S-BAND / UHF TRANSCEIVER – USER MANUAL
ENDUROSAT
5
3
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
This S-Band / UHF communication module features dual frequency communication via totally
independent half-duplex transceivers on a single PCB. Both bands are in the amateur range and can
be configured in the whole allocated spectrum – 430-440 MHz and 2400-2480 MHz for the UHF and
S-Band respectively. Furthermore, they feature configurable data rates, which can be programmed
on-orbit – 2 for the UHF and 4 for the S-Band.
The output power can also be tuned in order to maximize the power budget depending on orbit
altitude, ground station and desired minimum elevation angle for communication. The primary
designation for the UHF is telemetry and telecommand while the S-Band is more suitable for payload
data downlink at higher bit rate. Nevertheless, both transceivers can be used for both downlink and
uplink and provide redundancy to each other. There are two separate microcontrollers that manage
the two transceivers thus enabling them to work independently and even simultaneously. Reed-
Solomon encoding of the data increases the reliability of the link. The device is fully encapsulated in
an aluminum shell that takes care of heat dissipation from the power amplifiers and significantly
reduces the EMI.
