All info on this page is quoted from a file
by the gent at the foot of the page and is
entirely thanks to him...
CONTENTS:
Foreword - my ramblings
Bibliography - list of sources and how to
get more information
Modes - common satellite operating modes
Satellites - descriptions and background
history of common satellite
Antennas - discussion of what works best
Preamps - discussion of what is needed
Rigs - popular satellite rigs and features
Accessories and Other Stuff - things that
make satellte operation easier
Frequencies - list of most hamsats with uplink/downlink
freq/modes
Aliases - list of satellite common names
with their other aliases
FOREWORD:
Having recently started to get into Satellites,
I asked MANY people what
it took to get started and what to do. I
found few people who could offer
all the information necessary to start. I
have attempted to compile this
information for future newbies. If I have
missed something, please ask and
I will attempt to add it to the collection.
Any comments can be sent
directly to me, [email protected].
Copies of this article should be
available in the following locations:
oak.oakland.edu:/pub/hamradio/docs/faq
ftp.cs.buffalo.edu:/pub/ham-radio
Clear Skies BBS (608)249-7130
Also, if you really want to get serious about
satellites, I would STRONGLY
recommend joining AMSAT to help promote the
satellite hobby. AMSAT is a
volunteer organization that works for the
interests of amateur satellites.
Dues are only US$30 per year and you will
receive a subscription to "The
AMSAT Journal". For US$80, you will
receive first year dues and a copy
of Instant Track computer tracking software
which is a top-notch program.
Instant Track was donated to AMSAT by its
author and its sales account for
a considerable portion of AMSAT's income.
AMSAT-NA, 850 Sligo Avenue,
Silver Spring, MD 20910-4703. (301) 589-6062.
Credit cards welcome.
NOTE: I am in no way connected with AMSAT-NA,
other than I have found their
publications quite useful.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
The following text was compiled from the
following sources and from comments
from many operators:
* "How to use the EZSATS pass tables
by N9LTD" and "Hamsat aliases"
reprinted with permission. Full text, tables,
and lots of other useful
information can be obtained by sending a
SASE to David Mullenix N9LTD,
2052 Brentwood Pky, Madison, WI 53704 or
call the Clear Skies BBS at
(608)249-7130.
* "Amateur Radio Satellite Frequencies"
This file can be obtained from the
ARRL e-mail server. For information on the
server, send an e-mail message
to [email protected] with 'HELP' in body
of message.
* "Summary - Getting onto the Hamsats"
This was an article posted to
rec.radio.amateur.misc newsgroup by Stephan
Greene ([email protected])
on 20 Mar 1992. The article is also available
via anon ftp from
ftp.cs.buffalo.edu or Australian mirror at
grivel.une.edu.au as file
pub/hamradio/ham_sat_sum.
* "An Amatuer Satellite Operation Upgrade
Path" from the AMSAT Journal,
September/October 1993, pp. 24-26.
MODES:
The combination of uplink freq, downlink
freq, and transmission mode are all
lumped together into standardized satellite
MODES. Here is a list of common
satellite modes used by satellites covered
by this article:
A - This mode requires a 2 meter SSB/CW trasmitter
and a 10 meter SSB/CW
receiver and supports CW and voice.
B - This mode requires a 70 cm SSB/CW transmitter
and a 2 meter SSB/CW
receiver and supports CW and voice. Some
satellites also support RTTY
and SSTV in this mode.
K - This mode requires a 15 meter SSB/CW
transmitter and a 10 meter SSB/CW
receiver and supports CW and voice. This
mode is unique in that it can
be done with a simple HF rig.
JA- This mode stands for J Analog and requires
a 2 meter SSB/CW transmitter
and a 70 cm SSB/CW receiver and supports
CW, voice.
JD- This mode stands for J Digital and requires
a 2 meter FM transmitter and
and a 70 cm SSB/CW receiver and supports
packet.
