ARISS Inputs To Ground Station Manual

AMSAT Italia ®
ARISS - HAMTV PROJECT
GROUND STATION MANUAL
Document: HAMTV-GS 01
Issue: 1.0
Date: 14/05/2014
Authors: Fabio Azzarello 05/07/2013

Verified: Piero Tognolatti
Approved: Emanuele D’Andria 14/5/2014
NOT CLASSIFIED Page 1 of 36
This document discloses subject matter in which AMSAT Italia has proprietary rights. Recipient of the
document shall not duplicate, use or disclose in whole or in part, information contained herein except
for or on behalf of AMSAT Italia to fulfil the purpose for which the document was delivered to him.
ARISS - HAMTV PROJECT Document: HAMTV-GS 01
GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0
AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014
Document Status Sheet

REASON OF THE
ISSUE DATE AUTHORS VERIFIED APPROVED
MODIFICATION
0.1a 10/05/13 Fabio Azzarello First Release
0.2a 12/06/13 Fabio Azzarello Updated on comments
0.3 17/06/13 Fabio Azzarello Updated on comments

Streaming added
0.3b 05/07/13 Fabio Azzarello Noise Measurement
SW - Added
1.0 14/05/14 Emanuele D’Andria Title Changed
Headline added
Distribution List
COMPANY NAME FUNCTION NR. OF COPIES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Applicable Document ......................................................................................................................................... 5
HamTV Characteristics ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Ground Station Description ..............................................................................................................................6
Antenna and Rotators ......................................................................................................................................8
Dish Feed and Downconverter .........................................................................................................................9
DVB-S Receiver..................................................................................................................................................9
Software Installation ........................................................................................................................................ 10
TeraTerm software for calibration purposes .................................................................................................10
WispDDE – v4.4 Amsat-Italia .........................................................................................................................11
Antenna software for tracking system (Orbitron) .........................................................................................13
Antenna Control Box ........................................................................................................................................ 17
Connections and Settings ...............................................................................................................................17
Rotator Calibration Procedure .......................................................................................................................19
Before any HamTV Contact ............................................................................................................................... 26
Streaming on the web ...................................................................................................................................... 26
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................26
Streaming Upload – input interface ...............................................................................................................26
EasyCAP DC60 + Capture Device ....................................................................................................................27
Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder (V3.2) Software .........................................................................................28
Streaming Download ......................................................................................................................................32
Annex A – Tutioune 2.0 & Noise Power Measurement Software ...................................................................... 34
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 – Ground Station equipments ...................................................................................................... 7

Figure 2 – TeraTerm 4.77 folder ............................................................................................................... 11
Figure 3 – TeraTerm 4.77 COM port selection ......................................................................................... 11
Figure 4 – WispDDE v4.4 – Amsat-Italia Version ...................................................................................... 12
Figure 5 – Tracking Software Station Setup ............................................................................................. 13
Figure 6 – Tracking Software Refresh Update set to 1 sec. ...................................................................... 14
Figure 7 – Tracking Software Rotator Setup............................................................................................. 14
Figure 8 – Tracking Software Rotator Setup............................................................................................. 15
Figure 9 – Tracking Software & PC Clock Syncronization ......................................................................... 16
Figure 10 – Control Box RS232 to Serial converter connection ............................................................... 17
Figure 11 – Control Box RS232 to Serial converter connection + rotator cables ..................................... 17
Figure 12 – WINDOWS COM port – USB to Serial Adapter ...................................................................... 18
Figure 13 – Rotator Azimuth Scales.......................................................................................................... 19
Figure 14 – Rotator Driver selection......................................................................................................... 22
Figure 15 – WispDDE rorator Interface selection..................................................................................... 23
Figure 16 – WispDDE Interface ................................................................................................................. 23
Figure 17 – Sun noise power measurement display................................................................................. 24
Figure 18 – Sun noise power measurement display details ..................................................................... 24
Figure 19 – Sun noise power measurement display details ..................................................................... 25
Figure 20 – Megasat STB connectors ....................................................................................................... 27
Figure 21 – Video Capture adapter .......................................................................................................... 28
Figure 22 – Video Capture cables ............................................................................................................. 28
Figure 23 – Adobe Flash Media Encoder Video Standard settings........................................................... 30
Figure 24 – Adobe Flash Media Encoder Input Device ............................................................................. 30
Figure 25 – Adobe Flash Media Encoder playing ..................................................................................... 31
Figure 26 – Streaming Website ................................................................................................................ 32
Figure 27 – Streaming Website multiscreen ............................................................................................ 33
Figure 28 – Streaming Website multiscreen 2 ......................................................................................... 33
Figure 29 - Techno Trend TT S2-3200 PCI Board ...................................................................................... 34
Figure 30 – Measurement Comparison (Tutioune SW vs Spectrum Analyzer) ........................................ 36
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 - Ground Station Equipments ........................................................................................................ 7
APPLICABLE DOCUMENT
[Ref.1] Link Budget document
[Ref.2] Orbitron Help (provided with software).
HAMTV CHARACTERISTICS
HamTV transmission is based on Digital Video Broadcasting for Satellite (DVB-S) Standard, the
downlink frequencies are:
1. 2.422 GHz
2. 2.437 GHz
3. 2.395 GHz
4. 2.369 GHz
The Contact Downlink Frequency (CDF) will be selected for each single contact depending on GSs local
conditions.
Allowed Symbol Rate are:

