[GCARC] "Pictures from Space" start today!

[Jon Pearce]

The ISS passes for the last few days haven't been optimal - they're too low to have a strong signal - but some members with directional antennas may have copied some pictures. Better passes are coming tomorrow - there's a 49 degree elevation pass starting at 9:42 AM and one with similar elevation starting at 4:12 PM.  The best one will be on Friday morning at 8:54 AM with an 85 degree elevation pass - almost directly overhead. That's followed later that day at 3:24 PM with a 77 degree elevation pass. Passes are about 10-11 minutes long.

SSTV pictures are sent with one minute transmissions followed by one or two minutes of silence, so if you don't immediately hear a signal just be patient. The SSTV signal is distinctive - it's a musical warble - so you'll know it if you hear it.

We may be able to pick up some good images from the clubhouse satellite station and I'll be there mid-day tomorrow to see what I can get. There are a few passes on Saturday that we might be able to hear with the big antennas at the clubhouse as well.

Hopefully some of the newer members will take a shot at listening to these pictures from space - if so let us know of your success!

73 de Jon WB2MNF
________________________________
From: Jon Pearce <jonathanwpearce at outlook.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2024 9:33 AM
To: GCARC Mail List <gcarc at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: "Pictures from Space" start today!

The International Space Station will begin transmitting slow-scan TV pictures today on orbits starting around noon and will continue through next Monday. A link to the ISS passes over our local area is here: ISS - All Passes (heavens-above.com)<https://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=39.8286&lng=-75.1451&loc=Unnamed&alt=0&tz=Chile>  - click on the "all" button to see all of the passes.

Today's best pass should be at about 5:14 tonight with an elevation of 62 degrees. That pass will start in the northeast and continue to the east-southeast.

The ISS won't be visible on any of these passes - either we will be in daylight or the ISS will be in darkness. For the ISS to be visible the ISS must be in daylight and the earth underneath must be in darkness, but we can receive radio signals regardless of sunlight.

These images can be decoded using a normal 2 meter FM radio and connecting the radio's soundcard audio output to the MMSSTV program that can be downloaded at this link: MMSSTV - HamSoft<https://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php> . For HTs and radios without a soundcard output you can decode using a phone SSTV app and hold your HT speaker up to the phone microphone. This is also an ideal application for an SDR receiver, connecting that audio output through a virtual audio cable to the MMSSTV program.

K2QA and I are trying to get the clubhouse satellite station set up to record these images; if so we'll show them at the next general membership meeting.

The following is from the AMSAT bulletin announcing the event:

The transmission frequency will be 145.800 MHz FM, using SSTV mode PD120. The ISS callsign will be RS0ISS.

The SSTV transmissions will be made using the station in the Russian ISS Service Module. The equipment used is a Kenwood D710 transceiver running about 25 watts output which provides a very strong signal enabling reception using simple equipment. Images received by amateurs world-wide during previous transmissions can be seen at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV.
Amateurs can receive the SSTV pictures directly from the space station by connecting the audio output of their two-meter transceiver via a simple interface to the soundcard on a Windows PC or an Apple iOS device. On Windows PC’s the free application MMSSTV can be used to decode the signal, on Apple iOS devices you can use the SSTV app for compatible modes. For Linux systems try QSSTV.
The ISS puts out a strong signal so even a 2M handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be enough to receive it but one’s chances of success are significantly improved with the use of a handheld beam antenna. The FM transmission uses 5 kHz deviation which is standard in much of the world. Many FM rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM. Handhelds all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard.
Good luck!

73 de Jon WB2MNF