Category Archives: Space Radio

SETI, Space Radio

Update on that unusual signal from a distant star

[ Update: As many suspected, it appears the signal was of terrestrial origin: Turns out the signal astronomers saw was “strong” because it came from Earth – Ars Technica.

+ Here is a brief video from Seth Shostak:

]

That odd signal from a star 94 light years away is fun to ponder but very unlikely to have been sent by an alien civilization. Here was the first report to hit the Internet: An Interesting SETI Candidate in Hercules – Paul Clister/Centauri Dreams

A candidate signal for SETI is a welcome sign that our efforts in that direction may one day pay off. An international team of researchers has announced the detection of “a strong signal in the direction of HD164595” in a document now being circulated through contact person Alexander Panov. The detection was made with the RATAN-600 radio telescope in Zelenchukskaya, in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic of Russia, not far from the border with Georgia in the Caucasus.

The signal was received on May 15, 2015, 18:01:15.65 (sidereal time), at a wavelength of 2.7 cm. The estimated amplitude of the signal is 750 mJy.

No one is claiming that this is the work of an extraterrestrial civilization, but it is certainly worth further study. Working out the strength of the signal, the researchers say that if it came from an isotropic beacon, it would be of a power possible only for a Kardashev Type II civilization. If it were a narrow beam signal focused on our Solar System, it would be of a power available to a Kardashev Type I civilization. The possibility of noise of one form or another cannot be ruled out, and researchers in Paris led by Jean Schneider are considering the possible microlensing of a background source by HD164595. But the signal is provocative enough that the RATAN-600 researchers are calling for permanent monitoring of this target.

No one has yet seen a subsequent pulse from the star and, as mentioned above, there are various background sources that could have generated the original signal. Here are some updates on the analyses and observations from other radio telescopes:

Amateur/Student Satellite, Space participation, Space Radio

Video: Dave Rowntree (Blur drummer) gives “A hacker’s guide to satellites”

An intro to amateur satellite radio: Ham radio satellites at EMF –  Southgate Amateur Radio News –

Dave Rowntree 2E0DRV, drummer in the rock-band Blur, gave a presentation on amateur radio satellites at the Electromagnetic Field event in Guildford

Talk description: There are about a dozen communications satellites orbiting the earth that were designed and built by teams of amateur enthusiasts. Dave talks about what they are, how they got there, and how you can build simple equipment to listen to their transmissions.

Check out the HobbySpace Satellite Building and Space Radio sections for more info and web resources on the making of and radio communications with amateur satellites. (These sections need updating but still have lots of useful material.)

There is also a new AMSAT guide on amateur satellites:

Activism, Space Radio, SpaceCasts

Video: TMRO Space Pod – Amateur radio on the International Space Station

Below is a TMRO.tv Space Pod short report on students communicating with crew members on the Int. Space Station via its amateur radio station: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station – Space Pod 3/2/16 – TMRO

Students all over the world are talking to the space station using amateur radio. TMRO correspondent Lisa Stojanovski discusses how schools can get involved, and how an Australian, Tony Hutchinson, is helping it all happen.

See the recent posting here on astronaut Sunita Williams’ comments about the ISS ham radio station. As mention there, you can check the ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) website for info on how to arrange for your local school to have a ham radio session with the ISS.

TMRO is viewer supported:

TMRO Space Pods are crowd funded shows. If you like this episode consider contributing to help us to continue to improve. Head over to http://www.patreon.com/spacepod for information, goals and reward levels. Don’t forget to check out our weekly live show campaign as well over at http://www.patreon.com/tmro

Space participation, Space Radio, Space Systems

VIdeo: Sunita Williams talks about ISS amateur radio contacts with students

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There is a ham radio station on the Int. Space Station that the crew members (many of whom  have amateur radio licenses) use to talk with hams on the ground. In addition, quite often there is an arrangement made with a school group that allows students to talk with and ask questions of the crew via the ham radio when the ISS is flying over the school’s area.

In this video, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams talks about the big impact that the ISS ham radio contacts with such class room groups had on her. Over 1000 such class room contacts have been made so far.

Find more about the ISS amateur radio program at the ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) website. There is info there on how you can arrange for your local school to have a ham radio session with the ISS.

DIY space, Near Space, Space Radio

Tracksoar – Open source APRS tracker for weather balloons and other projects

If you are planning a weather balloon or other amateur high altitude project and need a low cost system for tracking and telemetry communications,  check out the Tracksoar  Open source APRS tracker:

a4_original

Tracksoar is the smallest lightest open source APRS [Automatic Packet Reporting System] tracker available. It makes tracking weather balloons, model rockets, RC aircraft, and anything else that flies as easy as possible. It is able to report location, altitude, temperature pressure and humidity to the internet once a minute for twelve hours with 2xAA batteries.

Because Tracksoar is open source you can also add your own modules to accommodate custom sensors to meet your specific requirements. By flying Tracksoar on a weather balloon you can reduce the required helium and balloon costs per launch and it can pay for itself with just 2 launches. No other APRS solution offers this level of integration, compact size, and customization.

Additionally all profits from Tracksoar sales go to supporting the Santa Barbara Hackerspace and improving the resources we offer to the community.

The system was designed by the Santa barbara Hackerspace, founded by Mike Bales. They currently have a crowd-funding campaign underway  to raise $22,000 to pay for the first production run of the Tracksoar : Tracksoar APRS by mike bales — Kickstarter.

 

Note that the system requires an amateur radio license to operate.