- 1.3 Ms/s
- 2.0 Ms/s
FEC Rate is: 1/2
formats available are SIF (352x240) or D1 (720x480) depending on the Symbol Rate adopted.
GROUND STATION DESCRIPTION

The typical Ground Station (GS) is depicted in figure 1; it mainly consists of an offset dish antenna with
1 meter diameter size, a Left Hand Circular Polarization (LHCP) feed with downconverter/preamplifier
(LNB) and a Set-Top Box Receiver. All equipments are Components Off The Shelf.
Figure 1 – Ground Station equipments
GSs purpose is to provide support for HamTV video reception from International Space Station (ISS) in
the S-band frequency range.
In the following table a list of the equipment (HAMTV GS baseline configuration) is presented:
Antenna 1.2 m Offset Dish

Feed LHCP Helix
Preamplifier/Down Converter Kuhne KU LNC-25
RF Coax Cable LMR-400
Set Top Box / PC Card Megasat HD 800
Table 1 - Ground Station Equipments
Each Ground Station will be operated independently from each other and will be equipped with a
video capturing device (example ???) that allows internet streaming of the ISS video transmission,
details will be described in “Internet Streaming” chapter of this manual.
Each Ground Station will operate as a receive-only (R/O) terminal i.e. the station can receive,
demodulate and record data transmitted in the S-band (2360 - 2450 MHz).
The antenna used for data reception consists of an offset focus system with azimuth and elevation
mount; it is capable of program controlled operation, however manual capability as backup solution is
foreseen as well.
The station equipment needs, as a rough indication, a commercial electrical power aggregate of
approximately 1000W.
ANTENNA AND ROTATORS

A 1.2 meters parabolic dish is the recommended solution; antenna size was derived by link budget
calculations [Ref.1].
The antenna must be fully steerable both in azimuth and elevation, the rotator precision should not be
less that 1 degree.
The elevation movement should span 90 degrees. Movements up to 180 degrees could be needed if
azimuth range is limited to 360 degrees.
The azimuth movement should allow more than 360 degree (540 degrees movement are required)
To be able to track the ISS also in over head passes, azimuth movement angular speed should reach
6°/s.
DISH FEED AND DOWNCONVERTER

ISS antenna will radiate a RHCP signal, therefore to achieve such polarization using parabolic antenna a
LHCP feed must be installed. Following the baseline configuration of an HAMTV Ground Station, the
recommended feed to be used is:
RF HamDesign Type LH-13XL:

2.1 - 2.7GHz (Connector N-Female 50 ohm)
Available at: www.rfhamdesign.com
The recommended downconverter options for HamTV GS are:
KU LNC 25 TM (HAMTV baseline configuration)
Frequency range : 2350 – 2550 MHz
IF : 1433.5 – 1633.5 MHz
Amplification : 40 dB
http://www.kuhne-electronic.de/en/products/down-converters/ku-lnc-25-tm.html
KU LNC 23 TM – specific to DATV

