Last October, I had the honor of making such contact with the ISS. I posted about this on my website here: https://rz01.org/na1ss/
The ISS has radios on board that allow amateur radio operators to send and receive APRS messages, talk to other hams via their built-in FM repeater or to receive SSTV images. They also have amateur TV stuff on board but I have not explored this yet. Crew members with an amateur radio license can pick up the mic of the radio that acts as a FM repeater to make contacts with other hams on the earth.
A good few years ago I had a crack as using the ISS's crossband repeater when it was on and could hear myself clearly with a Kenwood TH-F7E and home-made dual-band crossed dipole.
Unfortunately no-one else could work me, because they'd boosted the satellite's orbit, the TLEs hadn't been updated, and so everyone with a nice motorised antenna positioner was aiming at the wrong part of the sky.
Me standing in my back garden pointing roughly in the direction of the fast-moving bright spot? Nah that worked perfectly :-D
Nice! I made my first LEO sat contact also in the garden with an arrow yagi and a cheap HT. It was fun but I prefer operating the easy way and building a nice station. Some neighbours watched me making this first contact and they now speak to me differently...
My daughter is deaf and goes to a specialist deaf secondary school in the UK.
Five years ago ARISS-UK pre-arranged a connection between the school and astronaut Mark Vande Hei on one of the ISS flyovers. Various students got to ask questions directly to Mark in orbit. It was the first contact between ISS and a deaf school.
When I was studying to get my Technician-class ham radio license a few weeks ago I was slightly curious as to why there were questions relating to space stations and satellites, like "any ametaur with a radio license can contact the ISS" and such, but I paid those thoughts no mind as I was being hasty trying to legally fiddle with my APRS tracker in a weather balloon.
I should re-review those exam questions; I might be licensed to do a lot more than I know I can.
Can't ham radio operators also be drafted involuntarily in times of disaster and war? Incidentally, America suspended all amateur radio operations during WWII.
Just to clarify, no, we cannot be involuntarily drafted because we are amateur radio operators. However, should we be drafted in time of need, our experience in radio does help direct the likely path we would end up taking.
You also bring up an interesting time in ham radio history that a lot of newer hams are largely unaware of; WWII. Amateur radio thrives on communication globally, so anyone from the US could talk to anyone from any other country. The need for restrictions of the bands became obvious in the years leading up to the US entering the war, with various countries that were once accessible by radio going dark. The US logically followed suit, but operators were still monitoring.
Ham operators are understood to have a role in coordinating disaster communications but it's on a voluntary basis. They're no more or less subject to being drafted than anyone else. Your name and address does end up in a public database, however. (I'm talking about the United States. I have no idea about anywhere else.)
All you'll need to do is show up with a photo ID and take a written exam, but you will likely have trouble getting a photo ID without registering for selective service (if you're a male 18-25). That's how they got me, I refused to register because I believed the draft was unjust, but was pressured into getting a driver's license and had to sign my draft card to get it.
To be honest we've reached the end of my expertise but I think that would work. This thread from 2007 says it will work as long as you don't represent a foreign government.
Lasers in space are fun! We[1] are actually doing this for real but automated and inversed -- launching a satellite with a laser to beam data down to Earth. Like these searchlights, but from orbit!
I have used the APRS on the ISS to talk with other amateur radio operators. I also spoke to an astronaut briefly from my backyard using a Kenwood D72A and an Elk antenna.
About 17 years ago I recorded Richard Garriott's side of a conversation with a school in Warwick in England. The school was several hundred miles south, so well out of radio range, but obviously it's a clear path the thousand miles or so to the ISS!
There's a video somewhere on Youtube with another recording from Hampshire, just a short distance south of the school but still too far too hear them. It's crazy hearing the two different recordings of the same thing :-)
Last October, I had the honor of making such contact with the ISS. I posted about this on my website here: https://rz01.org/na1ss/
The ISS has radios on board that allow amateur radio operators to send and receive APRS messages, talk to other hams via their built-in FM repeater or to receive SSTV images. They also have amateur TV stuff on board but I have not explored this yet. Crew members with an amateur radio license can pick up the mic of the radio that acts as a FM repeater to make contacts with other hams on the earth.
You can contact the ISS via a handheld setup (FM radio and a yagi antenna in your hand) or with a stationary setup like mine: https://rz01.org/leo-sat-ground-station-v3/
If you are interested in amateur radio in general, you might enjoy reading my "Declaration of Love to Amateur Radio": https://rz01.org/a-declaration-of-love-to-amateur-radio/
> You can contact the ISS via a handheld setup (FM radio and a yagi antenna in your hand) or with a stationary setup like mine: https://rz01.org/leo-sat-ground-station-v3/
A good few years ago I had a crack as using the ISS's crossband repeater when it was on and could hear myself clearly with a Kenwood TH-F7E and home-made dual-band crossed dipole.
