Date: Fri, 3 Dec 93 04:30:55 PST
From: Ham-Space Mailing List and Newsgroup <ham-space@ucsd.edu>
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Subject: Ham-Space Digest V93 #98
To: Ham-Space
Ham-Space Digest Fri, 3 Dec 93 Volume 93 : Issue 98
Today's Topics:
* SpaceNews 29-Nov-93 *
Control of Amateur Satellites (2 msgs)
Welcome to rec.radio.info!
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1993 09:49:46 MST
From: pacbell.com!sgiblab!darwin.sura.net!math.ohio-state.edu!news.cyberstore.ca!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!unixg.ubc.ca!kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca!ersys!adec23!ve6mgs!usenet@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: * SpaceNews 29-Nov-93 *
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1129
* SpaceNews 29-Nov-93 *
BID: $SPC1129
=========
SpaceNews
=========
MONDAY NOVEMBER 29, 1993
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is
published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.
* KITSAT-OSCAR-25 NEWS *
========================
KO-25 Operation Status Report 13 (24-Nov-93)
1. General
Kernal and other OBC186 S/Ws are all loaded and running well. Spacecraft
is showing healthy condition. Battery is being discharged very small
amount compared to KO-23. Still using TX0 as it is showing very good
performance.
2. Experiments Carried Out
2.1 CCD Earth Imaging System
Two camaras onboard are showing good pictures of Earth. The Black and
white high resolution (200 meter) camera is showing excellent pictures.
The color camera with low resolution (2 kilometer) is also showing great
images after some color mapping process. Other than the color imager's gain
control difficulty, the camera system is working well and taking pictures
everyday.
2.2 InfraRed Sensor Experiment (IREX)
IREX has been on since the beginning of the KO-25 operation. This
experiment is to acquire I/V characteristics of IR sensors. Passive cooling
structure was devised for this experiment and currently we are monitoring
the temperature of this cooling system.
3. Experiments on the way
3.1 KASCOM (KAIST Satellite Computer)
The initial check out is on the way. A SaTReC developed multitasking kernel
and long-term memory test task are to be commenced the initial test.
3.2 DSPE
38.4 kbps Downlink booster is being developed by utilizing DSPE. Protocol
test is still being carried out on the ground.
3.3 LEED (Low Energy Electron Detector)
After sufficient time for outgassing period, in December this device will be
turned on.
4. Other Information
The uplink to KO-25 will not be available currently. It will be open with
KO-25 BBS service after the system check out completion. Some of the good
pictures from KO-25 will be released through KO-23 for the time being.
For more info contact:
hskim@satrec.kaist.ac.kr
FAX) +82 42 861 0064
Tel) +82 42 869 8614
SaTReC, KAIST
[Info via Hyung Shin Kim]
* MICROSAT ANTENNA POLARIZATION *
=================================
There has been a certain amount of confusion concerning the sense of the
polarization of the Microsat downlinks. The following by Jim White, WD0E,
is an attempt to clarify the situation.
The two transmitters in each Microsat are connected to a canted turnstile
downlink antenna through a hybrid. The two input ports they are connected
to are out of phase with each other. When one transmitter is on, the sense
of the downlink will be RHCP, and when the other is on, it will be LHCP.
When controllers switch transmitters, they also switch polarization sense.
No sense is "normal". During construction there was no attempt to make a
particular transmitter a particular sense. The limiting factor was how to
fit the semi-rigid cables connecting all the various parts together in the
tiny space inside the transmitter module. Additionally, since one of the
objectives of the Microsat Project was to create satellites that could be
used with very simple portable ground stations using simple omni-directional
antennas, there was no need to be concerned about polarization sense.
When receiving with a circularly polarized ground station antennas,
miss-matched sense can make several dB of difference at times. The most
strongly circular signal (or the one with the lowest eccentricity) will be
received by the ground station when the bottom of the satellite is pointed
directly at it. For stations at about 35 to 50 degrees north or south
latitude, this occurres when the satellites are directly overhead and
slightly lower in latitude. For all but LO-19, the turnstile is pointed
down in the northern hemisphere. For LO-19, it's down in the southern
hemisphere. At other times the sense is effected by a variety of other
influences and cannot be relied on.
If you have a circularly polarized Yagi with switchable sense you can
perform a test to see which transmitter provides which polarization.
Throughout a pass, but particularly when the satellite is nearly overhead,
switch sense every few seconds and see which is stronger. At times you will
notice a large difference (AO-16 is 5 S units different on a TS811). The
sense that consistantly provides the strongest signal over the majority of
the pass is the sense of the downlink for that transmitter. And for all
but DOVE, it also correlates to beacon frequency, since the 70 cm
transmitters are all on different frequencies.
DOVE is a special case since it's two transmitters are on nearly the same
frequency. To make the correlations on DOVE you would need to do the same
test as above, but also check which transmitter is in use as indicated by
the STATUS line. We normally run TX#2 on DOVE because it is more efficient.
The following provides beacon frequency and polarization sense for all the
Microsat satellites:
WO-18:
437.075 PSK LHCP (this TX is bad and not normally used)
437.100 RC RHCP (normally in use)
LO-19:
437.153 PSK LHCP
437.125 RC/CW RHCP
AO-16:
437.025 PSK LHCP (not presently in use)
437.050 RC RHCP (in use now)
DO-17:
145.825 TX#1 LHCP
145.825 TX#2 RHCP (normally used, and in use now)
[Info via Jim White, wd0e@amsat.org]
* CHINA ON SATELLITES *
=======================
The Tsinghua University Amateur Radio Club of Beijing, China is happy to
report that the Chinese Radio Sports Association has provided them with
some OSCAR satellite ground station equipment that they may use for
approximately 6 months in an effort to become active on amateur satellites.
