SB SPACE @ ARL $ARLS018   
   ARLS018 AO-85 Commissioned and Turned Over to AMSAT-NA Operations   
      
   ZCZC AS18   
   QST de W1AW   
   Space Bulletin 018  ARLS018   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington, CT  November 19, 2015   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB SPACE ARL ARLS018   
   ARLS018 AO-85 Commissioned and Turned Over to AMSAT-NA Operations   
      
   Fox-1A (AO-85) has been formally commissioned and turned over to AMSAT   
   Operations, which now is responsible for the scheduling and modes. Fox-1A is   
   AMSAT-NA's first CubeSat.   
      
   "Many new techniques are incorporated, and lessons will be learned, as with   
   any new 'product,"' said AMSAT Vice President-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY.   
   "We will incorporate changes from what we learn in each launch, to the extent   
   possible, in subsequent Fox-1 CubeSats. To our members, we want to say that   
   the Fox Team is very proud and pleased that our first CubeSat is very   
   successful and   
   hopefully will be for some time."   
      
   The Fox-1 Project is a series of CubeSats. A total of five will be built and   
   flown. Launches already have been scheduled for three more, and a new NASA   
   CubeSat Launch Initiative proposal will be submitted for the fifth launch.   
      
   Of the four NASA-sponsored CubeSats on the October 8 Educational Launch of   
   Nanosatellites (ELaNa) on October 8 that put AO-85 and 12 other spacecraft   
   into orbit, one (ARC1) never functioned, and a   
   second, BisonSat, was lost after a few weeks of operation.   
      
   The Fox Team notes that an apparent lack of receiver sensitivity and   
   difficulty in turning or holding on the repeater with the 67 Hz CTCSS tone are   
   probably the most notable observations about AO-85.   
      
   "We have determined a probable cause for the sensitivity issue, and while that   
   can't be fixed on AO-85 we are taking steps to prevent similar issues on the   
   rest of the Fox-1 CubeSats," Buxton assured. "The tone-detection threshold,   
   along with the receive sensitivity issue, makes it hard to bring up the   
   repeater. This is being addressed by adjusting the values for a valid tone   
   detection in the other Fox-1 CubeSats, now that we have on-orbit information   
   about temperatures and power budget." The November/December edition of AMSAT   
   Journal will include full details on these technical issues.   
      
   AMSAT has provided guidelines for using AO-85.   
      
   * Uplink power should be on the order of a minimum 200 W EIRP for full   
   quieting at lower antenna elevations. Your mileage may vary. Successful   
   contacts have been made using an Arrow-style antenna.   
      
   * Polarity is important. The satellite antennas are linear. If you are using   
   linearly polarized antennas, you will need to adjust throughout the pass.   
   Full-duplex operation facilitates these adjustments while transmitting and is   
   highly recommended.   
      
   * The downlink is very strong and should be heard well with almost any antenna   
   and is 5 kHz deviation. AMSAT said that users may perceive that the audio is   
   low. "This is an effect of the filtering   
   below 300 Hz, which provides for the data-under-voice (DUV) telemetry, coupled   
   with any noise on the uplink signal resulting from lack of full quieting or   
   being off frequency," Buxton explained. "That makes for less fidelity than a   
   typical receiver in terms of audio frequencies passed."   
      
   * The satellite's downlink frequency varies with temperature. Due to the wide   
   range of temperatures the satellite is exposed to during eclipse, the   
   transmitter can be anywhere from around 500 Hz low at 10 degrees C to near 2   
   kHz low at 40 degrees C. The uplink frequency has been generally agreed to be   
   about 435.170 MHz, although the automatic frequency control (AFC) makes that   
   hard to pin down while also helping with off-frequency uplink signals.   
      
   "It is important to remember that science is the reason behind the Fox-1   
   satellites," AMSAT said. "Not only does science help with the launch cost, it   
   provides a great amount of educational value both from the science payload and   
   in amateur radio itself. The DUV telemetry is an excellent way to provide the   
   science without sacrificing the use of the satellite for communication, which   
   would   
   be the case if higher speed downlinks were needed. DUV provides constant   
   science as long as the repeater is in use, which in turn provides more   
   downlink data for the science - a mutually beneficial combination."   
      
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   "So let me ask you a question about this brave new world of yours. When you've   
   killed all the bad guys, and when it's all perfect, and just and fair, and   
   when you have finally got it exactly the way you want it, what are you going   
   to do with the people like you? The trouble makers. How are you going to   
   protect your glorious revolution from the next one?"   
   - The twelfth Doctor   
      
   ... But don't let me stop you from being ignorant.   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:3634/12.73)