Ham Radio Enthusiasts Hope to Bounce Off Moon Today

Terry Olaes

Terry Olaes

I Used to be the [H] News Guy
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
4,646
It’s a big weekend for ham radio enthusiasts as they globally attempt Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communications in a festival of sorts. According to the NYT article, only about 1000 hams have the capability to bounce their signal off the moon and it’s not a cheap venture. Have fun today, all you hams out there.

“It’s the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest in amateur radio,” said Joseph H. Taylor Jr., a Nobel Prize winner and retired physics professor from Princeton University who has written software to help radio buffs communicate via weak signals. “It’s possible, but only barely possible.”
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I dont get the ham radio guys I have a cell phone in my pocket that I can talk to another person half way around the world with.
 
John Gault said:
I dont get the ham radio guys I have a cell phone in my pocket that I can talk to another person half way around the world with.
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Say that the next time a hurricane or natural disaster hits killing cell service to a wide area. Normally when this happens emergency operators turn to hams to do basic comms until something can be set up.
 
Ahh.. young pup like myself will enjoy this :D

Also sporting some CB equipment via early 70s, Time to adjust the old Antenna array ( running currently 1200 watts power !! )
 
John Gault said:
I dont get the ham radio guys I have a cell phone in my pocket that I can talk to another person half way around the world with.
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True, I agree to a point. But as mentioned below, just how reliable is a cell phone really? Im my town when back to school starts for college on move in day you cannot call due to all the parents in town calling during move in, "all circuits are busy". :mad: Think of any major disaster and problem, and then cell phones are spotty at best.

While not very mainstream, it is a very useful technology to have as backup. I help with the red cross during disasters and ham radio is VERY prevalent in situations like these. Not for everyone sure, but it is also sure not useless or something to make fun of.
 
Spazilton said:
Say that the next time a hurricane or natural disaster hits killing cell service to a wide area. Normally when this happens emergency operators turn to hams to do basic comms until something can be set up.
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Why do people always bring this up?

Overclocking PCs with liquid nitrogen is hardly practical, but it's certainly cool. But people who do it don't feel some need to justify the practicality of their hobby.

I live in a state where the infrastructure basically never goes down (Colorado). We don't have hurricanes, we don't get earthquakes, and the tornadoes we do get are highly localized. Blizzards are pretty rare and since most of the power lines we have are buried, we don't see power outages very often either.

My ham friends have never helped out in a disaster. Search and rescue around here has satphones, which work basically as long as you can see the sky.
 
Not entirely true of the article, you can certainly bounce radio signals off the moon without any special equipment, it's just a matter of receiving them. I'd be curious to how much they diverge by the time they get back, I mean firing a laser at the moon off of special reflectors on the surface returns a laser beam that is many miles wide.
 
bsoft said:
My ham friends have never helped out in a disaster. Search and rescue around here has satphones, which work basically as long as you can see the sky.
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The point is that - regardless of what tech you are using (aside from HAM), you are not talking to a person. Even in the case of the most direct satphone communication, you are still communicating to a satellite, which is then communicating with the person you want to speak with. Cell phones and land lines are far, far worse.

Amateur Radio actually allows you - directly - to communicate with another person many dozens/hundreds/farther miles away. No matter what else is still surviving. So, come World War III when all the cellphone towers are down and most comsats fried...well, HAMs will be the only method of communication, I suppose. :eek:

ANYWAY, as to why the hobby feels the need to "justify itself" in the way others don't - I don't know for sure (it's not my hobby) - a brief search turns up this

Although the main purpose of the hobby is fun, it is called the "Amateur Radio Service" because it also has a serious face. The FCC created the "Service" to fill the need for a pool of experts who could provide backup emergency communications in times of need. In addition, the FCC acknowledged the ability of the hobby to advance communication and technical knowledge, and enhance international goodwill.
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Materials to get you started are relatively inexpensive, and the exam fee you'll pay when you're ready to test is nominal.
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The fact that the hobby was set up by the government for that purpose, and you have to be licensed to participate in it, MIGHT be a factor.
 
John Gault said:
I dont get the ham radio guys I have a cell phone in my pocket that I can talk to another person half way around the world with.
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Wow. Your cool. Can I be your fwend?

It's a hobby. One that you don't have to pay monthly service for and rely on a 3rd party for a cell tower.
 
It is NOT about disaster relief although there are hams that make that their primary focus. Some go TOO far and we call them whackers. Lots of antenna and police lights on their cars. Ham radio CAN be a public service in times of disaster but that is not it's primary focus. It is definately a hobby. Just another way to screw around with electronics and gadgets.

I have cell phones and the internet also but there is nothing like setting up your station, building your own antenna then bouncing your signal off of the ionisphere to talk to a guy half way around the world. These guys want to bounce their signal off the moon.

I have set up stations that used a system called packet radio and communicated with satellites.

Just like I like to see how far my CPU will overclock, I like to see how far my station will talk.

Lots and lots of really really smart guys are hams. Lots of famous people too.


btw.........that cell phone system you use to talk on that cell phone.......it is modeled after the repeater system invented by hams.
 
Spazilton said:
Say that the next time a hurricane or natural disaster hits killing cell service to a wide area. Normally when this happens emergency operators turn to hams to do basic comms until something can be set up.
Click to expand...

I got my HAM license last year... I did it because I like to tinker... but no radios yet because I have been spending my money working on my damn Hyundai Elantra (I got it running nice... then the starter broke AGAIN!, this time no jerry rig, going to the tranny shop to get the bellhousing holes redone). I hope to get on the air soon enough.
 
I just picked up a little handheld HAM transceiver to play with before I plunge headlong into a new hobby. I've been involved with shortwave radio for years so it's probably time to find another bottomless pit of electronic gadgetry into which I can dump my disposable income. :p
 
Mr. Wolf said:
I just picked up a little handheld HAM transceiver to play with before I plunge headlong into a new hobby. I've been involved with shortwave radio for years so it's probably time to find another bottomless pit of electronic gadgetry into which I can dump my disposable income. :p
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Thank you.

It's all about having fun with things.
 
I have my ham license - KD0DNT. I use my radio to relay information to the national weather service since I am a local Skywarn storm spotter/storm chaser.
 
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