A Radio Amateur
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Radio Amateurs & Satellites by Jean Marc Momplé (3B8DU) member of: the Mauritius Amateur Radio Society (MARS) Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) What is Radio Amateur? A Radio Amateur, also known as a “ham”, is a person which uses radio frequencies for the purposes of experimentation, self training, non-commercial exchange of messages, private recreation and emergency communication without any pecuniary interest. A Radio Amateur must pass a competency examination carried out by the Mauritius Amateur Radio Society (MARS) and obtain a Licence issued by the regulatory authority (ICTA) which will assign him a “callsign” (3B8XXY), before he may operate his station. Over the years Radio Amateurs have significantly and benevolently contributed to education, science, engineering and greatly helped in times of emergency. There are about 3 million licenced Radio Amateur operators worldwide represented at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) by their worldwide association the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Many are actively involved satellites in activities. By 3B8DU Radio Amateur station Optional Antennas/s Computer/s equipment control and digital mode Radio/s Receiver Transmitter Morse key A typical Radio Amateur station consists of several components and as a minimum a radio transmitter, a receiver and an antenna By 3B8DU Geostationary Earth Satellite orbits Orbit (GEO) satellites (35,000 Km altitude) “Circular” Orbit HEO Satellites: Low Earth Orbit Highly Elliptical Orbit (LEO) satellites (up satellites to 2000 Km altitude) By 3B8DU Radio Amateur satellites OSCAR 1, the first satellite build by Radio Amateurs, was launched in 1961 only 4 years after the launch of Sputnik 1. Also, it was the first non-governmental spacecraft. Since then, Radio Amateurs regularly send transponders in space to facilitate communication between themselves and have acquired some competencies in space technologies. Many Radio Amateurs are helping Universities or scientific organizations to Launch mass 10.0 kilograms build their satellites and/or Ground Stations Dimensions 15.2 by 25.4 by 33 cm and also collect data sent by spacecraft's Apogee 474 Km worldwide. Perigee 245 Km By 3B8DU OSCAR 7 (AO-7) Launch mass: 28.8 kilograms Dimensions: 36.0cm x 42.4cm octahedron Apogee 1,465 Km Perigee 1,447 Km Mauritian Radio Amateurs have been active on satellites since the time of Oscar 7. Constructed by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), it was launched on November 15, 1974 and remained operational until a battery failure in 1981. Then after 21 years of apparent silence, the satellite was heard again on June 21, 2002, some 27 years after launch. It is presently still operational when in sunlight and still used by Radio Amateurs to communicate. By 3B8DU OSCAR 13 (AO-13) Height: 1.35 m, Width: 2.0 m, Weight: 140 140 Kg (at launch), 90 Kg (after engine firings) Apogee 38,000 Km Perigee 720 Km One of the most used elliptical orbit satellite was Oscar-13, launched on June 15 1988 on the first test flight of the Ariane 4 rocket, along with Panamsat and Meteosat P2. Eight and a half years later AO-13 re-entered and burned up, on December 5 1996. With its high apogee Oscar-13 gave global VHF, UHF and SHF radio coverage to thousands of Radio Amateur operators. By 3B8DU Fuji-OSCAR 29 (FO-29) Dimensions:44 x 47 cm sphere-like polyhedron Weight: 50 Kg Apogee 1,323 Km Perigee 800 Km AMSAT Japan (JAMSAT) has contributed to many satellites, in addition to launching its own satellites in cooperation with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Fuji-OSCAR series. The most known one is FO-29 which was launched on 17 August, 1996, it has a relatively large footprint and can be accessed with portable radios (walkie-talkies). It is still active after over 21 years in orbit and is still a very popular “bird”. By 3B8DU Example of a FM repeater CubeSat Fox-1D or OSCAR 92 (AO-92) was launched on the PSLV-C40 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India on January 12, 2018. It carries a Radio Amateur UHF/VHF FM transponder, L-Band Downshifter, a Virginia Tech Camera, and the University of Iowa’s High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument (HERCI). CubeSat 10 x 10 cm By 3B8DU Example of CubeSats carrying amateur radio Many CubeSats are being launched carrying Radio Amateur transponders, as an example 3 Cubesat last year, namely Bhutan 1 of Bhutan, Maya-1 a Filipino project and UiTMSAT-1 of Malaysia. All three where launched from the International Space Station on Friday 10 August 2018 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Kibo's robotic arm and all 3 carry Amateur Radio digipeaters. By 3B8DU Lunar Amateur transponder Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 carrying Radio Amateur transponders were launched with a Long March 4C rocket from Xichang, China on the 20th May 2018. DSLWP-B, Lunar OSCAR 94 (LO-94), successfully