S - This mode requires a 70 cm SSB/CW transmitter
and a 2.4 GHz SSB/CW
receiver and supports CW and voice. Many
people use a 2.4 GHz to 2 meter
converter with a 2 meter SSB/CW receiver
instead of buying a 2.4 GHz
SSB/CW receiver.
T - This mode requires a 15 meter SSB/CW
transmitter and a 2 meter SSB/CW
receiver and supports CW and voice.
Some satellites have dual modes that operate
simultaneously. For example,
AO-13 can operate in mode BS which means
that it can do both mode B and mode
S simulaneously. Other common dual modes
are KT and KA.
Also, satellites have 3 basic types of retransmissions:
beacon, transponder,
and repeater.
Beacon - Most satellites have a fixed Morse
beacon at the lower end of the
satellites band-pass transponder. This is
useful to detect when the satellite
has crossed the horizon and is in range for
operation. It can also be used to
determine dopler shifts.
Transponder - A transponder is a band-pass
repeater. It accepts a range of
frequencies on the input and retransmits
the entire range on the output. All
offsets withing that range are preserved.
NOTE: since the satellite is
transmitting many signals at the same time,
it is dividing its output power
amongst all of these signals. If someone
transmits a very powerful signal
into the satellite, it will spend most of
its power retransmitting that
signal and all of the other signals will
drop in power. This is NOT a way
to earn friends and people who overpower
the satellites input are called
"alligators" and are not very popular.
Repeater - This closely resembles a land-based
repeater. It listens for
signals on one frequency and retransmits
it on another frequency. All
satellite repeaters (and transponders) are
full duplex, meaning you can
(and should) listen to you signal on the
downlink (with headphones) while
you are transmitting.
SATELLITES:
Some satellites are easier to work than others.
The satellites that follow
can be operated fairly easily and are referred
to by some as the Easy Sats.
What follows is a breif description of each
satellite. A summary list of
operating frequencies is included later.
Mir
Mir (promounced "mere" - "Peace"
in Russian) is the Russian Space Station.
It's been in orbit since 1986. All recent
Russian Cosmonauts have been hams
and have callsigns with "MIR" in
them, such as U2MIR. Mir has 2-meter
equipment on board and they operate packet
and voice on 145.55 MHz. (This is
the same freq as the Space Shuttles.) The
cosmonauts also have a digital
voice recorder which can repeatedly transmit
voice announcements.
The best way to get a QSL card from Mir is
to connect to their TNC's mailbox,
R0MIR-1, (That's R Zero MIR) leave a message
AND GET A MESSAGE NUMBER. You
must have the message number to qualify for
a QSL. The TNC is often busy
because amatuers forget to disconnect before
Mir goes under their horizon.
In a case like this, try connecting to yourself
or a friend VIA R0MIR. And
if you hear a heavily accented voice calling
CQ, by all means say hello!
70 cm and ATV gear is being prepared for
future flights!
QSL Address:
Sergei Samburov (RV3DR)
Prospect Kosmonavtov. d.36, kw.96
Kaliningrad City, MOSCOW 141070, RUSSIA.
Sergei can also be reached via packet radio
as RV3DR @ RK3KP.#MSK.RUS.EU
A special note on caculating Mir's orbit:
Mir is big and it's in a low
orbit. This means that there's a lot of atmospheric
drag and it has to fire
its rockets every month or two to boost itself
back up or it would have
re-entered and burned up long ago. Unfortunately,
whenever this happens, it
throws off all pass predictions. When this
happens, Mir will arrive LATER
than predicted, so if you tune to 145.55
and nothing happens at the predicted
time, keep waiting, it may be along in 10-30
minutes.
SEEING MIR: Mir is also the only EZSAT that
can bee seen. Mir is very big,
about the size of a semi-trailer, and when
it comes over just after sunset or
just before sunrise, you can often see it
go by. This is because Mir will
still be in sunlight whil you're in the earth's
shadow. In these cases, Mir
looks like a very bright star gliding acress
the sky. It's a beautiful sight
and well worth looking for. It's best to
use a tracking program set to
VISUAL to find visible passes. The best such
programs will even draw you a
star map and show you Mir's path across it.
