Tag Archives: Amateur Radio

Nov 15 2011

Prospero X-3 Satellite Blog

An exciting spectrogram trace is revealed in the blog about the United Kingdom’s Prospero X-3 satellite that celebrated 40 years in orbit last month.

Prospero X-3 was the UK’s first satellite to be put into orbit by a UK-built rocket, Black Arrow. The launch took place from Launch Area 5B, Woomera on October 28, 1971 and the satellite operated successfully until 1973 after which it was contacted annually until being de-activated in 1996. In September 2011 a team from the  Mullard Space Science Laboratory announced their intention to try and re-activate the satellite.

In his blog Roger J A Duthie M0RJA notes the assistance the team has received from those in the Amateur Radio community including the AMSAT-BB mailing list, Roger reports that Tony Abbey G3OVH supplied a spectrogram, with a special Doppler shift correction added, of the radio transmission he received on 137.560 MHz . The team found that in this spectrogram, there was a signal from a source with a Doppler signature exactly matching the predicted signature of Prospero!

Read the Prospero X-3 blog at http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/prospero-satellite/

Prospero 40th Anniversary http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/10/28/prospero-to-be-reactivated-on-137-560-mhz/

PE0SAT – Prospero http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/satellite/sat-history/prospero/

AMSAT-UK publishes a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, full of Amateur Satellite information. A sample edition of the newsletter can be seen at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf
Join online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK

Nov 11 2011

“Awesome” Amateur Radio Space Station Contact

Students at the Donald P. Sutherland Elementary School used Ham Radio to talk to the ISS, a student said the experience “was amazing. It was awesome. It was the best experience of my life.”

Fourteen youngsters, representing grades Kindergarten through fifth grade, were lined up to ask questions of Astronaut Michael E. Fossum KF5AQG, who is on his third visit to the Space Station.

Read the WNYT story and watch the Channel 13 news report at
http://thegreenbushes.wnyt.com/news/news/93797-nassau-elementary-students-talk-astronaut

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) http://ariss.org/

Documents for New Satellite Users http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/information/faqs/

PDF of RadCom article Getting Started on Amateur Radio Satellites
http://www.uk.amsat.org/archives/getting-started-on-amateur-radio-satellites

OSCAR News is published quarterly by AMSAT-UK and posted to members. To get your copy join AMSAT-UK online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/
 Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf

Nov 11 2011

"Awesome" Amateur Radio Space Station Contact

Students at the Donald P. Sutherland Elementary School used Ham Radio to talk to the ISS, a student said the experience “was amazing. It was awesome. It was the best experience of my life.”

Fourteen youngsters, representing grades Kindergarten through fifth grade, were lined up to ask questions of Astronaut Michael E. Fossum KF5AQG, who is on his third visit to the Space Station.

Read the WNYT story and watch the Channel 13 news report at
http://thegreenbushes.wnyt.com/news/news/93797-nassau-elementary-students-talk-astronaut

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) http://ariss.org/

Documents for New Satellite Users http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/information/faqs/

PDF of RadCom article Getting Started on Amateur Radio Satellites
http://www.uk.amsat.org/archives/getting-started-on-amateur-radio-satellites

OSCAR News is published quarterly by AMSAT-UK and posted to members. To get your copy join AMSAT-UK online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/
 Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf

Nov 9 2011

How to Receive Amateur Radio Cubesat E-1P

In his blog Nader ST2NH describes how to receive the 437.505 MHz LSB data telemetry from the Explorer-1[PRIME] (E-1P) Amateur Radio CubeSat.

His step by step guide showing how to set up MiXW and the E-1P Telemetry Decoder software can be read here

Watch Nader’s video showing reception of E-1P

ST2NH Blog http://st2nh-blogger.blogspot.com/

ST2NH YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/st2nh/

Amateur Radio CubeSats Launch http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/10/28/amateur-radio-cubesats-launch/

AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/

OSCAR News is published quarterly by AMSAT-UK and posted to members.
To get your copy join AMSAT-UK online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/
Free sample issue at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf

Nov 9 2011

Catch the Last ARISSat-1 Telemetry

Now that the submissions are complete for the Chicken Little Contest, AMSAT is announcing a new contest: Catch the Last ARISSat-1 Telemetry. With luck, we will have real time data to go along with the final reentry. While telemetry sent by e-mail is valuable and requested, the contest will be judged solely on data sent through the official ARISSatTLM programs directly to the Internet telemetry server.

How do I enter? Simple. Just submit ARISSat-1 telemetry over the Internet using either ARISSatTLM telemetry program. You can use the PC version or the MAC version of ARISSatTLM. You are automatically eligible.

Are there separate categories for entrants? No.

How is the winner determined? The call, or name, in the last block of data received by telemetry server wins.

How will the winner be announced? Via the usual AMSAT News Service, and on the Chicken Little Contest site.

If ARISSat-1 fails sometime before reentry, does it count? Yes! Engineering data is essential input for future projects!

What do I get if I win? A certificate in PDF format suitable for framing, and the gratitude of the ARISSat-1 team.

In short, just keeps those telemetry blocks flowing!

Remember: you can see the latest ARISSat-1 telemetry at
http://www.arissattlm.org/live

Mark L. Hammond  [N8MH]

AMSAT-NA

ARISSat-1 http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ARISSat/ARISSatContest

Online pass predictions (select ARISSat-1) http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/

Download the Windows and Mac versions of the ARISSatTLM free ground station soundcard demodulator and display software from http://www.arissattlm.org/

ARISSat-1 Frequency Guide http://tinyurl.com/4t497t2

Nov 8 2011

AubieSat-1 designated AO-71

OSCAR Number Administrator, Bill Tynan, W3XO reports that he has advised J. M. Wersinger, PhD, KI4YAU, Professor Emeritus and Director of Auburn University’s Student Space Program, that following the successful NASA ELaNa III launch on October 28, 2011 of AubieSat-1, and by the request of the AubieSat-1 team, the new satellite has been assigned an OSCAR number.

Professor Wersinger documented that telemetry has been received from the satellite. The IARU-Sat Website states that AubieSat-1 was fully coordinated with the IARU.

Bill wrote, “Therefore, by the authority vested in me by the AMSAT-NA President, I hereby designate AubieSat-1 as AubieSat Oscar 71 or AO-71 and welcome this newest OSCAR into the Amateur Radio satellite community.

On behalf of AMSAT-NA and the world’s amateur radio satellite community, I congratulate Professor Wersinger, Auburn University and all of those responsible for building, testing and launching this new CubeSat. May its mission meet with success.”

Bill Tynan, W3XO
OSCAR Number Administrator