AMSAT-UK

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LightSail-2 to send Morse code

Posted: 11 Jun 2016 02:15 PM PDT
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/06/11/lightsail-2-morse-code/

LightSail-2 Credit The Planetary Society

The Planetary Society CubeSat LightSail-2 will transmit Morse code from
space, and you can make the sound your ringtone

Jason Davis @jasonrdavis reports that during last years LightSail-1 mission
(call sign KK6HIT), dozens of radio enthusiasts around the wrote in to tell
us they heard our solar sailing CubeSat chattering away in low-Earth orbit.

Every few seconds, LightSail automatically transmits a beacon packet. These
packets can be picked up by ground stations and decoded into 238 lines of
text telemetry that describe the spacecrafts health and status. Everything
from battery current to solar sail deployment motor state is included. We
still plan to better support the worldwide radio communitys efforts to help
us capture those packets; that work is temporarily on the back burner while
the engineering team focuses on getting the spacecraft ready for delivery.

Many off-the-shelf CubeSat software packages also have an option to
transmit Morse code beacons, and for the LightSail 2 mission, were
activating this feature. Every 45 seconds, the spacecraft will transmit
L-S-2, and radio operators tuned in to the spacecrafts 437.325 megahertz
frequency should be able to hear it.

Read the full The Planetary Society story at

http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason...orse-code.html

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UKHAS Conference Cambridge Sept 10

Posted: 11 Jun 2016 04:27 AM PDT
https://amsat-uk.org/2016/06/11/ukha...ridge-sept-10/

SSDV picture from a PIE balloon – Image credit Dave Akerman M0RPI

The UKHAS Conference will be held at the Institute of Astronomy, University
of Cambridge, on Saturday, September 10, 2016. There will be an opportunity
to take the amateur radio Foundation Practical Assessments and Exam.

The conference attracts those interested in learning about building and
flying High Altitude Balloons or in tracking their 434 MHz signals.

Tickets can be purchased from the wiki page and cost just £10 each.

This is our first year away from London but the change in location also
comes with a greatly reduced ticket price, with thanks to Andy Batey G7LBL
for offering up the facilities. Hopefully this will offset any increased
difficulties in travel and Cambridge is still well connected to the major
transport hubs.

For those who havent attended before, the conference is a great opportunity
to learn more about the hobby and meet new faces. There will be a series of
structured talks, workshops and discussions.

If you would like to speak or run a workshop, please do get in touch with
either Daniel Saul M6DSA or Steve Randall G8KHW. Contributions dont need to
be directly linked to ballooning and we look forward to all suggestions.

As in previous years, there will also be the opportunity to take RSGB
amateur radio exams on the day. Please contact Phil Crump M0DNY if you are
interested email: phil at philcrump.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you all in September!

Cheers,

Daniel & Steve

UKHAS Conference Booking https://ukhas.org.uk/general:ukhasconference2016

Those intending to take the amateur radio Foundation exam may find this
free Online Foundation course useful
http://www.essexham.co.uk/foundation-online

Last years conference had an impressive line of of radio amateurs giving
presentations

https://amsat-uk.org/2015/08/17/2015-ukhas-conference/