Background: A lot of older U.S Navy communication satellites used linear transponders, that are essentially general-purpose repeaters that can relay a wide rang

Background: A lot of older U.S Navy communication satellites used linear transponders, that are essentially general-purpose repeaters that can relay a wide range of modulation, and some could be used without any authentication. Accessing them is not difficult. VHF is accessible using modified amateur radio equipment, and UHF comsats are accessible using a simple upconverting mixer. As long as one knows the frequencies and locations of these satellites, one could scan the spectrum to identify its uplink and downlink frequency, and use them as their personal CB radios. Brazilians pirates has been doing it since the 80s, and today pirates around the world are still doing it. And there's nothing the U.S. military can do to stop them except for calling their local communication regulatory agencies to raid a few pirates... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=570233 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=570233