ISS CubeSat Deployment NRCSD#28 (Voyager Space/Nanoracks) - ELaNa 52 - 2024-10-09 10:25 UTC

Correct - the VFO tuning on the TM-V71A is in 5 kHz steps, so I do that manually.

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On the 52° CYSAT-1 pass just ending over the Eastern U.S., I again transmitted the ‘antenna deploy’ command payload. Differences this time were:

  • TX power increased to 80 watts via an external RF amp
  • transmission payload was the original ‘x10’ command packet followed (after a 0.1 sec gap) by the same ‘x10’ packet but inverted.

… GNU radio makes it easy to monitor for multiple demod scenarios by running blocks w/ different settings in parallel. So, on a spare SDR (w/ no antenna connected, gain turned way down, etc.) I was confirming both versions of my TX payload:

… and here’s an example of the output showing an isolated decode from each branch:

Screenshot from 2024-10-11 19-28-29

So, nothing to do now but continue to watch the RX reports for any sign of a downlink!

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I sent the antenna deploy command on my today’s 12:1x UTC pass also numerous times using auto doppler correction by TLE for 61501 from yesterday.
50 watts into a 9.5 dBd HB9CV.

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Has something gone wrong w/ the results you get on the ‘Observations’ page at SatNogs?

I had been checking each of the CYSAT-1 reports for any sign of packets in the waterfall but they seem to have stopped updating. And if I’m not mistaken, some actually disappeared.

The URL I’m using is:

https://network.satnogs.org/observations/?future=0&bad=0&failed=0&norad=61501&start=&end=&observer=&station=&transmitter_mode=&transmitter_uuid=

Thanks!

Check STATUS icons, it is possible to have checked only the Unknown (yellow) box.

YO4DFT - Cristian

As of 15-Oct, I’ve continued to transmit the ‘antenna deploy’ command on every decent CYSAT-1 pass, but scanning the SatNogs ‘observations’ that are uploaded, I have still not seen any waterfall marks that suggest the satellite might be sending any downlink packets. Sorry there is not better news!

We have also asked the PI9CAM team for help in observing CYSAT-1 with there 25 meter dish. They will try to schedule an observation

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The latest I received is, that they will try to schedule an observation this weekend.

This old lady needs some maintenance every now and then

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Replaying the -2- SatNogs observations logged from PI9CAM, I got the following 9k6 Endurosat decodes (which unfortunately do not show any obvious indication of being from CYSAT-1, but that needs to be confirmed):

From observation → SatNOGS Network - Observation 10419581

_
  000:  1c 27 0f 38 4d 6e b5 96 59 d8 10 a6 df f4 6e 97  .'.8Mn..Y.....n.
  010:  e0 2e f0 7b 96 3d ee 49 8e 5d 15 32 63           ...{.=.I.].2c
_

_
  000:  d0 8d aa c7 2f ce 87 70 1b 75 bb a8 8d 27 ba 89  ..../..p.u...'..
  010:  c1 32 61 d3 91 e9 7b 0e 0d 2f 8d 89 e7 da c9 23  .2a...{../.....#
  020:  53 d8 fa 0a 7e 41 62 34 f0 f0 e0 6f 0a 6d 2c 6a  S...~Ab4...o.m,j
  030:  07 d6 76 55 b6 7f 70 a7 52 75 07 c7 95 29 1a 77  ..vU..p.Ru...).w
  040:  5d cd 35 fe 05 3c b0 4c 38 5d e3 95 e5 26 41 69  ].5..<.L8]...&Ai
  050:  2f 1d 8a 91 6d 56 cf 2f 72 4a f5 5f 8b 85 23 24  /...mV./rJ._..#$
  060:  4c ec 59 99 90 c6 e5 dd 58 a8 80 c3 c3 ac bf e6  L.Y.....X.......
  070:  ec 70 06 9b ef 7c ba 04 60 9b ec 45 e6 98 c1 9e  .p...|..`..E....
  080:  42 8b 2f 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  B./.............
  090:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0a0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0b0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0c0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0d0:  00                                               .
_

