International Space Station to be visible on Sept. 19-20

The International Space Station to be visible on Sept. 19-20. The key word being "visible" and is not the only time you can see the ISS though.

Radio amateurs can listen via wireless during most passes with the hope to either listen in during a scheduled astronaut contact with a school or to use the digital packet relay system known as a "digi-peater" to bounce short text messages through the ISS and back down to Earth.


Non-Visual Voice Communication

The astronauts do not have much time for casual amateur radio operation, but you might be lucky if you give the station a call on 144.490 MHz in North America or 145.200 MHz elsewhere in the world. You will need to listen to 145.800 MHz for transmissions from the Astronauts.

Using different receive and transmit frequencies is known as split operation.  Astronauts have the ISS radio programmed the opposite was as you would on Earth.   The reason for this is to minimize interference and increased reliability.

The below photo is of a post card confirming a contact with the ISS and a local amateur radio operator.  The "QSL" card was sent from a ground station on Earth and was not dropped 220 Miles above from the ISS, if you were wondering.

Non-Visual Data Communication

If you are interested in non-voice communication, tuning in to 145.825 MHz will allow you to receive APRS data through the ISS.  Your AX.25 capable radio will use the same frequency on transmit and receive.  A path of "ARISS" will help ensure your transmission is received by the ISS and passed back down to Earth automatically.


Viewing the ISS

Applications such as "ISS Detector" for Android smartphones, tablets and Chromebooks work great to "predict" when the next pass will come over your area.  Apple device users may use "ISS Spotter".  Many computer programs also exist such as "Orbitron" for Windows users,  "Gpredict" for multiple platforms and "Nova" as being the three most popular or easy to use options.

There are also additional augmented reality and web based tracking tools available that are easy to find.

It is best to adjust your eyesight to the dark for at least 10-15 minutes before looking at the night sky. This gives your eyes some time to adjust for maximum viewing benefit.

On September 19th, the pass coming over the Eastern United States will track from South to North

The following day at just about the same time will see the ISS pass over yet again, but just lower in the sky compared to the night before.

Beyond visual observation, it would also be good to keep an eye on the APRS activity via the APRS.fi website to see if radio amateurs are "bouncing" signals from the space station.

You can track the space station and APRS activity via the RS0ISS call sign which broadcasts from the Russian module of the ISS. It is not always active though.  The best way to confirm recent activity is by looking at the AMSAT satellite status page or by looking at the very active Facebook group focused on the International Space Station A.R.I.S.S experiments.

If anyone would like to take some pictures of the upcoming ISS pass, it would be great if they can be shared in the comments or emailed to info@hvdn.org for a future article.

Happy Monday Again!; Ashford School and ISS Make Contact

The front gate to Burger Hill at Drayton Grant Park in Rhinebeck, New York was closed (and locked) at 8:45 AM this morning, so a quick decision to either quickly go home or find an alternate location to record the 9:05AM rescheduled ISS contact with a school in Ashford, CT was needed.

One of the many student questions that Serena Auñón-Chancellor answered included important ion propulsion technology that may one day take Earthlings to Mars. More below including recordings!

Ion propulsion will be important in getting to Mars - Serena KG5TMT

Tracking the ISS

Orbitron software was used to track the International Space Station. Combined with the software defined radio program, SDR#, its possible to keep the frequency locked on to accommodate for slight drift called the "Doppler Effect".  At VHF ((145.800MHz), the Doppler effect is not as pronounced compared to higher frequency, such as at 445 MHz. 

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Recording location was far from optimal for best line of site on the grounds of CO. in Rhinebeck on such short notice.

The Ashford Band YouTube channel has shared a video of the setup and ultimate discussion with Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor M.D, KG5TMT.

Reception site of K2GOG in NY and KM1Z down-link site for ISS in Connecticut

YouTube link jumps to 41:50 into the 56:00 video where the actual contact between KZ1M and NA1ISS, operated by Serena.

To both see and hear the down-link signal from the International Space Station, HVDN has two files:

• MP3 Audio File - 10/22/2018 - NA1SS & KM1Z (Ashford, CT)

• IQ Baseband Recording - 10/22/2018 - 145.000 MHz to 146.000 MHz (Caution 2 GB!!)

The HVDN files are only “one way” because line of sight from the ISS to where the recording took place was too far away from where KZ1M was located.

Here are some past articles for additional reading:

• SDR: Let's Walk To The Space Station?

• Happy Monday!: ISS & STEM Academy Make Contact

• Amateur Satellite Basics: Where, When & What to listen for

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SDR: Let's Walk To The Space Station?

