70cm pre-amplifier kits for mode V/U satellite reception are finally available to members via the @AmsatUK shop. https://t.co/B5ilw21buW Should have some here for direct sales in about a week.

Happy 12th birthday @FUNcubeUK -1 Still going strong in transponder mode! 73 Dave, G4DPZ Hon Sec, @AmsatUK

70cm Pre-amp update. I have one assembled. Active device is a PGA103 from Mini-Circuits. The 2m notch works very nicely with -36dB at 145M. Gain on 435MHz is a fraction under +16dB. I need to look at the output low pass filter matching to make the response a little smoother.

Need a UHF preamp? I've just received these boards from PCBWay. Should be 16dB gain on 435 with a 2m notch filter on the input. N F. Less than 0.7dB with power via the coax. Should have the first one assembled tomorrow.

It's official ! Given a choice of RG213, Messi & Paoloni, or rotator cable. Squirrels, herons and foxes prefer to eat Messi & Paoloni ultraflex 7. A QSO with FP5KE will be left for another day. :(

Arrived in Bochum for the FutureGEO workshop. On the way we managed to visit our old friends at Isispace and collect some flight hardware for our next satellite mission.

On my way to the ESA GEO satellite workshop in Bochum. Hope this gets us a GEO that covers Europe and The USA

FP5KE - Arrived yesterday evening on ile aux marins. However, 11 pieces of luggage including all antennas and amplifiers were left behind in Canada. They do not know yet when the situation will be resolved and consequently when operations will be able to start.

Destined for the 6U Jovian-1 satellite, this mode U/V FM transponder had its first on-air test yesterday. 20W ERP on 70cm over a distance of 59km and a path loss of -150dB was received on a QFH antenna and retransmitted on 145.895MHz. Thanks to G0MJW and G3VZV for its first QSO.

Oman FM was granted exclusive access behind the scenes at Etlaq Spaceport in Duqm. There, we were introduced to the Genesis Program—an initiative designed to launch suborbital and experimental rockets. @EtlaqSpace

Etlaq Spaceport: Ever heard of that? This week, this up and coming spaceport in Southern Oman will host a sub orbital launch to 500km. The 12m Kia-1 rocket from @stellarkinetics will carry a UK student 6U payload called Jovian-O, including 70cm hardware supplied by @AmsatUK

What an excellent Ham Radio weekend at Friedrichshafen. Special thanks to Nina and friends for organising the AMSAT-DL QO-100 dinner on Saturday. Plenty to see at the show. A 10GHz patch array and some new 10G products including a 1.5W PA from Hi-Des of Taiwan were impressive.

Very pleased to work Roger N1NN on the RS-44 satellite in CW very early this morning. Despite being on the satellites for decades, this was my first transatlantic QSO on a LEO satellite. 😀🚀

Specs: Large loop 755mm. Int dia 93.5mm. Height 239mm Small loop 718mm. Int dia 89mm. Height 227mm Width height ratio 0.40 2:1 VSWR points are 418 and 441MHz. Best return loss is at 431M, so a little low, but OK for the job.

I needed an omnidirectional antenna for 435MHz, so decided to build a QFH (quadrafilar helix) with some help from the online calculcator at https://t.co/SdauZHfwnY I used 2mm dia enam Copper for the loops and a length of 20mm dia high pressure water pipe. Here are the results.

Need a space to conduct a meeting or host an event, for free? Book a spot at the new @SatAppsCatapult's Space Enterprise Lab at @SurreyRP! If you are a #space company, you can use these spaces for free! Find out more here: https://t.co/H5aqq9Ya7r

This has taken a while... Thanks to everyone who made this possible, especially those who travel to rare DXCC countries so we can add a new one to the log.

The RF Board for @AmsatUK payload on Jovian-1 is now assembled ready for testing. This has the 435.090 UHF FM receiver, the VHF BPSK modulator for telemetry, + the repeater logic and timer. Back of PCB has CTCSS decoder and 8 channel ADC.

The two Lithium Ion cells are holding up well and are still capable of sustaining full power transponder operation throughout the orbit. AO-73 carries an inverting 20kHz mode U/V transponder. 435.140 up. 145.960 down BPSK telemetry  is transmitted on 145.935 MHz at 40mW

AO-73 was commanded back into full time transponder mode earlier today, 3rd Feb 25. The mode U/V linear transponder is now active 24/7 following a period of about a month where we gathered telemetry data on the 11 year old satellite's electrical power system.