Hi,
We’ve made a small change to the data that’s presented on the Upload Ranking page:
http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk/ranking.html?satelliteId=2
We now colour the ‘count’ column showing the period in which that last data was received from the user:
green: within the past 7 days
yellow: within the past 14 days
light-grey: longer than 14 days
If you would like it more granular, please start a discussion on the ‘forum’
73
Dave, G4DPZ
FUNcube Team Member
Hi Folks,
Following the 48 hour test last weekend, we have concluded that the battery temp does reduce slightly during full time transponder mode, but only by a degree C or so; it remains within specification. Hence we have decided in future to switch the satellite into ‘forced eclipse mode’, ie full time transponder and low power beacon at weekends. The aim is to significantly increase the availability of the transponder to radio amateurs. We will continue with this plan until further notice.
We plan to switch to full time transponder mode during the first suitable pass over the UK on Friday evenings, normally between 19:30 and 22:30 UTC. If for some reason this is not possible, then the switch will be done on the first suitable pass on Saturday, normally between 09:30 and 12:00 UTC. We plan to switch the full time transponder mode off during a suitable pass on Sunday evenings (UK time), which normally occur between 1930 and 22:30 UTC. Again, if this is not possible the switch off will be made on Monday mornings, approx. 09:30 to 12:00 UTC.
Do PLEASE NOTE that this schedule is totally reliant on the availability of command stations, who will do their very best to ensure it is maintained. We will not normally announce successful full time transponder mode on/off commands, but if it proves not possible to make one of them, then we will make a note here and on AMSAT-BB.
So please do enjoy the transponder, and use it any time you hear it on. We are always pleased to hear of your activity, so either leave a comment below, or email g3wgm -at- amsat.org. A recent QSO made by Paulo PV8DX can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMVetMKnCMQ. Thanks for the report, Paulo!
73s Jim G3WGM
7 Apr 2014.
Update: 6 Apr.
FUNcube/AO-73 was commanded to Auto Eclipse Mode (ie high power beacon when in sunlight, low power beacon + transponder when in eclipse) at approx 19:45 today.
73s Jim G3WGM
Update: 4 Apr.
FUNcube was switched into fulltime transponder mode at 21:30 UTC 4 Apr. Feel free to use the transponder. Enjoy
73s Jim G3WGM
Hi Folks,
We are planning to command FUNcube-1 into full time transponder mode on a suitable pass over the UK on the evening (likely 21:30 UTC) of Friday 4 Apr. If all goes well, we will leave it in transponder mode until the evening (likely 20:50 UTC) of Sunday 6 April. If you hear the transponder on, please feel free to use it! Enjoy!
73s Jim G3WGM
Whilst FUNcube-1 continues to provide a great service, we have been advised that a new launch date has been announced for UKube-1.
UKube-1 will be carrying a FUNcube sub-system and this is intended to provide a very similar level of performance to FC-1. Our sub-system will be known as FUNcube-2 on UKube after launch.
The launch, on a Soyuz rocket, is now planned for June 19th from the Baikonur cosmodrome. June 20th is being reserved as a backup date.
More launch data, precise times and TLE’s, will be provided as soon as they have been made available to the FUNcube team.
Update 29 Mar 19:56 UTC
FUNcube has now been commanded back into ‘auto eclipse mode’, ie it will be on low power beacon + transponder on when in eclipse, and full power beacon/no transponder when in sunlight
Jim G3WGM
Update 29 Mar 10:29 UTC
FUNcube is now in permanent amateur mode (low power beacon, plus transponder on)
Jim G3WGM
Update 25 Mar 15:00 UTC
Results of last weekends tests: the transponder was maintained ON for two orbits, and we did not see any noticeable fall in battery temperature. We are therefore proposing to repeat the test next Saturday (29 Mar), but leave the transponder on for a longer period. We will switch it on during the first pass over the UK (approx 10:30 UTC) and switch it off during one of the evening passes over UK, the first of which is at approx 20:00 UTC.
We are particularly interested to receive TLM when the satellite is coming out of eclipse (ie when it should be at its coldest temp). So reception from suitablely located stations would be very welcome.
If you hear the transponder on, please feel free to use it!
73s Jim G3WGM
Update 22 Mar 12:45 UTC
I have now switched the sat back to ‘auto eclipse’ mode (at 12:45 UTC), such that in sunlight the full power beacon will be on, and when the sat is in eclipse the transponder/low power beacon will be on.
Initial examination of the tlm makes me think that the battery temp didn’t drop appreciably more during the two orbits than when in auto eclipse mode. The management team will discuss this tomorrow, and decide what the next step is!
73s Jim G3WGM
Update 22 Mar 09:29
Just to let you know that at 09:29 UTC today I have switched AO-73’s mode to be continuous transponder/low power beacon. The plan is to leave it in this mode for one or two complete orbits.
Anyone decoding the tlm, please keep a watch on the Battery Temp – its important that it stays above -5 degs.
Please feel free to use the transponder while we are in this mode.
73s Jim G3WGM
On 22 Mar, we will be commanding the satellite into transponder mode for one or two orbits so we can assess the effect of lower power being radiated by the sat on the battery temperature. We expect the sat to be put into full time transponder mode (aka amateur mode) during the first morning pass on Sat 22 Mar over the UK, ie at approximately 0930 UTC.
