Astrocast Ham Radio Beacon

The Astrocast satellite’s beacon includes in phase I:

• A Pseudo Random Binary Sequence (PRBS) that can be used for ranging

• GNSS coordinates and speed vector

• Telemetry data including selected on-board parameters and measurements

A dashboard prototype for demodulating and decoding beacon data is in preparation.

The project description is on the Introduction page. The downlink parameters are on the Beacon Configuration page.

Telemetry definitions are on the Telemetry page.

The FX.25 extension to AX.25 implements a Forward Error Correction (FEC) “wrapper” around a standard AX.25 packet. The FX.25 wrapper is designed to supplement the existing AX.25 infrastructure without displacing it. The FX.25 signal structure allows reception with a standard AX.25 receiver, albeit without the benefit of the FEC correction functions. An AX.25 receiver interprets the additional FEC information as channel noise. The FX.25 protocol is fully described in [FX.25 – Forward Error Correction Extension to AX.25 Link Protocol For Amateur Packet Radio]; the AX.25 protocol is fully described in [AX.25 Link Access Protocol for Amateur Packet Radio, Version 2.2, Revision July 1998].

This information is subject to change. 05-DEC-2018 / 14-FEB-2019 (ARK)

For telemetry please see: “Astrocast 0.1 telemetry downlink specification” on main page.