QO-100+/futureGEO community workshop at HAM RADIO 2026

May 10, 2026 Off By Peter Gülzow

As part of HAM RADIO 2026, AMSAT-Deutschland e. V. (AMSAT DL) cordially invites all QO-100 users and amateur radio satellite enthusiasts to an open community workshop.

Building on the experiences with Qatar OSCAR 100 (QO-100) and current activities in the futureGEO environment, we would like to discuss together with the community what a future geostationary amateur radio payload could look like. The aim of the workshop is to gather ideas, requirements and perspectives from the user community and place them in a common context.

As a basis for the discussion, we want to present 2-3 concrete mission and payload concepts that reflect different development directions and are deliberately put up for open discussion:

1. “Enhanced QO 100+” (basic)

An evolutionary approach that builds on the success of the QO 100: classic bent-pipe narrowband and wideband transponders, an advanced beacon architecture, multi-band downlinks and additional functions such as text and image transmission, e.g. for emergency and disaster communication, IoT.

2. digital innovation lab (extended)

A more experimentally oriented concept with extensive digital signal processing on board. The focus is on flexible, software-defined payload architectures (SDR), regenerative processing and a “digital playground” for new modulation and access methods and user experiments. But with the risk of being very software-heavy.

3. “High Frequency Pathfinder” (optional)

An explorative approach with beacons and experiments in very high frequency ranges (mm Wave), supplemented by new antenna concepts, propagation and environmental measurements as well as earth and space imaging.

Open workshop

The workshop is designed to be explicitly open.

These concepts are not intended as ready-made solutions, but as a basis for discussion. The aim is to evaluate together with the participants which approaches are particularly interesting, sensible and sustainable for the amateur radio satellite community. Which aspects should be pursued further or in greater depth, but also the risks and dependencies should be addressed.

Both experienced satellite radio operators and anyone interested in the future development of amateur radio satellites, new technical concepts and possible applications are invited to attend.

Thematic focus:

Experiences and lessons learned from the operation of QO-100
User requirements and expectations for future GEO amateur radio payloads
Discussion of the 2-3 futureGEO concepts presented
Possible technical development directions and areas for experimentation
Role of the amateur radio community in future missions

The workshop thrives on participation, discussion and the exchange of ideas – it is not a frontal lecture, but an interactive format with an open end.