ISS, Ham Radio and Students

[NQ6U]

Space Station Astronauts Ham It Up to Inspire Student Scientists (http://www.sciencenewsline.com/news/2016031121420032.html)

Nothing that most of us here don't already know, but it's interesting to see it outside the usual ham radio news outlets.

[kb2vxa]

"Nothing that most of us here don't already know..."
Like this:
"Setting up the antenna to receive and transmit radio signals also often proves challenging, and radio operators have braved snow storms and ice to do so."
How true, we know that the worst weather provides the best conditions for doing antenna work.

Something I've said before that you've probably forgotten, when the 2M station aboard the ISS was first set up and before the world found out I had a cosmonaut all to myself for the entire 10 minute pass on a home brew ground plane. I whipped it together just for that purpose, it having a high radiation angle, my gain antenna would only be good at the horizon. I also was one of the first to contact the packet station using the same antenna. Since then it's been madness and mayhem, they shut down packet except for the digi that had so many packet collisions it was a battle for the vain to see their callsigns up in lights. I sat there with a smile as the monitor filled up and scrolled on and on, then I got bored and took the ground plane down.

[W2NAP]

"Setting up the antenna to receive and transmit radio signals also often proves challenging, and radio operators have braved snow storms and ice to do so."
How true, we know that the worst weather provides the best conditions for doing antenna work.


1st antenna I had up here for HF was put up in the middle of a snow storm... it worked great... granted I ended up letting the HF rig go and it came down.. next antenna for HF i put up in nice weather.. well it worked for a bit, then started giving problems...

[kb2vxa]

There you are, living proof of what I said. (;->)