Tag Archives: Amateur Radio

Oct 28 2013

ISS Slow Scan TV Active

RS0ISS SSTV 20131029-1121Z received by Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD

RS0ISS SSTV 20131029-1121Z received by Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD

Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD reports that the Slow Scan Television (SSTV) experiment MAI-75 on the International Space Station (ISS) has been active on 145.800 MHz FM.

The experiment is expected to run for two days, October 28-29, 2013.

Dmitry also reports that on October 31, 2013 SSTV images will be transmitted from the  ISS on 145.800 MHz showing photographic images of the life and work of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

ISS SSTV pictures received by Pete Sipple M0PSX can be seen at http://www.essexham.co.uk/news/iss-sstv-images-29-october-2013.html

All you need to do to receive the SSTV pictures from the space station is to  connected the audio output of a scanner or amateur rig via a simple interface to the soundcard on a Windows PC or an Apple iOS device, and tune in to 145.800 MHz FM. You can even receive pictures by holding an iPhone next to the radio’s loudspeaker.

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145.800 MHz FM and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be enough to receive it. The FM transmission uses 5 kHz deviation which is standard in much of the world.

Many FM rigs in the UK can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters so select the wider deviation. Handhelds all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard.

On Windows PC’s the free application MMSSTV can be used to decode the signal, on Apple iOS devices you can use the SSTV app. The ISS Fan Club website will show you when the space station is in range.

For more on Slow Scan Television SSTV, see this article SSTV – The Basics
http://www.essexham.co.uk/sstv-the-basics

How to be successful with the ISS Slow Scan Television (SSTV) imaging system
http://www.marexmg.org/fileshtml/howtoisssstv.html

RS0ISS SSTV 20131029-1118Z received by Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD

RS0ISS SSTV 20131029-1118Z received by Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD

Information on the MAI-75 SSTV experiment
http://www.energia.ru/eng/iss/researches/education-26.html

MMSSTV software http://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php

IZ8BLY Vox Recoder, enables you to record the signals from the ISS on 145.800 MHz while you’re away at work http://antoninoporcino.xoom.it/VoxRecorder/

ARISS Slow Scan TV (SSTV) Blog and Gallery http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.co.uk/

Dmitry Pashkov UB4UAD
http://tinyurl.com/ISS-SSTV-2013-10-28
http://tinyurl.com/ISS-SSTV-2013-10-31

Oct 28 2013

CubeSats Need Coordination Too

Space News reminds readers to coordinate and register CubeSat frequencies.

The SpaceNews Editor writes:

In the midst of the cubesat revolution that is opening up a whole new world of space applications to people and organizations of ordinary means comes a reminder from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is responsible for regulating and coordinating radiofrequency transmissions of all types: The existing rules requiring ITU member states to register their satellite systems do not discriminate based on size.

That means, in a nutshell, that cubesats and other nanosatellites, like their larger operational cousins, must be entered into the ITU-managed database of satellite frequencies and orbital slots. Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Beijing, officials with the United Nations-affiliated ITU noted that cubesats draw on finite spectrum — however marginally — and have the potential to interfere with one another and with other systems. These officials urged ITU members to register cubesats and other microsatellites at least two years before launch.

Not only are cubesats proliferating, their missions are becoming increasingly complex. Most cubesats today operate in a frequency band set aside for so-called amateur radio services, which can accommodate low-data-rate transmissions. But as applications become more bandwidth intensive, operators will increasingly be forced to seek out spectrum in other bands. Moreover, though cubesats today typically are allocated bandwidth on a secondary-user basis, meaning they have to work around primary users, there is no reason such missions could not be granted primary-user status.

For cubesats operating in the amateur bands, the FCC relies on the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) for frequency coordination — typically the operator must submit a coordination letter from the group with its license application. But the flood of activity threatens to overwhelm the small, volunteer organization: Of the cubesats slated to deploy through the remainder of the year, 40 are being coordinated by the IARU.

Read the full Space News story at
http://www.spacenews.com/article/opinion/37890editorial-cubesats-need-coordination-too

AMSAT-UK hosts the IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination pages at http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru

Information on frequency coordination can be found at http://www.iaru.org/satellite.html

ITU Radio Regulations http://www.itu.int/pub/R-REG-RR/en
Articles 9 and 11 cover coordination and notification.  Resolution 757, is an effort to simplify the administrative procedure for small, short life projects, and Resolution 646 applies to some amateur-satellite service stations.

Oct 28 2013

November Deployment for ISS CubeSats

Pico Dragon CubeSat - Image credit VNSC

Pico Dragon CubeSat – Image credit VNSC

Four CubeSats carrying amateur radio payloads will be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) by the JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (J-SSOD).  Pico Dragon, ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-2 will be deployed on Tuesday, November 19, and the fourth Cubesat, TechEdSat-3p, will be deployed Wednesday, November 20.

The CubeSats are:
•    Pico Dragon developed by the Việt Nam National Satellite Center (VNSC), University of Tokyo and IHI aerospace. 437.250 MHz CW beacon and 437.365 MHz 1200 bps AFSK AX.25 telemetry.
•    ArduSat-1 developed by NanoSatisfi. 437.700 MHz 9k6 MSK CCSDS downlink.
•    ArduSat-X developed by NanoSatisfi. 437.700 MHz 9k6 MSK CCSDS downlink .
•    TechEdSat-3 developed by interns at the NASA Ames Research Center. 437.465 MHz 1200 bps packet radio beacon transmitting 1 watt to 1/4 wave monopole. It plans to test an Iridium Satphone modem and has a deployment mechanism to de-orbit in 10 days.