The equipment consists of a Yaesu FT-726 dual-band transceiver, a crossed
Yagi antenna, a 70cm amplifier, a receive preamplifier, and the elevation/
azimuth rotor system. Walter OE2CAL, an Austrian amateur noted in Europe
for his V/UHF activities, and Dieter DJ7BU are scheduled to join the radio
club in their efforts ot install the antenna system which has been delayed
due to snowy weather. Both men are currently working in Beijing.
The students at the Tsinghua University Amateur Radio Club are new to OSCAR
operations and are trying very hard to get a station on the air from China.
The club is currently in need of satellite reference manuals, books, and
satellite tracking software that can help them get on the air.
Information pertinent to satellite operation should be directed to Rick Niu,
BY1QH, via any of the following paths:
Packet: BY1QH @ JA5TX.JPN.AS
Internet: Contact gateway_request@arasmith.com for more info
Airmail: Rick Niu
Public Relations Manager TUARC
Room 316 Building 25
Tsinghua University
Beijing 100084, China
* THANKS! *
===========
Thanks to all those who sent messages of appreciation regarding SpaceNews,
especially:
BY1QH VE1AXJ ZS2LR K7EA OH8UV WD9IYT
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Mail to SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any
of the following paths:
FAX : 1-908-747-7107
PACKET : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com -or- kd2bd@amsat.org
MAIL : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
Department of Engineering and Technology
Advanced Technology Center
Brookdale Community College
Lincroft, New Jersey 07738
U.S.A.
<<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
/EX
--
John A. Magliacane, KD2BD * /\/\ * Voice : 1-908-224-2948
Advanced Technology Center |/\/\/\| Packet : KD2BD @ N2KZH.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College |\/\/\/| Internet: kd2bd@ka2qhd.ocpt.ccur.com
Lincroft, NJ 07738 * \/\/ * Morse : -.- -.. ..--- -... -..
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1993 23:11:39 +0000
From: munnari.oz.au!bruce.cs.monash.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!msuinfo!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!warwick!uknet!demon!cosmo.demon.co.uk!chris@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Control of Amateur Satellites
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
In article <2dc7cg$2sa@qualcomm.com> antonio@qualcomm.com writes:
>For attitude determination, almost all have used sun and earth sensors.
>The UoSat series, built at U. of Surrey, have used flux-gate magnetometers.
>P3D, now under design, and the most ambitious amateur satellite to date,
>is planned to use GPS for attitude determination.
>
As far as I know, GPS is only usable for _orbit_ determination, i.e. location
in space, and _not_ for attitude determination, i.e. which way the satellite
is pointing.
Of course, correct if me if I'm wrong!
Regards,
Chris Payne.
------------------------------
Date: 1 Dec 93 16:59:59
From: idacrd.ccr-p.ida.org!idacrd!n4hy@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Control of Amateur Satellites
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
You are indeed wrong. AMSAT's Phase III-D intends on using GPS to do
attitude determination amongst other things. You need multiple antennas
and then do interferometry but it can be done.
Bob
--
Robert W. McGwier | n4hy@ccr-p.ida.org Interests: ham radio,
Center for Communications Research | scouts, astronomy,and golf
Princeton, N.J. 08520 | ASM Troop 5700, ACM Pack 53 Hightstown
(609)-279-6240(v) (609)-924-3061(f)| I used to be a Buffalo . . . NE III-120
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1993 21:01:46 MST
From: tribune.usask.ca!kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca!alberta!nebulus!ve6mgs!bohica!rec-radio-info@decwrl.dec.com
Subject: Welcome to rec.radio.info!
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
Archive-name: radio/rec-radio-info/welcome
Last-modified: $Date: 1993/05/16 21:57 $
Version: $Revision: 1.05 $
*** Welcome to rec.radio.info! ***
Welcome to rec.radio.info, a group that aims to provide a noise-free source
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The purpose or charter of rec.radio.info is to provide the Usenet community with
a resource for information, news, and facts about any and all things radio.
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It provides a "tag" for each article to be assembled into a filtered
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By cross-posting one only is adding a few tens of bytes to each bulletin (to
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In rn, for example, according to Leanne Phillips in her rn kill-file FAQ, add
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either in ~/News/KILL (if you don't want to see rec.radio.info articles
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sequence
rec.radio.info
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-- What is a 'follow-up', and what does 'moderated' mean?
If you are new to Usenet and are not familiar with the terminology, you might
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If you think that at this moment you are reading an echo, a conference, or
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For the rest of this article, I will assume you have a basic knowledge of
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A moderated group means that any article that needs to be posted to the group
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rec.radio.swap (or possibly comp.newprod) may be more deserving of the
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saved to /pub/dx/text/rec.radio.info currently stored as
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Yes, there is! It may take a bit of chatter with the moderator, but we are
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I suggest reading the posting guidelines for more information. I am open to
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I thank the following individuals for their input into this article:
rec.music.info moderator Leo Breebaart rec-music-info@cp.tn.tudelft.nl
rec.radio.broadcasting moderator Bill Pfeiffer wdp@gagme.chi.il.us
Paul W. Schleck, KD3FU pschleck@unomaha.edu
Ian Kluft, KD6EUI ikluft@uts.amdahl.com
--
Mark Salyzyn -- Moderator rec.radio.info
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Administrivia to: rec-radio-request@ve6mgs.ampr.ab.ca
* Requests for information do *not* belong in rec.radio.info *
------------------------------
End of Ham-Space Digest V93 #98
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