--------------------------------DEFINITIONS and ABBREVIATIONS-----------------------------------------
AM - Amplitude Modulation - To vary the amplitude of a radio carrier wave in accordance with sound, voice, or music
AOS - space communication jargon for Acquisition-Of-Signal
ARPA - (The Advanced Research Projects Agency) which later evolved into the World Wide Web - WWW
BFO - (Beat Frequency Oscillator) A circuit in a radio receiver, when switched on, it gives a tone sound to steady carrier signals or Morse code (CW) signals. Steady carrier and code signals would not (always) be audible without the receiver BFO. Sometimes, nearby signals will mix with the desired steady carrier or code and give them a tone sound without the BFO being on, while this is the BFO effect, it isn't dependable in practice.
BP - Blood Pressure
CBS - Columbia Broadcasting System
CIA - is the Central Intelligence Agency of the U.S. Government that collects, analyzes, and coordinates spy activity outside of the United States.
CO2 - chemical abbreviation for "carbon dioxide" a gas occupying less than 1 percent of Earth atmosphere- CO2 - does not support life
CQ - A shorthand code in radio jargon which is transmitted by morse code or voice. Calling "CQ" is an invitation to engage in a conversation.
DOD - Department Of Defense
CW - Continuous Wave - on-off keying of a radio wave or Morse Code
Doppler Shift - (the result of the Doppler Effect) is the shift in frequency of acoustic waves or electromagnetic waves as the source of these emissions moves relative to an observer and as they are perceived by the observer. The shift is to higher frequencies when the source approaches (wave compression =shorter wavelength=higher frequency) and to lower frequency when it moves away (wave stretching=longer wavelength=lower frequency). The amount of plus and minus frequency shift from the emitted (center) frequency is directly proportional to speed relative to a fixed point in space. Discovered by Austrian physicist C.J. Doppler-1803-1853. See SPUTNIK REPLICA and listen to the rapidly changing Doppler Shift indicating its nearest approach to my receive station.
Downlink - the radio transmission from a satellite (linked back down) to earth
FCC - Federal Communications Commission - USA Regulatory Agency over electronic communication
Fist - Every Morse code (CW) operator has a distinctive style of sending just like people have different hand writing styles. In radio jargon this is referred to as the operators "FIST".
GMT - abbreviation for "Greenwich Mean Time" also called "Zulu" time in military jargon. UTC -Universal Time Coordinated- is the most recent name
HF- abbreviation for High Frequency - from 3 to 30 Megahertz -more commonly known as Short-Wave or SW
HOLD - a delay in the countdown to a rocket launch
ICBM - abbreviation for "Intercontinental Ballistic Missile"
IC - "INTEGRATED CIRCUIT" - An early name for a Computer CHIP, containing thousands of electronic components on a single CHIP of silicon.
Laika - (pronounced "LYE-kuh") means "barker" in Russian. During training, she was nicknamed Kudryavka, meaning "Little Curly". Before her flight she was officially renamed Laika (Barker) after her breed. Laika was the first earthling to orbit the planet and she did not survive her mission. She was part- Samoyed terrier mix and weighed about 14 pounds / 6.3 kilograms. As a stray, her age was uncertain but some sources estimate she was about two or three years old at the time of her flight. In some parts of the world Laika is spelled Layka.
LOS - space communication jargon for Loss-Of-Signal
MAX-Q -"maximum aerodynamic pressure" in space jargon
Morse Code - An early form of communication using a system of dots and dashes, short and long sounds, which represent the letters of the alphabet, numbers and punctuation marks. Morse Code can be sent over wires, as flashes of light, as sound and was most commonly used in radiotelegraphy and is still in use today primarily by Ham Radio operators. It was invented between 1830-40 by Samuel F.B. Morse. (see my old telegraph key and Ham Radio rig)
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formulated in Washington D.C. in 1949 for the purpose of collective defense against aggression, at that time primarily to guard against the Soviet Union and its east European allies. NATO was made up of 12 Atlantic rim nations with America and Britain as leading members. Other important nations on the European continent included West Germany, Greece and Turkey which were geographically close to the red Communist threat.
