UHF-Satcom.com - S-band reception

At S-Band, the majority of satellite downlinks fall in the 2.2GHz to 2.3GHz band - there are exceptions to this as always. This band is specifically reserved for Space to Earth transmission of TT&C, ranging data and payload data. Most of the traffic could be described as uninteresting, as its either CW, PSK or spread spectrum, but there are some fantastic opportunities to perform some Doppler analysis in order to determine the satellite and it's orbit.

A simple 3.5 turn LHCP helical antenna centred on 2250MHz is described below - this antenna can be used with prime focus or offset dishes. It is possible to wind this antenna in the opposite sense (i.e. RHCP) to use as an S-Band omni (also pictured below, right) in order to monitor LEO and HEO satellites. Another omni directional antenna is pictured below right is a QFH as designed by Michael OH2AUE.

The dimensions for the helical are not overly critical, but should be within a couple of mm of those quoted. The ground plane can be made from PCB or aluminium, and it is recommended that a SMA or N-Type connector is used. The helix element can be made of 1.5mm or 2mm wire - the prototype used 2mm silver plated copper wire. The helix element can be made self supporting, but it is better practice to make a supporting rod from nylon or plastic. The first quarter turn of the helical should be spaced 2mm from the ground plane when using 2mm wire for the helix element. It is worth experimenting with the matching by soldering a copper strip to the first quarter turn in an attempt to improve the impedance match. Another alternative is to mount a metal block on the ground plane that can be swivelled near to the helical element to improve the matching. Work is progressing to assess the suitability of Sirius / XM active S-Band antennas for satellite DX'ing purposes - the results will be published here.

The antenna and preamp are extremely important at S-Band frequencies. For most of the loggings on this page, a 90cm dish, 3.5 turn S-Band helical feed and a VK5EME preamp were used.

The dish provides the needed gain and directionality. An alternative to a helical feed is a patch antenna which can be used in cases where GSM telephone interference is high.

The preamps shown to the left are in use at various ground stations that contribute frequency information to this page. The enclosures for the top two preamps has been custom milled out of a solid block for mechanical rigidity reasons.

The preamp pictured at the bottom is a fairly new design by G4DDK with a measured noise figure of 0.30 - 0.33dB and 25 - 26dB associated gain at 2.3GHz.

The LNA is currently under test on S-Band, but initial results appear to suggest that it delivers a worthwhile increase in SNR over the MiniKits LNA. The G4DDK LNA is supplied as a kit of parts which should take around 2 hours to build for an experienced constructor. This LNA runs from a seperate +12V supply which is split out from the RF path using a mini-circuits wideband bias-T.

