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Contact with ISS
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:13 pm
by meg
Hi all,
Well, my Foundation license is still very shiny and new, but I want to aim high!
Anyone managed to make contact with the International Space Station?
I've found some info on this forum
http://www.issfanclub.com/node/7433
and according to Heavens Above, it'll fly overhead about 7:45pm this evening.
http://www.heavens-above.com
Let's see just how good the handheld can do!
Anyone with stories about space contact?
Cheers
Meg
(rapidly turning into Jodie Foster from "Contact")
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:31 pm
by robbage
Good stuff Meg! Good luck with the antenna on the hand-held. Stranger things happen. I didn't realise they used FM. Might have a listen myself.
meg wrote:(rapidly turning into Jodie Foster from "Contact")
3.14159265358979 that's it for me.
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:39 pm
by meg
I think S has just agreed with me that we need more antennae
He's busily wrestling with the Chinglish manual to try and get the doppler shifted frequencies in. He says the trick is to think like Dr Suess. We are trying!
There's some more good info on this page too
http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arispak2.htm
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:42 pm
by robbage
I'm pretty sure that somebody has translated that manual. I'm just trying to think where I saw it. Might have been on hamshack's website.
Edit:-
Found it. Hamshack has a link to a PDF here which might help you
http://www.trci.org.au/quangsheng%20tips.pdf
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:01 pm
by meg
Thanks Robbage - I do have that but I don't think it covers everything about the little ...darlings... they work well and aren't that difficult to program, but reading the manual to figure it out is a joke!
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:14 pm
by Zebedee
meg wrote:Thanks Robbage - I do have that but I don't think it covers everything about the little ...darlings... they work well and aren't that difficult to program, but reading the manual to figure it out is a joke!
Haha yes, they're not the easiest things to program that's for sure - I found it a bit counter-intuitive. But then for a hundred bucks, they're still pretty good value I suppose
I still have both of mine (2m one and the 70cm one)
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:23 pm
by meg
Zebedee wrote:But then for a hundred bucks, they're still pretty good value I suppose
I still have both of mine (2m one and the 70cm one)
Absolutely! I wasn't meaning to whinge, just vocalising as I bang my head...
We've decided to throw the towel in on the voice, and have instead installed a little linux app called qSSTV - now just 20 minutes to wait and see if we get any pictures
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:32 pm
by robbage
Do those things let you program text labels per channel? I remember you remarking my Icom having labels. I'm not sure I could use them if they show frequency only. I'd be scratching my head wondering which repeater 146.675 is.
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 7:45 pm
by meg
I don't think so - just "channel 1" "channel 2" etc. The back of my radio is covered with stickers referencing what repeater is what frequency is what channel...
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:06 pm
by meg
Sadly, we heard nothing tonight - but there's more passes over the rest of the weekend!
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 8:09 pm
by robbage
meg wrote:I don't think so - just "channel 1" "channel 2" etc. The back of my radio is covered with stickers referencing what repeater is what frequency is what channel...
So... the same as my scanners then
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:12 am
by Zebedee
meg wrote:I don't think so - just "channel 1" "channel 2" etc. The back of my radio is covered with stickers referencing what repeater is what frequency is what channel...
Now where'd you get THAT idea from???
(Robbage, I had my Quansheng down at the last exam day and was showing off my label making skills with the various repeaters stuck all over the back of the battery pack
)
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:14 am
by meg
Zebedee wrote:Now where'd you get THAT idea from???
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
You'll see S has them on his too next month.
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:24 am
by Zebedee
meg wrote:Zebedee wrote:Now where'd you get THAT idea from???
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
You'll see S has them on his too next month.
Muahahahaha
Have you told him yet how mean we all are?
Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:46 pm
by meg
Zebedee wrote:Have you told him yet how mean we all are?
Thought I'd save that as a surprise
Anyway, just had the scanner on what I thought was the voice downlink frequency (145.800) and heard VK6CO's side of a conversation with Richard Garriot on board the ISS. Didn't manage to grab the handheld and get out from under the tin roof quick enough to follow on!
edit: frequencies given are as follows - however on the Voice downlink freq, I only heard VK6CO, not Garriot. Have I gotten uplink and downlink around the wrong way?
* Voice and SSTV downlink - 145.800
* Voice Uplink- ITU 1 (Europe, Africa & Russia) - 145.200
* Voice Uplink - ITU 2&3 (Everywhere else) - 144.490
* Packet up and downlink - 145.825