Two For The Sky: Satellites For HAM And You

MaggieL -- KB3DXS writes: "The amateur radio satellite Phase 3D (now officially AMSAT-Oscar 40 ) was launched [Wednesday] night on an Ariane 5 rocket. It is now safely in its intended original orbit. AO-40 is the culmination of a ten-year long project to orbit a sophisticated, highly programmable communications platform for amateur radio use. Over the next 270 days engines on board the satellite will gradually place it in its intended final orbit. I received some of the initial transmissions from the satellite this morning at my station ... this is *way* cool. Amateur radio is still thriving, despite fears among the old-school hams who think that the Internet has killed ham radio." Added to which, as btbuzzard advises, you can now get your very own personal communications satellite carried by a device which would have been a lot scarier launching 10 or so years ago.

Comments

Amateur radio

[Goldberg's Pants]

For years I've wanted to get into HAM radio, but the tests you have to take deterred me. Apparently in Canada, if you want the first licence (which is for a particular waveband) you no longer have to learn morse code as far as I'm aware. The question is, could a first level HAM user (IE someone like me who got the licence) use the satellite?

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Re:Amateur radio

[N2UX]

Yup, sure can. Oscar 40 has uplinks and downlinks on the VHF/UHF and microwave bands, which (at least in the US) are usable by 'no-code' licensee's.

Personal Satelitte

[onion2k]

Cool.. Can I mount my laser pointer on it and scare the hell out of people? (Fear the little red dot from space!!)

Can we have our spectrum back please?

[Anonymous Coward]

Now these HAM Radio people have a satalite to play with, maybe we can reclaim some of that wasted radio bandwidth that has so far been wasted.

The radio spectrum is already damn cramped as it is, and with more and more wireless standards emerging, it's time to expand it. Taking bandwidth and frequencies from the HAM people isn't going to hurt, given that the number of HAM hobbiests have droped dramatically over the years. Why not take that bandwidth and shift the already low frequency commercial users into it? That frees up more higher frequency space for proper communications systems.

I know there will be a load of HAM users throwing their hands up in horror at this idea, but which is more important? The ability to communicate effictivly over radio frequencies, or to allow a hobbiest the chance to chat to a person they don't know in Australia? It's going to happen eventually anyway, so why not start now?

T. Lee

Re:Can we have our spectrum back please?

[N2UX]

I guess I could ask the same question - could we have our spectrum back? Radio technology was invented by Amateurs, not commercial interests. For almost a century now amateur radio has been losing bandwidth at an ever increasing rate. I can name the 11 meter band and portions of the 1.25 meter band to start with. Also, Austrailian Amateurs will probably soon lose the very portion of the 70cm band that the Oscar satellites use. All due to the greed of big business, who would rather use existing (amateur developed) technology than develop their own stuff that would use the existing non-used portions of the radio spectrum. Amateur radio is not just for allowing "a hobbiest the chance to chat to a person they don't know in Australia", it also serves a vital purpose during emergencies such as hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. As a general rule, the public infrastructure such as telephones and cellphones, do not do well during natural disasters. In these cases, ham radio operators have been, and will continue to be, called on to provide vital communications with the rest of the country and the world. In addition, Amateur Radio is the ONLY form of communications available to many people in the world who are in areas considered 'too remote' by the local telcos.

Re:Can we have our spectrum back please?

[Bruce Perens]

Gee, you want back some of the only radio spectrum that's actually dedicated for people to use directly rather than corporations to charge a toll for everyone else to use? Some of the only radio spectrum that's used for technology education? Some of the only spectrum that's available for nerds like us to experiment and communicate with each other directly? It doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

Bruce

Re:Can we have our spectrum back please?

[Mononoke]

> >the number of HAM hobbiests have droped dramatically over the years

Do you have number to back this statement up?

Actually, I tend to agree with AC: The number of HAM hobbyists has dropped. Now most HAMs I meet are ex-CBers with Yaesu HTs and headsets who try to sell boxes of old 286 motherboards at Swapfest and have never transmitted at anything longer than 11 meters in their lives.

