Toronto college students design device to contact Internationala

Astronauts circling high above the earth should expect a call from four Toronto college students who have surpassed expectations by coupling a simple-looking antenna with a complex communications device capable ...

[Skip Sanders]

While nice, the article is completely in error about this being any sort of 'first'.

The students used ordinary store bought ham radio gear, and a computer controlled directional antenna. Hate to break it to you, but hams have been using those, including the antennas, for dozens of years.

Hams have used such systems to talk to the Space Shuttle all along, and to the ISS since it's been up there to talk to.

GRADE school students have done this, long since.

[the hype]

if they had contacted aliens like via LISTENING FOR ALIENS. By LEON JAROFF;DAVID BJERKLIE/HARVARD Monday, Feb.

... capable enough to transmit meaningful radio signals across vast stretches of empty space....

that sorts through the input and discards cosmic radio "noise." ...

www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,984...

Let Your Computer Find Aliens in Space: SETI Scientific Experiment ...

Anyone can participate in the SETI project through a free program to analyze ... of Earth by listening to radio signals from space received through radio telescopes.... for weeding out background noise and for finding unusual signals....

http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/sear...

[Emily Mathieu version]

Four students become first college-level group in world to call NASA with homemade device ...

http://www.thestar.com/article/581309