Simplex Net: 146.445 MHz Repeater: 145.250 MHz, minus offset, tone 123.0
Special Events including NASA-TV audio 146.490 MHz
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Last Update: May 17, 2016
To subscribe to the AARC mailing list, go to
https://lists.nasa.gov/mailman/listinfo/arc-hamradio
This page requests info, and lets an individual subscribe, unsubscribe, etc.
Dont use your walkie-talkie while driving on Ames property
AARC meets every third Thursday monthly 12 noon at AARC Shack, talk-in 146.445 simplex.
Previous AARC News Bulletins and Presentations
Ames NODeS CubeSat Launch on May 16, 2016
ISS crew to launched two Cubesats called NODeS on Monday May 16, 2016. These have a beacon 437.100 MHz and like many other small satellites the transmissions can be received with a simple radio receiver although a high gain directional antenna will definitely improve reception.
As part of a partnership with Ames, Santa Clara University in California will conduct ground operations for the nominal two-week mission. Beacon frequency is 437.100 MHz, NODeS Mission Dashboard at http://nodes.engr.scu.edu
Acting as a ground station, the university will provide an online mission dashboard with current mission status, including operational status of satellite subsystems, ground segment communications status and satellite location tracking. The dashboard is currently available for viewing, but will not be active until after the Nodes deploy from the ISS in mid-May. The mission is scheduled to last for two weeks, though the CubeSats will remain in orbit for several more months before their orbit decays, they re-enter and burn up in the atmosphere.
The Nodes mission, which consists of two CubeSats weighing just 4.5 pounds each and measuring 4 inches by 4 inches by 6.5 inches, will test new network capabilities for operating swarms of spacecraft in the future. http://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-small-satellites-to-demonstrate-swarm-communications-and-autonomy
Above image, The Nodes spacecraft undergo final software load and check. from http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/nodes-spacecraft
NASA Tech Briefs, May 2016 issue (page 10) has interview with John Hanson, Nodes Deputy Project Manager and Technical Lead, Ames Research Center. When asked how do the two spacecraft communicate, Mr. Hanson said, One spacecraft is called the Captain, and is the only one that talks to the ground at that particular time. Then four times per day, the Captain will send a message over to the Lieutenant spacecraft asking, Do you have any data for me? The Lieutenant will respond with all the data that it has collected on the Earth's charged particle environment.
Hanson also said, I dont want to build a swarm of ten spacecraft if each costs $100 million. By using Cubesats, we can tap into this growing industry where people are building lots of small, capable, low-cost spacecraft.
Nodes Network & Operation Demonstration Satellite (2-12-15) http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/engineering/projects/nodes.html
AARC Frequencies
146.445, Tactical 1 146.505, Tactical 2 146.550, Tactical 3 147.465, Tactical 4 |
146.490, Events and NASA-TV retransmission 145.250-, 123.0, Command NA6MF 223.540, Packet 220, Primary 145.750, Packet 2M, Secondary |
145.585 MHz is no longer used. This is for special use and noted as the meteor scatter frequency.
Full list of countywide frequencies can be found at http://www.scc-ares-races.org/freqs/freqs.html
Tactical channels are considered for ARES and RACES activities, Event is used for special purposes such as club meetings, NASA-TV re-transmissions. Command is AARCs repeater, and two packet frequencies are used with County and city EOC message handling.
AARC Continuing Meetings
AARC meets every third Thursday monthly at AARC Shack, talk-in 146.445 simplex.
The club is continuing a series of technical presentations on amateur radio. This is not only for people who already have a ham license, but for those who might be considering getting into amateur radio. There are many applications of ham radio that are not only interesting and useful, but which are also essential in emergencies on land and at sea. The first presentation was an overview of using high frequency (HF) radio on sailboats for voice and email communications. Future technical presentations may include presentations on bouncing signals off meteor showers (meteor scatter), digital communications, and how to get your amateur license.
Previous AARC News Bulletins
Presentations at AARC Meetings and other programs:
Amateur Television from AARC
Receiving K6BEN in south San Francisco bay area
K6BEN video repeater is on 427.25 MHz, same frequency as cable channel 58. To receive K6BEN, set your TV set to cable channel 58, connect a UHF antenna (vertically polarized) aimed at Loma Prieta. Recommended antenna is a UHF (70 cm) yagi antenna.
NASA-TV schedule at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/schedule.html
Daily schedule at http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Schedule.html
Launch schedules at http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html
NASA Breaking News http://www.nasa.gov/rss/breaking_news.rss
NASA News Releases http://www.nasa.gov/news/releases/latest/index.html
NASA News Events http://www.nasa.gov/news/index.html
ELV Countdown Portal from KSC http://countdown.ksc.nasa.gov/elv/
W6CMU Wireless Innovators Page
Group call sign is W6CMU and website at http://wi.sv.cmu.edu
ISS Slow Scan TV active
All you need to do to receive the SSTV pictures from the space station on 145.800 MHz FM is to connected the audio output of a scanner or amateur rig 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 radios loudspeaker.
International Space Station Amateur Radio Communications
ISS has an onboard amateur radio station though ISS crews do not have much free time for ham radio activities. Most radio traffic is APRS. You can contact or listen to ISS crews using amateur radio 2 meter frequencies, and handhelds should have good signal quality.
Frequencies:
145.800: Worldwide downlink for voice
144.490: Region 2 and 3 voice uplink (The Americas, and the Pacific)
145.825: Worldwide packet uplink/downlink (1200 baud)
145.800: Worldwide SSTV downlink
145.200: Region 1 voice uplink (Europe, Central Asia and Africa)
437.800: Worldwide uplink for cross band voice repeater, downlink 145.800
Voice repeater (worldwide): downlink 145.800, uplink 1269.650
Voice repeater with PL (worldwide): downlink 437.800, uplink 145.990 with PL 67.0
Occasionally, the amateur radio gear onboard would be configured as a repeater. Click here for more info.
ISS Callsigns:
Russian callsigns RSOISS, RZ3DZR
U.S.A. callsign NA1SS
German callsign DP0ISS
Packet station mailbox callsign RS0ISS-11
Packet station keyboard callsign RS0ISS-3
Packet Digipeater ARISS
ISS Websites:
Purpose:
Club members also support a wide variety of HF, VHF, and UHF communications modes for educational and recreational purposes as well as provide voluntary public service and emergency communications support to Ames, Santa Clara County, and special events occurring on the Moffett Field complex.
The AARC is coordinated with the Silicon Valley Emergency Communications System (SVECS at http://www.svecs.net), an ARES/RACES association. AARC cooperates with other ARES organizations in the Santa Clara County, http://www.scc-ares-races.org
The club station, NA6MF, is affiliated with the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) http://www.arrl.com.
Weekly Nets:
Official US Time from Naval Observatory Master Clock
USNO Clock Times (animated) | USNO Clock Times (snapshot) |
Standard Time Zone Conversions | Time Service Department, USNO |
Animated time with global day/night chart at time.gov |
Radio Astronomy
Jupiter can be heard on a shortwave around 18-22 MHz. Use a loop antenna over a ground plane reflector. Solar flares can be heard on a VLF reciever at 27 KHz. A good book to get is Radio Astronomy for the Amateur by David Heiserman and the Amatuer Radio Astronomers Handbook by John Jotter Shields.
For more information on the AARC, contact:
Mark Allard, KD6CWM, at (650) 604-6145 or email mark.r.allard.civ@mail.mil
AARC Webpage Editor: Michael Wright, K6MFW, at (650) 604-6262 or email michael.f.wright@nasa.gov
Mailing address:
The AARC is a member of the NASA Exchange Council (http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov)
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