Satellites

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Revision as of 13:49, 18 November 2006 by Pbug (talk | contribs) (list of countries)
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Heavens Above lists the orbits for most satellites. Look up the orbits visible from your area.

Nations with satellite capability

Canada USA France Britain Soviet Union Israel South Africa Australia China India Pakistan North Korea Japan Switzerland Egypt Brazil Cuba Iran Myanmar (Burma) Ethiopia

Make sure you don't get mistaken for a spy if you do read the below.

Watching

Some satellites ("birds" in slang) are visible with the human eye, and some may require binoculars. Make sure you have a good idea of its orbit, and time in your sky, so you can train your eye to follow the general path for when it actually does become visible.

Listening

Find the downlink frequency for the amateur radio satellite you're tracking, and adjust it accordingly on your frequency scanner/radio. A directional antenna is preferred, however the standard "rubber ducky" (resistor) antenna may work.

Transmitting

If you have a radio with a moveable Yagi-Uda antenna, and an amateur radio licence for the uplink frequency, you can try to point your antenna in that direction. You have to be quick to transmit off a satellite, as usually the passes go by quite quickly.