S-Band sky survey - xBr, Freq, pjm, Greg, Trango, Lem. Note: All frequencies mentioned below have been verified. S-Band Satellite Downlink Frequencies (log started by xBr) Frequency Catalogue # / Satellite Name / last heard date dd/mm/yy 2183.110 26857 ICO-F2 - numerous carriers at 150KHz spacing (23/11/08) 2199.750 36797 AISSAT-1 - QPSK 256000bps (EO portal link) (13/05/13) 2201.000 36508 Cryosat-2 (EO portal link) (10/04/10) 2201.500 19460 USA-32 PSK - not TX'ing all the time 2201.700 26959 BIRD-2 earth imaging (EO portal link) (02/11/07) 2202.000 31115 Beidou-M1 Chinese navigation satellite (17/11/07) 2202.500 19460 USA-32 - not TX'ing all the time 2202.530 21949 USA-81 2203.200 24971 IRS-1D (EO portal link) (27/02/08) 2203.200 23751 IRC-1C (EO portal link) (02/10/07) 2203.200 25758 IRS-P4 (EO portal link) Oceansat-1 (05/10/07) 2203.200 26957 TES (EO portal link) (29/10/07) 2203.500 19460 USA-32 PSK - not TX'ing all the time 2203.700 34903 STSS-ATRR (03-10-09) 2203.700 38710 TET-1 BPSK 136880Bd, no viterbi, CCSDS frames 512bytes ID=0x20A (EO portal link) (14/05/13) 2204.400 25940 CBERS 1 (EO portal link) (06/10/07) 2204.400 32062 CBERS-2B (EO portal link) (28/03/2010) 2204.400 27003 BADR-B (EO portal link) (28/10/07) 2205.930 20436 Spot-2 (29/02/08) 2206.100 37818 TacSat-4 (28/09/11 PJM) 2207.487 25157 GFO 2207.500 31140 NFIRE (29/10/07) 2207.500 10033 AMS-2 (wide sweeper) (30/10/07) 2207.530 37875 YaoGan-12 2208.000 22490 SCD-1 Satélite de Coleta de Dados (EO portal link) 2208.000 25504 SCD-2 Satélite de Coleta de Dados (EO portal link) 2208.000 28368 DEMETER Wideband (EO portal link) (27/02/08) 2208.000 29107 Cloudsat wideband data (EO portal link) (21/10/07) 2208.163 26708 Odin (Swedish Science) (EO portal link) 2209.580 25789 Quikscat (EO portal link) (21/10/07) 2209.800 33321 Huan Jing-1B 2210.000 26102 MTI 2210.000 30777 CFEsat (05/11/07) 2211.000 33396 THEOS (EO portal link) (12/10/08) 2211.000 27391 GRACE (EO portal link) (13/11/07) 2211.900 38354 Yaogan-15 (02/06/12) 2212.500 27640 Coriolis (EO portal link) (01/10/07) 2212.800 23827 IRS-P3 (EO portal link) (13/10/07) 2212.800 29092 Yaogan-1 (06/11/07) 2212.800 32289 Yaogan-3 (16/11/07) 2213.500 38348 Dragon C2/C3 (27/05/12) 2214.950 25635 Orsted (sound sample) (19/02/08) 2215.000 25280 TRACE (30/10/07 - not on over Europe) 2215.000 25560 SWAS (Freq - not on over Europe) 2215.000 27642 Icesat (02/11/07) 2215.000 27421 Spot-5 (29/09/07) 2215.000 27540 Integral (01/10/07 150000Km altitude) 2215.000 24285 FAST (Freq) 2215.000 29049 Formosat 3C (EO portal link) (27/02/08) - went off air when out of range of Greenland. 2215.000 29050 Formosat 3D (EO portal link) (29/10/07) 2215.000 29052 Formosat 3F (EO portal link) (29/10/07) 2215.900 26997 Jason 1 (LHCP downlink) 2214.900 27370 HESSI (10/11/07) 2216.000 36036 SMOS 838878 QPSK (EO portal link) (12/05/2013) 2216.000 38348 Dragon C2/C3 (27/05/12) 2216.550 31490 Yaogan-2 (29/03/2010) 2216.550 33446 Yaogan-4 (05/11/2010) 2216.550 36110 Yaogan-7 (30/03/2010) 2216.550 37165 Yaogan-11 (25/09/2010) 2217.500 25544 Space Shuttle (Shuttle TX's when docked to