Sure, there are a few hobbyists left, climbing towers, creating linked nodes, breadboarding, participating in Field Day, etc. But most of them are now content to let their computer-driven rigs win contests for them.

Sad, and one of the many reasons I left amateur radio behind. Plus, my 14.4 modem kicked but on that 2400 baud packet radio stuff.
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What it does

[billybob2001]

It orbits the earth, and relays radio comms from the surface, back down to the surface.

Simple.

Next?

Personal Satellites? BAD IDEA!

[LtFiend]

Does anyone else agree. With all the spacejunk that NORAD already has to track do we really want to send up 2 pound useless satelites? Am I to be held liable if mine hit's the ISS?

Is this guy new?

[Mawbid]

Twiggs said his minisatellites are a valuable tool, even if their utility is not yet clear.

"To me, it's kind of like the Internet. What could you do with the Internet five years ago?" he said. "And now look at all the applications they've got."

Hey, there was already a lot of porn on the Internet five years ago!
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Ham Radio's Not Dead

[wackysootroom]

In my opinion, the reason for the supposed death of ham radio is the lack of experimentation going on. Alot of hams just buy stuff out of a catalog, QSO on a couple of bands, and leave it at that. I think that QRP, satellite, and a resurgence of interest in building your own rig are the things that will carry Amatuer radio for another hundred years.

Hello?

[Anonymous Coward]

Got your email loud and clear. Where are you?

The states.

Really? Cool. I`m in france.

Really cool. What equipment are you using?

Dell 600, 64meg ram, 10gig hd but i`m looking to get a 20gig anyday now.

Far out. Ok got to go.

Hi, got your email, kind of corrupted though.

Yeah, i`m using an old ibm thinkpad, think the software is kinda rough though.

Yeah, i`m getting %20 instead of spaces here...

I see, ok, will check a few options. Nice set up though, its all black. Really cool.

Cool.

Cool.

Cool.

Re:finally, now i can ask my question w/o being OT

[Mononoke]

Find the local Amateur Radio Club and tell them what is happening. They will gladly help you with the problem. No Ham would knowing cause the problems you are having, and they know all the tricks to solve it. The Club will help you find the culprit, or they will solve things for you directly. The Amateur Radio community wants to stay in the good graces of the general public and will do whatever they can to keep you happy. They don't want to lose any more RF spectrum than they already have, and keeping a good image is part of that.

Of course, if they get there and find you running a PC with the cover removed (splashing noise all across the RF spectrum), then you deserve what you get. ^_^

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Re:finally, now i can ask my question w/o being OT

[Enry]

>Sorry, that's not the ham's problem.

It is the ham's problem if their equipment is cheap and unshielded.

>As a favour, not because it's required.

Just wait till the FCC van starts driving around the neighborhood. There are limits on broadcasting, especially if they interfere with people a few houses away.

-Mark

Internet has reinvigorated trade in old radio gear

[ch-chuck]

just search the Internet for "boatanchors".

Oscar 40 -- makes me feel old

[Roblimo]

A programmable repeater satellite. Too cool! I remember OSCAR 1, a little handwired box in LEO that did nothing but transmit dit-dit-dit dit-dit (That's "hi" in case you are Bruce Perens or one of the other code-impaired people *G*).

I was totally thrilled when I managed to pick up that little "signal from space" on my WWII-surplus Hallicrafters receiver as OSCAR passed over California. I was, I think, 8 at the time.

Anyway, it has been far too long since I was active in ham stuff. There is more mystery and romance to radio than to the Internet, plus independence from land-based connections and the big companies (telcos etc.) that control the 'net.

Time to brush up on my code (won't take long) and make sure my theory knowledge is up to par (again, shouldn't take long to update), and take my test.

