Apr 4 2013

G100RSGB on the amateur radio satellites

Clive G7SVI operating G100RSGB on the FO-29 satellite

Clive G7SVI operating G100RSGB on the FO-29 satellite

Flight Refueling Amateur Radio Society (FRARS) were active on the amateur radio satellites on Thursday, April 4 using the special event callsign G100RSGB .

FRARS G100RSGB Satellite Antennas

FRARS G100RSGB Satellite Antennas

On one pass of the satellite FO-29 club member Clive Lambert-Hutchinson G7SVI had arranged a schedule with Hector Martinez CO6CBF in Cuba. This was on the extremes of range for the satellite and there was only a brief window of about 1 minute when the two stations could make contact. A signal believed to be Hector was heard but wasn’t strong enough for a contact.

FRARS hosted the RSGB Centenary Call G100RSGB from their club house at Merley, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 3DA and were active on all bands from 1.8 – 440 MHz. The day was a great success with the club members operating three separate stations continuously during the day.

FRARS are a friendly club that welcomes newcomers. They are holding another Foundation training course on the weekend of April 13-14.

Flight Refueling Amateur Radio Society (FRARS) http://www.frars.org.uk/

Apr 3 2013

Vietnam CubeSat PicoDragon

PicoDragon CubeSat - Image credit VNSC

PicoDragon CubeSat – Image credit VNSC

PicoDragon is a 1U CubeSat project intended to take low resolution Earth images and to test on-board systems.

It is planning to use two amateur radio downlinks and frequencies for these have been coordinated by the IARU. The 100mW CW beacon will be on 437.250 MHz and a 1k2 bps AFSK 800mW AX.25 telemetry downlink on 437.365 MHz. Commands will be uplinked on VHF.

The Vietnam National Satellite Center VNSC say that Pico-satellite Dragon is expected to launch in mid-2013 on a Japanese rocket.

More info at http://vnsc.org.vn/

Apr 3 2013

NASA Seeks Academic Partners for Smallsat Technology Collaboration

Image NASA - Franklin image credit to Paul D. Stewart

Image NASA – Franklin image credit to Paul D. Stewart

NASA is seeking small spacecraft technology project proposals from U.S. colleges and universities that would like to collaborate with agency researchers.

Small spacecraft, or smallsats, represent a growing field of space research and operations in which universities often have led the way in technology development. Smallsats, some of which are as small as a four-inch cube, are not expected to replace conventional spacecraft, but sometimes can provide an alternative to larger, more costly spacecraft. Smallsats can serve as platforms for rapid technology testing or specialized scientific research and exploration not otherwise possible. Smallsats also can be developed relatively quickly and inexpensively, and can share a ride to orbit with larger spacecraft.

Continue reading →

Apr 3 2013

STRaND-1 Signal Reports Requested

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC and STRaND-1

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC and STRaND-1

Dr Chris Bridges M6OBC from the Surrey Space Centre has advised that the amateur radio beacon on their STRaND-1 CubeSat became intermittent over the Easter weekend.

Both Mike Rupprecht DK3WN and Nader Omer ST2NH have reported that no signals have been heard since Sunday.

Radio amateurs, especially those outside Europe, are asked to listen for STRaND-1 over the next few days and report any positive results to C.P.Bridges at surrey.ac.uk . Listen for a 9k6 signal around 437.568 MHz (+/- Doppler).

STRaND-1 https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/

STRaND-1 telemetry https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/strand-1-telemetry/

STRaND-1 videos https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/strand-1/strand-1-videos/

Apr 2 2013

Final IARU-R1 Vienna 2013 Papers Released

AMSAT-UK_Bevelled_LogoThe final set of VHF/UHF/uW papers for the IARU Region 1 Interim meeting in Vienna, April 20-21, have been released.

They include a number of papers related to Amateur-Satellite Service allocations:
• VIE13_C5_03 Increased Amateur‐Satellite Service 144MHz Usage
• VIE13_C5_05 Recommendations for DATV Transmission
• VIE13_C5_24 Region 1 Satellite Coordinator Report
• VIE13_C5_27 New Narrow‐Band working frequencies in the 2300–2450 MHz band
• VIE13_C5_32 2400MHz Amateur Satellites

Download the papers here.

Discussion on the papers can be found on the RSGB C5 Yahoo Group at
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ukc5discussion/

Apr 2 2013

Video – NextGen CubeSat Project – 2010 Dayton Hamvention

NextGen CubeSat Project, a presentation prepared by Alex Harvilchuck N3NP and presented by Dr. Charles Westgate WC2R during the AMSAT Forum at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention.

Watch NextGen CubeSat Project

See other AMSAT-NA videos at http://www.youtube.com/AMSATNA