[amsat-bb] ANDE Satellite Laser CW!

[Bob Bruninga <bruninga@xxxxxxxx>]

Pic Programmer project for the next Amateur Satellite:

I mentioned the SIX 500 mW lasers on our next amateur satellite project
operating in the 808 nm range that should be able to be seen with a low
light level CCD camera and good lens (maybe?) (anyone confirm?  Assume
500 mw optical power dispursed over a 90 degree beamwidth).

On Tue, 19 Nov 2002, Al Tencza responded:

> Bob, In Dec 92, Electronic News presented a build article for a Light
> Beam Communicator called Air Hop.... using a Fresnel lens... Perhaps if
> ANDE had a prerecorded ... message... to modulate one of the 808 nm
> beams then an Air Hop type receiver could be used to receive... it

Great idea!  All we need is a PIC programmer to program a PIC with 6 TTL
outputs to key these messages simultaneously at a 7 WPM rate, one for each
orthogonal laser.

HI HI HI HI HI HI HI...
CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ CQ...
73 73 73 73 73 73 73...
ANDE ANDE ANDE ANDE ANDE...
and two others...

They cannot be long sequences because the different strings are needed to
be able to visually determine the optical SPIN rate of the satelite, so
any one lazer may not be in view very long...

This can all be done in a SINGLE PIC chip and XTAL.  Can someone familiar
with PIC's give me a size and power budget for this circuit...? and be
willing to program it up in the next month or so?  We CAN FLY it maybe in
place of the current dumb on-off keyer that ANDE was going to use...  This
circuit is needed by Jan if not before...

See the ANDE web page:  http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/ande.html

de WB4APR@amsat.org, Bob

PCsat WEB  page     http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/pcsat.html
ISS-APRS FAQ:       http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/iss-faq.html
CUBESAT Designs     http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/cubesat.html
APRS LIVE pages     http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/aprs.html
APRS SATELLITES     http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/astars.html

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