Alachua County ham radio heroes launch high school robotics teams into orbit with Space Station connection

Press release from North Florida Amateur Radio Club

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – In a thrilling tale of ingenuity and determination, the Alachua County disaster communications Ham Radio Club has turned a quest for satellite points into a cosmic opportunity for local high school robotics teams. Their mission? To secure a rare, direct line to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS)—and they’ve cracked the code to make it happen!

It all kicked off during a high-stakes, 90-year-old ham radio competition, where the Alachua County team, tied to local Emergency Management, was dominating the leaderboards. But one prize eluded them: the coveted Satellite Bonus Points, earned by making two-way contact with distant hams via orbiting amateur radio satellites. With about ten satellites zipping through space, the challenge was steep—and their initial attempts fell short.

Enter local ham radio legends Ron Lewis and Jeff Capehart, volunteers with the North Florida Amateur Radio Club. Armed with hand-held aluminum antennas and portable walkie-talkies strapped to wearable vests, they dove into the fray. But the airwaves were a battlefield, their signals drowned out by fierce competitors. That’s when Gordon Gibby, a ham radio mastermind, stepped in to rewrite the story.

Gibby spearheaded a game-changing, homegrown robotics system that tracks satellites with laser precision. Using computer-controlled mechanics, the system keeps two antennas locked onto fast-moving satellites, overcoming their breakneck orbital speeds. But the cosmos threw another curveball: the Doppler shift, which warps radio frequencies as satellites approach and retreat. Undaunted, Gibby and the team leveraged a second software system to dynamically adjust frequencies, keeping communications clear.

Not stopping at software, Gibby went full DIY. He ordered raw aluminum arrow shafts, sliced them to size, and drilled them into PVC piping with a portable drill, crafting a custom antenna with the rare “circular polarization” demanded by the ISS contact program. The result? A low-cost, high-performance satellite ground station that any high school robotics team can build.

With free or affordable software, open-source plans, and a publicly available circuit board, the Alachua team has handed local schools the keys to the stars. By meeting the technical and educational benchmarks set by the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, schools can compete for a chance to connect directly with ISS astronauts—a privilege already claimed by over 1,700 schools worldwide. The application process, detailed at ariss.org, is rigorous but within reach for committed teams.

From a scrappy ham radio contest to a blueprint for interstellar education, the Alachua County team has shown what’s possible when grit meets genius. Now, it’s up to local high schools to seize this chance, build their own ground stations, and let their students’ voices echo in orbit. The stars are closer than ever!