I had high aspirations on Wednesday to do a base-band SDR recording of a scheduled International Space Station (ISS) contact with a school in Ashford,  Connecticut. 

Burger Hill at Drayton Grant Park Rhinebeck, NY 12572

The weather was nice, so I decided to trudge up the measly 550 feet of Burger Hill for amazing views and to maybe cross paths with a passersby or two interested in what I was up to with my collection of equipment. 

What is a base-band recording?  Think of it like recording a television show with a DVR or VCR.  The only difference is a base-band recording lets you record a wide block of spectrum say from 162 to 163 MHz and be able to point and click on any activity received for later playback. This would be like recording multiple movies, news and sitcoms on different channels all at the same time.

Bummer: Well, no activity from the ISS on 145.800 MHz at 14:39 PM ET (1839 UTC). 

As it turns out, the ISS contact was cancelled at the last minute due to an experiment in the Columbus module that would have prevented the use of the functional radio in that part of the space station. 

The radio to be used was actually considered the spare radio as the main radio after years of service no longer is functional.  A replacement is supposed to be sent up before the end of 2018.

I only found out about this change of schedule on a Facebook Group that I joined once I got home which is more up to date than all my usual sources such as the official ARISS Project website, AMSAT mailing lists and various NASA pages.

Serena Auñón-Chancellor, KG5TMT preparing the
NanoRacks Cubesat Deployer-14

This just goes to show that social media is still the best spot for breaking news!

Looking on the bright side...

All was not lost though. Not many minutes later at 15:02 ET was a pass of the elderly SO-50 satellite and I quickly made a contact with Tom, K8TL in grid EM89, 500+ miles away from me in FN31 thanks to this "repeater in the sky".

All that was needed was 1 watt of transmit power & a directional antenna! 

However, the down-link for the SO-50 satellite is centered on 436.795 MHz and there was someone using digital voice on that frequency which made it hard to make more contacts as SO-50 reached its apex and started to move out of range.

I did not have a DMR capable radio with me, but I am pretty sure that is what mode it was and it was local versus coming from the satellite. 

Listen:  Do you hear a "digital sound" on 436.795 MHz?

Trespasser!!

No hot spot or repeater stations appeared listed on Brandmeister on that frequency in the satellite band, so it could be some joker or ill informed amateur about the suggested ARRL and ITU band plan just intentionally interfering. Rhinebeck is pretty much far away from any "majorly" strong out of band signals that could have interfered, so it had to be an amateur radio operator.

I knew the signal was also local because if it was somehow coming in from SO-50 by someone transmitting DMR on the VHF up-link of 145.850 MHz, it would have come from the direction of the satellite and not from another direction to my south west at a "terrestrial" elevation.

This sort of interference makes me sad because 436.795 MHz is well known for over 16 years that this is where SO-50 transmits back to earth on.

There are plenty of other frequencies that can be used for digital voice that would not interfere with those interested in satellite communications.

Lets change the subject back to base-band

While I was at the great location of Burger Hill, I decided to do a 30 second base band recording of the weather band from 162-163 though should anyone wish to test it out since every NWS channel is in use from that location.

A "Normal" Recording:

A center frequency of 162.475999 MHz with a bandwidth of 15 kHz can easily be recorded and played back using pretty much any audio player, but only just that one frequency can be heard. The file size is 1.9 MB. Play: Standard AF Recording (1.9 MB)

Play: Standard AF Recording (1.9 MB)

A "Base-band" Recording: 

Compared to the "Standard AF Recording", the base-band recording for the same 30 seconds is 60.9 MB or 3105% larger. However, you can listen to any signal of any bandwidth in any mode across the entire 162 to 163 MHz captured for 30 seconds.

SDR# will help you visualize the entire 1 MHz wide
recording without needing a radio

In order to play the base-band file, you can not use a regular audio application or otherwise the sound might sound like an Imperial Probe Droid from Star Wars.

Play/Download:  IQ Base Band File (60.9 MB)

If you are a Star Wars fan, you know the
audio I reference from Echo Base on the ice planet Hoth

Ham Solo: Return of the SDR#

Download and install the popular SDR# program and select the "IQ File" option as shown. 

Then navigate to where the "IQ Base-band File" was saved and press play in SDR#

From the Burger Hill location and its good line of site, multiple weather stations were received as well as a few other signals not related to the weather.

Hudson Valley National Weather Service (NWS) stations
broadcasting 24/7 on the 162 MHz spectrum

Hopefully this article gave you a taste of a few interesting things you can do with amateur radio or use equipment for a dual purpose unrelated just to ham radio.

