[Sarex] SSTV update July 29
MM
ka1rrw at yahoo.com
Sat Jul 29 10:02:31 PDT 2006
ISS Amateur Radio Status:
July 29, 2006
SpaceCam1 Slow Scan TV project for ISS, Update
By Miles Mann WF1F,
MAREXMG News Manned Amateur Radio Experiment
SpaceCam1 Slow Scan TV project for ISS
On Friday July 28, 2006 the crew of the International
Space station activated the Amateur radio project Slow
Scan TV for the first time. ISS Expedition 13
Commander Pavel Vinogradov, activated the SSTV system
and manually sent a few test Images from ISS to
Earth. Images were received in Russia and South
America. The SSTV system was then switched off and
the Packet system reactivated.
As time permits the ISS crew may reactivate the SSTV
system for more testing. Eventually when the testing
is completed the SpaceCam1 software can be left
running in Automatic Slide Show mode. While in
Slide show mode, the SpaceCam1 software will
automatically send up to 400 images per day from ISS
to Earth.
At the present time we do not have a time schedule for
when Slide Show mode will be activated.
This testing may be very limited. It is not known when
the Project will be officially opened to the world
wide public. The tentative down link for SSTV will be
on 144.490 FM. The uplink will not be published until
testing has been completed.
When to Listen:
For the rest of this week, Listen to both 145.800 MHz
and 144.490 MHz FM. If you hear packet on 145.800,
then you know SSTV will NOT be active. If you do not
hear Packet, then monitor 144.490 MHz and be ready to
decode your images.
Do not try to send images up to ISS at this time. The
ISS crew is awake from 0600 to 2200 UTC time. Try to
monitor every pass the crew is awake.
Then end images to marexmg at comcast.net
Please pass the word on to SWL organizations.
SpaceCam1:
The MAREXMG / ARISS SpaceCam1 SSTV System is an
entry-level PC based Slow Scan Television system
designed to be used on board the International Space
Station. This system will support multiple common SSTV
transmission modes. SpaceCam1 has been specifically
designed to be accessible to as many Amateur Radio
stations as possible around the world. The original
proof-of-concept system was built by the MAREX team
and successfully flown on the Russian Space Station
Mir (December 1998 until August 1999). The
proof-of-concept system has proven the ability of the
hardware design and it has taught us how to make
additional improvements for the next generation SSTV
system for ISS.
http://www.marexmg.org/marexmirweb/fileshtml/galleryimagepage1.htm
In January 2001 the SpaceCam1 the ARISS program
accepted project at one of the future Amateur Radio
projects for the International Space Station.
http://www.marexmg.org/ The SpaceCam1 software has
been under development since 1999 and is being created
by the SiliconPixels team managed by Jim Barber
(N7CXI). http://www.barberdsp.com/spmain.htm The ARISS
Hardware Manager Lou McFadin (W5DID) was assigned the
task of building an Audio interface box for the
SpaceCam1 project. The Audio interface box will allow
the audio from a standard Laptop PC to be plugged into
the existing Amateur Radio station on ISS. When will
SpaceCam1 fly? In October 2005 the last component
needed for SpaceCam1 arrived on ISS. All of the
required Hardware and software is currently on ISS.
The initial big problem was locating a computer on ISS
to use for this project. All of the existing laptops
on ISS were considered mission critical computers.
Recently a computer was released to Amateur Radio
usage, and the software packages have been loaded. We
are now just waiting for the ISS crew to be giving
permission to start testing the SSTV applications.
SpaceCam1 FAQ:
http://www.marexmg.org/spacecam/spacecam.html Will I
be able to receive images from SpaceCam1? Yes!
SpaceCam1 will transmit and receive images on amateur
radio frequencies, using standard SSTV formats.
Although SpaceCam1 is capable of operating in several
modes, the standard format will be Robot 36. This
format offers the best standard compromise between
image quality and transmission time. In addition to
two-way "interactive" operation,
SpaceCam1 provides the following fully automatic
functions:
Transmission from a live camera or disk at specified
intervals Slide Show" operation from a set of
images stored on the system
SSTV Repeater
What equipment will I need to receive the images?
Radio receiver with an outdoor antenna. The radio
receive will need to be able to receive FM signals in
the Amateur Radio satellite band (ITU 144.000
146.000 MHz) A PC with SSTV software or a dedicated
SSTV scan converter.
http://www.marexmg.org/fileshtml/sstvlinkpage.html
Tracking software (optional, although it helps a lot!)
Take care all and good luck and please be courteous.
73 Miles WF1F MAREX-NA www.marexmg.org Until we meet
again DOSVIDANIYA Miles WF1F
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