Hams operating on HF have access to an amateur satellite for
the first time in 30 years. China’s new CAS-5A satellite, launched in December
and recently designated by AMSAT as Fengtai-OSCAR 118, or FO-118, includes an
FM repeater and two linear transponders. While one transponder uses the common
band layout of 2 meters up and 70 centimeters down, the second has an uplink on
15 meters (21.427-21.442 MHz) and a downlink on 70 centimeters (435.498-435.512
MHz). This is the first amateur satellite carrying an HF transponder since the
Russian RS (Radio Sputnik) series in the 1980s and ‘90s.
FO-118 (From amsat.org website)
According to the AMSAT News Service, FO-118 was designed, built and tested by a group of 31 high school students, working closely with CAMSAT, the Chinese Amateur Satellite Group. The satellite also carries CW and GMSK telemetry beacons. AMSAT-UK has a user manual for FO-118 available online at <https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/cas-5a-amateur-radio-satellite-users-manual-v1.0.pdf>.
