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Two For The Sky: Satellites For HAM And You 100

Posted by timothy from the sig-sig-sputnik dept.
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.
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Two For The Sky : Satellites For HAM And You More

Two For The Sky : Satellites For HAM And You

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  • 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?

    ---

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • i think radio technology has been under-rated in the last few years.. but i think we are going to see a big change.. especially with whats going on in the tech industry.. wireless communications expanding into areas and bands we havent seen.. I think this is something that a few people haven't forgetten thank god.. it isn't all about unix.. =)

  • Personal Satelitte (Score:3)

    by onion2k ( 203094 ) on Friday November 17, 2000 @02:30AM (#618244) Homepage
    Cool.. Can I mount my laser pointer on it and scare the hell out of people? (Fear the little red dot from space!!)
  • [expletive]

    i'm reading this site and ...isn't there a foobin' FAQ? i'm not a ham, prolly won't be a ham anytime this year, i just want to know (in a nutshell) what this thing does. not the ku band specs, not who worked on it, *what it does* in laymans terms.

    [that is a hint and a half, kids]

    My .02,

  • I seriously doubt your PC is in any danger, since it is, as you mentioned, in a metal box. Besides, this is not the kind of signal your PC would be bothered by, except for maybe the soundcard...I do have some concerns about yourself though. How can you live with a guy like that next door? I would have payed him a visit after a week, maximum.

  • Can we have our spectrum back please? (Score:2)

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

    Simple.

    Next?

  • 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?
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Two questions for CubeSat (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    1. what is the power source? if it is a simple battery, then for how long it lasts? 45 KUS it's a lot of money for a few hours of operating...

    2. who's gonna take the responsibility if this small crap hits ISS, another, multi-million satelite, space shuttle or some poor loser from NASA performing an EVA walk?

  • The next thing we are going to see is someone selling instruction to build your very own satellites.
  • 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.
  • 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!
    --

  • Re:Amateur radio (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Yes. The US "Technician" license (which has NO morse code requirement) grants all the priviliges you need. I am not familiar with Canadian rules but if you can transmit voice or data using single sideband (SSB) on the 145 MHz, 435 MHz, and/or 1296MHz bands, you are all set. Check the RAC website [www.rac.ca] for more info. Looking at the basic band plan info [www.rac.ca], I think you are OK.

    The ARRL [arrl.org] has more info on licensing for /.'s in the US. AMSAT [amsat.org] has more info on ALL the ham satellites.

    With the partial exception of the Russian RS-13, you don't need to know Morse Code to get a license to use any of them. And remember, reception is still free.

  • 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.

  • Re:Can we have our spectrum back please? (Score:3)

    by N2UX ( 237223 ) on Friday November 17, 2000 @03:05AM (#618257) Homepage
    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.
  • This guy must work for verizon or the FCC.

  • Hello? (Score:3)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 17, 2000 @03:14AM (#618259)
    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.
  • Almost. AO-40 does have a laser on it already. It's infrared, though.
  • Marconi invented his 'spark gap' transmitter in December of 1894 and did not patent it until February of 1896. He used it from his home as an amateur for over a year before he started making money off of it.

  • Yup! We've seen This Article [slashdot.org] before! Yesterday, in fact.

    Unfortunately, I can't meta-whore by ripping off all the Score: 5 posts from the old article because ONLY TWO FUCKERS POSTED TO IT!

  • What major technologies did the commercial companies steal from the amateurs?
    In no particular order:
    • Cell phones (from amateur repeater systems)
    • Use of the microwave frequencies (formerly thought useless)
    • Use of VHF (ditto)
    • Use of HF/shortwave (ditto)
    • Packet radio (computer networking over radio)
    • LEO communications satellites/minisats
    --N9RUJ
  • Uh...happens I do run Linux in my station. :-) Nice homepage, by the way.
  • How can you live with a guy like that next door? I would have payed him a visit after a week, maximum.
    Jeez. He's using cheap, unshielded equipment. Of course there are going to be RFI problems. Sorry, that's not the ham's problem. That said, if you can find the ham, he/she would probably be very happy to lend you a hand in helping stamp out the worst of the problem. As a favour, not because it's required.
  • 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. ^_^


