Category Archives: Satellites

Articels about Amatuer Radio Satellite ground station design, construction, and operation.

Greencube (IO-117) – A Portable Station for Activating Grid Squares

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Portable Station for Greencube

Portable Station for Greencube

We’ve been having a lot of fun with the Greencube (IO-117) satellite, so I decided to put together a portable ground station for activating grid squares. I wanted a station that –

  • Has adequate antenna gain and power for reliable Greencube operation
  • Uses solar-battery power so that it is quiet when operating in public places
  • Uses computer management for Doppler correction
  • Can provide accurate grid locator information via  a GPS receiver
  • Is easy to set up in the field in less than 30 minutes

Station Components

We already have a solar-battery power system that we build for portable operation with a 100w transceiver as well as an IC-9700 transceiver that we use as part of our transportable satellite ground station. We also have Windows and Mac laptop computers that we can use as part of our Greencube (IO-117) portable ground station. With these components in mind, here are the hardware components that we are using as part of our Greencube portable station –

We are using the following software for our portable Greencube (IO-117) ground station:

Portable Station in Pelican Case

Portable Station in Pelican Case

We also purchased a case (Pelican Air 1555) to package the transceiver and accessories.

Antenna System

M2 Antenna Systems 440-11X Antenna

M2 Antenna Systems 440-11X Antenna

We choose the M2 Antenna Systems  440-11X Antenna for our portable ground station. This antenna has more than adequate gain for use with Greencube, and its lightweight rear-mounted design makes it ideal for use with our heavy-duty video camera tripod.

Portable Antenna System

Portable Antenna System

The antenna is attached to the tripod using a Camera Tripod Ball Mount, a Handlebar Ball Mount Clamp, and a Double Socket Ball Arm. The Handlebar Clamp grips that antenna’s rear extension and allows the antenna to be easily rotated to align its polarity with Greencube’s antenna during a pass. A short section of water pipe with a cap, hook, and a 1,000-gram weight provides a counterweight to balance the antenna on the tripod.

Portable Antenna System Details

Portable Antenna System Details

A Magnetic Digital Angle Guage is used to adjust the elevation angle of the antenna.

A coax-powered LNA from Advanced Receiver Research (an available alternative is the SSB Electronic SP 70 preamp) is attached to one of the legs of the tripod and is connected to the antenna with a short LMR-240uF coax cable. a 20′ length of LMR-400uF coax connects the antenna system to the transceiver. N-connectors are used throughout the feedline system.

Radio, Computers, and Software

IC-9700 Transciver and Computers

IC-9700 Transceiver and Computers

Our setup uses an Icom IC-9700 transceiver and two computers. The IC-9700 transceiver is connected to the Windows computer via the radio’s USB port and to the MacBook Air via a CI-V cable.

The Windows computer runs the following software programs to provide the client terminal, modem, and logging functions required to operate with Greencube –

The configuration of these programs is covered in more detail here.

GPS Dongle NMEATime Software

NMEATime Software used with GPS Dongle

The Windows laptop also runs the NMEATime application and uses a USB GPS Dongle to accurately determine the grid locator where we are operating from. The grid locator from NMEATime is used to configure MacDoppler to ensure accurate tracking information for aiming our antenna.

MacDoppler Tracking Greencube and Controlling the M2 LEO Pack

MacDoppler Tracking Greencube and Controlling the Uplink/Downlink Frequencies

The MacBook Air laptop runs MacDoopler. MacDoppler is connected to the IC-9700 transceiver via a CI-V cable and controls the IC-9700’s uplink and downlink frequencies to provide Doppler correction. MacDoppler is also used to determine the azimuth and elevation of Greencube to enable manual pointing of our antenna.

Power System

Solar-Battery Power System

Solar-Battery Power System

Powering a 100-watt transceiver in a portable application during extended operating sessions can present a challenge. I also wanted a setup that was quiet as we often operate portable in public locations. For these reasons, I decided to put together a solar-battery setup that consists of the following components:

90W Foldable Solar Panels

90W Foldable Solar Panels

The solar panels are wired in series and provide about 34 Vdc in bright sunlight.

