DERMOT EI4ESB HAMTV FROM THE ISS
THIS
PAGE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
- In this page I will give an account of my project to receive live video from the International Space Station.
- During the design and construction of the Columbus module by the European Space Agency it
- was decided, for the first time on the ISS, to incorporate antennas with feed-throughs for Ham Radio
- on the underside of the module.
- ARISS is responsible for co-coordinating Ham radio contacts with the ISS and test transmissions for
- HAMTV. Construction of my dish and pedestal equipment started in February 2014.
ABOVE, UTUBE LINK TO THE VIDEO OF
MY FIRST DVB TV DIRECT FROM THE ISS
THERE IS NO SOUND ON THIS VIDEO
CLIP, A MIC SWITCH ON THE ISS CAMERA WAS NOT ON.
- This was the second school contact by British Astronaut Tim Peake Friday 19th February 2016
- I missed the first event due to short notice from ARISS
- Below is picture of mark 2 version dish and pedestal.
This picture was taken during
some testing, so various bits hanging off.
The dish antenna system is
portable. Two people and a small van is all that is needed. The
dish can be lifted
off the main center pole. The top pole can be unbolted in the middle from the lower pyramid section. A total of 3 pieces.
To give an idea of overall size, the dish is 1.2 meters diameter, the spirit level sitting on the concrete blocks is 1mtr long.
The system survived at least 5 named winter storms, 2015/2016, with wind gusts in Ireland over 100kph.
This is a typical data set from my antenna system on 7th June 2015.
The shoulder in the yellow MER data is a telegraph pole, 5mtrs away, with wires radiating, hence the dip.
The jagged appearance of the signals is the start stop motion of the AZ and EL motors.
The station was operational from March 2015 receiving the black/blank screen.
The LNB was connected to the Downconverter by an N-type barrel connector to eliminate coax losses. A plastic bag was taped to cover the downconverter as it was designed to be mounted with connections facing downward, I think it is only splash-proof. A small hole is cut in bottom of bag just in case!
The rusty piece of iron hanging from strut is a weight to keep a little bit of downward pressure as dish is perfectly balanced on pillow bearings, and there is slight play in the mounts of the actuator. The bolts supplied are 6mm diameter and the actuator holes are 6.52mm. The next time I visit the machine shop I will have better fitting bolts made.
The manufacturers of the actuator never imagined the accuracy expected for a project like this.
The actuator came with a multiturn pot feedback sense of 50k ohm, I changed this to 500 ohm to suit the Yaesu controller.
The elevation system is calibrated for 90 degrees only. The ISS is always south of Ireland.
This rear photo gives a better idea of the elevation mechanism.
off the main center pole. The top pole can be unbolted in the middle from the lower pyramid section. A total of 3 pieces.
To give an idea of overall size, the dish is 1.2 meters diameter, the spirit level sitting on the concrete blocks is 1mtr long.
The system survived at least 5 named winter storms, 2015/2016, with wind gusts in Ireland over 100kph.
This is a typical data set from my antenna system on 7th June 2015.
The shoulder in the yellow MER data is a telegraph pole, 5mtrs away, with wires radiating, hence the dip.
The jagged appearance of the signals is the start stop motion of the AZ and EL motors.
The station was operational from March 2015 receiving the black/blank screen.
The LNB was connected to the Downconverter by an N-type barrel connector to eliminate coax losses. A plastic bag was taped to cover the downconverter as it was designed to be mounted with connections facing downward, I think it is only splash-proof. A small hole is cut in bottom of bag just in case!
The rusty piece of iron hanging from strut is a weight to keep a little bit of downward pressure as dish is perfectly balanced on pillow bearings, and there is slight play in the mounts of the actuator. The bolts supplied are 6mm diameter and the actuator holes are 6.52mm. The next time I visit the machine shop I will have better fitting bolts made.
The manufacturers of the actuator never imagined the accuracy expected for a project like this.
The actuator came with a multiturn pot feedback sense of 50k ohm, I changed this to 500 ohm to suit the Yaesu controller.
The elevation system is calibrated for 90 degrees only. The ISS is always south of Ireland.
This rear photo gives a better idea of the elevation mechanism.
Data from 22 February 2016.
Max elevation on this pass 55 degrees.
AOSignal range 950klm.
LOSignal range 1150klm.
Max elevation on this pass 55 degrees.
AOSignal range 950klm.
LOSignal range 1150klm.
NAVIGATION PANE
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