    --

  • Must be the quality of the writing. :-)
  • That said, if you can find the ham, he/she would probably be very happy to lend you a hand in helping stamp out the worst of the problem. As a favour, not because it's required.
    Absolutely! Go knock on his door and let him know -- NICELY -- what issues you're having and see if he can help you get them resolved. The people to complain to are the manufacturers of your equipment, which is not supposed to be susceptible to these signals..

  • >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
  • Also, if you live in an area that is too remote for telcos, go move to the city. What the hell are you doing out in the boonies? You must be some kind of weirdo. Join the rest of society and be productive.

    Damn those weirdo farmers, who needs there food.

    Soon, the entire spectrum will be owned by someone and you 'amateur radio operators' (read: Communists)
    While we're at it lets get those commy amateur sports types, hell lets get all those commy amateurs! if you do something and don't get paid for it you are obvously a commy.


    --
    Remove Me-Kilt

  • You make statements without factual basis.

    > wasted radio bandwidth that has so far been wasted.

    Wasted how? Amateur radio operations serve the public in times of emergency. Just because there's not an emergency every day doesn't mean it's wasted. Maybe we should close down the town firehouse since it's not in use everyday.

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

    Do you have number to back this statement up?

  • I was scared too, but I passed. I only read half of the book of test questions too. When I was taking the test I thought I was doing horrible, but as it turned out using common sence was enough to get me by. You don't have to have all of that stuff memorized, just have a general idea of what sounds right and what dosen't. I think you should go take the test. You will be surprised. Good Luck.

    KB3FHD and I'm clear.

  • I think this is a great opportunity of the spread of HAM users. I am not one myself but I think that this is a great hobby, especially for children. This is also a step toward a more commercial space. More and more commmercial launches are being made for satellites and soon other things will be being lauched commercially. The commercialization of space is the next frontier. We must embrace it or we may perish. What happens if we screw the earth up beyond the point of return? What will we do then? These are questions that we should eb asking ourselves now rather than later.

  • sat (Score:1)

    by inetd ( 21373 )
    I'd like to have one of these in geo-syncronous orbit directly over my house. I've been a HAM for 8 years. I think it would be neat to beam stuff to my satelite for storage and be able to retrieve info from it. It would be a great place to store your public key. Just point people to your satelite.
  • just search the Internet for "boatanchors".
  • In America, NONE of the license classes require code.
  • 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

  • How peculiar (Score:3)

    by tewwetruggur ( 253319 ) on Friday November 17, 2000 @04:36AM (#618278) Homepage
    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.

  • Internet Not Killing Amateur Radio (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It hasn't been the Internet killing Ham Radio, it's Ham Radio that's been killing Ham Radio.

    The FCC, along with the ARRL and a bunch of misguided (IMO) souls have so-diluted the value of having a Ham Radio license that it really doesn't mean anything anymore. I'm not talking about just the Morse Code thing. Once-upon-a-time you really had to know and understand the principles behind radio in order to get a license. And have some degree of competency at actually using the equipment. No more. It really doesn't take much more than a short stroll through the Ham bands to hear the results. In short: whenever I hear a so-called Ham denigrate a CB'er these days, I just laugh. What passes for an "Extra Class" licensee these wouldn't be a pimple on the hind-side of a General Class license of even 10 or 15 years ago.

    Personally, I would have been far happier to see the Amateur Radio Service lose spectrum due to decreased "population" than see the hobby raped like it has been :-(. Quantity has been substituted for quality.

    I allowed my license to expire out of sheer disinterest--disinterest resulting from what the hobby and has become. I suppose that, sooner-or-later, I'll have to get my equipment up on eBay. The likelyhood of my ever going to the trouble of getting a license again is about slim-to-none.

