Tag Archives: Amateur Radio

Apr 29 2014

KickSat Sprites – Final Preparation

KickSat Sprite satellites deployed - Image by Ben Bishop VK2FBRB

KickSat Sprite satellites deployed – Image by Ben Bishop VK2FBRB

The British Interplanetary Society (BIS) are holding a meeting to prepare for reception of their fleet of Sprite satellites which will be deployed by the KickSat CubeSat on May 4 at 2000 UT.

437 MHz Sprite

437 MHz Sprite

Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting which takes place from 10 am to 4:30 pm on Saturday, May 3 at 27/29 South Lambeth Road, Vauxhall, London, SW8 1SZ.

The BIS events page says:

Dragon X has successfully deployed the KickSat CubeSat carrying 104 Sprites, a fleet of which were funded by the BIS and BIS members!

KickSat deploying Sprite satellites - Image by Ben Bishop VK2FBRB

KickSat deploying Sprite satellites – Image by Ben Bishop VK2FBRB

In preparation for the timed deployment of the Sprites from the CubeSat, the BIS KickSat team will meet at the BIS HQ with two goals:
• Ensure everyone with a ground station has a working installation of GNURadio
• Have some practice tracking other satellites

Present on the day will be radio experts, software experts, and a range of software defined radios and antenna.

Everyone is welcome to attend. Bring a laptop if you want help installing GNURadio.

Source http://www.bis-space.com/2014/04/20/12638/kicksat-final-preparation

Andrew Vaudin of the British Interplanetary Society (BIS) gave a presentation on the BIS Kicksat Sprite satellite to the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium on Sunday, July 21, 2013. You can watch the video of his presentation at http://www.batc.tv/streams/amsat1310
or download it direct to your PC at http://www.batc.tv/vod/kicksat.flv

In this video Ben Bishop VK2FBRB shows what the deployment may look like

British Interplanetary Society: Sprite Technical Summary
http://www.bis-space.com/2013/03/09/9301/kicksat-technical-summary

KickSat Sprite Ground Station by Andy Thomas G0SFJ
http://kicksat.wordpress.com/support/kicksat-ground-station/

Kicksat Wiki https://github.com/zacinaction/kicksat/wiki

KickSat mailing list https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/kicksat-gs

Kicksat Updates
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zacinaction/kicksat-your-personal-spacecraft-in-space/posts

KickSat Sprites – Radio Competition https://amsat-uk.org/2014/04/10/kicksat-sprites-radio-competition/

Apr 28 2014

Ham Radio Earth-Moon-Earth Art Event on Google+ Hangout

PI9CAM Dwingeloo 25 meter dish antenna

PI9CAM Dwingeloo 25 meter dish antenna

OPTICKS is a live radio transmission performance between the Earth and the Moon during which images are sent to the Moon and back as radio signals using the MMSSTV Slow San TV software developed by Makoto Mori JE3HHT. A live Google+ hangout is taking place on May 1 at 2000 UT. A Reddit AMA will precede the Hangout at 1500 UT.

The project has been realized by visual artist Daniela de Paulis (IT/NL) in collaboration with Jan van Muijlwijk PA3FXB and the CAMRAS radio amateurs association based at Dwingeloo radio telescope (NL). Each live performance is made possible thanks to the collaboration of radio amateurs Howard Ling G4CCH (UK), Bruce Halász PY2BS (Brazil) and Daniel Gautschi HB9CRQ (CH).

The live hangout will feature a “touch” and bounce of Humans in Space Youth Art Competition artwork off the Moon using OPTICKS radio wave technology. Guests and remote participants will discuss the significance of the artwork and the performance and explore the impact of past, present, and future human presence on the Moon.

Guests
– Andrew Chaikin is the author of Man on the Moon and From Earth to the Moon.
– Wendell Mendell is a retired NASA lunar and planetary exploration scientist.
– Sarah Nobel is a current NASA lunar scientist and artist.
– Frank Shiner is a winner of both the 2010 and 2012 Humans in Space Youth Art Competitions.
– Jan van Muijlwijk PA3FXB, OPTICKS collaborator, radio operator, CAMRAS/Dwingeloo radio telescope.
– Daniela De Paulis is the visual artist and researcher who developed the OPTICKS live performance technology in collaboration with the Dwingeloo radio telescope.
– Jancy McPhee is the director of the Humans in Space Art Program, which includes the Youth Art Competition Project in its portfolio.

Learn more at http://www.Opticks.info and http://www.HumansInSpaceArt.org

OPTICKS makes use of a technology used by radio amateurs called Earth-Moon-Earth or Moonbounce in which the Moon is used as a natural reflector for radio signals.

In October 2009 Daniela de Paulis and Jan van Muijlwijk PA3FXB started pioneering a new application of Moonbounce technology, called Visual Moonbounce, which allows sending images to the Moon and back, combining Radio Astronomy with amateur radio technologies.

The title OPTICKS is inspired by Newton’s discoveries of the light spectrum, reflection and refraction. Similarly, the colours composing an image – converted into radio signals – are bounced off the Moon (reflected and refracted) by its surface during each live performance.

The performance is introduced by live sounds of amateurs radio signals captured by the Dwingeloo antenna tracking the moon.

