[amsat-bb] Space Center Abandoned Dish Rehabilitation - Outreach #1

[Michelle Thompson]

A group of GNU Radio community members has permission to evaluate a dish
installation in Huntsville, AL near the Space Center. If you've ever been
to the Space Center (where the Saturn V is suspended from the ceiling) then
this dish is right outside the main entrance. Anyone attending Symposium
last year should recognize it!

Here's a set of photos:

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1d_Oi3hrIi49JxmaoNuUA-pvUXOs7vSz1

We're looking for technical information, identification of what you
recognize in the photos, recommended next steps, and what to watch out for,
prioritize, or avoid. We already know we want to take the paint off all the
ID plates and see what's under there.

We want to see if we can get this working for *amateur radio operators to
access over the internet*, ideally with a GNU Radio flowgraph to control it
from an SDR. Our priority is to make this work for amateur satellite.

This type of setup is similar to what GNU Radio Foundation is working on
with the Allen Telescope Array. We have the go-ahead from the Space Center
curator to do this study and make recommendations.

I have fully restored several basket-case British sports cars and then
successfully raced them. My other team members have restored things even
more challenging. We are not dumb, naive, or easily deterred. We know this
may turn out to be something that requires way more work than we can do in
any time frame we can manage. Documenting that is still of great value, and
that is why we are asking for your help. Right now, no one knows much of
anything about it. This sort of installation, if available for amateur
radio, is well worth the effort.

Some of the people involved have been driving past this installation for 20
years and want to see it back in service at whatever level we can achieve.
It will be discussed at GNU Radio Conference, and everyone at the
conference will have the opportunity to see it up close and in person,
since it's literally across the parking lot from the venue.

Want to attend or find out more about GRCon?
https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon/grcon19/

If you know of someone off-list that might know details that will help,
then please pass this along!

-Michelle W5NYV + Corps of Operation Flashlight