Ham radio, also called amateur radio has been a popular hobby for many years. Even today, with all of the technological advances we've seen in the world, it remains a mainstay in many people's lives. It's been a popular practice since the late 1800's among thousands of people. In fact, today there are an estimated 6 million people participating in this addictive hobby.

Amateur radio is called such because it is not used for commercial purposes. It doesn't really mean that the operators are not experienced. There are several reasons that one would want to get involved in this hobby. Some people do it for recreation, pleasure, public service, and practice. In emergency situations, hams have been known to pull together and spread necessary information quickly. For this reason, it is more than just a simple hobby. It can help many people under the right circumstances.

With technological advances, running your own radio station has become more accessible than ever. Using wireless technology, more people can engage in radio broadcasting on the go. You no longer have to stay in a stationary spot to do it. This enables many more people to enjoy it at their convenience.

If you've ever considered getting started in amateur radio, there is probably a local club that can show you the ropes. Joining a io club is a great way to learn the basics that you'll need to know in
order to get started. There are some technical aspects that you'll have to learn in order to do it right.

Learning from an experienced ham radio operator (also known as an "Elmer") is usually the best way to get going. They can show you what to do and what not to do. However, if you can't find anyone, there are several books and manuals on the subject.

Regardless of how you learn, ham radio is a great hobby to get involved in. It is growing in popularity and you can learn it in your spare time.

New and used radio equipment can be bought now easier than ever. With the evolution of the internet, supplies can be found at various online outlets. Online auction giant eBay has also become a thriving source for broadcasting equipment. Whether you need antennas, amplifiers, transmitters or manuals, they have it all.

By: B Dixon

About the Author:

Getting Your Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) License

This is an exciting time for amateur radio. We have had so many changes due to technology. Our radio signals can be bounced off the moon back to the other side of the Earth, carried to very specific destinations over the internet, re-transmitted by satellites, carried with digital signals or simply transmitted and received the way they have been since the beginning with analog signals and simple radios.

Many people fear having to learn Morse code, but Morse code testing is no longer required for advanced licenses. The interesting thing, however, is that Morse code seems to be more popular than ever.

Here are some tips for getting your amateur radio license:

Contact a local Ham radio club. Many clubs will have members who can mentor or "elmer" you. Take advantage of that. Ham radio operators are always looking for someone new to talk to and share the hobby with so they will be glad to help you. Almost certainly, some member will be willing to let you talk on his radio and see if you like it. Read a good Ham License Book or go to classes provided by a club Download the appropriate question pool from the ARRL - The American Radio Relay League. Go take your test. Don't worry, it's really not that hard if you study the question pools. Once you pass the test, buy a radio and use it. Don't be intimidated. When you make contact for the first time, let your contact know it's your first time and he will probably help you along.

It's a great time to be involved in Ham Radio. Getting involved is easier than it has ever been and there is a huge supply of radios. Now it's your turn to get started in Ham radio today.

By: Brian Bilgere

About the Author:

"Hello!" Was the very first word every broadcast over the radio. Few folks that are not entrenched in Ham Operation know the history of the radio.

Who Is Reginald Fessenden?

Reginald Fessenden invented the radio! Canadian Reginald Fessenden adopted his love of transmission when he was a mere lad. After Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone young Reginald has been quoted as saying to a family member "Why do they have to have wires?" This was the first step in a life long journey to answer that very question.

Like all great inventions, the earliest attempts were miserable failed attempts. His theories earned him a government contract, Fessenden, and his assistant Thiessen, worked diligently to meet the challenge until they were able to meet with success.

Fruit and The Radio

Fessenden founded the National Electric Signaling Company (NESCO) with money invested by two wealthy fruit company owners once he had fulfilled his contractual obligations to the government, because of his failed attempts the government opted not to renew funding. As part of the United Fruit Company he worked to figure out a way for their ships at sea could communicate with the folks back in Pittsburgh.

The money that his backers invested bought high powered transmitters and antenna systems. In June of 1906 the first ever voice transmission was sent and received successfully a total of 12 miles away. Fessenden continued to plug away at improvements until he reached the point where he knew his invention was a success.

