V súčasnosti asi najprístupnejší satelit pre rádioamatérov. Na QSO in an emergency, a two-band "FM hand" and an external antenna will suffice. The optimal device would consist of two transceivers: at 2m with a power of 25W, at 70 cm any TCVR (stačí RX) a dvojica antén (napríklad aj design XE1MEX described recently). With such equipment, it is not a problem to work with the whole of Europe.
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Launch into orbit
UO-14 bol vynesený raketoplánom Ariane z Korou vo Francúzkej Guayane 22.januára 1990. Na palube sa nachádza satelitný transpondér s uplinkom na 145,975 MHz a downlinkom na 435,070 MHz. Výhoda FM v satelitnej prevádzke je, že môžeme z veľkej miery ignorovať Dopplerov posun frekvencie – naladíme na 2m Uplink frekvenciu a môžeme vysielať. Na 70 cm je Doppler už väčší, vhodné je ladiť okolo Downlink frekvencie, aby bol príjem čo najlepší, pričom nemusíme počúvať svoj signál na uplinku.
Thanks to sponsors (University of Surrey, ARIANESPACE, VITA, AMSAT, RACAL, RAE, MITSUBISHI, SSTL), it was possible to realize a satellite with dimensions of 345x345x600 mm and a weight of 45 kg for a price of 350 GBP. It was launched by a space shuttle into a sun-synchronous orbit 780 km above the Earth's surface with an inclination of 98°.
On board is: battery module, receiver, transmitter, power system, remote control module, telemetry system, on-board computer (1802), RAM disk, PACSAT communication experiment (80C186), space experiment with particles, positioning, control and safety system. UO-14 has a 2 m dipole antenna and four 70 cm rod antennas, a stabilizer bar, two three-axis magnets and four GaAs solar panels that cover the outer surface of the satellite.
Transponder UO-14
Primárnou časťou UO-14 bol digitálny transpondér typu store and forward, ktorý mohli využiť stovky portablových pozemských staníc. Tento spôsob sa používa najmä v oblastiach postihnutých prírodnými katastrofami, kde iný spôsob komunikácie nie je funkčný. Dva platené projekty sú zamerané na monitorovanie radiácie satelitu na nízkej obežnej dráhe (LEO), measurement of cosmic particles and total radiation. Power supply is provided by highly efficient GaAs solar cells in cooperation with NiCd accumulators.
Amateur radio transponder UO-14
After the failure of this system, only the amateur radio transponder is used today. He works 24 hours a day. It is busy every time you go around, so communication is limited to the exchange of the most necessary information - signs, reports and locators. The rule is that if two stations are doing a QSO, the others do not transmit - otherwise they would cause QRM. If you are interested in satellite communication, the best way to try it is called UO-14.