Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Students Call Space Station With Home-Built Radio

Posted by timothy on from the prince-albert-in-a-tin-can dept.

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.

27 of 330 comments (clear)

  1. no kidding by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 5, Informative

    Somewhat disappointingly, the students actually did have permission to make contact.

    No kidding. But this does open the door to prank calls to the ISS. I can't wait for some of those to get posted to YouTube. Or shown on NASA TV.

    --
    This guy's the limit!
    1. Re:no kidding by MyLongNickName · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Disappointingly? Heck, that makes it three times cooler, IMO :)

      --
      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    2. Re:no kidding by JustinOpinion · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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!

    3. Re:no kidding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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!

    4. Re:no kidding by zappepcs · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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?

      --
      Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
    5. Re:no kidding by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.
    6. Re:no kidding by camperdave · · Score: 5, Funny

      But... They're art majors.

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    7. Re:no kidding by Richy_T · · Score: 4, Funny

      Is there something special we need to know about students in Canada?

      That they're Canadian?

    8. Re:no kidding by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 4, Funny

      That they pronounce "about" as "a boot"?

      (With apologies to South Park)

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
  2. Still it's awesome. by Dyinobal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Still it's awesome. by LanMan04 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Is your CO2 scrubber running? Better go catch it!"

      Har har har.

      --
      With the first link, the chain is forged.
    2. Re:Still it's awesome. by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 4, Funny

      Though it it some what difficult to come up with space themed prank calls akin to "Is your refrigerator running".

      I suppose calling them and telling them to stay up there since Earth has been wiped out would be in bad taste ;)

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
  3. Not a first by scsirob · · Score: 5, Informative

    HAM radio amateurs including students have been in contact with ISS many times over, using voice and digital connections (Packet Radio)

    Many of the astronauts on board are HAM radio operators and make frequent contact with schools, institutions and individual amateurs. On the ground, many of these individual amateurs have designed built their own rig.

    --
    To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
    1. Re:Not a first by wjh31 · · Score: 4, Funny

      HAM SPAM?

    2. Re:Not a first by CRCulver · · Score: 5, Informative

      Indeed, it's sad how little knowledge there is of amateur radio among nerds these days. Part of that is the medium itself, where you're often essentially talking with bored middle-aged men about nothing (international regulations arguably forbidding interesting discussions). However, there's no better way to gain an understanding of electronics than through studying for an amateur radio license. If you start with a guide like the ARRL intro , electronic gadgets become a lot less mysterious and it gets better as you proceed up the license classes. You can diagnose television or mobile phone problems, repair simple devices, or build your own for cheap like audio amplifiers. I haven't used amateur radio in over a decade now, but I'm still really happy that I got into it.

    3. Re:Not a first by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.
  4. Disappointing? by whisper_jeff · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "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.

  5. Not one to be one upped... by Fx.Dr · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...Cap'n Crunch responded by saying "tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet", and subsequently found out that, yes, the fridge on the ISS is in fact running.

  6. Your first radio by sakdoctor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Your first radio by Muad'Dave · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's going to be considerably more difficult for the next generation to build their first radios, once it's all gone digital.

      You mean "write their first radios", since the era of hardware radios is essentially over? With the availability of very high speed/very high dynamic range ADCs and FPGAs capable of doing MPEG-4 decoding on the fly, I doubt you'll see much "building" and a lot more "writing" going on. Wanna get involved? Start Here.

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
  7. Unlicensed Broadcasts by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Informative

    Somewhat disappointingly, the students actually did have permission to make contact.

    You shouldn't be encouraging readers to attempt broadcasts without permission. Unlicensed broadcasts with power sufficient to reach the International Space Station can be a safety hazard; potentially interfering with or jamming legitimate transmissions. At the very least, one might distract the ISS crew during an important maneuver/space walk when the entire crew needs to be focused.

    (Think of it a bit like having the phone ring when you're in the middle of moving heavy furniture. Not exactly opportune.)

    These kids did the right thing by having official permission to make the broadcast. Especially because it meant that there was an astronaut available to speak with them. If it was an unlicensed transmission without prior approval, they would have gotten "hung up" on. ;-)

    --
    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  8. I'm sorry to say... by Muad'Dave · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.
    1. Re:I'm sorry to say... by mikewren420 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Indeed... I was able to contact the ISS twice using low power (10 watts) and a simple vertical antenna. This is hardly newsworthy, as any Amateur Radio operator with a 2 meter radio (they start at $100) and a small vertical antenna can make contact, with a little luck.

      Audio from my contact and others, as well as digital stills received from the ISS are at my website: http://mikewren.com/iss-21oct08

  9. Re:Read TFA by Muad'Dave · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Yes, they did. They did not use a commercially manufactured radio, however. From TFA:

    While school contacts with the space station are routinely made through the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program, many of those contacts are made using a traditional ham radio.

    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.
  10. Re:NB... Designed and Built Their Radio by codesmith.ca · · Score: 5, Informative

    Oops, my bad. They didn't design or build the transceiver. But....

    1) They did mod and deploy an antenna with homebrew tracker to keep alignment to the ISS

    2) They're first year students. Not at the end of the program, the very beginning.

    So, my praise still stands. Good work guys!

  11. Bad article by vitaflo · · Score: 5, Informative

    These kids did not build their own radio. The bought an Icom Ic-V8000 radio and a Yaesu G-5500 rotator and built their own antenna. One of the kids got a ham license and they were able to get some time with the IIS.

    http://www.operationfirstcontact.com/blog/episode16.htm

    The only thing they did was build an antenna basically. I'm happy for them (we could use more kids getting into Ham radio) but this story is sensationalizes on something that many people have done before.

  12. Re:Read TFA by awehttam · · Score: 4, Informative
    Sounds more like they built a station, not the radio.

    http://www.operationfirstcontact.com/blog/episode16.htm

    Today, Mr. Rector, Paul, and I went out to Radioworld and purchased a transceiver. After much research, we decided to go with the ICOM Ic-V8000. For the cost, it has exactly what we need. On Friday, we're going to be integrating it into our setup, and doing all the necessary testing.

    The story is pretty hyped up but good on them anyway.