Don't forget to tune to 145.55
when you see it. Also, don't forget to get
on the local repeater and tell
people when you spot it so that others can
share in the fun.
RS-10/11, RS-12/13, OSCAR-21(RS-14)
These three satellites are all in 600 mile
high polar orbits, which carry
them over the US six to eight times a day
for 10-18 minutes at a time.
They all have orbital periods of about 95
minutes and we typically get two
sets of three or four passes spaced 95 minutes
apart. The two sets of
passes are spaced 12 hours apart and their
passes come a little earlier each
day because their orbits don't take quite
exacly 95 minutes.
These satellites all have a coverage circle
about 4000 miles in diameter, so
when they're about the horizon, you can use
them to work hams anywhere in the
conteinental US, Canada, Alaska, Mexico,
Central America, South America down
to the Equator, the Caribbean, Greenland,
Iceland and parts of Scandinavia.
Eastern hams can work Europe and the West
can work Hawaii.
All of these satellites are in boxes that
are bolted to larger Russian
satellites and draw their power from the
large satellite's solar cells.
They are VERY easy to hear and fairly simple
to work.
OSCAR-21
My favorite satellite. This is a German/Russian
radio that uses a Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) chip and it is Flexible
with a capital "F"! It was
launched in January, 1990 configured as a
linear translator which received a
band of 70 cm CW and SSB signals and relayed
them on 2 meters. The bird was,
to put it mildly, under-utilized. Then in
1992 the DSP chip was reprogrammed
in orbit into a cross band FM repeater! If
you've been wondering if DSP is
as powerful as you've heard, now you know!
In the past year, it's telemetry
has been re-programmed from an obscure format
to standard 1200 baud packet.
WEFAX pictures (which are uploaded by teh
ground controllers) were added in
December 1993. (This is the same format used
by many weather sats and short
wave weather stations.)
OSCAR-21 has an input frequency of 435.016
MHz, but 435.015 works just fine.
It's output frequency is 145.987 MHz, but
145.985 or 145.990 will recieve it
quite well. It has a strong transmitter and
a ground plane antenna and most
HTs have no trouble picking its signals up
when it passes over. Mobiles and
base stations with omni antennas will receive
it full quieting. You can get
into this bird with 20 watts and a six element
beam antenna. I mount my beam
on a photo tripod next to my car and run
coax to my dual band mobile. You
have to point the beam accurately, so I take
a list of altitude and azimuth
bearing generated by simple tracking software
out with me and re-point the
beam once a minute. In one summer, I worked
the east and west coasts,
several Canadians, Texas and Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba before fall's cold weather
drove me indoors.
Some OSCAR-21 tips: you can hardly get a
word in edgewise during "prime time"
opening passes. Try the late night passes
instead, they're much less
crowded. OSCAR-21's transmit and recieve
polarity rotate constantly during a
pass. Mount your beam so you can easily rotate
it for the best signal.
Remember, all these ham sats are full duplex,
so you can and should monitor
your signal on the downlink. (Use headphones.)
Turn the beam for minimum
noise. You'll probably have to modify your
dual band rig to get it to
transmit on 435.015. BE CAREFUL beacuse FM
is generally NOT appreciated
below 440 MHz. Also, the mod may allow you
to transmit out of band, which is
a real no-no.
OSCAR-21 is also known as RS-14, AO-21 and
Rudak-2. It's bolted to a
satellite called INFORMATOR-1, which is often
abbreviated INFORMTR-1. It's
NORAD ID number is 21087. Be careful, the
rocket booster that launched the
satellite is still up there and it's named
INFORMTR-1 R/B in some element
sets. Your tracking program may find it instead
of the satellite if you're
not careful.
RS-10/11
This is probably the easiest satellite to
work of them all. It has an
incredibly sensitive receiver that can pick
up the faintest two meter signal
and relay it on ten meters. There are documented
examples of people having
QSOs on RS-10/11 by clicking Morse on HTs
with rubber duck antennas! I
guarantee you that your HT can put a useable
signal into RS-10/11, I've done
it myself. WARNING: if you try this, disable
the microphone so you don't
transmit any FM sidebands and turn your CTCSS
(PL) OFF!
