Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

The Digital HamTV transmitter on the International Space Station will change frequency to 2395 MHz on the weekend of March 15/16.

HamTV Antennas at ARISS Telebridge Station IK1SLD in Casale Monferrato, Italy

HamTV Bulletin 9:

The Ham Video transmitter commissioning steps 1 and 2 were performed as planned. Working together  with ESA / B.USOC, the ARISS team in Matera did an excellent job.

Saturday April 8, four configurations tested with antenna 41.
Sunday April 9, six configurations tested with antenna 43.

Both ARISS L/S-band antennas are operational in S-band. Reports from ground stations during blank transmissions will allow further analysis of their performance and radiation characteristics in space.

Recordings of signals received during commissioning steps at Matera ground station will be made available on the BATC server.

In Livorno, Ham Video manufacturer Kayser Italia received excellent signals with a 1.2m dish. In Casale Monferrato, the ARISS telebridge station also received good signals with the same type of antenna.

A basic amateur radio station that should be able to receive HamTV from ISS – Image AMSAT-Italia

Recordings can be viewed with VLC software. Please select 16/9 image format.

Presently, Ham Video is transmitting permanently a “blank” image and no audio in configuration 1:
* ARISS antenna 43
* Frequency 2422 MHz
* Symbol rate 1.3 Ms/s
This blank transmission will continue till the end of the week.

Next week blank transmission is planned with antenna 43 on 2395 MHz and 1.3 Ms/s. The frequency changeover will be done Saturday 15 or Sunday 16 March. All Ham Video frequencies have been notified to ITU as ISS – ARISS.

BATC Webstream of ISS HamTV by Stefan VE4NSA March 8, 2014

Reports on reception of blank transmissions are very welcome. Reports can be filed via this webpage: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_FSTV/submit.php

Participants using the Tutioune receiving software can record as well as stream detailed parameters of the received signal. Please see: http://www.vivadatv.org/

Blank transmissions will continue till the next commissioning step, which is planned April 12, 2014. We will announce configurations in due time.

Thank you for your participation to the Ham Video testing campaign.

73,
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS Europe chair

Read the HamTV overview by Gaston Bertels ON4WF http://tinyurl.com/HamTVoverview

Join the ISS HamTV Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamTV

Webstream of the TV transmissions http://batc.tv/ch_live.php?ch=4

ARISS-EU HamTV Bulletins http://www.ariss-eu.org/

HamTV on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hamtvproject

ISS HamTV screenshot by Stefan VE4NSA March 8, 2014

On Saturday, March 8 test transmissions were made on 2422.0 MHz using the HamTV equipment on the International Space Station (ISS).

BATC Webstream of ISS HamTV by Stefan VE4NSA March 8, 2014

The Digital TV signal was successfully received and web streamed to a global audience via the Britsh Amateur Television Club (BATC) server at http://batc.tv/ch_live.php?ch=4 There were four live web streams each from different receivers.

The HamTV transmitter is the culmination of over ten years work by dedicated volunteers to establish an amateur radio TV transmitter on the ISS. It uses patch antennas fixed on the Meteorite Debris Panels (MDP) protecting the hull of the ISS Columbus module. These antennas were installed while the Columbus module was being constructed. A fund-raising campaign took place during 2005-7 to raise over 65,000 Euros for the antennas. Individual radio amateurs from around the world donated generously as did several organisations including AMSAT-UK and the RSGB.

The main mission of HamTV is to perform contacts between the astronauts on the ISS and school students, not only by voice as now, but also by unidirectional video from the ISS to the ground.

Watch HamTV Commissioning received from IK1SLD Telebridge Station Casale Monferrato, Italy

HamVideo is the name of the onboard DATV S-band transmitter. HamTV is the name of the complete system, comprising DATV downlink and VHF voice uplink. Kaiser Italia SRL was the prime-contractor for the design and development of the flight and ground segment http://www.kayser.it/index.php/exploration-2/ham-tv

Watch HAM TV commissioning, VLBI Control Room – ASI Matera, Italy – March 8, 2014

Read the HamTV overview by Gaston Bertels ON4WF http://tinyurl.com/HamTVoverview

Join the ISS HamTV Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HamTV

Webstream of the TV transmissions http://batc.tv/ch_live.php?ch=4

ARISS-EU HamTV Bulletins http://www.ariss-eu.org/

HamTV on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Hamtvproject

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

The Ham Video transmitter was installed in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS) on March 6, 2014 at approximately 10.00 UT.

HamTV Antennas at ARISS Telebridge Station IK1SLD in Casale Monferrato, Italy

The transmitter was powered on briefly and all control LEDs were nominal. Ham Video is declared ready for Commissioning.
The first Commissioning step is planned March 8, 2014. Using call sign OR4ISS, crew will power on the Ham Video transmitter in configuration 1:

– ARISS antenna 41
– Frequency 2.422 GHz
– Symbol rate 1.3 Ms/s

The transmission will start shortly before the pass of the ISS over Western Europe at approximately 13.27 UT.

