Category Archives: Ham Radio

ARISS / NOTA Slow Scan TV Event, February 8-10

ARISS is planning another of their popular Slow Scan Television (SSTV) experiment events. Transmissions are scheduled to begin Friday, Feb. 8 at 18:25 UTC and run through Sunday, Feb. 10 at 18:30 UTC.

SSTV operations is a process by which images are sent from the International Space Station (ISS) via ham radio and received by ham operators, shortwave listeners and other radio enthusiasts on Earth, similar to pictures shared on cell phones using twitter or instagram.

When this event becomes active, SSTV images will be transmitted from the ISS at the frequency of 145.80 MHz using the SSTV mode of PD120 and can be received using ham radio equipment as simple as a 2 meter handheld radio or a common shortwave or scanner receiver the covers the 2 meter ham band. After connecting the audio output of the radio receiver to the audio input of a computer running free software such as MMSSTV, the SSTV images can be displayed.

Transmissions will consist of eight NASA On The Air (NOTA) images see
https://nasaontheair
.wordpress.com/ ,
In addition, four ARISS commemorative images will also be included.

Once received, Images can be posted and viewed by the public at http://www.spaceflightsoftware
.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php .
In addition, you can receive a special SSTV ARISS Award for posting your image. Once the event begins, see details at https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ .

Please note that the event is dependent on other activities, schedules and crew responsibilities on the ISS and are subject to change at any time.

Please check for news and the most current information on the AMSAT.org and ARISS.org websites, the [email protected], the ARISS facebook at Amateur Radio On The International Space Station (ARISS) and ARISS twitter @ARISS_status.

About ARISS

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Center for the Advancement of Science in space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org.

Also join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR
[email protected]

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Fascinating episode of The Antarctic Sun podcast

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McMurdo Station, Antarctica. (Source: USAP.gov)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Justin Moore (KE8COY), who shares the following:

[T]here is an interesting podcast] that I’m sure you would like as well as anyone with an interest in radio might enjoy, especially in this weather.

It’s the Antarctic Sun podcast and this episode is about the communications staff at McMurdo Station, the MacOps department, and the things they do to stay in touch with scientists, researchers, and workers in the field, using their radio communications skills to keep everyone safe.

Listening to this is great while there is still snow on the ground, as there is up here in Cincinnati, and may be a bit of inspiration for ham radio folks who participate in Winter Field Day.

My favorite part is when they talk about using HF to sing Christmas carols to each other at the different Antarctic camps and stations.

[Here’s the description of the episode:]

Communications operator Rebecca Ricards (foreground) calls up field camp information at the MacOps control console. Josh Young looks on. (Source: NSF)

“Antarctica is a vast and potentially treacherous continent and the safety of researchers and support staff is of the utmost concern for everyone. Just knowing what’s happening is a critical first step towards keeping everyone safe, but keeping the lines of communication open between the station and people working in the field requires a lot of effort. It takes a multitude of high frequency and very high frequency radios, a veritable forest of signal repeaters, a constellation of satellite phones and more to keep tabs on everyone.

All of those communication systems are routed through the nerve center of the station, MacOps. Short for “McMurdo Operations,” it’s the central communications hub where operators keep tabs on everyone off the station. Communications operators are in almost constant contact with the numerous field camps and sea ice groups, ready to send in search and rescue teams in an emergency or just say a friendly “hello” after a long hard day of work in a remote field camp.”

Click here to download the podcast.

Thanks for taking the time to share this, Justin! This episode combines two things that fascinate me: radio and Antarctica! Certainly a win-win. I’ve also now subscribed to this podcast–thanks again!

Click here for more details at The Antarctic Sun Podcast.

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Radios in Godzilla 2 trailer

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron Chester (W6AZ), who notes that the new Godzilla film contains a number of boat anchors.

What I think is so funny is how they’ve altered the logging/fine tune dial of the Hammarlund SP-600 to look like signal strength meter! For someone who has owned an SP-600, this is a little strange to say the least!

https://youtu.be/DXrQiN0ei5s

Click here to view on YouTube.

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Cap spots an Icom and Yaesu in Netflix Sci-Fi film IO

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Cap Tux, who spotted two ham radio rigs in IO. Cap notes:

ICOM IC-740, Yaesu FT-901DM and Shortwave make an appearance in Netflix Sci-Fi film IO:
Mentions “transmitting on frequency 9043kHz and listening on frequency 9560kHz daily, that’s the 31m band”.

https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80134721

Thanks for sharing, Cap! I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!

