Top products from r/cubesat
We found 3 product mentions on r/cubesat. We ranked the 2 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 3 product mentions on r/cubesat. We ranked the 2 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
For the downlink, sounds like you need a copy of SMAD. I'm sure you can find a free copy somewhere, but here's a link. http://www.amazon.com/Mission-Analysis-Design-Technology-Library/dp/1881883108
Specifically, it discusses the link budget equation in great detail. A necessary estimate of the type of power/antenna/frequency/datarate configuration you'll need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_budget#Equation
That said, the old team I was a part of used a UHF radio at ~700 MHz for our simple 9600 bps beaconing system. For one spacecraft, that was our only way of downlinking pictures, and yes, it tooks quite a few passes to get a full-res image. Compression sure helps.
For higher datarates, people typically move to an S-Band radio, which we did for subsequent cubesats. As a general rule, higher frequency means you can shove more data into the transmission. However, keep in mind your frequency's interaction with the atmosphere.
That said, I'm not an EE, I just worked with a bunch of 'em. :D
If you're looking to build a mission from scratch, SMAD (Space Mission Analysis and Design) is a textbook / reference book that'd probably help quite a bit. It'd give you a good overview of most of what you need to know. It can also help you answer questions about ADCS systems before you know you have them.
Get a copy of SMAD. Read it, it is nearly a step-by step guide for building a satellite. It was written for larger spacecraft, so you will need to figure out what to ignore as you read it, but it is a ridiculously good resource.