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Fox-1 engineering prototype
(from AMSAT-NA website) |
AMSAT
has announced plans to include L-Band (1.2 GHz) uplink capability in its
upcoming Fox-1C and Fox-1D satellites. But there won't be a complete L-band
receiver on board the spacecraft. Instead, the AMSAT News Service reports, the
plan is to design a frequency converter that will receive uplinked signals on
1.2 GHz, down-convert them to 435 MHz and feed them to the satellite's regular
UHF receiver. Downlink will be a single FM channel on 2 meters, regardless of
the uplink band. A team of volunteers is working on designing an affordable
Mode L uplink station to convert 70-centimeter FM signals to 1.2 GHz.
Fox-1E
is now slated to carry a Mode J (2 meters up, 70 cm down) linear transponder
into orbit, with a 30 kHz bandwidth and a beacon sending telemetry in BPSK. The
goal is to test a design for including linear transponders in future cubesats,
most of which are currently limited to single-channel FM receivers and
transmitters. AMSAT says there is a chance that Fox-1E will have a launch
opportunity next year, but could not disclose details.
