looking for small transmitter

As you probably know, telemetry transmitters have been available for quite a long time. The only problem is their expense.

I would imagine that a UHF frequency Tx would likely satisfy your needs. Perhaps something in the 900 MHz range or higher would prove to be more suitable than something in the VHF range where antennas are problematic because of their large size.

There are probably some Part 15, 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz transmitters that would suit your needs at low expense and easy adaptability. A directional receive antenna will be required in any case.

You might want to contact PC Electronics for advice. They sell amateur video transmitters and receivers. They might be able to put you on the right path, at reasonable expense. You will need to provide your callsign in order to establish correspondence.

Ed, NM2K

I can think of one. The FCC regs do not allow data transmission on 72 or 75 MHz. It can only be used for telecommand of a remote device with the operator operating the transmitter.

Since you have your ham ticket, many freq's are available to you.

Dan Thompson (AMA 32873, EAA 60974, WB4GUK, GROL) remove POST in address for email

FYI, the FCC has stated the only legal rocket telemetry freqs sans a ham license is 49 Hz band, Moot point with access to ham band.

73 Fred W4JLE

| FYI, the FCC has stated the only legal rocket telemetry freqs sans a | ham license is 49 Hz band,

You sure about that? Why not the 27 mhz, 900 mhz, or 2.4 ghz bands? I believe that all (not 100% certain about 27 mhz) are general use bands.

| A Moot point with access to ham band.

Not neccesarily -- it may be easier to buy `off the shelf' stuff in non-ham bands. But neither 72 mhz nor 75 mhz is appropriate.

ummm, under a certain power limit. I dont have my frequency chart nearby so i cannot confirm. Either ham ticket or commercial ticket is needed if power is high enuf.

still moot point. found low power 440Mhz. technicaly a ham range, but lower power enuf to be class 15. $40 for Xmitter, same for reciver of same freq.

found link at

We hams are not the primary users of the 440 MHz region, the government the primary user. Occasionally they will have some weather radars set up on those frequencies. They are quite a nuisance to amateur operators when operating.

Since we are not primary users, it is possible that some other radio services are permitted to use those frequencies with very low power and the acceptance of interference.

Ed Cregger

| > | FYI, the FCC has stated the only legal rocket telemetry freqs sans a | > | ham license is 49 Hz band, | >

| > You sure about that? Why not the 27 mhz, 900 mhz, or 2.4 ghz bands? | > I believe that all (not 100% certain about 27 mhz) are general use | > bands. | | ummm, under a certain power limit. I dont have my frequency chart nearby so | i cannot confirm. Either ham ticket or commercial ticket is needed if power | is high enuf.

True. But unless your rocket is leaving the atmosphere, you should be able to get by with the allowed power, except maybe with 49 mhz which only allows you up to 250 mW.

Don't be afraid of the ham requirement. The Technician test is

*easy*. (Assuming that you're in the US. Outside of the US, I do not know.)

| > | A Moot point with access to ham band. | >

| > Not neccesarily -- it may be easier to buy `off the shelf' stuff in | > non-ham bands. But neither 72 mhz nor 75 mhz is appropriate. | | still moot point. found low power 440Mhz. technicaly a ham range, but lower | power enuf to be class 15. $40 for Xmitter, same for reciver of same freq.

Um, 440 mhz is a ham band, period. There's no `it's ok if it's under X watts' rule that I'm aware of. If you want to use it, you need a ham license.

You can get a list of bands allocated to ham radio use here --

| | found link at |

| interesting | | -- | Tater | President of MARS Club | | NAR #79654 L1 | AMA #747769 | EAA #703312 | remove spam spelled backwards to reply | | | |

We are secondary users on the 70 cm band. The government is the primary user and tolerates us at their behest. Not too many years ago, we were nearly evicted from that band.

There may be scientific frequencies, other than the radar, allocated in there somewhere. I don't recall hearing of any low power users there, but I am not sure.

Ed Cregger

Interesting points, Gail. Though you do not need a Tech Plus ticket to utilize CW on the bands authorized to a Technician Class licensee. Anyone licensed to operate six meters may utilize CW, IIRC.

A Tech Plus ticket would be needed to operate on bands below 30 MHz.

Ed Cregger