Tag: howto

Most people are aware that every day weather satellites pass overhead to get a glimpse of the nation's weather patterns. Many people, especially those outside the ham radio community, are unaware that the signals these NOAA weather satellites transmit are readily accessible with a minimum amount of equipment. These satellites use a technology known as APT, or Automatic Picture Transmission. NOAA-19 is perhaps the easiest APT satellite to receive because it provides the best, strongest signal for visual satellite imagery. Because of this, we'll focus on NOAA-19 for this post.

Hardware
All you really need to receive the satellite's signal is a radio receiver like an old police scanner (found at thrift stores) or a simple 2m ham radio handitalkie (like the Baofeng UV5R). An external antenna is usually better, but not a requirement for casual reception of the image. Other than the radio, the only other pieces are a computer with sound input and an audio cable (to get the audio out from the radio to the input on the computer).
If you would like to get the best images possible from every pass of the satellite, use an outdoor antenna connected to your radio. Discone antennas for scanners work well, as will any 2m amateur radio antenna. These antennas do suffer from "fades" where the gain of the antenna is weakest. To minimize these anomalies, eggbeater antennas or the very common quadrifilar helical antenna are used by serious hobbyists and weather professionals.

Software
Once you have the required hardware, download the free WxToImg software which is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. There are other features and enhancements to the software if you upgrade, but it's still not a requirement.
Once the program installs, the first time you start the program you will be prompted to enter your Latitude and Longitude. This information is vital to synchronize the timing of the satellite pass. To locate your longitude and latitude, you can use a web tool like iTouchMap, Google Maps, a weather site or any other means. A help menu will appear showing the calibration steps which I'll cover later.

With the software installed, there are a few settings to change to prepare for our first APT satellite pass. Below is a listing of the various settings I've found that work best for the NOAA 19 satellite.



Keplerian Elements
With these settings in place, you can now download the latest Keplerian Elements within WxToImg. The "Keps", as they're known, are mathematical values that are used in formulas to calculate the exact position of a satellite in relation to a given point on a map. Keps are sometimes referred to as TLEs, which is short for Two Line Elements, because of the two lines of values that represent a satellite's orbit. With this information, any satellite's relative position can be determined by simply providing the latitude, longitude, altitude of the observer and the keps for the satellite. You already gave the software your latitude and longitude, now provide the latest keps and the computer will have all the data it needs to predict the next pass.
To update the Keps for WxToImg, click on File then choose Update Keplers

Doing this action will download the latest elements from CelesTrak which hosts large lists of all the latest elements for many, many satellites as published daily by NORAD.

Audio
Now that the software is configured, there is really only one last piece of the puzzle and that involves setting the audio level. WxToImg requires the volume of the incoming signal to be within a particular range. Too low and the computer can't hear all the tones. Too loud and the computer can't discern between the various tones being sent by the satellite. Thankfully, to aid in this balancing act of getting the audio set "just right", WxToImg provide an audio level indicator in the bottom right corner of the screen. This feature is only active when the Record process is activated. Under File, click on Record, then at the bottom of the screen you will see "Manual Test". Click the Manual Test button to tell the software to begin listening. You can then adjust your microphone or line-in audio level. In the right corner you will see a yellow, green or red colored bar with the text vol: 50.2 or similar. Adjust your volume so the audio level color is green (this will be somewhere in the 45 - 80 range, give or take).
Once the audio level is set during the Manual Test, click on File > Stop. You may then clear the screen by clicking File > Clear. Your audio is now setup and ready to record the next pass.

Satellite Pass
To learn when the next pass of NOAA 19 will be for your location, click on File > Satellite Pass List. The date of the pass will be shown along with the number of passes per day (usually 2) for a given satellite. (Because we selected NOAA 19 as the only active satellite, our pass list will only show NOAA 19 passes.) Included in the pass list is the direction of the pass (N = northbound, S = southbound) along with the Maxium Elevation, shown as MEL. MEL will show how many degrees from the horizon, East or West, the pass will reach its maximum perceived altitude. The duration of the satellite's pass (anywhere from 11-12 minutes) and the time of the start of the pass (both UTC and local time). The table will also show you the operating frequency the radio should be tuned to. (In the case of NOAA 19, it shows 137.100 MHz.)

