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- REVISION: 9 MAY 1994
-
- 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, stephen@mail.boi.hp.com. 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 info-serv@arrl.org 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 (sgreene@access.digex.com)
- 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 (c)1994
- | | / / /_/ | | Memory stephen@mail.boi.hp.com Opinions are mine,
- |___\ / /___| Division Fax: 208/396-6858 not my employer's.
-