Tag Archives: APRS

Apr 13 2013

UK 434 MHz balloons over Central Europe

A Raspberry Pi computer board

A Raspberry Pi computer board

On Saturday, April 13 at 1000 UT, two balloons both carrying 434 MHz transmitters were launched from Cambridge, UK . One transmitting video images from a Rapsberry Pi computer board, the other carried a 144.800 MHz APRS beacon M0UPU-11 in addition to the 434 MHz beacon.

The first balloon PIE5 is flying a Raspberry Pi computer board which transmitted live Slow Scan Digital Video (SSDV) images back to the ground by a pair of transmitters to double the bandwidth. The data was RTTY 300 baud 8N2. The frequencies used were 434.070 and 434.074 MHz. The balloon call sign was $$PIE.

The second balloon AVA flew a 70cms tracker on 434.450 MHz 50 baud 7N2. Additionally once it entered air space where the airborne use of APRS is permitted a second APRS transmitter was enabled (the APRS frequency is 144.800 MHz) with the call sign M0UPU-11.

The balloons had been expected to head for Poland and on Saturday evening they were over Germany but by early Sunday morning PIE5 was over Switzerland and AVA was over Austria.

The 434 MHz downlinks  on the balloons are generated using Radiometrix NTX2 transmitter modules, the batteries were expected to last 24 hours.

A third balloon callsign XABEN transmitting on 434.350MHz, 470Hz shift, 7N1 was also launched. Tthis was configured to have a short lifetime, going straight-up until the balloon burst rather than floating at 30km across Europe.

Live video of the launch was streamed by the British Amateur TV Club (BATC) at http://www.batc.tv/

Tracks of both balloons are at http://www.spacenear.us/tracker

Direct link to M0UPU-11 APRS track
http://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FM0UPU-11&timerange=86400&tail=86400

Images from the PIE5 Raspberry Pi balloon transmitted using SSDV can be seen at http://ssdv.habhub.org/

To get details of upcoming launches subscribe to the UKHAS Mailing List by sending a blank email to this address: ukhas+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Twitter #ukhas https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ukhas

Beginners Guide to Tracking using dl-fldigi http://ukhas.org.uk/guides:tracking_guide

Digital Slow Scan Video http://ukhas.org.uk/guides:ssdv

Mar 15 2013

AMSAT-LU to launch amateur radio FM repeater to an altitude of 30 km

AMSAT-LU SSTV and GPS Payload

View of communications experiment: Below is the plate of the repeater. Top left is the SSTV camera and top right is the GPS receiver module. Image credit LU7AA

On Saturday, March 23 at 1400 UT AMSAT-LU plan to launch a High Altitude Balloon (HAB) carrying a 435.950/145.950 MHz FM repeater, a SSTV transmitter on 145.850 MHz and an APRS transmitter on 144.930 MHz.

The 145.850 MHz SSTV ROBOT-36 mode images will be transmitted in real time showing the view from the balloon. The images can be displayed by using free software such as MMSSTV.

Since 145.850 MHz is the input frequency for the amateur radio satellite SO-50, part of the experiment will be a link between the balloon and the satellite with SO-50 retransmitting the SSTV images on 436.7950 MHz over a far wider area.

At an altitude of 30 km the FM repeater, which uses a 123 Hz CTCSS tone, could have a range of up to 750 km.

AMSAT-LU have issued the following announcement:

Continue reading →

Oct 18 2012

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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Oct 18 2012

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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Aug 29 2012

Duchifat-1 a 145.825 MHz APRS CubeSat

A CubeSat in SpaceDuchifat-1 is an experimental and educational spacecraft developed and built by young Israeli students at the Space Laboratory of the Herzliya Science Centre (HSC).

As well as APRS on 145.825 MHz it also carries a UHF/VHF 1200 bps BPSK transceiver that can provide a FM to DSB transponder.

Continue reading →

Aug 25 2012

ISS Packet Radio Active Again on 145.825 MHz

Watch ISS AX.25 packets on 145.825 MHz FM at approx 7:21pm on August 24, 2012

QRP APRS Packet Radio to the ISS http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=3838

Real time tracking and status information for the amateur radio stations on the ISS can be found on the ISS Fan Club site http://www.issfanclub.com/