{"id":17822,"date":"2016-03-19T09:07:23","date_gmt":"2016-03-19T13:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=17822"},"modified":"2016-03-19T09:07:23","modified_gmt":"2016-03-19T13:07:23","slug":"listening-to-the-international-space-station-ariss-with-a-yaesu-vx-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/listening-to-the-international-space-station-ariss-with-a-yaesu-vx-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening to the International Space Station (ARISS) with a Yaesu VX-3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ISS\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yesterday, my buddy Eric (WD8RIF) sent the following message:<\/p>\n

“Take your girls outside with an HT and listen to the ARISS pass in just about 10 minutes.\u00a0The downlink freq is 145.800.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Though I was in the middle of another project, I took Eric’s advice: I grabbed my Yaesu VX-3, corralled my daughters and ran outside. Eric’s\u00a0message was already eight minutes old when I read it, so I only had about two minutes to get ready.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>

My Everyday Carry (EDC) pack, loaded with all of the essentials.<\/p><\/div>\n

Fortunately, I always have a Yaesu VX-3R<\/a> loaded with fresh batteries in my EDC pack (above).<\/p>\n

\"Official<\/a>

Official NASA portrait of British astronaut Timothy Peake. Photographer: Robert Markowitz<\/p><\/div>\n

With the VX-3 tuned to 145.8 MHz, we waited as the ISS made its way above the horizon. The downlink audio of\u00a0astronaut Tim Peake (KG5BVI)<\/a> communicating with Walter Jackson Elementary in Decatur, Alabama, started to punch through the static after a minute or two. We listened the entire time we\u00a0had line-of-sight to the ISS–about five minutes or so. \u00a0We were\u00a0pretty deep in a valley at that point, so I’m\u00a0pleased we were\u00a0able to catch even that much of a pass.<\/p>\n

Of course, we could only hear one side of the conversation: the downlink from the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

It was a memorable event for my girls who have seen ISS passes at night, but had never heard live audio from an astronaut before.<\/p>\n

Here’s a short video<\/a> of two of the exchanges\u00a0we heard:<\/p>\n