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Last October, I had the honor of making such contact with the ISS. I posted about this on my website here: https://rz01.org/na1ss/ https://rz01.org/na1ss/ The
by exitnode 9mo ago
Last October, I had the honor of making such contact with the ISS. I posted about this on my website here: https://rz01.org/na1ss/ https://rz01.org/na1ss/
The ISS has radios on board that allow amateur radio operators to send and receive APRS messages, talk to other hams via their built-in FM repeater or to receive SSTV images. They also have amateur TV stuff on board but I have not explored this yet. Crew members with an amateur radio license can pick up the mic of the radio that acts as a FM repeater to make contacts with other hams on the earth.
You can contact the ISS via a handheld setup (FM radio and a yagi antenna in your hand) or with a stationary setup like mine: https://rz01.org/leo-sat-ground-station-v3/ https://rz01.org/leo-sat-ground-station-v3/
- exitnode 9mo agoIf you are interested in amateur radio in general, you might enjoy reading my "Declaration of Love to Amateur Radio": https://rz01.org/a-declaration-of-love-to-amateur-radio/ https://rz01.org/a-declaration-of-love-to-amateur-radio/
- ErroneousBosh 9mo ago> You can contact the ISS via a handheld setup (FM radio and a yagi antenna in your hand) or with a stationary setup like mine: https://rz01.org/leo-sat-ground-station-v3/ https://rz01.org/leo-sat-ground-station-v3/ A good few years ago I had a crack as using the ISS's crossband repeater when it was on and could hear myself clearly with a Kenwood TH-F7E and home-made dual-band crossed dipole. Unfortunately no-one else could work me, because they'd boosted the satellite's orbit, the TLEs hadn't been updated, and so everyone with a nice motorised antenna positioner was aiming at the wrong part of the sky. Me standing in my back garden pointing roughly in the direction of the fast-moving bright spot? Nah that worked perfectly :-D
- exitnode 9mo agoNice! I made my first LEO sat contact also in the garden with an arrow yagi and a cheap HT. It was fun but I prefer operating the easy way and building a nice station. Some neighbours watched me making this first contact and they now speak to me differently...
- _moof 9mo agoI was out struggling to rig up a new antenna I'd made - nothing was going right and I was getting frustrated - when it occurred to me that if someone were to ask what I was doing, they would've seen a rambling lunatic trying to sculpt a pile of coat hangers while yelling "I'M TRYING TO REACH THE SPACE STATION!!!"
- exitnode 9mo agoIf you can pull this off, you are truly free!