_
  000:  f7 8b 14 71 d3 30 cb 56 29 9e 63 a3 3b 57 82 f8  ...q.0.V).c.;W..
  010:  1a 6b a1 45 67 97 ff 7b a0 31 47 df e8 0a 6a 6d  .k.Eg..{.1G...jm
  020:  33 df 95 58 3e 01 7b e1 18 00 ff 1f f8 4c 13 05  3..X>.{......L..
  030:  50 b1 d3 ab 84 b7 cf b9 e0 00 9d d3 a6 67 4f 64  P............gOd
  040:  d7 8f c0 e7 00 5f c6 c0 dc f9 cd 60 ce 9a 02 77  ....._.....`...w
  050:  05 fd 81 ec b7 0a ce 1b e7 14 fe a4 b9 74 06 5e  .............t.^
  060:  0c b0 99 45 bb 8a 4c 07 b5 d6 fa 0c e3 87 ff 0e  ...E..L.........
  070:  7b 88 48 7f 18 7e e4 4d c6 70 96 c3 33 bc 68 3f  {.H..~.M.p..3.h?
  080:  84 93 74 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ..t.............
  090:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0a0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0b0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0c0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0d0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0e0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0f0:  00 00 00 10 c5 7f 00 00                          ........
_

_
  000:  b2 c9 f1 7c d2 2f 7a ea b4 08 2a ee 23 f3 a0 23  ...|./z...*.#..#
  010:  4b f5 98 33 26 95 a7 a9 02 91 e7 8b 92 a4 eb a0  K..3&...........
  020:  64 a5 bd 7c c1 3a 38 c3 90 0f ff cb 93 45 a4 9e  d..|.:8......E..
  030:  22 e5 df 01 56 9e 2d a3 cc 59 3e e4 c4 43 9b ce  "...V.-..Y>..C..
  040:  ad 31 59 2e a1 33 33 11 c1 fb 47 3d da 40 ea 86  .1Y..33...G=.@..
  050:  36 44 8f af 55 c5 f3 64 37 e4 7c c2 c3 7f 62 2a  6D..U..d7.|...b*
  060:  c7 f9 ad c0 10 ac 76 b4 11 69 3c 0d c0 fd cb fd  ......v..i<.....
  070:  f3 e1 c8 15 11 1b 1d 0d 7c c4 f7 38 cc c8 ca b0  ........|..8....
  080:  2b 6e df 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  +n..............
  090:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0a0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0b0:  00 00 00                                         ...
_

_
  000:  1e f5 36 36 51 96 93 0f eb 97 88 c8 5a 5a 5e 8d  ..66Q.......ZZ^.
  010:  9f e4 4c 98 39 e3 dc d1 c5 02 4f 6d be 1a 7a     ..L.9.....Om..z
_

From observation → SatNOGS Network - Observation 10419582

_
  000:  58 37 61 33 86 5a a7 09 f5 d4 13 51 56 17 a7 f6  X7a3.Z.....QV...
  010:  e2 26 2d 99 9f 74 25 01 5e 1a 1b f5 c3 e7 01 28  .&-..t%.^......(
  020:  e7 15 44 21 e4 d3 25 97 ce e9 86 eb 98 e2 e9 d9  ..D!..%.........
  030:  c3 3b f0 e1 49 f6 79 f5 d3 82 ba 29 b3 48 89 81  .;..I.y....).H..
  040:  9e 6a e8 2c a2 66 3b 33 a4 2f 61 e8 d1 da f1 ae  .j.,.f;3./a.....
  050:  24 38 2f c6 e9 bd 1b 91 b6                       $8/......
_

