STVTalk.com

hI,

If you set up a motorised dish with full positioning
and connected it up to a computer would it be possible
to write a program to scan for every satellite you
can find in the sky ? I mean the program would try each
position in the sphere segment in small gradients and
check for signal strength, build a map and report to
you probable satellite positions which you could database.
I wanted to know if (a) this would be possible and not
encounter any practical difficulties (aren't some satellites
in "eccentric" orbits?) (b) if anyone has tried anything
like this already ?

Also, if you happened to find a few military satellites
what does the law say about _receiving_ a signal from
them ? (transmitting to them I'd be sure was a no-no
but I wanted to know that under say UK law receiving them
was legal just to cover myself if I decided to do this)

bestwishes
laura

--
echo alru_aafriehdab@ittnreen.tocm |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 18:41:10 +0000 (UTC),
run_signature_script_for_my_email@INVALID.com (laura fairhead) wrote:

hI,

If you set up a motorised dish with full positioning
and connected it up to a computer would it be possible
to write a program to scan for every satellite you
can find in the sky ? I mean the program would try each
position in the sphere segment in small gradients and
check for signal strength, build a map and report to
you probable satellite positions which you could database.
I wanted to know if (a) this would be possible and not
encounter any practical difficulties (aren't some satellites
in "eccentric" orbits?) (b) if anyone has tried anything
like this already ?

If you can find something that does what you want ITYF it is more

likely to take the form of a motor controlled by a fairly standard
satellite receiver which is in turn controlled via the RS232 port by
the computer, in practical terms the computer replaces the human and
his/her remote control. WRT orbits you have a main choice of
geo-stationary (tending to stay over a single location on the
equator), polar (at various heights and thus varying orbit times) and
IIRC something in-between whose orbit on a map will look vaguely like
a sine-wave.

Also, if you happened to find a few military satellites
what does the law say about _receiving_ a signal from
them ? (transmitting to them I'd be sure was a no-no
but I wanted to know that under say UK law receiving them
was legal just to cover myself if I decided to do this)

If there is no individually-held or general licence/permission to

receive a transmission then you're not permitted to receive it as a
deliberate act.

For practical purposes, if you can find a geo-stationary military
satellite transmitting something that is intelligible and usable
without decryption then it is probably an intentional "broadcast"
anyway with the details available if you ask the owner, the licensing
aspect being covered by normal radio or television licensing
arrangements.
--
_______
+---------------------------------------------------+ |\\ //|
| Charles Ellson: charles@e11son.demon.co.uk | | \\ // |
+---------------------------------------------------+ | > < |
| // \\ |
Alba gu brath |//___\\|

laura fairhead wrote:

Also, if you happened to find a few military satellites
what does the law say about _receiving_ a signal from
them ? (transmitting to them I'd be sure was a no-no
but I wanted to know that under say UK law receiving them
was legal just to cover myself if I decided to do this)

Under the current government it seems to be illegal even to fart in
the wrong direction, let alone listen to military transmissions. I'm
sure there are passages in the anti-terrorism bill that cover both and
that allow for the indefinite incarceration without trial of anyone
suspected of having thought about doing either.

Brave new world indeed.

--
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UK TV overseas: http://tinyurl.com/6p73
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----
Only the truth as I see it.
No monies return'd. ;-)

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 20:37:39 +0000, Charles Ellson <charles@ellson.demon.co.uk> wrote:

Thanx for the responses on this....

w.r.t what you say here Charles, this is what I was thinking
afterall if they encrypt it the intention must be that they don't
want people to be reading it. Since we're talking about people
like the MOD in the UK (related to executive authority), and not
the local newsagents *cough* *cough* ;-), I would reckon the
intention of any law(s) regarding these things would amount
to the same thing. Of course I should very much doubt it would
be remotely easy or even _possible_ to decrypt the data if they really
didn't want you reading it, eg; just for starters sensitive data
could be transmitted in two parts, one through one route; another
through another. ( Using say some concept like XORing the data
stream with a high quality random data stream to make the two parts. )

byefornow
laura

For practical purposes, if you can find a geo-stationary military
satellite transmitting something that is intelligible and usable
without decryption then it is probably an intentional "broadcast"
anyway with the details available if you ask the owner, the licensing
aspect being covered by normal radio or television licensing
arrangements.

--
_______
+---------------------------------------------------+ |\\ //|
| Charles Ellson: charles@e11son.demon.co.uk | | \\ // |
+---------------------------------------------------+ | > < |
| // \\ |
Alba gu brath |//___\\|

--
echo alru_aafriehdab@ittnreen.tocm |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'