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Slightly offtopic, new to shortwave and trying SSTV
5/9/2012 10:16:47 PM
So I just bought my first shortwave receiver and was doing some research on what all the beep and clicks and crap were that I was hearing, and came across this info on the ISS sending back images of earth over radio. http://www.ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/
That sounded too cool not to try so I downloaded MMSSTV, corded the receiver to my computer and tuned to 14230 and I've had 5 pics come through now, some clearer than others but they're all a little noisy.
Here are my questions, is there a way to make MMSSTV play back the sound, as the receiver goes quiet when I plug the cord into the headphone port(as it should). I'm worried that the computer is making the signal noisier when I plug it in but I can't tell because there's no sound when it's plugged in.
And two, has anybody received images from the ARISS project, and how easy are they to pick up. I don't have any fancy high powered antenna, just the whip and 20' wire that came with my receiver. ISS is supposed to be over Oklahoma on the 27th and I'd like to try this then.
That sounded too cool not to try so I downloaded MMSSTV, corded the receiver to my computer and tuned to 14230 and I've had 5 pics come through now, some clearer than others but they're all a little noisy.
Here are my questions, is there a way to make MMSSTV play back the sound, as the receiver goes quiet when I plug the cord into the headphone port(as it should). I'm worried that the computer is making the signal noisier when I plug it in but I can't tell because there's no sound when it's plugged in.
And two, has anybody received images from the ARISS project, and how easy are they to pick up. I don't have any fancy high powered antenna, just the whip and 20' wire that came with my receiver. ISS is supposed to be over Oklahoma on the 27th and I'd like to try this then.
5/9/2012 10:21:28 PM
OK, so I'm an idiot, ARISS is over as the satellite that was taking the pics has deorbited.
I'm still wondering if there's a way to get the sound to play on MMSSTV.
I'm still wondering if there's a way to get the sound to play on MMSSTV.
5/9/2012 10:25:23 PM
Just put the cable about 90% into the headphone jack. You should be able to get audio to the PC without disabling the internal speaker.
5/9/2012 10:28:46 PM
No, SSTV is picture only, no audio. Normal analog TV signals with audio or without are way too wide in bandwidth for HF. Even when used on VHF/UHF SSTV contains no audio. I have used a headphone "splitter" to monitor the recieved audio and pipe it to the computer.
ETA–– It doesn't take a big antenna to recieve the ISS. A 1/4 wave whip will work in a pinch.
See AMSAT for links to all amateur sats.
ETA–– It doesn't take a big antenna to recieve the ISS. A 1/4 wave whip will work in a pinch.
See AMSAT for links to all amateur sats.
5/9/2012 10:31:46 PM
Right, I understand that there's no audio component to SSTV, just wanted to hear it to see how staticy the signal is. I'll try the headphone splitter idea. I just thought there might be an easy way to play the sound on the computer and I was just overlooking it.
5/9/2012 10:42:12 PM
"In space, no one can hear you scream." Alien
(I made Dr. Pepper come out my own nose.
)
(I made Dr. Pepper come out my own nose.
)5/9/2012 10:47:22 PM
Originally Posted By KB7DX:
No, SSTV is picture only, no audio. Normal analog TV signals with audio or without are way too wide in bandwidth for HF. Even when used on VHF/UHF SSTV contains no audio. I have used a headphone "splitter" to monitor the recieved audio and pipe it to the computer.
ETA It doesn't take a big antenna to recieve the ISS. A 1/4 wave whip will work in a pinch.
See AMSAT for links to all amateur sats.
No, SSTV is picture only, no audio. Normal analog TV signals with audio or without are way too wide in bandwidth for HF. Even when used on VHF/UHF SSTV contains no audio. I have used a headphone "splitter" to monitor the recieved audio and pipe it to the computer.
ETA It doesn't take a big antenna to recieve the ISS. A 1/4 wave whip will work in a pinch.
See AMSAT for links to all amateur sats.
Thanks for the info, so I may still be able to hear the space station even though the sstv is done. It will be a bonus if I get to wake up the boys ass early in the morning to hear.
5/10/2012 7:55:36 AM
Originally Posted By A_Free_Man:
"In space, no one can hear you scream." Alien
(I made Dr. Pepper come out my own nose. )
"In space, no one can hear you scream." Alien
(I made Dr. Pepper come out my own nose.
)ROLF!
5/10/2012 10:38:17 AM
Originally Posted By xmetalhedx:
Thanks for the info, so I may still be able to hear the space station even though the sstv is done. It will be a bonus if I get to wake up the boys ass early in the morning to hear.
Thanks for the info, so I may still be able to hear the space station even though the sstv is done. It will be a bonus if I get to wake up the boys ass early in the morning to hear.
It depends on the current crew on the ISS. Right now the crew isn't into amateur radio. The repeater is turned off. The packet system is on but all you'll hear is short bursts of data. Voice is on only during scheduled contacts with schools and those are kept close to the vest to prevent others from creating interference. About the only way to keep up with it is on the ISS Fan site. http://www.issfanclub.com/
So what is left is the other amateur satellites.
AO-7 - It's in a zombie-sat mode after the batteries failed to short then failed to open. It's running on solar panels only. There are two uplink/downlink modes and it's a tossup which one will be active when the bird emerges from eclipse.
Mode A downlink - 29.400 to 29.500mhz USB
Mode B downlink - 145.925 to 145.975mhz USB
AO-27 - To preserve the bird it's only turned on for short periods. To make contact with this one you'll have to find out the time when it is on and then match it up with a pass that comes over your area. http://ao27.org/AO27/index.shtml has the 24 hour TOPR listing link at the bottom of the page.
