At 12:37 AM 5/1/2007, Stefan Wagener wrote:

My question is, can the satellite user community at large come up with a system that allows the routine capturing of satellite telemetry? Is there a role that AMSAT can play? What would it take?

That seems like a good idea. With traditional equipment, that usually means having a second receiver following the beacon. Once the beacon is being received, appropriate software could be used to decode the telemetry.

With the advent of SDRs now and into the not too distant future, there are more options. SDRs open the possibility of monitoring the entire passband, which means that the DSP filtering could simultaneously capture the telemetry, while you're working the satellite somewhere up the passband. This also opens other possibilities, such as automatic power control (now there's NO excuse to be an alligator!), while collecting that telemetry. Might be a good time for the software developers with DSP experience in the AMSAT community to team up with those working on SDRs. The beacon can also be used as a reference for Doppler correction, in case one's PC clock is out by several seconds.

Telemetry servers such as the one that was setup for AO-40 could be a means of gathering all the telemetry, along with some form for offline distribution for those who don't have the Internet in their shack.

The solutions for traditional radios aren't as neat, because of the second receiver requirement, and the need for it to have computer control in addition to the primary gear, but some clever people might be able to come up with something for the masses...

73 de VK3JED http://vkradio.com