Frequency range: 2320 – 2450 MHz
IF : 1404 – 1534 MHz
Amplification : 40 dB
http://www.kuhne-electronic.de/en/products/down-converters/mku-lnc-23-tm.html
DVB-S RECEIVER
The recommended solution for the HamTV receiver is Megasat HD 800.
A suitable back-up or equivalent solution could be the Techno Trend PCI card DVB-S Receiver,
TT-budget S2-3200 is a PC board which fits into a PCI computer slot.
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
TERATERM SOFTWARE FOR CALIBRATION PURPOSES

The purpose of this software is to provide a connection to the rotor control box and to set the
parameters needed to perform correct tracking.
The software is freeware and could be downloaded from the internet, for example from the following
link:
http://en.sourceforge.jp/projects/ttssh2/downloads/58215/teraterm-4.77.zip
Once the file is downloaded it must be extracted into a folder as shown in the following image:
Figure 2 – TeraTerm 4.77 folder
As highlighted in Figure 2, to run TeraTerm double click on “ttermpro.exe” and the following dialog
box will open:
Figure 3 – TeraTerm 4.77 COM port selection
The serial com port to be selected is the one in which the USB to Serial converted apper, in this case it
will apper in COM14.
Now TeraTerm is ready to be used, more on this subject is described on a dedicated chapter.
WISPDDE – V4.4 AMSAT-ITALIA

WiSP, Windows Satellite Program, is an integrated suite of programs which can completely automate
your ground station for satellite operation.
For HamTV GS an Amsat-Italia version of WispDDE is needed (v4.4).
it is a windows application that can be used to interface tracking software to rotor control boxes, it
communicates with prediction software, Orbitron in this case, using DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange
DDE) protocol on one side and on the other it sends the data over serial port.
In this particular version of WispDDE Amsat-Italia re-engeeniered the code to allow Orbitron to take
control of Pro.Sis.Tel rotators provied with HamTV Ground Stations.
Beside normal tracking operations with this new version also sun noise measurement can be made in
full automatic fashion.
Figure 4 – WispDDE v4.4 – Amsat-Italia Version
ANTENNA SOFTWARE FOR TRACKING SYSTEM (ORBITRON)

The purpose of this software is to allow tracking of the ISS in real-time and automatically operate
antenna rotators to follow the satellite in its path.
The software will generate tracking data and will manage rotator control box via COM/LPT/USB
interfaces.
The selected software is Orbitron, its choise is not mandatory, any other similar software could be
selected as well.
Orbitron is freeware and could be downloaded from the internet at the following links:
• Orbitron 3.71 Installer, size: 2 MB - (EXE - installer)

• Orbitron 3.71 ZIP version, size: 1.7 MB - (ZIP – packed – no installation)
Once the program is downloaded and installed it must be configured with Station data, the parameters
needed are:
- Station Longitude (WGS84)

- Station Latitude (WGS84)
- Altitude (above see level in meters)
- Station Callsign and location
if geographical coordinate are not available Maidenhead Grid Square Locator (Grid locator) could also
be used. Once all data are filled “Add to list” and “Update” buttons must be pressed in sequence.
The procedure is intuitive, the figure below shows a sample setup.
Figure 5 – Tracking Software Station Setup
For further details documents in Ref.3 must be used.
It is also important to set refresh update to 1 second as visible in the small blue box on the bottom-
right side of Figure 7.
Figure 6 – Tracking Software Refresh Update set to 1 sec.
Such a refresh is needed in ordet to be able to track the ISS with enough accuracy.
Once the GS is properly configured, moving to the “Rotator/Radio” panel, we can setup WispDDE as
Rotator Driver as shown in figure 7.
Figure 7 – Tracking Software Rotator Setup
The following setup interfaces will pop-up:
Figure 8 – Tracking Software Rotator Setup
The rotator interface to be selected from the drop-down menu is “Swing ER_PROSISTEL”.
To allow Orbitron to take control of the rotator via WispDDE the serial COM port should be set, in this
case it is COM14, and following port setting should be applied:
- Port Speed (buad rate): 9600

