[GCARC] Visible ISS pass 8:01pm tonight

[Mike]

Thanks for the info sir.

I believe the AX.25 packet is active on the ISS as well @ 145.825 both up
and down. I used to like decoding the APRS packets and watching stations
pop up on a map within the ISS's footprint.

Clear skies and 73
Mike Thompson
KG4JYA
Mikeasphere <http://mikeasphere.blogspot.com/>


On Mon, Apr 3, 2023 at 12:00 PM Jim n2gxj <jim.n2gxj at gmail.com> wrote:

> It is a coincidence that at 8pm, same time as the start of tonight's
> TechNet, there is a potentially excellent visible pass of International
> Space Station (ISS).  I may be a few minutes late to the net so that have a
> chance to look (and maybe listen-in to the cross-band repeater traffic
> using my hand-held! )
>
> How see it?
> If skies are not too cloudy, no binoculars, nor telescope required.  This
> is a "naked eye" pass.  Simply stand outside, facing bright Venus in the
> west at 8pm.  Within a minute or two, look for a bright dot rising in the
> sky from the right of Venus, from the north-west horizon, then passing
> above Venus.  This bright dot is the space station.  It is bright enough
> for us to see in this pass because of high up sunlight that is not in the
> Earth's shadow reflecting off of the body of the space station and its
> solar panels.
>
> The ISS will move in an arc across the sky, passing above Venus at 8:03,
> then traveling past a point almost overhead - just above Mars - by 8:04pm,
> and then continuing until it disappears into the south-east horizon around
> 8:06.
>
> Can we hear the amateur radio repeater in space on the ISS?
> Yes you can! For extra fun, if you want to hear hams trying to use the
> cross-band repeater that is on the station at the same time that you are
> visually watching the pass, you can take your hand-held outside to listen
> in!
> Your best bet on your handheld is when the ISS is highest in the sky, up
> near Mars.
> Simply tune to 437.800 MHz FM on your HT, turn off your squelch so can hear
> constant static (also allowing weaker signals to be heard), then hold your
> radio flat, so that the antenna is parallel to the ground (instead of the
> usual pointing up).
>
> If you really want to get fancy with your receiving, before the ISS is
> overhead you might hear the chatter clearer with slightly higher frequency,
> e.g. 437.805. Then tune to 437.800 as is overhead. Then tune to slightly
> lower frequency after is past, e.g. 437.795. Some people pre-program all
> three of these as memories in their HT, but it also works to manually tune.
>
> Have fun, and good luck for clear skies!
> 73,
> Jim
>
> details:
>  sky chart showing the pass (hold this overhead, as E-W are reversed,
> assuming you are looking up at the sky through the picture)
>
> https://www.heavens-above.com/passdetails.aspx?lat=39.7416&lng=-75.0789&loc=NJ_home&alt=45&tz=EST&satid=25544&mjd=60038.0026358046&type=V
>
>  cross-band repeater status:
>   it is configured (it is enabled) 3-April-2023.
>   https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html
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