Raytown Amateur Radio Club
Technology net - Amateur Satellite Communications
by Steve Lufcy - KØOU
Technology net - Friday - July 24,2009 8:00 PM - KØGQ repeater 145.170(-) Echolink - KØGQ-R - Node# 403841
Introduction
On December 1, 1961, Amateur Radio entered the Space Age when OSCAR-1 was launched. Since then, amateurs from more than 22 different countries have launched over 70 satellites, exploring both digital and analog satellite technology. Many of the latest birds have been school experiments, training scientists and engineers. But, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to participate-- AO-27 and AO-51 can actually be worked using a dual-band handheld transceiver.
An excellent place to start is the AMSAT-NA FAQ page. AMSAT, or the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, has played a key role in building, launching, and using amateur satellites.
1) Steve will introduce himself and give his experience with Satellite Operations.
2) He will describe the Satellites he currently operates.
3) Steve will explain how to make contacts through a Satellite.
4) He will describe what equipment is needed to work the Satellites.
5) Steve will give a description of the AMSAT website.
6) He will answer any questions you have on this fascinating form of Ham Radio!
Web Links:
http://k0gq.com/images/satellite1.pdf
http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?category=Space/Satellites