Ham radio and astronauts

What did you ask?

Another fun fact: you aren't allowed to cuss!

Richard Garriott also took some of James Doohan's ashes to the ISS at the same time as his trip up there.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ashes-of-star-treks-scott...

There was a book about a kid who wins a contest to get sent to the ISS, and connects with an african boy over ham. I do not remember the title, but this reminded me of that.

I'd like to do the same thing. I have a goto mount telescope, and I've used this software: (https://heavenscape.com) to track the space station with the telescope. It's a little tricky, and you don't have too much time to realign the mount etc if something is wrong, given that the ISS passes usually only last a few minutes, but I did manage to get it to work after a couple of tries. If I had to do it again I'd practice with other random satellites first.

What I've been thinking about is coaxially mounting an antenna and using the telescope mount as an antenna mount. The only problem is that you do need a telescope on the mount to shoot some alignment stars, so you can't just mount the antenna, and I don't know how much the metal in the telescope would interfere with the antenna.

I've had good luck with a handheld D74A and a handheld arrow yagi. I don't make it in every time but I've hit it successfully a few times.

Try it handheld first. It won't be perfect but you'll hear the APRS and get a feel for how (not) precise it has to be. You're going to need the antenna either way. It's impossible for me to convey how extremely janky my first DIY antenna was for this. It's not a super-precise operation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y6A6ur7yas&t=520s

I have managed to do this without a directional antenna. I just kept trying. Using nothing more than a dual band vertical antenna in my attic with 50w power.

There's a low-cost tracking antenna mount that's quite popular for first attempts, known as "a friend".

You lash an inclinometer to the boom, and hand them a compass. Tell them where the pass begins, and hope they can acquire it visually after that.

The hardest part is doppler correction, really. Get the software for that squared away well in advance.

There's some great footage of two russian astronauts talking about how much they don't like space while in a Soyuz before docking. I'm on my phone so I can't find it.

I think Scott Kelly is next to them, it was his last trip.

and "Red Star, Winter Orbit" fictionalizes an extraordinary return to earth of USSR cosmonaut :-)

For me it’s really cool just to be able to speak with someone halfway around the world with no infrastructure other than your radios.

you can decode satellite images as they cross overhead you with a cheap handheld or $20 sdr (https://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-tutorial-receiving-noaa-weat...)

i personally do a lot of digital mode stuff with really low power (<1 watt), with a small antenna inside an apartment and sometimes get really far contacts (relatively speaking for my setup) on things like WSPR

I enjoyed using a $20 rtlsdr dongle to listen to phone calls on the iridium satellite phone network using a window pointed antenna made out of scrap wire, a stick of balsa, and a milk bucket, http://erewhon.superkuh.com/milk-bucket-1626MHz-helicone.jpg The https://github.com/muccc/iridium-toolkit made it easy.

It's not an amateur mode but is something you can do as an amateur. And it's actually easier than decoding weather satellite images.

For me, it's about safety.

I live in an area [0] prone to severe weather and especially violent tornadoes. The local Skywarn [1] repeater is probably the best source of immediate first-hand information when things get bad. There's usually at least a few storm chasers out following the storms, and reports from various places in the area help you get a real feel for how bad a particular storm is.

Moreover, the repeater is monitored by all of the local TV and radio stations as well as the city EMA (Emergency Management) and the local National Weather Service office. So you're basically getting first-hand information directly from the source. I always have my radio on during severe weather and keep one in my truck as well.

It's not difficult to get a license, either. A reasonably intelligent person can self-study for the technician exam in about a week and you can get a decent handheld for less than $100.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Alley

[1] https://www.weather.gov/SKYWARN

I lost a fuel line in a place with no cell reception. It was pretty cool to sit back and wait for help after calling on my ham radio. Yeah, not as cool as satellites, but it can be a very useful hobby, even on a budget.

Also, from areas without cell service, sending a text message from a radio to a phone is pretty cool. Even the teenagers were impressed with "old man" technology.

No affiliation, but check out hamstudy.org

Maybe it is obvious, but apart from the equipment you need to pass the exam and get a license.

No one's mentioned it yet but if you do find a numbers station they are rather cool, although they are increasingly rare.

Contesting. See how many contacts you can make in a certain time. Compare your score with friends and rivals. Improve your station. Does it help your score improve?

Satellite grid chasing - using amateur satellites to contact every “grid square” in the country.

There are also awards. Some are easy to obtain (confirmed contact on any band with 100 countries), but can you work the world on just one band?

Don’t like talking? Digital modes eliminate pesky talking.

Want to learn to solder? Make your own antenna. Make it better. Make it bigger.

Have friends nearby with radios? Use your radios as direction finding equipment and have a “fox hunt”. Find the hidden transmitter!

Are you an insane conspiracy theorist who believes the covid vaccine will turn you gay, blind, and autistic? Boy do I have good news for you. 75m band is chock full of yokels, Magas, and covidiot gun nuts for you to trade insane rantings with.

Should I keep going?

Ham radio has something for everyone, there are many hobbies within the hobby!

For me personally it is Morse code on the shortwave frequency bands, often with very low power, with battery driven gear operated from the nature. Morse is still very much alive and - most of all - fun. I like to compare it to playing and listening to music.

There are many active mountaineers (https://www.sota.org.uk/) and nature lovers (https://wwff.co/) who take their radios with them and have fun "activating" summits or nature reserves, and on the other side there are many guys hunting/collecting these activations.

There is a great feeling of community between those pursuing similar goals and many life long friendships have been formed through ham radio.

As I said, this is only a tiny fraction of what ham radio is all about, but the one that I personally love.

Shortly after I got my general license, I set up a ZS6BKW antenna up in some trees in my yard, made from wire from Home Depot and some ladder line from my local ham store. One of my first contacts on WSPR was a research station in Antarctica, all the way from Colorado! Just with some hobbled together wire in trees. That got me hooked for sure.