JNOS – 15 years later

Long ago, in what now seems like a primitive world – I was introduced to a ‘new way’ to do packet radio. Like other pre-Internet computer connections, packet radio was based upon point-to-point links, and we used a local Bulletin-Board System (BBS) to exchange messages. Sometimes we could connect a local BBS to other distant BBSs via mountaintop digipeaters. This was the ham radio version of the dial-up BBS network that was common in the 80s. In 1990 AMSAT launched 4 MicroSats that carried packet radio store-and-forward technology to even further extend this reach, and many of us enjoyed a global electronic messaging service before most folks had even heard of the Internet. This ‘new way‘ to use packet radio utilized tcp/ip – which became the standards in use today as The Internet.

Command Prompt from BBS

So, in 1990 – just after I had moved to Kingsport, TN – my ham radio guru Gary – K4VZZ, introduced me to

MFJ-1278 returns to 145.010

In a brief fit of madness …
I was dusting the shelf under my old MFJ-1278 this last weekend, and wondered how long it would take to actually restore/establish that thing on 145.010, running just it’s feeble internal single-user mailbox…

1200 baud radio modem

Turns out it was easier than I expected (because it wasn’t broken), and after futzing around with

Castor, Pollux + BEVO-1

This bulletin from our AMSAT Area Coordinator:

Three payloads, Pollux, Castor and BEVO-1, have been deployed from the Space Shuttle today using Amateur Radio frequencies. Tune in and see if you can hear and/or decode them.

The two ANDE satellites (Castor and Pollux) have been deployed from the Space Shuttle now that it has separated from the ISS.

Both satellites will be transmitting on 145.825 MHz. Castor will transmit telemetry every 30 seconds. Pollux every 33 seconds.

Both are transmitting 1200 baud AX.25 packet Telemetry.

Most of the info is on the website:
https://goby.nrl.navy.mil/ANDE

The Pollux/Castor ANDE satellites are made mostly of parts from Digikey.

The following processors are flying:

Pollux: 1 – Atmega168, 3 – Atmega168
Castor: 1 – LPC2106, 2 – Atmega168, IGLOO FPGA AGL125, Atmega128

Sensors are gyroscopes from Melexis and Analog Devices. Magnetometer is the PNI Micro mag 3-axis unit.

The radio transmitter in the satellites are based on this module.
http://www.pratthobbies.com/proddetail.asp?prod=CANSAT-TX

BEVO-1 is also being deployed by the shuttle, freq 437.325 MHz, details at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/july2009/dual_picosat_deployment.htm

73’s,
Tim Cunningham – N8DEU
AMSAT Area Coordinator

Work Party At WSC

Last night I returned home after several days in New Mexico.
With a few co-workers, I attended a hardware upgrade party at NASA’s White Sands Complex – which is the earth-based end of the space links for the TDRSS. This fleet of large satellites is parked in orbit at such a distance that they go around the earth at the same speed that the earth rotates – so they appear to stay in the same place. From those lofty perches around the globe they are able to collect data from smaller satellites that orbit much closer to earth, and relay all that data back home.
Of course we are not allowed to take our own pictures, so Google found this one for me.

Dishes in the Desert

Of primary interest to us is the return-link telemetry stream