MPPT Charge Controller, NLiPo Batteries, and Power Distribution

MPPT Charge Controller, LiPo Batteries, and Power Distribution

The MPPT Charge Controller automatically determines the best balance between cell voltage and current to provide maximum power transfer to charge the batteries. The batteries provide the extra power capacity needed when transmitting. The resulting power setup can sustain the full power operation of our portable station, even on cloud days.

The laptops run on their internal batteries and are changed via automotive lighter socket power adapters between operating sessions.

Operating Using Greencube

Portable Telemetry from Greencube

Portable Telemetry from Greencube

My initial tests of the portable station were done using the station to receive Telemetry from Greencube. This allowed me to learn to steer the antenna and adjust it for the best polarity during passes. The station had no trouble hearing and decoding Greencube’s telemetry transmission from horizon to horizon.

Compass App on iPhone

Compass App on iPhone

It was relatively easy to point the antenna based on the azimuth and elevation information from MacDoppler. I used a compass app on my iPhone to set the antenna’s azimuth heading and the Digital Angle Guage to set the antenna’s elevation. Pointing the antenna to within +/- 10 degrees of accuracy was adequate for reliable operation with Greencube.

I turned the speaker volume on the radio high enough so I could hear Greencube’s signal while adjusting the antenna polarity. Finding the polarity that caused Greencube’s signal to be weakest and then rotating the antenna 90 degrees from this point worked well.

Portable QSOs with EA8ARI via Greencube

Portable QSOs with EA8ARI via Greencube

I was able to make 15-20 contacts on each Greencube pass with our portable ground station. The RSSI graph in the Greencube terminal is a good indicator to determine when to adjust the antenna’s heading and polarity to track Greencube during a pass. It’s best to have a helper with one person making contacts and the other adjusting the antenna, but it’s possible for a single operator to do both jobs and still make many contacts during a pass.

More Fun With Greencube

I am quite pleased with the performance of our new portable ground station for Greencube (IO-117). Anita and I are planning a portable grid square activation trip for later in the fall to make use of the station.

This article is the fifth in a series that we are working on. You view the other articles via the links below. This is a work in progress, and we’ll be creating additional Greencube-related posts in the near future:

You can also read more about our Satellite Ground stations here.

Fred, AB1OC

Greencube (IO-117) – M2 Antenna Systems LEO Pack – Will It Work?

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LEO Pack Transportable Satellite Antenna System

LEO Pack Transportable Satellite Antenna System

Quite a few folks have the M2 Antenna System LEO pack antenna. I wanted to see how this antenna system would perform with Greencube (IO-117). Our LEO Pack is set up on a Glen Martin roof tower that we’ve modified to create a transportable ground station. Here are some of the specs for the setup we’ve tested:

The specifications for the 70cm antenna are as follows:

  • Frequency Range: 432 To 438 MHz
  • Gain: 13.3 dBic
  • Front to back: 15 dB Typical
  • Beamwidth: 42° Circular

The published gain number for this antenna meets the requirements for operation with Greencube, so we set up our transportable station in our backyard and proceeded to do some testing.

Transportable Ground Station

LEO Pack Transportable Ground Station Radio and Computers

Transportable Ground Station Radio and Computers

The ground station setup includes an IC-9700 Transceiver, a Green Heron RT-21 AZ/EL Rotator Controller, and two computers.

MacDoppler Tracking Greencube and Controlling the M2 LEO Pack

MacDoppler Tracking Greencube and Controlling the M2 LEO Pack

The Mac laptop runs MacDoppler, which handles steering the antennas and Doppler correction, and the Windows laptop runs the modem and client software to access Greencube’s Digipeater.

The antennas are located about 100 ft from the rest of the ground station and are connected using LMR-600uF coax cable. This results in about 40 watts of power being delivered to the feedpoint of the 70 cm antenna.

