Ham Radio & ISS

[Robbo]

Have to brag!

 

I have been trying to make contact with the international space station for months using ham radio.

 

Well, I have now done it. I was lucky enough to have a 2.5 minute contact with an astronaught aboard the iss.

 

This was mind blowing as I was not expecting it so was lost for words during the transmission.

 

Its amazing that from my backyard shack I could talk to an astronaught in orbit!

 

Ok off topic but had to brag!

 

 

[red750]

Good one, mate.

 

 

[planedriver]

Thanks for sharing that.

 

Can understand your excitement and loss for words.

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Congratulations Robbo I know how difficult this can be and its a real buzz the first time you do it

 

It is more difficult now to get a voice conversation with anyone on the ISS. I used to talk regularly to the cosmonaughts on MIR before its demise and the early shuttle flights were pretty good too...although I coudn't believe it when I head a female astronaught on the shuttle talking about baking cakes to another female amateur radio operator in south australia...luckily she dropped off and I got to talk to the astronaught after that. It was easy to do back then as I had my tracking satellite antenna array also doppler correction driving the radios so the computer used to do all the hard chasing work. It is even easier now with the newer software and computer control. We used to take a portable tracking array around to some schools that had organised with NASA to chat with the shuttles when they were up. We would take the yagi's and a special mount I had made and the AZ/EL rotator and my IC275H and IC475H and the computer around to schools so they could talk to the shuttle crews. I haven't had a tracking satellite array up for more than 10 years now but have been thinking about getting another one up and running. But there are no world available orbiting satellites around since AO40 died only the LEO style so you not really talking internationally anymore.

 

Mark

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Have to brag!I have been trying to make contact with the international space station for months using ham radio.

 

Well, I have now done it. I was lucky enough to have a 2.5 minute contact with an astronaught aboard the iss.

 

This was mind blowing as I was not expecting it so was lost for words during the transmission.

 

Its amazing that from my backyard shack I could talk to an astronaught in orbit!

 

Ok off topic but had to brag!

I spoke to a bloke called OSCAR on 2 metres ssb many years ago, but he didn't say anything, he just kept sending my comments back down to Earth on the ten metre band the miserable bugger,. . . .

 

Phil ( G4 OHK )

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

The ruskies used to have the 10mtr downlinks but they are all OSCARS :).......your not a commie under the bed sheets Phil are you?

 

 

[Phil Perry]

The ruskies used to have the 10mtr downlinks but they are all OSCARS :).......your not a commie under the bed sheets Phil are you?

Better explain this to all the NON ham radio oriented viewrs mate,. . .

 

O. S. C. A. R. Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio. . .

 

For Lenin's sake mate,. . .what gave you that idea. . . .just a Tony Hancock fan. . . .

 

Dasveedanyah tovarich. . ..

 

I mean,. . .tarah.

 

Phil

 

 

[pmccarthy]

I would talk to the IS blokes myself but the Homeland Security would be onto me.

 

 

[Robbo]

Gonna have another crack this week.

 

I don't have a computer in the shack as it causes grief with the HF.

 

 

[Icarus]

Nice work Robbo.

 

Ive been pretty slack on the Ham radio scene recently. Only use my Kenwood ThF7e for listening to air traffic! good practice for CTA as im near Coolangatta .[ Murwillumbah]

 

ISS is in the list of things to do in radio for sure.

 

Brendan. VK2 FXXX

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

I spoke to the shuttle quite a few years ago, STS21 I think. It's a shame that such a cool hobby has become so ho-hum these days. Most folks would just say "why not Skype?". I still enjoy it though, catch you on 40 metres some time,

 

Kevin VK5KKS.

 

 

[Icarus]

Yeah they miss the point.

 

A good analogy is fishing.

 

Why go fishing when you can go and buy the fish?

 

I have learnt so much about electronics, radio , antennas etc, and met some great people. We are all nerds at heart , some just show it more than others.

 

 

[Icarus]

This thread reminds me of a question I have been trying to find a definitive answer to.

 

What is the maximum tx power for VHF air band am .

 

I do recall seeing 5w for hand held and 25w for in aircraft , Correct?

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

I got all involved with the CB rage back in the seventies. I was amazed this little box in my car could let me talk to someone across the world.

 

 

[Robbo]

I have seen airband radios with 50+ watts but not sure if this is legal.

 

 

[Robbo]

I don't have a computer in the shack as it causes grief with the HF.

Plus, I am not into all the computer tracking and pc control of the radios.

 

I love the rush of chasing something down and trying to catch the signal the old fashion way without a computer!

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

http://www.issfanclub.com/ Listen to some of the recorded audio from ISS and ground...it is quite interesting

 

http://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

 

4 days ago the last registered voice contact. Looks like they are busy working on the ISS so just packet and maybe 2.4 ghz ATV downlink could be active they robbed the power supply for the TV transmitter for a experiment on board it was supposed to go back on the TV 3 days ago

 

Mark VK4KZK or VK4OI take your pick

 

 

[Icarus]

I have seen airband radios with 50+ watts but not sure if this is legal.

Seems it might be .

 

looks like ground coms can go up to 25w but cant find a limit for aeronautical stations.

 

https://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2012C00581

 

enjoy

 

 

[Phil Perry]

Dunno if Wiki would have the answer, have not looked.

 

I helped to test the output of 2 vhf comm units at Berwick many moons ago. . . not that the A/C type really makes a difference but one was a C-172 and the other a 150; They both had a carrier wave power output of around seven watts rms, I lent my Bird thruline meter to the engineer who had "Lost" his testometer. . .( bloke wasn't a radio techy but a bloody good engineer ) using the correct slug incidentally. Both problems were caused by corroded / broken feedlines to the antennas, producing a really high VSWR ( reflected power ) reading and causing problems with reception at ground stations. Both radios were tested on a dummy load prior to replacement of the feeders.

 

I have no idea what the RF power output is supposed to be either. I would have thought that 25 watts would be a lttle high, and since AM signals are around 305 efficient; that would place quite a high current load on the system for such a small aircraft, but then again, I don't know the output of the engine generation system on those types either.

 

I have comfortably worked stations more than 25 NM distant on Icom IC A2 / 20 hand held radios fastened to the pod of a trike, using 0.5 watts. . . . Ground stations would require a greater Transmit power output anyway, to allow for ground wave absorption, something not as important to an aircraft in flight. . .

 

Tecchies please. ?

 

 

[sain]

I had to go looking, and found a reference to it in the US regs. I havn't found the AUS or UK regs yet, but I suspect they are the same.

 

87.131 defines the power and emissions standards:

 

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=aa7500faff2a901aa69fb933fbec0f83&mc=true&node=pt47.5.87&rgn=div5#sp47.5.87.d

 

Unless I'm reading it wrong (probably), our VHF aircraft comms is limited to 55 Watts.

 

I'd recommend looking that up before designing and building a radio for it.