What is
Amateur Radio?

Welcome to
Amateur Radio Satellite Ground Station

KØMDJ

(Kay Zero Em Dee Jay)
Licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission
to owner and operator

Mark D. Johns

A
Life Member

My Mobile Station

My QTH

Are there REALLY
Amateur Satellites?

Life Member

Amateur Radio at KØMDJ
My amateur radio activity is focused in three areas:

• Satellite operation
• Mobile operation
• HF DX & "ragchewing"

I am currently active from home with SSB phone (voice) mode on FO-29 satellite (see below), on HF (shortwave) in the car on my long commutes to/from work, and from home on HF enjoying conversation ("ragchewing") with other amateurs in North America and around the world.

In the photo above you can see me in my "ham shack," operating my Icom IC-775DSP transceiver and Ameritron AL-811H amplifier for the HF bands. Also pictured is my Icom IC-910H transceiver for the VHF and UHF satellite bands. Almost every piece of equipment has been acquired used over three decades of patient searching and bargaining.

At right, you can see my antenna "farm." In the foreground is the Tennadyne T10 ten element log periodic beam for the HF 20-10 meter bands. This antenna is at 50 feet (about 15 meters) above ground level. The tower also supports a wire antenna for the 40 meter band. Low in the background the satellite antennas can be seen. These are a KLM 2M-22C, 435-40CX, an array of four DEM loops for 1.2 GHz, and a K5GNA dish for receiving on 2.4 GHz.

What is Amateur Radio?
Amateur Radio -- or "Ham" radio as it is sometimes called -- is recognized, sanctioned, and regulated by the federal government as a "radio service." That is, it exists to serve the public by

• Offering a training ground for high tech knowledge and skills
• Providing communication in disasters and emgencies
• Developing new techniques and technologies for the future

Amateur Radio is a fascinating, life-long avocation that offers dozens of "hobbies within the hobby" to be explored. "Hams" aren't just a bunch of "CB radio nuts" running around with radios. Unlike Citizens' Band (CB) operators, amateurs must pass a technical examination to earn their operating priviledges. Exams are given at several different levels of difficulty, with additional operating priviledges granted with each level of technical knowledge and skill. Amateurs have access not only to channels that provide local communication, but to bands of frequencies that permit global communication. Among the common interest areas enjoyed by Amateur Radio operators are:

• "DX" or attempting to collect verified two way communications with stations in as many different countries as possible.
• "Contesting" is a method of collecting many such contacts in a short period of time, as various organizations, such as the ARRL sponsor events in which points are scored for the most contacts in a given weekend or other time period.
• "Ragchewing" is simply enjoying long conversations with friends made over the airwaves.
• "Homebrew" has nothing to do with home made beer, but everything to do with home made radio equipment and tinkering with equipment or antennas to try to get optimum results.
• "FM" local communication through "repeater" stations is a technology that paved the way for the cellular phones so popular today. Hams have been pioneering FM communication for over fifty years.
• "Digital" modes of communication are popular with hams, who do not use out of date technologies. Various types of medium- and high-speed computer-to-computer operation are a constant on the Amateur frequency bands.
• "Public Service" is something that all Hams provide in one way or another, but some specialize in this aspect of the hobby, using their stations to allow military personnel stationed overseas to talk back home, or organizing storm spotting and disaster response teams.
• "ATV" or Amateur TV -- yes, it's possible to have your very own TV station and send video to friends miles away. Hundreds of Hams do it daily! There are even Amateur FAX modes.
• "Satellites" -- this is the space age, afterall!

AO-40 and P3E
The long-awaited launch of P3D, or the 4th satellite in the "Phase 3" series of high orbit satellites for worldwide communication, took place on November 16, 2000. Upon achieving orbit, the new satellite was officially christened as AMSAT-OSCAR 40. It was a joint venture with AMSAT groups all over the world, with German and North American AMSATs coordinating. The largest and most complex Amateur satellite ever built, it had higher power transmitters, high speed digital capabilities, microwave transponders, and other experimental features. Unfortunately, a catastophic failure -- most likely an explosion in the rocket engine or fuel tanks -- has rendered this satellite inoperative. Currently, German amateur satellite enthusiasts are rushing to build a new Phase 3 satellite, P3E or "Express," to be launched early in 2006. Earlier Phase 3 satellites, AO-10 and AO-13, enjoyed long success, but have completed their useful lives.

Shuttle, MIR and ISS
Amateur Radio was a key part of daily life aboard the MIR space station, and an extensive Amateur Radio installation is now aboard the International Space Station. This station carries out Amateur Radio's mandate to serve the public through education by allowing the cosmonauts and astronauts to talk directly with students in schools about the work they are doing. In addition, the station functions in automatic mode for digital computer-to-computer contacts. I'm also proud to have a verification card for a contact I made with the Amateur Radio station that flew aboard space shuttle mission STS-59 in 1994, and another verifying a relatively rare voice contact with an astronaut aboard the Space Station in November of 2005.

Additional satellites that I choose not to operate though, or which I am not fully equipped to operate, are also in orbit and functioning. Among these are satellites built by the Soviet Union or Russia, Korea, Maylasia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and other nations.