Amateur communication satellites
This past weekend, I made three ARRL/AMSAT Field Day QSOs via FO-29 (JAS-2). Nothing noteworthy about that, except that FO-29 will be 20 years old on August 17th. We're very fortunate that its linear transponder still works. The CW beacon and digital transponders are no longer functioning.
Two more of the satellites carrying the bulk of amateur satellite communication are well beyond their design lifetimes. SO-50, our main FM transponder satellite, will be 14 years old in December. Then, of course, there is AO-7, whose linear transponders miraculously are still functioning some of the time. In November it will be 42 years young.
Educational and research satellites are well and good, but amateur satellite communication is still overly dependent on aging space hardware. To those who are building new amateur communication transponders, especially linear transponders in the UHF and VHF bands, best wishes for success. I wish there were more of you. Maybe there will be.
73 Ray W2RS
Ray,
The CW beacon on FO-29 does still function. We are definitely fortunate that FO-29 still works and works very well. It is clearly the most popular linear transponder satellite due to it's wide passband and high orbit.
I would note that we are not starved for linear transponders. There are 7 in orbit and active and 4 in orbit awaiting activation plus at least one more scheduled for launch this year (Nayif-1). As far as FM satellites, there are three in orbit with two of those available 24/7 and a third with an errattic schedule. However, between now and January, three more FM satellites are scheduled to launch (Fox-1Cliff, Fox-1D, and RadFxSat/Fox-1B).
The issue, of course, is the orbits of these satellite don't approach the 1460km apogee or 1330km apogee of FO-29. We can blame debris mitigation rules for that! Hopefully we will find a way to get some higher orbiting satellites up in the future (including GEO/HEO).
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 4:28 PM, rsoifer1--- via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
This past weekend, I made three ARRL/AMSAT Field Day QSOs via FO-29 (JAS-2). Nothing noteworthy about that, except that FO-29 will be 20 years old on August 17th. We're very fortunate that its linear transponder still works. The CW beacon and digital transponders are no longer functioning.
Two more of the satellites carrying the bulk of amateur satellite communication are well beyond their design lifetimes. SO-50, our main FM transponder satellite, will be 14 years old in December. Then, of course, there is AO-7, whose linear transponders miraculously are still functioning some of the time. In November it will be 42 years young.
Educational and research satellites are well and good, but amateur satellite communication is still overly dependent on aging space hardware. To those who are building new amateur communication transponders, especially linear transponders in the UHF and VHF bands, best wishes for success. I wish there were more of you. Maybe there will be.
73 Ray W2RS
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Paul,
I didn't say that AO-7, FO-29 and SO-50 are the only communication satellites, only that they are the most popular and useful.
Why is that? As you say, some of that has to do with altitude, which is largely beyond our control. Some has to do with low power output, which depends on satellite size. Some, too, has to do with operating schedule: is it always on?
73 Ray -----Original Message--- do From: Paul Stoetzer n8hm@arrl.net is To: rsoifer1 rsoifer1@aol.com Cc: amsat-bb <amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Tue, Jun 28, 2016 1:48 pm Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Amateur communication satellites
Ray,
The CW beacon on FO-29 does still function. We are definitely fortunate that FO-29 still works and works very well. It is clearly the most popular linear transponder satellite due to it's wide passband and high orbit.
I would note that we are not starved for linear transponders. There are 7 in orbit and active and 4 in orbit awaiting activation plus at least one more scheduled for launch this year (Nayif-1). As far as FM satellites, there are three in orbit with two of those available 24/7 and a third with an errattic schedule. However, between now and January, three more FM satellites are scheduled to launch (Fox-1Cliff, Fox-1D, and RadFxSat/Fox-1B).
The issue, of course, is the orbits of these satellite don't approach the 1460km apogee or 1330km apogee of FO-29. We can blame debris mitigation rules for that! Hopefully we will find a way to get some higher orbiting satellites up in the future (including GEO/HEO).
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 4:28 PM, rsoifer1--- via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
This past weekend, I made three ARRL/AMSAT Field Day QSOs via FO-29 (JAS-2). Nothing noteworthy about that, except that FO-29 will be 20 years old on August 17th. We're very fortunate that its linear transponder still works. The CW beacon and digital transponders are no longer functioning.
