I enjoy working some of the Polar orbit LEO (low earth orbiting sats) amateur satellites with modest equipment and antennas. Its lots of fun. Here are a few handy links and Real Audio recordings followed by some hints & info .
Satellite Audio from Australia
The following is a list of REAL AUDIO recordings I am putting together from various AMSATS have a listen and enjoy. You will need a Real Audio Player available from Real Networks (TM) http://www.real.com/ . I will add to and change these recordings as time permits.
Sunsat SO-35 now defunct
Sunsat over Adelaide on 145.825 Mhz 28 May 2000
RS-12/13
A few brief words on UO-14 operating .
These satellites are FM . You can work them with handhelds. The first time you work these sats try on a high pass. You will get the idea and have a less frustrating time with low signal levels. You will find out if what you have got, has got what it takes. Get some satellite tracking software working and see if you can track these birds. This is not entirely nececarry with SUNSAT as a schedule is published giving you pass times per date. You just wont know where it is in the sky when it arrives.
UO14- Be Warned the uplink is EASY. Almost too easy. A dipole or a 1/4 wave ground plane running 5-10 watts will suffice. The RX on UO14 is hot. Many stations have been heard calling on UO14 but seem unable to have a QSO when called back. Some have called over the top of a existing QSO seemingly oblivious. If you cant hear the downlink its probably NOT due to your lack of uplink but rather your lack of dowlnink work. You need to work on the downlink first. The downlink signal is NOT strong you WILL need a yagi or something with directive forward gain. It has been found that a 6 element yagi with a handheld is good. Trying to hear the downlink with a co-linear antenna built for terrestrial work is almost pointless. The polarity of the dowlink signal on UO14 (uhf) varies and you have to chase it so a handheld UHF yagi proves effective. It can be heard from horizon to horizon like this. In Adelaide the hills seem to be a limiting factor and anything less than a 7 degree pass does not seem to be very workable. It could be very different in flat country.
It has also been found that a 2m 1/4 wave ground plane is useable on the UHF downlink. It performs something like a 3/4 wave antenna on 70cm with some higher angle lobes that show some gain. Signals are not brilliant but a sensitive radio will recover some workable QSOs for you. When the pass is above 25 or so degrees some good QSOs can be had. So far we have tried a W2 handheld and a IC2400 both ICOMs . This system beats waving a yagi around trying to follow the downlink but is subject to some deep QSB at times and only allows you to work the satellite when its fairly high in the sky.
Here is some information on how to work UO-14 FM by using 5Khz stepping perhaps with a handheld to compensate for doppler effect. Programme up your memory channels if you like to follow the pass. The tables start from the top and work down as the pass progresses.
UO-14: Mode J
| Channel number | Downlink | Uplink |
| 1 | 435.080 | 145.970 |
| 2 | 435.075 | 145.975 |
| 3 | 435.070 | 145.975 |
| 4 | 435.065 | 145.975 |
| 5 | 435.060 | 145.980 |
Note that channels 1 or 5 may not be required for some passes, depending on your location and the pass itself.
Download this table here as zipped HTML so you can print it out and keep Handy
The following listings are current as of May 2000 and are something I find handy to have as a ready reference in the shack.
Name Mode(s) Frequencies Beacon(s)
RS-12 K Uplink 21.210 - 21.250 CW/USB
K Downlink 29.410 - 29.450 CW/USB 29.408 CW 29.454
T Downlink 145.910 - 145.950 CW/USB 145.912 CW 145.958
Robot Uplink 21.129 145.831
Robot Downlink 29.454
RS-13 KT Uplink 21.260- 21.300 CW/SSB
KA Downlink 29.460- 29.500 CW/SSB 29.458 CW 29.504
T Downlink 145.960- 146.000 CW/SSB
A Uplink 145.960- 146.000 CW/SSB
Robot Uplink 21.139 145.840 MHz
Robot Downlink 29.504 MHz
RS-15* A Uplink 145.858 - 145.898 CW/USB
Downlink 29.354 - 29.394 CW/USB 29.3525 CW 29.3987 CW
UO-11 Downlink 145.825 FM 1200 Bd AFSK 2401.500
ASCII Bulletins
UO-14 J-FM Uplink 145.975 FM
Downlink 435.070 FM
FO-20 JA Uplink 146.000 - 145.900 CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 - 435.900 CW/USB 435.795 CW
FO-29* JA Uplink 146.000 - 145.900 CW/LSB
Downlink 435.800 - 435.900 CW/USB 435.795 CW
SAREX Simplex (Space Shuttle)*
Uplink 144.910, 144.93, 144.95 144.97 or 144.99 FM
(Europe Only) Uplink 144.70, 144.75, or 144.80 MHz
(Worldwide) Downlink 145.55 FM
ALIASES: NORAD Common Name [Aliases] (Parent satellite) ----- ----------- --------------------------- ------------------ 14129 AO-10 [OSCAR 10, Phase 3B] 14781 UO-11 [OSCAR 11, UO-11, UOSAT-B, UOSAT 2] 18129 RS-10/11 [RS-10] (COSMOS 1861) 19216 AO-13 [OSCAR 13, Phase 3C] 20437 UO-14 [OSCAR 14, UOSAT-OSCAR 14] 20438 UO-15 [OSCAR 15, UOSAT-OSCAR 15] 20439 AO-16 [OSCAR 16, Pacsat, Microsat-A] 20440 DO-17 [OSCAR 17, DOVE, Microsat-B] 20441 WO-18 [OSCAR 18, WEBERSAT, Microsat-C] 20442 LO-19 [OSCAR 19, LUSAT, Microsat-D] 20480 FO-20 [Fuji-OSCAR 20] (JAS 1-B) 21087 AO-21 [OSCAR 21, RS-14, RUDAK-II] (INFORMTR-1 or INFORMATOR-1) 21089 RS-12/13 [RS-12] (COSMOS 2123) 23439 RS-15 [RS15 Radio Rosto] 21575 UO-22 [OSCAR 22, UoSAT, UOSAT-F] 22077 KO-23 [OSCAR 23, KITSAT A] 22654 ARSENE 22825 AO-27 [OSCAR 27, AMRAD] (EYESAT-1) 22826 AO-26 [ITAMSAT, IO-26] 22829 PO-28 [POSAT, POSAT 1] 22830 KO-25 [KITSAT B] 25636 SO-35 [SUNSAT]