[sarex] ARISS Field Day Notice

["Scott H. Stevens" <n3asa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station may participate in
Field Day operations this year. Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, and Gennady
Padalka, RN3DT, may participate in Field Day activities as time
permits.

Fincke should be operating as NA1SS, 1 Alpha, ISS. If Padalka can
participate then he should sign RS0ISS, 1 Alpha, ISS.

ISS Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth G. Ransom, N5VHO, sent Field Day
operating instructions and pass times to the ISS support team at
Johnson Space Center for relay to Fincke.  Best pass times sent to Mike
are for June 27 and include:

   07:53 - 08:11 UTC  Southern & NE U.S.
   09:27 - 09:47 UTC  Western U.S.
   11:03 - 11:23 UTC  Northwest U.S.
   14:15 - 14:35 UTC  Northeast U.S.
   15:51 - 16:11 UTC  Central U.S.
   17:27 - 17:43 UTC  Southwest U.S.


The plan is for Fincke to be on voice using the standard ISS voice
frequencies for contacts in ITU region 2 of 144.49 up and 145.80 down
in the FM mode. If Padalka participates, he will also operate on the
same 2 meter frequency set and they will probably trade off on passes.

The prospect of two operators being available and operating
simultaneously is possible since ARISS now has 2 radios on board. One
of them is a dual band and that makes activation of another band
possible though not guaranteed. If we are fortunate enough to have 2
operators on at the same time, one of them would be operating on 437.55
simplex in the FM mode while the other is on the standard 2 meter FM
split voice frequency. Keep in mind that the Doppler shift in the 70
centimeter band is significantly greater than on 2 meters.

Doppler will be the biggest challenge for earthbound hams trying to
work ISS on 70 cm. The Doppler on 70 cm is plus or minus 10 kHz. Most
radios include 5-kHz tuning steps, and to work ISS on voice you will
need to get within 3 kHz of the ISS receiver frequency. Setting up
memories on a 5kHz stepped radio would require 5 memory channels. Start
with channel 1 at the beginning of the pass and proceed to the next as
the pass progresses.

    TX Channel     RX Channel     Doppler
1     437.540         437.560        +10
2     437.545         437.555         +5
3     437.550         437.550          0
4     437.555         437.545         -5
5     437.560         437.540        -10

Ideally, you would be able to have tuning steps of 2 kHz and the table
would look like this:

         TX Channel     RX Channel     Doppler
 1     437.540         437.560        +10
 2     437.542         437.558         +8
 3     437.544         437.556         +6
 4     437.546         437.554         +4
 5     437.548         437.552         +2
 6     437.550         437.550          0
 7     437.552         437.548         -2
 8     437.554         437.546         -4
 9     437.556         437.544         -6
10     437.558         437.542         -8
11     437.560         437.540        -10


As with any amateur radio operation aboard the ISS, the crew gives of
their free time to participate and as such may not be available on
every pass or more pressing events may preclude any participation at
all. It is planned that if the crew is unable to participate that the
packet station will be on and available for ground stations to work
each other via the packet digipeater using ARISS as the alias for the
callsign in UNPROTO mode using 145.99 up and 145.80 down.

Keep in mind that an EVA is scheduled just a few days before Field Day
and the crew will still be in the process of getting back to a normal
schedule when Field Day is in full swing.

73 & good luck on Field Day!
Scott H. Stevens / N3ASA

ARISS is an international educational outreach program with US
participation from NASA, AMSAT (The Amateur Satellite Radio Corp.), and
the American Radio Relay League.  ARISS offers an opportunity for
students to experience the excitement of Amateur Radio by talking
directly with crewmembers on-board the International Space Station.
Teachers, parents and communities experience, first hand, how Amateur
Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters interest in
science, technology, and learning.  Further information on the ARISS
programme is available on the website http://www.rac.ca/ariss


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