[RVRC] a little more on ISS.....

[Marvin Bronstein]

>From ARRL Newsletter;



Ham Radio in Space: "Ham Video" Transmitter is Now Aboard the ISS
A Japanese cargo spacecraft has delivered an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) digital TV transmitter to the ISS. The equipment arrived August 9 and is being stored in the space station's Columbus module. Gear includes the transmitter, power supply, NASA-provided Canon XF-305 camera, and antenna cables, reports ARISS-Europe Chair Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, who says the DATV transmitter is being dubbed "Ham Video."

"Installation will be done by US astronaut Michael Hopkins, KF5LJG, who has been trained for the commissioning of the Amateur Radio digital video equipment," Bertels said in a report posted on the ARISS-EU website. Hopkins will be part of the ISS crew increment heading to the station next month. The 10 W EIRP S-band (2.4 GHz) Ham Video transmitter will use one of the L/S-band "patch" antennas installed on the ISS' Columbus module. 

Commissioning will involve a series of tests that will be performed over the course of three or four orbits. Bertels says it's possible that the transmitter will send a continuous signal between commissioning steps, offering Amateur Radio ground stations a chance to test and tune their receiving equipment. "The transmissions will be performed in automatic mode, without requiring crew time," Bertels said. "The camera, which runs on a battery, will not be used, and the ground stations will receive a black image." 



Here is a little more on the ham radio activity plans for ISS.