Radio
Of course, none of the process will work without a radio tuned to the satellite's downlink (transmitting) frequency. As noted previously, the NOAA 19 satellite transmits at 137.100 MHz, so it is vitally important that your radio be capable of tuning this frequency. It is also important that the radio selected for this project be capable of "Wide FM" and not the "Narrow FM" used for amateur and commercial radio services. APT Satellite signals are 34kHz wide, which is wider than the 6kHz and 15kHz of Narrow FM. Wide FM is most commonly used for FM Broadcast stations which are very wide at 230kHz. Ideally, the radio chosen will have the ability to filter somewhere in between these extremes - wider than Narrow but narrower than Wide - however, few radios offer adjustable filtering. Because of this, for practical purposes, overly wide is better than not wide enough. (FYI: receivers like the Hamtronics R139 offer 34kHz width IF specifically for receiving APT signals.)
Once an adequate radio is selected and tuned to the proper frequency, it is not necessary to set the squelch on the radio. Because the audio will be going directly from the radio's headphone port into the computer, leaving the squelch fully open is perfectly acceptable. The computer will not record the audio (thus ignoring all signals) until the satellite is within range. It's better to leave the squelch fully open to begin with so the radio receives even the faint signal of the satellite while it is near the horizon. Once the receiving technique has been mastered, it is possible to fine tune the radio's squelch but, again, this is not necessary as the computer will reject all unexpected radio signals until the satellite is within range.
With the radio tuned and ready to go, all that remains is to connect the audio output of the radio to the computer's input via an audio cable (typically a ⅛"-to-⅛" stereo cable). It may be necessary to further adjust the radio's and computer's audio levels during a live pass to ensure a good copy. (to get the volume level in the green) However, once the audio is set it should seldom if ever need further refinement.

Finally...
The final piece of the puzzle is to set the recording options. Click File > Record to open the Recording menu. Check the box next to Create image(s) then click Auto Record. Doing so will send WxToImg into a "monitoring mode" where it will await the next satellite pass (displayed in the bottom left corner of the application window).
When the time arrives, it may be a good idea to physically monitor the screen as the image is downloaded to ensure a good copy. The big thing to check as the pass begins are the audio levels, especially on your first pass.
Do not expect to get a pristine image your first pass, this is merely a "tuning" pass to ensure everything is in working order.
After the pass completes you may need to adjust the Slant Correction or Move Image Overlay which are both available under the Image drop-down menu. You can later configure other features to automatically upload your images to an FTP server for archiving and alter the Image Settings from within the Recording menu.

Good luck with your recordings!

update: For much more in-depth information, check out NOAA's User Guide for Building Receive Stations or one of the countless other APT Satellite guides online.

For anyone online you've no doubt heard that social media is defined by sites like Reddit, Facebook and Twitter. A lot of people talk about Twitter, but a vast majority of people don't know how to use Twitter. I must admit that I've had an account for years but wrote it off because it seemed so limited. The power of Twitter is not found in the brevity of the "tweets" (posts that users make on Twitter), but in the ability to monitor tweets of others.

Flow of news
In the traditional model of news aggregation, you would turn on the TV or radio, open a newspaper or seek a sole source of information. That organization would have already done the leg work of finding news, picking out what they thought the majority of their viewers/listeners/readers would find appealing and put that news out there. With the introduction of "social media", suddenly people can discern for themselves what is important. The early days of Digg brought this idea to reality and reddit took over where Digg left off. The users were now in control of the information, not the producer, publisher or editor. I'm not saying that Twitter affords this ability, but it allows you to search for items that have been flagged with certain key terms. In Twitter parlance, this flag is known as a hashtag. Until I understood hashtags, I didn't "get" Twitter - now I do.

#Hashtags - The key to Twitter
Hashtags allow you to share information that you tweet with others within a community of individuals that are, themselves, looking for information relevant to a subject. The same way that you search for things with a search engine through key words, you can also hunt for tweets with a hashtag.
I deal a lot with Education Technology, so when I'm looking for news, links and information related to Education Technology, I'll look at the Twitter hashtag #edtech. If I want to look at tweets dealing with education in general, I'll look at #edu. If I want to find information about space, I would look for the #space hashtag. Robotics has #robotics All of the results for each of these tags will show content that individuals shared on Twitter and then tagged with the relevant hashtags (and you can use multiple hashtags on your tweets as you may see some users doing). Hashtags are denoted with the # sign (hence the name).