Merry Christmas

Six months after the first ever voice transmission over the air waves a surprise transmission to ships on the day before Christmas in nineteen six.

As his wife and employees as co-conspirator's he prepared a special Christmas program On ship operators were told to tune in to receive a special Christmas message on December 24th at 9:00 pm. Radio operators sat stunned when 9:00 pm rolled around and a voice came over the air calling out "CQ, CQ".

This was the first "radio" program. Ships across the North Atlantic were treated to Handel's "Largo" played on a Victrola and "O, Holy Night" played for "the audience" by Fessenden on his violin.

The Rest Is History

This new technology called Radio set the world on fire. Hobbyist and early day techies could not get enough of this device and loved the idea of talking to people may miles away without being tied to a cord. They were, and are still, called "amateur" radio operators. Long before commercial broadcasting was on the radar "amateur" radio operators filled the airwaves.

Official laws were first instituted in 1912 by congress. A newly formed agency was put in place by the federal government in nineteen twenty seven that was responsible for regulating radio usage including ham radio operations.

Amateur radio operators have been on the cutting edge of communication since the inception of the radio. They were the first to use cell phones and the first to use FM broadcast.

The inventor did not know the impact he would have on the world.

By: Stanley Braverman

About the Author:

Ham radio is a great hobby for people that are somewhat technically inclined. Ham radio requires a license in order to operate on the air. There are three different ham radio licenses the technician class, the general class and the extra class license. There are numerous study guides available for each license class. There is something for everyone in this hobby. Get some introductory ham radio information here.

Ham radio is a fun hobby, there are many ways to enjoy it including talking to people all over the world, from your home or in the car or portable as in out in the boonies. There is a niche for everyones interest whether it be phone operation, morse code, slow scan tv, moon bounce, satellite communications or repeater operations. You can even get software to help with logging your calls or plotting the best way to talk to a certain country from wherever to wherever, or to learn the morse code (no longer a requirement but fun just the same). Anytime there are emergencies anywhere in the world, ham radio is there to provide needed communications.

In the early days of telegraph operators, the very good operators were called 'hams', so the name stuck to amateur radio operators. The goal of the early 'hams' was to build their own equipment and tweek it to get the maximum distance they could. Building your own equipment is another facit of the hobby that requires some electronic knowledge as well as good circuit design. A lot of hams build and test antenna designs to increase their knowledge of radio wave propagation. It's fun to design and build your own radio equipment and antennas. There are some kits available also for those that want to build their equipment but don't have the required design knowledge.

Ham radio equipment is available for varying prices at your local store, on eBay and many places online, both new and used equipment. There is equipment that is affordable for the first time buyer. My first rig was a used one I purchased from a local store that took trade-ins. It worked very well and I talked to Japan, Australia, Antartica, Canada , and many countries in South America, all with very little power and an antenna I built myself from a length of wire a couple of insulators and a pole. Man was it fun. Ham radio is a wonderful hobby for children and adults. There is a lot of Ham Radio Information online, go to your favorite search engine and type in 'ham radio' and you will get a lot of information to get you started.

By: William Weaver

About the Author:

Your standard amateur radio is a transmitter and a receiver, usually bought as one piece of equipment, called a transceiver. Most new equipment is quite advanced, and takes some time getting used to. Some hams, particularly old timers, prefer the old analog transceivers that have knobs and needle meters instead of digital readouts. Amateur radio enthusiasts use different kinds of equipment for communication. Some use base stations, some use handheld radios. Some use systems installed in vehicles. Depending on your interests in ham radio, you may want to try all different kinds of stations.

The ham radio can fit in your pocket, or take up all the space in your garage, or sit in your car- it's all up to you, and it is important to work out what interests you have. Many new operators start off with tiny handhelds, and work their way up to huge shortwave installations on the countryside. Many are on a very restricted budget, and may join a ham society to get access to equipment. Ham radio clubs have a lot to offer, including meetings, equipment such as transceivers, antennas and books. These clubs exist almost all over the world, and are usually well known in the local community.

