Category Archives: Space

Articles and other information related to Space Communications using Satellites, High-Altitude Balloons, Earth-Moon-Earth (EME), etc.

Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Station Equipment

Out Of This World Phone Patch

 I have joined the ARISS Program as a Mentor to help schools make contacts with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). School contacts as part of the ARISS program can take two forms – Direct Contacts and Telebridge Contacts. We have recently added Phone Patch capability to the Satellite Ground Station here….

Source: Satellite Station 4.0 Part 11 – Phone Patch/Telebridge Capability

Did you ever wonder how a Telephone Patch device is used? Back in the day, it was common for Amateur Radio operators to help families talk to their relatives and service members overseas over the air. This was done by first establishing a radio link to a foreign Amateur Radio station. Next, the Hams involved connected third party family members to each other via local telephone connections so they could speak.

A device called a Phone Patch was used to make the connections between the Amateur Radio Transceivers and the local telephone lines.

Out Of This World Phone Patch

International Space Station - ISS Slow Scan TV
International Space Station

We still use Telephone Patch devices to enable Schools to make contact with the International Space Station. This type of contact is called a Telebridge. A school can make a  Telebridge Contact with an astronaut on board the ISS using a telephone connection to an Amateur Radio Ground Station in a different location. A Phone Patch is used to make the connection between the school and the remote Ground Station.

We’ve added a Phone Patch to our Satellite Station here to support our work with ARISS. We will use it to test school audio systems as they prepare to make contact with the ISS via Telebridge. Click on the link above to learn more about how a Phone Patch is used to make a Telebridge Contact.

Fred, AB1OC

Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

RSU 21 Students to Communicate to Outer Space – Portland Press Herald

Ann Stockbridge, Educator at Kennebunk’s Sea Road School - RSU 21 ISS Contact
Ann Stockbridge, Educator at Kennebunk’s Sea Road School

Regional School Unit 21 has been selected for an out-of-this-world opportunity. An international association of space agencies and Amateur Radio organizations has chosen RSU 21, represented by Sea Road School, to advance in a process climaxing in a conversation between students and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

RSU 21 was one of 10 schools selected nationally to continue through the multi-month acceptance process. The contact event with the ISS could occur between July and December of this year.

The opportunity is provided by ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), an association that includes NASA, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, and space agencies in Canada, Japan, Europe, and Russia. They collaborate to enable students to communicate with ISS astronauts and help inspire interest in space, communications and STEM coursework.

Source: RSU 21 students to communicate to outer space – Portland Press Herald

As our readers may know, I have joined the ARISS program as a Mentor to help schools prepare for and make successful contacts with Astronauts on the International Space Station. I am working with RSU 21 Sea Road School teachers and local Ham Radio folks in Maine, USA to help them make contact with the ISS during 2H2020. The link above shares more about the STEM learning program that is being created around this contact.

Fred, AB1OC

Education and Training, Featured, General, Newsletter, Space, Youth Activities

A Piece Of Ham Radio History – Do You Know What This Is?

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Every now and again one comes across a piece of Ham Radio History. Anita and I had this experience recently during our vacation in Florida. For example, we can across an artifact that we had heard about from Charle, W1CBD but had never actually seen during a recent visit to Florida.

Pretty Basic HT Transceiver
Pretty Basic HT Transceiver

This is a Motorola  MX-340.  This radio was a 5w UHF (or sometimes VHF) FM rig that was popular for commercial applications in the 1970s. You can learn more about the rig here.

A Very Special HT Transceiver

So I bet you are wondering “What makes this old HT so special? Why is it a piece of Ham Radio History?”. Well, here’s a hint – it flew aboard this:

Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis On Display At The Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Yup, the little HT flew aboard the Space Shuttle.  Here’s more about our little HTs role via an excerpt  from Wikipedia :

The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX), later called the Space Amateur Radio Experiment, was a program that promoted and supported the use of amateur (“Ham”) Radio by astronauts in low earth orbit aboard the United States Space Shuttle to communicate with other amateur radio stations around the world. It was superseded by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. SAREX was sponsored by NASA, AMSAT (The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation), and the ARRL (American Radio Relay League).

STEM Learning Through Space and Ham Radio

Ham Radio History - SAREX
Ham Radio Abord The Space Shuttle

Ham Radio has been a STEM learning tool for a very long time. An early example of this was the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment  (SAREX) program. SAREX was a partnership between NASA, ARISS, and the ARRL. Its success in bringing Ham Radio to schools and other educational venues led, in part, to the creation of ARISS.

How All Of This Effects NARS

ARISS Crew Contact Transcript
HMS Students Talking to the ISS

And ARISS, of course, has provided NARS the opportunity to be part of bringing contacts with astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to schools here in New Hampshire, around the United States, and around the world.

There are many such examples of Ham Radio History that resulted in great things for many people. Perhaps you know of one? If so, please consider taking writing about it here on our Blog.

Fred, AB1OC

Radio Amateurs Developing Skills Worldwide