Tweeting @users
If, for example, I wanted to Tweet at or to a person in particular, I would use the @ symbol, followed by their Twitter username. This allows the user you are referencing to see the tweet made "at" them so they can respond or pass along the information. I don't use this feature very often, but as your use of Twitter grows, so will the number of times you'll find this feature handy. For example, if you wanted to tweet at me, you would post something like "@MrGoberTX Thanks for the Twitter intro on neodux.com".

Twitter for organizations
So what's the big deal with businesses and organizations using Twitter? Contrary to Facebook, Twitter is a "one way street". Facebook is like a two way street, it allows you to communicate back and forth. I can post something on Facebook that my organization is doing, and you can "Like" it or comment on it. Until I go to moderate those comments (they may not all be positive or socially acceptable), everyone will see these comments from people they don't know. Some users may be offended by the content of your Facebook comment, but it will appear on the page until I take the time to login and take it off. That two way street can be a liability that I must babysit vigilantly.
Twitter on the other hand is a one way flow of information - similar to a press release. This is what I'm doing, here's what you need to know, thank you, have a nice day. If someone were to want to leave an offensive remark, that remark won't show up on my page. This protects the people that view my page. The user with bad intention's best hope is to attach a relevant hashtag and hope some user is looking for information via that hashtag and not directly from my organization's page. This one way flow of information is a great way to share what you're doing with the public without opening yourself up to others' comments.
This difference in usage is what makes Twitter ideal for large, litigation prone entities like companies, school districts, etc. You don't have time to babysit your account to clean out all the nefarious comments, nor should you be expected to respond to each user - that one way flow of information is just what you need.

Panning for gold
Once people get on Twitter and start hunting for hashtags that are useful, they quickly realize the vast amount of information flowing through Twitter. How can they make sense of it all?! I liken Twitter to standing next to a roaring river, panning for gold. You can't possibly glean every little flake of gold from the river, you've got to accept that. Find what little nuggets you can and move on. Come back later when you need to hunt for more. Over time you'll develop a sense of what hashtags are worthwhile and which ones stay relatively dormant, just as the gold prospectors knew which parts of the river were worth working and staking a claim on.
As you get a better feel for Twitter, you'll begin to see which hashtags belong to your interests. Then, when you're ready to share something with the world at large, you'll know how to "tag" your tweets in order to garner the audience you seek. At that point you'll finally "get" Twitter.

On usernames
It's worth pointing out that your Twitter username can serve as your sole identity to some Twitter users. You will find certain users on Twitter that you have no connection with other than a shared interest in a particular topic. When selecting a username it's good practice to make it something easy to relay to others (nothing too cryptic) and one that you think represents you well. Several users will attach a small picture of themselves to their Twitter profile so others can put a face with their name.

So where do I start?!
First things first, you don't have to have a Twitter account to use Twitter. You only need an account when you're ready to tweet something. The best place to start is to find a notable figure or brand in the subject you want to hunt for and "follow" them (just read their Twitter feed). You'll begin to notice the hashtags they are using for your interests and then you can begin to scour those hashtag feeds for others to follow or other, related hashtags.

Resources
To show you how many hashtags there are just for educators, I have a list of hashtags over at MrGober.com: http://www.mrgober.com/hashtags
If that's how many teachers have, you can imagine how many there are for news stories, events, pop culture, hobbies and brands. It's just a matter of finding them! My personal favorites are #edtech #hamradio #news #edu #arduino .
If you're looking for me on Twitter, my username is @MrGoberTX.

It's been a year since my post about Morse Code: Brief History, and I figure I might as well shed some light on how to get started operating with Morse Code. Since the Morse code requirement for ham radio was lifted in 2007, the number of amateurs getting their HF privileges has grown substantially, but with the "repeal" of code, entry level Technicians are granted privileges in certain portions of the bands. Most commonly, Technicians can operate SSB in the 10m band, but can also operate CW, or Morse Code, in 80m, 40m, 15m, and 10m. So, if you're a ham, you already have privileges to operate CW - you just need to learn where to start.

Learning the Code
For starters, you will need to learn Morse Code, one way or another. (duh.) While it may not be the universally agreed upon best way, I learned Morse Code through the Code Quick program. It really is an easy way to learn and quickly remember the code. There are countless gimmicks and "5 Minute Ab"-type programs that try to rush you through the learning process as fast as humanly possible, but few are ever successful. You just can't hurry the learning process. The downside of the CodeQuick method is not immediately known until you're trying to copy signals that are faster and faster. Once you hit about 10wpm, the CodeQuick lessons that you've used as a crutch finally become a hindrance and make copying code faster more difficult. The big plus is how quickly you'll learn the code in relatively enjoyable lessons compared to other methods.
Another alternative to learning the code is one of dozens of Koch method trainers. The Koch method, and most others, ram the code into your head seemingly through brute force. You learn the code, but for most people it simply is not entertaining or enjoyable as CodeQuick. However, the hard work you put in up front pays off in the end as you are able to increase you speed with relative ease compared to the CodeQuick program. So it's all about where you want to put in the work, now or later. Because most people because frustrated or quickly lose interest with other methods, I recommend CodeQuick in spite of the "plateau" effect you encounter when trying to speed up your copying skills. Unless you enjoy learning it, the learning curve is almost insurmountable.

There really is no substitute for the "sweat equity" you're going to need to put in to learning the code. It will take time to learn, there's no magic pill. I listened to the CodeQuick training lessons when I was in the car by myself. I wasn't bothering anyone else and I could pass the time by learning something. So consider your personal schedule and think about when you might have time to idly study code.

Copy, copy, copy
Knowing the characters and having the recall ability are helpful, but you still need to try some "live" copy. That is, it's easier to send letters when you know what they are; it's another thing altogether to try to understand what another person is trying to tell you.
There are several practice resources available on the web that will send you random letters or news headlines in Morse code. Copying code is harder than sending code, practice copying others' code more than you practice sending your own.
One of the best sources to copy live code on the air is to use the ARRL station W1AW, which transmits at set speeds and specific times. W1AW transmits a very strong signal, so you should have little trouble hearing the practice sets in North America.

Terminology
As with all things, there's some terminology with Morse code. WPM is a commonly used acronym for "Words Per Minute". That is, the speed at which the numbers and letters are coming at you. For the sake of standard measurement, WPM has been defined as 5-character groupings. If we're talking about 20wpm, that's going to be about 100 characters in a minute.
Farnsworth spacing is the act of sending letters at one speed and pausing in between each letter at a different speed. For example, if we're talking about 20wpm, that's 1.6 characters a second - pretty fast! Now, for beginners, the goal is usually 5wpm. 5wpm has become the baseline for proficiency in Morse Code. at 5wpm, that's one character every 2.4 seconds - much slower. As you learn the code, you'll hear 5wpm characters and find yourself impatient. The individual dits and dahs are so spread out, it's hard to hear them as one whole character. Suddenly you hear just E's and T's. (E = dit, T = dah) The solution to this "slow character" rate is to use Farnsworth spacing. You might receive characters at 15-20wpm, but pause a second or two in between each character so you have time to think and write down the letter you heard. That would be 15wpm letters at 5wpm spacing, or "5wpm Farnsworth spacing". The beauty of Farnsworth spacing is as you become faster and faster, the only thing that needs to change is the spacing between characters. The idea is that you'll go from 5wpm to 15wpm without even noticing (over the span of days/weeks of practice).

Getting on the Air
Ok, ok, ok... You've done your homework, you know the code. You're tired of waiting. How do you actually get on the air?
This was exactly where I was for years. For years I knew the code, but I never used it. I was still sitting at 5wpm, but never had any airtime. That all changed when I stumbled across a segment of the CW portion of the dial. For some reason, nobody ever explained to me that if I wanted to meet other 5wpm hams, I'd have to start in the "Novice portion" of the bands. I had listened to and failed to copy hams down in the lower part of the CW bands. This one evening I stumbled across a radio contact (QSO) somewhere between 7.100 and 7.125. I wasn't able to copy 100% but they were going my speed! Wow, I was able to copy their callsigns and even pick up on the gist of their conversation! Finally, there are other beginners out there like me - I just had to know where to look. If I can offer one bit of advice to other would-be CW operators, it's this: Listen around 7.114MHz on the 40m band. If you only remember one thing of this entire write up, it's to remember this portion of the CW bands. I was a frustrated CW wannabe until I "discovered" the Novice bands. You'll almost always hear someone around there and they shouldn't be going too much faster than you can copy. It's the absolute best place to start with learning code. 10m may not propagate all the time, 15m can be finicky too, 80m is good, but not as popular for slow speed as 40m.