RS-10/11 (Radio Sputnik) is for CW and SSB
signals, so an all mode 2 meter
rig is ideal for transmitting to this bird.
The input bandpass is from
145.860 - 145.900 and the output freqs are
from 29.360 - 29.400 MHz. There
is also a morse beacon at 29.357 MHz.
RS-10 is also equiped with a feature called
ROBOT. The ROBOT is an automatic
on-board QSO computer. To work it, send the
following at about 15-20 wpm
on 145.82 MHz (an automated keyer works best):
RS-10 DE (your call) AR
If the ROBOT hears you, it will respond on
the 29.403 MHz downlink with:
(your call) DE RS-10 QSL NR (number) OP ROBOT
TU USW QSO (number) 73 SK
If you want a QSL card, try sending the QSL
number the ROBOT sent back to
you on your QSL (along with an SASE and return
postage) to:
Andrey Mironov
UL Vvoloshinoj. D11. KV72.
141000 Station Perlovskaya
Moscow, Russia
RS-12/13
A cousin to RS-10/11, RS-12/13 is also a
40 KHz wide linear transponder.
However, this bird is unique because its
input frequencies are in the fifteen
meter band! This is also the only ham sat
in the sky that requires more than
a code free technician license to work it,
because its input band is from
21.210 - 21.250 MHz. This straddles the Advanced
and Extra portions of the
15 meter band. Its output freqs are from
29.410 - 29.450 MHz. Because of
skip, this satellite can often be heard and
worked when it's below the
horizon! At least one person has earned DXCC
on this satellite! RS-12/13 is
bolted to yet another Russian satellite and
its NORAD ID is 21089. RS-12/13
also has a ROBOT mode like its brother RS-10/11.
DOVE
DOVE is short for Digital Orbiting Voice
Encoder and is a transmit-only
hamsat (it has no user accessible receiver).
Built in Argentina, DOVE was
launched in 1990 as a good will satellite
to introduce children and newcomers
to amateur satellites. It was originally
intened to transmit digitized voice
messages that could be picked up by students
with simple receivers.
Unfortunately, the digital voice hardware
and software has been a constant
source of problems since launch. Atempts
to get DOVE to works properly are
proceeding as this is written, so the best
bet is to tune your 2-meter rig or
scanner to 145.825 MHz and see what the bird
is up to currently. Be ready
for Morse, standard 1200 baud packet or (with
luck) digitized voice messages.
The signals are strong enough so that an
HT with a rubber duck will hear it
when it's overhead, although ground plane
antennas will give better coverage
when the bird is near the horizon.
AO-10
Known as Phase 3-B before it's launch by
the European Space Agency in June,
1983, this satellite was designed for launch
into a high elliptical orbit.
This orbit, called "Molniya" orbit,
places the satellite over one spot on
the Earth for up to several hours at a time.
This orbital configuration
also allows for consistent, long haul DX
communication because the satellite
is visable to roughly half the Earth! This
orbit virtually eliminates the
frantic "hurry up" style of operation.
But such a luxury is not without
cost. At the farthest point in the Molniya
orbit, this satellite is over
25,000 miles away from the Earth, meaning
high gain antennas and higher
power levels are required to get a workable
signal up and through the bird.
Also, even though radio waves travel at the
speed of light, the over 50,000
mile round trip creates a signal path delay
of about 1/4 second on the
downlinked signal. It takes some time for
satellite operators to get used
to simultaneously speaking and listening
to their own voices returning in
their headphones a quarter second later.
The first Phase 3-A launch ended in disaster
when the Ariane booster
malfunctioned, dropping the bird in the Atlantic.
