Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 19 hours ago
The Open Research Institute's Projects Meetup resumed after the holiday break to discuss recent activities and future plans, including updates on various technical projects and team member introductions. The team reviewed progress on multiple initiatives including electronic propulsion-based SAT cube development, OpenCPI implementation, and lock detector plans, while also addressing various bugs and challenges encountered during FPGA design work. The conversation ended with discussions about project timelines, upcoming events, and the importance of maintaining active communication through GitHub repositories.
Nkosi reported on progress with recreating the brake sat P electronic propulsion-based SAT cube, which will be ready for SmallSat deployment in June to August, and expressed interest in rejoining ORI discussions. Aaron mentioned ongoing efforts to run OpenCPI with the ORI FPGA encoder on hardware. Matthew discussed plans to develop a lock detector for ORI, which will compare the energy levels of the I and Q arms to determine when the loop is locked.
ES Estimation and Performance Metrics
The team discussed a paper on the I^2 minus Q^2 approach for estimating ES over N0, which Matthew found could be overcomplicated but still useful. They explored quantizing the numerator or denominator to simplify calculations, and Matthew proposed using 1024-sample intervals with iterative threshold comparisons. The deviance approach was considered more direct but potentially harder to implement. Michelle expressed enthusiasm about the metric's potential for evaluating lock and acquisition times, as well as future performance improvements like potentially removing the differential decoder. Oscar introduced himself as new to the team and mentioned his group's reduced funding, which has affected their rocket projects. Rick inquired about recent progress, and Michelle presented updates on the Pluto MSK repository and related work in Dialogus and Libra SDR.
SDR Transition and Bug Resolution
Michelle provided an update on the progress of the Opulent Voice radio project, focusing on the implementation of the FPGA and the challenges encountered during the transition from the Pluto SDR to the Libra SDR. She explained that a critical bug in the encoder caused corrupted data and spurs in the transmit spectrum, which was found by bypassing sections of the encoder and isolating the error. The team also added synchronization registers between clock domains to reduce glitches. While the transmit chain now produces a clean minimum shift keying spectrum, the receiver work is ongoing.
Radio System Bug Fixes and Development
The team discussed several bugs and issues encountered during the development of a radio system. Michelle explained how a variable range declaration bug in the downlink encoder was found and fixed, and described problems with the Q channel in complex modulation that were resolved by enabling LVDS tuning. Paul also detailed improvements made to the frame synchronization word, including the selection of a highly optimized 24-bit sequence. The team then discussed the limitations of their current hardware, particularly the AMSAT UK mode dynamic transponder project, and decided to focus on developing a weak signal detector instead of implementing Opulent voice. Finally, Michelle mentioned that the current challenge involves a decoder stall in the state machine, which they are investigating using ILA debugging tools.
FPGA Design Progress and Challenges
The team ordered two additional Libre SDRs to support their over-the-air demo, bringing the total to three. The Maya spectrum analyzer software has been a valuable tool for verifying signal issues that were difficult to see with their Regal test equipment. The team also highlighted the usefulness of the ILA (Integrated Logic Analyzer) tool for debugging FPGA issues.
Radio System Error Analysis Update
Paul presented a graph showing unusual frame sync error behavior in their radio system, where the error counter was counting faster than the frame rate. Michelle provided an update on the project timeline, noting that they are moving towards integrating the uplink and downlink systems, with plans to prototype the combined system in 2026. They discussed upcoming events, including a presentation at FOSDEM in February and a potential demonstration at DEF CON in August 2026, with support from the European Space Agency and AMSAT DL.
Maia's Performance and GitHub Review
Paul shared visuals of Maya's performance, showing continuous operation and a well-shaped spectrum. He also demonstrated the system's ability to output verbose debug data over Ethernet without issues. The conversation ended with greetings to Sumio, who was present, and plans for further communication via email.
The Open Research Institute's Projects Meetup resumed after the holiday break to discuss recent activities and future plans, including updates on various technical projects and team member introductions. The team reviewed progress on multiple initiatives including electronic propulsion-based SAT cube development, OpenCPI implementation, and lock detector plans, while also addressing various bugs and challenges encountered during FPGA design work. The conversation ended with discussions about project timelines, upcoming events, and the importance of maintaining active communication through GitHub repositories.
Nkosi reported on progress with recreating the brake sat P electronic propulsion-based SAT cube, which will be ready for SmallSat deployment in June to August, and expressed interest in rejoining ORI discussions. Aaron mentioned ongoing efforts to run OpenCPI with the ORI FPGA encoder on hardware. Matthew discussed plans to develop a lock detector for ORI, which will compare the energy levels of the I and Q arms to determine when the loop is locked.
ES Estimation and Performance Metrics
The team discussed a paper on the I^2 minus Q^2 approach for estimating ES over N0, which Matthew found could be overcomplicated but still useful. They explored quantizing the numerator or denominator to simplify calculations, and Matthew proposed using 1024-sample intervals with iterative threshold comparisons. The deviance approach was considered more direct but potentially harder to implement. Michelle expressed enthusiasm about the metric's potential for evaluating lock and acquisition times, as well as future performance improvements like potentially removing the differential decoder. Oscar introduced himself as new to the team and mentioned his group's reduced funding, which has affected their rocket projects. Rick inquired about recent progress, and Michelle presented updates on the Pluto MSK repository and related work in Dialogus and Libra SDR.
SDR Transition and Bug Resolution
Michelle provided an update on the progress of the Opulent Voice radio project, focusing on the implementation of the FPGA and the challenges encountered during the transition from the Pluto SDR to the Libra SDR. She explained that a critical bug in the encoder caused corrupted data and spurs in the transmit spectrum, which was found by bypassing sections of the encoder and isolating the error. The team also added synchronization registers between clock domains to reduce glitches. While the transmit chain now produces a clean minimum shift keying spectrum, the receiver work is ongoing.
Radio System Bug Fixes and Development
The team discussed several bugs and issues encountered during the development of a radio system. Michelle explained how a variable range declaration bug in the downlink encoder was found and fixed, and described problems with the Q channel in complex modulation that were resolved by enabling LVDS tuning. Paul also detailed improvements made to the frame synchronization word, including the selection of a highly optimized 24-bit sequence. The team then discussed the limitations of their current hardware, particularly the AMSAT UK mode dynamic transponder project, and decided to focus on developing a weak signal detector instead of implementing Opulent voice. Finally, Michelle mentioned that the current challenge involves a decoder stall in the state machine, which they are investigating using ILA debugging tools.
FPGA Design Progress and Challenges
The team ordered two additional Libre SDRs to support their over-the-air demo, bringing the total to three. The Maya spectrum analyzer software has been a valuable tool for verifying signal issues that were difficult to see with their Regal test equipment. The team also highlighted the usefulness of the ILA (Integrated Logic Analyzer) tool for debugging FPGA issues.
Radio System Error Analysis Update
Paul presented a graph showing unusual frame sync error behavior in their radio system, where the error counter was counting faster than the frame rate. Michelle provided an update on the project timeline, noting that they are moving towards integrating the uplink and downlink systems, with plans to prototype the combined system in 2026. They discussed upcoming events, including a presentation at FOSDEM in February and a potential demonstration at DEF CON in August 2026, with support from the European Space Agency and AMSAT DL.
Maia's Performance and GitHub Review
Paul shared visuals of Maya's performance, showing continuous operation and a well-shaped spectrum. He also demonstrated the system's ability to output verbose debug data over Ethernet without issues. The conversation ended with greetings to Sumio, who was present, and plans for further communication via email.