    I used to argue that Ham Radio filled an important role in the community. If nothing else: for things like Skywarn and related activities. But I no longer believe that to be the case.

    It's really too bad, what Ham Radio has done to itself. And yeah: I'm bitter. I used to really, really enjoy the hobby :-(.

  • In a nutshell you can talk to other hams using the sat's like a repeater. Believe me the first time you complete a contact this way you'll be hooked. It doesn't require alot of special equip. either.
  • Right on. The first sat I heard was OSCAR 8 i think. When I heard the beacon for the first time I was hooked!. I was using an old Heathkit rcvr, tube set no less. And I got back into Ham radio after I became a computer geek.
  • If you are talking about America=USA, then you are wrong.

    There are 3 classes of licenses in the US, Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. Technician is the only class that does not require you to pass a morse code test, but if you do take the morse code portion of the exam, you get privileges to transmit on a few more frequency bands.

    To get the other classes of license, you must pass a 5 word per minute code test. 5 wpm is pretty slow and not too hard to learn. It just takes a bit of practice.

    This is much better (IMHO) than before they restructured the licensing last April. Before then, to get the Amateur Extra class, you had to pass a 13 wpm morse code test. (Or maybe 20 wpm, I can't remember.)

    You can find more information at arrl.org [arrl.org]

    It's a fun hobby. Try it!
    KD5MAH

  • The technician license requires no code.

    General and Extra license classes require only 5 words per minute now - which should make it easy for most folks.

    *scoove* aka K1JRS
  • The power source is a bunch of batteries, plut solar panels to recharge them. Simple solution that's been used for decades.

    AMSAT will be the responsible party, but I doubt it will do such a thing. Just because it's a satellite carrying "amateur" radio, doesn't mean that a bunch of hicks got out in the backyard and set off a rocket. This project has been going on for 10 years now. To put a satellite up requires a lot of time and effort. This satellite isn't some un-claimed space junk flying around, it will be tracked just like all the other satellites.

    Check out amsat.org [amsat.org] for more info and pictures!

    KD5MAH

  • It's nice to see that there is stil money for these kind of thinks. That there are still people that wane pay for using this stuff. The nice thing is the PacketRadio that you can do trough these Sat's buth com it's only 9600Bp/s in a age off internet that should not be alife any more ;-) Buth the idee talking to some one lifing 200 Km away from you using SAT or direct transision should be nice
  • I don't really get it. I took a quick look at your recent posts and you seem like the average Slashdotter: highly educated, intelligent, blah blah... What's the problem with those tests? I mean, morse wasn't really one of the hardest things I've ever had to learn...twas one of the most boring though...
  • Oops. Forgot there were actually two stories in this post...

    I don't know anything about the CubeSat.
    Sorry.
  • actually the Cubesat guys presented at the AMSAT conference in Portland ME last month; their paper is in the proceedings.
  • It isn't the hams problem. In the US, ham operators can run home-brew non-FCC approved equipment. As someone else mentioned, check the back on most electronic equipment. It has a notice that you have to accept any interfearance. Hams are not responsible for interfearance they cause, but we will help lessen the effect if possible, and if approached nicely.

    Mark
  • The "grumpy old men" factor has indeed been a real problem. Fortunately a lot of them have allowed their licences to expire out of sheer disinterest.:-)

    Most of them would actually have to go to the trouble of studying-up on a little almost-current technology to re-licence today, and the likelyhood of that is slim-to-none.

    There *are* some problems with the exams, still. Too many people simply memorize answers, and squeak though. The same this is true of the written tests for pilots from the FAA, too. I don't know what the answer is to that. But if we had to re-take current exams every so often, we could probably flush out a lot of pimpled behinds. :-)

  • &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.

  • Just as a clarification. Marconi wasn't the first to invent radio. Nikola Tesla did.
  • Getting a geosynchronous OSCAR is often talked about, but very difficult to do--it takes international cooperation to scrape together the resources to build and launch one, and it's very hard to get someone to support a sat that will never be in their sky.