Testing The LEO Pack With Greencube’s Digipeater

Greencube (IO-117) QSOs with the LEO Pack Antenna System

Greencube (IO-117) QSOs with the LEO Pack Antenna System

I am happy to report that the LEO Pack 70cm antenna enabled us to make quite a few contacts using the Greencube Digipeater. The setup required the remote preamp to be on and the use of the polarity switching controls to optimize losses due to mismatched polarity, which occurred frequently during Greencube passes. The LEO Pack antenna/preamp combination provided consistent decodes of Greencube’s packets. The challenge was getting our packets to be Digipeated by Greencube. On some passes, this worked very well. During other passes, we were only able to get reliable Digipeats during the approaching portion of a pass at elevations above 25 degrees.

Optimizing Our Station

MacDoppler Optimized Frequency Settings for Greencube

MacDoppler Optimized Frequency Settings for Greencube

I spent a lot of time determining the best uplink frequency to use with Greencube’s Digipeater. The settings above are what I finally settled on for uplink and downlink frequencies.

Optimized Soundmodem Settings

Optimized Soundmodem Settings for Greencube (IO-117)

I also spent some time experimenting with the Soundmodem settings. The lengthened Tx lead-in and tail settings above helped Greencube decode our signals more reliably.

These adjustments also improved the Digipeating performance of the larger antennas used in our main ground station, so they are not specific to the LEO Pack.

Conclusions About The LEO Pack and Greencube

I probably made about 50 contacts using Greencube and our LEO Pack antennas. If you already have a ground station built around the LEO Pack Antenna System, I would encourage you to add a preamplifier if you don’t already have one and try Greencube.

If you are building a fixed ground station for use with Greencube, it might be better to step up to a larger antenna such as the M2 Antenna Systems 436CP30.

I have also found that antennas with circular polarity are not necessarily the best for Greencube. This is likely due to a combination of the lengthened path through the ionosphere due to Greencube’s altitude, resulting in stronger polarity rotational effects and mismatches with the circularly polarized antennas we are using. I am anxious to do some more testing with the non-circularly polarized yagi that we are using with our portable station to see if I can confirm this.

More Fun With Greencube

This article is the fourth in a series that we are working on. You view the other articles via the links below. This is a work in progress, and we’ll be creating additional Greencube-related posts in the near future:

You can also read more about our Satellite Ground stations here.

Fred, AB1OC

Greencube (IO-117) – Completing a Satellite Worked All States

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AB1OC Satellite Worked All States

AB1OC Satellite Worked All States (WAS)

I have worked and confirmed all states in the USA for some time now except for Hawaii. It is simply impossible to work Hawaii from my location in New England via a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite. Fortunately, the Greencube (IO-117) Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite has made a contact with Hawaii possible. The next challenge was finding an active Amateur Radio satellite operator set up for Greencube.

Developing a Plan

KH6WI is QRV in Hawaii!

KH6WI is QRV in Hawaii!

After doing some online research, I was pleasantly surprised to find Eric Olson, KH6WI, was preparing a portable setup for Greencube! This motivated us to set up the software to use Greencube from our station here.

Making the Contact

Eric KH6WI Calling CQ from Hawaii

Eric KH6WI Calling CQ from Hawaii

With everything set up and working for operation with Greencube, I anxiously awaited Eric’s first activation. I was thrilled to see him calling CQ during one of the first passes that he was active on.

The Contact with KH6WI

The Contact with KH6WI

The contact with Eric was easily made and quickly confirmed via LoTW. With this done, I had finally completed my Satellite Worked All States!

Grids, Grids, Grids

AB1OC Satellite Grids

AB1OC Satellite Grids

I’ve been active on Greencube for about a month and have made over 320 contacts via Greencube, bringing my total satellite contact count to over 3,200. Greencube has helped me confirm several new DXCCs via Satellite and increased my worldwide grids to over 415 grids.