- Data bit: 8
- Parity: None
- Stop bit: 1
- Flow Control: None
The following image shows how to setup Orbitron to take over the Operative System to automatically
synchronize to external time reference signal:
Figure 9 – Tracking Software & PC Clock Syncronization
ANTENNA CONTROL BOX

CONNECTIONS AND SETTINGS
The rotator control box must be properly cabled and connected to the PC using a USB-to-SERIAL
converter if a RS232 port is not available on the computer itself.
The USB-to-SERIAL converter will be part of the Ground Staions supply.
Figure 10 – Control Box RS232 to Serial converter connection
Figure 11 – Control Box RS232 to Serial converter connection + rotator cables
Once the cable is connected the “virtual” COM port should be identified, the following figure could be
used if Windows operating system is used:
Figure 12 – WINDOWS COM port – USB to Serial Adapter
The red circle highlights that the usb-to-serial converter is mapped onto COM port 14.
Serial communication and the proper COM port must be selected in order to start commanding the
Control Box.
ROTATOR CALIBRATION PROCEDURE

Before any activity the control box and the antenna aiming must be checked and, eventually,
calibrated.
Antenna Rotator calibration

Prosistel “Combi-Track” control box does not have native support for an Azimuth range exceeding 360°
and for an Elevation range of 0°-180°, which should have allowed “flip-mode” operation.
A 540° Azimuth range is mandatory to be able to track both North-crossing and South-crossing ISS
passes with a system that does not allow “flip-mode”.
However Prosistel Azimuth rotator does not have any “hardware” limits. So an easy workaround
allows an Azimuth range of 540°, it is enough to trick the “Combi-Track” describing a 540° range as a
360 one.
In this way the “Combi-Track” will read and display a new unit of angles that we will call ˜. So 1.0˜ =
1.5°, 10˜ = 15° and so on. One complete turn corresponds to 240˜. The soŌware “WispDDE V.4.4
AMSAT Italia”, is able to communicate with the “Combi-Track” using the ˜ unit for angles. “WispDDE
V.4. AMSAT Italia” calls this mode Extended Range (ER) and in the rotator setup the “ER” Prosistel
rotators has to be selected.
Please note that cabling has to allow the entire Azimuth rotation, as in the following figure. For this
reasons it is strongly suggested to place the cables with their central position at West.
Figure 13 – Rotator Azimuth Scales
The above ﬁgure shows in which way a “one turn and a half” Azimuth range is mapped onto 0˜ : 360˜
interval. The figure also shows, as an example, how the Sun angular position of 135°, in the example
figure 13 showed in green, corresponds to 90˜ and to 330˜.
The calibration procedure for the rotator system is the following:
1. The following procedure MUST be executed at daytime, early in the morning, with the Sun at
the lowest elevation that can be seen from the station.
2. Run Orbitron software, previously configured for the specific location of the receiving station,
and set it to track the Sun (“Rotor/Radio” tab) – see figure 7.
3. Set the rotator “Combi-Track” control box in “Absolute Mode”, by switching-on the “Combi-
Track” with the MENU key pressed until the display shows “ABSOLUTE mode …”.
4. Run “Tera Term” terminal and set it in order to communicate with rotator “Combi-Track”.
Please check that the connection is working.
5. Adjust antenna Azimuth using or on “Combi-Track” keyboard in order to aim the

antenna within the angular interval 0˜ and 120 ˜ (see above ﬁgure). Keep visual control of the
antenna during this operation, to be sure that cables are properly moving.
6. Adjust antenna Azimuth using or and Elevation using or in order to direct the
antenna beam toward the Sun. Accurate Sun pointing has to be checked by maximizing the
reading of Noise-Power-Meter. Keep visual control of the antenna during this operation, to be
sure that cables are properly moving.
7. As fast as possible read on Orbitron display (“Rotor/Radio” tab) both Azimuth and Elevation of
the Sun. Let’s call them SUN_AZ and SUN_EL, respectively. Annotate these values including
one decimal digit.
8. Compute the following value: ER_SUN_AZ = SUN_AZ x 20/3. Annotate it without including any
decimal digit.
9. Compute the following value: D_SUN_EL = SUN_EL x 10. Annotate it without including any
decimal digit.
10. Type on “Tera Term” the following commands (case sensitive):

