Satellite Status
Community operators can report whether a satellite transponder / mode appears On, Off, or Telemetry only during a pass. Everyone can view the results on the public status page.
This is separate from UHM (packet hearing confirmation). Status reports answer: “Is Mode B on AO-07 working right now?” — not “Did that station hear my digipeat?”
How to read the page
Each satellite from the OscarWatch catalogue is listed with its modes (for example AO-07: Mode B, Mode A, CW).
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| On | The transponder was heard / appears active |
| Off | The transponder was not heard / appears inactive |
| Telemetry only | Only telemetry or a beacon was heard, not the communications payload |
| No recent reports | Nobody has reported this mode in the last 24 hours |
Current status is the latest report in the last 24 hours. It stays until a newer report arrives (or the window expires). The coloured timeline bar still shows one segment per hour over the last 24 hours (majority within each hour). Hours with more than one status (e.g. On and Off) are shown as a split colour block, left-to-right in the order those statuses first appeared that hour.
How to report (website)
- Create an OscarWatch account and set your callsign and gridsquare under Settings → Profile.
- Open Satellite status while logged in.
- Choose the satellite and mode, pick On / Off / Telemetry only, confirm the UTC observation time and gridsquare, then submit.
Report during a real pass attempt — a “not heard” when the bird was below the horizon is noise for everyone else.
Submitted a report by mistake? Open Settings → Status reports while logged in. Your own OscarWatch reports from the last 24 hours are listed there; you can remove one for 6 hours after the observation time. AMSAT and FUNcube imports cannot be removed this way (ask a status admin if those need correcting).
OscarWatch Tracker
The Tracker app can submit the same reports over the Satellite status API using an API token (same tokens as UHM: Settings → API tokens).
AMSAT Status
OscarWatch works with the community AMSAT Status page so both sites stay useful:
- Import — Recent AMSAT Status reports are brought into OscarWatch and count toward the same On / Off / Telemetry only status you see on Satellite status. Reports that came from AMSAT are labelled AMSAT Status on recent-report tooltips.
- Dual post — When you submit a status report on OscarWatch (website or Tracker API), it is also sent to AMSAT Status under your callsign and gridsquare, so you do not have to enter the same observation twice.
Dual posting is on by default. To keep reports on OscarWatch only, uncheck Also send my status reports to AMSAT Status under Settings → Profile.
FUNcube Warehouse (AO-73)
AO-73 can also be updated automatically from FUNcube Warehouse realtime telemetry.
Voice U/V
- Safe mode on → Telemetry only
- Not safe and forward TX power below 30 → On
- Not safe and forward TX power 30 or above → Off
1200bps BPSK Telemetry
- Forward TX power greater than 1 → On
- Otherwise → Off
Reports use the warehouse “Data received” time and are labelled FUNcube Warehouse.
Status change alerts
When the feature is enabled for your account, OscarWatch can email you when a watched mode’s displayed status flips — for example AO-7 Mode A turning On, or Mode B coming back. Alerts follow the same latest-report status you see on the status page, not every individual report.
- Open Settings → Status alerts (visible when status alerts are rolled out to you).
- Select the modes you want to watch. Use Watch all on a satellite to select every mode, or pick modes individually (e.g. AO-7 Mode A only). Changes save as soon as you tick or untick a box.
- You’ll get one email per mode flip for the modes you watch.
Stop anytime from Settings → Status alerts, or use the Stop status alerts link in every email (no login required). That link clears all of your watches.
Moderation
Site admins and users with the status-admin role can:
- Review and delete reports under Admin → Status reports (filterable by source)
- See who is watching modes for status-change emails and turn watches off under Admin → Status alerts
Assign the status-admin role from Admin → Users when you want trusted operators to handle abuse without full admin access.