radio astronomy.....

[garethmob]

hello guys iv looked on here and intreaged by the radio astro stuff mainly from the electronics point of view

theres a few questions i have though

if i started would i need a ham licence if im playing around with certain frequencies ( jupitor, star, sun, meteors)

is it better to "build" or to buy, i know its cheaper to build but better?

iv seen the software (used in geppettos thread) like skypipe but are there any mac osx equivlents?

i may find other questions and they may be really silly so please dont shoot if i ask them:P

gaz

[nebogipfel]

Gaz, there are others on here who can give you a full answer but you certainly don't need a "Ham" licence to receive signals such as those from the Sun or Jupiter.

If you wish to transmit then you will need a licence and the RSGB website ..... Radio Society of Great Britain - Amateur radio news, information and resources clearly lays out how to become a licenced operator within the three tier licencing scheme and what those licences permit you to do.

[garethmob]

iv seen that site nebogipfel thats what i meant as one perticular thread mentioned picking up morse code... made me wonder. but i wouldnt have the funds to pay for a ham licence as well

as an extra question could some one give me an example of what id expect as the meteor one i might be interested in but also the sounds of the universe...... iv got the seti images in my head

[Ptarmigan]

but i wouldnt have the funds to pay for a ham licence as well

the last time I paid for my amateur radio licence it was £15 for the year, then I think it became lifetime! Dont know what the current situation is.

an example of what id expect as the meteor one i might be interested in but also the sounds of the universe...... iv got the seti images in my head

The radio meteor reflections that the NLO and others are picking up are just that - reflections of what the distant transmitter is sending -

So if the distant transmitter is an FM broadcast station you will hear a brief ( and doppler distrorted) burst of audio from that station.

If you are listening on an amateur radio band you will hear a brief exchange * between two stations either in audio (SSB probably) or in morse code(maybe high speed) or in a data transmission format.

No sounds of the universe, just ordinary radio sounds but over an unusually long distance and a little spooky cos of the doppler and ionisation distortion.

* depending upon the frequency in use and the 'strength' of the ionisation caused by the meteor the duration of the reflection path can be long enough for a complete real time over-over QSO to take place where callsigns and signal strength reports can be exchanged between the two amateur radio stations. The 50MHz and 144MHz allocations are good places to listen for this.

[nebogipfel]

iv seen that site nebogipfel thats what i meant as one perticular thread mentioned picking up morse code... made me wonder. but i wouldnt have the funds to pay for a ham licence as well

as an extra question could some one give me an example of what id expect as the meteor one i might be interested in but also the sounds of the universe...... iv got the seti images in my head

Gaz, It's not expensive to obtain a Radio Amateurs licence. Certainly the Foundation level can be passed after a few hours of study and entitles you to "put your toe in the water" with limitations on bands and power.

Seti is probably a bit ambitous but if you want to listen in to Jupiter, the sun and meteor pings then all you need is a suitable receiver. No licencing required to listen.

Gepetto's thread on this site is a mine of useful information and if you search "Radio Jove" and "Jupiter Radio" on Google you will find other ways including the Nasa Jove kit to listen in to big Jupe.

Buying or building is a question of cash and skills. Clearly Gepetto is skilled and loves building, experimenting and problem solving, but even his method involves some cost and obviously ready built receivers are going to be more expensive.

This site may also be of interest ...

UK AMATEUR RADIO ASTRONOMY NETWORK

[garethmob]

lol thanks nebogipfel glad to know theres no licencing as i wouldnt want mr police man coming at my door

iv been reading gepettos thread carefully, and thats what got me interested. obviously his thread is just on jupitor but meteor and auroa could be interesting expessially on "more cloudy nights" as somthing to do.

is there any books out there that are also really good for building / watching, somthing with easy to read as steve richards book?