A replica of the most famous QRPp transmitter, Sputnik-1 apparatus D-200 (three subminiature tubes at the bottom of the box), was launched into an elliptical extra low Earth orbit (774 AMSL) on 15 June 2021. I allowed myself to add a receiver in the same style:
73 Karel OK2BWB
Hi Karel,
Interesting. The original was transmitting close to 20 MHz. What frequency was the replica on and how many contacts did you get? I don’t see the antenna in the pics.
73
Ron
VK3AFW
Hi Ron,
the antenna is 10m vertical EFHW, too tall to fit in the shot (its end is a black wire under the headphone shell, blue wire is a short counterpoise). I got 10 contacts (11:45z to 11:59z) on the summit VY-009.
There are two frequency versions of my D-200 replica (and of the receiver part as well). The one I worked with, 14.025 to 14.065MHz and 21.025 to 21.060MHz (under lazy development, close to Sputnik’s 20.005MHz).
73 Karel OK2BWB
Very nice, Karel! I remember hearing Sputnik on 20 Mhz with my
Hallicrafters S-38 receiver, what a thrill! The only other person at home
at the time was my grandfather who was about 80 years old. I had him
take a listen and told him what it was. He said, “There ain’t no sucha
thing as outer space”.
73,
John, K6YK
Thank you, John.
It must have been a wonderful feeling!
I read a reprint of detailed reports on this project (available in Russian only), it was a wonderful radio adventure.
73,
Karel, OK2BWB
Hallo Karel
That was a very nice idea
73 Armin
Hi Karel,
Very nice job on the hardware!
I heard the original on a Navy RAX-3 receiver. An older friend, who was at China Lake Naval Air Station, heard it on an S-38 Hallicrafters. The people at China Lake actually got a nice photo of it, in orbit; they named it 1957 A. Pretty smart of the Russians to put it close to WWV on 20 Megacycles.
73, Ken K6HPX
My old girlfriend recalls that Sputnik ruined her fifth birthday dinner on Oct 4, 1957. Her father was an admiral, and all the adults spent their time asking him what it meant. I heard it on an SX-25, although I later accumulated more than a dozen S-38s of various flavors, including a trio of SR-75. Beep beep beep
EL
Karel,
Very nice job, congrats.
It would be interesting to see whether hobbyists can also create replicas of Sputnik V in a few decades, perhaps with the help of a next-generation printer, hi.
73, Heinz
Thank you very much.
I am very interested in experiencies associated with monitoring the first artificial satellite of the Earth.
Do you still remember - purely by chance - how the Sputnik’s “melody” sounded? Have you noticed the Doppler effect?
I know, it’s all too long ago …
Explorer I, and future satellites operated in the v.h.f. band. Short waves have lost their significance in this area.
73,
Karel, OK2BWB
Unfortunately I had to make do with listening to a tape recording of Sputnik 1 as my HF receiver just made 18 MHz. So near and yet so far. I did see it pass over on the first evening after the launch was announced. That memory is clear and I can still feel the cool air and my excitement is seeing it for the first time. I watched many subsequent passes.
Yes there was Doppler shift. Not a lot IIRC because of the frequency. When the first 2 m beacon equipped satellite went up I listened to that directly and there was plenty of Doppler shift. And a little chirp on the “Hi” sent. A happy sound.
73
Ron
VK3AFW
I acquired a Sputnik TX from my friend Dom, M1KTA earlier this year. I’m looking forward to trying it at some point.
The closest I’ve come to operating with valves was with an FT902DM at the radio club I went to when first licenced.
73, Colin
Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try SS2SS (SOTA Sputnik to SOTA Sputnik) QSO 
73!
Karel, OK2BWB
I cannot find any info online about the June 15th launch. Link?
