Satellite APRS for the backpacker?

Satellite APRS for the backpacker?

Part 1 - The Idea

So I had this crazy idea. I am sure it is not unique but it is unique to me.

After all the COVID-19 lockdowns have eased and I am back out hiking and camping again, far from civilisation, long after my mobile phone is useful for anything other than a camera and audio book reader. I arrive at a lunch spot, or set up camp for the evening. I take out my trusty Kenwood D72 Handheld radio with built in TNC, connect it to a lightweight folding antenna, point it skyward and burst off some APRS packets to mark my position and status messages via passing satellites. Sounds crazy right? Well it's actually doable as a radio amateur.

Down here in Australia we don’t have access to the geo-stationary (GEO) satellite QO-100 that covers the entire Eurasian landmass from the east coast of Asia to the west coast of the UK that was launched recently and has been welcomed by many Amature Radio Operators under it’s ‘footprint’.

What we do have access to is a number of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with flying APRS digipeaters. These LEOs pass over a number of times a day and passing over with various ‘elevations’. The most famous of these is the International Space Station (ISS). For clarity, I have lumped the ISS into the collective term for satellites.

ISS

The ISS is equipped with an Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) digital repeater (digipeater) that takes packets it hears coming from earth and re-transmits (digitally repeating - digipeating) back down from space on the same frequency much the same as an earth bound digipeater. The difference here is the footprint! During experiments from my house in Canberra ACT, I am regularly heard in Adelaide, South Australia.

The hearing part is important. These ground stations are run by other amateur radio operators, and take these heard signals and put them on the internet, called internet gating (igating) while their stations are called satellite gateways (SATGATES) allowing your location and short status message to be seen by anyone with an internet connection. The ISS is one of 8 satellites that all use similar settings and frequencies. There are however, others like FALCONSAT-3 that operate on different settings and frequencies. I have chosen to only use those that have the same settings as this allows set and forget access to a network of satellites.

Based on my research (May 2020) the below are correct. It is not as simple as it sounds to find all the info as there isn’t a clear and concise directory - I hope this table helps you.

Edit: June 2020 PSAT2 is no longer working on APRS

Narooma: Camping in the rain

I really needed this weekend!

We had been planning another quick weekend away. This time it was more a car camping trip to test out our larger, cheaper car or festival tent the Shoalhaven V4 by Spinifex from Anaconda for only $99.

For the price this tent took a battering this weekend. At least 6 hours of solid rain. At one stage I woke up in the middle of the night to find the ground so soaked that the water was simply pooling. 

Not a single drop inside the tent. The only downside is the super cheap pegs.

The ventilation and double door (one within the veranda and one from the opposite side) along with the full body mesh, other than the tub floor, make is perfect for our yearly trip to Tropical Fruits in the hot steamy NSW North Coast hinterland of Lismore. With the waterproof fly fitted it withstood the nights rain.

Another highlight of the weekend was seeing a poor lost lonesome penguin nesting in a tiny sea cave.

The weekend was a great chance to test out a new little toy I picked up a few months ago from Goal Zero. Their USB powered LED “Luna”. A really versatile little light that was perfect for lighting the whole tent.

Day 2 and after report. What worked and what didn't

http://youtu.be/Q_s8lBgu89o

My Christmas Gift to Me: Kathmandu Lansan Light hiking tent and rediscovering the bush capital #CBR

Since being back from Myanmar and Darwin I have been looking to do more bushwalking and day hikes. I have also discovered the Namadgi National Park. I know it sounds silly to say I have just discovered it after living in the ACT for nearly 10 years, however I am glad I have. Namadgi sits about 40kms to the south of what most people think of as the bottom of Canberra, Tuggernong. Namadgi actually takes up around 46% of the area of the Australian Capital Territory.

A few weekends ago we stopped off at the Namadgi National Park visitors centre and collected maps as well as talked to the staff there as I was looking for a gentle part day walk to get my partner used to carrying a pack. Previously he was not even keen to carry a tiny pack with a water bottle and camera in it. The staff suggested the Yankee Hat walk to the only Aboriginal Rock Art located within the ACT, being only 7kms round trip.

Following on from that trip, I have decided come hell or high water I want to start walking and at least doing overnights, if my partner can not or will not hack it, I will go alone. To this end I started hunting around for a light ( read able to be carried without doing my back) tent. I was bidding on a Hubba Hubba V6 on eBay for ONLY $250 which is hundreds of dollars off, sadly I missed out. Fortunately the even lighter but slightly less versatile Kathmandu Lansan Light  came in at $250 ( down from $699) during the Christmas Sales and weighted in at sub 2kgs.

I also managed to pick up a Mountain Designs Tasman 40 pack on sale for $65. After packing my new tent, my sleeping bag and my ground pad, there is not much room left for anything else.. I really should have got a 50L if I want to go solo.

UPDATE:

Regarding the Tent: Read here