The March 2014 issue of the free Radio Astronomy Group publication RAGazine is now available for download.
This issue includes:
– RAG 2014 Meeting, Leicester
– Book review: “Space Has No Frontier”
– VLF quarterly observing report
– Brief note on the comparison of bright meteors
– Engineering maths, and more
– Frequency ranges
– The state of flux – an Arduino based magnetometer
– Jansky’s seminal paper that started RA
– Intro. to radio objects that can be detected by the amateur radio astronomer: Part 1
– Technology watch
– Solar flare
The Southampton University Wireless Society (SUWS) Web-based software defined radio (SDR) has been used to receive signals from the new amateur radio LitSat-1 satellite.
The Lithuanian satellite LitSat-1 was deployed from the ISS on February 28 and the builders of the satellite have been able to use the SUWS WebSDR to receive the satellite when it is out of the range of Lithuania.
Noel G8GTZ, Martin G8JNJ and Phil M0DNY from the Southampton University Wireless Society, set up the WebSDR near Basingstoke in the UK. It currently supports parts of the 10 GHz, 1296 MHz, 432 MHz and 144 MHz bands and can be listened to from anywhere in the world.
– If tracking balloons please set your location in dl-fldigi to somewhere around 51.294, -1.131 so we don’t have any fake receiver lines on the map!
– Connection to the site is over a several km wifi link, so once you’ve found the signal, please switch off your waterfall view (Set to ‘blind’) to save bandwidth for others.
– The waterfall speed will also be automatically limited as the number of users increases.
Darius Kybartas LY3DA says that when listening for LitSat-1 on the WebSDR receiver enter your call sign or name in the “Your name or callsign” box and select a frequency of 145850 kHz with FM modulation.
LitSat-1 is very close to the International Space Station (ISS) so you can get a rough idea of when it will be in range of the UK based SUWS WebSDR by looking at the predictions for the ISS on the N2YO tracking website http://www.n2yo.com/ (use 51.294 North, 1.131 West for the coordinates).
KickSat deploying Sprite satellites – Image by Ben Bishop VK2FBRB
The largest ever launch of 437 MHz satellites is planned for March 16 at 0841 UT when 104 Sprite satellites will fly on the SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS 3 mission to be deployed into a 325×315 km 51.5 degree inclination orbit. You should be able to watch the launch live on NASA TV.
The project was originally conceived by AMSAT-UK member Michael Johnson M0MJJ at Cornell University. Michael was the first project manager who specified many aspects of the project, making it technically and financially viable. He left the project in 2012 to found PocketSpacecraft.com.
KickSat 437 MHz Sprite Satellite
A Sprite is a tiny, 3.5 by 3.5 cm, single-board spacecraft that was developed by Zac Manchester KD2BHC.
Each Sprite has a microcontroller, radio, and solar cells and is capable of carrying single-chip sensors, such as thermometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes, and accelerometers.
The 104 Sprites are carried in a 3U CubeSat called KickSat. They are stacked atop a spring-loaded pusher and secured by a nichrome burn wire system.
On reaching orbit KickSat will perform a de-tumble maneuver and establish communication with Cornell University’s ground station. After check-out, the spacecraft will be put in a sun-pointing attitude and spun up to maintain that attitude.
A command signal from the ground station will then trigger the deployment and the Sprites will be released as free-flying spacecraft. After deployment, telemetry and sensor measurements from the individual Sprites will be received through Cornell’s ground station in Ithaca, NY, as well as several other amateur ground stations around the world.
Equipment for receiving the Sprite 437 MHz signals
Due to the low orbit Sprites will have a short lifetime before they reenter the atmosphere and burn up. In the best-case scenario the orbital lifetime could be six weeks but realistically it may be considerably shorter depending on atmospheric conditions, maybe a matter of days.
All the Sprites operate on a single frequency of 437.240 MHz and use Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The transmitter runs 10 mW output of Minimum Shift Keying (MSK) modulated binary data with each data bit modulated as a 511 bit Pseudo-Random Number (PRN) sequence. The ITU emission designator is 50K0G1D.
The KickSat CubeSat has downlinks on 437.505 MHz and 2401-2436.2 MHz.
Watch KickSat Sprite Deployment by Ben Bishop VK2FBRB
In this video Ben Bishop VK2FBRB gives an alternative view of the deployment
The RSGB IARU VHF/UHF/Microwaves discussion forum invites feedback on proposals to amend the bandplans.
Items being discussed are:
– Update to the 144MHz Satellite Allocation to formalise the shared use of 144.000-144.025 by linear amateur satellite transponders (Vienna follow on and already approved in Regions 2 and 3).
– Deletion of FAX frequencies
– IARU ATV Contests Rules/Date: This was also discussed at Vienna. The Dutch Society (Veron) is leading on an updated proposal to modernise the rules in liaison with ourselves and BATC. Our own interests are to introduce modern options for Remote Stations and Rover Stations to help boost activity. There is also a less-certain suggestion around moving its date from its current slot in September.
The Ham Video transmitter, which is stored in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS), will be installed March 6, 2014. The transmitter will be powered on briefly, just the time needed to check that the connection cables to the antenna, to the power supply and to the camera are installed properly. All control LEDs nominal, the transmitter will be considered ready for Commissioning and will be unpowered.
HamTV Antennas at ARISS Telebridge Station IK1SLD in Casale Monferrato, Italy
The first Commissioning step is planned March 8, 2014. Using call sign OR4ISS, crew will power on the Ham Video transmitter in configuration 1:
• ARISS antenna 41
• Frequency 2.422 GHz
• Symbol rate 1.3 Ms/s
The transmission will start shortly before the pass of the ISS over the Matera ground station in south Italy at approximately 13.29 UT.
The ground station will stream the video over the BATC server http://www.batc.tv/ Please select Member Streams and ISS.
During the pass, different configurations will be tested with ARISS antenna 41.
After the pass, the Ham Video transmitter will stay powered on in configuration 1 till the following Commissioning step, which is planned Sunday March 9, 2014 at approximately 12.40 UT.
For about 24 hours, the DATV signal will be transmitted permanently, but the camera will be powered off. The reason is, that the camera is battery powered and no provisions are made for frequent battery replacement. This mode is called “blank” transmission.
A basic amateur radio station that should be able to receive HamTV from ISS – Image AMSAT-Italia
During Commissioning step 2, different configurations will again be tested, this time with ARISS antenna 43. The Matera ground station will stream the video over the BATC server.
Possibly, blank transmissions will occur in the period between Commissioning step 2 and the following step, which is not yet planned.
We will circulate Ham TV Bulletins to inform on blank transmissions.
Reports on reception of blank transmissions are very welcome. Reports can be filed via this webpage: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_FSTV/submit.php
Participants using the Tutioune receiving software, developed by Jean Pierre Courjaud F6DZP, can record as well as stream detailed parameters of the received signal. Please see: http://www.vivadatv.org/
NASA Educator Professional Development and the National Science Teachers Association have joined forces to create and offer this first-of-its-kind online course for middle school educators. Participants can earn a certificate acknowledging 15 hours of effort. Graduate credit is available for a fee.
Module 1: Introduction to the Engineering Design Process
Event Dates: March 26, March 31, April 7 and April 17, 2014
Module 2 (optional): Implementing the Engineering Design Process in Your Classroom
Event Dates: April 21 and April 28, 2014
The March 2014 issue of the free Radio Astronomy Group publication RAGazine is now available for download.
AMSAT-UK 
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