I can't recommend amateur radio enough to fellow HN readers. There are so many things to do -- my favorite is HF CW.
Any recommendations for a fairly inexpensive HF CW rig? Happy to build it myself
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
101–110 of 125 posts
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#102Still saving up for an elecraft rig.
Got a KX3 a while back and I can confirm that it does live up to the hype. I may be getting their 100W amp down the line with the current state of the band conditions though.
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is so interesting about amateur radio, besides talking to other people? Could you expand a little bit on this? This is an honest question, as I used to be a licensed user of CB radios but the bad mood of truck drivers and mIRC (internet) led me to leave it eventually.
I imagine everyone gets something different out of it. I have my technicians but have never made contact and barely listen. I use it as an excuse to learn electronics. There is a lot of material written for the HAM audience that is great for learning about electronics.
I'm curious which area of making contacts you think you would find most fun if you were to become more active? I tried some meteor scatter last year and it was fairly thrilling.
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#104Finally, 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]…
There was supposed to be a geosynchronous satellite over North America too (https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/na-gso-sat/) but I haven’t heard anything about it recently.
Geosynchronous is interesting because you just need to point a fixed dish at it and it always works, whereas the LEO satellites only occasionally pass overhead and you need the antenna to track it (either by hand or with a tracker)
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#105Amateur Radio Licensing at http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed for those interested. You'll need it if you want to attempt to contact the ISS.
Legally that is. Nothing but the law and the fact that most people are honest prevents it. Anyone may purchase a 20 dollar 2m/440 radio and press the PTT :)
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I highly recommend reading the specification I agree. It's amazing how well it works. I've played with FT8 and WSPR and communicated with Australia using 500mw (from the midwest USA).
My Rpi1 WSPR transmitter was heard once in New Zealand on 30M and it is just the Pi, a filter, a tuner, and a long wire over the roof. Here in central Ohio I routinely get Thunder Bay receiving me with the setup which is wild.
Wow, very cool. I'll have to try the Rpi WSPR transmitter. Do you happen to have a link? Does it require the Rpi v1?
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
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
Hey Dave! That was a fun trip. For those that are wondering what we're talking about, Dave and I once carried a bunch of amateur radio equipment up a Colorado peak in the middle of a brutally cold snowstorm. Video: https://youtu.be/g850RIQp6rA
Thanks for the HIRF-6 link. That's unbelievable! Hope you are doing well.
EDIT: woah. M0XER did 8 circumnavigations. That's unbelievable. I wonder if that is a record for a man-made, atmospheric object.
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
I always wondered... This thing is in Class A airspace? I'm sure an accident would be rare, but do airports issue NOTAMs for these?
Yes a NOTAM is required for launch
Not required, but FAA requests that you file one. NOTAM is required for payloads exceeding a weight limit.
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#109I can't recommend amateur radio enough to fellow HN readers. There are so many things to do -- my favorite is HF CW.
What is so interesting about amateur radio, besides talking to other people? Could you expand a little bit on this? This is an honest question, as I used to be a licensed user of CB radios but the bad mood of truck drivers and mIRC (internet) led me to leave it eventually.
Building radios! Doesn't matter if it's very simple, or very complex, you get enormous satisfaction when it works and you can actually communicate with someone.
Re: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
#110I can't recommend amateur radio enough to fellow HN readers. There are so many things to do -- my favorite is HF CW.
What is so interesting about amateur radio, besides talking to other people? Could you expand a little bit on this? This is an honest question, as I used to be a licensed user of CB radios but the bad mood of truck drivers and mIRC (internet) led me to leave it eventually.
It's applied physics. A study of oscillators, mixers, filters, amplifiers, distributed elements, propagation and algorithms and how to optimize all of these in multiple dimensions. It's community. You can meet interesting people and prepare for and serve during emergencies or experiments. It's travel. You can travel to or contact people in exotic places and have your accomplishments recognized. It's technology. You can create new devices and techniques that perform in ways no one has tried before, or collect and operate vintage machines or the bleeding edge of contemporary gear. It's competition. There are no end of contests across the electromagnetic spectrum using many different protocols and modulation. It's continuity. The ranks of amateur radio are filled with those who earned their living or served their respective nations using similar or sometimes exactly the same skills and equipment.
There was a congressional hearing recently where an ARRL representative was asked why amateur systems function when everything else is down. The answer is simple and compelling; the amateur is the owner, technician and operator of his own station with a deep understanding of every part and what is needed to make it work and how to adapt it. Hard headed self sufficiency. Commercial and broadcast systems die when the backups run out of fuel or the Powers That Be take them away. First responders can't quickly fix or replace their systems when something or someone breaks them. Give amateurs a few watts of power -- by any means available -- and they'll cross oceans or talk to people in space using equipment they can carry at a dead run. It's the last thing that still works when all the other gears strip.
And you are entirely welcome to take part in whatever aspect of it you wish. All you need is a license.