Phase 3-B, later to
become OSCAR 10, met with somewhat better
fortune, surviving the launch and
first burn of its "kick motor"
just fine. However, we later learned that
the booster had apparently bumped OSCAR 10
shortly after separation which
damaged one or more of its antennas and also
caused other internal injuries
because the second and subsequent kick motor
firings never happended. This
left OSCAR 10 in a lower inclination elliptical
orbit. This meant that
the bird didn't have the intended operational
coverage nor enough solar
panel illumination to sustain full operations.
So today, OSCAR 10 is "sort
of" operational. It is stuck in mode
"B" with only its omnidirectional
antennas working and it is slowly tumbling.
Users are requested to listen
for AO-10's 145.810 MHz beacon for a steady,
unmodulated carrier before
operating the bird. If the beacon is raspy
or if your downlink signal
appears to be shifting in frequency, users
are asked NOT to use the
transponder until it has a chance to slowly
recharge its batteries.
AO-13
Launched in June, 1988, OSCAR-13 is now carrying
the bulk of the long haul
DX available via amateur satellite. It is
the current--and much improved--
brother to OSCAR 10. However, unlike OSCAR
10, it did managed to achiieve
its "Molniya" orbit. OSCAR 13 also
has the ability to automatically select
transponders for each mode at different points
in its orbit. This helps
optimize the mode in use with its corresponding
downlink antenna gain. OSCAR
13 did have some problems, however. It had
a RUDAK experiment onboard that
failed shortly after launch. Also, in June
1993, the 70 cm downlink
transmitter ceased to function, putting an
end to Mode J and L operation.
However, modes B and S are still being supported
and mode S is becoming
increasingly popular. Also, AO-13's batteries
are beginning to show signs
of age and its orbit it deteriorating. The
progressive effects of previously
unknown gravitational interactions between
AO-13, the Sun, the Moon and the
Earth will all conspire to cause the satellite's
re-entry into the atmosphere
sometime in 1996.
ANTENNAS:
For AO-13, the consensus is get to get KLMs,
Telex/Hy-Gains, or roll-your
own, Nobody liked the Cushcraft satellite
antennas - they appear to have
problems in wet weather. Bigger is also better,
if you have the space.
Several people mentioned the KLM 22C and
40CX pair as excellent performers
(again - you need the room for those long
booms!) KE4ZV stated his pair of
KLMs (the big ones!) lets him work AO-13
with 3 to 30 watts (hardline feed
and rigorous attention to routing the feedlines
and cables properly to
maintain the antenna patterns helps, too.).
Others mentioned the KLM
14C/18C pair as good performers - but you
need more power on the uplink.
Telex/Hy-Gain antennas were recommended by
several people as a less
expensive alternative to KLMs that work almost
as well. There's also M2
(started by an engineer from KLM). While
no one who responded uses them,
the information I received from a call to
their factory in California
suggests they are comparable to slightly
better than the KLMs in performance,
and about the same in cost. Dave, WB6LFC,
said homebrewing antennas is also
feasible - it takes work, but attention to
detail results in top-notch
performance for very little money. Finally,
Ross, VE6PDQ, reported good
results using a pair of Cushcraft 215WBs
on receive.
Problems encountered with AO-13 antennas
include routing cables and
feedlines off the back of the antennas (to
preserve antenna patterns), use
of fiberglass cross booms, mounting preamps
as close to the feedpoint as
possible, and long antenna booms drooping.
(Gary, KE4ZV, recommends using
a rope to brace the boom or stiffening booms
and fiberglass masts internally
with foam-in-a-can insulation.)
On antenna rotators, it appears the Alliance
UD-100 is no longer made,
though it should still show up at hamfests.
People with long-boom antennas
report the Alliance rotator is too weak to
move a big array anyway, and
recommended Yaesu's elevation-only rotator
or their Model 5400 azimuth-
elevation unit.
Antennas for the low-altitude satellites
appear to be much less critical.
J-poles were most frequently mentioned (the
design from the AMSAT Journal?),
but dipoles, ground-planes, and yagis are
also in use. Several people work
RS-10 quite well with antennas in the attic.
Best results are with
steerable antennas, but the high operator
workload during a pass (unless
the satellite is just grazing your access
circle) almost demands computer
control of the rotators.
PREAMPS:
You need a preamp for AO-13. (I can hear
the downlink after a fashion on
a Ringo fed with cheap coax and a 10 dB preamp
in the shack, but it's not
communications quality reception!) Only two
people mentioned a specific
brand name (Advanced Receiver Research and
the unit included with the
Ten-Tec 2510), so I assume almost any GAsFET
preamp in the 20dB gain class
is adequate. THE PREAMP MUST (almost always)
BE MOUNTED AT THE ANTENNA
(check the discussion in Chapter 9 of the
Satellite Experimenter's Handbook
and you'll see why!). KE4ZV recommends mounting
the preamp AT the antenna
feedpoint, if your elevation rotator can
handle the unbalanced load.
While no one mentioned it (maybe it's obvious),
if the antenna is used to
transmit (say Mode J) as well as receive
(on Mode B, for example), the
preamp MUST either include RF-sensed switching,
or be switched out of the
line before you transmit. TRANSMITTING INTO
AN UNPROTECTED PREAMP WILL
DESTROY IT INSTANTLY!
Preamps also seem to help on RS-10 (especially
with older HF rigs) and on
the Pacsats. It seems to be a case of "try
it, and get a preamp if it looks
like it would help").
RIGS:
Three radios were mentioned by name - Yaesu
FT736 (and it's predecessor,
the 726 with satellite module), Kenwood TR751
(a mobile-capable 2 meter
multimode), and Ten-Tec's 2510. The Ten-Tec
unit is out of production.
The few units left are selling for about
$300-350. I'm sure other multi-
mode radios, and setups with converters and
transverters work well, too -
it's just that no one mentioned any by name.
Power output required is a function of the
satellite, your antennas, and
how badly you want to communicate. [QRP on
the satellites is just like
QRP on HF - you need good antennas and feedline,
you have to pick optimal
passes, and skilled operators at both ends
are needed. Given the apparent
"calmer" operating style on AO-13,
QRP is probably easier there than on
20 meters!]
Anyway -about power for AO-13. 3-30 watts
will work if you have top-notch
antennas (KE4ZV). KC7IT uses 50-100 watts
(Ten Tec 2510, Mirage D1010
amplifier, KLM 14C/18C fed with 50 feet of
9913). Both KE4ZV and KC7IT
use Mirage D1010 amplifiers on 70 cm when
they need a little extra power.
For an "optimum station", WA5ZIB
recommends 60 watts on 70 cm and 80 watts
on 2 meters for AO-13, assuming good antennas
(Telex/Hy-Gain or better) and
feedlines, and 20 watts to a 5' dish for
Mode L. Andy emphasized that you
can get by and have lots of fun with much
less!
For Mode A, WA5ZIB said 6 watts to the AO-13
2 meter antenna will work well.
People using omnis report success with the
Pacsats running 50-70 watts to a
J-Pole (N5VGC). Several people said they
(or someone they know) have no
trouble using RS-10 at lower power (10-25
watts) with simple, omnidirectional
antennas. Again, it's a case of "try
it and see if it works."
There was unanimous consensus that the receiving
quipment (antenna, preamp,
feedline, and receiver) is more important
than the transmit equipment.
Running more power "to hear yourself"
is frowned upon, to say the least!
It's also important to be able to vary uplink
power to adjust to specific
conditions. Both the Ten Tec 2510 and the
Yaesu 736 have continuously
variable power output (I guess the rest of
us just have to fiddle with the
drive controls on our rigs!).
ACCESSORIES AND OTHER STUFF:
You need a PSK modem to use the Pacsats.
PacCom makes fully assembled
units, either already integrated with their
own TNC, or as a board you
install in your TNC-2 clone. They make similar
9600 bps units for accessing
UO-22. The downlink receiver (on 70 cm) should
be capable of being tuned by
the PSK modem's AFC lines. Newer radios can
use the up/down lines from the
microphone jack or an accessory connection
on the rear panel. Older radios
must be modified, or be tuned manually. N5VGC
told me he sees about 20KHz
of doppler on an AO-16 pass, and that without
automatic tuning, operator
workload is too high to do much else besides
tune the receiver!
