Info from the FUNcube team: We have reintroduced the upload rankings on a satellite by satellite basis. Please excuse that the format needs fixing uo but we wanted to get it out there. You will find an Uplink Ranking link on each satellite page:
CAS-6 har nu fått sitt AMSAT-namn TO-108. CAS-6 has now become TO-108.
The CAS-6 (TQ-1) microsatellite was launched December 20, 2019 on a CZ-4B launch vehicle from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, China. CAS-6 (TQ-1) was developed by the Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) and in cooperation with China’s commercial satellite manufac- turer. CAMSAT completed the design and manufacture of the amateur radio payload, and manages the on-orbit operation of the payload. The satel- lite carries CW and digital telemetry beacons and a linear transponder. The deployment of the amateur antennas was delayed due technical and COVID-19 issues, but was completed on June 20, 2020. Currently the beacons are carriers only, and the transponder operates with about 2 seconds on and 5 seconds off.
At the request of CAMSAT and the CAS-6 team, AMSAT hereby designates CAS-6 (TQ-1) as TQ-OSCAR 108 (TO-108). We congratulate the owners and operators of TO-108, thank them for their contribution to the amateur satellite community, and wish them continued success on this and fu- ture projects.
Frequencies for the intended radio amatuer mission are: • CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.910 MHz • AX.25 4.8kbps GMSK Telemetry: 145.890 MHz • U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.925 MHz, 20 kHz bandwidth • U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.280 MHz, Inverted
Operator reports indicate that the transponder is active only for brief intervals of about 2 seconds, spaced approximately seconds apart. With patience, and quick transmissions, QSOs have been completed.
CAS-6 (NORAD Cat ID 44881) has been added to the AMSAT distributions of Two Line Element (TLE) sets beginning from June 25, 2020. Watch for possible future changes to the satellite name in future TLEs.
[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations & OSCAR Number Administrator; Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager; and Alan Kung, BA1DU, for the above information]
In June 20 (2020) the CAS-6 satellite was activated. As reported by many it is only active for 1 sec in 7 sec interval. It can be seen in the beacons, both CW and GMSK.
I hope this can be fixed – CAS-6 is very strong on downlink and it can be a nice ham radio satellite.
Olle Enstam SM0DY har avlidit i en ålder av 90 år. Olle var under många år aktiv i AMSAT-SM både som styrelsemedlem och ordförande. Han var även aktiv på satelliterna och en flitig skribent i medlemstidningen AMSAT-SM Journal.
Jag hade förmånen att vara medlem i styrelsen en tid under Olles ordförandeskap. Trots stor åldersskillnad mellan oss fick jag alltid förtroende av Olle vilket hans stora erfarenhet av styrelseuppdrag då lyste igenom.
I Svenska Dagbladet den 8 juni 2020 finns en minnestext som sammanfattar hans yrkesliv.