If you want professional transceivers for business use, with or without license, there are lots of hand held sets at a good sale price for good quality. You'll find products of all the popular brands, such as Icom, Kenwood, Motorola, some electronics tuned out-of-band for ham club activities, some all the way between 137-174 mHz and around the 70cms band. There are new outlet listings every day of new and used HF rigs, marine radio, air band & VHF UHF scanners and software. There's even a CB section for the rest!

By: Travis Henderson

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Introduction and Brief History of Satellites

A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). All masses that are part of the solar system, including the Earth, are satellites either of the Sun, or satellites of those objects, such as the Moon. It is not always a simple matter to decide which is the 'satellite' in a pair of bodies. Because all objects exert gravity, the motion of the primary object is also affected by the satellite. If two objects are ufficiently similar in mass, they are generally referred to as a binary system rather than a primary object and satellite. The general criterion for an object to be a satellite is that the center of mass of the two objects is inside the primary object. In popular usage, the term 'satellite' normally refers to an artificial satellite (a man-made object that orbits the Earth or another body).

In May, 1946, the Preliminary Design of an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship stated, "A satellite vehicle with appropriate instrumentation can be expected to be one of the most potent scientific tools of the Twentieth Century. The achievement of a satellite craft would produce repercussions comparable to the explosion of the atomic bomb..."

The space age began in 1946, as scientists began using captured German V-2 rockets to make measurements in the upper atmosphere. Before this period, scientists used balloons that went up to 30 km and radio waves to study the ionosphere. From 1946 to 1952, upper-atmosphere research was conducted using V-2s and Aerobee rockets. This allowed measurements of atmospheric pressure, density, and temperature up to 200 km. The U.S. had been considering launching orbital satellites since 1945 under the Bureau of Aeronautics of the United States Navy. The Air Force's Project RAND eventually released the above report, but did not believe that the satellite was a potential military weapon; rather they considered it to be a tool for science, politics, and propaganda. Following pressure by the American Rocket Society, the National Science Foundation, and the International Geophysical Year, military interest picked up and in early 1955 the Air Force and Navy were working on Project Orbiter, which involved using a Jupiter C rocket to launch a small satellite called Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958.

On July 29, 1955, the White House announced that the U.S. intended to launch satellites by the spring of 1958. This became known as Project Vanguard. On July 31, the Soviets announced that they intended to launch a satellite by the fall of 1957 and on October 4, 1957 Sputnik I was launched into orbit, which triggered the Space Race between the two nations.

The largest artificial satellite currently orbiting the earth is the International Space Station, which can sometimes be seen with the unaided human eye.

Types of satellites

· Astronomical satellites: These are satellites used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects.

· Communications satellites: These are artificial satellites stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications using radio at microwave frequencies. Most communications satellites use geosynchronous orbits or near-geostationary orbits, although some recent systems use low Earth-orbiting satellites.

· Earth observation satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar to reconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc. (See especially Earth Observing System.)

· Navigation satellites are satellites which use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line of sight between the satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever-improving electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to accuracies on the order of a few metres in real time.

· Reconnaissance satellites are Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. Little is known about the full power of these satellites, as governments who operate them usually keep information pertaining to their reconnaissance satellites classified.

· Solar power satellites are proposed satellites built in high Earth orbit that use microwave power transmission to beam solar power to very large antenna on Earth where it can be used in place of conventional power sources.

· Space stations are man-made structures that are designed for human beings to live on in outer space. A space station is distinguished from other manned spacecraft by its lack of major propulsion or landing facilities — instead, other vehicles are used as transport to and from the station. Space stations are designed for medium-term living in orbit, for periods of weeks, months, or even years.

· Weather satellites are satellites that primarily are used to monitor the weather and/or climate of the Earth.

· Miniaturized satellites are satellites of unusually low weights and small sizes. New classifications are used to categorize these satellites: minisatellite (500–200 kg), microsatellite (below 200 kg), nanosatellite (below 10 kg).

Orbit types

Many times satellites are characterized by their orbit. Although a satellite may orbit at almost any height, satellites are commonly categorized by their altitude:

· Low Earth Orbit (LEO: 200 - 1200km above the Earth's surface)

· Medium Earth Orbit (ICO or MEO: 1200 - 35286 km)

· Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO: 35786 km above Earth's surface) and Geostationary Orbit ( zero inclination geosynchronous orbit). These orbits are of particular interest for communication satellites and will be discussed in detail later.

