The International Space Station (ISS) Amateur Radio Slow Scan Television (SSTV) system is expected to be active on 145.800 MHz FM on June 6 and 7, likely using PD-120 format. The schedule calls for transmissions on Wednesday, June 6, 1230 – 1630 UTC, and Thursday, June 7, 1150 – 1525 UTC.
The SSTV images will be transmitted using the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver in the Russian ISS Service Module. The call sign will be RS0ISS. ISS transmissions use 5 kHz deviation FM. Good results have been reported outdoors using just a quarter-wave whip antenna.
The AMSAT-UK website has more information on tracking and decoding software.
Source:ARRL
Slow Scan Television (SSTV) is transmitted by the ARISS Russia Team from the amateur radio station in the Russian Service Module of the International Space Station using the callsign RS0ISS. The equipment used is a Kenwood D710 transceiver running about 25 watts output which provides a very strong signal enabling reception using simple equipment.
The images received by amateurs world-wide during previous transmissions can be seen at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/ and you are invited to upload any pictures you receive during the upcoming transmissions.In the past twelve different images were sent on 145.800 MHz FM using the SSTV mode PD180, with a 3-minute off time between each image. This has now changed to use the faster PD120 mode with a 2 minute off-time which will allow more images to be received in an orbital pass.
In the UK newspaper the Daily Mail, Jonathan O’Callaghan wrote about how 22-year-old Radek Karwacki, an AMSAT-UK member, received pictures from the ISS using a £10 ($15) RTL-SDR dongle and a dipole antenna, see https://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/04/iss-sstv-in-uk-press/
On Windows PC’s the free application MMSSTV can be used to decode the signal, on Apple iOS devices you can use the SSTV app for compatible modes. For Linux systems try QSSTV.All you need to do to receive SSTV pictures direct from the space station is to connect the audio output of a scanner or amateur radio transceiver via a simple interface to the soundcard on a Windows PC or an Apple iOS device, and tune in to 145.800 MHz FM. You can even receive pictures by holding an iPhone next to the radio loudspeaker.
The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145.800 MHz FM and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave antenna will be enough to receive it. The FM transmission uses 5 kHz deviation which is standard in much of the world. In IARU Region 1 (British Isles, Europe, Africa) FM equipment is usually set by default to the narrower 2.5 kHz deviation.
Many FM rigs can be switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters. For best results you should select the filter for wider deviation FM. Handhelds all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard.
During most of a pass the ISS may be more than 15 degrees above the horizon so an antenna with a high radiation angle will give better results. Simple antennas such as an outdoor ¼ wave ground plane or dipole should give good results. Large 2m colinear antennas don’t work quite as well because their radiation pattern is concentrated at the horizon.
The ISS Fan Club website will show you when the space station is in range.
ISS SSTV image 12/12 received by Martin Ehrenfried G8JNJ using the SUWS WebSDR Dec 18, 2014
Paul Turner G4IJE, co-developer of the SSTV PD modes, says regarding the MMSSTVPD180 mode: “Don’t forget to either enable “Always show RX viewer” or use the “Picture viewer” (magnifying glass icon) to show the picture at its real resolution of 640 x 496. If you just view as normal you will only see 320 x 248 resolution, which kind of defeats the object of using a high resolution mode.”
On the AMSAT-BB Rick W2JAZ and Alan WA4SCA comment on the need to set the MMSSTV sound card setting to 48 kHz instead of the default 44.100 kHz
• Options
• Setup
• Misc
• Then the Clock section at the bottom of the page
The MMSSTV default setting may need to be set to 24000 (exactly half of the sound card setting). You then should get good clean images.
The sound card adjustments will vary slightly depending on the version of the OS you are running, but usually will be under the advanced properties for the device. You can probably use a higher sampling rate for the sound card so long as it is a power of 2 multiple (2,4,8, etc) of the value in MMSSTV. For instance 192k (8x) has no issues. The same applies to most similar software.
