Category Archives: Satellite

Satellite Category

Send STRaND-1 Kiss files

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STRaND-1Dr. Chris Bridges (M0GKK) has requested that the ground stations that receive STRaND-1 telemetry to send there .kss files to strand.messages [at] gmail.com

The following combination works great when you want to receive and decode the telemetry data: FUNcube Dongle Pro+, SDRSharp 1144, RealTec Audio Mixer, UZ7HO G3RUH Soundmodem and AGW OnlineKiss from DK3WN. The software can be downloaded at the following locations:

I don’t have any hands-on experience with it, but I can imagine that a RTL-SDR dongle will also work when someone wants to receive the telemetry data from STRaND-1. If you don’t have any experience with Sound card modem reception take a look at my Sound card modem page.

ESTCube-1 Telemetry

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ESTCube-1 has started downloading a new image that it has taken with the onboard camera. I’m going to try once again to decode the image data. One of the problems I face, is a strong local generated carrier on 437.495 that makes it impossible for me to decode all the data during a pass.

ESTCube-1 29-07-2013 11:35UTC

There is a new decoder version that is also able to generate the image. Take a look at the software page from Mike DK3WN. (estcube_fm.zip)

Information about my latest pass:

Date and Time: 29-07-2013 11:35 - 11:47 UTC
Object       : ESTCUBE-1 - 13021C
Max elevation: 46 degree
Azimuth      : 008 - 213 degree
Polarization : LHCP Because of the carrier at 437.495
Signal       : max 25 dB above noise
Frequency    : 437.505000 MHz FM +/- Doppler
Status       : Active
Remark       : Interference from a local generated carrier

Kiss file generated between 08:24 – 11:47 UTC: ESTCube-1_29072013_0752.kss

STRaND-1 is Back

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Dr Chris Bridges with STRaND hardwareJust last weekend at the Amsat-UK Collegium, I heard Dr. Chris Bridges say that it would probably be November before we would hear STRaND-1 again, in that period the satellite would go in eclipse causing the system to reset.

But and you may have heard it already, from Tuesday July 23 2013 the satellite is transmitting again and a lot of ground stations are collecting data from the little 3U Cubesat. Maybe now, when the satellite becomes stable, the smartphone experiments can begin.

Below is a SDRSharp spectrum from the signals that I received in the evening on the 23 of July 2013. During that first pass I already collected 96 frames where the max. elevation was 05 degree.

STRaND-1 TLM 23-07-2013 21:26 UTC

After that evening I tried to download as much telemetry as possible with for me a new record on Thursday evening of more then 1200 frames in three passes. But there was something strange when I used the STRaND-1 telemetry decoder made by Mike DK3WN. When I took my kiss file and used it with the decoder there was no OBC beacon data visible. After I had a word with Mike he told me to use Soundmodem from UZ7HO because the MixW packet decoder is dropping all frames that are shorter than 15 bytes. And indeed, now with another 9600 baud G3RUH decoder all frames are visible, even the smaller ones.

Here is an example of a 14 and 20 bytes frame:

2013-07-26 18:14:47.020 UTC: [14 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)]
   1 > C0 00 DB DC 80 A5 06 02 2D 1F 02 FF 03 C0 
   À.ÛÜ€¥..-..ÿ.À
2013-07-26 18:14:48.030 UTC: [20 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)]
   1 > C0 00 DB DC 80 A6 0C 02 89 05 08 A2 18 FF FF 88 B4 03 00 C0 
  21 > 
  À.ÛÜ€¦..‰..¢.ÿÿˆ´..À

Now, at same time as I am writing this article there are already 860 frames received with the UZ7HO Soundmodem software during the first two passes of this evening. The signals are strong, at moments they are 25 – 30 dB above noise.

After feeding these over 800 frames in to the decoder software, it produces the following output.

STRaND-1 TLM 26-07-2013 16:27 UTC

After the following three passes I have received 1371 frames using a FUNcube Dongle Pro+, SDRSharp 1144, RealTec Audio Mixer, UZ7HO G3RUH Soundmodem and AGW OnlineKiss from DK3WN.

