QO-100 / Es’hail-2

The first geostationary amateur radio satellite (P4-A) — a joint project between Es’hailSat, QARS and AMSAT-DL.

Information about the satellite

QO-100 is an amateur radio payload integrated onto the Es’hail-2 satellite as a so-called ‘hosted payload’. Es’hail-2 is a telecommunications satellite from Qatar, operating in a geostationary orbit at 26° East. It was launched on 15 November 2018.

Es’hail is the Arabic name for the star Canopus.

QO-100 stands for ‘Qatar-OSCAR 100’. OSCAR is short for ‘Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio’. The number 100 is a serial number and therefore means that, at the time of its successful commissioning, it is the 100th satellite in orbit carrying a recognised amateur radio payload.

Narrowband transponder

The narrowband transponder is intended for SSB/CW and other modes of transmission, which must not exceed a bandwidth of 2.7 kHz. Uplink: 2400.050–2400.300 MHz, Downlink: 10489.550–10489.800 MHz.

QO-100 Schmalbandtransponder Bandplan (© AMSAT-DL)
QO-100 narrowband transponder – band plan (© AMSAT-DL)

Broadband transponder

The broadband transponder is mainly used for digital amateur television in the DVB-S2 format. Uplink: 2401.500–2409.500 MHz, Downlink: 10491.000–10499.000 MHz.

Reception and ground station

QO-100 is in geostationary orbit at 26° East and can therefore be accessed from anywhere in Switzerland around the clock using a fixed-point antenna — without any need for tracking. The satellite covers approximately one-third of the Earth’s surface, from Brazil through Europe and Africa to Thailand.

A small parabolic dish (60–90 cm) with a 10 GHz LNB is sufficient for reception. For transmission on the narrowband transponder, a 2.4 GHz uplink with a transmitter amplifier is also required. If you just want to listen in at first, you can use the BATC’s QO-100 WebSDR in your browser — without needing your own station.

Important for HB9: A special licence from OFCOM is required in Switzerland for transmitting on 2.4 GHz. The USKA has coordinated the procedure with OFCOM — the licence will be issued promptly and without red tape to all HB9 call sign holders upon request.

The Swiss satellite group AMSAT-HB offers getting-started guides, building instructions for your own ground station and up-to-date information.

Swiss Sunday Round: Every Sunday at 21:00 (HBT, local time), the HB Round meets on QO-100 — at 10489.740 MHz (downlink, SSB) — and has been led for many years by Walter HB9DUO. It is considered the oldest regular Swiss satellite roundtable. Find out more at AMSAT-HB.

Further links