    AO-40 is a very good compromise: it will have a *long* (ten hours?) hang-time over Europe, North America, and Asia during local evenings (when hams mostly operate).

  • Building your own sattelite is actually very simple and anyone with a decent grasp of electronics and engineering can.. I followed the design and building of the microsats for many years, and I actually visited one! (on earth before it was launched) The only thing you really need to take into account is that the electronic bays need serious em shieling and that if you boo-boo in design you can never fix it ($50K thrown into the sky for the sake of nothing is pretty dishartening.)

    Communications can get tricky... you have no verticle or horizontal... you have circular, and you will want your sattelite to rotate to keep temperature at a decent level (cooking on one side and frozen on the other sucks.)

    So yes, many here can build a sattelite in their garage... it's the huge slingshot needed to get it into space that is a bugger to design.
  • 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."

    Yeah, but even five years ago, it didn't cost a developer $45,000 everytime he wanted to compile some source code to see how it would run...

  • Let's go back to riding horses...
  • He looked hungry........Hang on U mean there's non-trolls posting to /.?


    --
    Remove Me-Kilt

  • General was 13 wpm, Extra took 20.

    I got my Extra 4 years ago, and I remember that I held out to the last minute on the code test. Even so, I wouldn't have done it any differently.

    73
    KK5WA
  • heh, actually manufacturers equipment *is* supposed to be succeptible..have you seen the "FCC part B- this device cannot interfere with others but must accept all interference"..blahblahblah.
  • Oh yea sure...give up all our bandwidth so some schmarmy silicon valley corp can charge you lots of money to look at high-speed porn on the go...no thanks, there's already plenty of ways to do that.

    Think of the Amateur radio spectum as a wildlife reservation, protected for the inventive mind (though there's lots of NON INVENTIVE people there, too)
  • and Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian/American, invented radio TELEPHONY - the ability to do VOICE transmission. Marconi gets the credit because he spent a lot of money on Patent Lawyers to have Tesla's patents voided. (hrm, sounds very modern)
  • In addition to what you have mentioned, it is imprtant to note that ham radio also provides an excellent form of education. From electronic theory and practice to computer related topics, there is a wealth of knowledge available for many topics. Ham radio is also used in the public school system as a means of teaching. Programs such as Sarex provide students with the chance to talk to astronauts while they are in space. Once again this is a great opportunity to teach the student about ham radio as well as broader topics, such as other cultures. As we lose more and more of our amateur spectrum to commercialization, we will be losing many of the benefits that amateur radio provides.
  • 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!
  • 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

  • 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...)

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

    Thanks

    Bruce

  • Learn to read - well, I read the original sentence as: Over the next 270 days engineers on board the satellite will gradually place it in its intended final orbit A second space station? Anyway, where can I find more info on the satellite? From what I've read it seems to be _huge_ compared to the early satellites. General news articles just tell that it's 'improving HAM communications' (Failed my HAM tests many many years ago - damn that CW receive test - some problems with a 'rythm', started counting dots and dashes instead of listening => failed)
  • 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

  • Launching Phase3D cost several million dollars. This was raised mostly (entirely?) through donations from hams all over the world over the course of the last 10 years or so.
  • I think I saw you on TV last week. You're one of those morons from Florida that couldn't read instructions and voted for Buchanan by mistake aren't you?
  • Yes, that's right. All the money was donated. Amateurs worldwide donated millions of dollars. Do a web search for "phase 3d donations" and you can see the scope and magnitude of the fundraising effort.
    there are 3 kinds of people:
    * those who can count
  • it's the huge slingshot needed to get it into space that is a bugger to design.

    That's what the previously mentioned [slashdot.org] CATS prize [space-frontier.org] was all about. Too bad it failed. Maybe next round, or better yet, the X prize [xprize.org]!

