[amsat-bb] Re: Translate Echo Details ?

["Wayne Estes W9AE" <w9ae@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Michael K3MH wrote:

Can someone give me a straightforward overview of what the operation of Echo
will be.  I am not a veteran satellite user, so I am still getting used to
the terminology.  I have read all the multiple versions of the powerpoints
on AMSAT.org.  I see PSK, 10m up UHF down.  It states a number of
reprogrammable modes, with it's four rx's and two tx's, but wasent clear to
me what all the operations are going to be.  I am most intersted in standard
voice modes, what are the uplink/downlinks for voice?  FM and SSB?  Data
up/down?  Is there a chart somewhere?


Wayne replies:

AMSAT is famously evasive about the planned operating frequencies and modes
of complex satellites that haven't been launched yet.  Maybe the team hasn't
decided the main operating modes/schedule.  Or perhaps the team just doesn't
want to raise expectations before they know which systems will actually be
functional when the satellite gets into orbit.

Recent events with other satellites lead me to make some educated guesses:

The extremely popular FM "easy-sat" UO14 died recently, so I suspect that
one of the two downlinks will be used all the time as a Mode V/U FM voice
repeater.

The number of available digital satellites has dwindled to 1 and sometimes
zero, so I suspect that the second downlink will be used most of the time as
a Mode V/U digital satellite.  Probably 9600 baud at first because there is
a large user base with that capability.  But there will surely be
experiments with higher data rates and experiments with the S-band downlink.
The "PSK repeater" will surely be tested, and maybe it will be enabled
frequently if it attracts lots of users.

These are strictly my guesses, but I'm willing to bet money that one
downlink will be used all the time as an FM repeater if Echo has two
functional full-time downlinks.

Wayne Estes W9AE
Mundelein, IL, USA


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