_
  000:  a9 e6 8e 34 54 41 e5 e5 63 18 f4 f5 8b 33 46 29  ...4TA..c....3F)
  010:  fe e4 57 31 de 48 2b e2 cf 96 3b aa 5f 80 8d 69  ..W1.H+...;._..i
  020:  bc 18 f8 83 c2 ba 6e f9 f1 1b 8f 3b b8 3d 3e 2a  ......n....;.=>*
  030:  9f 28 83 2b 19 50 1c f0 bf e7 b3 68 81 3e c1 9b  .(.+.P.....h.>..
  040:  e0 7b bc 42 7f e9 d5 a8 0d ab 0f 3d 18 02 77 e6  .{.B.......=..w.
  050:  c6 4f a0 e9 f5 c0 f4 e9 3a 09 fb aa c3 07 f9 d9  .O......:.......
  060:  12 c6 e1 b7 d4 57 fa 6c 41 84 96 e6 3f 23 38 cf  .....W.lA...?#8.
  070:  1f bc 30 a3 91 d8 2c b5 66 02 17 b7 4b 28 a7 eb  ..0...,.f...K(..
  080:  bc 11 90 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  090:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0a0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00                    ..........
_

_
  000:  c3 0e 0f 59 e3 5f 07 bb 14 03 f9 70 24 0f 57 45  ...Y._.....p$.WE
  010:  c4 e1 2d 1c df 15 95 ce 9a 12 4c 86 29 3e fc bd  ..-.......L.)>..
  020:  14 4e ec 59 3e 4a 21 4c cf bc 59 11 42 f6 d9 90  .N.Y>J!L..Y.B...
  030:  17 02 6f 77 e2 4e 14 29 f1 24 d9 65 d7 5b ba 6c  ..ow.N.).$.e.[.l
  040:  82 fa 0c a9 cd 80 2d ed 7c 6b 24 31 1e 06 5c f1  ......-.|k$1..\.
  050:  80 59 d0 2c bd 8f 0d a9 9d 6a 31 0e eb 00 e5 5a  .Y.,.....j1....Z
  060:  5b 24 71 ba 48 bc d5 ae e9 e0 53 28 b0 df 93 2e  [$q.H.....S(....
  070:  6a 31 a0 4d ea 97 28 7d 35 0c f9 3f 9d 9b 26 9f  j1.M..(}5..?..&.
  080:  6a 92 0c 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  j...............
  090:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0a0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0b0:  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................
  0c0:  00 00 00 00                                      ....
_
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CYSAT-1 PI9CAM observations IQ files can be found at SatNOGS IQ data

The sample rate of these files is 57600

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These two observations were of the same pass; 10419581 is with horizontal polarization, 10419582 is with vertical polarization. We had a lot of RFI, we’ll try another pass soon.

4 Likes

Hi everyone!

Since no downlinks have been received from CYSAT-1, you might recall that the Project Team requested help with transmitting the uplink command byte string to deploy the antenna. Unfortunately, no downlink beacons have been observed despite that effort.

After studying other possible actions that might result in saving CYSAT-1, the Team has requested that a different uplink command byte string be transmitted from this time forward. (I can’t blame them for trying every possible repair!)

The new uplink command instructs the satellite to immediately STOP attempting to transmit a downlink beacon. The theory is that if the satellite is failing to operate normally because of a low electrical power condition, the last thing you want to do if the battery has JUST enough charge to run the computer is to key-down a radio transmitter.

Obviously we will not know if this is successful until some period of time passes & the Team gives instruction to uplink some other command packet.

So, I will start transmitting the new command string, which is:

ES+W22003313

… using the same 9k6 Endurosat mode that we have been using on the previous command. The actual hex payload (header bytes + ‘0C’ size byte + payload + CRC) to be transmitted now will be:

… and as before I have created an audio packet for transmission over the high-speed DATA port on a 9k6-capable FM transceiver. That .WAV audio file may be found at:

https://www.qsl.net/k/k4kdr//uplink/cysat-1/

… and also as with the previous command, you’ll notice that this packet is repeated 10 times w/ normal polarity and then 10 more times inverted.

… ‘live’ over-the-air testing confirms that both orientations of this new command are decoded properly by a separate SDR feeding GNU Radio.

endurosat_over-the-air_decode

Let’s hope that CYSAT-1 is by some good fortune actually listening & also decodes this new command. If nothing else, efforts like this are great practice for us all - it’s not the first time that a Cubesat Team has asked the Amateur Sat Community for assistance with command uplinks and it won’t be the last!

