Category: Ham Satellite news

Senaste nytt om Echo:

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 180.01 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. June 28, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-180.01

Below are the prelaunch elements for Echo, based on the predicted launch on 29 June. The launch site is the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Epoch time is based on the Dnepr s Orbit Insertion Time.

UTC Epoch 6/29/2004 06:45:15.06
Inc 98.25582
RAAN 250.8905
Ecc .00001139
MA 261.417
Arg Per 275.47233
MM 14.4091

Echo First Communication Events

Plans call for Command Stations to begin working Echo with the morning passes over the US on 29 June. The first communication attempt with Echo will be on the pass over the eastern US, at approximately 1452 UTC, continuing with the next two passes over the US as well. The transmitter on Echo will not be turned on for a complete orbit until it is established that the bird is operating normally and that the power system is working properly. The transmitter will be shut off before the end of the pass
window over the US. Transmission may also be intermittent over the US as we work with the Satellite. The hope is to leave the TX0 transmitter on for complete orbits starting as early as 0200 UTC on 30 June.

The callsigns for Echo s Pacsat Broadcast Protocol Digital system are:

Broadcast: PCAB-11
BBS: PCAB-12

Telemetry Submission Email Address

Until the ECHO Telemetry archive system is up and running please submit your CSV telemetry files received with TlmEcho to the following email address.
ke4azn@amsat.org

Once the archive system is up and running details will be published on how to submit and also download telemetry from Echo.

Check ANS for future bulletins as we progress with commissioning of Echo.

Klla: ANS 180

Mike Kingery, KE4AZN provided the following information on the initial commissioning for ECHO following launch. Currently, the launch is planned for 29 June 2004 at approximately 0630 UTC.

The transmitter will not turn on until commanded from the ground. The plan is that ECHO will be allowed to stabilize and outgas for approximately 10 hours. The first communication attempt will take place during the evening of 29 June, during the first pass over the Eastern US if launched as scheduled. TX0, on 435.155 MHz, will be commanded on and will be running 9k6 baud Pacsat Protocol. After some initial health and status checks, the transmitter will be commanded off before the end of
the pass.

The latest prelaunch element set for ECHO is:

ECHO
1 99999U 99999B 04015.44385708 .00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 00013
2 99999 098.2700 042.0000 0072000 180.0000 226.0000 14.40910000000006

AMSAT News Service will be providing regular updates on the commissioning of ECHO to include Special Bulletins when warranted.

——————-
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 179.03 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. June 27, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-179.03

AMSAT now has available the new book, Echo – Operation, Development and Specifications written by G. Gould Smith, WA4SXM. The donation price is $15 for US, $17 for Canada and $19 elsewhere. Please remember that payment must be in US dollars. Ordering can be done by:

+ Email (martha@amsat.org) with Visa or MasterCard. Please include name, address, card number and expiration date

+ Telephone (1-888-322-6728 or 301-589-6062) with Visa or MasterCard

+ Fax (301-608-3410) Include the same information as email

+ Postal Mail – AMSAT, 850 Sligo Ave, #600, Silver Spring MD 20910. You can pay by charge card, check or money order. Include your name and mailing address.

Klla: ANS 179

TlmEcho v1.02 r ett program som anvnds fr att ta emot telemetri frn Echo.

Wisp anvnds fr att ta emot Pacsat Broadcast Protocol (PBP) som anvnds av Echo.
Du lser om bda programmen hr:

Echo uses the Pacsat Broadcast Protocol (PBP) and is compatible with other digital satellites, such as UO22 and KO25. WiSP is the tool of choice, and what the command team has been using to test Echo s store and forward file system. There are many Wisp users in the Amsat community, so getting help, and answers to questions, regarding setting up and operating Wisp should be as simple as a quick post to the Amsat-BB. Wisp can be download from the Amsat website,
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftpsoft.html#win-wisp , and registered with Martha at the Amsat office.

Echo will initially run in 9k6 downlink and 9k6 uplink mode, just like UO22. Echo is capable of many other bps rates, and will be tested and operated in 38k4 downlink and 9k6 uplink mode during commissioning. These digital configurations will be tested on the U band and the S Band Transmitters. Echo is capable of 76k8 downlink as well, and will eventually be tested in that mode.

The first signals heard from Echo will be 9k6 PBP. Plans call for Echo, in the standard mode, to operate one of its U band transmitters in PBP digital mode continuously.

[ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN for the above information]

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-179.06
TlmEcho v1.02 Now Available for Download

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 179.06 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. June 27, 2004
To ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-179.06

Windows based software to receive and monitor telemetry from the Amsat-NA Echo Satellite is ready for download. Please check the Amsat website or the following URL for links to download the program and support files. An updated Telemetry Specification, v1.2, is also available from the website.

http://web.infoave.net/~mkmk518/echo.htm

The program is designed for screen resolutions of 1024×768 or greater. It will run on an 800×600 display with some difficulty viewing the various telemetry screens. The software accepts Pacsat Broadcast Protocol KISS packets from your TNC, and will display those packets in a text window. For a test, you can copy the downlink from UO22 and view it in the programs main window.

Check the brief readme file for basic instructions on getting TlmEcho setup for your station. Configure the CPBINI.TXT file for your station and PC/TNC configuration, put the necessary files in your working directory, and run the program. The program will create CSV files of your received telemetry and place them in the CSV subdirectory. The command team requests that you sent these files to the requested email address, just like we have done for AO-40. This address will be published in the new few days via ANS.

[ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN for the above information]

ElmEcho hemsida

Klla:

AMSAT-NA har gjort om sin hemsida och den gr nu i beta-test . Kolla sjlv p lnken nedan.

AMSAT-NAs nya hemsida

Klla: SM0TGU Lars

– Newsletter AMSAT-SM Journal 1-2004 released.
– SM0AIG Ingemar now runs the HF-net on Sundays, 3740 KHz.

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-161.01
ECHO satellite enroute to launch site

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 161.01 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. June 9, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-161.01

Chuck Green, N0ADI, reporting in from SpaceQuest s facility says, ECHO is in it s shipping container and on its way to the launch sight.

As a final check ECHO was placed in the vacuum chamber for an hour and pushed hard with both 70 cm transmitters running full power. Everything that could be tested in this configuration worked well.

Chuck said, We also checked the sensitivity of all the 2M
receivers and the SQRX (wideband tunable receiver) and they were all very good. Continuing, he added, We also characterized the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) and measured the power out of the 70 cm transmitters at various power settings

Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, added, Congratulations on a job well done! A lot of hard work has gone into getting ECHO to this point and we re looking forward to following ECHO s progress through launch .

More news and information about the final integration activities will be in this week s regular AMSAT News Service bulletin.

[ANS thanks Robin and Chuck for the above information]

Klla: ANS