    -Derek
  • Lack of innovation - There is plenty of innovation, just because it maybe doesn't relate to your interests in particular doesn't mean it's not there. Cost - I am a college student, and have a 1200W HF station. It's only expensive if you buy everything you use new. My xmitr and and rcvr were made in 1967, look like they just rolled off the assembly line, and perform well enough to have let me work all state, all continents, and about 180 countries with a random wire antenna, the ends of which hang down the inside of the pvc rain gutters on the side of dorm. You can do anything if you put your mind to it. If you're disinterested, perhaps its not something you should be doing. The thing that hurts the 'hobby' most, and any other hobby for that matter, is that people in general have become lazy and hypercritical. So common packet only runs at 9600 bps, how much do you need? If you need more, make it do more. The most significant aspects of radio and wire communications were all invented and developed by amateurs. People in laboratories working at 2 am on a saturday night on some interest they just couldn't escape. Too many people today are happy to sit on the couch and wait for the world to come up with the tools and the toys of their dreams. You're sposed to make your own dreams come true, not rely on someone else to do it for you.
  • After we get done giving the RF spectrum back to people who aren't radio operators, let's give the airspace back to people who aren't pilots and the roads back to people who aren't drivers. :-)
  • ...transmit dit-dit-dit dit-dit (That's "hi" in case you are Bruce Perens or one of the other code-impaired people *G*)... Actually, all you code-impaired people, that's "si". "h" is four "dits". (and I haven't even brushed up on my code in over twenty years!)
  • > >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.
    --

  • I think there's one single thing that not only has everyone failed to notice, but which shows that the author of this original article isn't very educated. T. Lee, having a satellite does not automagically reduce the number of frequencies used. Umm, you know you still have to use radio to GET to the satellite in the first place :P The only thing, as far as I know, that the ham sats effectively do is allow hams to talk to others around the world using line of site frequencies (i.e. 2 meters) or simply act as a VERY wide converage repeater. It doesn't lessen the frequencies used at all ... Plus, I agree with what everyone else here has pointed out. Amateurs started the radio revolution, and continue to revolutionize portions of the spectrum today. Amateur radio operators serve extremely important roles in times of natural emergencies, as I have first hand experience with during nearly every hurricane we have had here in Panama City, Florida. Oh, one other thing ... perhaps if you had the intelligence to pass the tests, much less write a factually acurate post, you would feel differently about this issue.
  • 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.
  • 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

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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.

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

    __________________

  • Amen! And now, question, can someone point me at a decent Internet resource that offers information on getting a license? I like playing with radios, but CB is getting really old, really fast. You can't carry on a conversation anymore - All the trolls run illegal power and stomp on you if you try, and I don't feel like resorting to illegal power to overcome them. ('Cause with my luck, I'll be the poor loser that the FCC busts.)
  • 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.

    __________________

  • www.arrl.com [arrl.com]

    That's the American Radio Relay League, the major ham organization in the US. I don't always agree with 'em, but they're a good place to start.

    Radio Shack also used to carry a couple of pretty decent books on getting through the tests (they're what I used to pass the Technician test in '92 and General/Advanced tests in '95). They also had Morse code learning tapes if you want to get into that (you'll need to learn Morse to get license privileges below 30 MHz).

    Good luck with it. I've been a ham for eight years now, mostly into VHF, emergency work, and public service work (my HF station is in pieces in the closet right now, damn apartments) and I love it.

    Old hams are the original geeks. :)

    73 de KS4RY

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

    Bruce

  • Or with his call sign you can use almost any of the ham radio related websites to look him up and find out where he is to talk to him...

    Geometrix
    KB1FRY
  • The fact remains though that amateur radio operators do not need all of these frequency ranges that have been "allocated" for their use.
    What else would you do with the bandwidth amateurs are currently using? (Which, contrary to the impression you make, isn't much, especially during the busiest times of day.) Add a few more cellphone station channels? Set up a few more wireless T1 equivalents? Cram one more LEO satellite into the system so a few more people can chatter on mobile phones out in the country?

