This is a demonstration of the minimal setup to download SSTV images from the International Space Station ISS. I use a Quansheng UV-K5 set to 145.800 an sql at 0. It is then decoded on the fly using an android tablet with the Robot36 app. You may also record the audio and later decode using Robot36, MMSSTV on your computer or your other favourite decoder.

Whether you are antenna restricted and need something that blends in, or just want to get started building your own antennas, you will find great antenna ideas that you can build yourself inexpensively at the April RRRA Meeting.

One of the really annoying things about ham radio is the sheer number of different cables and connectors out there. With USB alone, there are four or five common ones, and let’s not even talk about all the other connectors for the variety of wall warts.

Reach into your power cord stash and you’ll see a variety of plugs: four- and six-pin, barrel connectors, banana plugs, T-connectors, and many more. It makes you wonder:

Do these manufacturers enjoy the misery they inflict by forcing all these cables and connectors onto the world?

When the AMSAT-OSCAR 7 (AO-7) amateur radio satellite was launched in 1974, its expected lifespan was about five years. The plucky little satellite made it to 1981 when a battery failure caused it to be written off as dead. Then, in 2002 it came back to life. The prevailing theory being that one of the cells in the satellites NiCd battery pack, in an extremely rare event, failed open — thus allowing the satellite to run (intermittently) off its solar panels.

Learn how you can choose and deploy a better performing and more appropriate antenna to meet your operating goals during K8ZT’s 10 Worst Antennas for Amateur Radio & How You Can Do Better! presentation at the March RRRA Meeting.