“Ctrl-B”Az<ER_SUN_AZ>”Ctrl-M”
“Ctrl-B”Bz<D_SUN_EL>”Ctrl-M”
11. Press on “Combi-Track” keyboard until the antenna reaches South, then West, then North
and again the Sun. Accurately point the Sun using or and or and maximizing the
reading of Noise-Power-Meter. Keep visual control of the antenna during this operation, to be
sure that cables are properly moving.
12. As fast as possible read on Orbitron display (“Rotor/Radio” tab) Azimuth angle of the Sun. Let’s
call it SUN_AZ_2. Annotate this value including one decimal figure.
13. Compute the following value: ER_SUN_AZ_2 = SUN_AZ_2 x 20/3 + 2400. Annotate it without
including any decimal digit.
14. Type on “Tera Term” the following command (case sensitive):

“Ctrl-B”AK<ER_SUN_AZ_2>”Ctrl-M”
15. Switch-off the “Combi-Track”, if desired. When you switch it on again, repeat the step #3 (set it
in Absolute Mode).
16. Let the Sun elevation reaches the highest value (after few hours if in Northern hemisphere, or
during the following day if in Southern hemisphere).
17. Whit the “Combi-Track” in Absolute Mode, adjust antenna Azimuth using or and
Elevation using or in order to direct the antenna beam toward the Sun. Accurate Sun
pointing has to be checked by maximizing the reading of Noise-Power-Meter. Keep visual
control of the antenna during this operation, to be sure that cables are properly moving.
18. As fast as possible read on Orbitron display (“Rotor/Radio” tab) the Elevation of the Sun. Let’s
call SUN_EL_2. Annotate this value including one decimal digit.
19. Compute the following value: D_SUN_EL_2 = SUN_EL_2 x 10. Annotate it without including
any decimal digit.
20. Type on “Tera Term” the following command (case sensitive):

“Ctrl-B”BK<D_SUN_EL_2>”Ctrl-M”
21. Switch off the “Combi-Track” to exit from Absolute Mode.
Rotator calibration check

The correctness of the “Combi-Track” calibration has to be tested according to the following
procedure, which uses the Sun as a reference object to track. This procedure has to be repeated
periodically, to ensure that rotor encoders are properly calibrated. It is strongly suggested to repeat
this procedure before a reception of HAMTV.
1. Switch-on the “Combi-Track” in Normal Operation Mode (no Absolute Mode).

2. Run Orbitron software, previously configured for the specific location of the receiving station,
and set it to track the Sun (“Rotor/Radio” tab).
3. Start “WispDDE V.4.4 AMSAT Italia” from Orbitron, by pressing the small button near the
Driver selector. See figure 14.
Figure 14 – Rotator Driver selection
4. Once WispDDE starts, open the menu “Settings > Rotor” of “WispDDE V4.4 AMSAT Italia” and
select as Interface Type “Swing_ER_PROSISTEL”, as in the following figure.
Figure 15 – WispDDE rorator Interface selection
5. Save and Close the above menu.

6. Check if the main window of “WispDDE V4.4 AMSAT Italia” appears as in the following figure
Figure 16 – WispDDE Interface
7. Run the “Noise Power Measurement” software. Set parameters as highlighted in the figure
and press RUN button. Adjust the “shift” slider in order to see the yellow trace in the middle
of the screen.
Figure 17 – Sun noise power measurement display
8. Press “Reset Sweep Mode” in the main window of WispDDE and start observing both the
yellow trace on the screen of Noise Power Measurement window and the Auto Sweep Mode
indicators in WispDDE, see figure 15, as they indicate the instantaneous Az/El offsets.
Figure 18 – Sun noise power measurement display details