We are aware that the on/off timings for the transponder are not now ideal, due to seasonal changes. In the coming months the situation will get worse such that in June the transponder will only be available for very short periods in the Northern Hemisphere.
We are therefore planning to alter the schedule such that the transponder is on continuously at weekends, ie after approx 1900 UTC on Fridays, to Sunday evening. This will give radio amateurs a greater opportunity to use the transponder. Unfortunately there is no way of automating this schedule, so its maintenance will rely on the availability of command stations.
Before implementing this schedule, it is necessary that we characterise the effect of maintaining transponder mode for long periods of time. We expect that the space craft will be slightly colder than when transmitting at full power, as the heat generated inside the spacecraft by the PA will be less.
We are concerned that this lowering of the temperature may bring the battery temp lower than is advisable. Its specification is that it should not be charged if its temperature is below -5 degs, or some damage might be done to the battery. Currently the minimum temperature we see that the battery reaches is approximately -2 degs.
If you notice that the transponder is open on 22 Mar, please feel free to use it.
Please note that we have learnt from experience that commanding the sat is not an exact science, and that not all commands sent are received by the satellite, probably due to interference. We will announce on AMSAT-BB and on the FUNcube web site (www.funcube.org.uk) the progress of our tests. We would be very grateful if as many listening stations as possible receive the TLM and forward it to the warehouse on Sat 22 Mar. Thank you.
73s Jim, G3WGM
Last weekend FUNcube-1 reached the milestone of having been in space for 100 days – actually that should be clarified to mean “terrestrial” days as the spacecraft itself has been subjected to more than 1500 day/night cycles during this time.
We are very grateful to the 500+ stations who have been providing FUNcube-1 telemetry data to our Data Warehouse. We now have more than 1GB of data in the repository – this is an amazing effort and achievement from a spacecraft which is only transmitting at 1200bps. Thanks everyone and please keep it coming:)
From all the telemetry we can see that the spin rate decreased for a
time but now is speeding up again. External temperatures span a range of 50C between the end of the sunlit phase and the end of the eclipse period. Even inside the spacecraft the temperatures range over 25C.
All the subsystems continue to work well and are “well in the green”.
The increased solar activity is certainly having an effect on the downlinked signal on many occasions. During such disturbances the signal appears to be being affected by ionospheric scintillation which
distorts the BPSK stream and makes decoding much harder for some minutes at a time. This effect is not just apparent near the magnetic poles as can be seen in this paper: http://waas.stanford.edu/papers/IWG/sbas_iono_scintillations_white_paper.pdf
Users in the Northern hemisphere will have noticed that the evening passes in amateur mode are becoming shorter as the spacecraft enters sunlight again near the pole. This effect will increase as the season progresses and we will be testing a plan to change the operating schedule in a few weeks time. This test will involve placing the spacecraft into continuous amateur/transponder mode for a number of orbits – probably over a weekend.
Especially for educational users of FUNcube, we have placed all our schools outreach material on one page for easy reference. It can now all be found here: https://funcube.org.uk/education-outreach/
Hi,
At the request of several users we have added another column to the page which enumerates the position in the ranking as well as the number of uploads.
Current range is 1 – 536
73
Dave, G4DPZ
FUNcube Team Member
Hi,
Since deployment, we have been capturing the minimum and maximum Realtime values for each channel when they have been uploaded by a groundstation. This has given us a good overview for the early operation and initial commisioning.
We have now moved into a steady state of operation and need to check for long-term trends. To achieve this, we have changed the min-max data collection such that it resets every 7 days and we capture the values each time it does so. At reset you will see the reference date change on the page and the min/max values converge. They will diverge again within an orbit.
We did think about a rolling 7 day period but that is quite a heavywieght process on the server as it has to be run each time we get an upload!
As always, many thanks to all those who are uploading data to the warehouse.
Any feedback to the forum as usual please: http://forum.funcube.org.uk
73
Dave, G4DPZ
FUNcube Team Member
Hi,
We have made a few changes to the way they are handled / displayed:
- Only the last 7 days of fitter messages are displayed (list is truncated at midnight UTC, each day)
- To help the command stations, the ‘Slot’ number shown.
- Only the last received DATE is shown
A text file which contains ALL the Fitter Messages that have been captured by groundstations can be downloaded using the link on the Fitter Messages page on the FUNcube Warehouse at:
http://warehouse.funcube.org.uk//fitter.html
The process to generate this file is executed once per day.
73
Dave G4DPZ, FUNcube Team Member
The FUNcube Team are pleased to announce the latest version of the Dashboard Software.
Version 820 can be downloaded from https://funcube.org.uk/working-documents/funcube-telemetry-dashboard/
The major change in Version v820 centres on improved decoding routines which give better results, especially with weak signals at low elevations and simpler antennas.
We would appreciate comments to the FUNcube forum on your experiences with this new version of the Dashboard.
We thank everyone for their interest and reports of the success of FUNcube-1/AO73 and we look forward to continued operations.
73s
The FUNcube Project Team.
Welcome to the FUNcube Web Site 