Tag Archives: satellite

Jul 25 2016

Satellite Beginners Session in Guildford

Drew Glasbrenner M-KO4MA AUK Colloquium 2015

Drew Glasbrenner M/KO4MA working FO-29 at the AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2015

The AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium at the Holiday Inn,  Guildford starts at 2pm on Friday, July 29 with a special session for newcomers to the amateur satellite world.

Newcomers will be helped through the complexities by three amateurs, Dave G4DPZ, Carlos G3VHF and Drew KO4MA, who, between them, have thousands of hours of experience.

They will explain the theories and talk about the practice of listening to and having satellite contacts through the ever increasing number of satellites in orbit.

This year, there will be copies available of the very recently updated AMSAT-NA publication Getting started with Amateur Satellites 2016.

After the Beginners Session there will be a tour of the SSTL satellite facilities in the Kepler Building. Places on the tour are limited and pre-registration is required, see
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/07/03/registration-sstl-kepler-visit/

Pass for the Friday afternoon session can be purchased from the AMSAT-UK shop.

The colloquium is Open to All. Programme schedule at https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/

Jul 21 2016

New Geostationary Transponders

Es'hail-2 coverage from 26 degrees EastThe AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium at the Holiday Inn, Guildford will hear presentations from Peter Gülzow DB2OS and Achim Vollhardt DH2VA on the new geostationary amateur radio satellite transponders currently planned to launch in the 3rd quarter of 2017.

The two transponders will provide SSB, Digimode, CW and Digital Amateur TV communications between five continents.

On Saturday, July 30 Peter Gülzow DB2OS will talk about the Phase 4A flight segment while Achim Vollhardt DH2VA will describe the ground station requirements.

The event over the weekend of July 30-31 is open to all, admittance is £10 per day, car parking is free. Those wishing to find out about amateur space communications are most welcome to attend.

Phase-4A Geostationary Transponders https://amsat-uk.org/2016/06/24/phase-4a-geostationary-transponders/

Further information on the event at https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/

Jul 13 2016

RSGB Board Chair to address AMSAT-UK Colloquium

RSGB Chair Steve Hartley G0FUWThe RSGB Board Chair Steve Hartley G0FUW will address the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium at the Holiday Inn, Guildford on Sunday, July 31.

He will give an insight into the RSGB support given to the schools involved in the Principia ARISS contacts and how the Society plan to build on those successes. He will also outline the Schools Link project which aims to show schools how they can use amateur radio to deliver ‘core’ science in a practical way to enrich the learning experience, and hopefully generate some new radio amateurs (and maybe radio communication engineers) in the process.

The Colloquium takes place July 30-31 and is open to all, admittance is £10 per day.

Libby Jackson, Astronaut Flight Education Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency will be speaking during the Gala Dinner on the Saturday evening, book your place via http://shop.amsat-uk.org/

Further information can be found at https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/

Jul 11 2016

LilacSat-2 Linear Transponder Tested

Members of the Harbin Institute Of Technology Amateur Radio Club BY2HIT receiving LilacSat-2

Members of the Harbin Institute Of Technology Amateur Radio Club BY2HIT receiving LilacSat-2

On July 10, 2016 the amateur radio SSB/CW linear transponder on the student built satellite LilacSat-2 was successfully tested.

LilacSat-2, call sign BJ1SI, was built by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology and launched on September 19, 2015.

The 40 kHz wide SSB/CW transponder is Non-Inverting which means the Doppler shift of a signal going through the transponder will be twice that usually seen on Low Earth Orbit inverting linear transponder satellites.

Clayton Coleman W5PFG reported that he and Glenn Miller AA5PK had a contact through the transponder, a recording can be heard at
https://soundcloud.com/w5pfg/lilacsat-2-2016-07-11-1315z-ssb-transponder

The transponder frequencies are:
• 144.3425-144.3825 MHz Uplink
• 437.180-437.220 MHz Downlink
It is not yet known when the transponder will be activated again.

LilacSat-2 https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/lilacsat-2/

Jul 3 2016

Registration Needed for SSTL Kepler Visit

SSTL-Kepler-Building

SSTL Kepler Building

As part of the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium there will be tours of the satellite facilities at the Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) Kepler building on Friday, July 29.

Update July 28 – The tours are now full to capacity. SSTL can only accept a limited number of visitors. We are very sorry if you have been disappointed!

As previously noted, any one wishing to go needed to contact us by 5pm 28 July.

Those who are registered for the tour have been notified of the details by email.

AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium July 29-31 https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/

Jun 30 2016

AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2016

UK Space Agency Astronaut Flight Education Programme Manager Libby Jackson will speak at the Gala Dinner

UK Space Agency Astronaut Flight Education Programme Manager Libby Jackson will speak at the Gala Dinner

The 2016 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium is taking place at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, over the weekend of July 29-31. The event is open to all. The presentations will be streamed at https://beta.batc.tv/live/amsatuk

A full programme of presentations, covering all aspects of the amateur satellite world, has been developed for the Saturday and Sunday and a “Beginners Session” is scheduled for the Friday afternoon.

Download the PDF Schedule Here —- For PC’s Excel Spreadsheet Here

Travel information https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/colloquium-travel/

Day Passes and Gala Dinner Booking http://shop.amsat-uk.org/

Sessions will include updates on the many new satellites that are expected to be launched over the next few months. This includes Eshail-2 which will carry the first ever geostationary amateur radio transponder and provide more than 8 MHz of new intercontinental spectrum – it will provide coverage to five continents. Additionally we will have a session on how to develop software receivers using GNU radio, reviews of the Tim Peake GB1SS ARISS contacts and the STEM results achieved, information about a new 76 GHz satellite project, a review of how to operate “in the field” and lots more.

UKSA - UK Space Agency LogoAs well as the presentations during the day, Libby Jackson, Astronaut Flight Education Programme Manager at the UK Space Agency, with whom the ARISS UK team worked closely during the Tim Peake mission, will be speaking during the Gala Dinner on the Saturday evening.

Other highlights will include visits to the SSTL facilities (late Friday afternoon) and the opportunity to see the special ground station equipment that was used for all the ARISS contacts. This will be available for use for contacts during passes of all the available satellite transponders.

Visitors can either turn up on the day, book day passes on the website or, if planning an overnight stay, now is the last week to make their hotel bookings at the preferential rate and which have been block-booked by AMSAT-UK. The URL for the AMSAT-UK shop to book day passes is http://shop.amsat-uk.org/

If you wish to book overnight accommodation, please contact the hotel direct on 01483 784413 (alternative +44 1483 784402).  Quote block code S1M or AMSAT. Day passes cost £10 per day (incl tea/coffee), please pay at the AMSAT-UK shop (not hotel reception). If you wish to attend the Gala dinner on Saturday, you must book in advance, either with the hotel (by booking dinner, bed, and breakfast) if staying overnight, or if Day Visitor book the Gala Dinner at the AMSAT-UK shop.

The 01483 784413 number is staffed from Monday to Friday 9am to 5:30pm UK local time. Outside these hours, you can email reservations@higuildford.co.uk Give your phone number and the hotel should call you back to take Debit/Credit card number and confirm the booking.

As well at the AMSAT-UK shop, there will be a number of specialist suppliers present, and we are hoping that the RSGB bookshop will also be present.

The event is open to all and further information can be found at https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/

Registration needed for SSTL Kepler building visit https://amsat-uk.org/2016/07/03/registration-sstl-kepler-visit/