ISS) 2218.000 25260 Spot-4 - worldwide crop monitoring (EO portal link) (27/02/08) 2218.000 27421 Spot-5 (EO portal link) (29/09/07) 2218.000 36414 Yaogan-9B (29/03/2010) 2220.000 33492 GOSAT/IBUKI (29/01/09) 2220.500 33456 Yaogan-5 (29/03/10) 2222.500 28054 DMSP F16 USA 172 (EO portal link) 2222.500 29522 DMSP F17 USA 191 (EO portal link) 2222.500 35951 DMSP-F18 Realtime Data Smooth 177.5kbps 1/2 BPSK (EO portal link) (28/02/11) 2222.500 28095 NOSS 3-2 USA 173 2222.500 26905 NOSS 3-1 2222.500 28537 NOSS 3-3 USA 181 2222.500 31701 NOSS 3-4 2222.500 21147 LaCrosse-2 USA 69 (31/10/07) 2222.500 25017 LaCrosse-3 USA 133 2222.528 27640 Coriolis P98-2 - wind vector measurements 2223.000 33497 SDS-1 (Japan) 2224.060 33386 Shenzhou-7 Chinese manned mission (27/09/08) 2224.600 33408 SHI JIAN 6E (SJ-6E) 2224.915 25989 XMM-Newton 2225.000 27386 Envisat - Earth environment monitoring (27/02/08) 2225.000 23560 ERS-2 (19/02/08) 2225.500 38007 ELISA-W11 (02/06/12) 2226.400 *GPS* BIIR satellites - DASS Transponder 406MHz up (xBr, r00t, pjm) 2226.500 23605 Helios-1A (19/02/08) ** Needs confirmation ** 2226.500 28382 DOUBLESTAR (TC-2) 2226.666 37789 NIGERIASAT 2 BPSK 38400bps (03/06/12) 2227.500 ##### GPS - several GPS satellites have a beacon on this frequency 2227.530 28737 SHI JIAN 7 (SJ-7) 2228.400 37781 Haiyang 2 (03/06/12) 2229.600 28413 SHI JIAN 6A (SJ-6D) (29/03/10) 2230.000 23710 Radarsat 1 - Canadian synthetic aperture radar (EO portal link) (14/10/07) 2230.000 32382 Radarsat 2 - Canadian synthetic aperture radar (EO portal link) 2230.000 29499 METOP-A weather satellite (Uplink 2053.4 MHz) 2230.000 31598 Cosmo-Skymed (EO portal link) (28/03/10) 2230.000 27942 UK-DMC (13/11/07) PSK 2230.000 32376 Cosmo-Skymed 2 (EO portal link) (28/03/10) 2230.000 33412 Cosmo-Skymed 3 (EO portal link) (02/06/12) 2230.300 28497 ESSAIM-4 wideband PSK (29/10/07) 2231.595 27843 MOST (wideband PSK data) (20/10/07) 2232.000 27858 Scisat-1 (13/11/07) 2232.050 29653 Tacsat 2 (30/01/10) 2232.500 26905 NOSS 3-1 USA 160 (03/01/08) 2232.500 28095 NOSS 3-2 USA 173 (30/10/07) 2232.500 28537 NOSS 3-3 USA 181 (19/02/08) 2232.51673 29249 USA-184 2233.333 28890 Bejing-1 DMC (29/10/07) 2233.333 35682 UK-DMC2 (13/08/09) 2233.377 37790 NigeriaSat-X BPSK 38400bps (03/06/12) 2235.000 26958 Proba-1 (EO portal link) (27/02/08) 2235.000 39159 Proba-V 329900 Baud BPSK (EO portal link) (09/05/13) 2235.500 36037 Proba-2 (EO portal link) (09/05/13) 2235.790 28414 SHI JIAN 6B (SJ-6B) 2235.850 37179 SHI JIAN 6 (current designation unknown) (06/09/10) 2236.570 38046 Ziyuan-3 (19/05/12) 2236.666 27941 Nigeriasat-1 (29/10/07) 2237.490 24737 DSP-F18 2237.495 90060 (failed DSP-F19 on GTO) 2237.500 21798 DMSP F11 (EO portal link) 2237.500 23533 DMSP F13 USA 109 (EO portal link) 2237.500 25991 DMSP F15 USA 147 (EO portal link) 2237.500 28054 DMSP F16 USA 172 (EO portal link) 2237.500 29522 DMSP F17 USA 191 (EO portal link) 2237.500 10033 AMS-2 (wide sweeper) (30/10/07) 2237.501 DSP-F9 (90050) drifting GEO 2237.518 DSP-F7 (90067) drifting GEO 2237.530 90073 drifting GEO DSP?? 2237.530420 DSP-F6 (90041) drifting GEO 