The Itty Bitty Radio Telescope Kit

(Source: The SETI League)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who writes:

You know my amateur astronomy background. And With the building interest in next month’s Solar Eclipse – and your recent posting from Sky&Telescope re: “How to watch the solar eclipse with your AM radio” – I thought this might be of interest if you haven’t see it yet.

Introducing: “The Itty Bitty Radio Telescope”

Background is here:
http://www.setileague.org/articles/lbt.pdf

Here’s a guide written for teachers as a class project:
http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/epo/teachers/ittybitty/procedure.html

Here’s a guide for building one yourself:
http://www.stargazing.net/david/radio/itty_bitty_radio_telescope.html

And here’s a pre-assembled kit off eBay:
https://goo.gl/HnLUu2

Thank you for sharing this, Troy! I’m amazed at how affordable simple radio telescopes have become. In the 1990s, I was absolutely fascinated with the SETI League’s Project Argus and had planned to build a telescope, but the parts (including an Icom IC-7000) easily totaled over $1,000 at the time–too much for a college student! I imagine a proper Project Argus scope can be built for less than $300 today. Perhaps it’s time to reconsider!

Thanks again, Troy!

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One thought on “The Itty Bitty Radio Telescope Kit

  1. Ben Tocknell

    Could one of these be built using an old aircraft radar dish? Like the kind you find in the nose of a fighter or weather radar dish in commercial jets.

    Or does the dish have to be a specific size to work.

    Reply

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