If you have not tried Greencube (IO-117), I’d encourage you to set up your station to work this bird. It’s not difficult to do this, and Greencube opens the world to Amateur Satellite operators.

More Fun With Greencube

This article is the third in a series that we are working on. You view the other articles via the links below. This is a work in progress, and we’ll be creating additional Greencube-related posts in the near future:

You can also read more about our Satellite Ground stations here.

Fred, AB1OC

Greencube (IO-117) – Setup, Software, and Operation

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Typical Greencube Pass Providing DX Possibilities

Typical Greencube Pass Providing DX Possibilities

Greencube (IO-117) is a Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite that carries a 70cm digipeater. This satellite can provide DX contacts covering a wide area around an Amateur Radio satellite ground station. Putting together a station and the necessary software to use Greencube is not difficult. If you already have a computer-controlled satellite ground station that works on 70cm, you may already have most of what is needed. We’ll cover Greencube (IO-117) setup in detail in this article.

Operating with Greencube – What’s Required

Greencube (IO-117) requires the following for successful contacts via its digipeater:

  • A directional antenna with at least 12 dBi gain
  • A 70cm SSB/FM capable Transceiver with a soundcard interface and at least 25 watts of output at the antenna
  • Software to control the Transceiver to correct for Doppler shift and provide antenna tracking control or pointing information
  • A computer running modem software and a Greencube Terminal Program
  • A low-noise preamp at the antenna is recommended

Greencube Satellite Antennas

Satellite Antennas Tracking Greencube (IO-117)

Tower Mounted Satellite Antennas Tracking Greencube

We have three different antenna combinations that are Greencube capable here:

ARR Satellite Preamp

ARR Satellite Preamp

All three antennas have Advanced Receiver Research Low-Noise preamps which are powered via the associated antenna’s coax feedline. Unfortunately, the ARR preamps are no longer available. A good alternative would be the SSB Electronic SP 70 preamp. I recommend choosing a preamp that can be sequenced using coax power from your transceiver if your transceiver supports coax-powered preamps. This approach ensures that your preamps are protected from transmit power in most operational scenarios.

Radio, Computers, and Power

New IC-9700

Icom IC-9700 Transceiver

All of our Greencube (IO-117) setups use an Icom IC-9700 Transceiver.

We use two computers to run our stations:

  • A Mac (iMac or MacbookAir) running MacDoppler to control antenna tracking and to control our IC-9700 to perform Doppler correction
  • A Windows PC running the modem, terminal client software, and a logger for using Greencube’s digipeater and for decoding telemetry
Greencube (IO-117) Setup - Transportable Ground Station Radio and Computers

Transportable Ground Station Radio and Computers

Using the two computers means that both must simultaneously control the IC-9700 via the radio’s CAT interface. This is easily accomplished with the IC-9700 by using both the CI-V and USB CAT interfaces. The radio’s CI-V interface is used with MacDoppler, and the USB interface is used with the Windows PC to connect the IC-9700’s Rx and Tx audio to the modem SW and to provide for PTT via a COM port.

We use AC power for our fixed and transportable setups.

Portable Solar-Battery Power System

Our portable setup uses solar power consisting of two 90-watt foldable panels, an MPPT charger system, and a pair of A123 LiPo batteries. We’ll share more about our portable and transportable setups in subsequent posts.

Software

Greencube Client and Modem Software

Greencube Terminal and Uz7HO Modem Software

We use the following software for our Greencube (IO-117) ground station:

MacDoppler runs on a Mac computer (iMac or Macbook Air), and the rest of the software runs on a Windows PC.

The links above include instructions for setting up each of the software applications. The following are some notes on Greencube (IO-117) setup for each software component.

MacDoppler

Greencube (IO-117) Setup - MacDoopler Configuration for Greencube

MacDoopler Configuration for Greencube

The Greencube (IO-117) setup in MacDoppler configures the IC-9700 Transceiver to operate in simplex SSB digital mode. This is the SSB-D choice in MacDoppler’s Modes tab for Greencube.