Unfortunately no-one else could work me, because they'd boosted the satellite's orbit, the TLEs hadn't been updated, and so everyone with a nice motorised antenna positioner was aiming at the wrong part of the sky.
Me standing in my back garden pointing roughly in the direction of the fast-moving bright spot? Nah that worked perfectly :-D
Nice! I made my first LEO sat contact also in the garden with an arrow yagi and a cheap HT. It was fun but I prefer operating the easy way and building a nice station. Some neighbours watched me making this first contact and they now speak to me differently...
My daughter is deaf and goes to a specialist deaf secondary school in the UK.
Five years ago ARISS-UK pre-arranged a connection between the school and astronaut Mark Vande Hei on one of the ISS flyovers. Various students got to ask questions directly to Mark in orbit. It was the first contact between ISS and a deaf school.
https://www.arrl.org/news/ariss-confirms-october-12-as-date-...
When I was studying to get my Technician-class ham radio license a few weeks ago I was slightly curious as to why there were questions relating to space stations and satellites, like "any ametaur with a radio license can contact the ISS" and such, but I paid those thoughts no mind as I was being hasty trying to legally fiddle with my APRS tracker in a weather balloon.
I should re-review those exam questions; I might be licensed to do a lot more than I know I can.
Can't ham radio operators also be drafted involuntarily in times of disaster and war? Incidentally, America suspended all amateur radio operations during WWII.
Just to clarify, no, we cannot be involuntarily drafted because we are amateur radio operators. However, should we be drafted in time of need, our experience in radio does help direct the likely path we would end up taking.
You also bring up an interesting time in ham radio history that a lot of newer hams are largely unaware of; WWII. Amateur radio thrives on communication globally, so anyone from the US could talk to anyone from any other country. The need for restrictions of the bands became obvious in the years leading up to the US entering the war, with various countries that were once accessible by radio going dark. The US logically followed suit, but operators were still monitoring.
There's a great article on this time in amateur radio history here; https://bw.billl.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Radio-Histor...
Ham operators are understood to have a role in coordinating disaster communications but it's on a voluntary basis. They're no more or less subject to being drafted than anyone else. Your name and address does end up in a public database, however. (I'm talking about the United States. I have no idea about anywhere else.)
> Name and address end up in a database
You can get your license using a PO box... it's not perfect, but its better than giving everyone your home address.
Does not registering for selective service impact your ability to get a ham licence? I know it impacts some things.
All you'll need to do is show up with a photo ID and take a written exam, but you will likely have trouble getting a photo ID without registering for selective service (if you're a male 18-25). That's how they got me, I refused to register because I believed the draft was unjust, but was pressured into getting a driver's license and had to sign my draft card to get it.
Could you get a driver's license in another country?
To be honest we've reached the end of my expertise but I think that would work. This thread from 2007 says it will work as long as you don't represent a foreign government.
https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/ham-license-for-no...
Looking at the current form 605 it still doesn't seem to list any citizenship requirement, only that you do not represent a foreign government.
https://www.arrl.org/files/file/VEs/NCVEC_Form_605_July_2022...
I think the deciding factor would be whether you can convince the examiner the ID is legitimate.
> Can't ham radio operators also be drafted involuntarily in times of disaster and war?
Approximately anyone can.
I wonder what kind of messages they'll receive on the ISS - "Excuse me sir, do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ"?
I'm surprised they haven't been spammed by flat earthers & moon landing deniers so much that they have to stop picking up the radio.
Possibly explained by moon landing deniers being too stupid to operate radio equipment.
Or use lasers : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCQ2CbfGs6g&t=440s
Lasers in space are fun! We[1] are actually doing this for real but automated and inversed -- launching a satellite with a laser to beam data down to Earth. Like these searchlights, but from orbit!
[1] A bunch of students at https://satlab.agh.edu.pl
I have used the APRS on the ISS to talk with other amateur radio operators. I also spoke to an astronaut briefly from my backyard using a Kenwood D72A and an Elk antenna.
Related discussion in 2018 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16375474
About 17 years ago I recorded Richard Garriott's side of a conversation with a school in Warwick in England. The school was several hundred miles south, so well out of radio range, but obviously it's a clear path the thousand miles or so to the ISS!
https://gjcp.net/mp3s/iss-friday1106.mp3
There's a video somewhere on Youtube with another recording from Hampshire, just a short distance south of the school but still too far too hear them. It's crazy hearing the two different recordings of the same thing :-)