Maybe now I can afford gear that runs on them IC thingies. Whoo! I was always a rebuilder of junk and/or home brew person, started with a 3W CW xmtr I made myself on a bit of chassis, a 1/2 wave antenna (fancy name for "long piece of wire cut to a measured length hung out the window"), "spoke" with an old Western Union key (later replaced with a bug, then with a fancy Hammerlund electronic keyer - the first piece of transistorized equipment I ever made - from a kit - or owned at all.)

I miss ham radio. And I have no one to blame but myself for having let myself get away from it.

Time to go back to it!

- Robin

Re:Oscar 40 -- makes me feel old

[Bruce Perens]

Robin, I passed the 20 words-per-minute code test for my Extra class exam, fair and square, from an ARRL VEC (a VEC is a team of volunteer examiners). I just don't think anyone else should have to go through that nonsense.

Thanks

Bruce K6BP

How peculiar

[tewwetruggur]

Personally, I don't have much of a need for a satellite. And I know that my ham has absolutely no need for one - just a little honey-glaze, maybe, and bake it with a few pineapple rings... now that's good ham.

Re:finally, now i can ask my question w/o being OT

[NoseyNick]

&gt It is the ham's problem if their equipment is cheap and unshielded.

If the ham's equipment is unshielded and/or has other problems that make it bleed all over the radio spectrum, then yes, you're right, it's their problem.

It's very rare for the ham's equipment to be cheap though :-)

Most ham equipment is stupidly expensive, because:

• It's got quite a large development cost and fairly small market, but also:
• It has to undergo stupendous ammounts of interference testing before it can be sold.

> Just wait till the FCC van starts driving around the neighborhood.
> There are limits on broadcasting, especially if they interfere
> with people a few houses away.

Again, yes, BUT the ham's equipment has already undergone stupendous ammounts of expensive testing to make sure that it DOES NOT bleed all over the rest of the radio spectrum, and the ham has to pass some quite nasty exams to make sure they understand all the technical issues, and their license also states that they'll basically keep their equipment well maintained, and regularly perform tests to make sure it's not leaking into bands they're not licensed for.

On the other hand, anyone with just a little bit of the right knowledge can make cheap speakers, a cheap hifi, a cheap TV, or a cheap answering machine, and as long as it passes tests proving it doesn't EMIT more than it's allowed to, they're allowed to sell it. No exams and licenses needed by the manufacturer, let alone the end user.

... and therein lies the problem. In 99% of cases of ham radio interference, you'll find that the ham is broadcasting well within his/her tightly-controlled bands and power levels. They know they'd lose their license and their expensive equipment if they didn't... however, your cheap or badly-made telly/whatever will quite often ACCIDENTALLY recieve rubbish on bands that are well outside whatever it's SUPPOSED to be listenning to... and because your local ham tends to be closer than your local TV broadcaster, these signals, well outside what the cheap telly is supposed to be tuned to, will upset it.

... and perhaps surprisingly, the same DOES apply to simple hifis, answering-machines, telephones, and inter-coms, even though they don't "tune" to anything.

... that said... Yes, you'll usually find that if you can locate the ham operator in question (or even just another local ham / ham club), they'll be very friendly about it (when you're trying to talk to thousands of people from all parts of the world, you've got to be friendly!), and they ought to be able to do a bit of testing to find out what's going on, and supply and fit external or internal versions of the appropriate filters that probably SHOULD have been fitted by the manufacturer of your equipment in the first place (but weren't, usually as a cost-cutting measure).

In many cases, the ham/club will even cover the costs, even when it's not technically their problem. They'll do this just because they're generally friendly people, and also because it's far easier to cheer up a concerned neighbour by spending a few quid fixing their badly-made hifi, rather than getting into any messy, complicated, and often expensive disputes.

It's pretty obvious your answering machine isn't SUPPOSED to recieve the ham's tightly-controlled radio emissions, but if it does, the ham will usually be delighted to fix it for you, especialy if you can be friendly and reasonable about it.

