September 2023 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Re: FW: Radioing the ISS using SDR#
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 20 Sep '23

20 Sep '23

Hi Derrick, First problem is with SDR#. Way back in 2017, I wrote a paper on how to set up SDR#, VB-Cable, and FoxTelem with an RTL-SDR dongle. It is in the September/October 2017 issue available here. https://launch.amsat.org/The-AMSAT-Journal-2017. *1.*Note the settings for SDR# are: Radio: NFM, Filter: Blackman Harris 7, Bandwidth: 16000, Order: 500, Snap to grid: ticked, Step Size: 2.5 KHz, Audio Tab: Sample rate 48000 sample /sec (preset), Input: [MME] Microsoft Sound (Mapper) (preset), *Output: [MME] CABLE Input* *(VB Audio Virtual C, *Note: this output setting is required to pipe demodulated signal to the decoder in the next section of this document. Latency (ms): 100, Unity Gain: unticked, Filter Audio: unticked. As JoAnnesays, you will need VB-Cable and Soundmodem. Soundmodem decodes better than AGWPE and Direwolf is pretty good as well. QTMM will work also but you need VB-Cable for any of the decoders. Next problem: Computer Noise. Once you have SDR# running, check the noise floor on the SDR# spectrum display. If it is not at the bottom of the display, then you need to separate the dongle and laptop via a long USB cable. Next problem: The RTL-SDR receiver is not very sensitive and you will need a gain antenna (3 Element yagi or similar) to receive much. A 1 M dipole is too short. See: https://www.work-sat.com/antennas.html for some antenna ideas. You may also need a preamp. Finally, unless there is some ISS packet activity in your region, you may not find many packets. When I have been listening in New Zealand, I only hear about 1 packet per pass. (the beacon when there is no activity). If anyone is interested, I can write a version using Soundmodem for the journal. 73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC On 20/09/2023 9:01 am, Derrick Lau via AMSAT-BB wrote: > > Good evening all: > > I am trying to listen to packets transmitted from the ISS on 145.825 > MHz using both a horizontally and vertically polarized 1m dipole. I > use RTL-SDR blog USB SDR device plugged into my Windows 10 laptop > running SDR#, AGW Packet Engine, and UISS. I configured my SDR# to > use WFM, no shift, filter Hamm-Poisson, bandwidth 600 kHz, order 500, > no squelch. I had the output of SDR# sent to my speaker port, which I > plugged into the microphone in port of my USB soundcard that AGW > Packet Engine was attached to. I also had QTMM packet reader > listening to that soundcard too. I did not see any packets come > through, which makes no sense as receiving data packets when the ISS > passes overhead should be easy, right? > > Would you have any idea offhand as to what I did wrong please? > > Thanks, > > Derrick > > VA3LGT > > > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available athttps://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ > > View archives of this mailing list at > https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org > Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences athttps://mailman.amsat.org

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misc S band stuff
by Bob Johnson 20 Sep '23

20 Sep '23

Greetings- I have a couple of boxes of misc S band down converters, a S band signal source left over from AO-40 (sobsob), plus several primestar dishes with helix feeds. I'm tired of just looking at it. Is there a remote chance of us ever having a S band down link satellite? 73 Bob W7LRD

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Re: FW: Radioing the ISS using SDR#
by David Spoelstra 20 Sep '23

20 Sep '23

I use an HT with a J-Pole, UISS, and Soundmodem ( http://uz7.ho.ua/packetradio.htm) and decode tons of packets every pass. I really like Soundmodem because you can *see* the levels. The key for me was to get the levels set correctly. Once I did that, it was easy. Until I got that right, I was getting nothing. Make sure you set the color option in Soundmodem, it makes it even easier to get your levels set correctly. -David, N9KT On Tue, Sep 19, 2023 at 5:02 PM Derrick Lau via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Good evening all: > > > > I am trying to listen to packets transmitted from the ISS on 145.825 MHz > using both a horizontally and vertically polarized 1m dipole. I use > RTL-SDR blog USB SDR device plugged into my Windows 10 laptop running SDR#, > AGW Packet Engine, and UISS. I configured my SDR# to use WFM, no shift, > filter Hamm-Poisson, bandwidth 600 kHz, order 500, no squelch. I had the > output of SDR# sent to my speaker port, which I plugged into the microphone > in port of my USB soundcard that AGW Packet Engine was attached to. I also > had QTMM packet reader listening to that soundcard too. I did not see any > packets come through, which makes no sense as receiving data packets when > the ISS passes overhead should be easy, right? > > > > Would you have any idea offhand as to what I did wrong please? > > > > Thanks, > > Derrick > > VA3LGT > > > > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions > expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of > AMSAT-NA. > Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at > https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ > > View archives of this mailing list at > https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org > Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at > https://mailman.amsat.org >

