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Students Call Space Station With Home-Built Radio
Pizzutz writes "Four Toronto college students have accomplished a technological feat that their teachers are calling a first. The Humber College seniors made contact with the International Space Station Monday with a radio system they designed and built themselves. School officials say that, to their knowledge, that's never been accomplished by students at the college level." Somewhat disappointingly, the students actually did have permission to make contact.
Somewhat disappointingly, the students actually did have permission to make contact.
I imagine one could get in a lot of trouble prank calling the ISS. Though it it some what difficult to come up with space themed prank calls akin to "Is your refrigerator running". Still though, they got a good grade in the class I'm sure and likely had a lot of fun doing it. I'd say that's a grand accomplishment even if they did have permission to do it.
"Somewhat disappointingly, the students actually did have permission to make contact. "
And why is that disappointing? I think it's incredibly cool that they had permission to do something like this and would love to see officials (both school and space) take similar steps to encourage students to push the boundaries. I don't see how this is disappointing at all.
Disappointingly? Heck, that makes it three times cooler, IMO :)
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It's going to be considerably more difficult for the next generation to build their first radios, once it's all gone digital.
There won't be much left to listen to on a simple crystal set.
Somewhat disappointingly, the students actually did have permission to make contact.
Yes, it is truly disappointing when youngsters act responsibly.
I understand how the story would be more romantic if they contacted the ISS out of the blue (imagine how surprised those aboard the station would be!). But the fact of the matter is that living in space is precarious at the best of times. Unexpected events, especially those that tie up communication channels, are unsafe and not welcome. Thus the students did the right thing by clearing permission first, and they should be applauded for that.
Also, the students probably wanted their signal to actually be answered, rather than ignored or (even more likely) simply not noticed!
Yawn. While not just anyone can do what they've done, I'm saddened by the fact that an Amateur Radio hobbyist making a simple FM transceiver is considered news-worthy by the masses. What happened to the spirit of 'Experimentation and Advancement of The Radio Art'? Have we as a species lost our curiosity and drive to learn about and then do new things? I guess the TV has won. 8-(
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
They made their own radio that used Amateur Radio frequencies (nitpick: Amateur Satellite Service freqs) as opposed to using a Yaesu or Kenwood radio on Amateur freqs. To hams like me, this isn't a big deal. Designing software-defined radios and protocols that can span Virginia->New Zealand using 1W of power is cool, but making an 5W VHF or UHF radio is so 1970's.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
Somewhat disappointingly, the students actually did have permission to make contact.
Yes, it is truly disappointing when youngsters act responsibly.
I am much older then them but I still wouldn't call them youngsters. From TFA:
Operation First Contact is the graduating project for 34-year-olds Gino Cunti and Paul Je of Toronto, Patrick Neelin, 25, of Welland, Ont., and Kevin Luong, 21, of Mississauga, Ont.
They are all legal age!
Yeah, I read that part too and I'm trying to figure out what kind of radio they had to build that was 'way over their heads' kind of technology? Freq-hopping with 1024 bit encryption digital radio? If ham operators normally talk with the ISS and their story sounded like it was HAM radio they used, why was it such a feat? Is there something special we need to know about students in Canada? Did anyone find a link to technical details of the radio system they built?
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Guess what I can contact the ISS WITHOUT PERMISSION. and do it regularly. I also talked to astronauts on the Columbia Shuttle, and cosmonauts in the Mir when it was in the sky. all on my home made radio. You don't need permission.
It's called HAM RADIO. and I designed and built my own 2 meter radio and antennas when I was 16. I also built a radio from my own design and talked to people on the OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET!
If these "college kids" are extra special then we as a nation are completely and utterly doomed.
College level should be designing stuff that a kid with some surplus electronics in his basement cant do.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I tried to get some kids interested in ham radio.
Problem was, when I started teaching theory and rules I lost half the class when they found out you could not swear or use profanity.
Tell them they have to self censor themselves and they lose interest.
saying SHIT is more important than knowledge to them.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.