A correct calibration of “Combi-Track” will produce a yellow trace similar to the one in figure 18,
where some comments have been added in red, blues and withe colors.
Should the yellow trace have its maximum value not at offsets “0°”, but at a different value (let say +6°
for the Azimuth and -2° for the Elevation), this means that an offset correction has to be added to
WispDDE. To do that open again the WispDDE menu Settings > Rotor and type the offsets as
highlighted by the red circle in the following figure. Save and close.
Figure 19 – Sun noise power measurement display details
Repeat the check with Noise Power Measurement software. If the yellow trace now appears with its
maxima at 0° offsets then the calibration is completed. Please note that WispDDE store in its internal
register the offset you have just indicated. It is not necessary to set them every time that WispDDE is
launched.
BEFORE ANY HAMTV CONTACT

It is strongly recommended, in order to achieve reliable tracking, to perform the following actions:
- Update satellite orbital data (TLE) before HamTV contact

- Antenna and Controls aiming calibration to be done before HamTV contact
- Clock and Time zone to be re-checked before HamTV contact
STREAMING ON THE WEB

INTRODUCTION
HamTV video streaming over the internet will be also possible. Each GS will be able to stream via the
internet the video received from the ISS in almost real-time.
The following description is related to two aspects of the streaming over the web:
• uploading the signal received by the MEGASAT HD800 set top box decoder by each of the
chained ground stations;
• receiving all the video streams generated by the chained stations, and to select the active
signal to present on a wide screen or to send to a video projector.
STREAMING UPLOAD – INPUT INTERFACE

The ISS signal received by the MEGASAT Decoder to be streamed over the web, is an analogue signal
with a video component and an audio component which can be picked up at the following pins of
MEGASAT set-top box:
Video signal: CVBS (Composite Video Blanking and Sync) signal (RCA Female yellow socket)
Audio Signal: Right audio channel (RCA Female red socket)
Left audio channel (RCA Female white socket)
Figure 20 – Megasat STB connectors
This signal captured by a suitable device (EasyCAP) is then encoded in a convenient web streaming
signal.
To sum-up it is necessary to process the signal through:

• A suitable capture device like EasyCAP;
• A suitable encoder like Adobe's Flash Media Live Encoder (V3.2);
and start streaming using a suitable account of a streaming provider like BATC.
EASYCAP DC60 + CAPTURE DEVICE

This capture devices available on the market are generally designed to convert VHS cassettes to DVD.
The software which is included contains such application and also the drivers for the devices.
The interfaces of EasyCAP DC60+ are 4 input cables ending with:
• yellow RCA Female pin jack (CVBS)

