Author: SM0TGU

During a high elevation passage over Stockholm area I managed to copy a very weak fraction of the AO-109 telemetry and two weak spots of my own FT4 signals. The FT4-signal was too weak to be able to decode.

I was using a Airspy Mini with SDR-Console V3 with 2*6 el Vårgårda Yagi in RHCP or LHCP on the downlink.

On the uplink I was using a IC-705 with 10 watts output to a 13 el LFA UHF X-Yagi.

Relayed info from ANS-201:

The AMSAT Engineering and Operations Teams are pleased to announce that AO-109 (RadFxSat-2/AMSAT Fox-1E) is now open for amateur use. Users are advised to use efficient modes such as CW or FT4 for making contacts, since issues with the satellite make SSB voice contacts challenging at best.

Please see the May/June 2021 issue (Vol. 44, No. 3) of The AMSAT Journal for an article by Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, and Mark Hammond, N8MH, detailing the various attempts to characterize AO-109 and its apparent problems.

On behalf of the Engineering and Operations Teams–

73,
Jerry, N0JY and Drew, KO4MA

AO-109 Frequencies
Inverting Linear Transponder
Uplink 145.860 MHz – 145.890 MHz
Downlink 435.760 MHz – 435.790 MHz
1k2 BPSK Telemetry 435.750 MHz (non-operational)

[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice President – Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, and AMSAT Vice President – Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, for the above information]

Info from ANS:
I’m releasing an update to the Pacsat Ground Station. This version

• Parses the MO-112 FailSafe beacons and saves them for analysis.
• Fixes a bug where FalconSat-3 telemetry data could not be downloaded from the server
• Defaults FalconSat-3 to not check Pacsat File Header checksums. This was annoying for partially downloaded files.

You can download it here:
https://www.g0kla.com/pacsat/index.php

[ANS thanks Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ, AMSAT Pacsat Ground Station Developer, for the above information]

Info from ANS:

Info from ANS:

I am releasing version 1.11 of FoxTelem. This primarily supports new features needed for GOLF-TEE development and the CubeSatSim. If you are using FoxTelem in the lab or classroom then this release should be installed. It also fixes several bugs that will help with live decoding of AO-95. It is not a mandatory upgrade but it is recommended.

Specifically it addresses the following:

• Fixes a bug where Costas decoding can stop if audio is being monitored
• Supports all the latest features needed for the CubeSatSim
• Better warnings for tracking and Find Signal errors
• Supports all the latest GOLF-TEE layouts
• Fixes a bug where strong signals may not be tracked correctly
• Supports math expressions in telemetry conversions
• Better handles USB device errors

You can download FoxTelem here:
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/FoxTelem_1.11g_windows.zip
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/FoxTelem_1.11g_linux.tar.gz
http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/FoxTelem_1.11g_mac.tar.gz

Feel free to reach out to me with questions or comments.

[ANS thanks Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ, AMSAT FoxTelem Developer, for the above information]

Information from ANS-185:
On June 22, 2021, MIR-SAT1 was deployed from the International Space Station by JAXA. MIR-SAT1 is a project of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council and carries a digipeater and camera experiment. Further information is available at https://spacemauritius.com.

At the request of the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council, AMSAT hereby designates MIR-SAT1 as MIRSAT-OSCAR 112 (MO-112). We congratulate the owners and operators, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them a long mission and continued success on this and future projects.

ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations / OSCAR Number Administrator, for the above information.

And…

MIR-SAT1 has been identified as NORAD Cat ID 48868 as per Pierros Papadeas, SV1QVE and Nico Janssen, PA0DLO.