26.07.2013 STRaND-1 16:27 - 16:36 UTC
26.07.2013 STRaND-1 18:05 - 18:19 UTC
26.07.2013 STRaND-1 19:45 - 19:57 UTC

If you want to use the kiss file, you can download it at the following location:STRaND-1_26072013_1620UTC.kss

16-07-2013 CubeBUG-1 On

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CubeBUG-1 On 16-07-2013 10:22 UTC

CubeBUG-1_16-07-2013_10:22UTC

Date and Time: 16-07-2013 10:22 - 10:35 UTC
Object       : 2013-018D
Max elevation: 50 degree
Azimuth      : 018 - 183 degree
Polarization : LHCP Strongest
Signal       : max 15 db above noise
Frequency    : 437.438300 MHz FM +/- doppler
Status       : Active
Remark       : Weak Audio

An IQ wav file was recorded with SDRSharp and can be downloaded via the following link: download

New SatPC32 12.8c version

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Erich Eichmann DK1TB has released a new SatPC32 version.

SatPC32 Example

This 12.8c version has the following new features and fixes. Erich has used a new programming environment for this release and even after testing he would like to hear if others that use this new version can share there experiences with this new release.

Here a small list with changes, new features and fixes:

  • The CAT commands for the IC-9100 have been expanded.
  • The top line of the SatPC32 frequency display shows the ground station’s downlink and uplink frequency for the chosen satellite.
  • Remote control programs, for example LogMein, allow remote control.
  • Keps files for different types of satellites can be merged to a single file.
  • WinListen now displays azimuth and elevation values in 0.1 degree increments.
  • Minor improvements
    • Some older fonts in the SatPC32 and SatPC32ISS have been replaced by fonts that are more readable.
    • The function that switches the sub tone frequencies for ICOM radios has been improved. Previous program versions switched the bands to get access to the uplink band. The new version avoids this by using other CAT commands.
  • Bug fixes
    • The sub tone frequency setting function for the Yaesu FT-857, FT-897 didn’t work. That has been fixed.
    • CAT control of old Kenwood radios (TS-711, TS-811) didn’t work properly with the  Kenwood CAT interface IF-232c which requires hardware flow control. SatPC32 works without flow control. Hardware flow control can now be simulated by checking the option “RTS+12V” in the “Radio Setup” menu.
    • The TS-2000 didn’t correctly change into satellite mode when CAT control was activated (C+). Now it works.

All information regarding this new version can be found at the following location: SatPC32 V.12.8c release notes

The new version can be downloaded on the bottom of the main website from DK1TB.

Homepage and other references:

SatPC32 main English website

AAUSat-3 Telemetry

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AAUSat-3 17 July 2013 18:47 UTC – 19:01 UTC
As always this small Cubesat is strong ….

AAUSat-3_14-07-2013 18:55 UTC

This is how AAUSat-3 sounds:

AAUSAT3 transmits CSP packets encapsulated in a custom space-link framing format. The radio subsystem works as a router, where subsystems communicate directly with the ground station server.

The spacelink frames start with a variable length training sequence (default 60 bytes), followed by a 6 byte syncword (“OZ3CUB”). The packet format supports two different packet lengths, either 25 or 86 bytes. A one byte Frame Size Marker (FSM) is used to differentiate between long and short packets. The FSM is 0xA6 for short frames and 0x59 for long frames.

Technical Details:

  • Frequency: 437.425 MHz (in LEOP we were at 437.450)
  • Frequency deviation: 9.6 kHz
  • Modulation Scheme: Gaussian 2FSK (BT=0.5)
  • Bitrate: 1200 to 19200 bps (default 2400 bps)
  • Callsign: OZ3CUB

I am not able to decode these signals because as far as I now there is no decoder available to the Amateur Radio community. Would be nice when University’s are using HAM radio frequency space that we the Ham radio community could benefit also.

Main website: AAUSat-3