    I'm not going to argue with you about monetary value, because it's beside the point. The whole idea behind having amateur allocations in the RF spectrum is that amateurs are constantly developing new equipment and techniques, spinoffs from which are constantly finding commercial applications. Cut that off and you bring most radio-based development to a halt sooner or later, like it or not.

    Look, these spectrum allocations are YOURS. You may need an FCC license to use them, but stop complaining and go out and pay the 6 bucks and get licensed, at least as a Technician, and start getting some benefit out of public resources that BELONG TO YOU, at least until you give them away. Don't wait until they're gone to complain about how much you wish you'd gotten involved, just jump in and do it and enjoy it now -- if enough people do, guess what? Ham radio usage won't drop, it will rise, and you'll be part of a noble enterprise in the bargain. Consider the gauntlet thrown .. this goes for everybody here ..

  • Hello: YOU SIR... NEED AN EDUCATION which you lack aperently. RADIO (wireless comunication) was invented BY HAMS, Gentilemen working in thier shacks to perfect it. If anyone should "own it" it should be us. Greed has done a lot of damage to our world. Just look at the last 8 years of clinton/Gore. There is plenty of room the way things are. People like you need to study the situation before you run off at the mouth. I really am tring to be nice, but it gets hard when you have uneducated people who know nothing about the subject. I think you should study the HISTORY of W1AW and Amateur radio emergency services, learn how we do what we do and WHY we have the bands we do. We work hard to ensure your saftey. REMEMBER ! When ALL other lines of comunication go down, HAM RADIO WILL BE THERE>... Learn before you disscuss the subject, be informed !!!! Diarea of the mouth is harmful. Thank you ... Frank
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  • as with the analog for telephone using twisted pair for digital (DSL), now we need to use the radio carrier to put our digital computer links vai this. new site: http://CHTANK.homestead.com/home.html
  • 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?
  • The term 'idiot boy' sprang instantly to mind when I read your postingl; clearly you know only that someone has something you want and little else. Over 8 decades ago the Navy Department (that was in charge of all wireless operations) gave amatuer radio operators "200 meters and down" for experimentation. In terms you'll understand that means from the AM broadcast band to your laser pointer. Since then amatuers have been second only to the military (I know "Can we have our bases back please?)in developing technology in basements, attics and garages around the world at no cost to you tax payers. With few exceptions the amateur spectrum has been constantly compressed since it was turned back on after WWII despite GROWTH (see, there are these small things called "facts") in the number of licensed amateurs in the last 10 years. Regardless, amateurs are doing amazing things with their small bandwith slices most notably APRS and PK31 which exchanges data over great distances using very low power. In the future keep the old adage in mind: better to keep your lips sealed and be thought a fool, than to open them and be proved one.
  • A database without transactions is no database at all.

  • Youd be suprised what a little bit of common sense and willpower lets you do. Btw, they arent nerds. Most of the guys I know in this region with callsigns are far from it. :) BTW re talking to 'Australia' - on a good day a technician class equivalent can do it from my QTH using far far less power or resources than you would on the phone, internet or otherwise. Dont knock it untill you tried it. :) 73 de ZL1VMF, Mark, from New Zealand. Go AMSAT Go :)
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  • Most of those cheap devices are so called Part 15 devices. It means they HAVE to accept all interferance and may not interfere with others and most of the time it is even spelled out on the label! This also includes interference from your own mircowave, TV, Cell and cordless phone and not neccesarily your HAM radio neighbor. You thought you have no transmitting devices in your own home - huh ? As for the RF saftety, I asure you that every HAM Radio Operator has to evaluate their station every year so that it is in complience the the FCC rules. BTW, if you are concerned about the RF levels from your HAM radio neigbor, do not use your cell phone since the radioation you are exposed to by your phone is a couple of orders of magnitude higher than what he is doing. If there is a problem, please talk to your neighbor nicely and I am sure he is willing to take reasonable steps to cure the problems with YOUR equipment. He might not even be aware of your experience. If the problem originates from an unlicensed CBer who does not care that his signal splatters all over the place, call the FCC. Andreas, N6NU

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