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AMSAT OSCAR-40

AMSAT OSCAR-40. It took a licking but It’s still ticking Presented by Bill Tynan , W3XO Edited by Rick Hambly W2GPS. 21 st Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting Saturday, October 18, 2003, 15:00 EDT Toronto Airport Marriott, Toronto Ontario Canada. AO-40 Background.

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AMSAT OSCAR-40

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  1. AMSAT OSCAR-40 It took a licking but It’s still ticking Presented by Bill Tynan, W3XO Edited by Rick Hambly W2GPS 21st Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting Saturday, October 18, 2003, 15:00 EDT Toronto Airport Marriott, Toronto Ontario Canada

  2. AO-40 Background • Phase 3D, Amateur Radio’s most ambitious satellite, took 10 years and FOUR MILLION DOLLARS to build. • Launched November 16, 2000 from the European Space Agency’s launch site at Kourou, French Guiana, South America aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) • Several weeks later Phase 3D, now AO-40, suffered a serious mishap (EXPLOSION). • ALL is LOST, or so everyone thought. • But on CHRISTMAS DAY 2000, AO-40 was brought to LIFE!

  3. Working 70 cm (435 MHz) uplink Both L Band (1269 MHz) uplinks One of two S Band (2400 MHz) downlinks K Band (24 GHz) downlink Main computer RUDAK computer GPS receivers JAMSAT camera Power system Attitude control system Not Working 2 Meter downlink 2 Meter uplink Both 10 GHz downlinks One S band (2400 MHz) downlink Propulsion system What is still working and what isn’t?

  4. What is still working and what isn’t?www.amsat-dl.org

  5. What About AO-40? • S band is too hard! • So, should I wait for the next high altitude satellite - several years away? • Or, resolve to take advantage of what still works on AO-40? • But, if S band isn’t that hard. • Why shouldn’t I take the bull by the horns, and use what’s up there now? • A great high altitude (DX) satellite! • But, what gear do I need, and where do I get it? • I can’t build that microwave stuff with those tiny surface-mount components anymore, if I ever could! • So, how do I proceed?

  6. What Do I Need? • Rig: • 2 Meter SSB/CW receiver or transceiver or • 70cm SSB/CW transmitter ~ 25W or 2 Meter/70 cm SSB/CW transceiver • Antenna Mount: • An Az/El rotator system such as the Yaesu 5400* or 5500 or • Two TV rotators - one oriented in the normal fashion and the other mounted horizontally on it or • A manually pointed arrangement of PVC or aluminum pipes *Approach used at W3XO/5

  7. What Do I Need? • Yagi for 70 cm (435 MHz) ~ 10 dB or more gain • A standard linearly polarized Yagi either horizontal or vertical or • A crossed Yagi for circular polarization • Small dish: • A wireless cable Bar-B-Q or Primestar • Commercial, such as 60 cm (231/2 inch), or 90 cm (34 inch) Downeast Microwave* *Approach used at W3XO/5

  8. What Do I Need? • Dish feed: • Patch, G3RUH or W0LMD* or • Helix • Downconverter (2400 MHz to 144 MHz): • Commercial DEMI or SSB Electronics etc. or • Converted wireless cable unit such as K5GNA AIDC-3731* • Bridged T to supply DC to downconverter • Coax and rotator cable to connect to equipment in shack *Approach used at W3XO/5

  9. Working AO-40 • First, get a satellite tracking program from AMSAT, and install it in your computer. • Nova, SatPC-32 or InstantTrack (DOS) • Determine when AO-40 will be in view, and point your antennas in the general direction (Az & El) . • Look for the mid-band beacon around 2401.323 (145.323 on you 2 meter radio) • Tune around about +/- 50 kHz. • Peak your antennas for max signal. • Tune up from beacon for activity. If you don’t hear any, look on AMSAT, AMSAT-UK or AMSAT-DL web site for schedule. • The transponder is NOT always on even when beacon is.

  10. Working AO-40 • If transponder is on, look for a clear spot, set your transmitter to about 435.650 and turn around while whistling or sending dits until you hear yourself coming back. • Adjust your power for about an S-6 to 7 signal. Too much signal and LEILA will be on you. • For voice, switch to LSB. Transponder inverts signals, so LSB is received as USB. • Call CQ, and work the WORLD! Many European countries, JAs, ZLs and VKs are active regularly.

  11. What About Those Trees? • Trees ARE bad news for S band signals. • Possible solutions: • Intensive use of chain saw • Mount antenna array higher • Work portable: • Mount antenna array on a small flat-bed trailer or in a pickup. • Ready-made Field Day set-up • And, you can work just as much DX as the fixed stations. • However you do it, come join us in the FUN of satellite hamming. SEE YOU ON A-40

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