... and in the seriously unlikely event that you found it WAS actually the amateur's fault for bleeding into bands they're not licensed for, they'll still be delighted, and fix it ASAP - they'll be seriusly glad that you found the problem (and let them fix it) before the FCC did! :-)

Can you make out words in the messages, by the way? Can you get a callsign? They'll usually say "CQ, CQ, CQ, this is " repeatedly. Make a note of the callsign, ask your local ham radio club, and they'll be glad to help.

Who paid for this?

[mwalker]

Am I missing something here? I'm reading and reading and I can't figure out who fronted the cash for this thing. Putting communications satellites in space is EXPENSIVE. Who sponsored this? 5 bucks from every HAM in the world?

Show me the money!

Re:Internet Not Killing Amateur Radio

[pestie]

I feel almost obligated to reply to this, being both a ham radio operator and a private pilot. For what it's worth, I've noticed the similarity between the FAA and FCC tests, including the fact that they both can be passed relatively easily simply by studying the questions and answers. This isn't such a big deal in the case of becoming a pilot, as there's a lot more you need to do than pass the written test, but in the case of hams, sure, maybe it does tend to let some of the "riff-raff" through, but the alternative is for the hobby to be in even more danger of death-through-disinterest than it is already.

I have to agree partially with the original poster and say that the reason for the death of ham radio has largely been ham radio itself. The internet didn't help matters, but it's not the only problem. The problems, as I see them, are:

• Lack of innovation. When I first started in ham radio, the internet existed in obscurity and people still dialed up BBS's with 1200 bps modems. One of the major reasons for me getting into ham radio was to get into packet radio, which was also 1200 bps. Over the course of the next 10 years, modem technology reached 56K, whereas much of the current packet radio stuff is still at 1200 bps! ARRGH! Sure, 9600 bps is now relatively common, but that still pales in comparison even to a 56K modem, let alone cable/DSL.
• The age gap. I got hooked on the idea of being a ham radio after my grandfather introduced me to it when I was around 8 years old. Unfortunately, that sort of thing doesn't happen nearly often enough. One of ham radio's stated purposes is to advance the state-of-the-art in radio communication technology, yet the vast majority of hams are retirees. The influx of new blood into the hobby isn't nearly sufficient to accomplish very much advancement of the state-of-the-art. Ham radio should be attracting exactly the sort of people who read Slashdot (young geeks, coders, and engineers), but it rarely does. It's depressing to go to a local ham club meeting and find that everyone there is old enough to be your grandfather.
• The internet. The internet has harmed ham radio largely by providing a cheap, license-free way to explore many of the same technolgies that would attract someone to ham radio. After all, why would the young geeks mentioned above bother with ham radio when they can do many (all?) of the same things over the internet without getting a license, and at much higher speeds.
• Cost. Ham radio is an expensive hobby these days. It didn't used to be, as the technology was far simpler and transceivers could be built at home out of inexpensive parts. That's not so true any more. This overlaps with the age-gap problem, too - much of the equipment necessary for the shiny new technologies that would attract hot-shot geeks are so expensive to get that these college-age people can't afford them. Even radios for simpler modes (FM voice, for example) are priced entirely too high. Why a 440 Mhz handheld ham radio shouldn't be as cheap as an FRS (Family Radio Service) radio is beyond me. They're virtually the same technology. Ham equipment is all too often priced for retirees with disposable income.

As you can see, this could easily turn into a sizable essay (and maybe it will at some point, now that I think about it). I think I've touched on the major points, though. For what it's worth, I've been anxiously awaiting the launch of Phase3D for years. It combines a number of technologies I'm very interested in (radio, satellite, digital communications, wireless, etc.) and it gives me reason to renew my ham license (which expires at the end of next month - Christ, it's been 10 years already...)

Join No-Code International

[Bruce Perens]

If you object to having a Morse code test for any ham license class, in any country, join No-Code International.

Thanks

Bruce

Re:finally, now i can ask my question w/o being OT

[Bruce Perens]

If you can understand what he is saying, he is most likely using a CB radio. Hams use SSB or FM for voice and you would not be able to understand him - SSB would sound like a duck (no kidding) and you would not hear FM at all.

