Tag Archives: Ham Radio

Aug 11 2015

Radio Astronomy Group Meteor Scatter Workshop

BAA-RAG LogoA BAA RAG Workshop on Meteor Scatter is planned for  Saturday, October 31 in Northampton, the keynote speaker will be Jean-Louis Rault F6AGR.

Paul Hyde G4CSD writes:

Please note that we are going to hold a one-day workshop on Meteor Scatter at Northampton Natural History Society on October 31.  This will be a joint meeting with the BAA Meteor Section.  As always the event will be open to non-BAA members.

The objectives of the day will be to show what is possible through meteor scatter, to help beginners set up a meteor observing system, and to help existing observers develop their activities.  I very much hope that we can come out of the day with the basis of a collaborative observing project that will complement optical and video work.

The keynote speaker will be Jean-Louis Rault F6AGR who is President of the Radioastronomy Commission of the Société Astronomique de France and the International Meteor Organisation Radio Commission Officer. He will talk on the meteor science domains in which radio is offering valuable data, what can be done using amateur-level equipment, and the scope for pro-am collaborations using the French FRIPON programme (see www.fripon.org) as an example.

This will be supported with presentations from other speakers, of which I have several offers at present, but please don’t hesitate to mail me with another!

Paul Hyde G4CSD
Coordinator, BAA RAG
g4csd<at>yahoo.co.uk

Radio Astronomy Group
https://twitter.com/BAARAG
https://groups.yahoo.com/group/BAA-RAG
http://www.britastro.org/radio/

Aug 11 2015

GB1DS – Amateur Satellites and Meteor Scatter

Meteor Scatter Propagation - SNOTEL

Meteor Scatter Propagation – SNOTEL

Run by the Brecon & Radnor Amateur Radio Society, GB1DS will operate on most bands and satellites on the weekend of August 15-16, coinciding with the annual Perseids meteor shower which will make for an incredible operation.

In co-operation with the Brecon Beacons National Park, the station aims to promote the incredible beauty of the Beacons and surrounding areas during such a special time. One of only five Dark-Sky reserves in the world and the only one in Wales.

More information about the Brecon Beacons and its Dark-Sky reserve can be found at http://www.breconbeacons.org/stargazing

Information on the station can be found at http://qrz.com/db/gb1ds

The Essex-based Loughton & Epping Forest Amateur Radio Society (LEFARS) recently tried Meteor Scatter, see http://lefars.org.uk/WPblog/2015/08/10/meteor-scatter/

Getting started in Meteor Scatter (MS) http://www.geekshed.co.uk/getting-started-in-meteor-scatter-ms/

Free WSJT software http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/

Meteor Scatter Information
http://www.mmmonvhf.de/ms.php
http://rsgb.org/main/technical/propagation/meteor-scatter/

Radio Astronomy Group Meteor Scatter Workshop Oct 31 with Jean-Louis Rault F6AGR
https://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/11/rag-meteor-scatter-workshop/

Aug 10 2015

“First” UK radio ham to contact space station astronauts

Mir Space Station

Mir Space Station

A newspaper story says a Swindon radio amateur was believed to be the first in the UK to contact an astronaut on a space station, the Russian Mir, which hosted UK and USA astronauts.

The story published in the Swindon Advertiser on August 7 says: “…it took place almost 20 years before another amateur hit the headlines this week for doing the same thing.

Radio ham Donald Shirreff [G3BGM], who died in 2010, was believed to be the first amateur radio enthusiast to successfully make contact with astronauts aboard an international space station more than 19 years ago.

In 1996, former MI5 agent Donald, then 77, took an unusual approach to his retirement and set his sights on contacting cosmonauts aboard Russian space station Mir.”

Read the Swindon Advertiser story at http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/13582484.Radio_ham_was_first_in_Britain_to_contact_space_station_astronauts/

However, it appears there were many other UK contacts with Mir prior to Donald Shirreff G3BGM. See details of the contacts made in 1991 by Chris Lorek G4HCL and radio amateurs in schools across the UK at https://amsat-uk.org/about/history/first-uk-astronaut-helen-sharman-gb1mir/

On Aug 7,  commenting on the Daily Mail website on the story about a recent ISS amateur radio contact, Donald Shirreff’s son (User ID crunchbard) posted:

“My father Donald Shirreff (1918-2010) used to communicate in the 1990s with Russian cosmonauts on the Mir space station as it flew over his Wiltshire farmhouse. He was a keen radio ham, with a 40-foot mast in the garden. Though he spoke some Russian he often used Yana, a Russian friend, as translator. The cosmonauts seemed to enjoy this light relief after hard work over Russian territory. His greatest coup was to talk to British-born Michael Foale when he was a guest on Mir.”

