Hi Bob.
That sounds very interesting.
I and several friends have laser reception equipment and telescopes to go with it.
What is the modulation or switching frequency of the lasers? What is the divergence of each beam?
If they are switched on and off at an audio frequency you can detect very low levels using an audio analysis programme such as Spectran or Argo from _www.weaksignals.com_ (http://www.weaksignals.com) .
This may be a good opportunity to increase my 'best dx' from 76km e.g. _http://www.g0mrf.freeserve.co.uk/laser5.htm_ (http://www.g0mrf.freeserve.co.uk/laser5.htm)
I understand that the laser experiment on AO-40 had a station equipped to receive it on the island of Teneriffe.
Regards
David G0MRF
In a message dated 08/12/2006 21:59:55 GMT Standard Time, bruninga@usna.edu writes:
The next Amateur Satellite, ANDE, to be launched any day now will have six lasers on board that we can turn on at any time. But the lasers are each dispursed over at least 45 degrees so the actual illumination is no brighter than a common red LED.
I doubt anyone will be able to see it, so don't bother trying.
However, there are a few very dedicated amateur astronomers that have the high precision tracking capability that have taken photos of the Shuttle and the ISS. They might want to take a crack at it.
I'm looking for someone with a foot in that camp to be a focal point of contact for such an effort.
It would not be soon after launch, but a little while after they have developed a really good track on it.
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR