First picture from FITSAT-1 on 5840.0 MHz

First picture from FITSAT-1 on 5840.0 MHz showing the solar panels on the ISS

When the FITSAT-1 CubeSat was deployed from the International Space Station on October 4 it took a picture using the on-board camera. On Friday, October 19 UT, the team successfully downloaded the picture using the high-speed 115.2 kbps data transmitter on 5840.0 MHz.

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FUNcube-2 boards delivered to Clyde Space for UKube-1 Nanosatellite

Steve Greenland of Clyde Space receives the AMSAT-UK FUNcube-2 boards that will be incorporated into UKube-1

Steve Greenland of Clyde Space receives the AMSAT-UK FUNcube-2 boards that will be incorporated into UKube-1

On Friday, October 19, after some final testing and characterisation checks completed at the facilities of ISIS BV in Delft, AMSAT-UK handed over the set of three PCBs that form the FUNcube-2 subsystem on the UKube-1 spacecraft to Clyde Space Ltd in Glasgow. Clyde Space are leading the development and assembly of this CubeSat project for the UK Space Agency.

The PCBs were taken to Glasgow in a Pelicase by Graham Shirville G3VZV who handed them to Steve Greenland Systems Engineer at Clyde Space.

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Cuban Amateur Radio Satellite Group National Meeting

Raydel Espinet CM2ESP - 640

Raydel Espinet CM2ESP

Raydel Espinet CM2ESP reports the first national meeting of the Cuban amateur radio satellite group will take place November 8-11 and special event station T47G will be on the air, on both HF and the satellites, during the event.

With great pleasure, on behalf of the Cuban Satellite Group named “Grupo de Radioaficionados para Operaciones Satelitales”, GROS, The Coordination Board wants to announce the following.

During November 8th to November 11th the Group will be having its First National Meeting (very similar to a symposium) in the Province of Camagüey. Many of the GROS’s Members and many other ham guests will be attending this Meeting. The meeting motto is “Celebrating the first year of an idea come true”. The idea of creating a Cuban Satellite Group and the first works began on November, 2011, and this is the First Anniversary.

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CAS-2A1 and CAS-2A2 Linear Transponder Amateur Radio Satellites

CAMSAT CAS-2 banner at the Friedrichshafen Ham Radio 2012 event

CAMSAT are building two micro-satellites CAS-2A1 and CAS-2A2 to be combined into a binary star system for amateur radio communication and education.

There will be a radio link between two satellites when the satellites are in suitable positions in their orbits, so that the amateur radio communication coverage can be extended. Both spacecraft are 25kg 270x270x250mm and are planning to launch from Taiyuan into a sun synchronous, 1000km apogee, 99.5 degree orbit.

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FITSAT-1 5840.0 MHz downlink received with FUNcube Dongle

Reception of FITSAT-1 5840.0 MHz downlink using FUNcube Dongle SDR

This video by radio amateur Tetsurou Satou JA0CAW shows reception in Japan of the 5840.0 MHz downlink from the FITSAT-1 (aka NIWAKA) CubeSat that was deployed from the ISS on October 4.

He used a 38cm dish with a down-converter to an IF of 1284 MHz, a BGA2717 LNA and the AMSAT-UK FUNCube Dongle SDR with HDSDR software.

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Amateur Radio APRS for JOTA, Everywhere!

PACSAT developer Bob Bruninga WB4APR explains how you can use your APRS radio for global contacts at your Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) station this weekend.

You can use your APRS radio or HT to text message a CQ to all other JOTA stations with an APRS radio anywhere in the world. You need to remember nothing about the network, or paths, or freqs or do any set up. Just use the normal APRS frequency.

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