The Exchange
Chances are you've already read how basic QSOs go, they're usually chalk full of acronyms, lingo and abbreviations, but they generally go like this:
CQ CQ CQ de N5DUX N5DUX CQ K
N5DUX de W1AW W1AW W1AW K
W1AW de N5DUX = RST 599 = QTH TX = NAME TOMMY = QSL? K
N5DUX de W1AW = FB TOMMY = RST 579 = QTH CT = NAME HIRAM = BTU K
W1AW de N5DUX = THX FER CALL HIRAM = JUST LRNING CODE = 73 de N5DUX K
N5DUX de W1AW = OK TOMMY = KEEP IT UP = 73 de W1AW SK

Copious amounts of abbreviations are used with Morse Code. Misspelled words while a travesty on the internet are understood for the sake of time in Morse Code. Saving a dit or dah here or there can add up over the course of a conversation. QSL, K, QTH, CQ, RST, 73 - all of these are abbreviations commonly used in CW. (QSL = "do you copy?", QTH = "my location", CQ = "seek you", RST = "signal readability, strength, tone", K = "over/back to you", 73 = "best wishes, goodbye")
So, now that you know the most common abbreviations (known as Q codes), you can probably gather the gist of the exchange. Basically N5DUX is calling out to see if anyone can hear him. It's the radio equivalent of a fisherman putting his hook in the water. W1AW comes back with his callsign, saying it 3 times to ensure N5DUX copies it correctly. Once he does, N5DUX acknowledges W1AW by calling him specifically and tell him how strong his signal sounds to his location. He informs W1AW of his location and then gives his name. W1AW, upon receiving this, replies with his information. Right there is generally what is regarded as a "contact", everything else that may be exchanges are niceties and can be as brief or as long as possible.

Equipment
In order to make your CW experience as comfortable for you as possible, it pays to have a good setup. Of primary importance, is the radio and antenna. You will need a radio that can operate in your intended band. If you're just getting started, you may simply want a radio that can receive CW until you feel more at ease with copying code. Some general receivers have CW mode, but you will need to ensure you can hear the "dits and dahs" before anything else. Most modern HF ham radios support CW (in part because it's such a simple mode to have on a radio - arguably the easiest!).
Once you have a receiver you will need an antenna. The easiest antenna for constructing is the dipole. If you're only receiving, you don't need anything fancy. In general, the more wire the better, but a tuned antenna for 40m is the most efficient and will provide the best signal.
If you are planning on transmitting, I suggest getting a good straight key. I started with some MFJ paddles and enjoyed them, but nothing really beats a straight key for truly getting that organic feel of sending code. I picked up an old US Navy "flameproof" straight key from eBay for a good price. It's rugged, solid feel is far superior to the under $10 straight key you'll find in junk bins at every hamfest. Those will work if you've got nothing else - but then again so do paperclips and thumbtacks.
Beyond the radio equipment itself, I recommend a set of headphones. Headphones help to block out any distracting noises and help your brain really focus on just the sounds you need to hear.
You'll also need a couple of pencils, a pad of paper, to write down the conversation as it unfolds. Just for kicks an internet connected computer is helpful. Having a computer so you can lookup the callsigns you hear on QRZ.com is a big help. By looking up the other guy's name, you can see at a glance where he's from and his name. These will help you out when he's sending his information to you. It helps confirm where he's from and it also gives your brain a little rest as you already know the information. Just be sure to follow along as he sends it to you, he may not be at home or he may go by another name. (Many hams shorten their names when they're in CW because it saves a few dits and dahs. Thomas may be shortened to Tom, Robert may be Bob or Rob, etc. (On a personal note, I go by Tommy in CW because that's my day-to-day name. I don't go by Tom on a daily basis and I wouldn't introduce myself to you in real life, so I keep it Tommy in CW. Besides T-O-M in Morse isn't as "fun" as T-O-M-M-Y. The -.-- on the end is a bit more fun and recognizable. )

First contact
If you're station is all setup and ready to make a contact, you'll probably get a bit nervous. Calling CQ is one thing, copying someone's response is another. I'll admit there were times I called CQ repeatedly and when someone came back to me, I effectively "hung up" on the guy. When I heard my callsign coming back to me I got excited and scared. I completely lost my ability to copy and just turned off the radio! It really happened - silly I know. (Sorry whoever you were!) Radio contacts don't have to be long, but your brain will hurt after just a few minutes of your first few contacts. It's taxing when you are starting out, but I'm at the point now that when the radio contact is flowing, it can be a bit relaxing to hear the letters coming out of the air. That part is hard to describe, but other experienced operators will know what I mean. After all, if it wasn't enjoyable, why would thousands and thousands of hams around the world stick with it? I digress.
So your first call should be relaxing. Perhaps you know a CW operator near you that can help you along during your first QSO. Having regular practice under more "controlled" conditions can be a big help before you step up to the plate for real. (There's even an ARRL First Contact Award you can receive for that first, memorable contact.)
Another key rule of operating is to never send faster than you can copy. It's your way of telling the other operator how fast (or slow) you need him to send. If the other operator is sending slower or saying "QRS", slow it down a bit for him. If the other operator is going too fast for you, slow down your sending speed to a comfortable rate and even send "QRS PSE" ("slow down please"). Any operator worth his salt will slow down for a slow spped op. (and you don't ever want to be "that guy"!)

