It is basically designed for people who do not have HAM equipment (desktop / hand-held radio, antenna system with rotator, etc.) especially secondary school students or radio amateurs who are interested in hardware as well.
The currently available design is very simple and enhanced for receiving Masat-1, it can not be used without major modifications for receiving other CubeSats.
We intend to use similar modulation, coding, baud-rate, etc. for the next Masat satellites, so it can be used after Masat-1 has deorbited. Based on the current TLE data, we have 2 other years before atmospheric burn.
The basic idea is that we provide a hardware receiver and an simple antenna in a package. You can choose whether you would like to assemble it or order a fully assembled, tested receiver. The antenna connector is a standard SMA connector. We’ll also publish how to build the most cost effective antenna using a measuring tape and a “colstok”, which is a fold-able wooden measuring device.
The 1st version of the receiver hardware has the following characteristics:
Carrier Frequency 437.345 MHz
Doppler +/- 15 kHz
Bandwidth 2 kHz
Deviation 625 Hz
Data Rate 625 bps
Sensitivity -126 dBm RX chip input
Sensitivity -136 dBm LNA input @ 5% PER
Dimensions: 35mm x 75 mm
Connectors: USB-A, SMA
Main components: LNA, Single-Chip receiver, Microcontroller with USB2.0
This hardware version is fully functional and performing well, but it lacks the ability of firmware update. We are still considering whether to offer this version for the great public, or wait a few weeks for the v1.1 which will have this additional feature. Compared to the other available solutions, it is not as flexible as the FunCube dongle, and of course it is not a 1:1 alternative to HAM radios. For secondary school students who learn astrology, space mechanics, electronics or just want to play with Masat-1, it is an affordable option.
Gábor Marosy
Masat-1 Systems Engineer
More information see here : http://cubesat.bme.hu/2013/04/08/usb-s-masat-1-vevo-v1-0/ (it’s still in Hungarian language)
The price: now the exchange rate is approx 1 eu = 300 HUF, means, the kit price is 40 eu + tax + shipping