See the Daily Mail story and his son’s comment at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186534/Radio-ham-contacts-International-Space-Station-GARDEN-SHED.html

Donald Shirreff G3BGM Obituary
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/don-shirreff-intelligence-officer-dismissed-for-his-antinuclear-stance-2001352.html

August 2015 UK radio ham’s ISS contact in the press

UK radio ham’s ISS contact in the press

Aug 7 2015

Work continues on ESEO FUNcube-4

Graham Shirville G3VZV working on the ESEO FUNcube-4 amateur radio payload - Credit 2E0OBC

Graham Shirville G3VZV working on the ESEO FUNcube-4 amateur radio payload – Credit 2E0OBC

AMSAT-UK members have been busy this week working on the FUNcube-4 amateur radio payload for the new European Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO) satellite. On Friday, August 7, 2015 they tested the transponder and it seems to work fine. More testing and characterisation will follow over the next few days.

ESEO FUNcube-4 Engineering Model

ESEO FUNcube-4 Engineering Model

This is the third mission within the European Space Agency’s Education Satellite Programme. The satellite, which has a mass of 40 kg and measures 33x33x63 cm, is planned to launch into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The spacecraft will carry a 1260/145 MHz FM transponder and 145 MHz 1200 bps BPSK telemetry beacon to provide a telemetry downlink that can be easily received by schools and colleges for educational outreach purposes. The data will be displayed in an attractive format and provide stimulation and encouragement for students to become interested in all STEM subjects in a unique way.

The target audience is primarily students at both primary and secondary levels and the project includes the development of a simple and cheap “ground station” operating on VHF frequencies in the Amateur Satellite Service. This station is an omni-directional antenna feeding a FUNcube DonglePRO+ SDR receiver which will receive the signals direct from the satellite and transfer the data to specially developed graphical software running on any Windows laptop.

Watch “ESEO Payload Update” by Chris 2E0OBC and Graham G3VZV at 2015 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium

Download the ESEO Presentation Slides

2015 International Space Colloquium Presentations Playlist
https://www.youtube.com/user/AMSATUK/playlists

Aug 7 2015

Do not Digipeat via PCSAT

US Naval Academy PCSAT

US Naval Academy PCSAT

As has been reported in the RSGB News, the PCSAT spacecraft was launched September 30, 2001 and has, due to an on-board power system issue, started to transmit APRS again on 144.390 MHz.

Although this is the correct frequency for APRS operation in IARU Region 2, it is not compatible with our Region 1 bandplan which has this part of the band designated for weak signal and particularly Meteor Scatter operation.

The orbit of this spacecraft means that sometimes it is in full sunlight and, at other times, it is eclipsed for a major percentage of the orbit. As the on-board batteries have lost their ability to hold a charge, the problem can only occur when it is in sunlight.

Various methods of mitigate this problem are presently under active consideration but in the meantime it is important that no amateur in Region 1 should attempt to digipeat through this spacecraft. Additionally those amateurs on the east coast of the American continent are also requested not to attempt to activate the spacecraft when it can be “seen” from Europe.

At IARU level, further work is being undertaken to reduce the risk from future spacecraft potentially causing similar problems. Such problems could result from developers not following the globally agreed bandplans for amateur satellite operations. In particular the IARU Satellite Coordinator has been requested to make urgent contact with the team responsible for XW-2(CAS-3) mission of nine satellites from China. Some of the proposed frequencies do not respect the internationally agreed Region 1 Bandplan for 2 metres.

Interference from PC-Sat reported July 28, 2002 http://home.hccnet.nl/uffe.noucha/pcsat

Aug 5 2015

SPROUT Deployable Membrane – Request for Telemetry

SPROUT satellite students at Nihon-Univ. Miyazaki Laboratory

SPROUT satellite students at Nihon-Univ. Miyazaki Laboratory

Students at Nihon University in Japan are requesting the assistance of radio amateurs in collecting telemetry from the SPROUT satellite which has deployed an inflatable membrane structure.

SPROUT Amateur Radio SSTV Satellite

SPROUT Amateur Radio Satellite

The SPROUT JQ1YGZ Team say:

We’d like to show to everyone about SPROUT, and we’d like to ask receiving cooperation to everyone.

SPROUT was launched at May 24, 2014 from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan.

There are 3 main missions in SPROUT.
・Deployment demonstration of inflatable membrane structure.
・Demonstration of attitude determination and control technology for several kilogram class nano-satellite.
・Upbringing of human resources of a space sector

For more information
http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/sprout-e/
Please see this website.

SSTV image received from SPROUT by Mario LU4EOU on May 31, 2014 at 0408 UT

SSTV image received from SPROUT by Mario LU4EOU on May 31, 2014 at 0408 UT

This time, we made a deployment demonstration of inflatable membrane structure. But it’s necessary to get a deal of data to get information on a satellite, and it takes time to get one of data only my satellite communication ground station.

So when everybody of amsat would do reception cooperation, information on a satellite can be got quickly.

We’d like to request reception cooperation of everybody of “AMSAT-UK” for study promotion.

If you wouldn’t mind, please reception cooperation. Please inform the following mail address of your question and a reception report – sprout_contact@forth.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp

Best regards

SPROUT JQ1YGZ Team on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008270115808

SPROUT transmits on 437.525 MHz FM 1k2 AFSK AX.25
http://www.dk3wn.info/sat/afu/sat_sprout.shtml

SPROUT SSTV activation https://amsat-uk.org/2014/05/31/sprout-sstv-digitalker-active/