 Reports
of Oscar-11 sought
UoSAT-OSCAR-11 was the second in the series of Amateur satellites designed
and built by a team of engineers at the University of Surrey in Guildford,
England.
UoSAT-OSCAR-11 was designed to compliment UoSAT-OSCAR-9, which carried
experiments supporting space engineering, science, education, and Amateur
Radio propagation studies.
UoSAT-OSCAR-11 was launched from the Western Test Range at Vandenberg
Air Base, in Lompoc, California along with LANDSAT-5 on a Delta 3920 rocket
on March 1, 1984. OSCAR-11 was the most rapidly designed OSCAR, going
from inception to launch in only five months!
OSCAR-11 was also the first amateur satellite to carry a digital communications
package into Earth orbit, and the first to be controlled by a CPU running
software written in the high-level programming language "Forth."
Despite having been in orbit over 21 years OSCAR-11 is still occasionally
sending back signals to earth. AMSAT-UK member Clive Wallis G3CWV would
like to get reports from anyone who managed to hear the satellite. Below
is his latest OSCAR-11 Report.
To find out when Oscar-11 is within range go to the Online Satellite
Predictor at
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/
Select Show Predictions for UO-11 and enter your approximate
Lat and Long co-ordinates or IARU QTH Locator.
73 Trevor M5AKA
OSCAR-11 REPORT
During the period 15 June to 21 July 2005 nothing has been heard from
the satellite.
Just after the previous report was distributed, I received an e-mail
from from Bob G4VRC, who heard the satellite on 13 June at 05:42 UTC.
Bob has a special interest in this satellite. He works at the University
of Surrey, and did much of the mechanical construction. Many thanks Bob
for the report.
Since 18 April, OSCAR-11 has been heard on the following occasions -
28 April 04:09 - 30 April 16:04 UTC G3CWV
19 May 22:11 UTC LW2DTZ
13 June 05:42 UTC G4VRC
Based on these times, there was a possibility that UO-11 might be heard
around 09 July. I monitored all passes from 08 July to 11 July, but no
signals were heard on 145.826 MHz. I am indebted to Roger, WA1KAT who
also monitored the channel continuously from 07 July to 13 July, no signals
were received. However, the satellite could still have been transmitting
during this period, for one or two orbits, which were out of range of
both stations.
It's now very difficult to predict when the satellite might be heard,
as the time between switch ON has increased after each cycle, and we don't
have a recent observation on which to base a pediction. My guess would
be around 05 August for the next transmission.
The satellite is now experiencing solar eclipses, which have reached
their maximum duration, and are now decreasing. The eclipses should finish
in mid-August, when the satellite enters a period of continuous sunlight
for the remainder of the year. It is possible that the satellite might
resume transmissions when the eclipses finish. If this occurs then
satellite might start transmitting again in early September, approximately
10 days ON followed by 10 days OFF.
Any reception reports would be appreciated.
Please send to me direct g3cwv@amsat.org, or post to AMSAT-BB. To remind
listeners of the sound of the VHF beacon, I have put a short audio clip
on my website. The URL is http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/
It's near the top of the OSCAR-11 page.
The website contains an archive of news & telemetry data, including
all the data received for 2005. It also contains details about using a
soundcard or hardware demodulators for data capture. There is software
for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry.
The Beacon frequencies are -
VHF 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry - Occasional operation?
UHF 435.025 MHz. OFF
S-band 2401.5 MHz. OFF
73 Clive G3CWV
Email: g3cwv at amsat.org
The Amsat-UK International Space Colloquium takes place at the University
of Surrey, Guildford, England where OSCAR-11 was built. It runs from 29th
- 31st July. On Saturday 30th July there will be special beginners sessions
to teach people how to communicate through the many Amateur Satellites
that are available.
There will be guided tours of the Surrey Space Centre at the University
with the satellite mission control centre and the satellite assembly facility.
These tours are always popular and they provide a unique opportunity to
see satellites in various stages of construction.
The event is open to all Amateurs and SWL's. Either day passes costing
£12:50 or full packages comprising overnight accomodation and meals
at the University are available.
For further details contact Sophie Haigh
Tel: +44 (0)1483 689888
Email: s.haigh@sstl.co.uk
Web: http://www.uk.amsat.org/Colloquium/
(see Travel for maps)
Visitors can just turn up on the day although AMSAT-UK would appreciate
notification if possible.
73 Trevor M5AKA
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