Satgen 477  A Titanic Experience  by GM4IHJ  (BID SGEN477) 1998-05-15

The following is a list of experiments carried out with a view to
showing 6 to 12 year old youngsters, what goes on at IHJ. Numbers in
brackets indicate their reactions , varying from 10 = very good to, 1
= bored stiff.

a. Morse communication on RadioSport LEO sats    (2)
b. Voice communication on RadioSport LEO sats    (9)
c. Voice communications on Mode J Fuji sats      (8)
d. Store and Forward Packet sat operation        (1)
e. Weather sat picture reception                 (9)
f. Mir Voice reception Russian and English       (9)
g. Mir Visual tracking                           (7)
h. Using a crystal set                           (10)
i. Moving antennas to track satellites           (9)
j. Internet surfing                              (4)
k. Email (none of the pop groups replied)        (2)
l. FFTDSP monitoring of sat signal fingerprints  (8)
m. Geosat reception of sattv and data            (3)
n. Solar flux monitoring 144MHz and 10GHz        (4)
o. Auroral reception and communication           (4)

So, does it look as if IHJ will shortly be surrounded by newly
licensed operators ? Yes, until that is you mention the cost of
equipment . In any shack it is usually possible to help with simple
equipment for say LEO HF/VHF satellites, but beyond that the financial
obstacles almost totally exclude the newcomer. Indeed it was clear
from these experiments that hi tech expensive solution would not be
popular anyway. By far the most succesful of the experiments , some of
which were requested several times were popular because they fitted in
with the youngsters direct experience. Even the dreadfully dire media
coverage of Mir's recent problems has alerted the youngsters to it ,
and they are sensible enough to realise that problems are to be
expected after 12 years. Few of us keep our automobiles , that long.

Other favourite topics were all connected with recent Hollywood
output. Using the NOAA 14 and Meteor 3-5 Weather satellite pictures ,
it was fun to show where the unfortunate Titanic sank, and to point to
the Greenland Ice cap and Baffin Island, with their glaciers soon to
start calving off yet more icebergs, as the Arctic begins to warm up
as it moves into the short northern summer. Equally timely is
Hollywoods giant meteor blast, coming to us in the movie "Deep
Impact". Wefax pictures from Scotland or Eastern USA and Canada have
had no problem revealing the giant meteor crater at Manicouagan in
Quebec , highlighting its central peak in an icy circle as its
shrouded crater lake took far longer to melt than the snow on the
surrounding tundra. Pointing out to the kids that this crater would
have engulfed Edinburgh and Glasgow and all between if it had hit
Scotland, had a slightly sobering effect on the young viewers. While
also visible in the snow on the Met3-5 pictures were the twin craters
of Clearwater Lakes ,north of Manicouagan and just east of Hudson Bay,
reminding the kids that these things can come in multiples as they did
with Jupiter and Comet Shoemaker-Levy.