2237.540300 DSP-F10 drifting GEO (162s unlock period) 2238.450 28496 ESSAIM-3 wideband PSK (29/10/07) 2240.000 39160 VNREDSAT-1 DQPSK 25000 and DQPSK 384600 (09/05/13) 2241.600 33320 Huan Jing-1A - PSK on sidebands (05/11/10) 2242.450 24680 USA-129 (30/09/10) 2242.482 26473 LaCrosse-4 2242.500 ----- USA-186 2242.500 90027 USA-179 (also tx's on 251.7, 256.375 MHz) 2242.500 90025 USA-137 (SDS-3 F1) 2242.500 90026 ZiYuan-3 ZY3 2242.500 90004 SDS-2 possibly - weak wobbler 2242.500 90020 SDS-2 possibly 2242.500 90028 USA-125 (SDS-2 F4) 2242.500 10033 AMS-2 (DMSP F1) (EO portal link) 2242.500 24753 DMSP F14 (EO portal link) 2242.500 ----- USA224 / NROL49 2242.540 37163 FIA Radar Satellite (25/09/10) 2245.000 34602 GOCE (13/05/13) 2245.700 28649 IRS-P5 Cartosat-1 (EO portal link) (19/02/08) 2245.700 29710 IRS-2A Cartosat-2 (EO portal link) (27/02/08) 2245.700 32783 IRS-2B Cartosat 2A (EO portal link) (05/11/10) 2245.700 36795 Cartosat 2B (EO portal link) (25/09/10) 2246.704 33312 RapidEye 2 (EO portal link) 2247.500 26374 STEP-2 (21/10/07) 2247.500 35937 STSS USA-208 (03/04/10) 2247.500 26374 TSX-5 (only TX over USA) 2248.500 36119 WISE (03/04/10) 2249.000 26464 Cluster FM8 - solar wind and magnetosphere experiment (EO portal link) (29/09/07) 2249.500 23233 DMSP F12 (EO portal link) 2249.500 23533 DMSP F13 USA 109 (EO portal link) 2249.500 25991 DMSP F15 USA 147 (EO portal link) 2249.500 28054 DMSP F16 USA 172 (EO portal link) 2249.500 29522 DMSP F17 (EO portal link) 2249.500 29651 USA-193 (xBr) (31/10/07) 2250.000 28051 IRS-P6 ResourceSat-1 (05/11/10) 2250.000 37387 ResourceSat-2 (EO portal link) (23/04/11) 2250.000 23323 IRS-P2 Oceansat-1 (13/10/07) 2250.000 35931 Oceansat-2 (EO portal link) 2250.000 26033 Acrimsat (EO portal link) 2251.400 37180 SHI JIAN 6 (current designation unknown) (06/09/10) 2251.450 36088 SHI JIAN 11-01 (31/03/2010) 2251.500 33409 SHI JIAN 6F (28/03/2010) 2252.500 23233 DMSP F12 wideband (EO portal link) (01/10/07) 2252.500 23533 DMSP F13 USA 109 (EO portal link) 2252.500 24753 DMSP F14 (EO portal link) (29/10/07) 2252.500 25991 DMSP F15 USA 147 wideband data (EO portal link) 2252.500 10033 AMS-2 (wide sweeper) (30/10/07) 2252.500 28054 DMSP F16 USA 172 (EO portal link) 2252.500 29522 DMSP F17 1024kbps BPSK encrypted (EO portal link) (13/05/13) 2252.500 35951 DMSP-F18 (EO portal link) (31/03/10) 2252.525 SKYNET-2B (drifting GEO) 2254.345 37388 YouthSat (22/04/11) 4Kbps TTC or 8Mbps payload data 2256.000 26463 Cluster FM5 - solar wind and magnetosphere experiment (EO portal link) (29/09/07) 2256.000 38251 Beidou-M4 (02/06/12) 2256.220 28939 Astro-F Akari (01/10/07) 2256.220 28773 Astro-E2 (01/11/07) 2256.220 29506 SHI JIAN 6D (SJ-6D) (04/11/07) 2256.220 29505 SHI JIAN 6C (SJ-6C) 2256.220 29479 Hinode Solar-B (21/10/08) 2257.530 21949 USA-81 (also transmits on 258.150 MHz) (19/02/08) 2257.500 DSCS III-F1 drifting GEO 2260.800 27392 GRACE-2 (13/11/07) 2262.5309 36868 AEHF-1 in GTO (12/10/10) 2265.000 23802 Polar - HEO (05/10/07) 2265.000 25789 Quikscat (21/10/07) 2265.000 25544 ISS CCSDS data (possibly TDRSS uplink) 2265.000 38348 Dragon C2/C3 (27/05/12) 2266.300 36121 Yaogan-8 (29/03/10) 2267.500 25991 DMSP F15 USA 147 (EO portal link) 2267.500 23533 DMSP F13 USA 109 PSK (EO portal link) 2268.000 36605 Tandem-X (02/06/12) 2268.400 33105 Jason 2 OSTM 2268.465 29108 Calipso / Parasol / Cloudsat (21/10/07) 2268.500 22076 Topex / Poseidon (20/06/08) 2269.200 38012 Pleiades 1 (02/06/12) 2270.000 38051 Chibis-M (16/02/12) 2270.000 26411 Cluster FM7 - solar wind and magnetosphere experiment (EO portal link) 2272.500 35938 STSS demo 2 satellite USA 209 (05/04/10) 2272.500 28980 ST5-A (04/04/10) 2273.000 29658 SAR-Lupe-1 TT&C / ISL link (known as Magnifying Glass) (EO portal link) (01/10/07) 2273.000 31797 SAR-Lupe-2 TT&C / ISL link (known as Magnifying Glass) (EO portal link) (01/10/07) 2273.000 32283 SAR-Lupe-3 TT&C / ISL link (known as Magnifying Glass) (EO portal link) (01/11/07) 2273.000 32750 SAR-Lupe-4 TT&C / ISL link (known as Magnifying Glass) (EO portal link) (07/04/10) 2273.500 27430 Haiyang-1B (05/11/10) 2273.500 27651 SORCE BPSK 8000Bd vit 1/2 diff-enc; CCSDS frames; 9952bit long (EO Portal link) 2276.450 37874 TX 1 PM 65536Hz sideband (03/06/12) 2277.000 26410 Cluster FM6 - solar wind and magnetosphere experiment (EO portal link) 2278.377 24912 ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer at L1 - 1.5M km from Earth) (02/10/07) 2277.500 26905 NOSS 3-1 USA 160 2277.500 28095 NOSS 3-2 2277.500 DSCS III-F5 drifting GEO 2277.520 29249 USA-184 2280.000 31698 Terrasar-X TT&C - German X-band synthetic aperture radar (01/10/07) 2280.000 26405 CHAMP (EO Portal link) (19/02/08) 2280.000 36605 Tandem-X (02/06/12) 2280.500 19822 Edos-D / Akebono - 1.5MHz wide, multiple sidebands 2282.500 38011 SSOT (02/06/12) 2282.500 29678 COROT wideband data (01/10/07) 2282.500 31304 AIM - Polar Mesospheric Clouds study 2282.500 26953 Quickbird-2 (06/10/07) 2282.500 19460 USA-32 (Wav recording by xBr) (13/11/07) 2282.500 23851 MSX (1kHz tone) (13/11/07) 2284.800 33494 SPRITE-SAT (Japan) 2285.000 33494 SPRITE-SAT (Japan) 2285.200 33494 SPRITE-SAT (Japan) 2285.525 37167 Zheda Pixing 1C (15/10/10) 2287.500 25544 ISS CCSDS data (possibly TDRSS uplink) 2287.500 28485 SWIFT (1/11/07) 2287.500 28230 Gravity Probe-B (11/11/07) 2287.500 25682 LANDSAT-7 (possibly only on over the north west USA) (EO portal link) 2287.500 14780 LANDSAT-5 (possibly only on over the north west USA) (EO portal link) 2289.625 37166 Zheda Pixing 1B (15/10/10) 2295.000 26631 EROS-A1 (27/02/08) - may be commanded from Kiruna E/S 2295.000 29079 EROS-B (13/11/07) - may be commanded from Kiruna E/S 2295.560 32289 Yaogan-3 (02/06/12) 2296.520 34839 Yaogan-6 (05/11/10) 2401.200 28375 AO-51 Amateur radio satellite (not always on S-Band) HEO's / Molniya orbit (log started by xBr) Sven Grahn has written an excellent article on tracking OKO. 2254.800 36828 BEIDOU IGSO 1 (30/09/10) 2254.808 37384 BEIDOU IGSO 3 (15/04/11) 2298.000 Cosmos-2388/2393 channel A. (OKO early warning) 2304.000 Cosmos-2388/2393 channel B. (OKO early warning) 2286.000 COSMOS-2422 2292.000 COSMOS-2422 2320.1865 26390 Sirius-1 TT&C (20/02/10) 9600BPSK +48KHz subcarrier, 2048bit