40+ years of Humans and Hams in Space

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 It all started with him. 

Astronaut Owen Garriott - W5LFL



Its been over 40 years since Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL fired up his rig to became the first person from space to communicate with amateur radio operators on Earth. He was also the first to be heard  from space by the public using simple receivers and scanners.  These communications continue today as ARISS  - Amateur Radio aboard the International Space Station, celebrates the positive impact of Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight with the upcoming ARISS Series 22 SSTV Experiment November 11 - 18, 2024.






Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to capture many SSTV images transmitted from the International Space Station with relatively minimal inexpensive equipment. From simple to a little more than simple ways I've used to capture SSTV images during all types of weather, different seasons of the year and day or night.


Here are a few of those SSTV images I've capture from ISS.




Just because my handle is "Ham on a Bike" doesn't prevent me from caputing SSTV images while I'm out on one of my Ham Radio bicycle operations.  Although I do have a Yaesu FT-726R All Mode V/UHF transceiver I use at home with a variety of antenna, I also have a couple of rigs and antennas I use to capture SSTV mages while operating portable.

Whenever, ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) announces an SSTV event, I make sure I have portable equipment ready. I don't let the event determine that I need to stay at home to capture SSTV images.

One of most memorable moments capturing ARISS SSTV images was during Firld Day 2021. I was doing a "Ham on a Bike" Field Day operation from the playground area of a high school complex near my home. I had recently constructed a Flower Pot Dual Band 2m/70cm antenna and wanted to see how it would flair in capturing SSTV images from ISS.  My Flower Pot antenna is a little over 6' long but mounted easily on my folding bike with my Buddipole Deluxe antenna,





2m/70cm Dual Band Flower Pot Antenna





Field Day 2021 ISS SSTV Event


My set up on Field Day 2021 yielded the following raw SSTV images.
























There are other times when I have just made it plain and simple by using my Baofeng HT or Yaesu FT-817 and record the images via my audio recorder, cell phone and capture the images using an Android App Robot36.  My antenna options for these are my Arrow Dual Band Yagi or just using an extended Rubber Duckie on the HT.








It doesn't matter the season or time of day to capture  ISS SSTV images.





I've just scratched the surface of how to capture ISS SSTV images.  Randy K7AGE has put together an excellent YouTube Video 
"ISS SSTV Nov 2024"


 

Get your equipment ready to capture those ISS passes over the next week and have more Amateur Radio fun.  If you want a certificate like the one I received a few years ago, download your images and apply at the following link.

https://ariss-usa.org/ARISS_SSTV/




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