Oscar 100 activity

It seems ages since I gave an update on Oscar 100, which is the Qatari geosynchronous satellite. When I looked mid afternoon UK time there was some activity, but it was hardly busy. 

I look on the narrowband web SDR at Goonhilly Downs in Cornwall, UK.

Probably the lack of "black box" solutions puts many off, although it allows much of the planet to be worked without QSB and with a small fixed antenna at any time. I remain surprised that it is still so quiet. No need for linears or towers!

Sadly, many in the amateur radio community are "black box" operators who would rather spend money than experiment. In my view this will lead to the death of the hobby.

Greencube Satellite

Many years ago I had one satellite QSO with a satellite that covered 10m and 15m (I think!). It was so long ago that I forget the satellite and bands! Of late, some have been experimenting with IO 117. This is a medium earth orbit satellite with a 70cm digipeater.

See https://stationproject.blog/2023/07/04/greencube-io-117-overview/ .

USA digital geostationary satellite?

Excuse my ignorance, but I am confused by the difference between a geosynchronous and geostationary satellite. 

Apparently there are moves afoot to get a high orbit satellite with a footprint over the USA. Oscar 100 does not cover the USA. This one should be digital.  If so, I expect it will get even less attention that Oscar 100, which is seriously under-used.

In my view, these satellites are interesting to access at first, but interest soon wanes later: people know they can access them and then they get bored. It is just like talking on a terrestrial repeater.

AMSAT-UK Satellite Colloquium

In all my time I have only had a single QSO through a satellite. That was probably in the 1980s. I have been interested, but not enough to get me active. 

My interest was first sparked by listening to USA stations on 2m SSB during late night passes of Oscar 6 and 7. In those days this was a real novelty. This would have been in the mid-1970s. They would appear, briefly, then they were gone over the horizon.

These days there are lots of amateur satellites including 1 geosynchronous one called Oscar 100.

We may get inspiration from the AMSAT Colloquium online on Sunday, October 24th. You have to register beforehand I think.

See https://amsat-uk.org/colloquium/ .

Oscar 100 and SOTA

Southgate News has a piece about a recent SOTA activation using Oscar 100, the geosynchronous satellite between 2 G stations.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/june/qo-100-s2s-in-sota.htm#.XvoFkYjYq00

Es'hail

Last night I was speaking to G3KKD on 2m FM. Ian is a keen ATV man.  He tells me he is receiving the beacon from the geosynchronous Es'hail satellite that will carry amateur all-mode and TV transponders. He uses a dish and LNB with an SDR receiver at around 1446MHz IF. The beacon is strong.

More amateur satellites

According to Southgate News a recent Soyuz (Russian) launch has placed more amateur satellites into orbit.

See http://russianspaceweb.com/kanopus-v5-v6.html

Oscar 97

As regular readers will know, in recent years I have done very little with amateur satellites. Way back, I listened to Oscar 6 and 7 and had one contact through a satellite with a 10m band output. That was a very long time ago!  I cannot remember the satellite.

There is a report on Southgate News about the latest Jordanian satellite.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/december/jy1sat-now-jo-97.htm#.XAu5EvZ2u00

Space junk

Southgate News reports that the FCC has rejected a plea for AMSAT to be made exempt from legislation designed to rid space of junk from old or redundant satellites. This is becoming a big issue with lots of junk up there.  I can see this being an issue if the owners of small satellites have to plan for the satellite when its useful life is over.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/november/fcc-rejects-amsat-orbital-debris-petition.htm#.W_ruNPZ2u00 .

Es'hail2 satellite

I gather this was successfully launched and it is being "parked" in a temporary orbit so engineers can check it over. You may recall it includes amateur band linear transponders and it is hoped to be placed in a geosynchronous orbit.

See https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

Es'hail-2 satellite launched

The latest Qatari satellite, which carries a geosynchronous amateur transponder has been launched. I expect it will be some weeks before we are fully aware of the mission's success. If it is successful, it could be transformative.

See https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/11/2018/Qatar-launches-Es’hail-2-satellite

Geostationary amateur satellite

If the Es'Hail 2 satellite works as planned, it could be revolutionary. It has a 250kHz wide linear transponder for narrowband modes as well as an ATV transponder. Uplink is 2.4GHz and downlink 10GHz. Once aimed, dishes are fixed. A possible issue will be stations using too much power resulting in desense.

See https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

Es'hail 2 - will it succeed?

Assuming this is successfully put into orbit (due Q4 2018), this Qatar satellite will open up a new era in amateur radio. Southgate News has a piece on this today. 2.4GHz uplink and 10GHz downlink. Fixed dish, modest powers, band always open. Predicted 15 year life.

There is another satellite due to cover the Americans as E'hail does not cover the Americas.

See http://www.amsat-dl.org/index.php/es-hail-2-p4a

and

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/august/coordinated-frequencies-for-p4a-es%27hail-2.htm#.W2bCMfZFzIU

Es'hail 2 amateur satellite

It is some time since I last heard news of this satellite from Qatar. As far as I know it has not yet launched. It was due to carry a geosynchronous amateur satellite. It was due to be launched (I think) in late 2016, but was delayed.

Geosynchronous amateur satellite?

As you know, we are entering a period which could last very many years when the higher HF bands will not be good for F layer DX. OK, we will have Es to liven things up, but much of the time bands like 10m will seem "dead".

To the rescue (if successful and this is a big "if") could come amateur geosynchronous satellites using linear transponders at microwaves. One such is a Qatar satellite that may be launched next year. I say "maybe" as the launch has already been delayed. Geosynchronous satellites stay in the same place, so antennas can be fixed.

A 2.4GHz uplink and 10GHz downlink is quite an investment, but could be worth it if the satellite is a success.

See https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

Sprite Satellites

Southgate News has information about the deployment of tiny Sprite satellites that send telemetry on 437.325 MHz.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/july/437-mhz-sprite-satellites-deployed.htm#.WXsE5bpFzIU .

Geostationary amateur satellites

We are used to geostationary satellites which carry TV signals from a fixed point: aim the dish in the right place in the sky and that is it. By contrast, amateur satellites are in a low and moving orbit, so they only stay in range for a short time and they have to be tracked in the sky.

All this could change next year when 2 satellites (containing amateur radio transponders) are placed in geosynchronous orbits. Aim your antennas once and fix them in place. A lot can go wrong - date slippage, failure on launch, failure to reach the right place in space, equipment failure etc. If these all go to plan, amateur radio could be quite different in a few years' time.

As we are approaching a period of very poor HF conditions, these satellites could be a godsend. One is aimed to give good coverage over the Americas. The other covers Europe, Middle East and Africa mainly.

Amateur satellites

I'm all my time, I have only ever had one QSO via an amateur satellite. Back in the 1970s I recall the thrill of hearing SSB from the USA on 2m via Oscar 6 and 7, fleetingly.  Some people love working stations through satellite transponders. I see from Southgate News that one station is close to DXCC via satellites.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/june/dxcc-needs-on-the-birds.htm#.WTaS97pFzIU .

Geosynchronous amateur satellite next year?

At the moment, 2018 seems the likely launch date of a Middle East satellite that includes a 250kHz wide linear amateur transponder. Now, it has to get into the right orbit and work. If successful, the 2.4GHz uplink and 10GHz downlink would enable very wide coverage around the world with small, fixed antennas. If it works, it could change amateur radio for ever. There are a lot of uncertainties.

See https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

Chinese satellite

There is probably an English version of this page. Perhaps someone will point me to it?  There is a fairly new Chinese amateur satellite BY70-1. It has been in orbit for a few weeks.

See http://lilacsat.hit.edu.cn/ .