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First post, by Jo22

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http://southgatearc.org/news/2021/january/iss … ld-computer.htm

To be fair, though, the TNC did all the hard work..
Still nice to see the 64 in action.
Even though a C128D in 80char mode would have been more classy.. 😉

Bye the way, there also was "Digicom" (no, not Digimon) for the Commodores.
It was a popular Packet-Radio software from Bavaria, Germany that did the whole AX.25 decoding/encoding on the C64 itself.
Later on, this evolved in the BayCom program for PCs running DOS.
(Bayern=Bavaria, hence Bay Com. Spoken with a soft "a" as in "bath".)

If you're interested in space communications,
you can also try out receiving SSTV pictures.
The ISS sends them from time to time at 145.800 MHz in FM.
You can check on http://southgatearc.org/

All you need is an FM scanner and a PC+MMSSTV or a smartphone (robot36 app) .
If you have got no receiver at hand, check out http://websdr.org/

(Just don't forget to set to PD120 mode (120secs duration) in case
the signal is too noisy to be detected as such.
In the early days of SSTV, transmission was 7 to 8 seconds long and in monochrome.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaVMrGkLWk4

Sometimes, you can even get a little award as a gift for your feedback.
https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/
https://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/

Just remember that you have to check if the ISS is in range and that transmissions have a pause of 1-2min between pictures, so the transmitter can take a break/cool down.

You can use Heavens-Above on Android, on the web or any other tracking program.
I use STS+ for MS-DOS along with the newest kepplerian data (it was used on MIR once).

https://celestrak.com/software/dransom/stsplus.html
http://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/

Have fun!

Edit: Picture added.

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    A classic - STS Orbit Plus Satellite Tracker (DOS)
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Last edited by Jo22 on 2021-01-31, 21:42. Edited 1 time in total.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 2 of 7, by Jo22

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You're welcome! ^^

By the way, you can also practice SSTV reception on 14.230 MHz almost daily.
- That's the main frequency, so to say (the 20m band).

Just run robot36 app on your android device, turn your PC speakers up a bit and visit the WebSDR page.
- On the web page, enter the frequency and choose "USB" mode.

If you're really curious and like to go old-school, you can even use your old DOS rig for decoding.
All you need is a Sound Blaster compatible card or a homebrew modem.

The modem is fun to build, because it essentially is just one simple IC, a very ancient 741.
You can also use several substitutes for it.

In my theory, the modem could perhaps even work in a DOS VM with a serial port mapped to an USB adapter,
provided that you use two 9v batteries rather than stealing power from the serial port
(the 741 needs positive and negative voltage in this use case and fake RS232 ports only use +5V and 0V).

That being said, the old programs may not support PD120 mode which the ISS now uses.
Games like Portal may also use slightly newer modes (Robot36 mode as used by MIR ?) for hidden messages, not sure.

But high-altitude ballon projects still use the American "Scottie" modes or the European "Martin" modes,
which all SSTV programs support, no matter the age (except for the ancient ones, like "G1FTU SSTV "for the ZX Spectrum, maybe).

Last, but not least, you can also decode these Packet-Radio or APRS messages from the ISS on a DOS machine without a TNC.
All you need is either a BayCom/PC-COM compatible modem or that very simple 741 modem I mentioned before and these programs.

PRMON - Packet Radio Monitor v1.21 (BayCom modem)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dd-ra-VA7w

PKTMON - Packet Radio Monitor v1.0 (HamComm modem using 741 IC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7smeDx03qI

Speaking of APRS..
APRS essentially is a an interactive map that's based on radio gear.
Amateur radio operators (HAMs) use it to display their own position on a map, so that other ham fellows can see were they are.
It's totally free and no requirement. It's just a geeky sub-hobby of amateur radio. Anyhow, APRS can do more than this.

It can transmitt information accross the world (ISS has an APRS repeater, too) essentially.
But that's not all, it can also transport tiny bit of extra data. Weather station informations, for example.
Or picture data of a few Kilobytes.

And it works via audio, too. It uses AFSK modulation @1200 Baud.
So all you need is a cheap FM scanner with a headphone jack and some TNC/modem.
If you like, you can build one with an Arduino Uno, even.
Just use a MAX232 converter chip to interface it with a real RS232.