· High Earth Orbit (HEO: above 35786 km)

The following orbits are special orbits that are also used to categorize satellites:

· Molniya orbits: Is a class of a highly elliptic orbit. A satellite placed in this orbit spends most of its time over a designated area of the earth, a phenomenon known as apogee dwell. Molniya orbits are named after a series of Soviet/Russian Molniya communications satellites that have been using this class of orbits since the mid 1960s.

· Heliosynchronous or sun-synchronous orbit: A heliosynchronous orbit, or more commonly a sun-synchronous orbit is an orbit in which an object always passes over any given point of the Earth's surface at the same local solar time. This is a useful characteristic for satellites that image the earth's surface in visible or infrared wavelengths (e.g. weather, spy and remote sensing satellites).

· Polar orbit : A satellite in a polar orbit passes above or nearly above both poles of the planet (or other celestial body) on each revolution.

· Hohmann transfer orbit: For this particular orbit type, it is more common to identify the satellite as a spacecraft. In astronautics and aerospace engineering, the Hohmann transfer orbit is an orbital maneuver that moves a spacecraft from one orbit to another.

· Supersynchronous orbit or drift orbit : orbit above GEO. Satellites will drift in a westerly direction.

· Subsynchronous orbit or drift orbit: orbits close to but below GEO. Used for satellites undergoing station changes in an eastern direction.

Communication Satellites

A communications satellite (sometimes abbreviated to comsat) is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purposes of telecommunications. Modern communications satellites use geosynchronous orbits, Molniya orbits or low Earth orbits.

For fixed services, communications satellites provide a technology complementary to that of fiber optic submarine communication cables. For mobile applications, such as communications to ships and planes satellite based communicationis only the viable means of communications as application of other technologies, such as cable, are impractical or impossible.

Early missions: The origin of satellite communication can be traced to an article written by Arthur C. Clarke in 1945. He suggested that a radio relay satellite in an equatorial orbit with a period of 24 hours would remain stationary with respect to earth’s surface and can be used for long-range radio communication, as it will over come the limitations imposed by earth curvature. Sputnik 1, The world's first artificial (non communication) satellite, was launched on October 4, 1957. The first satellite to relay communications was Project SCORE in 1958, which used a tape recorder to store and forward voice messages. It was used to send a Christmas greeting to the world from President Eisenhower. NASA launched an Echo satellite in 1960. This 100-foot aluminized Mylar balloon served as a passive reflector for radio communications. Courier 1B, (built by Philco) also was launched in 1960, was the world’s first active repeater satellite. Given below are the details of milestones in satellite communcation history: -

· Herman Potocnik - describes a space station in geosynchronous orbit - 1928

· Arthur C. Clarke - proposes a station in geosynchronous orbit to relay communications and broadcast television - 1945

· Project SCORE - first communications satellite - 1958

· Echo I - first passive reflector satellite - August 1960

· Courier 1B - first active repeater satellite - October 1960

· Telstar - the first active direct relay satellite designed to transmit television and high-speed data communications. Telstar was placed in an elliptical orbit (completed once every 2 hours and 37 minutes), rotating at a 45° angle above the equator. July 1962

· Syncom - first communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit. Syncom 2 revolved around the earth once per day at constant speed, but because it still had north-south motion special equipment was needed to track it. 1963

· OSCAR-III - first amateur radio communications satellite - March 1965

· Molniya - first Soviet communication satellite, highly elliptic orbit - October 1965

· Early Bird - INTELSAT's first satellite for commercial service - April 1965

· Orbita - first national TV network based on satellite television - November 1967

· Anik 1 - the first national satellite television system, Canada, - 1973

· Westar 1, the USA's first geosynchronous communications satellite - April 1974

· Ekran - first serial Direct-To-Home TV communication satellite 1976

· Palapa A1 - first Indonesia communications satellite - July 8 1976

· TDRSS - first satellite designed to provide communications relay services for other spacecraft. - 1983

