Author Archives: m0xtd

Apr 20 2012

Use of Amateur Satellite Frequencies by Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Olympic and Paralympic Games will be using almost half of the 430 MHz amateur radio allocation as well as segments of 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz during the period June 28 to September 23.

The impact on the Amateur-satellite Service 435-438 MHz allocation has been restricted to 436.25-437.25 MHz. It is understood that the equipment being used in the 430 MHz band will include handheld FM rigs at the hotels, the routes to the venues and the venues themselves.

The UK communications regulator Ofcom has provided details of the areas that need to be protected from RF within the designated frequency ranges. Ofcom say: Use of radio by Amateurs in the areas defined in Annexes A and B below could cause interference to Games applications; it is also possible that higher power transmissions from outside these areas could cause interference. Consequently, to avoid the risk of interference to Games applications, Ofcom request that Amateurs do not operate within the frequency ranges identified in the areas defined in Annexes A and B, and that Amateurs ensure that any signals that could be received in these areas are negligible.

Individual Amateurs should assess if their transmission is likely to be received in the defined areas and if in any doubt please DONT operate within the frequency ranges identified.

This indicates that the specified frequency ranges should be avoided for a considerable distance outside the designated zones. Clearly a well equipped station on a good site 75 km from the edge of a zone could still put a signal into that area.

Ofcom also say: There are a number of Amateur contests that fall within the period of the 2012 Games. We can accommodate these providing the Amateur activity is kept to the dates of 6th – 8th July, 4th – 5th August, 14th August and 11th September.

The wideband OMEGA Time Distance system will be used by the sailing vessels taking part in the events at Weymouth. When the system was first tested in August 2011 it operated across the 430 MHz band and it was noted that the repeater GB3SD suffered interference while the trials were taking place. See the South Dorset Repeater Group log at http://sites.google.com/site/southdorsethamradio/sdrginfo/sdrglog It is understood that for the Games this year OMEGA will be using a different frequency band.

Annex A: Areas in which 431-432 MHz, 432-433 MHz paired with 436.25-437.25 MHz and 438-439 MHz need to be protected for Games use.
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/amateur-radio/spectrum_use/Annex_A.pdf

Annex B: Areas in which 2.39 – 2.4 GHz and 3.41 – 3.44 GHz need to be protected for Games use.
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/amateur-radio/spectrum_use/Annex_B.pdf

Annex C: Details of some other changes and restrictions that will apply to repeaters and RAYNET use.
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/amateur-radio/spectrum_use/Annex_C.pdf

Ofcom Statement http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radiocommunication-licences/amateur-radio/ar_spectrum_use/

RSGB Olympic and Paralympic Games information http://www.rsgb.org/operating/londonolympics2012/

Apr 20 2012

28th National Space Symposium April 16-19, 2012

Martin Sweeting G3YJO 2012 Image Credit SSTL

Martin Sweeting G3YJO Image Credit SSTL

Among those attending the 28th National Space Symposium in Colorado April 16-19 was Sir Martin Sweeting G3YJO.

He took part in the ‘Societal Benefits – Space Applications in Emerging Regions’ panel.

Space News reports:

Overseas markets are expanding as more nations embrace space for communications, environmental monitoring, resource management and disaster response, according to members of an April 17 panel discussing space applications in emerging nations.

Emerging programs in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa offer opportunities to the industry but come with some challenges, not the least of which is cooperation and cultural understanding between governments. Panel members discussing the trend were Tim Deaver, vice president of market development, government solutions, at SES World Skies, David Hartshorn, secretary general of the London-based Global VSAT Forum, and Sir Martin Sweeting, founder and chairman of U.K.-based Surrey Satellite Technology.

“Space is essential to play a part fully” on the international stage, Sweeting said. While some might argue it is an extravagance in nations often burdened with dire poverty, new wisdom has taken hold that space can bolster economies and level playing fields.

