[amsat-bb] ISS SSTV this weekend

[Greg D]

Hi Joe,

This makes me sad.  Not because of the audio issue itself or the
frustration of those who are wanting to copy the pictures from the Space
Station, but because of what the "Bad timing" comment represents.  Has
Ham Radio gotten to the point where it's such a chore for the crew that
they can't take time from their day off to play with the radio?  Has the
use of the ham station become so industrialized that it is nothing more
than another scheduled experiment package that they have to tend to?

Was it that long ago that the crew had to wait for a spare moment just
to use the radio?  When did Ham Radio cease to be a fun hobby and turn
into a job?

I suppose it was inevitable.  With ARISS, for example, the logistics and
the significant expense of coordinating and executing a school contact
make it something that needs to be depended on.  I get that.  Even the
various celebration events (NOTA, Cosmonaut’s Day, et al) are at least
theoretically widely publicized, so any failure would reflect poorly on
the organization sponsoring it.  Nobody has any tolerance for risk these
days.

I started this thread with an observation, not a complaint.  I hope it
has been taken as such.  But the interest and participation in the
thread tells me that there is still a lot of interest in following (in
the traditional sense, not that of social media), and more importantly,
participating in the space program.  This isn't just for show.  The
armchair quarterbacks here on the ground have a ball in their hands, and
want to play. 

Perhaps I'm reading too much into that statement.  I hope I am.  I also
get that ham radio isn't for everyone.  But it makes me sad that the
spark for using ham radio has apparently been curated out of the ISS
crew and lost in space.  The last pass (just setting as I type this)
heard nothing heard from the Station.  Apparently better to just turn it
off than to have to deal with it.

How do we get the spark back?

Greg  KO6TH


Joe Spier via AMSAT-BB wrote:
> ARISS Representative Ken Ransom, N5VHO posted a tweet on this at 1:17
> AM - 12 Apr 2019:
>
> /"Checking on low audio issue w/ //#*ISS*
> <https://twitter.com/hashtag/ISS?src=hash>////#*SSTV*
> <https://twitter.com/hashtag/SSTV?src=hash>//. Bad timing due to crew
> holiday today and weekend."/
>
> Today is a holiday for Russia - Cosmonaut's Day, so message may take
> so time (24 hrs). Enjoy the challenge.
>
> -73, Joe Spier, K6WAO
> President, AMSAT
>
> On 4/11/19 5:44 PM, mark sklaney via AMSAT-BB wrote:
>> If you guys can contact NASA or the ISS tell them their audio is very
>> very
>> low on the SSTV pictures.  There signal is full scale on my radio but
>> the
>> audio can barely be heard... Tell them to tun up their audio input on
>> their
>> radio.. Other than that they will be wasting everyone's time trying
>> to get
>> good pictures..
>>
>> Thanks    Mark WB3FKP
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> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at 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.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> program!
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