Guy contacts ISS using a ham radio

If you're a ham and want to do this, here's some more information on how to do so: [0]

Most of the astronauts are hams, which is pretty cool. As the page says, they're not always around the radio, so if you make contact, it's pretty lucky.

All you need is a small handheld VHF radio (since it's line-of-sight) and a decent antenna. In the US, you'd need a technician license (the lowest level).

There are also unmanned satellites that act basically like flying repeaters, so you can talk to other hams (on earth) much farther away than you'd normally be able to with VHF. More info here: [1]

If you're interested in becoming a ham, it's pretty easy (in the USA, at least) to get licensed [2] You have to take a test, but the study guide [3] contains all the questions on the test.

Disclosure: I'm a ham and have not actually contacted the ISS. But I think it's cool.

[0] https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html

[1] https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/

[2] http://www.arrl.org/getting-licensed

[3] https://smile.amazon.com/ARRL-Radio-License-Manual-Spiral/dp...

edit: formatting

This (ham chat from ground to ISS) is a (surprisingly, pretty central) plot point in Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves. In the book they’re using CW, though.

Another thing I find cool that hams do (IRL) is EME, or Moonbounce:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%E2%80%93Moon%E2%80%93Ear...