Gaining speed
You can read all you want, but eventually you will need to just go for it. After you have a few contacts under your belt, you'll notice you can pick up your speed just a bit. Maybe it'll be going from 5wpm to 6wpm, but eventually you'll find yourself operating faster than you realize. You'll hear another new comer call CQ at 5wpm and it will sound mind numbingly slow. That's when you realize how much you've grown.
Another great way to gain speed is to participate in short, CW "contests" known as sprints. If you have a straight key, the Straight Key Century Club offers free membership. Upon joining, you'll be given an SKCC member number. Write this down prominently, you'll be referring back to it from time to time. Sprints are short, sometimes 2 hour contests that hold no value and are just for fun. As an up-and-coming CW operator, what you'll gain is a lot of experience in a short amount of time. By participating, you'll be able to make a lot of contacts very quickly and each exchange is as brief as possible; so it's "just the facts ma'am". You'll hear the so called "fist" that operators have (the style each operator has of sending dits/dahs, spacing, etc.). You'll also be eligible for the myriad of awards SKCC offers its members.

Further Reading For further reading, download the free PDF "The Art & Skill of Radiotelegraphy", it's full of helpful information and while dry at points, really does explain the entire concept or CW and the use of Morse Code.

I hope some of this helps. I'll expound on this as I can... 73!

The fact that there's a space station orbiting above the globe right now has become somewhat passe in pop culture. Not many people are truly wowed at the news of it. Within seconds, a few clicks of a mouse will take you to hundreds of pictures and videos of the International Space Station; but did you know you can see the space station yourself? No binoculars or telescopes needed! I figured I would write up a HOWTO for the uninitiated. It isn't hard, it just takes a little know how.

For starters, you need to know a few terms used when talking about satellites (the ISS is a satellite of the planet Earth).

Azimuth
The first term when dealing with satellites is azimuth. Azimuth is a technical term that means the same thing as heading, bearing or direction. Most people are comfortable with the cardinal directions North, South, East and West. The cardinal directions are fine for general directions, but to know exactly where something is we need to be more specific. When dealing with an azimuth, a number of degrees is stated. 0° is North, 90° is East, 180° is South, 270° is West, and on around to North again. Kinda get the picture? It's a full circle divided into 360 degrees. (Also note, there's technically no such thing as 360° when dealing with Azimuth, because 360° would be the same as North, but that's already 0°.)

Altitude
It's not entirely what you think. Sure altitude means height, but we're not talking in feet or meters here. Remember, we're dealing with observational angles here, so knowing how high something is is of little consequence to us. Altitude in astronomy means "angle above the horizon". Altitude is expressed in degrees, just like azimuth. 0° is at the horizon, 90° is straight up. 45°, you guessed it, is right in the middle. Take a second and hold your arm out parallel with the ground. That's 0°. With your other arm, point straight up. That's 90°. Find 30° and then find 60°. Using these angles as references, you'll quickly be able to find a "close-enough" estimation about most any angle of altitude.

See? Not too hard. Now, let's combine the two.
Point of reference
A good starting point for know where the Space Station will approach from is to first find where North is. If you don't already know which way North is, you can use the Big Dipper to find the North Star which is "true north". Once you have North established, turn and face north. Straight ahead is 0°. Behind you is 180°. To your right is 90°, and to your left is 270°. (Incidentally, the angular altitude of the north star is your latitude on a map.) Now that you have azimuth figured out, you can add in altitude angles to see that you can quickly pinpoint any position in the sky day or night using these two values.

Finding our target
To be able to track the ISS, we need to know it's current position which is constantly changing as the station is in orbit. (It's moving at ~17,500mph!) Fortunately for us, there are several free websites that provide second-by-second positioning of the ISS. The main website that I use for celestial tracking (and perhaps the easiest to use) is N2YO.com. Open up the ISS link in another window or tab and let's look at the interface. N2YO tries to estimate your position based on your internet provider's geographic data. (Which something to be aware of, so make sure it's pinpointing your location correctly! As long as it's within 30-40mi, that's close enough for causal viewing.)
The N2YO screen should show you a table of information with varying degrees of yellow. The brighter the yellow, the brighter the ISS will be during a pass (known as magnitude. These yellow boxes are not the only times the ISS flies over. In fact, the ISS passes over about once every 90 minutes. (Yep, around the world in 90 minutes.)
To see all of the passes over your location, you can click on the grey button labeled "Show All Passes". Quite a few right? They are not yellow, because you will not be able to see the ISS during those passes. To hide the ones we can't see, click the grey button "Show visible passes only".

Reading the Information
To understand the table, read the columns left to right. The first column shows us the date of the pass along with the time you will first be able to see the ISS as it's coming into view, as denoted by the green UP arrow. (The satellite is said to be rising at that time) Times are expressed in military time. Numbers less than 1200 are morning, numbers greater than 1200 are afternoon/evening. To convert to the "normal time", if the time is greater than 1200, simply subtract 1200 from the number. The number next to time/date is the beginning azimuth. At the time/date stated previous, at the azimuth stated, the ISS will begin flying over your position at 0°.
The next column is the highest elevation of the pass, stated with a time and azimuth. Then, finally the end of the pass will be at the time and azimuth in the last column. Using this information and your newfound understanding of azimuth and elevation, you should be able to string along the three key points of the pass to determine the general direction of the entire pass (just connect the dots).
Brightness
Oh, yeah, a note on brightness. In astronomy, brightness is referred to as magnitude, as stated previously. The lower the magnitude, the brighter the object. The greater the magnitude, the dimmer the object.
I also suggest trying to spot the ISS on a clear night with little or no cloud cover, as few visual obstructions as possible, and pick a pass where the maximum altitude is greater than 45° and magnitude is -1.0 or lower. You may be able to see it lower altitude or higher magnitude passes, but you may easily miss it on the lower, fainter passes.

So, what am I looking for?
Phew! - you made it. Hopefully, I haven't scared you off. It really isn't as complicated as it may sound and you'll soon discover that casual viewing of the entire pass does not require you to pin point and measure angles. Once you see it, you'll be able to visually track the brightest and highest flying spacecraft ever. So what will it look like? The ISS will look like a quickly moving star. At times it'll be the brightest object in the night sky, flying very quickly. You'll know it's not a plane because its light does not blink. It also may appear to be going much faster than any plane flying so high up.
Those with binoculars might be able to barely make out the outline of the shape of the ISS as it passes directly over your position (>70° passes).

I hope you've found this helpful, I'll gladly update to clarify anything that may be confusing. Clear skies!


Reference: N2YO - ISS link

A local ham recently asked me the best way to talk on ham radio satellites using what he already has on hand. It doesn't take much, although some more specialized equipment does make it much easier, but the point is - you don't need much beyond what you may already own if you have a basic VHF/UHF station. The following is my email to him:

Which birds to target and how to track them
"The best satellites to start with are AO-27, AO-Echo and SaudiSat-1C. (Satellites go by different names depending on where you're getting your info.)

I usually direct people to Heavens-Above to get the latest pass information. The exact time and angle of each pass varies from day to day, so you either need tracking software or a website to tell you when the next pass is over your location. With Heavens Above, you need to enter your longitude and latitude, so it can figure out the information for you.

I've put in the longitude and latitude in for my QTH here in Longview on this link:
http://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx?Lat=32.5560&Lng=-94.7474&Alt=365&Loc=N5DUX&TZ=CST
(change the location by editing the link or click on the link under Configuration at the top of the page)

When you go to the website, you'll be shown a lot of different links. For our purposes, we're interested in "Radio Amateur Satellites". Click on that link.

Now you'll be presented a table of all the various satellites that Heavens Above is tracking. I usually find the satellites I'm interested in working, then look over at the "maximum elevation" - this is how high in the sky the "bird" will get. Generally the higher the pass, the better chance of hitting the satellite you'll have. If all you're using is a vertical, 45-degree passes will give you a good shot. But anything greater than 30-degrees should be doable. Because you're not on a directional antenna, you don't need to really worry about the azimuth of the pass. Someday, you may find that you'd like to get a yagi and then direction of the pass will matter.