· Mars Global Surveyor - first communications satellite in orbit around another planet (Mars) - 1997

· Cassini spacecraft relays to Earth images from the Huygens probe as it lands on Saturn's moon, Titan, the longest relay to date. -- January 14, 2005

Depending on the need the communication satellites can be placed in various types of orbits. We discuss few common types: -

(a) Geostationary orbits Satellites: A satellite in a geostationary orbit appears to be in a fixed position to an earth-based observer. A geostationary satellite revolves around the earth at a constant speed once per day over the equator. The geostationary orbit is useful for communications applications because ground based antennae, which must be directed toward the satellite, can operate effectively without the need for expensive equipment to track the satellite’s motion. Especially for applications that require a large number of ground antennae (such as direct TV distribution), the savings in ground equipment can more than justify the extra cost and onboard complexity of lifting a satellite into the relatively high geostationary orbit.

The concept of the geostationary communications satellite was first proposed by Arthur C. Clarke, building on work by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and on the 1929 work by Herman Potočnik (writing as Herman Noordung) Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums - der Raketen-motor. In October 1945 Clarke published an article titled “Extra-terrestrial Relays” in the British magazine Wireless World. The article described the fundamentals behind the deployment of artificial satellites in geostationary orbits for the purpose of relaying radio signals. Thus Arthur C. Clarke is often quoted as being the inventor of the communications satellite.

The first geostationary communications satellite was Anik 1, a Canadian satellite launched in 1972. The United States launched their own geostationary communication satellites afterward, with Western Union launching their Westar 1 satellite in 1974, and RCA Americom (later GE Americom, now SES Americom) launching Satcom 1 in 1975.
It was Satcom 1 that was instrumental in helping early cable TV channels such as WTBS (now TBS Superstation), HBO, CBN (now ABC Family), and The Weather Channel become successful, because these channels distributed their programming to all of the local cable TV headends using the satellite. Additionally, it was the first satellite used by broadcast TV networks in the United States, like ABC, NBC, and CBS, to distribute their programming to all of their local affiliate stations. The reason that Satcom 1 was so widely used is that it had twice the communications capacity of Westar 1 (24 transponders as opposed to Westar 1’s 12), which resulted in lower transponder usage costs.

By 2000 Hughes Space and Communications (now Boeing Satellite Systems) had built nearly 40 percent of the satellites in service worldwide. Other major satellite manufacturers include Space Systems/Loral, Lockheed Martin (owns former RCA Astro Electronics/GE Astro Space business), Northrop Grumman, Alcatel Space and EADS Astrium.

(b) Low-Earth-orbiting satellites: A low Earth orbit typically is a circular orbit about 150 kilometers above the earth’s surface and, correspondingly, a period (time to revolve around the earth) of about 90 minutes. Because of their low altitude, these satellites are only visible from within a radius of roughly 1000 kilometers from the sub-satellite point. In addition, satellites in low earth orbit change their position relative to the ground position quickly. So even for local applications, a large number of satellites are needed if the mission requires uninterrupted connectivity.

Low earth orbiting satellites are less expensive to position in space than geostationary satellites and, because of their closer proximity to the ground, require lower signal strength. So there is a trade off between the number of satellites and their cost. In addition, there are important differences in the onboard and ground equipment needed to support the two types of missions.

A group of satellites working in concert thus is known as a satellite constellation. Two such constellations which were intended for provision for hand held telephony, primarily to remote areas, were the Iridium and Globalstar. The Iridium system has 66 satellites. Another LEO satellite constellation, with backing from Microsoft entrepreneur Paul Allen, was to have as many as 720 satellites. It is also possible to offer discontinuous coverage using a low Earth orbit satellite capable of storing data received while passing over one part of Earth and transmitting it later while passing over another part. This will be the case with the CASCADE system of Canada’s CASSIOPE communications satellite.

(c) Molniya satellites: As mentioned, geostationary satellites are constrained to operate above the equator. As a consequence, they are not always suitable for providing services at high latitudes: for at high latitudes a geostationary satellite may appear low on (or even below) the horizon, affecting connectivity and causing multipathing (interference caused by signals reflecting off the ground into the ground antenna). The first satellite of Molniya series was launched on April 23, 1965 and was used for experimental transmission of TV signal from Moscow uplink station to downlink stations, located in Russian Far East, in Khabarovsk, Magadan and Vladivostok. In November of 1967 Soviet engineers created a unique system of national TV network of satellite television, called Orbita that was based on Molniya satellites.

