Scheduling Observations

Hi, I recently updated the db entry of a cubesat build by the University of Munich. The downlink frequency was wrong and my edit has been accepted: https://db.satnogs.org/satellite/39439/

I talked to some people involved in the project and was told that while the main computer of this satellite has failed within a short time after the launch there are chances that it’s still emitting CW beacons.

Thus I wanted to ask if it’s possible to schedule an observation to see it anything can be received from it. Short time after the launch in 2013 I was able to receive signals with only a hand held Antenna loud and clearly.

Thanks,
Maxi

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Certainly!

I marked the transmitter as ‘alive’ (which is necessary for it to show up and schedule)

I scheduled a few upcoming passes:
https://network.satnogs.org/observations/3380/
https://network.satnogs.org/observations/3381/
https://network.satnogs.org/observations/3382/

Great, I’m very excited to see the results.

All three observations had positive results. CW still works and gives “MOVE1” messages in ~14wpm.

As @PE0SAT mentioned in #satnogs channel in irc, it is in loop. Also he gave this link for more info.

I think this satellite could be a good test for new stations and CW decoding scripts.

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Thanks, it’s nice to see and hear it’s still alive and sending beacons.

Additionally to the link you posted a good source of information is the <a href=http://www.move2space.de/First-MOVE/index.html%3Flang=en.html>official website.

Yesterday I talked to someone involved in the RF part of the follow-up project to be launched next year. The main problem with FIRST-MOVE seems to be a defective capacitor in the reset circuit which caused frequent resets of the satellite system. This lead to the situation where the on-board computer got stuck. They recently discovered a problem with an internal bus where a deadlock can occur. It’s possible that this has happened, however there is no proof. If this is really the case there are chances for a temporary recovery if the satellite gets power cycled.

Should the (defective) AX.25 mode be added to the database? The frequency is the same as for CW and in normal operation there would be the CW beacon one minute and the next minute the satellite would transmit a data packet. I can open a suggestion in the db for this but I’m unsure how is the correct way of doing this. Should I add a new transmitter for AX.25 mode with the same frequency?

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