Phonesat only has a down link. Anyone can receive that data and decode it. It's pretty simple to do with a simple hand held antenna, a tracking program, and a $

Phonesat only has a down link. Anyone can receive that data and decode it. It's pretty simple to do with a simple hand held antenna, a tracking program, and a $10 rtl-sdr device. The only time you need an amateur license is to send on an uplink frequency that's in an amateur band. With a couple weeks of studying you can easily get your tech license which will give you enough privileges to send on the sat frequencies. If you're close to a club that tests under the Laurel VEC [0], then the test will be free. Even the most expensive tests are only $15. [0] http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/index.php?pg=Exams13 http://larcmdorg.doore.net/vec/index.php?pg=Exams13