Hi Bob.
Drats. Bad news.. Good news!
I don't think the ionosphere will allow 160 meter downlink propagation... on a regular basis, at least.
UoSAT-OSCAR-9 carried HF beacons on 7, 14, 21, and 28 MHz, and if I recall correctly, the only beacon never heard was the one on 7 MHz.
So, receiving might be more beneficial than transmitting. It might prove interesting to have the satellite generate a spectrogram of received signals in the form of a GIF image that could be downloaded from the satellite, thereby eliminating the requirement that the receiver's input be within a satellite sub-band. ;-)
A spectrogram plot covering a whole orbit might also prove to be very interesting. It might answer questions such as: Can sferics from lightning be received outside the ionosphere? What does the VLF spectrum look like over the poles vs. the rest of the globe? How does solar activity and auroras effect VLF energy above the ionosphere? Can energy from the 50/60 Hz power grid be received in space?
73, de John, KD2BD
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