Re:finally, now i can ask my question w/o being OT

[Bruce Perens]

Well, this sounds like a CB-er with perhaps an illegal amplifier.

Hams don't use "cheap unshielded equipment". It would interfere with other hams and they'd track it down fast.

Bruce

Re:finally, now i can ask my question w/o being OT

[Bruce Perens]

This is pure B.S. It has been decades since FCC has shut a ham down for an interference problem. In general it's the receiver's fault, because there is no specification for interference immunity in consumer equipment.

Bruce

Ham or CB?

[SEWilco]

Is it a Ham or a CB misuser? There are a lot of dummies using bad amplifiers on the CB band. The most certain way to know is a spectrum analyzer, although it probably would be enough to flip through all 40 channels on a CB unit and listen for his voice. Also, because the signal gets weaker and stronger he may be using a large antenna which he can rotate -- if it stays the same strength during a conversation then that's probably what is happening.

You can probably tell the difference by what you hear.

• If he's using alphanumeric call signs and using alphabetic abbreviations such as "CQ" and "XYL" then he's a Ham.
• If he's using a nickname ("handle") and numeric abbreviations ("10-4") then it's CB chatter.
• If he's talking about the six different radio boxes in his ham shack, he's a Ham.
• If he's boasting about how much power is in his microphone and booster, he's on CB.
• If he talks about tuning in "Megahertz" or several different "meter bands", he's a Ham.
• If he talks about tuning among channels 1 through 40, he's using CB. (both groups use "sidebands" but only CB is limited to 40 "channels)
• If he talks about QSL cards, he's a Ham exchanging special postcards with another Ham.
• If he's talking to people in countries outside your continent, he's a Ham. (Many Hams don't, but CBers can't)

If it's a Ham, you might find a local Ham Radio Club on a bulletin board at a ham radio store -- or you might find a club listed on the Web. You could write the club with a description of what you hear and when it happens; they might conduct a fox hunt and track it down themselves.

If it's CB then it's hard to stop, as there's not much enforcement of CB problems. If you find the culprit (perhaps with a CB receiver with a bad antenna) you would write the FCC in case they want to do something (such as if they've gotten many interference complaints from the area). Or his neighbors might like to know why their TVs are having trouble.

PC/104 Parts

[SEWilco]

A four-inch cube is large enough for a PC/104 card stack. You might want to use a radiation-hardened processor.

For communications, look at the tiny amateur radio handhelds that have been available for years.

SPECTRUM!

[fm6]

Yeah! Where I live, you can't get General Hospital without springing for cable! This is cultural genocide!

__________________

A Non-Ham is impressed

[fm6]

OK, I have a restraining order that says I'm not allowed to use a soldering iron. So I can't comment on all the cute little technical modules.

All the same, I'm impressed. It would seem that a bunch of nerds managed to pull off a small but significant technical project with a minimum of institutional backing. I can see from AMSAT site that a lot of people put their expertise, sweat, and love into this thing. But there's a lot more I'd like to know. Who organized this thing? How did they raise the money for all that hardware -- not to mention the Ariane launch? The people part of this project strikes me as more interesting than the technical part.

__________________

Re:sat

[Bruce Perens]

You'd have to live on the equator for it to be directly over your house :-)

Bruce

Re:ham radios

[Chuck Milam]

Unfortunately, the radio spectrum is a limited resource, at least at the current level of radio frequency (RF) technology. It would be great if the wireless industries would look into expanding into new technologies and bands that have never been seen before...but...at least in the last few years, the method used by commercial interests has been to lobby (read: bribe) congress for permission to encroach upon amateur radio allocations. Eventually, I suspect the amateur radio spectrum will be chipped away by commercial interests with millions of dollars to throw around. Random musing: Didn't I hear somewhere that the FCC is having some trouble collecting the money promised by the cellular/wireless winners of the spectrum auctions?