Possibly ask club members to bring out their existing sat-com setups? Putting
all your eggs in one basket is much riskier than having extra help, lots of
these guys are retired and may have time to spare/help.
I'm talking about having 4 Toyotas (extra ham's) is better than relying on one
super complicated Mercedes. If the tracking software fails or something else,
you would have others who may be successful with simpler setups.
Hope i'm not stirring the pot, just trying to help the effort. Hope this works
out, have someone make a video and share it with us on Youtube, that would be
cool!
On Sunday, February 13, 2022, 01:57:04 PM CST, Neal Naumann via BVARC
<[email protected]> wrote:
Yes, you can probably talk to the ARISS with a $7.25 Boafeng talkie (yes I
actually have one that I bought from Radioddity with a $25 coupon) and a rubber
duck antenna. So after about a year of planning and selection for a probable
once in a lifetime event for this particular school class, would you just walk
in with a hundred eager students waiting for your contact with the space
station, only to realize you are unable to make contact because your equipment
had malfunctioned or was insufficient. Can you imagine the value of a hour of
time on the ISS? A google search estimates about $350,000 per hour to keep the
station in orbit - I have no idea what's rolled into that figure, but assuming
that's a realistic minimum and there are an average of six occupants, it works
out at around $60,000 per hour per occupant overall.
So a decent high elevation pass may give you 15 minutes of talk time at most.
Plus a few minutes on each side of the pass for the astronaut to prepare and
secure the station… Your $7.25 Boafeng failed, so 30 minutes of ISS time is
maybe $30,000 taxpayer money gone. On the ground, you are now standing in the
middle of a bunch of disappointed students and pissed off teachers, school
officials, and NASA personel, looking like a complete idiot. That moment of
amateur radio will be forever remembered. You could either be a hero or a zero
( or possible negative number because you just single handedly took the entire
hobby down with you). What’s it going to be?
I’m sure there is equipment around to be lent and insure the success of this
event.
Try to be positive. Amateur radio can be better than a bunch of old grumpy men
… and I’m not saying that anyone is, but can we turn this thread towards a more
positive direction?
73,
Neal Naumann N5EN
From: BVARC [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Keith Dutson via BVARC
Sent: Sunday, February 13, 2022 6:00 AM
To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]>
Cc: Keith Dutson <[email protected]>; Rick Hiller <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [BVARC] ARISS Contact - Request for loaner gear
Ditto. I was at a pool party some years back and used a Kenwood HT to talk to
an astronaut. He was using the Kenwood transceiver installed in the space
station.
During an ARISS session with a school, a completely different setup is used.
The transceiver is a Harris unit using the onboard audio system and a separate
dedicated antenna. This station has a special ARISS call sign and the
astronauts are control operators with their own call sign.
When astronauts are assigned to a mission aboard the space station, they are
asked if they want to participate in the ARISS session. If the answer is yes,
they must have an amateur radio license. If they do not have a license, I am
called to teach them how to get their license. This is done in a two day class
at the Johnson Space Center. Each day is a two hour session, so only four
hours of instruction are given. Electronics and math are not included since
astronauts are already well trained in these topics. Instead, emphasis is
placed on rules, regulations and procedure.
73, Keith NM5G
On Saturday, February 12, 2022, 08:20:13 PM CST, Rick Hiller via BVARC
<[email protected]> wrote:
At the Boy Scout local Jamboree in Navasota a few years back we worked the ISS
with a 2 meter mobile FM rig and vertical antenna. The astronaut talked to us
for a bit too, not just 599 TU.....pretty cool.. Of course they were directly
over head during their pass.
RH
On Sat, Feb 12, 2022 at 11:34 AM Ron Bosch via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote:
Something run through NASA is overengineered, IAM SHOCKED, SHOCKED I say!! 😊
Sent fromMail for Windows
From:JP Pritchard via BVARC
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2022 8:39 AM
To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
Cc: JP Pritchard;Jeff Greer; Jeffery MacMillian
Subject: Re: [BVARC] ARISS Contact - Request for loaner gear
Over-engineered is an understatement.
JP
On 02/10/2022 8:16 AM Jeff Greer via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote:
This is a scheduled school contact with the ISS via the ARISS program.
ARISS.org has documentation, including ground station recommendations here:
https://www.ariss.org/uploads/1/9/6/8/19681527/ariss_ground_station.pdf
We were also assigned a technical mentor (a ham who has done this many times
before), who must approve our plan before passing it along to ARISS for
official approval.
-j
From: BVARC <[email protected]> on behalf of Jeffery MacMillian via BVARC
<[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2022 7:53 AM
To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]>
Cc: Jeffery MacMillian <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [BVARC] ARISS Contact - Request for loaner gear
Jeff,
Is there a reference or documentation? Are you just trying to make a contact,
or is there something else going on?
Thanks,
Jeff
KC5TT
On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 7:25 AM Jeff Greer via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote:
We have to build primary and backup stations for contacting the ISS, in
accordance with ARISS requirements, which are decidedly over-engineered. 😉
I think they require a minimum 14-el circular polarized cross yagi on a rotator
for the primary station, for example, along with automagic satellite tracking...
From: BVARC <[email protected]> on behalf of Jeffery MacMillian via BVARC
<[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 9, 2022 10:57 PM
To: BRAZOS VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB <[email protected]>
Cc: Jeffery MacMillian <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [BVARC] ARISS Contact - Request for loaner gear
Jeff,
What exactly are you trying to accomplish?? I am sure we can find some way to
accommodate your goal without being out some $5000.00 worth of ham gear...
Have Fun,
Jeff
KC5TT . . .
On Wed, Feb 9, 2022 at 7:23 PM Jeff Greer via BVARC <[email protected]> wrote:
All,
We are moving to finalize our equipment plan. We've consulted with our ARISS
technical mentor and believe we are on the right track. We are seeking some
loaner gear (list below). Charlie wanted me to make sure to let everyone know
that we are looking to have gear on hand in the next few weeks, and won't be
able to return loaner gear for some time - perhaps as late as December or
January. We understand that many will not be able to be without their gear for
that long, so wanted to state it up front.
That said, here's a short list of the stuff we know we'll need:
-Icom IC-9700
-50A power supply, linear preferred
-peaked roof mount (tripod or base that can be secured with cinder blocks
and/or sandbags)
-Mirage B-5018-G preamp, 2M-PA 2M preamp, or similar (for us to play with prior
to receiving ARRL gear)
-Battery power system in case of power outage
-eggbeater and/or 5/8 wave (w/ ground radials/plate) antenna
-Cushcraft A14820 or similar cross yagi
-Uninterruptable power supplies
-SWR/Power Output meter
-coax switches
-Yaesu G5500 rotator (we have a possible loan in the works with a local ham,
and a possible loan from ARRL for this)
If you would be able to help, please let me (and Charlie, copied here) know.
Thanks so much!
More details about how to listen to the contact as I have them.
73!
Jeff W5JEF
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--
Rick Hiller
e-mail: [email protected]
Cell: 832-474-3713
Physical: 9031 Troulon Drive
Houston, TX 77036
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Publicly available archives are available here:
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