What to listen to

Stations worth an evening: what they are, why they are on the air, and how to hear them without a receiver of your own.

QO-100: the Es’hail-2 satellite

QO-100: the PSK beacon 10489.750 story	10489.750 MHz	USB	The middle beacon of the transponder: BPSK at 400 baud with the satellite's telemetry, a steady rushing sound. It shows that reception from the satellite works at all, and web receivers lock their frequency to it.
QO-100: SSB contacts 10489.700 story	10489.700 MHz	USB	The SSB segment 10489.650–10489.740 (and above the beacon 10489.755–10489.850): contacts around the clock between amateurs of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. Turn the knob along the segment, there are many stations.
QO-100: CW 10489.520 story	10489.520 MHz	CW	The CW segment 10489.505–10489.540 just above the lower beacon. The CW decoder shows the text.
QO-100: FT8 10489.540 story	10489.540 MHz	FT8	The transponder's narrowband digital spot: FT8 on 10489.540 MHz, decodes every 15 seconds from the whole footprint.
QO-100: the lower CW beacon 10489.500 story	10489.500 MHz	CW	The lower CW beacon of the transponder from the AMSAT-DL ground station in Bochum: Morse text without end; frequency is calibrated by it and it shows how strong the satellite is.
QO-100: the upper CW beacon 10490.000 story	10490.000 MHz	CW	The upper CW beacon, the edge of the transponder. Nobody transmits above it.
QO-100: the emergency frequency 10489.860 story	10489.860 MHz	USB	The transponder's international emergency frequency: silent in normal times, used by amateur emergency services in exercises and disasters.
QO-100: SSTV 10489.620 story	10489.620 MHz	SSTV	SSTV pictures through the satellite: the mixed-mode segment 10489.580–10489.650, most often around 10489.600–10489.620. The SSTV decoder builds the picture from the sound.