Two more of the satellites carrying the bulk of amateur satellite communication are well beyond their design lifetimes. SO-50, our main FM transponder satellite, will be 14 years old in December. Then, of course, there is AO-7, whose linear transponders miraculously are still functioning some of the time. In November it will be 42 years young.
Educational and research satellites are well and good, but amateur satellite communication is still overly dependent on aging space hardware. To those who are building new amateur communication transponders, especially linear transponders in the UHF and VHF bands, best wishes for success. I wish there were more of you. Maybe there will be.
73 Ray W2RS
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
One area that I believe would welcome more experimentation is digital transponders and digital repeaters. I think there is a vast territory for experimentation (protocols, ground software, etc). With some careful engineering, a digital transponder could be operated on the same frequency using half-duplex. This would simplify the antenna system and ease the operation.
73, Edson PY2SDR
--- - We humans have the capability to do amazing things if we work together. - Nós seres humanos temos a capacidade de fazer coisas incríveis se trabalharmos juntos.
On Wed, Jun 29, 2016 at 9:28 AM, rsoifer1--- via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb@amsat.org> wrote:
Paul,
I didn't say that AO-7, FO-29 and SO-50 are the only communication satellites, only that they are the most popular and useful.
Why is that? As you say, some of that has to do with altitude, which is largely beyond our control. Some has to do with low power output, which depends on satellite size. Some, too, has to do with operating schedule: is it always on?
73 Ray -----Original Message--- do From: Paul Stoetzer n8hm@arrl.net is To: rsoifer1 rsoifer1@aol.com Cc: amsat-bb <amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Tue, Jun 28, 2016 1:48 pm Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Amateur communication satellites
Ray,
The CW beacon on FO-29 does still function. We are definitely fortunate that FO-29 still works and works very well. It is clearly the most popular linear transponder satellite due to it's wide passband and high orbit.
I would note that we are not starved for linear transponders. There are 7 in orbit and active and 4 in orbit awaiting activation plus at least one more scheduled for launch this year (Nayif-1). As far as FM satellites, there are three in orbit with two of those available 24/7 and a third with an errattic schedule. However, between now and January, three more FM satellites are scheduled to launch (Fox-1Cliff, Fox-1D, and RadFxSat/Fox-1B).
The issue, of course, is the orbits of these satellite don't approach the 1460km apogee or 1330km apogee of FO-29. We can blame debris mitigation rules for that! Hopefully we will find a way to get some higher orbiting satellites up in the future (including GEO/HEO).
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Tue, Jun 28, 2016 at 4:28 PM, rsoifer1--- via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
This past weekend, I made three ARRL/AMSAT Field Day QSOs via FO-29
(JAS-2). Nothing noteworthy about that, except that FO-29 will be 20 years old on August 17th. We're very fortunate that its linear transponder still works. The CW beacon and digital transponders are no longer functioning.
Two more of the satellites carrying the bulk of amateur satellite
communication are well beyond their design lifetimes. SO-50, our main FM transponder satellite, will be 14 years old in December. Then, of course, there is AO-7, whose linear transponders miraculously are still functioning some of the time. In November it will be 42 years young.
Educational and research satellites are well and good, but amateur
satellite communication is still overly dependent on aging space hardware. To those who are building new amateur communication transponders, especially linear transponders in the UHF and VHF bands, best wishes for success. I wish there were more of you. Maybe there will be.
73 Ray W2RS
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
Opinions expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
program!
Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
To those who are building new amateur communication transponders, especially linear transponders in the UHF and VHF bands, best wishes for success. I wish there were more of you. Maybe there will be.
I will build more, and if you ask me we will have plenty of transponders to operate. I am extremely proud to be able to say that I am part of the Delfi-C3, AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL teams that have built five transponders that are in orbit. Not all of them are functional anymore. Nayif-1 will carry the new and enhanced design that should prove to be more frequency stable.
I've got some other opportunities lined up as well, so expect more. We are thinking about other payloads as well, but I'll keep dotting the sky until there is no more excuse not to work satellites ;)
In all seriousness though, we are thinking about different applications as well, because we can't put up linear transponders forever.
73
Wouter PA3WEG
participants (4)
-
Edson W. R. Pereira -
Paul Stoetzer -
rsoifer1＠aol.com -
Wouter Weggelaar