(edit: Heavens-Above is a good reference, but since most people have to jump through a few hoops to enter their Longitude and Latitude, I've been recommending N2YO more and more. Heavens-Above will show a good table of information so you can see everything at a glance, but if you know the satellites you're wanting to work, check out the table at N2YO's Amateur Satellite listing.)

What frequency?
So, now you know when the passes are occurring, now you need to set the frequency. Here are the uplink and downlink frequencies for these 3 satellites. Note the tone. Remember, you talk on the uplink, receive on the downlink.

name	uplink	downlink	PL
AO-Echo	145.880	435.150	-
AO-27	145.850	436.795	-
SaudiSat-1C	145.850	436.795	67.0
Int'l Space Sation	144.490	145.800	-

Doppler
Ok, so there are your frequencies. Those are the "actual" frequencies. Remember, Doppler shift does play a part in satellite communications. You will need to go UP a few kHz as the satellite is coming TOWARD you and DOWN a few kHz as it goes past you. (When it is perpendicular to your position, the frequency will be right on the actual frequency.) If that makes your head hurt, just know to start about 15-20kHz above the actual. As the signal gets more "scratchy" sounding, you'll know it's time to drop ~5kHz.

Listen first!
Listen, listen, listen. Just because you can't hear it, doesn't mean it can't hear you! It's a repeater in many respects, and if you're calling and calling and calling, you're tying it up so others can't use it. If you plan to operate chiefly during daytime hours, you'll hear A LOT of guys crowding onto the satellite each pass. You'll hear quick, rapid-fire exchanges. "N5DUX Echo Mike-22" "Ok, N5DUX, EM22 - this is W1AW, FN31" "Roger W1AW, FN31, 73." - and that's all it is usually. A quick exchange of grid squares, seldom a signal report and rarely much conversation. That is, during the day. At night it's a different story. When all the "sane" people are asleep, you can get on an FM satellite and have a full QSO for the duration of the pass, sometimes up to 15 minutes - always remember though, you have an entire continent of hams that may be wanting on the satellite too, so keep some space between exchanges.

So, tune your radio to the downlink frequency, find the next pass and see if you can hear the satellite.

Recording
A tip I've picked up along the way: The operators are going to be throwing out their info very quickly, so you may need to make a recording of the pass, so you can go back and replay the whole thing to get a second chance of copying their info.

Once you know you can hear the signals, throw out your callsign and see if someone comes back. It's just a really busy repeater, so don't give up. Also, realize that since you're only using a vertical, you won't have as strong of a signal as others will, so you may get stepped on or not heard. Don't give up - try later in the evening when not many are on.

CW telemetry
If you have a dual-band antenna, that would be even better for working sats from a vertical. A mono-band 70cm will work fine for receiving, but for transmitting the uplink you'll need a resonant antenna on 2m.

That's not to say you can't have fun with the 70cm alone. If you have a multimode 70cm radio, you can also copy telemetry data from other satellites that is sent down in CW. It's not the most exciting stuff right away, but copy one satellite over a period of a few days and you can monitor how it's on board temperature swings as it passes in/out of the sun/earth's shadow and stuff like that. It's just fun to copy CW from a little satellite 200+ miles away. The one I copy most often (when I do try to copy) is RS-30 Yubileiny. Unfortunately it isn't tracked on Heaven-Above, so I have to use this other website that's pretty handy, N2YO.com
Yubileiny's track: http://www.n2yo.com/?s=32953

After you decode the info, check out how to "decode" the info by Googling for "RS-30 telemetry", or use a tool like those found here for free: http://www.dk3wn.info/software.shtml Check out the telemetry hypothesis section here to decode the seemingly random strings of info: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/yubilein.htm

So there you have it, a beginner's guide to getting on the birds with stuff you probably already have. For further reading, check out this page from AMSAT and, of course, scour Google for all it's worth!

update: It should be noted that as of sometime in Spring 2011, AO-Echo began experiencing difficulties with its onboard batteries. The command team cannot keep the control system loaded effectively taking AO-Echo offline. AO Echo is as good as dead until further notice.

update #2: AO-Echo is back online now. Thanks for the heads up Schrockwell. Echo is online running at 2/3 her input power and running 1W output. Note the changed frequencies. These are not the same frequencies Echo has been using since launch. There are the "QRP" frequencies.

update #3: AO-Echo is dead, so long little guy.