144 - Monitoring the International Space Station

Are you interested in listening to the International Space Station?

In this episode, Phil shares what you need to know to tune into the ISS and other satellites passing overhead. Learn what equipment and software can help you, where to find the frequencies you’ll need, and how to know when the ISS will be passing over your location.

What You Need To Know

The ISS just launched a new amateur radio cross-band repeater. You’ll need a HAM radio license for your country in order to transmit on the repeater. No license is required to monitor the repeater The repeater is installed on the Columbus Module of the ISS The repeater is part of the IORS (Inter-Operable Radio System). In order to receive the ISS, you'll need to be aware of the doppler effect. In the doppler effect, you'll need to tune to a higher frequency as the ISS approaches you and a lower frequency as it moves away from you. Any scanner on the market can receive the ISS' new repeater. A directional antenna will be best but you can use a fixed antenna too. My favorite mode from the ISS is SSTV. SSTV is Slow Scan TV, where an image is transmitted over about 30 seconds to your computer. Sometimes the ISS has short communications with local schools, which you can hear if it’s happening near you. You can find the frequencies at ARISS.org.  To see when the ISS will pass over you, go to Heavens Above or N2YO and enter your location. If you’re on a PC, download the Orbitron satellite tracker software to your computer. Orbitron will also tell you the drift frequency of the satellite. If you connect your radio to your computer, you can set Orbitron to automatically adjust the drift on your radio. If you use Mac or Linux, download gpredict.

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