So I was sitting in the shack yesterday morning, drinking coffee and listening to IGY by Donald Fagen on Pandora, when I heard what I thought was an alarm. I thought it might have been a smoke detector going off (always a real possibility in the N2CQR shack!). It took me a moment to realize that what I was hearing was the device pictured above. I'd left my 2 meter HT tuned to 145.950 MHz, and Arissat-1 was breaking squelch with SSTV tones. Very cool.
Later, I was thinking about this as I pedaled along on my bike. I remembered our recent discussion of Copthorne MacDonald, inventor of SSTV. Way to go Cop!
It is easy to join in the fun. Just tune you two meter gear to 145.950 and leave it there. You'll soon be alarmed just as I was.
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I have to say thanks for the comment in SS136 there Bill.
ReplyDeleteI showed a new local ham how easy it is to get the signal with my handheld at the local hamfest last weekend out in the parking lot. He was very surprised how well it was coming through considering the standard antenna. I have got a few recordings and even more SSTV pics. It is great to see you back into the satellites.
Cheers,
Adam
VK6GA