The communications team is developing a communications system that will establish and maintain the link between a newly built ground station and the CubeSat in space, with the purpose of raising awareness and excitement for amateur radio. The new ground station will enable CubeSat team members, as well as other Western University students and outreach partners, to study and practice amateur radio outside the classroom. This communication system will operate in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) range, which is 300MHz - 3GHz. Specifically, we are pursuing the 435-438MHz amateur satellite band.

Link Budget

Work on the Link Budget is regularly updated on a different platform, however the most up-to-date version (06-06-2022) is linked.

Uplink Budget
Ground Station Power Output
Transmitter power output	1.00	W
	0.00	dBW
	30.00	dBm
Antenna Gain	13.3	dBi
Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP)	12.52	dBW
Uplink Path Losses
Path losses	150.50	dB
Atmospheric losses	1.862453476	dB
Isotropic signal level at satellite	-140.87	dBW
Satellite (SNR Method)
Satellite antenna gain	1.5	dBi
Satellite effective noise temperature	332.62	K
Satellite figure of merrit (G/T)	-24.12	dB/K
Satellite Receiver Bandwidth	25	KHz
Signal-to-Noise Power Ratio at G.S. Rcvr:	19.33	dB
Digital System Required S/N:	13.90	dB
System Link Margin	5.43	dB
Satellite (Eb/No Method)
Satellite antenna gain	1.5	dBi
Satellite effective noise temperature	332.62	K
Satellite figure of merit (G/T)	-23.92	dB/K
System allowed BER	1.00E-05
Eb/No threshold	13.90	dB
System link margin	9.79	dB
Data Rates
Actual data rate	9600	bps

Downlink Budget
Satellite Power Output
Transmitter power output	1.00	W
	0.00	dBW
	30.00	dBm
Sat. antenna Gain	1.5	dBi
Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP)	1.05	dBW
Downlink Path
Free-Space Path losses	150.50	dB
Atmospheric losses	1.862453476	dB
Ionospheric Losses	0.5	dB
Isotropic signal level at GS	-152.34	dBW
Ground Station (SNR Method)
GS antenna gain	13.30	dBi
GS receiver bandwidth	25	KHz
Received noise power at GS	-127.77	dBm
Actual signal-to-noise ratio	16.68	dB
Required signal-to-noise ratio	13.15	dB
System link margin	3.53	dB
Ground Station (Eb/No Method)
GS antenna gain	13.3	dBi
GS effective noise temperature	490.25	K
GS figure of merit (G/T)	-14.45	dB/K
System allowed BER	1.00E-05
Eb/No threshold	13.15	dB
System link margin	8.67/td>	dB
Data Rates
Actual data rate	9600	bps

• Frequency range = 435MHz +- 5MHz
• LHCP Forwards, RHCP Backwards
• Peak Gain = 1.6 dBi
• Input Impedance = 50 ohms
• Weight = 30 g

Monopole Offset (Degrees)	Maximum Gain (dB)
0	3.9
10	3.37
20	3.23
30	3.07
40	2.89
45	2.2
50	2.15
60	1.69
70	1.28
80	0.74
90	0.23

Refer here for more information between Iteration 2 vs Iteration 1.

Nominal Antenna Deployment State:

• Angle = 45 degrees

Monopole Offset (Degrees)	Maximum Gain (dB)
45	1.2

Link to Antenna

• Frequency Range: 430 - 440 MHz
• GMSK and FSK modulation
• Noise Figure: 1.5dB
• Data Rate capabilities: 1.2kbps - 19.2 kbps
• Half Duplex
• Output Power: 1W
• Weight = 90g

Link to Transceiver