RIG - Ham Radio jargon referring to the radio equipment type used by an operator.
Resistance - in a circuit - is the opposition to the flow of electrical current and it is measured in units called Ohms. Resistance in electrical circuits can be good and bad. Resistance in long power lines causes a loss of energy in the form of heat. However, resistance can be put to good use by changing the behavior of electronic circuits. Special components called resistors, most commonly made of carbon in different amounts for different resistances, are built into circuits for a range of desired effects. Example, with applied voltage constant in a circuit, if circuit resistance is increased then current will decrease and if resistance is decreased then current will increase. This effect is expressed in Ohms Law which mathematically defines the relationship between Voltage , Current and Resistance within an electrical circuit. The rubber tube around LAIKA’S chest was impregnated with carbon and worked like a variable resistor (rheostat) by changing resistance as it was physically stretched by her breathing. Therefore the current passing through it changed accordingly (inversely to the resistance) and created a changing electrical signal that moved in step with LAIKA’S respiration.
SAC - Strategic Air Command -the early Cold War era U.S. Air Force command charged with intercontinental air strikes against any enemy country, namely the USSR -Soviet Union (Russia) at the time.
SEP - space jargon for "separation" of a rocket stage (or "staging")
SHORTWAVE see SW below, also known as High Frequency (HF)- a band of frequencies 3 to 30 megahertz
Signal - Is any electronic current or voltage value or electromagnetic (radio or light) wave or sound wave which represents or carries information or data.
Silent Key - radio jargon for a deceased Ham operator - Silent Key, meaning his telegraph key is silent.
SKIP see SW below
Sputnik - means "fellow traveler" in Russian and was a generic name given to early Soviet earth orbiting satellites. Beginning in the early sixties "Cosmos" plus a sequential number became the generic cover all name for many different types of satellite missions. This provided a convenient way of explaining away military related and spy type missions as being, "another research satellite in the Kosmos series".
SW - abbreviation for Short-Wave - a band of frequencies between 3 and 30 MHz. The main characteristic of these frequencies is their ability to "SKIP" off the ionosphere and propagate over long distances, making possible world-wide communications when atmospheric conditions are good. Also called HF
SWL - abbreviation for Short Wave Listener
TASS - the news agency of the former Soviet Union
Telemetry - means measuring from a distance
Transducer - An energy converter which changed Laika's chest movement (mechanical energy) into electrical energy or (also see above)- signal that was radioed back down to earth.
UHF - abbreviation for Ultra High Frequency - from 300 to 3000 Megahertz - Characteristics - line of sight
Uplink - an earth based radio transmission radiated toward a spacecraft
USSR - abbreviation for "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" also called Soviet Union or Russia. The Soviet Empire was dissolved in December 1991 marking the end of the Cold War.
VHF - abbreviation for Very High Frequency - from 30 to 300 Megahertz - Characteristics - NORMALLY line of sight
VOX - is a voice operated switch or sound activated switch that can be used for a multitude of applications such as turning on/off a tape recorder, radio transmitter, lights, burglar alarm, etc.
WWII - World War 2 -the worldwide war between the aggressive, brutal Axis nations, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the Allied nations, England, America, Canada, Russia and others- fought from Sept.1, 1939 till the final victory over Japan on Aug.14, 1945. Referred to as “The Great Patriotic War” by Russians.
WWV - A powerful SW radio station located in Fort Collins, Colorado that provides an accurate TIME and FREQUENCY service at the frequencies of 2.5, 5, 10, 15, and 20 Megahertz (mHz). NOTE- The WWV 20 mHz transmission was only five Kilohertz (kHz) away from the weak Sputnik signal. In an unusual move, the WWV 20mHz transmission was turned off, at times, to keep it from drowning out the feeble one watt signal from Sputnik.
WWW - World Wide Web
ZZZZ - a FLASH or TOP PRIORITY RADIO MESSAGE mainly used in Morse Code (CW)
