Radio Collector's Afficionado's Resource

I lately contacted Astronaut Douglas Wheelock on board the International Space Station with a simple ham radio attached to a little magnet mounted antenna inside our home in Appleton, WI. While a ham radio license is required, it is not difficult to obtain. Ham radio clubs in your area may aid you obtain one. Contact the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) or visit ARRL.org to obtain more information. The radio instrumentation required is not overly highpriced in my opinion. While I made my contact with a radio in the $750 price range, a simple 2 meter ham radio in the $200 price range would be just fine as well. The antenna I employed was a magnet mount antenna attached by way of magnet mount to our 4 drawer office file cabinet. The antenna is in the $50 price range. If you do not have a file cabinet any huge metal object would in all probability work as well. Many people use kitchen cookie sheets. A stove would work and a wood stove would be excellent.

My introductory contact with him was on 10/11/2010. Was it worth the effort… well… YEAH!!!

• My 2 meter ham radio employed 50 watts but you may do the occupation with a HT (hand-held radio) and 5 watts. People have used hand-held ham radios and as little as 5 watts. If you go the portable radio route then a satellite antenna (a hand-held beam antenna) is suggested.

• One thing that is required is the capacity to transmit on one frequency and listen on another. Sound like basic repeater functionality? Yeah – but the distance amidst the receive and transmit frequencies is much dandier than on general repeaters. Read further for details on frequencies. No tones are necessitated for the International Space Station (ISS). Tones are required for other novice radio satellites.

• Very helpful in my estimation is the capacity to track, or predict, when the International Space Station (ISS) will fly over, what direction it will come from and go to, and what height (angle) it will be in the sky. There is no one best method. Your choice will depend on your budget, resources, etc.. I had a PC and internet connection and I downloaded the FREE “Ham Radio Deluxe” program that includes a satellite tracking program. Get your Ham Radio Deluxe software FREE and get to know it. I employed the software to alert you, even thru digital voice, when to make your attempt. There are web-based number of things from which only one can be chosen – do a Google search for “satellite predictions” and “satellite tracking” for a great deal of more alternatives.

• Know the rectify frequencies. Visit AMSAT,org to find the info on respective satellites and how to work them. For specifics on the International Space Station (ISS) go to their section. Specifically, read everything from this division http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/ariss/#freqs through the bottom of the page.

• Set-up your radio. Ham radio repeaters use special silent tones in a lot of instances. This allows multiple repeaters to use the same frequency without interposing with each other. The ham radio operator transmits a silent tone on the specific frequency to signal which repeater s/he wants to operate with. The International Space Station (ISS) uses no tone. Learn to say your call sign in proper, ordinary phonetics. Remember that you are talking to trained professionals. They will NOT be grateful for and may not even perceive any “cutesy” individualized phonetics. Also learn to transmit your CITY speedily after your call sign. The city will aid others know that the astronaut wants YOU to tell them the rest of your call sign in case they miss portion of it.

• Lastly, do have galore patience. They may be busy. You may be busy. Remember that ham radio on the International Space Station is in general done in their spare time. Good luck busting your firstborn space pile-up!

specifically

Arrl Handbook Radio Communications 2010 Photo

Arrl Handbook Radio Communications 2010 Pic

Arrl Handbook Radio Communications 2010 Picture

Arrl Handbook Radio Communications 2010 Image

Most helpful client reviews

25 of 25 humans found the following review helpful.
The Basics and Beyond
By Dennis P. Finegan
Buying the Handbook through Amazon is a no-brainer. It is priced way beneath the ARRL’s price and free shipping is included. The Handbook holds all the electrical engineering science fundamentals and then takes on specific topics in detail such as analog and digital modes, antennas, propagation, and building your own equipment. As a real bonus, it comes with a CD that not only holds programs and extra files, but likewise the entire text. I load this on my Netbook PC and may carry the text around wherever I want – and it is totally searchable. This last point alone makes loading it worthwhile. I own the last 6 years of the Handbook, 2 from Amazon and the prior years off of eBay and will proceed to buy for years to come. If you love reading and taking part in this great hobby, then by all means order today. It is cash well worth it. I wish it was offered in a CD only version, not only to save cash but also to go green. These are not little books and take up rather a bit of room on the shelf.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
The Essential Amateur Radio Reference Book
By D Anderton
This classic reference packs a lot of selective information into a single volume, covering the gambit of novice radio topics:

3 of 3 humans found the following review helpful.
Fantastic resource!
By Urb Anwriter
The ARRL Handbook is a outstanding resource. This book is well written, oftentimes updated, and very well produced. The ARRL Handbook is worth your money, and your time.

Loads of ‘basic electronics’ selective information – I’m not repeating the index here – and then you’re off in to the vast world of novice radio. The ARRL Handbook is perchance the single most utile book for anybody fascinated in novice radio; not only is there a great deal of ‘theory,’ there is a great amount of practical detail. Construction details, real-world circuit difficulties, antennas by the dozens, just in regards to anything you may think of is addressed in the ARRL Handbook.

The drawings and photos are pretty much firstborn rate and significantly they are on the same page as the text that refers to them.

Included is a CD, entirely downloadable and searchable, but not as much fun to handle as the book.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely.

Is the review as good as the book? Absolutely not!

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