frame. +72KHz subcarrier Sync=FAF320B5 2320.191 26485 Sirius-2 TT&C (20/02/10) 2322.290 Sirius-1,2,3 QPSK audio downlink 2326.249 26390 Sirius-1 TT&C (23/11/08) 2329.3825 26483 Sirius-2 TT&C (20/03/08) 2329.400 26626 Sirius-3 TT&C (20/03/08) 2330.710 Sirius-1,2,3 QPSK audio downlink Lunar Orbiter Downlink Frequencies Frequency Catalogue # / Satellite Name / last heard date dd/mm/yy 2210.800 37174 Chang'e'2 Chinese lunar orbiter (02/11/10) 2212.000 32054 KAGUYA R-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2212.000 32054 KAGUYA VRAD-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2217.120 33405 Chandrayaan-1 2218.000 32054 KAGUYA R-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2218.000 32054 KAGUYA VRAD-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2230.800 33405 Chandrayaan-1 (Jan 2009) 2234.533 32274 Chang'e'1 Chinese lunar orbiter (27/10/07) 2234.520 37174 Chang'e'2 Chinese lunar orbiter (06/09/10) 2241.579 32054 KAGUYA R-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2260.416 32054 KAGUYA R-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2260.416 32054 KAGUYA VRAD-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2263.602 32054 KAGUYA main spacecraft downlink (10/06/09 impact) 2271.200 32315 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (19/06/09) 2279.5272 37801 Grail-A 2280.6146 37802 Grail-B 2283.840 33405 Chandrayaan-1 2287.313 32054 KAGUYA R-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) 2287.313 32054 KAGUYA VRAD-Satellite (10/06/09 impact) NASA/USAF Space Ground Link Subsystem (SGLS): (list supplied by xBr) Uplink Channel Downlink 1763.7210 Channel 01 2202.5 1767.7250 Channel 02 2207.5 1771.7290 Channel 03 2212.5 1775.7320 Channel 04 2217.5 1779.7360 Channel 05 2222.5 1783.7400 Channel 06 2227.5 1787.7440 Channel 07 2232.5 1791.7480 Channel 08 2237.5 1795.7520 Channel 09 2242.5 1799.7560 Channel 10 2247.5 1803.7600 Channel 11 2252.5 1807.7640 Channel 12 2257.5 1811.7680 Channel 13 2262.5 1815.7710 Channel 14 2267.5 1819.7750 Channel 15 2272.5 1823.7790 Channel 16 2277.5 1827.7830 Channel 17 2282.5 1831.7870 Channel 18 2287.5 1835.7910 Channel 19 2292.5 1839.7950 Channel 20 2297.5

The pictures below show FFT spectrum analysis of various S-Band downlinks - they were made using RF-Space SDR-14 or SDR-IQ software radios.

2238.530 - Low earth orbit - TX is doppler corrected!	2237.483 AMS2 Low earth orbit - a wobbling carrier
2232.500 DSP 38W	2217.500 ISS / Space Shuttle
2202.005 Beidou-1M TT&C	2282.500 AIM -switching mode during pass
2278.377 ACE TT&C	2273.000 SAR-LUPE-2

The Spectran screen shot below is of the signal from the Smart-1 satellite that was in orbit around the Moon. The signal was very strong, peaking 20dB over noise in 2.5KHz. The nominal frequency of Smart-1 wass 2235.100MHz. This signal was captured on the 6th May 2006 at 18:46GMT. Further information on Smart-1 can be found here.

(above) Smart-1 2235.1MHz signal received on a 1.8m dish with 3.5 turn S-Band helical feed (as described above)

(above) METOP-A 2230MHz TT&C signal received on an S-Band omni a few days after launch.