Molniya orbits can be an appealing alternative in such cases. The Molniya orbit is highly inclined, guaranteeing good elevation over selected positions during the northern portion of the orbit. (Elevation is the extent of the satellite’s position above the horizon. Thus a satellite at the horizon has zero elevation and a satellite directly overhead has elevation of 90 degrees). Furthermore, the Molniya orbit is so designed that the satellite spends the great majority of its time over the far northern latitudes, during which its ground footprint moves only slightly. Its period is one half day, so that the satellite is available for operation over the targeted region for eight hours every second revolution. In this way a constellation of three Molniya satellites (plus in-orbit spares) can provide uninterrupted coverage.

Molniya satellites are typically used for telephony and TV services over Russia. Another application is to use them for mobile radio systems (even at lower latitudes) since cars traveling through urban areas need access to satellites at high elevation in order to secure good connectivity, e.g. in the presence of tall buildings.

Applications of Satellites

(a) Telephony: One of the major applications of a communication satellite is in provision of long distance telephone services. The connectivity is through frequency division multiple access (FDMA) or time division multiple access(TDMA) predominantly. Telephone subscribers can be connected through a network of exchanges which are in turn connected to satellite earth stations which uplink the traffic to satellite for further processing.

(b) Television and Radio: There are two types of satellites used for television and radio:

(i) Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS): A direct broadcast satellite is a communications satellite that transmits to small DBS satellite dishes (usually 18" to 24" in diameter). Direct broadcast satellites generally operate in the upper portion of the Ku band. DBS technology is used for DTH-oriented (Direct-To-Home) satellite TV services, such as DirecTV and Dish Network in the United States, ExpressVu in Canada, and Sky Digital in the UK.

(ii) Fixed Service Satellite (FSS): Use the C band, and the lower portions of the Ku bands. They are normally used for broadcast feeds to and from television networks and local affiliate stations (such as program feeds for network and syndicated programming, live shots, and backhauls), as well as being used for distance learning by schools & universities, business television (BTV), videoconferencing, and general commercial telecommunications. FSS satellites are also used to distribute national cable channels to cable TV headends. FSS satellites differ from DBS satellites in that they have a lower RF power output than the latter, requiring a much larger dish for reception (3 to 8 feet in diameter for Ku band, and 12 feet on up for C band). FSS satellite technology was also originally used for DTH satellite TV from the late 1970s to the early 1990s in the USA in the form of TVRO (TeleVision Receive Only) receivers and dishes (a.k.a. big-dish, or more pejoratively known as big ugly dish, systems). It was also used in its Ku band form for the now-defunct Primestar satellite TV service.

(c) Mobile satellite technologies: Initially available for broadcast to stationary TV receivers, by 2004 popular mobile direct broadcast applications made their appearance with that arrival of two satellite radio systems in the United States: Sirius and XM Satellite Radio Holdings. Some manufacturers have also introduced special antennas for mobile reception of DBS television. Using GPS technology as a reference, these antennas automatically re-aim to the satellite no matter where or how the vehicle (that the antenna is mounted on) is situated. These mobile satellite antennas are popular with some recreational vehicle owners. Such mobile DBS antennas are also used by JetBlue Airways for DirecTV (supplied by LiveTV, a subsidiary of JetBlue), which passengers can view on-board on LCD screens mounted in the seats.

(d) Amateur radio: Amateur radio operators have access to the OSCAR satellites that have been designed specifically to carry amateur radio traffic. Most such satellites operate as space borne repeaters, and are generally accessed by amateurs equipped with UHF or VHF radio equipment and highly directional antennas such as Yagis or dish antennas. Due to the limitations of ground-based amateur equipment, most amateur satellites are launched into fairly low Earth orbits, and are designed to deal with only a limited number of brief contacts at any given time. Some satellites also provide data-forwarding services using the X.25 or similar protocols.