-Scott, K4KDR

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Did that too on today’s 05:2x pass of max. 57° elevation.

2 Likes

I start to explore this matter. It is possible that the Endurosat transceiver has reset and is currently operating on the original frequency of 435.000 MHz. Sending commands at that frequency may serve as an alternative solution. I have constructed a transmitter based on a SI4463 and an Arduino to send commands to our Endurosat transceiver. This setup features a wide bandwidth and should be capable of receiving commands without difficulties. If the battery level falls below 3.6 V, the EPS will prioritize charging the batteries and will refrain from deploying its antennas until the appropriate charge is achieved.

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In the area of 0515utc on 31-Oct, CYSAT-1 passed up the U.S. East Coastline ultimately reaching an elevation from my location of 75°.

I transmitted first the “Antenna Deploy” command (several times) and then the command to turn off the beacon using a Doppler-corrected uplink based on 435.000 MHz.

No downlinks were heard. Just wanted to share that the suggestion to try 435 MHz had been tried on a high pass.

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DORA deframer is available in the latest gr-satellites main source.

The frame created by gr-satellites is different and below the explanation:

Reference gr-openlst openlst_demod

gr-satellites outputs

Flags (1 byte) | Seqnum (2 bytes) | Data (N bytes) | HWID (2 bytes)

The Length and CRC fields are dropped, because they can be recomputed from the rest of the payload and because that is common practice for other satellites.

gr-dora (and apparently Soundmodem too) outputs

0x22 0x69 | HWID (2 bytes) | Seqnum (2 bytes) | Data (N bytes) |

gr-satellites doesn’t do this because shuffling fields with respect to how they’re transmitter over the air is not done for any other satellites.

crc_check :info: CRC OK
***** VERBOSE PDU DEBUG PRINT ******
((transmitter . 7k4 FSK downlink))
pdu length =        212 bytes
pdu vector contents = 
0000: 40 00 00 00 4b 45 37 44 48 51 35 2e f8 53 00 03 
0010: 40 00 00 bd 00 00 00 00 67 27 86 45 00 00 00 00 
0020: 00 d6 c0 e3 01 00 00 00 c4 00 28 00 00 21 8b 00 
0030: 01 ef 00 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
0040: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
0050: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 
0060: 00 02 d2 00 03 00 21 02 d2 01 00 02 dd 00 70 03 
0070: 5c 00 40 03 05 00 03 00 03 00 02 00 03 00 02 00 
0080: 02 02 5c 00 1b 00 10 01 50 00 35 00 3a 02 59 00 
0090: 09 00 11 02 70 00 0c 00 06 02 e2 02 cc 00 29 02 
00a0: 61 02 5e 02 60 e1 04 60 00 00 ff ff ff ff ff ff 
00b0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 
00c0: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 
00d0: ff ff 0d 00 
************************************
crc_check :info: CRC OK
***** VERBOSE PDU DEBUG PRINT ******
((transmitter . 7k4 FSK downlink))
pdu length =         50 bytes
pdu vector contents = 
0000: 40 00 00 00 4b 45 37 44 48 51 35 2e f8 53 00 03 
0010: 80 01 00 1b ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 
0020: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 
0030: 0d 00 
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Hi,

Based on my experience with the Endurosat transceiver, the CRC you have included is not necessary. However, the inclusion of a carriage return (CR) at the end of the packet is essential. Have you been able to decode the packet that you generated with the GASPACS demodulator from UZ7HO?
Do we have the probable KEPS elements for the satellite?

Hello!

Ref. the TLE, I have been using the CYSAT-1 object included in the distribution from Celestrak…

(as of 04-Nov-2024):

CYSAT-1
1 61501U 98067WZ 24309.11983116 .00214275 00000+0 26503-2 0 9999
2 61501 51.6357 341.4067 0008206 120.2926 239.8880 15.58821086 4191

Yes, my CYSAT-1 uplink packets decode properly in the GASPACS SoundModem from UZ7HO.

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