Hi Bob, What are the minimum station antenna requirements to trigger/access ANDE?
ANDE is simply a standard 1200 baud KPC-3 TNC in orbit. But since it uses the entire spaceframe as the antenna instead of a nice good 19" whip, the antenna is less effective than that on PCSAT-1. I use a full size OSCAR array and can usually opeate ANDE horizont to horizon with a typical FM mobile rig.
But to a WHIP antenna on the ground, you will only get probably 2 good passes a day at h igh elevations.
What we need are Igates listening ot 145.825 all over the world, feeding any downlink packets in to the global APRS system (and hence, my PC here on my desk). Any APRS client program has Igating built in.
So, minimum system is just a standard AX.25 2m packet station on 145.825 with SHORT COAX and mimimal losses to the antenna so it can hear the weak downlink. Preferably this station is running some kind of Igate software (either APRS or a simple b ackground application called ALOGGER). It can run unattended.
But if you have BEAMS, then it is nice to track too to get more data over more passes.
Bob, WB4APR
And we still need good ANDE data from the Southern Hemisphere
so
we can detect the spin rate. Right now, ANDE is in the dark
in
the Northern Hemisphere. We need data from the Southern Hemisphere. ANDE only wakes 2 seconds every 16 seconds to listen for activity. IF it hears any packets, then it will
stay
awake for the next minute. While it is awake, it can be used just like PCSAT-1 as an APRS digipeater by all users. And
while
it is awake, we will also be able to hear telemetry which is what we need.>
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