Acquisition of signal (AOS) at Matera ground station in south Italy will be at approximately 13.29 UT.

Matera will receive the Ham Video signals with 3 different receivers. The output of each receiver will be web streamed over BATC channels ISS1, ISS2 and ISS3.

The ARISS ground station IK1SLD, located in Northern Italy, will also receive the Ham Video signals and stream the video over BATC channel ISS4.

A basic amateur radio station that should be able to receive HamTV from ISS – Image AMSAT-Italia

The BATC server is available at http://www.batc.tv/

On BATC you can do the following:

– select ISS
– click on one of the ISS channels
– click on Multi screen selector
– select the channels you wish to watch
– click on Watch.

When multiscreen appears, volume is turned down by default. Turn the volume up using the volume control slider below the image.

During the pass, different configurations will be tested with ARISS antenna 41. After the pass, the Ham Video transmitter will stay powered on in configuration 1 (see above) till the following Commissioning step, which is planned Sunday March 9, 2014 at approximately 12.40 UT.

For about 24 hours, the DATV signal will be transmitted permanently, but the camera will be powered off. The reason is, that the camera is battery powered and no provisions are made for frequent battery replacement. This mode is called “blank” transmission.

Sunday March 9, the transmission will start shortly before the pass of the ISS over Western Europe at approximately 12.39 UT.
During Commissioning step 2, different configurations will again be tested, this time with ARISS antenna 43. The Matera ground station and IK1SLD will stream the video over the BATC server.

The plan is to resume blank transmission immediately after the pass over Matera and to continue permanent transmission for one week, till Sunday March 16, 2014. The frequency will remain 2.422 GHz, but antenna ARISS 43 will be used.

Reports on reception of blank transmissions are very welcome. Reports can be filed via this webpage:
http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_FSTV/submit.php

Participants using the Tutioune receiving software, developed by Jean Pierre Courjaud F6DZP, can record as well as stream detailed parameters of the received signal. Please see:
http://www.vivadatv.org/

Thank you for your participation

73,
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS Europe chair

Webstream of the TV transmissions http://batc.tv/ch_live.php?ch=4

ARISS-EU HamTV Bulletins http://www.ariss-eu.org/

HamTV https://www.facebook.com/Hamtvproject

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

The Ham Video transmitter, which is stored in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS), will be installed March 6, 2014. The transmitter will be powered on briefly, just the time needed to check that the connection cables to the antenna, to the power supply and to the camera are installed properly. All control LEDs nominal, the transmitter will be considered ready for Commissioning and will be unpowered.

HamTV Antennas at ARISS Telebridge Station IK1SLD in Casale Monferrato, Italy

The first Commissioning step is planned March 8, 2014. Using call sign OR4ISS, crew will power on the Ham Video transmitter in configuration 1:
• ARISS antenna 41
• Frequency 2.422 GHz
• Symbol rate 1.3 Ms/s

The transmission will start shortly before the pass of the ISS over the Matera ground station in south Italy at approximately 13.29 UT.

The ground station will stream the video over the BATC server http://www.batc.tv/ Please select Member Streams and ISS.

During the pass, different configurations will be tested with ARISS antenna 41.

After the pass, the Ham Video transmitter will stay powered on in configuration 1 till the following Commissioning step, which is planned Sunday March 9, 2014 at approximately 12.40 UT.

For about 24 hours, the DATV signal will be transmitted permanently, but the camera will be powered off. The reason is, that the camera is battery powered and no provisions are made for frequent battery replacement. This mode is called “blank” transmission.

A basic amateur radio station that should be able to receive HamTV from ISS – Image AMSAT-Italia

During Commissioning step 2, different configurations will again be tested, this time with ARISS antenna 43. The Matera ground station will stream the video over the BATC server.

Possibly, blank transmissions will occur in the period between Commissioning step 2 and the following step, which is not yet planned.

We will circulate Ham TV Bulletins to inform on blank transmissions.
Reports on reception of blank transmissions are very welcome. Reports can be filed via this webpage: http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_FSTV/submit.php

Participants using the Tutioune receiving software, developed by Jean Pierre Courjaud F6DZP, can record as well as stream detailed parameters of the received signal. Please see:
http://www.vivadatv.org/

Thank you for your participation

73,
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS Europe chair

ARISS-EU HamTV Bulletins http://www.ariss-eu.org/

HamTV https://www.facebook.com/Hamtvproject

Front panel of the HamTV transmitter

ESA have postponed the International Space Station (ISS) Ham Video Commissioning until March 8.

Possible dates for the four Commissioning steps are March 8 (step 1),
March 9 (step 2), and March 16 (step 3).
Step 3 could be turned into step 4.
These dates are all on the weekend.

With this agenda, we have just 1 week of blank transmissions.

The agenda is still to be finalized.

73,
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS Europe Chair

ISS Ham Video Commissioning – Blank Transmissions
https://amsat-uk.org/2014/01/26/iss-ham-video-commissioning-blank-transmissions/