Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.misc Subject: Re: Satellite DX Message-ID: <8328@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Mon, 20-Jul-87 14:54:41 EDT Article-I.D.: utzoo.8328 Posted: Mon Jul 20 14:54:41 1987 Date-Received: Mon, 20-Jul-87 14:54:41 EDT References: <414@uop.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 17 > with all the talk over "spy" sattelites, in addition to the wave > of home satellite dishes, has anyone spent the time to downlink > anything other than the usual?? (why watch HBO when you can watch > the SPOT satellites, weather, or the kremlin?) Not that easy, alas. Different and often unpublicized frequencies, unorthodox modulation schemes (it ain't yer normal video signal), probably encryption for the spysats, possibly tight-beam transmission with small footprints for the military stuff, and finally the general problem that most of the satellites in question are in low orbit, meaning that they aren't in line of sight when they're viewing the Kremlin! It is possible -- I've seen weather-satellite images, in particular, from amateur equipment -- but not simple. -- Support sustained spaceflight: fight | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology the soi-disant "Planetary Society"! | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry