E1D

Space stations, telemetry and telecommand

Tell telemetry from telecommand, know who may run space-link stations, and which bands carry space stations.

12 pool questions1 on the exam

Syllabus: Amateur Space and Earth stations; telemetry and telecommand rules; identification of balloon transmissions; one-way communications

Telemetry comes down, telecommand goes up

Telemetry = measurements coming down. Telecommand = commands going up. Both are one-way.

Telemetry: one-way transmission of measurements from a distance. Telecommand: one-way transmission that initiates, modifies or terminates a device's functions. A space telecommand station does that to a space station.

Who qualifies: a telecommand station is any station designated by the space station licensee. An Earth station can be any amateur station, always within the control operator's license privileges.

Space links may go one-way and encrypted

Space links get two special permissions. Everything terrestrial does not.

Space stations, beacons and telecommand stations may transmit one-way. Repeaters, forwarding stations and automatic digital stations may not. Encryption is allowed only for telecommand signals from a space telecommand station.

Telecommand on or near Earth: post it, 1 W for models

Posted at the station: all three. Model craft: 1 W. Balloon ID: call sign.

A balloon telemetry station still identifies with its call sign. Nothing else is required in the ID.

Space stations: four HF bands, 2 m, 70 cm, 13 cm

Not to scale. Shaded = has space station frequencies. Only bands named in the questions are shown.

These are the bands the pool asks about, not every space allocation.

Memory hookHF: 40, 20, 15, 10. VHF: 2 m only. UHF: 70 cm and 13 cm.

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Go deeper

Compendium articles on the ideas in this lesson, beyond what the exam asks.

Check what stuck

Practise the 12 pool questions for this group. Answers are shuffled, and every one comes with a one-line "why".

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