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WebSDR is a Software-Defined Radio receiver connected to the internet. Here is being said "OK for HF but no good for VHF / UHF". I was thinking to use it for cubesat reception but given that the antennas as fixed I guess It will not work.

Could WebSDR be used for cubesat reception? To be more specific I would like to listen to VHF BPSK1200.

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That presentation says:

  • Most websdr cover HF and VHF using sound cards
    • Only 96 KHz band coverage
    • Just like Softrock
  • OK for HF but no good for VHF / UHF

The operative statement is only 96 KHz band coverage. This is fine on HF, since 96 KHz is a good chunk or all of many HF bands. But with increasing frequency, the bands tend to get bigger. For example here the 2m band goes from 144 to 148 MHz: that's 4,000 KHz wide. The 23cm band goes from 1240-1300 MHz: that's 60,000 kHz wide: enough to fit the entire HF spectrum!

So you can see the issue: with "most" web SDR implementations using a sound card SDR which has a receive bandwidth of only 96 KHz, only a very small fraction of any VHF band can be covered. It's not any problem of WebSDR per se, just the receivers that are sometimes used with it.

If you can find a WebSDR which covers your frequency of interest, and has enough sensitivity to receive the satellite you'd like to track, there's no particular reason it would not work.

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    $\begingroup$ Obligatory comment about how the 2m band is 144-148MHz in the US. Other countries have different [usually smaller] allocations. However, the answer is correct in all other ways. $\endgroup$
    – Scott Earle ♦
    Commented Nov 9, 2015 at 0:52
  • $\begingroup$ @ScottEarle Is that a well actually? $\endgroup$
    – Phil Frost - W8II
    Commented Nov 9, 2015 at 13:56
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    $\begingroup$ On a question/answer site you are more likely to come across the 'well, actually' than would be usual, I guess. But if enough people point out whenever people assume that the US-centric view of the world is the only view, then perhaps we can eradicate it. If a question is not tagged 'US' then it doesn't hurt to think internationally, is all I am saying. $\endgroup$
    – Scott Earle ♦
    Commented Nov 9, 2015 at 14:02
  • $\begingroup$ @ScottEarle Are you saying by citing my local band allocation as an example I'm somehow forcing US culture on the entire world? Pointing out trivia like this doesn't make you a champion of diversity: it make you a pretentious asshole. $\endgroup$
    – Phil Frost - W8II
    Commented Nov 9, 2015 at 14:09
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    $\begingroup$ Without stating that you're in the US, then kind of, yes. And thanks for the ad-hominem attack! $\endgroup$
    – Scott Earle ♦
    Commented Nov 9, 2015 at 14:12

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