Anyone Watching Satellites?

[RobertN]

Has anyone heard if plans ever went forward for a second SuitSat? I had my son up in the middle of the night to listen for the radio transmission from the first one. The signal wasnot as strong asexpected; seems only HAM's with good antenaes heard it. The idea was for kids to be able to hear it with an average scanner.

We have a fun thing here locally. The local Rotary club built an small observatory at the local college extension here in the hill. They have two 14" telescopes.

Community Observatory - El Dorado County, CA

 

[k0ua]

I used to be a big satellite chaser, as a Ham, in years past I really liked to make amateur radio 2 way contacts over the Amateur Radio satellites called OSCAR. This is an acronym for Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. My favorite was OSCAR 13 which was the 13th amateur radio satellite launched. It was not a LEO or Low Earth Orbiter, but it was in a Molinoya (sp, it is a russian word) orbit, meaning it was in an elliptical orbit that comes very close to the earth then slingshots around the earth to go very far back out to about 35000 km. The result was that since the orbit was elliptical, you could talk for a very long time as the satellite went out and came back in toward the earth. An LEO as many of you have noticed cross the sky pretty quickly, depending on how high the orbit is. The lower the orbit, the faster they must go across the sky. I have not done satellite work for some time now, but my antenna's and AZ-EL (Azmuth-Elevation) rotator setup is all still up in the barn. There are still quite a few amateur satellites in the sky, and more launched every year. If any are interested (and it is good to see the interest in science and technology) an Amateur Radio license is pretty easy to get now. and you too could be talking to other Amateur's (hams) over the "birds"
Best Regards,
James K0UA

 

[flyingcow]

I used to be a big satellite chaser, as a Ham, in years past I really liked to make amateur radio 2 way contacts over the Amateur Radio satellites called OSCAR. This is an acronym for Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. My favorite was OSCAR 13 which was the 13th amateur radio satellite launched. It was not a LEO or Low Earth Orbiter, but it was in a Molinoya (sp, it is a russian word) orbit, meaning it was in an elliptical orbit that comes very close to the earth then slingshots around the earth to go very far back out to about 35000 km. The result was that since the orbit was elliptical, you could talk for a very long time as the satellite went out and came back in toward the earth. An LEO as many of you have noticed cross the sky pretty quickly, depending on how high the orbit is. The lower the orbit, the faster they must go across the sky. I have not done satellite work for some time now, but my antenna's and AZ-EL (Azmuth-Elevation) rotator setup is all still up in the barn. There are still quite a few amateur satellites in the sky, and more launched every year. If any are interested (and it is good to see the interest in science and technology) an Amateur Radio license is pretty easy to get now. and you too could be talking to other Amateur's (hams) over the "birds"
Best Regards,
James K0UA

Where do I/we start? have had a interest in this. Just finally getting a little time to do it. Drive truck for a living(locally) and have always used 2-way radio for communications.

 

[k0ua]

Start here:
ARRL | Licensing, Education & Training | Getting on the Air

the specific satellite orginazation is here:

AMSAT - The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation

But you need to be a "ham" to get into satellite work, all you need for it is a technician class license, which is quite easy . My current interest in Amateur is HF (so called High Frequency, HF is 3 to 30 Megahertz) operating. you would like that a lot as an over the road trucker, you could have a nice mobile set up in your truck, there are a fair number of OTR guys that are actually Hams I have talked to several. Investment, maybe 1000 to 1500 bucks, depending on new/used equipment, investment in time to study and get the license, maybe a few days to a few weeks in intermittant study. depends on your apptitude, and memory. No Morse code exam any more, just multiple choice questions, test is taken in front of certified volunteer examiners (hams) no more sitting in front of the old Federal Examiner! For much HF work you need a General or Extra class (or one of the older, no longer available classes)
Best Regards
James K0UA

 

[BSVLY]

Investment, maybe 1000 to 1500 bucks, depending on new/used equipment, investment in time to study and get the license, maybe a few days to a few weeks in intermittant study. James K0UA

I got my tech class license basically for free by studying & testing with a local club. I probably bought some books then I bet-so not 100% free. The web has ham radio licensing study info too. I am about ready to invest in a set-up for AMSAT work. I saw a AMSAT demo recently and it is so cool.

I think you can do this for $500.00 max; including a new ham handheld (FT-60R), Arrow Yagi directional hand held antenna with duplexer, and even a bunch of accessories like drop-in charger, hand mic and extra battery etc. Just the radio itself is only $200.00 and with that you can stand outside-aim at the sats & listen to the traffic.(you need to know where and when). Good way to get started on the relatively cheap. We are listening to AO-51. The demo I saw lasted 14 minutes and the experienced operator made 4 contacts from Phoenix to Portland-from Los Angeles on a small 5 watt hand held 2-way radio. Awesome!

KG6ZBC

 

[k0ua]

Thanks for helping with info KG6ZBC , I have been off the birds for several years. For the interest of others: "ham radio" is many different things, each person, usually has a different interest and pursues the facet of the hobby they enjoy. My current interest are HF operating, Voice and the Digital modes. I have noticed there are several hams here on this board, some identified by callsign some not. Perhaps some others could make recommendations as well, if there is any/continued interest.
Best Regards
James K0UA

 

[podagrower]

there is an iphone/ipod touch app for this too.

Hadn't thought of watching satellites, but after reading the thread, I found a app for Android phones (PrediSat) as well. Looks like it could be a late night.

 

[MicroPilot]

This site also has a satellite prediction app for both Android and iPhone:

Simple Flybys for iPhone and iPod Touch

 

[BSVLY]

Thanks for helping with info KG6ZBC,James K0UA

You are welcome. Hams stick together!


Corrections:

First -off-you'd think I could type my call sign correctly: It is KG6ZVC

Secondly-Today I made the plunge and went to HRO and bought all of the gear I need to work the birds. The bill came to $536.00 before taxes.

I chose the FT-60R radio ($194.95). Then I added an extra 2000 MA battery, AA battery pack, Speaker Mic, 12 Volt Car charger, & a longer whip for the Yaesu FT-60R (Diamond SRH77CA) HT, and then the satellite finding Arrow 146/437-10WBP Yagi antenna with duplexer and required SMA/BNC adaptor. That is a pile of gear and you could get away with far less and get this done.

Next I suppose I'll get some sort of smart phone or pad to view the Sat passes in real time. Maybe the new Droid pad when it comes out?

Then I'll be all set to play with the birds and also be ready in case of emergencies to get some communications out from our rural area where cell towers are few and far between and prone to damage by the upcoming solar max. (Sounds like a legitimate good excuse-right? Emergency Preparedness!) :thumbsup: