Amateur Satellite Contacts

The thing that brought me in to Ham Radio in the beginning was satellite contacts. I was a student at a university building an amateur satellite. We operated on the Amateur Bands. In order to operate, one had to have an amateur license. While we were at it, one of the most common things we did was to talk to other amateur satellites, to practice tracking satellites in frequency and location. Thus began my first period to study to take the technician license exam.

First HF setup and contacts

I've finally pieced together my  first HF rig, and make my first contacts with it! I've been able to hear people from as far away as Japan, but I haven't had a whole lot of success transmitting yet. Still, I'm getting better with things, and I hope that a bit more practice will leave me to doing great! Without further ado, my setup, as well as my first DX contacts!

Logbook of the World and QSL Cards

Historically, Hams wanted a way of showing other people that they had talked with people all over the world. At the time, the method chosen was the QSL Card.

Essentially, a QSL card is something received in the mail acknowledging that you had contact with someone. When I used to make satellite contacts, I would get them all the time. These cards cost money to print, money to send, but are cool notices that you talked with someone far away. Here is a sample card that I received some time ago, when I was in to doing satellite contacts.