After reading from the ARRL that the International Space Station was going to be sending images over Slow Scan Television (SSTV), I wanted to try my hand at picking up their signal as they passed over head. Armed with MMSSTV (free SSTV software), isstracker.com to track the ISS, and an audio cable running from my radio to my PC, I was ready to go. However, the ISS passed over head without making a peep. It turns out I missed their transmission window by about 10 minutes. Having spent all the time getting my rig setup I wasn’t about to give up.
This morning I flipped on my HF rig and set it to 28.680Mhz, the 10 meter calling frequency for SSTV. I sent my CQ image out over the air and in no time, I had a reply! It was incredibly exciting to see the image roll in with my call sign fixed at the top. Steve, NS3L had heard me and gave me a reply! As quickly as I could, I setup another image back to Steve but the frequency started getting busy so I’m not sure if he received it, but this experience has sparked a huge interest for me in SSTV and I’m excited to continue exploring it!