Merging two hobbies

kits
astronomy
antennas
My Radio JOVE radioastronomy kit arrived.
Author

Rick Gilmore W3TM

Published

March 17, 2024

https://radiojove.gsfc.nasa.gov/newsletters/2023Dec/index.html#10

I have recently rejoined the Central Pennsylania Observers (CPO), our local amateur astronomy club. Back in the late 1990s, I built a 6” Dobsonian telescope with several other club members. It was a blast.

The club is gearing up for multiple activities in 2024, including a trip to Erie, PA to watch the eclipse.

One of the activities involves encouraging members to build home radiotelescopes and to contribute data to the Radio JOVE project. So, I ordered the kit, and it arrived late last week.

The kit consists of a pair of dipole antennas tuned to ~20 MHz, a combiner, some coax feed lines and phasing lines, and a software defined radio (SDR). If I have time to put the pieces together before April 8, but if not, I’ll get it online in the next couple of months.

I love the project for many reasons not least of which is the fact that it combines two of my favorite hobbies. Now, if I could just figure out how to combine ham radio and banjos.