Since you mentioned the ISS, on 1/14/06 I made a contact with the ISS via Ham Radio UHF, Cmdr Bill McArthur (KC5ACR) heard and repeated my call (N7TMY) thru the probable pile up and I will get a QSL card! (I sent one of course). They were using the International Space Sta. call sign of NA1SS and we had contact as he passed over the NW USA on 437.550 MHz, using a vertical w/ 35W!! Not bad, huh?? For the Hams in this group, this will mean something and they will understand how cool this is. For the non-Hams, sorry for the off-topic, but I couldn't resist telling this way-cool story! Trisha ~ Lightning ----- Original Message ----- From: ShadowAce To: listserv@azgeocaching.com Subject: [Az-Geocaching] Ham Radio + Russia + Spacesuite = fun Friday Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2006 07:46:01 -0700 Spread the word for those who might be interested.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11102068/ MSNBC.com Spacesuit goes overboard for unusual mission Worn-out suit recycled into miniature satellite sending out a radio beacon By James Oberg NBC News space analyst Special to MSNBC Updated: 2:52 p.m. ET Jan. 31, 2006 HOUSTON - It sounds like a scene from science fiction: A lone figure is cast off from the space station, getting smaller and smaller as it drifts out into empty space. In this case, however, no human will actually be at risk. When the crew members aboard the international space station toss a worn-out spacesuit over the side, it will be empty except for an interesting amateur radio experiment. During a spacewalk scheduled this Friday, astronaut Bill McArthur and cosmonaut Valery Tokarev will spend six hours carrying out assembly, repair and inspection work on the space station — and one photogenic feat of "space littering." It won't be the first time an old Russian spacesuit has been tossed overboard, but "SuitSat," as it is called, has an actual mission. A simple battery-powered radio transmitter inside the suit will use an antenna mounted to the suit's helmet to send signals down to Earth for up to several days. The data will include temperature readings, a slow-scan TV image and several specially coded messages for ham radio listeners to figure out. ~~~Much more on the website~~~~ URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11102068/ ____________________________________________________________ Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit: http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching Arizona's Geocaching Resource http://www.azgeocaching.com