You can receive the SSTV transmissions online using the SUWS WebSDR remote receiver located near London along with the MMSSTV software https://amsat-uk.org/2014/08/15/suws-websdr-moves-to-new-site/
Use the R4UAB WebSDR to receive SSTV when ISS is over Russia http://websdr.r4uab.ru/
ISS Fan Club – Tracking / Predictions http://www.issfanclub.com/
Free MMSSTV Slow Scan TV software http://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php
iOS SSTV App https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sstv/id387910013
Linux QSSTV Linux QSSTV https://sourceforge.net/projects/qsstv/
For more on Slow Scan Television SSTV, see this article SSTV – The Basics
http://www.essexham.co.uk/sstv-the-basics
How to be successful with the ISS Slow Scan Television (SSTV) imaging system
http://www.marexmg.org/fileshtml/howtoisssstv.html
IZ8BLY Vox Recoder, enables you to record the signals from the ISS on 145.800 MHz while you’re away at work http://antoninoporcino.xoom.it/VoxRecorder/
Information on the MAI-75 SSTV experiment
http://www.energia.ru/eng/iss/researches/education-26.html
Video showing reception of SSTV using the FUNcube Dongle Pro SDR and SDR-RADIO going into Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) then to MMSSTV software https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6MOrX9iZCk
ISS SSTV received online with SUWS WebSDR
https://amsat-uk.org/2014/09/06/iss-sstv-on-suws-websdr/
ARISS SSTV Blog http://ariss-sstv.blogspot.co.uk/
You can see SSTV images received from the ISS and upload your images at the ARISS SSTV Gallery
http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/7
News
Simultaneous APRS and Voice Repeater on the International Space Station
ARISS, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, announced that simultaneous operations of the ARISS Voice Repeater and digital APRS communica... Read more
Protect That Receiver From Your Transmitter
Pat, AB9TC, was wondering, how do I Prevent my anntena that is transmitting from overloading another that is receiving. Read more
Manual vs Automatic Tuners – August 2022 Livestream Excerpt
What should you buy first, a manual tuner or automatic one? Kevin, K7SW, and I talk about why one may be better than the other for your first tuner pu... Read more
New ARRL Radio Lab Will Inspire Your Ham Shack!
Introducing the brand new ARRL Radio Laboratory, W1HQ! Join Jherica Goodgame, KI5HTA, as she walks you through everything there is to know about this... Read more
Why is my signal so strong? My HF ham radio portable antenna kit
What do I carry with me when I hit the road for a Parks on the Air or some other kind of portable radio activity. In this video I break down the conte... Read more
DX Engineering Acquires Hi-Z Antennas Amateur Radio Products
DX Engineering has acquired Hi-Z Antennas’ full lineup of HF directive receiving array products for amateur radio operators, ensuring that the company... Read more
VHF
Wouxun KG-1000G GMRS 50 Watt Mobile Transceiver
Wouxun KG-1000G GMRS 50 Watt Mobile Transceiver With TONS Of Features Read more
VERO VGC VR-UV4 Quad Band IP68 Two Way Radio
VERO VGC VR-UV4 Here we take a look at the VR-UV4 Quad Band IP68 Two Way Radio from Vero, VGC. Product Name: VR-UV4 Quad Band IP68 Two Way Radio Item... Read more
Best Handheld Ham Radio for 2022 – Top 16 HT
Best Handheld Ham Radio Best Handheld Ham Radio for 2022 – my pick of the Top 16 HT Radios, Handie Talkie, Handheld Transceivers, in the Ham Rad... Read more
ICOM IC-V3500 – 144 MHz FM – 65 W
ICOM IC-V3500 65 W Powerful RF Output Power The Icom IC-V3500 is a rugged 2 m mobile transceiver providing powerful 65 W* of output power. Its large h... Read more
JIANPAI 8R Four Band LED Color Screen VHF/UHF Handheld Radio
JIANPAI 8R Four Band LED Color Screen VHF/UHF Handheld Radio Read more
Amateur/RNSS Coexistence – 23cm Band
23cm Band After review and approval by the IARU Region 1 Executive Committee and the IARU Administrative Council a presentation on preliminary Amateur... Read more
Review
Elecraft – Dayton Hamvention
2022 saw the return of the Dayton Hamvention and also celebrated the 70th anniversary of the world’s largest ham radio trade show. Ham Radio Out... Read more
Is an FT-818 worth it in 2022?
FT-818 This week Tony and Gary revisit Yaesu’s FT-818 and discuss if it is still relevant in 2022? Read more
Regular Man Fits PL259 Coax Connectors
Not all PL259s are the same. The newer designs are a superior design and accurate. Anyway, I nearly cock this up. Perhaps rate me out of 10! Read more
SharkRF Openspot 4 Pro Setup – FIRST LOOK!
SharkRF Openspot 4 This is my first look at the physical size and menu features of the new Openspot 4 Pro from SharkRF. The openSPOT4 is our latest ba... Read more
sBitx working FT8 mode with logging
sBitx “The first part shows me calling CQ and handling the response. The second part shows how the operator can respond to a someone else’... Read more
QRM ELIMINATOR – Solve Your QRM Problems EASY!
QRM Eliminators, do they work? The QRM canceller is inserted into the feeder of the antenna from thetrx without any other modifications to the radio.... Read more