ARLA/CLUSTER: Fox-1 update - Slow Speed Telemetry

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

The Fox-1 series of satellites feature a slow speed telemetry, with
200 bps data being sent along with the transponder audio or voice ID
activity.
This allows telemetry to be sent continuously during normal
transponder operation while QSOs are taking place.

The slow speed data is contained in the audio spectrum below 300 Hz.
Using DSP techniques, high pass filtering is applied to the uplink
signal and voice IDs, low pass filtering is applied to the telemetry
audio which is generated by the IHU, and the combined audio is sent on
the downlink as the voice and data. Forward error correction added to
the downlink stream provides data recovery for up to 1/4 second signal
fades.

The slow speed data on Fox-1A contains four different payload types:
Current telemetry readings, High telemetry readings, Low telemetry
readings, and Vanderbilt University radiation experiment telemetry.
The payloads are transmitted in a scheduled rotation that delivers one
payload or frame about every 5 seconds. Current telemetry is thus
received every 15 seconds, experiment telemetry is received about
twice every 15 seconds, and high or low telemetry received once every
minute (alternating minutes between high and low).

The telemetry contains many satellite health and operation values,
including readings such as solar panel output, battery voltages,
temperatures from various areas of the satellite, IHU performance, and
the Penn State University MEMS gyro experiment data.

AMSAT will be providing free GUI software for decoding and displaying
both slow and high speed telemetry from the Fox-1 series of
satellites, as we get closer to launch. The software will be similar
to the user software that was provided for ARISSat-1.

AMSAT has an immediate need to raise funds to cover both the launch
contract and additional materials for construction and testing for
Fox-1C. We have set a fundraising goal of $125,000 to cover these
expenses over the next 12 months, and allow us to continue to keep
amateur radio in space.

Donations may be made through the AMSAT webpage at www.amsat.org, by
calling (888) 322-6728 or by mail to the AMSAT office at 10605 Concord
Street, Kensington, MD 20895, USA.

Please consider a recurring, club, or corporate donation to maximize
our chance of success with this mission. You may also dontate via
PayPal. Donations will be marked specifically for Fox-1C. Note that
PayPal usually allows you to donate with a credit card, even if you do
not
have a PayPal account. However, PayPal requirements differ depending
on your country. We have not control over this issue.

You may also contribute through a special “crowd sourcing” campaign on
fundrazr.com at the following link.
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6pz92

Jerry, N0JY