Weekend best time to work ISS

The best time to catch International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, on the air from NA1SS is during a weekend.

Now about halfway through his six-month duty tour, McArthur already has more than 300 casual contacts in his log, and he's eager to up the count.

"Weekends seem to be Bill's favorite time to operate," says Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO. "The weekend has few scheduled activities, so the crew may
operate anywhere from 0800 until 2200 UTC."

But Ransom says McArthur also operates in his free time on weekdays, and that includes his lunch hour, scheduled around 1200 to 1400 UTC. "Bill has occasionally operated in this time during the week," he told ARRL.

The crew's work day ends about 1930 UTC, but McArthur and crewmate Valery Tokarev usually stay up for another couple of hours. The crew sleeps from 2130 until 0630 UTC.

McArthur recently completed Worked All Continents (WAC) from space, including the "traditional ARISS" requirement to work Antarctica.

"We clearly share a lot in common," McArthur told Chuck Kimball, N0MHJ, at Palmer Station's KC4AAC during their 2-meter contact December 17. "You know, we have this bond. Just our hostile environments are a little bit
different."

McArthur's still trying to earn Worked All States (WAS) and DXCC from space and as 2005 drew to a close already had logged 37 states and 38 DXCC entities.

Responding to questions regarding the legitimacy of a DXCC earned from a spacecraft circling 220 miles above Earth, ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG, concedes that while McArthur's efforts don't have that much to do with traditional DXCC, they won't devalue the efforts of those earning the award from Earth either.

"While rules are very important, particularly in defining the DXCC program, other concepts can, and often do, transcend mere rules," he said. "Think of this as more of a public relations opportunity."

In addition, McArthur has been averaging two ARISS school group contacts as his schedule permits. Not since Expedition 3--when there were three people aboard the ISS for each crew increment--has a crew member done this on a regular basis.

The NA1SS worldwide voice and packet downlink frequency is 145.800 MHz. In Regions 2 and 3 (the Americas, and the Pacific), the voice uplink is 144.49 MHz. In Region 1 (Europe, Central Asia and Africa), the voice uplink is 145.20 MHz. The worldwide packet uplink is 145.99 MHz.

When NA1SS is in crossband FM repeater mode, the worldwide downlink is 145.80 MHz, and the uplink is 437.80 MHz. All frequencies are subject to Doppler shift. The Science@NASA Web site provides location information for
the ISS

Source: The American Radio Relay League

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