Author Archives: m0tfo

Jun 7 2013

SO-50 on Baofeng UV5R

David Mercado KK4MND has produced a video showing how easy it is to receive the amateur radio satellite SO-50.

This video demonstrates how to communicate via Amateur Ham Radio Satellite using an inexpensive £30 Baofeng UV5R Dual Band Radio and MFJ dual band antenna from Amazon. Among the stations heard are Hector Martinez CO6CBF, Dave Beumer W0DHB and James Bayne KI4SIY.


SO50 frequencies
Uplink – 145.850 MHz with 67 HZ CTCSS
(initial 74.4 Hz CTCSS tone required if satellite has not already been activated)
Downlink – 436.800 MHz

SO-50 article by Howard Long G6LVB
http://www.g6lvb.com/Articles/operatingSO50.htm

SO-50
https://amsat-uk.org/2012/01/30/working-the-fm-sat-so-50/

Credit Southgate ARC

May 25 2013

Raw 9K6 ESTCube-1 Data from Surrey Space Centre Groundstation

ESTCUBE 1

ESTCUBE 1

Chris Bridges ‏@DrChrisBridges tweets the following Raw 9K6 ESTCube-1 Data.
http://www.surrey.ac.uk/ssc/

ESTCube-1 is the first Estonian satellite. Developed as part of the Estonian Student Satellite Program, it was launched on 7 May 2013 aboard a Vega carrier rocket.[1] Student Satellite is an educational project in which university and high school students can participate.[2][3] The CubeSat standard for nanosatellites was followed during the engineering of ESTCube-1, resulting in a 10x10x11.35 cm cube, with a volume of 1 liter and a mass of 1.048 kg.

SURREY SPACE CENTRE
ESTCUBE 1
24.05.2013, 23:35:20 – 23:49:02
ORBIT: 258
ELEVATION: 41 DEGREES

0000000: c000 8aa6 6a8a 8640 628a a66a 8a40 4077 ….j..@b..j.@@w
0000010: 03f0 0006 007a 0203 0076 e900 8200 f70c …..z…v……
0000020: 720a ed01 0d00 d20f dbdd 011e 0013 0000 r……………
0000030: 0003 00a0 0001 001d 00e7 0000 0005 0062 ……………b
0000040: 00e7 0000 0008 0061 001c 0012 0049 0062 …….a…..I.b
0000050: 0006 005b 0a81 025d 0a7c 030d 0004 0060 …[…].|…..`
0000060: 0ae4 0066 0a8f 02b8 0fd7 0334 071b 0000 …f…….4….
0000070: 0000 0001 0000 0000 0000 001c 003a 003a ………….:.:
0000080: 0015 0289 0135 00cf 0f6e 0021 0f20 1805 …..5…n.!. ..

SURREY SPACE CENTRE
ESTCUBE 1
25.05.2013, 13:00:34 – 13:14:06
ORBIT: 266
ELEVATION: 39 DEGREES

0000090: 0dc0 c000 8aa6 6a8a 8640 628a a66a 8a40 ……j..@b..j.@
00000a0: 4077 03f0 0506 00d5 0242 51d1 000e 7605 @w…….BQ…v.
00000b0: 00c8 0000 003e 0056 004c 0083 006b 00e1 …..>.V.L…k..
00000c0: 00bd 0061 0150 01bb 017d 01bf 0181 01c1 …a.P…}……
00000d0: 017b 01c5 0162 01b9 015b 01aa 0156 019b .{…b…[…V..
00000e0: 0147 0187 012b 0177 012e 017a 012a 0168 .G…+.w…z.*.h
00000f0: 0125 0174 0134 017c 0141 0177 012b 0186 .%.t.4.|.A.w.+..
0000100: 014a 0190 0167 019d 0171 01a9 019b 019e .J…g…q……
0000110: 016c 01d1 017b 0191 0135 0189 0144 01b5 .l…{…5…D..
0000120: 01ab 0131 0254 02b3 014e 0180 012c 016b …1.T…N…,.k
0000130: 011a 015c 0104 015c 010a 0152 0109 015b …\…\…R…[
0000140: 0102 0146 0101 0155 010e 0162 0138 0175 …F…U…b.8.u
0000150: 014c 0189 01bd 0159 0267 02f0 018a 0139 .L…..Y.g…..9
0000160: 027b 02ea 026a 03fa 02fd 02fc 024a 03ea .{…j…….J..
0000170: 02d5 025b 03eb 03e2 03ff 03b6 03c0 c000 …[…………
0000180: 8aa6 6a8a 8640 628a a66a 8a40 4077 03f0 ..j..@b..j.@@w..
0000190: 0506 006f 0242 516b 009e a306 0062 0000 …o.BQk…..b..
00001a0: 00ff 01cc 0194 01a5 0187 01c1 01d6 010a …………….
00001b0: 02d4 013e 02d9 0254 021d 0202 0289 017b …>…T…….{
00001c0: 01ad 01d0 0173 017d 0174 0198 01bb 01a8 …..s.}.t……
00001d0: 014b 01d9 0114 021e 02f9 0122 0214 02b6 .K………”….
00001e0: 015b 01d1 01f9 010b 0200 020f 02f0 01d8 .[…………..
00001f0: 0191 0169 0136 015e 013e 0197 01b4 0169 …i.6.^.>…..i
0000200: 0262 03c0 c000 8aa6 6a8a 8640 628a a66a .b……j..@b..j
0000210: 8a40 4077 03f0 0506 006f 0242 516b 009e .@@w…..o.BQk..
0000220: ad06 0062 0000 00c2 01ff 01cb 01c3 018e …b…………
0000230: 01fc 0112 023e 021a 028f 02dc 0229 02e8 …..>…….)..
0000240: 01de 0187 019a 01db dc01 d701 a501 7a01 …………..z.
0000250: 7c01 8e01 7e01 7601 7801 b801 ad01 3a02 |…~.v.x…..:.
0000260: 5102 e701 7e01 6d01 4401 9b01 bd01 f601 Q…~.m.D…….
0000270: f601 ba01 9601 a101 8401 7801 3b01 6e01 ……….x.;.n.
0000280: 6d01 dc01 2302 1a03 d803 c0c0 008a a66a m…#……….j
0000290: 8a86 4062 8aa6 6a8a 4040 7703 f005 0600 ..@b..j.@@w…..
00002a0: 6f02 4251 6b00 9eb7 0600 6200 0000 a101 o.BQk…..b…..
00002b0: ec01 b801 ae01 f701 4402 f101 4402 8102 ……..D…D…
00002c0: ba02 e102 5202 2b02 de01 9101 9f01 8901 ….R.+………
00002d0: b501 9f01 8201 5501 6a01 3f01 7601 1f02 ……U.j.?.v…
00002e0: 1602 0602 3302 e401 a101 4301 7301 8001 ….3…..C.s…
00002f0: d101 9d01 ad01 b501 ab01 9401 9a01 8401 …………….
0000300: 6c01 3301 6f01 5c01 ea01 7102 1003 9d03 l.3.o.\…q…..