MacDoppler Uplink and Downlink VFO Offsets

MacDoppler Uplink and Downlink VFO Offsets

You’ll want to select SSB-D mode in MacDoppler to track Greencube and configure the IC-9700 to work with the Greencube digipeater. Setting the uplink and downlink offsets to -1.200 KHz will place Greencube’s packet transmissions in the middle of the IC-9700’s passband.

UZ7HO Soundmodem

UZ7HO Sound Modem Greencube Packet Decoding Greencube Packets

UZ7HO Sound Modem Greencube Packet Decoding Greencube Packets

There is a specific version of UZ7HO’s Soundmodem for use with Greencube (see the link above to download greentnc.zip). The soundcard and PTT COM port interfaces provided via the USB connection to the IC-9700 must be configured in Soundmodem.

Soundmodem Devices Settings

Greencube (IO-117) Setup - UZ7HO Soundmodem - Devices Setup

UZ7HO Soundmodem – Devices Setup

The USB connection from the IC-9700 to a Windows PC will create a pair of sound devices (in this example, USB Audio CODEC) and a COM port (in this example, COM15) for CAT and PTT control. These must be properly configured in the Settings – Devices choice on the Soundmodem main menu.

Soundmodem Modem Settings

UZ7HO Soundmodem - Modem Setup

UZ7HO Soundmodem – Modem Setup

The Settings – Modems choice on the Soundmodem main menu brings up this dialog. The settings are the default ones. Note that Soundmodem has two modes – GreenCube 1200bd and GreenCube 300bd. The GreenCube 1200bd setting is normally used for digipeater operation, including decoding telemetry when enabled. You’ll need to use the GreenCube 300bd setting to decode telemetry if Greencube’s digipeater is turned off.

IC-9700 Transceiver Settings

There are some important adjustments to the configuration of the IC-9700 that need to be made for Soundmodem to work properly with the transceiver.

IC-9700 CI-V Settings

IC-9700 CI-V Settings

Configuring the CI-V USB Port to Unlink from [REMOTE] is necessary to allow it to function independently for the other interfaces.

IC-9700 USB AF Output Settings

IC-9700 USB AF Output Settings

You’ll want to set the AF Output Level of the USB interface to about 25% of the maximum and adjust the Windows audio control in Control Panel to get a display on the Soundmodem waterfall of about the intensity shown above.

IC-9700 USB Modulation Input Settings

IC-9700 USB Modulation Input Settings

Setting up the Tx audio levels is important to avoid overdriving the Transmitter. A good place to start is to set the USB Mod Level in the IC-9700 to about 25%.

IC-9700 Tx Drive Setting for One ALC Bar

IC-9700 Tx Drive Adjustment for 1-2 ALC Bars

Then adjust the Windows audio control in Control Panel to get full transmitter output power with only one or two bars of ALC indication on the IC-9700’s ALC meter when transmitting via the Greencube Terminal client. This adjustment is an essential part of your Greencube (IO-117) setup.

OZ9ARR’s Greencube Terminal Setup

Greencube Terminal and Modem Software

Greencube Terminal and Modem Software

A client program is required to format and decode the packets from Greencube. We are using OZ9ARR’s Greencube Terminal for this purpose. This program includes a macro button capability to help you format Greencube Tx packets and includes some nice capabilities for logging contacts and identifying new DXCCs, Grids, and Stations that you have not yet worked.

Greencube (IO-117) Setup - Greencube Terminal Setup

Greencube Terminal Setup

We are using Greencube Terminal with N3FJP’s ACLog to log contacts made with Greencube. This makes it easy to export our contacts to an adif file after each Greencube operating session and import them into our main logger. We also periodically export an adif file containing all of our satellite contacts from our main logger and provide access to this file so Greencube Terminal can determine what we’ve worked before. OZ9ARR’s Greencube Terminal webpage thoroughly explains how to set up and use the program.

