Satcom?

[eorange]

That pretty much sounds just like what I hear on 260.525.

 

[Declared_Hostile]

As Chgomonitor mentioned these are South American pirates that have bootlegged on these sats for years and years. Not exactly a technically difficult thing to pull off. You will hear Spanish and Portuguese quite a bit. Probably be pretty interesting listening if one could understand those languages. Just about the only unencrypted things you hear on satcom these days. You will catch unencrypted stuff occasionally but it is pretty rare.

 

[Rover]

Hello,

I am new too Sat Com but I was wondering....are Sat Com communications NFM mostly when not encrypted? Thanks...Ray KB4OMO

 

[mancow]

Yes, they are usually in regular FM, not wide.

 

[godspeed]

I`ve had decent luck recieving satcom on my ar8200 MK2 with a scantenna and Ramsey preamp

 

[uhf-satcom.com]

263.825

Hi folks,

The 263.825 frequency mentioned is in fact a valid uhf transponder downlink- its listed as an IOR frequency:

119 77 263.825 W2-12 Q17

However there is a good chance that its also coming from the AOR-W satellites.

btw if you are activly monitoring satcom of any type, please come to our IRC channel #hearsat, details at http://www.uhf-satcom.com/irc/


regards,

pjm @ uhf - satcom . com

 

[jlh]

pjm, pleeeeeeeeease stay around, great to see you here

 

[prcguy]

Hey pal, I think I got ya beat on the Satcom antennas!
Seriously, the newer UHF Follow On satellites are pretty hot and I have received aircraft talking with McMurdo via UHF Satcom on my pro-43 with stock rubber duck indoors.
prcguy

I use one of these with a GRE 3001 preamp and it works extremely well.

 

[mancow]

That's pretty neat...your antenna appears to be mil surplus...If so, do you have the nomenclature for it?

Dan

That picture was stolen from the web somewhere but it's the same thing as mine. I was just too lazy to drag out the camera.

It's a Dorne and Margolin C120-2 as far as the tag on the bottom says.

 

[mancow]

Hey pal, I think I got ya beat on the Satcom antennas!
Seriously, the newer UHF Follow On satellites are pretty hot and I have received aircraft talking with McMurdo via UHF Satcom on my pro-43 with stock rubber duck indoors.
prcguy

Yea, I would say you do have me beat by a long shot! It too bad there isn't all that much there that isn't encrypted.

 

[prcguy]

I’ve been through several 12 step AA programs (Antennas Anonymous) and even SAA (Satcom Antennas Anonymous) with no avail. I still sneak to the garage and rub them all over myself when the wifee is not looking.
All I seem to catch these days on Satcom is the Brazilian pirates, some Spanish and a rare screw up when they forget there not in “black”
prcguy

Yea, I would say you do have me beat by a long shot! It too bad there isn't all that much there that isn't encrypted.

 

[HuubRoem]

These spanish outbanders or from South America and it looks like they have found a methode to open these satcom frequencies. I can here them for years here in Europe and they are not from Spain....the accent is morelike Brazilian. It's increasing the last months, so I guess we have a global problem

 

[mypoppa]

Speak English Or Go Back To Your Own Country!

 

[prcguy]

What are you referring to?
prcguy

Speak English Or Go Back To Your Own Country!

 

[mancow]

Speak English Or Go Back To Your Own Country!

They are in their own country. :lol:

 

[10-95]

They are in their own country. :lol:

Speak english when transmitting to my country!

What does a decent Satcom antenna cost? Are there any places to get used antennas?

 

[mancow]

Mine was about $150 I guess... I did a trade for it.

You see them on ebay occasionally but they bring quit a bit. The guy I got mine from has a few but they are still pricey.

Actually, now that I know about it. It's not worth it. Just build a 260 mhz yagi and it will work fine. Most is strong enough that you don't need too much gain to hear stuff.

 

[drsouth]

I agree with you mancow, here's a link to what we use at work (Navel Weapons Station Chas SC):
http://www.wade-antenna.com/TACO/helical.htm
I've had just as good reception with homebrews. Note, our Rx units are only looking for an -80DbmV signal. So anything that's a circularly polarized helical setup will yield excellent results with an unobstructed/clear sky. Look at the link closely, and you’ll get some very good starting points for building.

Dave

 

[kd5dga]

No to change the subject but I have been reading through the posts and I would like to experience some satillite reception. I Utilise a Icom PCR1000 with plenty of programming and right now My only antennas are Two discones running LMR400 cable. I know I would need more equiptment but this is my starting point.
I have been running searches in the 240 to 265 mhz range and have been recieving some strong signals. My radio is set on 15 khz wide FM reception.
What would be the best possible frequencies to start off with for easy catches?

 

[mancow]

Try 255.550 FM.

As I type this they are chatting away (pirates again). I'm picking it up on the 996 with 50 ft of Andrew ultraflex hardline to a RS discone. So, you don't need all that much of a setup to hear something.