entered elliptical lunar orbit some 400,000 from the earth and is now orbiting the moon since 25th May 2018. Examole of Many Radio Amateurs around the world have beacon been able to receive the weak signal from the DSLWP-B moon orbit, this using relatively modest received at ground stations, including 2 Mauritians 3B8FA Curepipe and 3B8DU. By 3B8DU International Space Station (ISS) Award obtained by 3B8FA (Mauritian Radio Amateur) for receiving SSTV picture from the ISS The ISS carries several Radio Amateur transponders such as FM repeater, ATV and APRS digipeater. Various experiment using Radio Amateurs frequencies are carried out from the ISS. Radio Amateur Slow Scan TV are broadcasted regularly for special events. By 3B8DU SSTV Pictures received from ISS Example of SSTV picture transmitted from the ISS, left one received in Curepipe by 3B8DU and right one this year in Solitude by 3B8FA By 3B8DU International Space Station (ISS) Many astronauts are Radio Amateurs ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) lets students worldwide experience the excitement of talking directly with the crew members of the ISS, inspiring them to pursue interests in careers in science, technology, engineering and math. By 3B8DU First Radio Amateur GEO transponders Es’hailSat-2 is commercial GEO satellite carrying Radio Amateur geostationary transponders as secondary payload. Covering approximately 5.2 billion population which translates to more than 1.5 million Radio Amateurs in nearly 225 countries. On 15 November 2018 Es'hail-2 was launched with a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral. Coverage Testing was recently been completed and the Amateur Radio narrowband and wideband amateur transponders have been open to traffic on 14th February 2019 enabling 24/7 contacts. The Radio Amateur payload has officially received the Amateur Radio designation of Qatar OSCAR 100 (QO-100). By 3B8DU QO-100 transponders communications Two local Radio Amateurs are presently active on Es’Hail 2 (QO-100) namely 3B8FA (Patrice) and 3B8DU. Many modes may be used such as narrow band communication like Morse (CW), Single Sideband (SSB), Slow Scan TV (SSTV), packet etc… but also wide band transmission such as Digital Amateur TV. DATV Beacon transmission received by 3B8DU DL9DAC (Germany) and 3B8FA (Mauritius) exchanging a SSTV QSO (contact) PE1ASH (Holland) DATV transmission received by 3B8DU By 3B8DU Receiving LEO Satellite with SDR DYI Antenna All required software are FREE SDR LNA + + + Assuming one has a computer, several LEO satellites and CubeSat telemetry or images may be received. The antenna may be built in a few hours from readily available material in hardware stores. This setup may be used by students or radio enthusiasts to get acquainted with LEO satellites and space technology. To note that a Radio Amateur licence is not required for receiving only stations. By 3B8DU Software Define Radio (SDR) receiver Using: Receiving the strong signal of NO-AA 15 Weather Satellite with a SDR By 3B8DU Examples of NOAA images received by 3B8DU. NO-AA 15 image 14/07/2018 Gelena 9/02/2019 approaching Rodrigues NOAA-18 By 3B8DU Is all software (not hardware anymore) Forwarder to Tracking Software Data-Warehouse SDR Program Data file generator Software Modem application XW-2F Satellite By 3B8DU Decoded XW-2F KISS file By 3B8DU Amsat Fox series Online Decoder By 3B8DU Satnogs Data-Warehouse By 3B8DU Radio Amateur Ground Station UHF Omnidirectional Antenna VHF Omnidirectional Antenna “home brewed” By 3B8DU Tracking Ground Station Antennas In order to receive LEO satellites 1.2 and 2.4 Ghz Helixs’ at low elevation (horizon to horizon), many Radio Amateur Az/ele Rotator satellite Ground Station antennas are high gain directional ones, 145 MHz Yagi 435 MHz Yagi such as Yagi’s or dish antennas which are automatically pointed towards the satellite with a computer controlled motor (Rotator). High quality low noise amplifiers 2.4 GHz 2.4m dish are also used. Over 80 satellites has been 10 GHz 80 cm dish received or worked with this motorised tracking station. By 3B8DU 2-Way satellite communication set-up A Semi-duplex SDR for communication radio + SDR & telemetry reception + + + OR A duplex radio + + + SDR for telemetry reception Very modest setup sometimes works well JY1 satellite (Jordan 1st Cubesat) received at Bambous Virieux in January 2019, the satellite was named in tribute of the late King Hussein who was a Radio Amateur (his callsign was JY1), 11 satellites decoded with this antenna. By 3B8DU Satellite Portable operation One local Radio Amateur, Francois (3B8GZ) made many reliable 2-way voice contacts on LEO satellites with Reunion, South Africa, Madagascar and Kenya using simple gears. A “home brew” antenna, 2 walkie-talkies and computer headset. All together costing less that Rs 4,000. In the beginning it is not obvious where to point the antenna, however after a few satellite passes one acquires the required skill by listening at his own voice coming back from the bird.