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Balázs spots a wide variety of radios in film

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who shares the following radio sightings and notes:

The Priest’s rig from the last episode of “The Walking Dead“

A Yaesu in “Jurassic World – Fallen Kingdom“

Some emergency/weather radios in the “The Darkest Minds“

The Last Ship S05E01
After a cyber attack a backup comm solution for the US Navy.

Night of the Living Dead (1968/1990)
In the original a radio broadcast was the first information source, in the remake only a small one was used at the end.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
In a remote shack.

+1: The “Álmodozások kora” (Age of Illusions (US) / The Age of Daydreaming (Int)) was the first (Hungarian) feature film of the director István Szabó (winner of an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1981 (Mephisto), English language films: Meeting Venus (1991), Sunshine (1999), Taking Sides (2001), the Oscar nominated Being Julia (2004) and The Door (2012)) in 1965 about a group of young electrical engineers. Two scenes from it about the radios, unfortunately I found the hungarian speaking version only online, but I think maybe it can be still interesting: https://ok.ru/video/228250552961

33:58-35: A custom rig receiving 4 european stations (Paris, London, Rome, Prague) on different speakers at the same time

1:05:43-1:07:20: “How radio works” animation

(and there was a short scene also where they talk about the The Pioneer Railway and how they learned the morse code there)

I found another (splited) version of the movie now with english subtitles, the new links and timings:

https://ok.ru/video/904027376280
33:58-35:28: A custom rig receiving 4 European stations (Paris, London, Rome, Prague) on different speakers at the same time

https://ok.ru/video/904028097176
20:00-21:39 “How radio works” animation

The same actor (András Bálint) 13 years later have a short ham radio scene (new year greetings in english) in another movie (BUÉK, 1978). I checked the callsign from the wall (HA5FA) and probably it was already a real one, belongs to Jen? Matzon, active member of the radio amateur community (DXCC Honor Roll, etc.) now a Silent Key.

Wow! Many thanks for sharing all of these radio spots, Balazs! Funny thing is I remember so well those shots from Night of the Living Dead even though I likely watched it 40 years ago! I guess I never forget a Zenith!

Of course, I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!

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Video: “The Fort and the Field Day”

Mark your calendars: WWV Special Event Amateur Station Sep 28 – Oct 2, 2019

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WWV building in Fort Collins, Colorado (photo courtesy: NIST)

(Source: Dave Swartz, W0DAS)

NCARC WWV Committee
Fort Collins, Colorado:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – JANUARY 11, 2019

WWV Centennial Celebration and Special Event Amateur Station September 28 – October 2, 2019

The Northern Colorado Amateur Radio Club (NCARC) will operate a special event amateur radio station in conjunction with the WWV Centennial Celebration, a tribute to radio station WWV, the oldest continuously broadcasting radio station in the world, as it turns 100 years old on October 1, 2019.

Operating from alongside the historic and scientific long wave (WWVB) and short wave (WWV) radio stations, the NCARC effort will use 4 simultaneous operations on a variety of amateur shortwave bands. The goal is to contact as many amateur radio stations in the world as possible during the 5-day operating period, September 28 through October 2, 2019, using a variety of operating modes (Morse code, voice, and data).

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, (US Dept of Commerce) lists the official 100t?h celebration on their events calendar from 8am until 7pm, October 1, 2019.

NCARC and NIST are working on coordinating the celebration and the special event amateur station. Because of the present shutdown of the US Government, planning and discussions have been put on hold. We look forward to the end of the shutdown, a future press release from NIST, and getting back to work on planning the celebration of this historic event.
NCARC deemed it necessary to issue this press release on our own due to the uncertainty of the length of the shutdown and the need to get this event, at least the special event station, on everyone’s planning calendar as soon as possible.

The exceptional challenge of operating this station will require the help of amateurs and radio clubs throughout Colorado, the surrounding states, and from across the country. Amateurs who are interested in traveling to Fort Collins this fall and taking part in the operations are encouraged to apply starting February 15, 2019. Please see the Operators page on the website.

For more information, please visit the WWV Centennial Celebration website,? ?WWV100.com?.