Satellite Broadband Services: In recent years, satellite communication technology has been used as a means to connect to the Internet via broadband data connections. This is can be very useful for users to test who are located in very remote areas, and can't access a wireline broadband or dialup connection.

Countries with satellite launch capability

This list includes counties with an independent capability to place satellites in orbit, including production of the necessary launch vehicle. Many more countries have built satellites that were launched with the aid of others. The French and British capabilities are now subsumed by the European Union under the European Space Agency.

First launch by country

Country Year of first launch First satellite

Russia 1957 "Sputnik 1"

United States 1958 "Explorer 1"

France 1965 "Asterix"

Japan 1970 "Osumi"

China 1970 "Dong Fang Hong I"

United Kingdom 1971 "Prospero X-3"

European Union 1979 "Ariane 1"

India 1980 "Rohini"

Israel 1988 "Ofea 1"

Iran 2005 "Sina 1"

In 1998, North Korea claimed to have launched a satellite, but this was never confirmed, and widely believed to be a cover for the test launch of the Taepodong-1 missile over Japan (See Kwangmyongsong).

By: Anil Nigam

About the Author:

It has never been easier to become an Amateur Radio Operator or "Ham" Radio Operator. Ham radio once required the Ham to learn Morse code or CW "Continuous Wave" as most Hams refer to it.

The old test

The tests used to be to receive CW at 5 words per minute for an entry level license, to receive13 words per minute for an intermediate level license and to receive 20 words per minute for an Extra class license.

The New test

The FCC has abolished Morse code testing as a requirement for an amateur radio license. Testing for an amateur radio license is now a multiple choice test. The questions for this test are taken from a pool of questions. These questions and the correct answers to these questions are readily available. The American Amateur Radio League AARL web site has the question pool available for free download.

Read the question pool and memorize the correct answers. This is probably the only exam where you get to see the exact questions on the exam with the correct answers before the test. There are several sites online where you can practice taking the test. Practice until you pass most of the time in the practice test.

Taking the test

Locate a Ham Radio VE testing session in your area and find out when you can take your test. There is a nominal fee for the test. You can locate a testing session by calling a local Amateur Radio club, by contacting a local Armature Radio Operator or by simply doing an online search. Take and pass your test. If you flunk "which you probably wont" you can just retake it. After about a week you will receive your own unique Armature Radio Call sign from the FCC. Good Luck.

By: Carl Broady

About the Author:

I became interested after reading articles in Popular Mechanics on building your own radio receivers and transmitters and other home made electronic gadgets. It all began in grade school. I guess I was about age nine. And with a lot of encouragement from my Dad, I began studying electronics and it became my primary interest. He was a real tinkerer, a repairman of radios, electrical appliances, space heaters, washing machines, kerosene stoves, electric motors, you name it. He told me that in 1935 he built a 2 tube radio from a schematic he purchased from a mail order house advertisement. When he would play the radio, people from all over the neighborhood would gather in front of his house, amazed and curious. (Radio was a new gadget in the thirties and the early forties.)

He brought me to Walter Ashe Electronic store and bought me a germanium crystal, a spool of 22ga enameled copper wire, a 355pf (mmf) condenser (capacitor), we made a coil wound on a discarded toilet paper roll and using a set of high impedance crystal headphones, used an alligator clip to connect this to a nearby radiator (for a ground) and A fifty foot hank of stranded lamp cord for an antenna.

Later, I answered an ad in QST magazine from an amateur radio Elmer who happened to live in my neighborhood. Jim was about forty years old when I met him. He had a horizontal three element antenna on his roof. His equipment was set up in a small attic room. His was running a Halicrafter receiver and a Heathkit Transmitter, A antenna rotator and other accessories. He was a ham. He would tune his receiver and we would listen to distant shortwave stations. He would call some of the stations and when they would answer back with his call letters and chat.

These were amazing sessions. I got hooked. I decided to take the F.C.C exam for the novice test. In those days the Elmers would Supervised and administered the exam for the Novice class Amateur Exam.. The test Consisted of a five -word-per-minute Morse code test and written exam on radio and electronic theory. I went on to get my Novice class license in 1955. I passed and received a General class amateur License in 1958, while stationed in the US Army at Fort Gordon GA., passed the advanced license exam in 1987 And the extra class license exam in 1997.