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Re: FW: Radioing the ISS using SDR#
by JoAnne Maenpaa 19 Sep '23

19 Sep '23

I should add that you don't need to wait for the next ISS pass to test out AGWPE, UZ7HO, UISS, VBCable or however you configure your station. I used the signals on 144.390 MHz APRS which are quite numerous around the Chicago area. If your configuration receives and displays the (raw) APRS data it should be good-to-go on the ISS downlink. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM joanne.k9jkm(a)gmail.com BM DMR TG 98006

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Re: FW: Radioing the ISS using SDR#
by JoAnne Maenpaa 19 Sep '23

19 Sep '23

In the past I used a different flavor of SDR, the SDR Play RSP1, to receive spacecraft data such as Fox telemetry, ISS packet data, and telemetry from the likes of CAS-4A & CAS-4B. Routing speaker output to mic input didn't work for me. I had to use a Virtual Audio Cable which is a piece of software such as VBCable, JackAudio, etc. The output of the SDR was the input to the virtual audio cable. The output of the virtual audio cable was used as the input to AGWPE, input to FoxTelem, etc. VBCable included advanced features such as setting audio levels between the virtual input and virtual output. Also I found that the UZ7HO Soundmodem was able to receive more packets than AGWPE when the signal to noise ratio wasn't so good. UISS and the other packet engines will only pass fully decoded packets with the correct checksum. So even if the the downlink signal sounds "good" just a single bit error will fail the checksum and you'll see nothing on the output. The latest packaged zipfile for UISS includes the UZ7HO soundmodem plus the UISS terminal program. On 9/19/2023 4:02 PM, Derrick Lau via AMSAT-BB wrote: > > Good evening all: > > I am trying to listen to packets transmitted from the ISS on 145.825 > MHz using both a horizontally and vertically polarized 1m dipole. I > use RTL-SDR blog USB SDR device plugged into my Windows 10 laptop > running SDR#, AGW Packet Engine, and UISS. I configured my SDR# to > use WFM, no shift, filter Hamm-Poisson, bandwidth 600 kHz, order 500, > no squelch. I had the output of SDR# sent to my speaker port, which I > plugged into the microphone in port of my USB soundcard that AGW > Packet Engine was attached to. I also had QTMM packet reader > listening to that soundcard too. I did not see any packets come > through, which makes no sense as receiving data packets when the ISS > passes overhead should be easy, right? > > Would you have any idea offhand as to what I did wrong please? > > Thanks, > > Derrick > > VA3LGT > > > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available athttps://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ > > View archives of this mailing list at > https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org > Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences athttps://mailman.amsat.org -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM joanne.k9jkm(a)gmail.com BM DMR TG 98006

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Re: Radioing the ISS using SDR#
by Joseph B. Fitzgerald 19 Sep '23

19 Sep '23

Try using Narrow FM instead with a bandwidth of 20 or 25 kHz. WFM is typically used for FM Broadcast radio reception and as you have discovered does not work well for packet radio. de KM1P Joe ________________________________________ From: Derrick Lau via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2023 5:03 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [AMSAT-BB] FW: Radioing the ISS using SDR# Good evening all: I am trying to listen to packets transmitted from the ISS on 145.825 MHz using both a horizontally and vertically polarized 1m dipole. I use RTL-SDR blog USB SDR device plugged into my Windows 10 laptop running SDR#, AGW Packet Engine, and UISS. I configured my SDR# to use WFM, no shift, filter Hamm-Poisson, bandwidth 600 kHz, order 500, no squelch. I had the output of SDR# sent to my speaker port, which I plugged into the microphone in port of my USB soundcard that AGW Packet Engine was attached to. I also had QTMM packet reader listening to that soundcard too. I did not see any packets come through, which makes no sense as receiving data packets when the ISS passes overhead should be easy, right? Would you have any idea offhand as to what I did wrong please? Thanks, Derrick VA3LGT

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FW: Radioing the ISS using SDR#
by Derrick Lau 19 Sep '23

