Author Archives: m0xtd

Dec 15 2011

PW-Sat to launch in January

PW-Sat, a 1U CubeSat to be launched on the first VEGA flight in January, will carry a 435 to 145 MHz Amateur Radio transponder.

The single channel transponder will operate in a similar way to the amateur satellite AO-16. The uplink on 435.020 MHz will be FM and the downlink on 145.900 MHz will use the BPSK telemetry beacon transmitter to produce Double Sideband (DSB) that can be received on an SSB radio.

PW-Sat should be launched into a 1450 by 300 km 71 degree orbit and may be expected to have a lifetime of about 4 years before re-entry. It was built by students of Warsaw University of Technology in cooperation with the Space Research Centre and will be Poland’s first satellite.

PW-Sat has five modes of operation:
1. Receive only mode – no downlink
2. Beacon CW mode – Downlink On-Off Keying (OOK) CW (1kHz) 12 WPM on 145.900 MHz
3. Beacon BPSK mode – Downlink BPSK (3 kHz) 1200 bps AX25 (1 frame on 20 sec) on 145.900 MHz
4. Control communication mode. Downlink BPSK (3 kHz) 1200 bps AX25 on 145.900 MHz
5. Voice Repeater mode (aka “AO-16” mode) – Uplink 435.020 MHz FM (15 kHz) Downlink 145.900 DSB (3 kHz)

For more information on PW-Sat in Google English see  http://tinyurl.com/CubeSatPW-Sat 

Vega to Launch Amateur Radio Satellites

IARU Amateur satellite frequency co-ordination panel pages hosted by AMSAT-UK http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/

AO-16 FM-DSB transponder http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2008/ao16_reconfigured.htm

OSCAR News is published quarterly by AMSAT-UK and posted to members.
To get your copy join AMSAT-UK online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/
Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf

Dec 13 2011

Norwegian Student's CubeSTAR in the press

CubeSTAR

CubeSTAR

The CubeSTAR amateur radio satellite being built by students at the University of Oslo features on page 2 of the December 14 issue of Electronics Weekly.

CubeSTAR is a project which aims to improve and support future space weather monitoring. Its scientific purpose is to monitor space weather in the Polar Regions where it will measure ion density and turbulence using the multiple-Neddle Langmuir Probes system developed at the University in Oslo.

These probes are based on a new concept that will increase the spatial resolution down to a few meters. After deployment in space the probes will unfold and record data that will be transmitted to a ground station. CubeSTAR is a 2U cubesat and will use AX.25 packet radio on 437.465 MHz.

Read page 2 of Electronics Weekly at http://cde.cerosmedia.com/1C4ee6257db71e1467.cde

CubeSTAR http://cubestar.no/

University of Oslo – CubeSTAR http://www.mn.uio.no/fysikk/english/research/projects/cubestar/

CubeSTAR on IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination pages provided by AMSAT-UK
http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=191

AMSAT-UK publishes a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, which is full of Amateur Satellite information.
Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf
Join online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK

Dec 13 2011

Delfi-N3XT Amateur Radio Satellite

The Dutch team that produced Delfi-C3 (DO-64) are planning to launch a new amateur radio satellite, the Delfi-N3XT in September 2012.

Continue reading →

Dec 13 2011

Nanosat Mission Idea Contest

Nanosat Misssion Idea Contest

Dec 12 2011

50th Anniversary of OSCAR 1

Lance Ginner K6GSJ with OSCAR 1

Lance Ginner K6GSJ with OSCAR 1

The first amateur radio satellite OSCAR 1 was launched 50 years ago on December 12, 1961.

OSCAR 1 was battery powered and signals lasted for about two weeks. It re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on January 31, 1962.

The AMSAT News Service is re-running the Project OSCAR Newsletters to commemorate the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1.

The Newsletters were hand-typed back in 1961. Thanks to Don Ferguson, KD6IRE for scanning the original documents announcing OSCAR 1.

This is from the newsletter produced on that historic day and reproduces the historic telegram sent by the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) with the news that OSCAR 1 had been received in the United Kingdom.

O S C A R N E W S L E T T E R

December 12, 1961

OSCAR SATELLITE IN ORBIT

At 2041 GMT, 12 December 1961 the Oscar satellite was hurled into orbit by the Discoverer XXXVI launching vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The satellite immediately went into a North-South orbit and was picked up loud and clear by the hams at KC4USB (Marie Byrd Base) at the South Pole a few minutes after launch. The word was quickly relayed back to the Oscar Tracking Station, K6QEZ, by W4ABY. Acquisition was also obtained by hams at Kodiak, Alaska and by KH6UK in Hawaii on the first pass.

Oscar is on a frequency between 144.990 and 145.008 and has tremendous c.w. signal strength on a direct, overhead pass! Tracking reports have begun to flow into the Center. W1AW heard the first pass S9 over the East coast.

The following telegram was received by the Center from the RSGB:
OSCAR HEARD 0055 GMT X KEYING OK X STRENGTH NINE PLUS X DOPPLER SEVEN KC X FURTHER DATA AIR HAIL X.

Orbit is being computed, but insufficient time has elapsed to permit predictions to be made of time Oscar will pass over your area. Listen to W1AW and the Voice of America for orbital predictions. Continuous 24-hour a day monitoring is essential until predictions are established. In fact, this monitoring is urged to check for unpredicted reception at times when the Oscar satellite is theoretically out of range! Our thanks to the Air Force and men of Vandenburgh AFB who helped to make this historic milestone possible!

Actual launch was attended by W6SAI, K6LFH, W6MLZ and W0TSN. Full Oscar story in February QST and CQ and more details in our next news letter!

AMSAT News Service (ANS)

Listen to an original audio recording of OSCAR 1 here

Interview with OSCAR Pioneer Lance Ginner K6GSJ

Project OSCAR History

The February 1962 edition of QST carried several articles on OSCAR 1. Our thanks to ARRL for permission to post them here.

OSCAR 1 Launch on front cover of QST Feb 1962
The OSCAR Satellite
Communications for Project Oscar
Sixty Years of Radio Amateur Communication – Marconi to the OSCAR Satellite

AMSAT-UK publishes a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, which is full of Amateur Satellite information. Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf Join online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK

Dec 11 2011

FrequencyCast ARISSat-1 Video

The UK Tech Podcast, FrequencyCast, has released a short video showing reception in Essex of FM voice and an SSTV image from the amateur radio satellite ARISSat-1.

The 145.950 MHz FM signal was recorded at 1055 UT on November 14, 2011 and was uploaded to support the feature at http://www.essexham.co.uk/arissat

Watch ARISSat-1 Amateur Radio Satellite Pass 14 Nov 2011

Catch the Last ARISSat-1 Telemetry Competition
http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/11/09/catch-the-last-arissat-1-telemetry/

ARISSat-1 Re-entry Date January ? http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/12/01/arissat-1-re-entry-date/

Essex Ham http://www.essexham.co.uk/

FrequencyCast – The UK’s TV and Tech Podcast http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/