Amateur satellite doing well in orbit

Post by **Linnea** » 01-25-2002 09:05 PM

January 24, 2002 Posted: 1:48 PM EST (1848 GMT)
CNN Science News

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (AP) -- Once every 100 minutes, a bargain-basement satellite loops around the Earth, sending and receiving digital messages over antennas made from a metal tape measure.

A sailor on a solo crossing of the Atlantic bounces signals off the satellite to stay in touch with his family. New Zealanders on a cross-country hike use it to communicate with friends back home. And any ham radio user who has the proper transmitting equipment and is within 2,000 miles (3200 kilometers) of the 25-pound (11-kilogram) satellite can use it to send single-line text messages.

After four months in space, the U.S. Naval Academy's "bird" is proving surprisingly resilient, to the delight of the midshipmen and faculty advisers who designed and built it.

full story here...

I like it!

ElKamino · Post by **ElKamino** » 02-07-2002 03:54 AM

A tape measure? You betcha! Ive used a curtain rod as an antenna. Two of them,(one live element, one counterpoise) work great as a lash up dipole. It can be easily tuned by sliding the rod until a good SWR is achieved. Got to love a bargain basement satelite.....