DK3WN’s Greencube Telemetry Decoder

DK3WN's Greencube Telemtry Decoder

DK3WN’s Greencube Telemetry Decoder

Greencube periodically sends Telemetry information. You can decode it by using DK3WN’s Greencube Telemetry Decoder with Soundmodem. You can download the decoder and see how to install it on DK3WN’s webpage.

Making Contacts with Greencube

Greencube Terminal and Modem Software

Greencube Terminal and Modem Software

With your Greencube (IO-117) Setup complete, you should be ready to make some contacts! Begin by starting up all of the software and configuring MacDoppler to track Greencube in SSB-D mode. When Greencube is in range, you should see Greencube’s packet transmission being displayed in Soundmodem’s waterfall, and you should be able to hear the packet bursts on your Transceiver. Adjust the Soundmodem decode pointers by dragging them with your mouse to center them in the waterfall traces received in Soundmodem. The setting should be around 1400 – 1500 Hz. Also, make sure that GreenCube 1200db mode is selected in Soundmodem. You should see packets being decoded by Soundmodem.

Greencube (IO-117) Setup - CQ Button

CQ Button

Greencube (IO-117) Setup - INFO Button

INFO Button

Greencube (IO-117) Setup - RRR Button

RRR Button

Greencube (IO-117) Setup - 73 Button

73 Button

You can configure the Shortcut buttons to handle the steps needed to make a contact. The images above show the setup of the buttons that we are using here.

Greencube Terminal Working JH8FIH

Greencube Terminal Working JH8FIH

You’ll want to set the Tx delay for 0 – 2 seconds to give your preamp time to recover from transmitting before you receive your digipeater packets back from Greencube.

You can begin to make a contact by either clicking on another station’s CQ to load the station’s callsign or by just calling CQ yourself. Next, use the INFO button to send your callsign and grid square and then the RRR and 73 buttons to complete your contact. When you are done, you can right-click on the last packet in the exchange or on the station’s callsign that you have worked in one of the right windows to log the contact. That’s all there is to it!

Note that you’ll want to confirm that Greencube has heard and digipeated each of your transmissions. Collisions, fading, and other effects will often cause your packets to not be digipeated, and you’ll need to repeat your transmission until it is digipeated by Greencube.

You can also use the digipeater in store-and-forward mode by setting a long TX Delay (the number is in seconds). This can be as long as several hours to allow you to have Greencube digipeat your packet on the other side of the world! Note that store and forward contacts do not count for operating awards such as Worked All States, VUCC, or DXCC.

The video above shows Uz7HO Soundmodem and OZ9AAR’s Greencube Terminal being used to make contacts during a Greencube pass. the video also demonstrates some of Greencube Terminal’s features for identifying unworked calls and grids. You’ll want to spend some time reading OZ9AAR’s webpage to learn about and take maximum advantage of the many features Greencube Terminal can provide.

More Fun With Greencube

This article is the second in a series that we are working on. You view the other articles via the links below. This is a work in progress, and we’ll be creating additional Greencube-related posts in the near future:

You can also read more about our Satellite Ground stations here.

Fred, AB1OC

Greencube (IO-117) – A New Satellite for DX!

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Greencube (IO-117)

Greencube (IO-117)

The Amateur Radio satellite community is fortunate to have a relatively new Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite. The satellite is named Greencube or IO-117. Here’s some more information about Greencube from the S5Lab Research Team:

GreenCube is a 3U CubeSat aimed at demonstrating an autonomous biological laboratory for plants cultivation on-board a CubeSat platform. The satellite project is managed by the S5Lab research team at Sapienza University of Rome and it involves ENEA (the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) and University of Naples “Federico II”. The project is coordinated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and it has benefitted of a launch opportunity offered by the European Space Agency. The spacecraft has been launched on-board the maiden Vega-C flight on 13 July 2022 and it has been deployed in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at approximately 5800 km of altitude. GreenCube is carrying microgreens (brassicacae) seeds for the farthest experiment ever of plants cultivation in microgravity.

