Ham radio's space vision

ray smith, shippensburg pa — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 06:28:29 GMT

This will lead to some great science while giving the astro and cosmonauts some "fun" time. Too bad the Adminstrator over at NASA can't see the benefits of science and discovery. Michael Griffin should turn in his resignation so the taxpayers can get what they paid for instead of his kiss bush and butt slash-and-turn politics. I am a ham and think we should have had this a long time ago...at this rate amateur radio operators will have robotic telepresence on the moon before the bushies' plan to get people on the moon happens...for what? to dig for water? let robots do that. The amateur radio community is thankful to all those who really do wish to advance science for the betterment of ALL!! Thanks Alan for bringing this story to us.

Ham radio's space vision

Chris Ferenzi, Bethlehem, PA — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:16:02 GMT

Ray Smith presents us with the tired old argument of humans vs. robots and science vs. exploration. [...] Having a human presence in space or on the moon/mars will greatly increase the amount of science being performed. As an added benefit, we'll have the insurance policy of human's off earth permanently.

Ham radio's space vision

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:12:01 GMT

Trackback (Click on "John's Blog" link):

"An innovative space transmission system built by volunteers has started sending down pictures from the international space station to the whole wide world via amateur radio. Thanks to SpaceCam1, anyone with a police scanner or a suitable radio rig ..."

Ham radio's space vision

Trevor ,Chelmsford, Essex, England — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:30:15 GMT

David Worboys achievement in receiving pictures from SpaceCam1 on the ISS made the front page of this weeks Essex Chronicle newspaper in England.

The article is available online at

http://tinyurl.com/nqmee

David is a member of the Chelmsford Amateur Radio Society http://www.g0mwt.org.uk/

Original story at
http://www.southgatearc.org/
news/august2006/cars_iss_sstv_pictures.htm

Ham radio's space vision

Cor (In Holland). — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 15:47:42 GMT

Hello MSNBC,

My name is Cor Wielenga (callsign: PD0RKC).
I would like to give a comment on your nice
story: Ham Radio's Space Vision

I have 8 ISS SSTV (Spacecam) pictures on
my website (received by amateur stations on earth).

See: http://www.pd0rkc.com

Regards: Cor Wielenga

Ham radio's space vision

Bill Short, Syracuse, N.Y. — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:01:06 GMT

That Bigelow Aerospace spacecraft is also beaming down even better pitctures of space and the Earth below:
http://www.bigelowaerospace.com/out_there/index.php

Ham radio's space vision

Alan Sheets, Loveland, CO — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 17:03:56 GMT

PD0RKC -- good job on the SSTV captures. Mine don't look nearly as good, but my gear is a lot older and beat up. 73's!

Bill Short -- yea, but are these available via sstv or apt for those of us who are Hams or DiYers instead of waiting for press releases? I'm personally waiting for Bigelow to fly an OSCAR transponder on their next test shots.

Ham radio's space vision

Randy Westcott, Jerome, MI — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:39:24 GMT

What I'd like to see are some living Hams on the Moon -- surviving, exploring, and communicating. Not only do we start exploring the Universe in earnest but we'll get some great DX as well. So, when we go back to stay someone needs to take a rig along. Good piece, Mr. Boyle
73's Randy Westcott WA8FGT

Ham radio's space vision

RICHARD SY, CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 15:18:31 GMT

This is the success of Ham radio's space vision, the amateur radio highway to space communication. DU7RSY

Ham radio's space vision

Bill Pasternak, Los Angeles CA. — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 07:06:43 GMT

What has been accomplished is amazing, but I am surprised that neither the story writer nor any of the commentaries thought to give thanks to the man who made it possible for ham radio to go into space. His name was Roy Neal. To the world, and the world of Broadcast Journalism, he was NBC Network News Producer and Aerospace Reporter Roy Neal. To the ham radio community, he was known simply as Roy, K6DUE.

In the early 1980's, Roy came up with the idea of having a ham radio station carried into orbit on a space shuttle and operated by a crew member who would also be an FCC licensed ham radio operator. He and then Astronaut Owen Garriott (ham radio call letters W5LFL) began working to get permission from NASA for Garriott to take along a simple ham radio station and operate it during the Skylab I - STS9 mission on the shuttle Columbia.

On November 28, 1983, Columbia roared into orbit. 3 days later, Dr. Garriott became the first man to talk back to earth using a ham radio station when he made contact with ham radio operator Lance Collister, call letters WA1JXN, in Frenchtown, Montana.

At the time of that history making ham radio contact, Dr. Garriott was approaching the U.S. West Coast. His radio antenna was actually inside the Columbia looking out of a flight-deck window. Even with that handicap, his radio signal from the space shuttle was so strong that Roy in Houston for the flight, and this scribe standing in the courtyard of the of old Metromedia Square TV studio in Los Angeles both heard Dr. Garriott side of the contact at the same time. I actually taped the audio on a cassette recorder connected to my own handie-talkie ham radio.

The success of that first-ever demonstration lead to NASA permitting Dr. Tony England (ham call letters W0ORE) to take a ham television system with him on the on the STS-51F / Spacelab-2 mission in August of 1985. During that flight, Dr. England became the first person ever to use ham radio to send pictures to Earth. He also has the honor of being the first to receive a picture from Earth and send it back to the same station on the ground. That photo was of his wife Cathy, and several others at the Johnson Space Center ham radio station -- W5RRR -- In Houston.

The success of the ham television on the 51-F flight generated so much interest by the public and the educational community in spaceflight, that Roy, along with the American Radio Relay League (the nation society representing amateur Radio) and AMSAT - the Amateur Satellite Corporation joined forces to create a program called SAREX - The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment. Through SAREX and later in the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) programs, children in schools world wide are given a chance to talk directly to Astronauts and Cosmonauts on-Earth orbit using ham radio. That program continues to this day.

Roy Neal was actively involved with improving all aspects of manned ham radio operations from space almost until the day he died. He left us on August 15, 2003 due to complications following heart surgery. But what started as his idea back in the 1980's lives on to this day as a lasting memorial to him and his belief that radio amateurs -- hams -- could benefit the space program and that the space program benefits all of mankind.

Bill Pasternak (WA6ITF)
Los Angeles, CA.

Ham radio's space vision

Thomas Frey, Switzerland — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:34:55 GMT

A very well written article. But PLEASE. Do not write "police scanner". Amateur radio has nothing to do with the Police and there radios. Please write simply "scanner" or "amateur radio receiver", Thank you. Thanks also for your article.
73 Thomas - HB9SKA, equiped with ham radios ;-)

Ham radio's space vision

MAURICIO BERALDO PY4MAB, BRAZIL — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:40:32 GMT

MAURICIO BERALDO PY4MAB
ONLY I RECEIVED SSTV LOGO PHOTO OVER AMERICAS.

YES......

Ham radio's space vision

Sunil U K — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 07:29:53 GMT

How About putting a Repeater / TRansponder on Moon , So that Evenings will be more meaningfull [ RagChew ] , and the rate of movement of moon is slow ao that easy to sustain QSO's much longer...... a thought ...... may be a dream come true in the coming years......

de vu2ukr / Sunil U K / New Delhi / India

Ham radio's space vision

danilo m. cervales — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 10:19:18 GMT

what kind of repeater is good to install to contact
all over the philippines station . or to contact all
over the world.