• red RCA Female pin jack (audio right channel)
• white RCA Female pin jack (audio left channel)
• S-Video connector
and one USB 2.0 port embedded with the device.
Figure 21 – Video Capture adapter
It is necessary to use a cable with 3 RCA pin jack (yellow red and white) on both sides, to connect
MEGASAT decoder to EasyCAP device. Alternatively a SCART / RCA pin jack adapteur can be used (see
figures below).
Figure 22 – Video Capture cables
It is not generally requested to install the software included with this product, as the device is
recognized by the most recent PCs. However if it is not seen by Adobe’s Flash Media Live Encoder,
then it is necessary to install the software which also loads the drivers into the PC.
ADOBE FLASH MEDIA LIVE ENCODER (V3.2) SOFTWARE
A very useful program to run the streaming service is Adobe's Flash Media Live Encoder (V3.2) which
can be downloaded from the web.
In general it is sufficient to run Adobe's Flash Media Live Encoder (V3.2) software, to connect the
Capture devices (EasyCAP) to set up the characteristics of the capture device on Adobe’s program, to
indicate the URL of the streaming provider and the streaming on the web can be started.
Before downloading Adobe's Flash Media Live Encoder (V3.2) it is requested to create an Adobe
account. (https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?e=fmle3)
The installation of the software is rather simple. After then, when the program is running it is
necessary to provide information on the left hand side of the screen concerning the Capture device
and on the right hand side of the screen concerning the URL for the streaming.
Connect the decoder to EasyCAP through a 3 RCA pins cable and plug it into a USB port on the PC.
For preliminary tests it is necessary that a signal is received by the decoder, therefore a satellite dish
which is pointed to a broadcasting satellite should be used. Alternatively a DVD player can be used as
source of the signal for testing the video capture of EasyCAP.
If the device is connected and no imagine is seen in the upper part of the screen, it means that the
device is not recognized by Adobe software or it is necessary to set up its parameters.
In this case flag on “Video” box on the left hand side of the screen and select “OEM Device” on
“Device” box. If “OEM Device” do not appear, it means that EasyCAP is not recognized by Adobe
Encoder and it is necessary to install EasyCAP with the CD provided with it. When “OEM device” is
selected then open the Setting menu and in the “Decoder video” window select “PAL-G”
Figure 23 – Adobe Flash Media Encoder Video Standard settings
while in the “Crossbar” window, select “1: Video Composite In”
Figure 24 – Adobe Flash Media Encoder Input Device
After then the images should appear on the upper part of the screen.
Then flag on “audio” box and select “OEM Device”. This is sufficient for audio settings.
In addition the “Input Size” should be selected to 720x576 to maintain the same screen size of the
original video format.
Bit rate and resolution can be put to whatever is required. The video capture device generally sets the
resolution and most streams run at around 500Kbit/s to accommodate poor DSL lines at the client end.
All streams are set for 4:3 ratio but this can be changed to 16:9.
In order to set up the streaming parameters enter the “FMS URL” and “Stream” Id in the right hand
side panel. HAMTV Project has been assigned by BATC, five accounts to be used by the ISS ground
stations in the chained configuration. For ISS5, used as an example in this description, are:
FMS URL: rtmp://fms.batc.tv/live/78593ffg
Stream: 78593ffg
Click ”connect” and then click “Start”, on a green field, to start the streaming.
Figure 25 – Adobe Flash Media Encoder playing
When everything is working it is possible to read on the last line “Encoding to file and Streaming to
Primary…”.
All the other relevant information, provided by BATC, required to login to BATC website.
Logging in allows to do things such as change the HTML that appears under the video window on the
BATC portal.
STREAMING DOWNLOAD
Each stream generated by a ground station can individually be received at
http://www.batc.tv/streams/iss1 to http://www.batc.tv/streams/iss5.
Below is an example of ISS3 stream generated by I0KPT and received on a PC. The video can be
presented in a full screen size.
Figure 26 – Streaming Website
In addition BATC has made available to HAMTV also a URL (http://www.noelandsally.net/iss/) which
shows on the screen a mosaic of the streaming of the five ground stations (ISS1 to ISS5) as follows.
Figure 27 – Streaming Website multiscreen
Figure 28 – Streaming Website multiscreen 2
ANNEX A – TUTIOUNE 2.0 & NOISE POWER MEASUREMENT SOFTWARE

In this section the additional software developed by Jean Pierre Courjaud F6DZP and Piero Tognolatti
I0KPT will be shortly described.
Its purpose is to check antenna alignment and rotator calibration by the using the Techno Trend PCI
cards.
The software will use the board as a receiver and will measure the noise power at its frontend, it will
only display an averaged measure in a yellow trace, by analyzing the measurement it is possible to
determine if the antenna system is calibrated (as described in chapter 4).
INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
Make sure that Techno Trend PCI card TT S2-3200 or Techno Trend PCI card TT S2-1600 boards are
installed and working.
- Download the software installation package from the following address:

NPM V0.6beta 24 avril 2013.zip ---> http://www.vivadatv.org/download/file.php?id=480
- Extract all files present in the archieve “NPM V0.6beta 24 avril 2013.zip” in the same folder
- Make sure that the SAA7146A driver is installed (it is provided with the installation software
package)
Eventually modify presets by editing the NTM.ini configuration file
At this point the software is ready and could be used.
Figure 29 - Techno Trend TT S2-3200 PCI Board
NPM.ini - Configuration File
[Language]
; Français or English
Langue=English
; Frequency preset buttons ==> 8 DIGITS!