19 Sep '23

Good evening all: I am trying to listen to packets transmitted from the ISS on 145.825 MHz using both a horizontally and vertically polarized 1m dipole. I use RTL-SDR blog USB SDR device plugged into my Windows 10 laptop running SDR#, AGW Packet Engine, and UISS. I configured my SDR# to use WFM, no shift, filter Hamm-Poisson, bandwidth 600 kHz, order 500, no squelch. I had the output of SDR# sent to my speaker port, which I plugged into the microphone in port of my USB soundcard that AGW Packet Engine was attached to. I also had QTMM packet reader listening to that soundcard too. I did not see any packets come through, which makes no sense as receiving data packets when the ISS passes overhead should be easy, right? Would you have any idea offhand as to what I did wrong please? Thanks, Derrick VA3LGT

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ARISS News Release No. 23-48
by David Jordan 19 Sep '23

19 Sep '23

ARISS News Release No.23-48 Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE ARISSContact is Scheduled with Students at Escuela Preparatoria La Salle, Torreón, Mexico September19, 2023—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboardthe International Space Station (ISS) and students at the Escuela PreparatoriaLa Salle in Torreón, Mexico. ARISSconducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year betweenstudents around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard theISS. La Salle High School is an affiliate of La Salle University andlocated in Torreón, Coahuila Mexico. The school has various campuses (ElementarySchool, Middle School, High School, University level) throughout Mexico. This will be a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing students to ask theirquestions of Astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, amateur radio call sign KI5WSL. Thedownlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard bylisteners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses thetelebridge station. The ARISS amateur radio ground station(telebridge station) for this contact is in Casale Monferrato, Italy. Theamateur radio volunteer team at the station will use the callsign IK1SLD, toestablish and maintain the ISS connection. TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for September 22, 2023 at 10:19:45 am CST (Torreón,MEX) (16:19:45 UTC, 12:19 pm EDT, 11:19 amCDT, 10:19 am MDT, 9:19 am PDT). Thepublic is invited to watch the live stream at: www.ariotti.com. _______________________________ Astime allows, students will ask these questions: 1.What is the daily routine of work and activities of an astronaut and how arethey organized to perform scientific investigations? 2.How is the weather on the space station? When you return to earth, do you have a different feeling in terms ofclimate and environmental seasons? 3.What was the greatest sacrifice you have made to be able to be where you arenow? 4.Do you believe that life exist not only in the earth, elsewhere in theuniverse? 5.What are you most passionate about in your career as an astronaut, and whatwould you say to people who aspire to be one? 6.What has been the biggest mental or physical challenge you have experienced onthe space station? 7.As a member of a space station, what has been the most surprising momentyou have experienced in space so far? How has it affected you personally andprofessionally? 8.We often hear about scientific research being conducted at the InternationalSpace Station, but could you share a personal moment that made you appreciatethe beauty and wonder of space while living on the station? 9.Ivanna: My dream is to work at NASA. I have been in several science andtechnology competitions to achieve it, and I am very interested in technology,space, and undiscovered things, what else could I do to get there? 10.How does your perspective change as a human being, when you see deepspace? 11.According to your experience, what are the physical and personalattributes that an astronaut needs to be prepared to go the space station andreturn to earth? 12.What is the most powerful space rocket engine in the world and why? 13.What sparked your interest in space and how did you become an astronaut? 14.How hard is it to get used to the lack of gravity? How long did it takeyou to get used to it? 15.What sensation does your body feel when you leave and return to theearth? About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the InternationalSpace Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radiosocieties and the space agencies that support the International Space Station(ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the American Radio Relay League(ARRL), Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), Radio Amateur SatelliteCorporation (AMSAT), NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN)and the ISS National Lab—Space Station Explorers. The primary goal of ARISS isto promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, andmathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts viaamateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before andduring these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities takepart in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org . MediaContact: DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR Findus on social media at: Twitter:ARISS_Intl Facebook:facebook.com/ARISSIntl Instagram:ariss_intl Mastodon:[email protected] Checkout ARISS on Youtube.com.

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TEVEL-3
by david.greenberg 19 Sep '23

19 Sep '23

Hello All, TEVEL-3 FM transponder has been activated, starting from today, 19.09.23 19:20U for 72 hours.73,David 4X1DGנשלח מה-Galaxy שלי

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FDIM 2023: 'A VHF radio for the field'
by Zach Metzinger 19 Sep '23

19 Sep '23

Hello all, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXevcvDzlfc Farhan brings up some great AMSAT-related topics in his 2m BitX QRP/Homebrew presentation for FDIM. Combine his 2m transmitter with a cheap SDR for 70cm downlink and you've got a complete linear satellite station. Exciting times! 73, --- Zach N0ZGO

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