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Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

ariss.org

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Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#31

Post by Tunecrew »

flatline wrote: post #27
zitterbewegung wrote: post #10

If you want to use a communication system that will work if the Cell towers, local internet, and the phone system are offline get an Amateur Radio Licence. If you want to talk to some random person in Australia using a system which routes your radio through the internet get an Amateur radio Licence. If you want to help out in a disaster then get an Amateur radio licence.

There are lots of interesting hobbyist/hacker/maker projects as well, like the sdr chips, HF kits like uBitX, and FaradayRF. One of my coworkers has his license to track model rockets with a small transmitter that sends GPS telemetry. Lots of cool stuff!

I (Amateur Extra) ordered a BitX40 and about a month later they announced the uBitX... so I've ordered one of those, and not only going to hack the firmware and do some upgrades but also learn about 3D printing to make a case :)

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#32

Post by nickysielicki »

Amateur satellite radio is extremely fun. There has never been a better time to get into it, with cheap $20 handheld radios and a dual band antenna system with a bit of gain, you can get in with regularity on any of the new Fox1 transponders.

Hope to hear you guys on the air! DE W9NLS

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#33

Post by jdietrich »

blendo wrote: post #20

"A key development is the Multi-Voltage Power Supply (MVPS), which interfaces with multiple electric outlet connection types on ISS and provides a multitude of power output capabilities for our current and future ARISS operations and amateur radio experimentation. It will also allow our Ham Video system to have a dedicated power outlet, eliminating the outlet sharing we have now, which shuts down Ham Video at times."…

>since USB Power Delivery can supply 20V at 5A, might USB serve as a standardized power source for radio amplifiers?

Probably not. A typical amateur transceiver draws about 300W on transmit, which massively exceeds the 100W limit of USB Power Delivery. A linear amplifier running at the American legal limit will draw as much as 3.5kW.

The de-facto standard for mobile equipment is 13.8v DC +/- 10%, which allows for operation on standard lead-acid batteries.

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#34

Post by vvanders »

XnoiVeX wrote: post #28

I got a technician's license last year. But since hand held Ham radios are so cheap these days, it's a great idea to buy one and learn how to use the national simplex frequencies and your local repeaters. In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license. The BaoFeng UV-82 is a great starting point for less than $30.

> In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license.

While that's close there's an important distinction that it's only in the case where you have no other viable options for communications and life or property is in danger[1].

However if you don't have a license you can't practice so it's really better to spend the tiny effort to get licensed :).

[1] https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=336ab7469b6...

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#35

Post by sigspec »

XnoiVeX wrote: post #28

I got a technician's license last year. But since hand held Ham radios are so cheap these days, it's a great idea to buy one and learn how to use the national simplex frequencies and your local repeaters. In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license. The BaoFeng UV-82 is a great starting point for less than $30.

What's the policy of listening on these devices without participating (no license)?

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#36

Post by vvanders »

sigspec wrote: post #35
XnoiVeX wrote: post #28

I got a technician's license last year. But since hand held Ham radios are so cheap these days, it's a great idea to buy one and learn how to use the national simplex frequencies and your local repeaters. In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license. The BaoFeng UV-82 is a great starting point for less than $30.

What's the policy of listening on these devices without participating (no license)?

Totally fine, listen away!

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#37

Post by stilldavid »

chrissnell wrote: post #25
kawfey wrote: post #13

Finally, the moment I've been waiting for, amateur radio on the top of hackernews. :) It's also worth mentioning we've got a lot of amateur radio satellites in orbit[0], and more coming, including a geosynchronous satellite launching sometime in March (Es'hail 2)[1]. Some are very easy to get into with just an HT (or two for full-duplex).[2] [0] http://www.amsat.org/status/ [1] https://amsat-uk.org/tag/eshail-2/ [2]…

If you find AMSAT interesting, you'll probably also enjoy the high altitude ballooning (HAB) projects. This guy [0] built an 11-gram transponder payload and floated it up on what was, essentially, a mylar party balloon. It circled the globe at least once and came ashore over the northwestern U.S. near Tacoma, WA and I was lucky enough to pick it up on a handheld radio while standing in my backyard [1]. [0] https://am…

Hey Chris, Dave KI6YMZ here :) We did a SOTA peak many years ago in CO together!

You should check out HIRF-6 as well. Similar payload, and has been airborne since September of 2016!

https://www.qrp-labs.com/circumnavigators.html

https://aprs.fi/info/a/HIRF-6

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#38

Post by 7402 »

XnoiVeX wrote: post #28

I got a technician's license last year. But since hand held Ham radios are so cheap these days, it's a great idea to buy one and learn how to use the national simplex frequencies and your local repeaters. In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license. The BaoFeng UV-82 is a great starting point for less than $30.

> In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license.

That's like saying, "In the case of a real emergency, the police allow you to smash in a store window." It's technically true, but it shows a lack of wisdom to offer a statement like that to people who don't know what they're doing, such people who buy a radio and don't have the knowledge required to obtain the relevant FCC license.

In the case of a real emergency, the last thing I want is the ham bands filled with unlicensed operators attempting to use their radios.

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#39

Post by mikestew »

XnoiVeX wrote: post #28

I got a technician's license last year. But since hand held Ham radios are so cheap these days, it's a great idea to buy one and learn how to use the national simplex frequencies and your local repeaters. In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license. The BaoFeng UV-82 is a great starting point for less than $30.

In the case of a real emergency, the FCC allows you to use a Ham radio without a license.

Those radios don’t work like they do on TV and in movies. You don’t just pick up the microphone, start talking, and miraculously raise someone. You need to know how to use the myriad of settings. If you don’t know how to use it, you’re just going to waste time and battery. If you do know how to use it, you’re just a little study time away from getting a license, so you might as well get a license. Because you’ll need a license to use the radio to practice. I’ve got a General license, and if I didn’t regularly use my radios, I’d be befuddled in a real emergency. Baofeng’s are cheap, but they are about the most user-unfriendly radios out there, and you’ll need to practice using them.

Summary: get a license.

Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station

#40

Post by pavel_lishin »

mseebach wrote: post #24
pavel_lishin wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I can understand part of the reason why - it's kind of a gatekeeping device. You're guaranteed to meet someone who at least has one interest similar to yours, and someone who's gone through the trouble of getting a license and a radio. It's not like going to ChatRoulette and clicking around until you get tired of seeing genitals.

For (practically) any given interest, there's a way to find someone else with the same interest somewhere else that you can ask to Skype with.

Sure, but that's not as fun as the, uh, "organic" connection you can make over radio.
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