If one were familiar with the modulation pattern of HDTV, couldn'tone use an SDRplay, or something similar, and a panadapter to look for the signature? It wouldn't be necessary to demodulate the signal in order to determine whether the signal was being reflected. The old technique isn't necessarily dead, but the tools used to apply it have to change.
73,
Mac Cody / AE5PH
On 07/19/2017 07:26 AM, Robert Bruninga wrote:
Easy to test. Just pick a UHF TV station that is hudreds of miles ffrom you and wait for the ISS to fly through the path between you.
BUT! I don't have a clue how you can see the effect with Digital TV??? With analog, the flutter was instantaneous and a direct correspondence to signal strength even if only milliseconds came through. On digital TV, you don't get nuttin until you have had SOLID seconds of unflutter digital signal.
So I guess that old technique is simply dead.
Maybe do it with FM radio? They have a multi thousand watt transmitter aimed at their horizon. Just choose a station that is 500 miles away...
Better yet, simply tune to a totally clear FM channel in your rural area (if there is one) and wait. If the ISS flies through the path of any station anywhere on that channel, you should hear something?
Bob
-----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Ross Whenmouth Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2017 2:02 AM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Russian Thing
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2017 11:16:38 -0500 From: Joenss@mwt.net
Now for a surface to be reflective, how big does it need to be in terms of wvelength?
That's textbook radar theory - see: http://slideplayer.com/slide/3927976/13/images/9/Modelling+development+&... esults.jpg
Provided that you have enough EIRP (EME rig?), I would expect that 6m or 2m would probably be a good choice of band, since shorter wavelengths are more likely to undergo optical scattering, which might not be in the direction of your intended RX.
On this subject, have any hams tried using the ISS as a passive RF reflector?
73 ZL2WRW Ross Whenmouth _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb