Stevenage team passes Amateur Radio course

Following the successes of the Portsmouth team, Lunchsat project members based in Stevenage have now also passed their Foundation exam in Amateur Radio. Both teams are now licensed to transmit from the Portsmouth and Stevenage groundstations.

Congratulations to Nicolas Sarda (Stevenage Groundstation), Martin Garland (Payload: Imager), Goodwell Kapfunde (Stevenage Groundstation), Chris Lord (ADCS) and Thomas Stuttard (Systems, Power) for passing the exam, demonstrating their proficiency in the techniques of Amateur Radio communication.

With Foundation licenses now in hand, the Lunchsat teams in Portsmouth and Stevenage will be able to communicate with each other, as well as satellites via radio groundstations around the world. Watch this space for exclusive news of the first inter-site Lunchsat radio transmission!

The Radio Society of Great Britain offers training courses in Amateur Radio across the country -- check out their website for details of courses available in your region. Radio spectrum in the UK is regulated by Ofcom, which issues and regulates Amateur Radio licenses. For further information and to get involved in the global Amateur Radio community, check out the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation (AMRAD).

Licensed to CQ: groundstation team pass Amateur Radio course

After a rollercoaster weekend of getting to grips with the principles of radio and Paul Steed, our groundstation guys passed their Foundation exam in Amateur Radio. In doing so, these members of the Lunchsat team are now licensed to transmit from a groundstation at a maximum power of 10W.

In a nod towards the radio exam success of yesteryear, Matthew Ashworth (Portsmouth Groundstation), Timothy Mead (Power), Mauricio Molas Serrano (Portsmouth Groundstation), Jason Stones (Media) and Benjamin Yarwood (Mechanical) all passed the exam, demonstrating proficiency in Morse code, groundstation hardware, the etiquette of transmission, the terms of the Amateur Radio license, and the physics of radio communications.

It followed a two-day introduction to Amateur Radio held on the final weekend in January, which saw the group of five radio hopefuls:

• send messages in Morse code with Navy transmitters that were actually used in World War II (check);
  
• transmit to another radio amateur from a groundstation in proper radio etiquette and with the use of callsigns (check);
  
• learn the physics involved in telecommunications (check);
  
• watch a cheesy educational video made by BT from the eighties (check).

All in a weekend's work. So what does all this mean for Lunchsat?

Once work on the Portsmouth groundstation is completed with Foundation licenses in hand, the team will be able to communicate with other satellites via radio groundstations around the world. With an Intermediate license, scope for transmission will extend to 50W, to allow for communication with the International Space Station -- one of the outreach goals of the Lunchsat project!

Paul Steed, a member of St Johns Ambulance, reprised his role as tutor for the two-day course -- held on his home turf in the humble abode of SJA in Waterlooville, a few junctions north of Portsmouth on the A3.

Not fazed in the slightest at the prospect of yet more radio goodness, Ben, Tim, Andrew and Jason are set to head towards the next frontier -- the Intermediate course -- on the weekend of 20-21 February. Lucky devils.

The Radio Society of Great Britain offers such two-day training courses in Amateur Radio across the country -- check out their website for details of courses available in your region. Radio spectrum in the UK is regulated by Ofcom, which issues and regulates Amateur Radio licenses. For further information and to get involved in the global Amateur Radio community, check out the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation (AMRAD).

CQ CQ CQ

On Thursday, some of the Portsmouth Groundstation crew tested the radio and had a first contact with our radio amateur teacher Paul Steed.

The conversation went something like this...

Lunchsat Portsmouth: 'CQ CQ CQ M3UJO this is a radio test CQ'

Paul Steed: 'G3*** copying you loud and clear, I'm based up in Farlington.....' etc.

Both Neil and Jon called out over the radio and spoke with Paul Steed and everyone else helped out operating the radio and antennas.

Just a quick summary of where Lunchsat Portsmouth is with regards to the groundstation:

- About to start testing the rotators, requiring us to get a PC up and running with some tracking software.

- Continuing to test the radio's functionality and are planning to talk to someone further afield using a local repeater, maybe even to some of you guys in Stevenage if you are interested?

- In discussions with sites and services about where we would like to put the antennas and are in the middle of producing some documentation for them.

- The cables need to be tested and the radio sensitivity.

- Orders will be placed for the antenna mast and supporting structure.

You’ve Got The Touch, You’ve Got The Power

From the triumphs of gaining their foundation radio licences, actual tangible hardware has arrived and is sitting waiting to be implemented. Antenna, radio, power supplies and the extraneous computer equipments that Portsmouth required to catch up with Stevenage on the groundstation stakes.

Construction will begin sooner rather than later.

Many thanks go out to Joanna Hall for purchasing our equipment, Kayti Harvey for IM support, Dan and Anthony for carting the computer equipment down for us, and our hardware/software suppliers.

Pass/Fail Criteria Has Been Met

Congratulations to those who attended and passed the foundation course for their amateur radio licence. It was two mornings, a lost weekend and maybe one too many glasses of wine on my part the night before.

For those that attended, listened and learnt, we all passed with flying colours (including the kid on the left of the picture above).

Here they are in no apparent order (apart from alphabetical if you look closely) (and A+ for the people with * by their names):

Robyn Crerar*, Nick Fishwick, Neil Galbraith, Enrique Granell Mena*, Pedro Lau Semedo, Kim Mitchell, Alessandro Modigliana, Andrew Quinn, Andrew Shum, Martin Wallace, Jonathan Ward.

Many thanks to Paul Steed and Peter Quinn for helping us in our endeavours, and also a mention to Jonathan Philips for sorting out the signals from the noise to get us onto this course.

Remember everyone, switch off the power before helping someone in trouble!

Pioneers and Hopeless Romantics

Keen pioneers or hopeless romantics, a chosen few have decided to get their call sign wings in the coming weeks. Just shows Lunchsat is moving in an encouraging and forward direction.

The following people have signed up for the radio licence course (in no apparent order):

Jonathan Ward, Neil Galbraith, Martin Wallace, Enrique Granell Mena, Andrew Shum, Kim Mitchell, Scott Rose, Allessandro Modigliana, Robyn Crerar, Andrew Quinn, Nicholas Fishwick.

Pictures will follow next week of fellow Lunchsatters studying hard to learn how to control a radio.

Additional Portsmouth news:

Ground station procurement is moving, quotes have been given, purchases will be made, and equipment will arrive;

Computer equipment courteously of the company has been given the OK to be in Lunchsatters hands.