Satellites

Heavens Above lists the orbits for most satellites. Look up the orbits visible from your area.

Nations with satellite capability

• Canada
• USA
• France
• Britain
• Soviet Union
• Israel
• South Africa
• Australia
• China
• India
• Pakistan
• North Korea
• Japan
• Switzerland
• Egypt
• Brazil
• Cuba
• Iran
• Myanmar (Burma)
• Ethiopia

Make sure you don't get mistaken for a spy if you do read the below. To clarify, and I cannot cite/link as I can't find the story anymore. There was a Toronto native who grew up in Hamilton, Ontario who has been tracking orbits of satellites nearly all his life. He has found the satellite that "hides" by changing its orbit frequently. Anyhow he has been approached by middle-eastern looking people wanting to buy information of this particular "bird" from him. And since the press has gotten hold of this information so do the securities, making him an instant VIP. Look leave it alone if you don't want to be a continuous watched over "baby".

Watching

Some satellites ("birds" in slang) are visible with the human eye, and some may require binoculars. Make sure you have a good idea of its orbit, and time in your sky, so you can train your eye to follow the general path for when it actually does become visible.

Listening

Find the downlink frequency for the amateur radio satellite you're tracking, and adjust it accordingly on your frequency scanner/radio. A directional antenna is preferred, however the standard "rubber ducky" (resistor) antenna may work.

Transmitting

If you have a radio with a moveable Yagi-Uda antenna, and an amateur radio licence for the uplink frequency, you can try to point your antenna in that direction. You have to be quick to transmit off a satellite, as usually the passes go by quite quickly.