Comms / Design phase
UHF Communications
A half-duplex amateur UHF link at 435-438 MHz for beacons, telemetry and commanding.
What it does
Comms links the satellite to the ground: a half-duplex amateur UHF radio in the 435-438 MHz band using AX.25 framing at 1200 bps AFSK, with 9600 bps GMSK as a stretch goal. A periodic beacon carries housekeeping telemetry.
Design notes
The link budget assumes 1 W of transmit power through a burn-wire-deployed tape-measure antenna. The design has to meet the CubeSat Design Specification RF inhibit, and IARU frequency coordination is a required deliverable.
Status
Brainstorming and the link budget are under way. Transceiver selection is still a trade study, and hardware and firmware haven’t started.