fox-1

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wd9ewk

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has there been an official launch date of the fox-1?

Not since it was moved to "late September 2015". Unfortunately, the launch date is probably in the hands of the National Reconnaisance Office, who has the primary payload on the launch that Fox-1 (and many other CubeSats) will ride on.

73!
 

wd9ewk

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Hi!

AMSAT recently announced that the launch date for Fox-1A is October 8. A specific time on that date has not been announced, since the primary payload on the Fox-1A launch is the NROL-55 satellite for the National Reconnaisance Office. Assuming the launch date isn't changed yet again, a time may be announced shortly before the October 8 date (but not too far in advance).

As KB5ZCS mentioned, the AMSAT web site has more information about the Fox-1A satellite and the Fox-1 project in general.

73!
 

wd9ewk

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I read on amsat.org its going to be on oct 8th,cant wait hope to here you on de kb5zcs el15......

Yes, the launch date is still 8 October. The National Reconnaisance Office, whose NROL-55 satellite is the primary payload on the launch Fox-1A will ride on, hasn't made any more changes to the launch schedule. The SpaceFlight Now web site now lists a launch window of 1200-1600 UTC (5-9am PDT) as the launch window on that date:

http://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/

The launch date has been pushed back a few times, but with the current launch date just over a week away, we're all hoping that this date will be the "real" date. No more delays, please...
 

WX9RLT

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That satellite is going to be worked hard the first few weeks. I plan on being one of em :)

REMEMBER: To use the least amount of power as possible.

let's hope its not delayed!
 

wd9ewk

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That satellite is going to be worked hard the first few weeks. I plan on being one of em :)

I've heard a lot of long-time satellite operators coming out of the woodwork for the new Chinese satellites, and not just for the LilacSat-2 FM satellite. If Fox-1A operates as its builders have predicted, that satellite will be crowded for a long time. An easier-to-hear 2m downlink, compared to the weaker 70cm downlink from SO-50... that will be a good thing! And, like you, I'll be on there, trying to work the new satellite when it's opened up for us.

REMEMBER: To use the least amount of power as possible.

Agreed!

I expect that some will use more power than is necessary to work this satellite, and that will be unfortunate. A bigger concern for me comes with the change in uplink and downlink bands, compared to FM satellites since the SO-35 satellite in 1999-2001. Other than the ISS cross-band voice repeater (which has been silent for several years), we have had FM satellites with 2m uplinks and 70cm downlinks. Hams will have to adjust their uplink (transmit) frequency when working Fox-1A, and I think that will catch some off-guard - even with frequency charts and guides and other helpful documents already showing this. Not being able to work Fox-1A full-duplex may cause problems. Hopefully, some radios like the newer versions of the IC-W32A, and even a few of the Chinese-made dual-band HTs, will be able to work Fox-1A full-duplex. We should know the answers to all of this, and hopefully sooner than later...

73!
 

wd9ewk

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Hi!

Fox-1A was launched earlier this morning from Vandenberg AFB in California. It will be later in the day before it passes over North America, but hopefully stations in other parts of the world will hear something from it in the meantime. The 5.49am PDT/1249 UTC launch was broadcast on NASA TV, up until the point the payload fairing (the nose of the launch vehicle, where the satellites are stored) was jettisoned around 4 1/2 minutes into the launch.

AMSAT should issue some Keplerian elements later today, it is hoped. Then we can track it, hear its 145.980 MHz downlink, and wait for the FM transponder to be activated. AMSAT has released software to decode the telemetry on the downlink.

Good luck!
 

K5MPH

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Hi!

Fox-1A was launched earlier this morning from Vandenberg AFB in California. It will be later in the day before it passes over North America, but hopefully stations in other parts of the world will hear something from it in the meantime. The 5.49am PDT/1249 UTC launch was broadcast on NASA TV, up until the point the payload fairing (the nose of the launch vehicle, where the satellites are stored) was jettisoned around 4 1/2 minutes into the launch.

AMSAT should issue some Keplerian elements later today, it is hoped. Then we can track it, hear its 145.980 MHz downlink, and wait for the FM transponder to be activated. AMSAT has released software to decode the telemetry on the downlink.

Good luck!
Hope to work you Pat when we get a pass thats in between us 73s..........
 

wd9ewk

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The Fox-1 is going to have a higher orbit than SO-51 so it should have a lot more coverage and better elevation.......

Higher orbit - not exactly. It will be in a slightly elliptical orbit, and the high point of the orbit will be slightly below the 800km orbit for AO-51. The type of orbit will be closer to the orbit for SO-50, instead of the polar orbit used by AO-51.

You can see screenshots for the first 3 Fox-1A passes over North America, courtesy of Clayton W5PFG, at:

http://www.w5pfg.us/2015/10/first-projected-fox-1a-passes-over.html

First pass for the continental USA should be around 2353 UTC (7.53pm EDT) this evening for the east coast, with two more passes following that over the center of the continental USA and the west coast.

You can see a summary of the number of data packets received by ground stations from Fox-1A at:

http://www.amsat.org/tlm

and other reports of the Fox-1A status posted at:

http://www.amsat.org/status

The AMSAT home page http://www.amsat.org/ has been updated since the launch this morning, and will continue to be updated with Fox-1A news. I expect that someone from AMSAT will formally request an OSCAR number for this satellite, since it is now in orbit transmitting on its 145.980 MHz downlink, and complying with the other requirements for an OSCAR number. The next OSCAR number should be 85, so Fox-1A could become AMSAT-OSCAR 85 (AO-85).

Telemetry from Fox-1A is transmitted as "data under voice" (DUV) - in the space occupied by CTCSS tones. To receive the telemetry, an SDR receiver or a non-SDR radio with a 9600bps packet/data port would be sufficient to avoid the audio filtering that would normally keep operators from hearing the CTCSS tones on normal FM receivers and transceivers. The FoxTelem software is capable of controlling a FUNcube Dongle Pro+, decoding the telemetry, and uploading them to the AMSAT telemetry server in real time - similar to how the FUNcube Dashboard software operates. The FoxTelem software requires Java.

Along with the telemetry, you'll hear a girl's voice - a daughter of the former AMSAT VP of Engineering, Anthony Monteiro AA2TX (SK) - identifying the satellite. This identification should be audible on any FM receiver or transceiver listening on 145.980 MHz, +/- for Doppler.

73!
 
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