[SMCARA] ISS contact?

Mon May 5 14:59:46 EDT 2014

Further info for you:

I think Mike may be right that the radio is either inoperable or they
have decided not to use it for whatever reason.  I have seen
conflicting discussions about this.  Years ago they enabled the
crossband repeat on the TM-D700 radio but the Russians became
concerned about the duty cycle of the radio.  Maybe they switched it
off or it burned up over time, I'm not sure.

If and when it does go active in voice mode, another way to determine
which uplink frequency to use is if it is in "repeater" mode, it will
be the UHF 437.800 uplink.  You will know it is in repeater mode
because you will hear other Earthbound HAMs on the downlink as well as
potentially an astronaut.  If you hear only a one sided conversation
from an astronaut, then the uplink is 144.49.

A.J.

On Mon, May 5, 2014 at 2:49 PM, A.J. Farmer <farmer.aj at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Micah,
>
> As you have already found, issfanclub.com is the best resource for
> radio activity reports.   The ISS downlink is always at 145.800  Most
> of the time the radio operates in APRS packet mode.  The signal is
> very strong and you will be able to pick it up just fine with a
> standard vertical antenna, even a mobile whip in your vehicle.  I
> always leave 145.800 in my mobile scan list for this reason.  A
> circular polarized 2M antenna will definitely help, but it is not
> required.  If you do go that route, you will also need an Az/El
> Rotator to precisely point the antenna and it gets complex and
> expensive very quickly.
>
> A easier and lower budget option is to use an HT with an "Arrow Antenna":
> http://www.arrowantennas.com/arrowii/146-437.html
>
> Once you have your equipment ready to go, now it is a matter of
> knowing when the ISS is overhead and having a bit of luck.
>
> You can use this site to get a pass prediction table for the next week or so:
> http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT
> Make sure to enter your location at the top right of the page.  Also
> set to "All" passes (not just visible).  Higher Elevation passes are
> going to be much easier to work, obviously.  Anything lower than 20
> degrees above horizon at highest point are probably not worth the
> effort.
>
> 1. Listen to overhead passes of the ISS.  If you hear packet, it's
> best to continue to listen to the entire pass as you never know when
> an astronaut will flip the switch to make voice contacts.
> 2. Watch http://www.issfanclub.com for any Voice contact reports.
> Some crews are more active than others.  If things go for weeks or
> months with no voice contacts (school contacts don't count), it's
> likely things won't change until you get a new crewmember (like your
> friend) that has an interest in making radio contacts.  Usually things
> are hot or cold, no in between.
> 3. If things are hot, keep in mind that the astronauts are working
> with a busy schedule.  Your best bet to have one of them get on the
> radio is during their break time.  After dinner is usually a good
> time.   You might be able to dig up their schedule via Google or
> Nasa.gov.
> 4. Many of the astronauts are active on Twitter and tweet from space.
> Your friend's Twitter handle is @astro_reid   It would be good to
> follow him if you aren't already.  Related to scheduling, if you see
> one or more astronauts tend to get on Twitter at certain times of the
> day, this would indicate they have free time and it is likely this
> might also be time they would get on the radio.
>
> When they switch the radio to voice, it will be one of two modes:
> 1. 144.49 uplink
> 2. 437.800 uplink
> To determine what uplink is being used most often, check issfanclub.com reports
>
> If you hear a school contact in progress on 145.800, note that they
> use a "secret" uplink frequency so the two above uplink frequencies
> are invalid.
>
> In the meantime, you can practice operating and make contacts with
> other Earthbound HAMs on the only active FM repeater satellite, SO-50.
>  Information here:
>
> http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1015
>
> Status and reports are here:
> http://oscar.dcarr.org/
>
> I wrote up some operating tips and put on my website here:
> http://www.aj3u.com/?page_id=13
>
> I hope this helps!  Let me know if you have any other questions.
>
> A.J. Farmer, AJ3U
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, May 4, 2014 at 7:50 AM,  <reesemn at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I found out yesterday that I know someone who is now an astronaut and will be going to the International Space Station at the end of the month (Reid Wiseman, KF5LKT, he was a test pilot at Pax). Has anyone made contact with the ISS and/or want to help me try? Anyone have a 2m circular polarized directional antenna I can borrow for a while? Or maybe seen some DIY plans for one?
>>
>>
>> Micah (N4CA)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from Windows Mail
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> SMCARA mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/smcara
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:SMCARA at mailman.qth.net
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>> Message delivered to farmer.aj at gmail.com