Posted by Jack on 6th January 2011
OK, that was cool, and easy. Using UISS by ON6MU, I was able to receive packets from the International Space Station for a few days on 145.825MHz. This evening I was able to connect to the RS0ISS-11 packet BBS (and was quickly reminded it was for the CREW only [oops, sorry, QLF]). Nonetheless, it was a valid round-trip QSO to and from the International Space Station.
Gear used:
I was using my Yaesu FT-857D at 50watts into a diagonally-oriented J-pole. LOL. This particular pass’s max elevation was 18 degrees. This is so much easier than even trying to work the LEOs with voice!
Here’s a screen shot of the happenings:
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Posted by Jack on 22nd November 2008
I recorded this right off the air using my new
Quadrifilar Helix antenna from Antennas.us sitting about a foot above the ground (hi hi)outside. The one I got was with Right-Hand Circular Polarization (RHCP) and is rated for 50watts output.
This is a recording of the LUSAT-OSCAR 19 (website) CW beacon which was on 437.120MHz:
LUSAT-OSCAR 19 20081123 1615UTC
Then Cubesat OSCAR-57 flew over:
cubesat-oscar_57_20081123_0153utc
The highlight of the evening was two AO-51 QSOs with W6BVB and WD9EWK! The Quadrifilar Helix antenna works!
I need to mount it high up. I could tell the house was in the way based on the angle and elevation 
and sudden drop on where the house is. Otherwise I believe I picked-up AOS at around 15 degrees elevation, which is quite right from the ground in the back yard and with the tall trees in that direction. I’m very happy! I was using 50 watts into a 5/8 vertical for my output on 2m.
I keep coming back and updating this blog entry with more sounds I record from this antenna. What a blast this has been. It’s like someone tore open a hole into space so I can actually hear. Here’s some Morse telemetry from RS-22 (website):
RS-22 20081123 0625UTC
For software, I’m tracking the satellites with Orbitron. Once I decide which bird to track, I switch over to the Ham Radio Deluxe Satellite Tracker which comes as a part of the awesome Ham Radio Deluxe suite; this I use for frequency control. I’m still mastering the linear inverting transponder for VO-52 but I have already successfully tuned-in a couple passes already; seems to be an active bird.
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