Amateur Radio Stack Exchange
Amateur Radio Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [satellites]

Amateur radio satellites refer to any artificial object in Earth orbit that are useful for amateur radio purposes.

This tag covers all amateur radio communications with man-made Earth-orbiting objects, including communication over dedicated amateur radio satellites (AMSATs) and with astronauts aboard a space station such as the International Space Station (ISS).

It does not cover reflecting signals off passive, natural objects such as Earth-Moon-Earth communications (EME) or meteor scatter.

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Who funds amateur radio satellites?

I am currently studying for my Technician Exam and I am amazed at the sheer number of amateur radio satellites in orbit. Knowing how expensive it is to launch something into space, and assuming there is very little return on investment concerning…
Dave G
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How to talk to the ISS

I have a UHF/VHF transceiver capable of transmitting on UHF and receiving on VHF or vice versa on channel mode. I finally got a directional Yagi antenna so reception/transmission shouldn't be a problem. I live in Colorado, USA. Which frequencies…
Skyler 440
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What is spin fading in satellite signals?

Why do signals from satellites experience "spin fading" as the satellite rotates? What are the effects that spin fading has on a radio signal? From test question: T8B09
JC Hulce
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Why not access the AO-91 satellite at night during eclipse?

According to amsat-uk.org, the AO 91 satellite should not be accessed during eclipse because it is near EOL. AO-91 (RadFxSat / Fox-1B) Near end of life. If you find it on, do not attempt to access in eclipse! (That is, don't use it at night) I'm…
KJ7LNW
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APT/LRPT images geotagging

I want to extend functionality of some open-source programs which decode APT and LRPT images (wxapt and glrpt). More specifically I want to add possibility to overlay geographical data such as land borders, administrative borders, rivers etc on the…
Drobot Viktor
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Website for Sat details

I used to use the Amsat website for finding out the status of Sats and other info, like operating frequency etc. It was proving useful, and I like the pass predictor also. Seems nowadays though there's error messages with the database, I get: *…
user521
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Why does Free space have the highest loss compared to other losses like atmospheric loss, feeder loss etc?

In a communication Satellite system, there are losses that occur when the signal is received at the antenna and then passed through a communication link to the output stage which could be the receiver. Among these losses free space seems to be the…
Signal
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Why do satellite tracking programs have to be updated?

So I've heard every once and a while you have to update your satellite tracking software because of the fact that the satellites are falling towards Earth. Why can't the program automatically calculate every factor in so it doesn't have to update…
Skyler 440
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Max El vs Max El Azimuth

I don't have much experience with amateur satellites and I went to the AMSAT website to track a few passes. Two of the terms are "Maximum Elevation" and "Max El Azimuth" I go to look up the terms, and I find this link…
Skyler 440
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Low cost satellite (cubesat) tracking station

To track and receive some data from satellites, or should I say cubesats - which are kind of popular these days, which is the minimum investment? What's cheapest/easiest satellite to begin with? Besides a laptop which equipment do I need?
KcFnMi
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How much RF power should I expect to receive from a satellite?

I am trying to receive beacon from the analog satellites and observe its power on signal analyzer.I am using a 15dB gain and LNA with a 40dB gain. I am trying satellites like Ho-68(-81.64 dB at 56 deg elevation), JUGNU(-95 at 50 deg elevation),…
Girish
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Can sub GHZ frequency can be used in space communciation?

Is it possible for a sub GHZ frequency (Say 300 Mhz) can be used for space communication for small satellites such as a cubesat? What are the advantages and disadvantages for this.
Sujay sreedhar
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What is the largest amateur satellite in orbit through 2014?

What is the largest, and what were the dimensions of the largest amateur radio designated satellite in Earth orbit as of, or up until, 2014 other than the International space station.
Skyler 440
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Ham Radio and Space Communications

I hear a lot of people talking about getting in contact with space with their ham radio. What do you hear? Do you talk to astronauts? Or: Is it just an expression?
hopefulhacker-Reinstate Monica
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Transmitting Offset for sats

I found some pages on info for satellites, and I got different results. Some said to shift the transmit frequency as well as the receive, some said to keep the transmit the same, but shift the receive during the pass, I am confused on what I should…
Skyler 440
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