Amateur Radio Payload

In addition to its scientific payload, Green carries an Amateur Radio digipeater that operates on the 70 cm band. The Digipeater operates in both real-time and store and forward modes.

Typical Greencube (IO-117) Pass Providing DX Possibilities

Typical Greencube Pass Providing DX Possibilities

The satellite’s MEO orbit provides passes lasting as long as 90 minutes and some great DX contact opportunities for Amateur Radio satellite operators. The image above shows a typical Greencube pass in the Northeastern US. The tracking program is MacDoppler, and the red arc shows the area on the ground that we can contact. This pass provides DX contacts to China, Asia, Hawaii, Alaska, the US, and Mexico. We can also reach much of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South and Central America via Greencube.

Greencube Contact QSL Card - JR6QFV/9

Greencube Contact With JR6QFV/9

To date, I have made about 320 contacts using Greencube, including DX contacts to Japan, China, Hawaii, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and many stations in the US.

Operating with Greencube – What’s Required

Greencube requires the following for successful contacts via its digipeater:

  • A directional antenna with at least 12 dBi gain
  • A 70cm SSB/FM capable Transceiver with a soundcard interface and at least 25 watts of output at the antenna
  • Software to control the Transceiver to correct for Doppler shift and provide antenna tracking control or pointing information
  • A computer running modem software and a Greencube Client Program
  • A low-noise preamp at the antenna is recommended
Satellite Antennas On the Tower - Tracking

Satellite Antennas On the Tower – Tracking

Space Communications Ground Station at AB1OC-AB1QB

Space Communications Ground Station at AB1OC-AB1QB

The ground station at our QTH more than meets these requirements.

Transportable Satellite Antenn

M2 Antenna Systems LEO Pack Transportable Satellite Antenna System

We are also testing our Transportable LEO Pack-based station with Greencube, and we’ll have more on the results from these tests soon.

More to Come

I am planning a series of articles covering setup and operations with Greencube in hopes that other Amateur Radio satellite operators might take advantage of this bird:

You can read more about our Satellite Ground stations here.

Fred, AB1OC

Importance of Amateur Radio in Schools

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Amatuer Radio in Schools - Satellite Contact at Sussex County Charter School for Technology

Satellite Contact at Sussex County Charter School for Technology

It is vitally important that we make efforts to bring Amateur Radio to young people in schools and other venues. When we spend time bringing Amateur Radio to young people, we accomplish two important things. First, we have the potential to change a young person’s life for the better by involving them in Amateur Radio, a hobby and a service that inspires a lifetime of STEM learning and often leads to lifelong careers in Science or Engineering.

Secondly, our work in schools is one of the very best ways that we can make the general public aware of the positive benefits that Amateur Radio provides to their kids and to the general public…

Source: Importance of Amateur Radio in Schools

In my role as an ARISS Program Mentor, I recently had the pleasure of spending a week with Sussex County Charter School for Technology students and teachers to help teachers there to deliver their summer Radio Camp.

The summer Radio Camp was a STEM education program that the school developed in support of their upcoming contact with an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS). Members of the local Sussex County Amateur Radio Club teamed with the teachers at the school to deliver a 5-day program grounded in STEM learning through Amateur Radio.

You can read more about the activities that we did at the week-long summer Radio Camp via the link above.

Fred, AB1OC

Plans for Field Day 2021 – Nashua Area Radio Society

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We are holding an in-person Field Day operation at Keyes Memorial Park in Milford, NH. Here’s some more on our plans for Field Day 2021. We’d like to invite you to join us…

Source: Plans for Field Day 2021 – Nashua Area Radio Society

I’d like to invite our friends here on our Blog to visit us during Field Day on Saturday, June 26th, and Sunday, June 27th. We will be at Keyes Memorial Park in Milford, NH.