I give thanks for my Dad and Jim; a HAM, a friend and an engineer with years of experience in electronic technology for introducing me to this hobby. I get a certain excitement from "tinkering and getting something to work right now" and really enjoyed making my own computer interfaces, radio receivers, antennas and such.

How would you like to Make an antenna by throwing a given length of wire up over a tree limb, connect it to a transmitter-receiver and get out a radio signal to a distant Ham operator or listen to a far-away shortwave radio station. Have fun doodling in a hobby. Get that measure of pride and accomplishment when your experiment is successful, your gadget works. If you are looking for a pastime or something to cure boredom, something that you may do whenever you want, with friends or by yourself, take up a hobby. Find suppliers and others who are hobbyist. Amateur radio is a fascinating pastime, however there are thousands of other hobby sites online to investigate. Have fun.

By: Roger Hardieway

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Have you ever considered learning morse code, or CW as the amateur radio users call it? Maybe you learned it once upon a time, but have now forgotten the whole thing or just remember a few letters and commonly used phrases. In any case, this article is for anyone who plans on using morse code everyday.

Learning morse code can be a difficult task. Most start off at the top, learning a, b and c as they go. However, there are different ways of learning morse code (or CW), and different techniques of remembering the different characters and numerals.

There is a method of learning CW made by a German psychologist named Koch, pre-WW2. The difference between Koch's method and the general one, is that Koch suggested that radio amateurs should start with learning a few letters at full speed and work from there, rather than learning the entire alphabet at a slower speed than used by most amateurs.

Recently, G4FON wrote a morse training application, utilizing the Koch method. It seems to be the best morse training application around, and you can get it from http://www.HamRadio-Store.com With this system and some effort, you should be QRV CW in a matter of days. New or used transceiver equipment will likely have the capability of transmitting in CW, a feature not used by many. However, with less antenna and amplifier requirement due to the greater chance of CW signals getting through, it is a fun and interesting part of the ham radio hobby.

By: Travis Henderson

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CLUBS

Club meeting Day always fell on the first Friday of each month, which makes it the most interesting day of the month. Each gathering would begin with registration or sign-in, the reading of the preceding months meeting, announcement of new memberships, and payments of membership dues and so on.

New Amateur Radio operators are likely to perceive these meetings as great learning opportunities such as choice of station equipment, and operating practices. If you're an old-timer, it’s an opportunity to get together once a month with acquaintances and share ideas and experiences. The Amateur Radio Clubs Members ranged in age from 10 to over 90 years old. Members were requested to bring hand-held two way radios to swap-meets, field day events and communication drills. Members also had access to the clubs line phone patch and other functions of the repeater for testing and PL control. Members were active in a number of specialized areas including Field Day, Contesting, Digital Modes, EMCOMM and ATV. Members had a wide and varying interest in the hobby.

In general, amateur radio operators are different in that they are licensed and allowed to build and alter their radio communication equipment with the purpose of the advancement of technical knowledge and skills. While the members for that of Citizens Band radio clubs are allowed to promote communication practice and public service, but no hands-on or experimentation or altering of internal adjustments of licensed equipment allowed. Technical Update Members of many Amateur Radio Clubs are actively at work to enhance the facilities and the functionality of club stations and its member’s stations.

Over the years amateurs have banded together in cooperation with the junior high school, Senior high school and college faculty giving amateur radio classes and helping form the Amateur Radio Clubs, these are strong and active clubs in the schools today. Most of these clubs are equipped with two way radio repeaters having wide area coverage.

Amateur Radio Clubs are committed to serving the general public by making available communication in emergencies when cell phones repeaters and civil communications radios are disabled or less than reliable. Some Amateur Radio Clubs construct Web Sites and make them available to better serve their members - informing them of the clubs Points of Interest and Upcoming Events. The clubs offer License testing at scheduled times. The license classes are: Technician, general and extra. Study for your examination. Go web site http://www.arrl.org. Have fun.

By: Roger Hardieway

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