Session
Pre-Conference Workshop Session 4: Advanced Concepts I - Research & Academia
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
This paper presents the GMU SatCom Ground Station design and implementation which is dedicated to increasing the quality of a communication downlink by reducing system noises and losses in the receiver path. The design follows practices of the Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communication community. This effort was focused on the design of the LFA-type Yagi antennas, lightweight ultra-low noise amplifiers, small BPF filters, and combining polarizations through Software Define Radio (SDR) rather than at the antenna feed. All designs presented were implemented and tested. While the UHF path had a priority in our effort, a design of the VHF path is also explained. The paper details design data, characteristics, schematics, implementation, and guidance necessary for teams to design and build their own similar system.
Improving Ground Station by Reducing System Noise and Losses
Utah State University, Logan, UT
This paper presents the GMU SatCom Ground Station design and implementation which is dedicated to increasing the quality of a communication downlink by reducing system noises and losses in the receiver path. The design follows practices of the Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communication community. This effort was focused on the design of the LFA-type Yagi antennas, lightweight ultra-low noise amplifiers, small BPF filters, and combining polarizations through Software Define Radio (SDR) rather than at the antenna feed. All designs presented were implemented and tested. While the UHF path had a priority in our effort, a design of the VHF path is also explained. The paper details design data, characteristics, schematics, implementation, and guidance necessary for teams to design and build their own similar system.