Testing Our Field Day Satellite Station

Testing Our Field Day Satellite Station

We will have a Tower up with a Triband Yagi and we’ll have our computer-controlled portable satellite station at Field Day.

6m LFA Antenna for Field Day

6m LFA Antenna for Field Day

We’ll also have a new LFA Yagi for the 6m Band. We will be a 4A station with a total of 5 Transmitters on the air. Our stations will be equipped for SSB Phone, CW, and FT8/FT4 Digital modes.

We’ll also be doing training sessions on Satellite Operations, FT8 Digital on 6m, and Fox Hunting at 12:30 pm on Saturday, June 26th. If you have an HT, bring it and you can use it to hunt our foxes. We’ll also have HTs available for folks to use for Fox Hunting.

You can read more about what we are planning and find directions to get to our Field Day site here. I hope that we’ll see some of our followers at Field Day!

Fred, AB1OC

Satellite Passes During Field Day 2021

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Field Day 2021 Satellite Passes in FN42

Field Day 2021 Satellite Passes in FN42

We had some time over the weekend so we ran some Satellite Pass Predictions for Field Day 2021 for our Grid Square which is FN42. As you can see, we are going to have a lot of fun working satellite during Field Day! Field Day rules limit us to a single FM EasySat contact using but we can work as many contacts via Linear Transponder Satellites as we wish

Field Day Satellite Station

Field Day Satellite Station

We recently set up and tested our Portable Satellite Ground station here at our QTH and it’s working great! It has produced some good DX contacts into Europe from New Hampshire, USA during the past week.

You can read more about our Portable Satellite Station test here.

Fred, AB1OC

Field Day Satellite Station for 2021 – Setup and Test in Hollis

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The Nashua Area Radio Society will be using our portable Satellite Station this year at Summer Field Day. A number of members got together recently to assemble and test our Computer-Controlled Portable Satellite Station for Field Day. Here are some pictures of our Field Day Satellite Station Test…

Source: Field Day Satellite Station for 2021 – Setup and Test in Hollis

Several members of the Nashua Area Radio Society got together to set up and test our Portable Satellite Station for Field Day 2021. Our station is a computer-controlled one and enables us to work FM and Linear Satellites using phone mode and CW.

The setup uses an M2 Antenna Systems LEO Pack Antenna System on a Glen Martin Aluminum Tower that is set up to be portable. Feedlines use 100 ft lengths for LMR-400uF and LMR-600uF coax cable for the 2m and 70cm bands. The rotator is an Alfa-SPID Az/El unit. The antenna system also uses coax-powered preamplifiers from Advanced Receiver Research. The station uses an IC-9700 Transceiver, a Green Heron RT-21 Az/El Rotator Controller, and a MacBook Air Laptop running MacDoppler and MacLogger DX.

This setup is an updated version of the portable satellite station that we built for an ISS Crew Contact that a local school did with us some time ago.

You can see how the portable station goes together in the article above. You can learn more about the design and construction of our Portable Sation from the series of articles that begins here. We hope to work some of our readers on the birds during Field Day this year!

Fred, AB1OC

Learn About Radio Propagation

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February 2021 Tech Night – Understanding and Using Radio Propagation to Work The World

Anita, AB1QB, recently did a Tech Night Program on Radio Propagation as part of the Nashua Area Radio Society’s Tech Night program. I wanted to share the presentation and video from this Tech Night so that our readers might learn a little more about propagation and how to use it to facilitate contacts.

Anita, AB1QB provides a comprehensive overview of HF and VHF/UHF propagation and how to use it to Work the World. Topics include the many online tools to help one determine and measure propagation conditions. VHF+ modes such as Meteor Scatter, Tropo, EME, and Satellite paths are also covered.

You can view the Tech Night presentation by clicking on the video above. Here’s a link to the presentation that goes with the video. You can learn more about the Nashua Area Radio Society’s Tech Night program here.

Fred, AB1OC