[FreqPresetButtons]
; Value in kHz - It can't use negative offset

Freq1Value=02422000
; LO frequency
Offset1Value=00916500
; Button’s text
Freq1Text=2422 MHz
Freq2Value=02395000
Offset2Value=00916500
Freq2Text=2395 MHz
Freq3Value=02437000
Offset3Value =00916500
Freq3Text=2437 MHz
Freq4Value=02369000
Freq4Text=2369 MHz
Freq5Value=01255000
Freq5Text=1255 MHz
; LNB Voltage: LNB 0 = 0 volt, 1= 13 volts, 2 = 18 volts

[LNB]
LNBVolt=0
One can modify the value of the Buttons related information to configure the software as preferred.
The Offset value is related to the LNB Local Oscillator frequency, the proper one must be used because
it is an equipment related value.
The following figures show an example of correct calibration of the control box, it shows the antenna
sweep (both in azimuth and elevation) across the Sun.
Figure 30 – Measurement Comparison (Tutioune SW vs Spectrum Analyzer)
The sweep is done by drifting the antenna pattern in 10 degrees step. Also refer to Figure 18.
The interface is straightforward, in figure 30 it shows that Techno Trend TT S2 3200 is installed and
controlled, on the top right corner current frequency and offset are visible.
To run measurements just click on RUN button and the yellow trace will scroll from right to left, to
clear the main window just click CLEAR Button.
To provide voltage to the LNB 13V or 18V radio button must be selected, 0V equals to OFF.
If 0V is selected most probably the yello trace will be a straight line.
The four frequencies which are shown on the top of the interface are the HamTV selected frequencies,
it is possible to quicky perform measurement at different frequencies by pressing the desidered
button.
Power level is to be considered as a pure indication since the system is not calibrated against a
reference equipment. In practice, the value showed are quite close to the one measured with
professional equipment.

ARISS Inputs To Ground Station Manual

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ARISS Inputs To Ground Station Manual

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

AMSAT Italia ®

ARISS - HAMTV PROJECT

GROUND STATION MANUAL

Authors: Fabio Azzarello 05/07/2013

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 1 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

Document Status Sheet

0.1a 10/05/13 Fabio Azzarello First Release

0.2a 12/06/13 Fabio Azzarello Updated on comments

0.3 17/06/13 Fabio Azzarello Updated on comments

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 2 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

Applicable Document ......................................................................................................................................... 5

HamTV Characteristics ........................................................................................................................................ 6

Ground Station Description ..............................................................................................................................6

Antenna and Rotators ......................................................................................................................................8

Dish Feed and Downconverter .........................................................................................................................9

Software Installation ........................................................................................................................................ 10

TeraTerm software for calibration purposes .................................................................................................10

WispDDE – v4.4 Amsat-Italia .........................................................................................................................11

Antenna software for tracking system (Orbitron) .........................................................................................13

Antenna Control Box ........................................................................................................................................ 17

Connections and Settings ...............................................................................................................................17

Rotator Calibration Procedure .......................................................................................................................19

Before any HamTV Contact ............................................................................................................................... 26

Streaming on the web ...................................................................................................................................... 26

Streaming Upload – input interface ...............................................................................................................26

EasyCAP DC60 + Capture Device ....................................................................................................................27

Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder (V3.2) Software .........................................................................................28

Streaming Download ......................................................................................................................................32

Annex A – Tutioune 2.0 & Noise Power Measurement Software ...................................................................... 34

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 3 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

Figure 1 – Ground Station equipments ...................................................................................................... 7

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 4 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

Table 1 - Ground Station Equipments ........................................................................................................ 7

[Ref.1] Link Budget document

[Ref.2] Orbitron Help (provided with software).

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 5 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

Allowed Symbol Rate are:

FEC Rate is: 1/2

GROUND STATION DESCRIPTION

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 6 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

Figure 1 – Ground Station equipments

Antenna 1.2 m Offset Dish

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 7 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

ANTENNA AND ROTATORS

NOT CLASSIFIED Page 8 of 36

GROUND STATION MANUAL Issue: 1.0

AMSAT Italia ® Date: 14/05/2014

DISH FEED AND DOWNCONVERTER

RF HamDesign Type LH-13XL: