065 MHz LSB [See note below]
*Downlink:* 145.935-145.965 MHz USB

EO-79 has been set to only beacon the normal AX.25 beacon every 30 seconds
instead of 10 seconds. The beacon frequency is 145.815 MHz and consists of AX.25
frames on BPSK. More details about the downlink can be found on the ISIS Ham
Radio page at http://isispace.nl/HAM/qb50p.html

We kindly request you to share your experiences with the AMSAT Bulletin Board so
everyone can benefit from operating tips and tricks, as well as being up-to-date
on the status.

We would also welcome any observation related to the transponder behaviour when
the AX.25 beacon comes on.

Just like FUNcube-1, the crystal oscillator circuits exhibit drift with
temperature. This means manual tuning will probably work best.

Mike Seguin N1JEZ notes:  I found my downlink after setting my uplink +12 kHz
from published spec

SatPC32 tracking software Doppler SQF information used by Peter VK4NBL:
EO-79,145950,435063,USB,LSB,REV,0,0
EO-79,145814.8,435070,CW,TELEMETRY,0,0

Lastly, the commanding team will not be available over Christmas, so the current
activations are planned from today until Thursday 24th and from Monday 28th
until Thursday 31st

[ANS thanks Wouter, PA3WEG, and AMSAT-UK for the above information]

På årets WRC (World Radiocommunication Conference) har en agenda för nästa WRC (år 2019) föreslagit att satelliter som ej främst är för amatörradiobruk inte bör (ska?) använda amatörradiobandet. Info från ANS nedan:

The World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) held in Geneva during November
2015 has recommended an agenda for the next WRC, to be held in 2019, to the
Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). One of the agenda
items is of particular interest to the small-satellite community.

Agenda item 1.7 for WRC-19 reads: “to study the spectrum needs for telemetry,
tracking and command in the space operation service for non-GSO satellites with
short duration missions, to assess the suitability of existing allocations to
the space operation service and, if necessary, to consider new allocations, in
accordance with Resolution COM6/19 (WRC-15).”

Resolution COM6/19, which eventually will be given a new number, specifies the
frequency ranges that may be considered for possible new allocations. They are
150.05-174 MHz and 400.15-420 MHz.

One of the factors that the conference considered in deciding on these
particular frequency ranges was “that some non-amateur satellites have used
frequencies for telemetry, tracking and command in the frequency bands 144-146
MHz and 435-438 MHz which are allocated to the amateur-satellite service, and
that such use is not in accordance with Nos. 1.56 and 1.57.” Those two
provisions of the ITU Radio Regulations define the amateur and amateur-
satellite services respectively.

The International Amateur Radio Union welcomed the exclusion from
consideration of all existing frequency allocations to the amateur and amateur-
satellite services. IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, observed: “This is an
excellent result for the amateur services and clearly shows that non-amateur
satellite constructors need to consider spectrum other than the very limited
and congested segments that are available for amateur satellites at 144 MHz and
435 MHz.”

[ANS thanks IARU, ARRL, & AMSAT-UK for the above information]

Den här veckan kommer Storbritannien få upp en astronaut till rymdstationen. Det är redan utannonserat att det kommer att bli lite aktiviteter med skolkontakter.

Det är även planerat att man ska göra premär för videolänken som HAM TV på ISS innebär.

Tim Peake KG5BVI Principia Mission – Are you ready for launch ?

RSGB har producerat ett trevligt klipp om amatörradio och amatörsatelliter

AO-73 firar två år i rymden! Läs mer på AMSAT-UK hemsida.

Nu meddelar AMSAT-NA att AO-85 (Fox-1A) är överlämnad från uppstartsfasen till “driftstatus”. I samband med detta presenteras en hel del viktigt information (Källa: ANS 321):

AO-85 has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT
Operations, who are now responsible for the scheduling and modes.

The following guidelines are provided for users:

Uplink power should be on the order of minimum 200 W EIRP for full
quieting at lower antenna elevation angles. Your mileage may vary.
With an Arrow, 5 W has been used successfully to make contacts.

Polarity is important. The satellite antennas are linear. So, if you
are using linearly polarized antennas, you will need to adjust
throughout the pass. Full duplex operation facilitates these
adjustments while transmitting and is highly recommended.

The downlink is very strong and should be heard well with almost any
antenna.

Downlink audio is 5 kHz deviation, as expected. Many will perceive
that the audio is “low.” This is an effect of the filtering below 300
Hz, which provides for the DUV telemetry, coupled with any noise on
the uplink signal resulting from lack of full quieting or being off
frequency. That makes for less fidelity than a typical receiver in
terms of audio frequencies passed.

Transmit (downlink) frequency varies with temperature. Due to the
wide range of temperatures we are seeing in the eclipse cycle, the
transmitter can be anywhere from around 500 Hz low at 10°C to near 2
kHz low at 40°C.

Receive frequency has been generally agreed to be about 435.170 MHz,
although the AFC makes that hard to pin down and also helps with the
uplinks that are off frequency.

Probably the most notable observations about AO-85 are an apparent
lack of sensitivity and difficulty in turning on the repeater with
the 67 Hz CTCSS when it is not yet activated, or holding it on by the
presence of the CTCSS. We have determined a probable cause for the
sensitivity issue and while that can’t be fixed on AO-85 we are
taking steps to prevent similar issues on the rest of the Fox-1
CubeSats. The tone detection threshold along with the receive
sensitivity issue makes it hard to bring up the repeater. This is
being addressed by adjusting the values for a valid tone detection in
the other Fox-1 CubeSats now that we have on orbit information about
temperatures and power budget. Full details will be in the Nov/Dec
AMSAT Journal.

It is important to remember that science is the reason behind the
Fox-1 satellites. Not only does science help with the launch cost, it
provides a great amount of educational value both from the science
payload and in amateur radio itself. The data-under-voice (DUV)
telemetry is an excellent way to provide the science without
sacrificing the use of the satellite for communications, which would
be the case if higher speed downlinks were needed. DUV provides
constant science as long as the repeater is in use, which in turn
provides more downlink data for the science – a mutually beneficial
combination.

Fox-1A is AMSAT-NA’s first CubeSat. Many new techniques are
incorporated and lessons will be learned, as with any new “product.”
The Fox-1 Project is a series of CubeSats. A total of five will be
built and flown. Launches are scheduled for three more, and a new
NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative proposal will be submitted for the
fifth. We will incorporate changes from what we learn in each launch,
to the extent possible, in subsequent Fox-1 CubeSats.

Of the four NASA sponsored CubeSats on the ELaNa XII launch October
8, we are sad to report that ARC1 was never heard from and BisonSat
was lost after a few weeks of operation. AMSAT extends our deepest
sympathy to the people who worked so hard on these projects. To our
members, we want to say that the Fox Team is very proud and pleased
that our first CubeSat is very successful and hopefully will be for
some time.

[ANS thanks Jerry NoJY for the above information]