Pictures and videos of the 28th National Space Symposium can be seen at http://www.nationalspacesymposium.org/

Space News report http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/120418-nations-embracing-space-apps.html

Apr 20 2012

50 years of the UK in space

This is a year of momentous milestones in the life of Britain, ranging from Charles Dickens’ bicentenary to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Adding further significance to 2012 is the UK space industry, which has a golden anniversary to mark: the launch of the nation’s first satellite, Ariel-1, on April 26th 1962.
In the news
Built by NASA in collaboration with a team of British academics, Ariel-1 was the world’s first international satellite, and constituted the foundation of the UK space sector – now annually worth £7.5 billion to the UK economy, and supportive of some 70,000 jobs across a variety of the nation’s industries.
Ariel-1
To mark this special anniversary, the UK Space Agency is presenting a two-day space symposium on the 26th and 27th of April, at the home of their active co-hosts, the Science Museum. Now a year old, the UKSA has much to be enthusiastic about; and the symposium will commemorate past achievements, and explore the future direction of Britain’s thriving space industry – with contributions from some of the leading players in the sector today.

The UK Space Agency was founded to provide strategic support to the sector, while making significant investments through its 230m civil space budget. Almost 90 per cent of the agency’s budget currently goes to the European Space Agency, for collaborative pan-European space projects. This strategy is helping to secure Britain’s role as a key player in the development of Europe’s space going future.

SSTL is a case in point; with its current role in the European Commission’s European GNSS program. The company will assemble eight batches of satellite navigational payloads, on top of the 14 it is already building. In addition, the UK government recently announced that it would invest in the development of NovaSAR, SSTL’s small radar satellite. The space agency’s work signifies government recognition of the groundbreaking work in space technology by UK universities, research centres, and companies like SSTL.

Ariel-1

SSTL is itself of historical significance, as the creator of the first ‘talking satellite’, UoSAT-1 in 1981. Their current work in nanosatellite and microsatellite technology, is a far cry from the ancestral Ariel-1, which had the aesthetics of a 1950’s ‘sci-fi’ fantasy space craft: multiple, sphere-like radio antennas protruding from a cylindrical body; multiple solar arrays; inertia booms to control the craft’s spin, and a 100-minute tape to store a single orbit’s worth of data.

Perhaps the most dramatic contrast in SSTL’s current work, to the ‘little-green-man’ craft that was Ariel-1, is its Smartphone satellite STRaND-1. This unique nanosatellite is designed around a Google Nexus One, Android Smartphone. In a playful nod to classic science-fictions’ dream of a space-going future, is the inclusion of an App on the phone that tests out the film Alien’s infamous slogan: ‘In space no-one can hear you scream’.

Providing SSTL’s contribution to the UK Space Agency’s symposium, will be Shaun Kenyon, lead System Engineer on the aforementioned, nanosatellite STRaND-1. On the 26th, 
he will discuss the importance of flagship projects and small satellites to UK space technology. Shaun’s insights will help to put in context the retrospective significance of Ariel-1, as he expounds his belief in the importance of satellite technology and low cost access to space for commercial endeavours.

Robin Wolstenholme

Apr 20 2012

CubeSats: good things come in small packages

CubeSats may be small but they have big ambitions. Credit: Aalborg University

CubeSats may be small but they have big ambitions. Credit: Aalborg University

By Ben Gilliland
For the vast majority of Earth’s history it had but one satellite – the Moon – but that all changed in 1957 when, on October 4, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite into Earth’s orbit.Sputnik-1 was a 58cm (23 inch) sphere that contained two 1-watt radio transmitters and three batteries (two for powering the radios and one to power a cooling fan). The 83kg aluminum sphere emitted radio signals that were transmitted back to Earth via four 2.4m-2.9m “whip” antenna.

Its radio did little more than beep at Earth, but its signal was picked up by amateur “ham radio” enthusiasts all over the world.

In many ways, Sputnik was not just the world’s first satellite, it was also the first “people’s satellite” – anyone with suitable radio equipment could listen to the plucky little satellite as, for 22 days, it whizzed around the globe at 29,000km/h (18,000mph).