Next time there is a planned live ISS contact receivable from the Hudson Valley, we will definitely try to get that recording, just as long as the astronauts do not get busy at the last minute! 

Check Out The HVDN STEM Project Here

Search for more satellite and space related content on HVDN 

Happy Monday!: ISS & STEM Academy Make Contact

On July 2nd 2018 at just past 11:30 AM was a scheduled contact between the International Space Station and the Pearl technology STEM Academy in Peoria, Illinois. Students submitted questions in advance that astronaut Serena Aunon was going to answer by using the space stations amateur radio equipment.

“Nothing beats waking up on a technological marvel and then starting the day off with an antique method of navigating. Sextant Operations from @Space_Station! Still considered a potential backup method of navigation for future vehicles…” said NASA astronaut Serena M. Auñón-Chancellor on her Twitter

Since New York where HVDN is located was in the general foot print of the space station orbiting overhead at 200+ miles high on its way over Peoria, here is a brief recording of some of the questions asked before the space station got out of range.

Recording:  NA1SS operated by Serena Aunon answering questions facilitated by W9DWJ

The reason only one side of the conversation was heard was because the ground station in Illinois is too far to hear directly on VHF spectrum in New York directly.  

The ground station setup at the STEM academy was transmitting on an up-link frequency to the ISS of 144.49 MHz and the ISS was transmitting back down on the 145.80 MHz down link. 

Start and end positions on where the ISS was first heard and when it was out of range.

It is fantastic for students to be able to leverage technology to have real time contact with the space station and to instill an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at an early age.  Serena is a great role model for younger generations to see what they can be when they grow up.

Amateur radio allows anyone to experiment with this hobby, be they young, old, male, female, technical, non-technical, English speaking or otherwise.  There is much that can be learned with each other and HVDN plays an active part in the Hudson Valley area of New York in fostering interest in emerging and exciting parts of amateur radio.

Here is the radio used to record the ISS contact.

HVDN has recently launched the STEM Talk Group available on the Brandmeister DMR network which uses DMR technology to create easy and clear communications globally. 

More information can be found at the below link and perhaps this great resource can be used to connect explorers, astronauts, engineers, or anyone else who can share unique insight about amateur radio, what its capable of and how it can influence future generations to better communicate. 

• More about STEM Talk Group 31630

• More about Astronaut Serena Aunon

ANNOUNCEMENT: On Saturday July 6th, Steve K2GOG will be taking a ride in a hot air balloon as part of the Balloon Festival at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in New York. Anyone interested in arranging contact via TG 31630 with him, can listen on TG 31630 between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM New York time. He will be routed on to the network via the N2MCI repeater located in Kingston, NY.  Steve's location will also be found on the aprs.fi website under the N2HVD-11 call sign. He will also be making direct contact on suggested analog or digital frequencies too on 2m, 1.25m, and 70cm below

• 146.52 MHz Analog FM
• 223.500 MHz Analog FM
• 446.00 MHz Analog FM
• 446.075 MHz Digital DMR (TG 99, CC1, TS1)
• 145.790 MHz Digital DMR (TG 99, CC1, TS1)

Space Station Contact with Syracuse, NY

This morning, astronaut Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP was able to make a prearranged contact with the Museum of Science & Technology and students from the Danforth Middle School, Syracuse, NY, 

(Astronaut, Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP on the ISS. Courtesy of www.nasa.gov)

Children were able to ask a few questions before the Space Station moved out of range. 

The frequency the International Space Station was heard to be transmitting on was 145.800 MHz.  The K2MST in Syracuse  ground station received Mark loud and clear for a few minutes starting at about 9:08 AM New York time.  In order to communicate with the ISS, the K2MST team were receiving on 145.800 MHz, but transmitting on 144.490 MHz. Mark's radio at 220 miles above Earth was set up opposite as those back on Earth. He was receiving on 144.490 MHz and transmitting on 145.800 MHz.

This split frequency operation is used to minimize interference since different parts of the world have a slightly different VHF "2m band" allocation. In Europe for example, they can still listen for down-link signals on 145.800 MHz, but typically use 145.200 MHz for up-link. 

Here is a video documenting the event:

The ARISS project has coordinated 1,000+ contacts with schools around the world with the International Space Station since it has been in orbit.

HVDN is proud to work with local schools in the Hudson Valley to help coordinate an event like this in the future in our area.

Please contact Steve K2GOG  at K2GOG@amsat.org if your school is interested in learning about how to get on the ISS schedule if you are located in Dutchess County NY or one of the adjoining counties.