Downlink - 436.795mhz FM
FO-29 - Current workhorse of the amateur satellites. Made my first satellite QSO through this one. If your receiver does SSB then this one has the highest probability of catching a reception.
Downlink - 435.800 to 435.900mhz USB
SO-50 - This one has to be turned on by a transmission of a tone on the uplink freq. Once on it's good for 10 minutes. Typically someone will turn it on when it has a pass over the USA.
Downlink - 436.795mhz FM
VO-52 - Seems to be working fine.
Downlink - 145.870 to 145.930 USB
Now there are at least a dozen other birds that have operational beacons using CW and you can catch the telemetry from others. Dig in the amsat.org site to find one to listen to. Another option is to pick up the WEFAX (weather fax) birds and download the weather images. Haven't tried it myself but I understand it doesn't take much in equipment or software to make it happen.
5/10/2012 2:37:18 PM
Originally Posted By HankEllis:
It depends on the current crew on the ISS. Right now the crew isn't into amateur radio. The repeater is turned off. The packet system is on but all you'll hear is short bursts of data. Voice is on only during scheduled contacts with schools and those are kept close to the vest to prevent others from creating interference. About the only way to keep up with it is on the ISS Fan site. http://www.issfanclub.com/
So what is left is the other amateur satellites.
AO-7 - It's in a zombie-sat mode after the batteries failed to short then failed to open. It's running on solar panels only. There are two uplink/downlink modes and it's a tossup which one will be active when the bird emerges from eclipse.
Mode A downlink - 29.400 to 29.500mhz USB
Mode B downlink - 145.925 to 145.975mhz USB
AO-27 - To preserve the bird it's only turned on for short periods. To make contact with this one you'll have to find out the time when it is on and then match it up with a pass that comes over your area. http://ao27.org/AO27/index.shtml has the 24 hour TOPR listing link at the bottom of the page.
Downlink - 436.795mhz FM
FO-29 - Current workhorse of the amateur satellites. Made my first satellite QSO through this one. If your receiver does SSB then this one has the highest probability of catching a reception.
Downlink - 435.800 to 435.900mhz USB
SO-50 - This one has to be turned on by a transmission of a tone on the uplink freq. Once on it's good for 10 minutes. Typically someone will turn it on when it has a pass over the USA.
Downlink - 436.795mhz FM
VO-52 - Seems to be working fine.
Downlink - 145.870 to 145.930 USB
Now there are at least a dozen other birds that have operational beacons using CW and you can catch the telemetry from others. Dig in the amsat.org site to find one to listen to. Another option is to pick up the WEFAX (weather fax) birds and download the weather images. Haven't tried it myself but I understand it doesn't take much in equipment or software to make it happen.
Originally Posted By xmetalhedx:
Thanks for the info, so I may still be able to hear the space station even though the sstv is done. It will be a bonus if I get to wake up the boys ass early in the morning to hear.
Thanks for the info, so I may still be able to hear the space station even though the sstv is done. It will be a bonus if I get to wake up the boys ass early in the morning to hear.
It depends on the current crew on the ISS. Right now the crew isn't into amateur radio. The repeater is turned off. The packet system is on but all you'll hear is short bursts of data. Voice is on only during scheduled contacts with schools and those are kept close to the vest to prevent others from creating interference. About the only way to keep up with it is on the ISS Fan site. http://www.issfanclub.com/
So what is left is the other amateur satellites.
AO-7 - It's in a zombie-sat mode after the batteries failed to short then failed to open. It's running on solar panels only. There are two uplink/downlink modes and it's a tossup which one will be active when the bird emerges from eclipse.
Mode A downlink - 29.400 to 29.500mhz USB
Mode B downlink - 145.925 to 145.975mhz USB
AO-27 - To preserve the bird it's only turned on for short periods. To make contact with this one you'll have to find out the time when it is on and then match it up with a pass that comes over your area. http://ao27.org/AO27/index.shtml has the 24 hour TOPR listing link at the bottom of the page.
Downlink - 436.795mhz FM
FO-29 - Current workhorse of the amateur satellites. Made my first satellite QSO through this one. If your receiver does SSB then this one has the highest probability of catching a reception.
Downlink - 435.800 to 435.900mhz USB
SO-50 - This one has to be turned on by a transmission of a tone on the uplink freq. Once on it's good for 10 minutes. Typically someone will turn it on when it has a pass over the USA.
Downlink - 436.795mhz FM
VO-52 - Seems to be working fine.
Downlink - 145.870 to 145.930 USB
Now there are at least a dozen other birds that have operational beacons using CW and you can catch the telemetry from others. Dig in the amsat.org site to find one to listen to. Another option is to pick up the WEFAX (weather fax) birds and download the weather images. Haven't tried it myself but I understand it doesn't take much in equipment or software to make it happen.
Thats tough, my receiver covers 100 kHz to 30MHz. One of these days I'll have to break down and try the HAM thing.
5/10/2012 9:20:16 PM
Originally Posted By xmetalhedx:
Thats tough, my receiver covers 100 kHz to 30MHz. One of these days I'll have to break down and try the HAM thing.
All you need to work any of the amateur radio satellites is an entry level Technician license. The morse code test went away in 2007. Grab a study manual, read it for a week, take practice tests online till you get a consistent 85% or better then take the multiple choice written test.
Thats tough, my receiver covers 100 kHz to 30MHz. One of these days I'll have to break down and try the HAM thing.
Why just listen to them when you can work them yourself?