Sputnik-1 kick-started the space race and the satellite industry, but was really little more than a transmitter that beeped. Credit: NASA

Sputnik-1 kick-started the space race and the satellite industry, but was really little more than a transmitter that beeped. Credit: NASA

America’s first satellite was even smaller. Launched on January 31, 1958, and weighing in at just 14kg, Explorer-1 boasted several scientific instruments including a cosmic ray detector, five temperature sensors and micrometeor detectors.But satellites didn’t stay small, simple and accessible for very long.

As they increased in complexity, so they increased in size. From the size of a beach ball, satellites were soon the size of a family cars, then buses and (in the case of the International Space Station) the size of a football field.

With increased size and complexity came increased costs.
It can take a decade and hundreds of millions of pounds to develop an Earth observation satellite – but that is just the tip of the financial iceberg. Launching a satellite weighing several tonnes into orbit can cost between £30million and £250million ($50million to $400million) and just paying for the radio bandwidth needed to get your information back to Earth can cost up to £1million ($1.6million) a year. That’s not taking into account the cost of ground operations and maintenance of the satellite.

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Apr 19 2012

ITAR in ARRL Executive Committee Minutes

ITARThe minutes of the ARRL Executive Committee, Number 496, March 24, make reference to the US Federal Government ITAR regulations. These regulations put US radio amateurs under threat of jail terms or six figure fines if they even talk about certain aspects of their hobby.

ITAR has prevented US amateurs from co-operating with other amateurs around the world on projects such as the P3E satellite and the New Zealand KiwiSat.

ITAR regulations made it almost impossible for AMSAT-NA to work with their international AMSAT partners on the Eagle project and forced the Eagle Wikipeadia to be shutdown.

The recent involvement of the ARRL in this matter is very welcome, the minutes say:

4.1.7. AMSAT has been in communication with the ARRL regarding problems it faces as a result of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which inexplicably apply even to amateur satellites. The ARRL Board received a briefing as described at Minute 29 of its January 2012 meeting. Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX, accompanied AMSAT representatives to a meeting on Capitol Hill. ARRL will continue to cooperate with AMSAT as it seeks a solution.

The minutes of the ARRL Executive Committee, Number 496, March 24, can be read at
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/About%20ARRL/Board%20Meetings/ecmin496.pdf

A 2009 IARU Region 3 report highlights that ITAR requirements made AMSAT-NA direct its members to cease cooperation with AMSAT-ZL in the development of KiwiSAT. http://www.iaru-r3.org/14r3c/docs/046.doc

ITAR impact on the Eagle project http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/eagle/

The 2005 amateur radio P3E IHU project killed by ITAR http://www.amsat-dl.org/p3e/bericht-ihu3-0205-e.pdf

ITAR impact on satellite launches http://www.spacequest.com/Articles/SSC03-II-1%20SpaceQuest.pdf

Apr 19 2012

AMSAT-UK on Satellites for World Amateur Radio Day

National Radio Centre - 1280Members of AMSAT-UK operated on the amateur radio satellites from the RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day (WARD) on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.

WiMo Satellite Antennas at the NRC

WiMo Satellite Antennas at the National Radio Centre

World Amateur Radio Day commemorates the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) on April 18, 1925. This year’s theme was “Amateur Radio Satellites: Celebrating 50 Years in Space” in remembrance of the launching of OSCAR 1 on December 12, 1961 and the launch of OSCAR 2 on June 2, 1962.

Those taking part in the event included Jim G3WGM, Dave G4DPZ, Ciaran M0XTD, Matthew SWL, Clive G3CWV, Carlos G0AKI and Elaine G4LFM. The satellites worked during the day included FO-29 and AO-7 and contacts were made with stations across Europe using the 144 and 430 MHz bands.

The equipment used comprised a Kenwood TS-2000 with WiMo X quads for 144 and 430 MHz, with pre amps and polarisation switches.

Watch Dave G4DPZ using the amateur radio satellite FO-29

Read the article ‘Getting started on amateur radio satellites’ by John Heath G7HIA at https://amsat-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/satellites_radcom_mar07.pdf
Copyright 2007 Radio Society of Great Britain. For personal use only – no copying, reprinting or distribution without written permission from the RSGB.

Video – How to work the SSB amateur radio satellites https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-work-the-ssb-satellites/