Watch a recording of the performance for the radio programme RaiTunes:

You can support the project by purchasing a limited edition t-shirt from this link: https://fabrily.com/EarthAndMoon2

Google+ Hangout GAM AstroArt: Touching the Moon with Art & Footsteps https://plus.google.com/events/ckm4364t5f7fcg0m42rgb7br2lc

Daniela de Paulis http://www.danieladepaulis.com/

Story source: http://www.opticks.info/

Apr 28 2014

Ofcom: Interference to 2400 MHz from LTE

Ofcom-logo-col-tOfcom has published additional information on co-existence studies between 2.3 GHz Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and 2400 MHz Wi-Fi.

The ITU Amateur-Satellite Service allocation is 2400-2450 MHz

In the consultation published on February 19, 2014, Ofcom presented technical analysis of the potential for interference from LTE base stations to Wi-Fi equipment operating in the licence exempt 2.4 GHz band.

Following a request from stakeholders, Ofcom has now published a measurement annex, from the research consultancy MASS.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/pssr-2014/annexes/Annex_Study.pdf

Additional Test Results for Wi-Fi DUT 4
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/pssr-2014/annexes/Test_results.pdf

Ofcom’s public consultation is on-going and closes May 5, 2014, responses can be made online via
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/pssr-2014/

Apr 27 2014

BRICsat to carry 28 MHz PSK31 transponder

28 MHz PSK31 Receiver Board Flight Prototype - Brno University of Technology

28 MHz PSK31 Receiver Board Flight Prototype – Brno University of Technology

BRICsat is a 3U CubeSat built by students at the US Naval Academy.

It has two Amateur Satellite Missions:
• APRS constellation transponder with downlink on 437.975 MHz and with uplink on 145.825 MHz 1k2 and 9k6 AX25
• PSK31 transponder with a 28.120 MHz uplink (2.5 kHz bandwidth) and a UHF FM downlink

BRICsat is planned to launch with Psat-A and Psat-B.

Read the paper Communication and Data Handling System for BRICsat Satellite by Tomáš Urbanec, Petr Vágner, Miroslav Kasal and Ondřej Baran, of the Department of Radio Electronics Brno University of Technology http://www.aprs.org/PSK31/Brno-PSK31_2-PID2722925.pdf

IARU amateur satellite frequency coordination panel http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru

Apr 27 2014

DX-1 Microsatellite to launch from Baikonur

Dauria Aerospace microsatellite DX-1

Dauria Aerospace microsatellite DX-1

The microsatellite DX-1 (27 kg 40x40x30 cm) built by Dauria Aerospace, is planned to launch June 28, 2014 on the Soyuz-2.1b, Fregat-M rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.

It is understood the satellite will be using the following frequencies:
• 144.975-145.025 MHz Uplink – Command and control
• 434.975-435.025 MHz Downlink – Telemetry data
• 162.0125-162.0375 MHz Uplink – AIS ship tracking receiver
• 2269.5-2270.5 MHz Downlink – Data

Dauria Aerospace http://dauriaspace.com/

Watch DX-1 on Russian TV

Apr 26 2014

Balloon repeater to launch from Suffolk on Sunday

James Coxon M6JCX launching a PICO balloon on 434.301 MHz USB

James Coxon M6JCX launching a balloon carrying a transmitter payload

LAUNCH POSTPONED: Sadly due to technical issues I’m going to have to postpone this flight for a little longer – no point launching something that will definitely won’t work!

On Sunday, April 27, at around 11am (1000 GMT) radio amateur James Coxon M6JCX will launch the first UKHASnet balloon repeater from Suffolk. He writes:

Just a heads up that I’m going to try and launch tomorrow the first UKHASnet balloon repeater. The aim of the flight is to test both the concept of UKHASnet and if it works the range of the current setup. UKHASnet (http://www.ukhas.net/) is a simple wireless network that uses licence exempt radio modules.

There are a number of nodes around the UK and also in the Netherlands which normally just communicate on a local scale, the balloon payload will act as a airborne node which will hopefully connect these networks together temporarily.

The payload is based on a ATmega328 (arduino bootloader) with a Ublox 6 GPS and a RFM69HW Radio module. It’ll be tx and rx on 869.500 MHz using FSK, 2000 bps and using the UKHASnet protocol. Balloon will be a 100g latex filled for a very slow ascent to maximise flight time, launched from Suffolk. Launch will be around 11:00, however, there are forecasts of showers so this may change.

There is NO onboard 434 MHz module and no RTTY or other traditional format, we’ll be aiming to pipe the location data onto spacenear.us to allow easy following. That said it’ll be possible to hear the payload with good radios and SDRs that can tune to 869.500 MHz and we would be grateful if recordings of signal can be made as this could then be played back and decoded via the hardware (there is no software decoder – yet).

More information can be found on the website http://www.ukhas.net/ and there is a IRC channel on freenode #ukhasnet where you can follow the progress. A web client is available at http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=ukhasnet

As with many of my flights this is highly experimental so probably won’t work so don’t get disappointed if it gets delayed, postponed or fails!

UKHASnet http://www.ukhas.net/

A UKHASnet Workshop was held in March http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2014/march/ukhasnet_a_uhf_mesh_network.htm

You can see online real time tracks and frequencies of balloons at http://spacenear.us/tracker/

To get up-to-date information on balloon flights subscribe to the UKHAS Mailing List by sending a blank email to this address: ukhas+subscribe@googlegroups.com