Just about any radio suitable for packet
on 2 meters will work for AO-16,
WO18, and LU-19. To run 9600 bps on UO-22,
modifications to bypass the
microphone and speaker's audio processing
circuits are required. I've seen
some reports on rec.radio.packet and in the
various Hamsat columns that
differences between UO14 and UO-22's transmitters
make UO-22 more difficult
to copy. (I'll worry about that problem later
- I'll start with AO-16 and
LU-19 first!)
No one mentioned computers - again, it must
be obvious (also, we're
"talking" using computers!). They're
handy, and you need one IN THE SHACK
when working the Pacsats or for automated,
real-time control of antenna
rotators (useful for low altitude satellites).
Other operator aids mentioned, or I thought
of on my own: If your radio
can't slave uplink and downlink tuning (Ten
Tec 2510 and Yaesu 736 can),
you need something to help convert between
uplink and downlink frequencies
(and account for doppler shift and calibration
errors on the radios'
frequency readouts). A cardboard slide scale
or dial will work. I'm
thinking of programming my HP48 to do the
conversion for me. You need
something like this to know where to tune
on the uplink to hear a given
downlink frequency.
Software to track satellites and predict
passes. There are many programs
that work. Price ranges from free to $70
for state-of-the-art QuickTrack
or InstantTrack (available from AMSAT). Special
software is also needed
to use the Pacsats, and to interpret telemetry
data. This software is also
available from the usual ham sources, and
from AMSAT (BTW, software sales
support the amateur satellite program!)
Polarity switchers optimize antenna performance
by allowing switching
antenna feeds from RHCP to LHCP as the need
arises. They are a very useful
add-on, but don't appear essential.
Equipment to measure power output, SWR, transmit
frequency - all useful
(see - satellites are not that different
from HF!).
FREQUENCIES:
Amateur Radio Satellite Frequencies (as of
January 1994)
Designation Frequencies Transponder/ Mode
Beacon
AO-10
Downlinks 145.810 B B
145.825-.975 T B
145.987 B B (Usually off)
Uplinks 435.027-.179 T B
RS-10
Downlinks 29.357 B A
29.360-.400 T A
29.403 B (Robot) A
145.857 B T/KT
145.903 B (Robot) T/KT
Uplinks 145.860-.900 T T/KT
145.820 B (Robot) T/KT
RS-12
Downlinks 29.408 B K
29.410-.450 T K
29.454 B (Robot) K
145.913 B T/KT
145.959 B (Robot) T/KT
Uplinks 21.210-.250 T K
AO-13
Downlinks 145.812 B B
145.825-.975 T B
145.985 B B (Usually off)
435.651 B L/JL
435.677 RUDAK
435.715-6.005 T L/JL
2400.664 B S
2400.711-.749 T S
Uplinks 435.423-.573 T B/S
435.601-.637 T B/S
AO-16
Downlinks 437.02625 T/B J Dig. (1200b SSB)
(secondary)
437.05130 T/B J Dig. (1200b Rai. Cos SSB)
(pri)
2401.14280 B 1200 bps SSB (Usually off)
Uplinks 145.900 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.920 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.940 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.960 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
DO-17
Downlinks 145.82438 B 1200 bps AFSK FM or
Dig Voice
145.82516 B 1200 bps AFSK FM or Dig Voice
2401.22050 B 1200 bps BPSK (SSB) (usually
off)
Uplinks None
WO-18
Downlink 437.10200 B 1200 bps BPSK, J Dig
(Telem, Image)
Uplink None
LO-19
Downlinks 437.125 T/B J Digital (secondary)
437.127 B CW
437.154 T/B J Digital (primary)
Uplinks 145.840 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.860 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.880 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.900 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
FO-20
Downlinks 435.795 B J Analog
435.800-.900 T J Analog (See below)
435.910 T/B 1200 bps BPSK (SSB), J Digital
Uplinks 145.850 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.870 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.890 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
145.910 T 1200 bps AFSK FM Digital
OR 145.900-6.00 T CW/SSB (Alternates with
above
every other week. Changes on
Wednesdays)
AO-21
Downlinks 145.852-.932 T CW/SSB
145.866-.946 T CW/SSB
145.985 Repeater FM (Alternates with voice
bulletins and telemetry)
Uplinks 435.022-.102 T CW/SSB
435.601-.637 T CW/SSB
435.015 Repeater FM (See above)
UO-22
Downlink 435.120 T 9600 bps FM Digital
Uplinks 145.900 T 9600 bps FM Digital
145.975 T 9600 bps FM Digital
KO-23 (KITSAT)
Downlink 435.175 T 9600 bps FM Digital
Uplinks 145.850 T 9600 bps FM Digital
145.900 T 9600 bps FM Digital
Mir
Downlink 145.550 T/Robot (Packet mailbox.
