Space Station Contact at Bradley-Bourbonnais
March 26, 06 by Iroquois County Amateur Radio ClubThe 2 meter contact between the International Space Station and Bradley-Bourbonnais High School is still on track for Tuesday, March 28.
Present plans call for the audio from the contact to be available on the internet at www.bbchs.k12.il.us/ISS/index.htm and also on the 146.94 repeater in Kankakee. The school program starts at 11:30 a.m. (local time) with the actual contact starting at about 12:01 p.m. The ISS should be in range for about ten minutes.
The ISS is easy to hear when it’s in range. I hear it regularly with a cheap scanner. Of course, a better radio and antenna will give more reliable results. The downlink frequency is 145.800 MHz. The American astronaut on board the ISS has been very active, getting on the air whenever he has time. He is due to return to Earth in about two weeks. When he is not operating voice you will hear bursts of packet signals.
For more info about the space station and school contacts, try:
1. http://www.arrl.org/ARISS
2. http://www.spacetoday.org/Satellites/Hamsats/ariss.html
3. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt
4. http://www.w9az.com
The last site listed is for the Kankakee Area Radio Society. On the left side of the home page, scroll down to “Members” and click on “KARS Membership Roster”. You will find a link to email Jim, K9BIG. if you wish to contact him.
73, Carl K9CS
