Newbie Question

[NS9710]

I looked at the Wiki, I still have some questions still.
Can my Uniden BCD436HP monitor SATCOM out of the box or do I need additional software?
What voice format is used on this band?
Is there digital voice, or all analog?
What is the range on the SATCOM, or is this a global coverage with no defined limits?
Lastly, do I need to monitor both the up and down frequencies to follow the conversations?

Any other pertinent information I need that I haven't asked yet?

Don't want to get to plugging these frequencies in and miss out on most of what's going on.

 

[SA_tx_88116]

The only additional stuff you need is probably a SATCOM antenna because everything is all analog, as for range satellites can be on anywhere from 25 MHz to hundreds of GHz it all depends on what it’s used for but some simple stuff you can get into is amateur radio satellites and the ISS as well as UHF military satellites there are some other things too like NOAA weather satellites and when they pass over they send out data that you can feed into a decoder program on a computer and actually see the picture that the satellite took while flying over you. There’s also radio pirates that hack and take control of old satellites (typically navy ones) and use them to talk long range or cause a nuisance. But there’s many things on this band and you can start with this website.

 

[AD8NT]

Satcom is an umbrella term around a whole host of various communications satellites.

It very much depends on what exactly you want to listen to.
Many here enjoy monitoring the UHF Milsats which have a lot of pirate activity.
Monitoring just the downlinks is really all you need.

There is plenty of other satellites and bands out there, some are geostationary which stay in the same place in our sky and other are in low earth orbit which move around.

So depending on the satellite you'll need different antennas, rx amplifiers, and in some cases tracking software and hardware.

 

[NS9710]

I went to the Wiki, I put a few Research Satellite and most of the military UHF stuff.

Satcom is an umbrella term around a whole host of various communications satellites.

It very much depends on what exactly you want to listen to.
Many here enjoy monitoring the UHF Milsats which have a lot of pirate activity.
Monitoring just the downlinks is really all you need.

There is plenty of other satellites and bands out there, some are geostationary which stay in the same place in our sky and other are in low earth orbit which move around.

So depending on the satellite you'll need different antennas, rx amplifiers, and in some cases tracking software and hardware.

 

[AD8NT]

There's far more out there than what is just in the wiki

Search Results satellite

There are amateur satellites, military, some used for ACARS or ADS-B, others carry phone conversations or short messages, and a lot of the digital stuff can be decoded.

There's also weather satellites and more, take a look at that link you'll find all kinds of satellite fun.

 

[NS9710]

I presume the phone conversations are encrypted/secured/not monitorable.

There's far more out there than what is just in the wiki

Search Results satellite

There are amateur satellites, military, some used for ACARS or ADS-B, others carry phone conversations or short messages, and a lot of the digital stuff can be decoded.

There's also weather satellites and more, take a look at that link you'll find all kinds of satellite fun

 

[AD8NT]

I presume the phone conversations are encrypted/secured/not monitorable.

Not at all actually, if you have the right tools there are satellites in which voice calls can be decoded without worrying about encryption.
Inmarsat and Iridium namely both have such traffic.

 

[NS9710]

Thanks for the information.

 

[RichardKramer]

If you want to hear the ISS amateur downlink repeater on 437.8 FM, you can hear amateur radio operators talking on the uplink frequency 145.99 FM (if they are near your location) and you can hear them on the above downlink when the ISS is in range of your location. Reception with a scanner and an outside antenna, or even on a rubber duck antenna if they are directly overhead is good. You may only hear them for a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the distance from your location to the horizon. You may even hear me, N3VMY, on the downlink if I am in the radio room on one of their passes! Go here to find the map of where the ISS is on their orbits. Each orbit is about 1 1/2hrs.
https://spotthestation.nasa.gov › tracking_map.cfm