Alternates
with simplex FM voice QSOs
occasionally)
KO-25 (KITSAT-B)
Downlink 435.175/436.500 MHz 9600 bps FSK
FM Digital
Uplink 145.870/145.980 MHz 9600 bps FSK FM
Digital
AO-26 (ITAMSAT)
Downlink 435.867 MHz 1200 bps PSK Digital
Uplinks 145.875 MHz 1200 bps FM Digital
145.900 MHz 1200 bps FM Digital
145.925 MHz 1200 bps FM Digital
145.950 MHz 1200 bps FM Digital
AO-27 (AMRAD)
Downlink 436.798 MHz Analog FM voice/9600
bps FSK FM
Uplink 145.850 MHz Analog FM voice/9600 bps
FSK FM
PO-28
Uplink 145.975 MHz JD 9600 bps FSK (Primary)
145.925 MHZ JD 9600 bps FSK (Secondary)
Downlink 435.075 MHz JD 9600 bps FSK (Primary)
435.050 MHz JD 9600 bps FSK (Secondary)
Note: PoSat will be available to all radio
amateurs from January 28, 1994.
ALIASES:
NORAD Common Name [Aliases] (Parent satellite)
----- ----------- ---------------------------
------------------
14129 AO-10 [OSCAR 10, Phase 3B]
14781 UO-11 [OSCAR 11, UO-11, UOSAT-B, UOSAT
2]
16609 Mir
18129 RS-10/11 [RS-10] (COSMOS 1861)
19216 AO-13 [OSCAR 13, Phase 3C]
20437 UO-14 [OSCAR 14, UOSAT-OSCAR 14]
20438 UO-15 [OSCAR 15, UOSAT-OSCAR 15]
20439 AO-16 [OSCAR 16, Pacsat, Microsat-A]
20440 DO-17 [OSCAR 17, DOVE, Microsat-B]
20441 WO-18 [OSCAR 18, WEBERSAT, Microsat-C]
20442 LO-19 [OSCAR 19, LUSAT, Microsat-D]
20480 FO-20 [Fuji-OSCAR 20] (JAS 1-B)
21087 AO-21 [OSCAR 21, RS-14, RUDAK-II] (INFORMTR-1
or INFORMATOR-1)
21089 RS-12/13 [RS-12] (COSMOS 2123)
21575 UO-22 [OSCAR 22, UoSAT, UOSAT-F]
22077 KO-23 [OSCAR 23, KITSAT A]
22654 ARSENE
22825 AO-27 [OSCAR 27, AMRAD] (EYESAT-1)
22826 AO-26 [ITAMSAT, IO-26]
22829 PO-28 [POSAT, POSAT 1]
22830 KO-25 [KITSAT B]
____ ____
| / /_ __ _\\ | Disk ...........................Stephen
Holmstead .........................All comments
| | / / /_/_\\ | | Memory [email protected]
..................Opinions are mine,
|___\ / /___| Division .....................Fax:
208/396-6858............................
not my employer's.
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