May 11 2013

Updated AMSAT LVB Tracker to be shown at Dayton

AMSAT has sold the popular G6LVB Tracker (as seen in photo)for several years.This year, we will have a new version which replaces the amber LCD display with an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display.

Amsat LVB Tracker

Amsat LVB Tracker

The new display offers a high visibility contrast with a wide angle of view. It will be available in blue, green and amber.

LVB Trackers will be available with the recommended serial (RS-232) I/O. The recommended minimum donation will remain $200. An FTDI USB/Serial module is available as an option for an additional $25.             A picture showing the old and new displays may be found on amsat.org.

Current LVB Tracker owners may update their own units. The OLED displays used are manufactured by Newhaven, NHD-0216KZW series, and are available from Mouser and other online parts suppliers. The OLED displays have less depth so the PEM fasteners need to be shortened for correct fit and viewing thru the front of the case. The LVB Tracker firmware will also require updating. Current owners may send their LVB Tracker to WB8CXO for retrofit if they don’t wish to do the modifications themselves.

Upgrading existing trackers will be $50 + shipping. Contact WB8CXO@AMSAT.ORG for details.

AMSAT would like to acknowledge the many contributors to this effort. Mike Young, WB8CXO who has supported the Tracker and whose initiative was essential to this development. John Drago, W8FAA modified the LVB Tracker firmware to support the OLED display. Ken Baker from Ridge Machine manufactured the PEM fastener cutting jig. Steve Belter, N9IP, Mark Hammond, N8MH and John Papay, K8YSE did beta testing. And finally Gould Smith, WA4SXM, LVB Tracker project manager for his continuous guidance and support.

May 4 2013

SdrDx adds Supports FUNcube Pro+

The New versin of SdrDx 2.12p adds support for the Andrus, FunCube Pro Plus and AFEDRI SDRs; It also provides various features and fixes. See the link to the changes document, below.
8165852338_cab45acfce_o

Downloads: http://fyngyrz.com/?p=915
Documentation: http://fyngyrz.com/sdrdxdoc/sitemap.html
Changes: http://fyngyrz.com/sdrdxdoc/changes212.html

May 4 2013

How to pack a big solar sail in a tiny cubesat

Nicolas Lee A still photo from an experiment video shows a tiny cubesat satellite prototype after deploying a folded sail in weightlessness aboard NASA's "vomit comet" research plane.

Nicolas Lee
A still photo from an experiment video shows a tiny cubesat satellite prototype after deploying a folded sail in weightlessness aboard NASA’s “vomit comet” research plane.

By Tia Ghose
Space.com

A simple paper-folding technique could help tiny satellites unfurl big sails in space to detect micrometeoroid impacts, scientists say.

The folding strategy, described Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A Mathematical and Physical Sciences, could be used to pack relatively large sails into miniature satellites known as cubesats. When the sails pop out, they could provide a bigger area to catch meteoroid impacts.

“It’s like putting a bigger windshield on your car to catch more bugs,” said study co-author Nicolas Lee, an aerospace engineer at the California Institute of Technology.

 

Apr 1 2013

The world’s first mobile phone 1U cubesat satellite.

8000x-1 will be the first cubesat to fully implement mobilephone technology within a 1U (10×10×10 cm) cubesat.
Due for launch later this month, 8000x-1 will be fully controlled by the mobile phones OBC, “Loof Prial” the project sponsores aim to release an “off-the-shelf” kit starting around £300 ($456) in June 2013.

cubesatkit_1u-revd-skeleton

Miss Teresa Green, project manager gave AMSAT-UK unprecedented access to  “Loof Prial” workshop located in Kent, England, we must say how impressed we were with the facilities.

Jimmy Riddle (Senior Engineer) explained how the system will work ” 8000x-1 is designed around the Dyna TAC Motorola Mobile phone (pictured below) , The 8000x-1 OBC is the heart of the project, many months of design have gone into fitting the phone within a very small space,  design teams have managed to cut the phone in half and make it fit within a 10x10x10 cm cube”

A full list of science projects will be released in the next few days,but looking at the literature, 8000x-1 boasts some impressive activities.

If you would like more information on the 8000x-1 please visit http://tinyurl.com/2ht3po

Have a nice day! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @amsat_uk  and until next year best 73..

.8000x-1

 
8000x-1