Transponder Test
This morning we decided to try out the transponder for the first time. Howard and Ciaran were dispatched to the car park with a portable ground station. Howard was to try the transponder, and Ciaran recorded the IQ files for examination later, using his Elk, FUNcube Dongle, and MS Surface Pro laptop. The test was a success, and with his pair of 817’s (one tx one rx) and trusty Arrow antenna Howard was able to hear his SSB signal at good strength through the transponder. We hope to do some further transponder tests soon, and are as yet undecided when these should be, but probably tomorrow. We’ll try and announce here when we plan to do further testing.
We have also been busy with the Media today. In particular we were visited by the BBC TV in the form of presenter John Maguire and his camera man, who shot what seemed like a lot of footage. Keep a look out for us on BBC-1 Breakfast TV between 6 am and 9 am on Monday morning. We’ve been told that our ‘spot’ will last between 2 and 4 minutes, perhaps at 07:50 or 08:50. Its estimated that it attracts about 7 million viewers!
After the visit to the Radio Centre, John Maguire asked us to support a visit to a local school, Abbeys Primary School in Bletchley, to meet up with some 10-11 year old pupils and talk to them about the FUNcube project. The visit was a huge success, with the school children asking lots of questions. As this was the first educational outreach opportunity after launch, the school children were asked to compose a Fitter message which we will upload to FUNcube when they have decided what it should be! (Teachers’s comment “Might be their home work!”).
loud congrats to the “”G” world of amateurship .Following step by step with emotion.
Ted Jaramillo
hc5k/kg4lrj
Was this on the pass around 1030 this morning? I wondered why I only got a few packets decoded on a fairly high pass – can you confirm that the beacon was on 30 mW?
Looking forward to contact via funcube!
Jeff…. This thing is only about 4″ square with 2 dipole antennas on it. I am making a model of it and hope to have it done by the Saturday meeting. Be a fun topic. Wish it was a FM repeater … It is SSB and CW. I can only imagine how fast the CW will be with the limited time of a pass.
Sent from my iPad 4 Jack R. Dock
>
Congratulations to all involved with the AO-73 FunCube project! My wife and I happened to travel from Derby to visit Bletchley Park today, and were stunned at what was going on. How better to celebrate my wife’s birthday, than to witness the first day of a newborn baby satellite! The volunteers were so helpful; Sorry if I asked too many questions…
Hope to interact with AO-73 soon.
Best Wishes,
Andy.
Don’t forget the educational outreach taking place elsewhere! At Lauriston Girls’ School in Melbourne, we uploaded our first frames on Friday November 22nd on the pass around10.45am local time (so just before midnight on Thursday November 21st UTC – launch day!) Any other schools involved? 73 Paul VK3DBP
when and where we could have actual predictions..???unable to handle TLE”s..Our small group in CUenca Ecuador looking for an experience with FUNCUBE-1 Please help where and or when to
get hard predictions passes. OUR GRID IS FI07LC FOR REFERENCE.
GREAT WORK INDEED…EXITING TO THE OUTMOST.
TED HC5K/KG4LRJ
Teodoro, if you still need passes for your location.
Give me your mail, i will send you passes for the next few days in FIo7LC
Sorry I should have done so…Too EXITED I GUESS…HIHIHIHIHI.
Thanks so much.
tjaramillo1@live.com grid locator: FI07LC
tKS SO MUCH.
TED HC5K
Heard your test yesterday, strong signal.
I was calling you, and also calling CQ after that.
Heard my downlink signal.
I have mp3 file here.
73, Branko, 9A3ST
Ciaran – big surprise to see you on Breakfast News this morning. Greetings from all your old team at National Grid!
Dave Phillips
Cheers Dave – finally catching up with some of the leftover tasks from the day!