[South Florida DX Association] ARLS011 AMSAT "Echo" Satellite to Open for FM Voice Trial Run

[Bill Marx]

 > ZCZC AS11  
> QST de W1AW  
> Space Bulletin 011  ARLS011
> From ARRL Headquarters  
> Newington, CT  July 29, 2004
> To all radio amateurs
> 
> SB SPACE ARL ARLS011
> ARLS011 AMSAT "Echo" Satellite to Open for FM Voice Trial Run
> 
> AMSAT-NA's new "Echo" satellite (AO-51) will be turned on for
> general use in FM repeat mode Friday, July 30, at about 0215z, for a
> trial period of about three weeks. During that time, command
> stations on Earth will monitor AO-51's power budget and adjust the
> UHF Transmitter B (TX B) power as needed for good battery
> management. They'll also be watching the AMSAT Bulletin Board e-mail
> reflector, amsat-bb at amsat.org, for reports of how Echo is working.
> 
> "We are most interested in hearing about how well Echo hears you and
> how well you hear it," said the Echo Command Team--Jim White, WD0E,
> and Mike Kingery, KE4AZN--in an AMSAT bulletin. The digital
> transponder and the store-and-forward BBS, are not yet open for
> general use.
> 
> Initially, the AO-51 downlink transmitter will be running at about 1
> W. At that power level, AMSAT says, Earth stations will need a small
> directional antenna to hear it. If onboard power permits, ground
> controllers will slowly increase the transmitter's output during the
> trial period.
> 
> The Echo FM voice uplink frequency is 145.920 MHz, and the downlink
> is 435.300 MHz. The downlink transmitter will come on when it hears
> an uplink signal with a 67 Hz CTCSS (PL) tone for about 1 second,
> and it will stay on for 10 seconds after that signal goes away.
> "This operation is just like a terrestrial FM repeater with a 1
> second 'kerchunk' filter and a 10 second hang time," AMSAT noted.
> Transmitter A (TX A), now sending telemetry, generally will continue
> to operate on 435.150 MHz.
> 
> AMSAT points out that Echo, which launched June 29, is still
> "wobbling a great deal," so the downlink polarization sense will
> vary.
> 
> The Echo Command Team says it expects Echo will be heavily used
> during the first few days of the trial period. "Many stations will
> be trying to make a contact through Echo," they said. "It is good
> amateur practice and common courtesy to let everyone have a chance.
> Echo will hear you as well as or better than any previous amateur FM
> repeater satellite."
> 
> There's more information on the AMSAT Web site at,
> http://www.amsat.org.