They are 1U in size (10*10*10 cm) except for TechEdSat-3 which is 3U (30*10*10 cm).

IEEE – DIY Space Programs http://spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/satellites/diy-space-programs

Oct 27 2013

Astronaut Rick Mastracchio KC5ZTE to Geocache the ISS

Rick Mastracchio KC5ZTE - Image credit NASA

Rick Mastracchio KC5ZTE – Image credit NASA

It’s the Travel Bug® that’s taking the global Geocaching community on a rocket ride to space.

Geocaching in Space LogoWhether you’re in Mexico, the UK, Australia, or Korea you’re primed to join the Geocaching community in celebrating the spirit of exploration. There are more than 800 Geocaching in Space events scheduled around the world. Those who attend Event Caches on either November 6 or November 7, 2013 earn the Geocaching in Space souvenir.

Join the adventure and watch the launch live as Astronaut and Radio Amateur Rick Mastracchio KC5ZTE packs the Travel Bug along on his 6 month mission aboard the International Space Station. He’ll use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach students back on earth about geography and science.

Geocaching HQ is offering a limited edition Geocaching in Space Mission Patch. Geocaching will donate proceeds from the patch to http://Donorschoose.org/ for use in funding projects that use Geocaching as an educational tool.

Astronaut Richard Garriott W5KWQ with FUNcube Dongle SDR

Astronaut Richard Garriott W5KWQ with FUNcube Dongle SDR

Geocaching in Space Event Owners: Be on the lookout for an email from Geocaching HQ later this week. We’ll serve up details on how to watch the launch live, how to connect with the 800+ events around the world and how to celebrate afterwards (hint: geocaching).

For more information on this event visit
http://blog.geocaching.com/2013/10/geocaching-in-space-faq/

Interactive event map http://blog.geocaching.com/2013/10/geocaching-in-space-the-interactive-event-map/

While aboard the ISS Mastracchio is expected to recover a travel bug hidden by another ham radio Astronaut Richard Garriott W5KWQ on October 14, 2008.

For information on the 2008 Geocache see
http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1BE91_international-space-station

Thanks to ANS News for this item.

Oct 25 2013

FUNcube-1 Talk for Local Clubs

FUNcube-1 flight model - Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

FUNcube-1 flight model – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

Dave Johnson G4DPZ is willing to give talks to local amateur radio clubs in the West Midlands and Warwickshire area about the new satellite FUNcube-1.

In late November 2013 FUNcube-1 will be launched into Low Earth Orbit. On board will be a UHF/VHF Linear transponder for SSB/CW communications along with a high power beacon for transmitting telemetry for educational (STEM) purposes, for reception by schools. Details of the satellite can be found at: http://www.funcube.org.uk

Any West Midlands/Warwickshire area club interested in having a talk on the design, development, launch and operation of the satellite should contact Dave on:
email: dave at g4dpz dot me dot uk

Dave can clearly only cover a small part of the country and AMSAT-UK would like to hear from anyone in other parts of the country who would be prepared to give a talk on FUNcube-1 to a local club.

PowerPoint slides to support a talk are available at http://funcubetest2.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/funcube_oct2013fin.ppt

FUNcube Yahoo Group https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/yahoo-group/

Oct 25 2013

FUNCube Data Warehouse Ready

FUNcube-1 flight model - Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

FUNcube-1 flight model – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL are pleased to announce a new version of the FUNcube Data Warehouse which will collect, collate, deduplicate and display data from FUNcube Dashboards running on user PCs (see section at end).

The URL is: https://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/

The intention of the warehouse is to allow access to all the data received for the duration of the mission rather than from just one or a series of passes. This will enable educators and others to download mission telemetry for off-line analysis as part of our STEM outreach goal.

FUNcube Data Warehouse

FUNcube Data Warehouse

The warehouse will store information for the following satellites/devices:

• FUNcube Flight Model
• UKube-1 – FUNcube module
• FUNcube Engineering Model (which will be used for some demonstrations)
• FUNcube Software Test Stack (which is still be used for development but may become another demonstration model later)

Please note, that we are still adding functionality and that some features may not be enabled but it will give a flavour of what will be there.

The warehouse does allow registration for upload of data from the FUNcube Dashboard (see below) and we would like feedback on the process. You can register now as a user of the Warehouse and then, later, apply the settings, that you will be emailed to you, to the Dashboard software when it is available.

Final gluing of FUNcube-1 bolt by Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG – Image credit Gerard Aalbers

Final gluing of FUNcube-1 by Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG – Image credit Gerard Aalbers

There is a new forum at http://forum.funcube.org.uk/ whose purpose is to provide support for FUNcube satellite users. Registration on this forum is separate from the warehouse registration.

The Data Warehouse source code will be released under a ‘Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License’ and available on GitHub shortly.

FUNcube Dashboard

A Windows PC application has been developed which will allow FUNcube Dongle (either model) users and those with other, SSB compatible, 2 metre radios to receive and display satellite telemetry in real time and upload the data to the  FUNcube Data Warehouse.

FUNcube Dongle Pro+ Software Defined Radio

FUNcube Dongle Pro+ Software Defined Radio

If using the FUNcube Dongle, the software will perform  doppler tracking on the received signal.

As well as real-time processing, the software can replay binary, IQ and sound files captured on earlier passes.

The Dashboard software is undergoing final testing and will be made available in about two weeks time.

We are looking forward to a late November launch. News updates can be found at http://funcube.org.uk/

FUNcube Yahoo Group https://amsat-uk.org/funcube/yahoo-group/