SPUTNIK 1 - Recording of signals


Recorded by Roy Welch, W5SLL (now W0SL) at Dallas, TX on October 7, 1957
at 0457Z using a military surplus AN/FRR3A HF RTTY receiver.

Sputnik 1 was the Soviet Union's and the world's first orbiting satellite.
The signals heard in this recording are weak, over the horizon signals,
recorded on a frequency of either 20.007Mhz or 15.018Mhz.  I have lost the
record of this, but think it was 20.007Mhz.  Other recordings were made with
signals strong enough to permit hearing the oscillator feeding through
during key up periods.  These were made with the satellite in line of sight.
My purpose in presenting the weaker signal recording is to show a time
when the keying of the signal was interrupted and a steady carrier was
transmitted.  There are two such instances in this excerpt.  WWV which was
nearby in frequency shut down their transmitters with each pass on this
evening.

My, then three year old daughter, and I would put the radio speaker in a
window and then go outside and listen to the strong signals while we watched
the third stage booster tumbling end over end like a bright pulsating star
as it passed over in the evening sky.


Enjoy a bit of history.

73, Roy -- W0SL