A popular software, UI-View, runs on Windows 3.1, even.
So you can use your retro PC, again. 😁
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzyQyCRyeWE

Or if you prefere a Raspberry Pi or any other *nix machine, have a look at Xastir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkpDIiVlITk

I hope this was a helpful summary and wish you a lot of fun! 😁
Personally, I started as an SWL (shortwave listener) and enjoyed listening to the air waves a lot.

In our time frame, you can even use an SDR receiver, which is really cheap to buy.
All you need is an USB TV receiver dongle (rtl2832u ic) and an appropiate "PC" (or android device, running the SDR Touch software, for example).

There's many more, like weather fax reception (WEFAX), radio telex messages (RTTY) from weather forecast services and so on.
Just don't over do it. Hobbies like this are most fascinating if practiced in a ritual manner (weekends, holidays etc), I think. 😉

More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow-scan_television
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiofax

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_radio
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Packe … eporting_System

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioteletype
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software-defined_radio

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM_rzw6WcXib … arch?query=SSTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWWGDL5tC_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiOPmTw9kfI
https://www.qsl.net/iz7ath/web/03_digital/03_hamc/hc_eng.htm

Edit: Link added.
Edit: Text eddited.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 3 of 7, by Kerr Avon

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The C64 was and is a great machine. It, and other great 8 bit systems still have a lot of modern users, lots of modern 'net activity, and a not inconsiderable stream of new games still being made by the fans.

Reply 4 of 7, by Jo22

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True true. 👍

It's always good to see classic computers to be used beyond gaming.

Edit: That's what this old thread is all about:
Anything else besides games on your retro PC? How old are You?

This dude, for example used the C64 as a tracker for satellites:

https://hackaday.com/2020/12/16/tracking-sate … gritty-details/

Personally, I also use old computers for such purposes because I think that's cool!
Since the newest 2-element data can still be downloaded (Celestrak.com), an old program works as good as new.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM_rzw6WcXib … query=Satellite

Edit: Added a picture.

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    PK-232 TNC ('86) and 486 laptop (~'93) running Win 2.x Terminal (~' 87)
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Last edited by Jo22 on 2021-01-31, 21:44. Edited 2 times in total.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 5 of 7, by Pierre32

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Very cool 😀 Last year I flirted with the idea of getting into HAM for about a minute. Just long enough to pick up an SDR dongle and see what I could hear from my city balcony. I still follow a couple of subreddits and a podcast, and always enjoy seeing the ISS contacts.

Coincidentally I've been researching a sound card in the past couple of weeks, and in the process learned that people created special drivers back in the day to use the DSP for HAM purposes including packet radio.

This package contains software for using the DSP chip on a PC sound card to implement an HF DSP modem. Please note that this sof […]
Show full quote

This package contains software for using the DSP chip on a PC
sound card to implement an HF DSP modem. Please note that this software
will only run on PSA-based soundcards. The PSA sound cards contain a
three-chip set from Analog Devices that includes an ADSP2115 DSP, memory,
and a CD-quality 16 bit A/D - D/A. There are several manufacturers for such
cards: Cardinal Pro 16 (and Pro 16 plus), Orchid Soundwave 32, Western
Digital Paradise 16-DSP, Wearnes Beethoven, Echo Speech
...

Googling psator10 or dspsnd5 will link directly to the old text files, and I found an FTP full of the stuff too: ftp://ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/dsp

Reply 6 of 7, by Jo22

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Pierre32 wrote on 2021-01-28, 22:20:

Very cool 😀 Last year I flirted with the idea of getting into HAM for about a minute. Just long enough to pick up an SDR dongle and see what I could hear from my city balcony. I still follow a couple of subreddits and a podcast, and always enjoy seeing the ISS contacts.

Just do it! Amateur radio layed the foundation for so many other hobbies. 😁
Makers and computer enthusiasts are like spiritual descendants of radio amateurs, so to say. 😀

Getting your license is not hard if you have a basic interest in electronics, physics and communications.
Thing is, hams are allowed to build and modify their own equipment, which back in time was the original way to get on air.

That's why the authorities require to make sure hams know the laws and have the competence to get on air without supervision.
It's akin to a driver who needs to aquire a driver's license or a sports pilot who has to earn his pilot's license.
Your ham radio certificate can also help to raise your chances being invited to a job interview, among other things. 😉

Back in time, many computer pioneers were also hams or met each others in radio tinkerer's clubs.
Like, for example, this dude.
Radio magazines of the time also explained how to build a micro computer from a kit in many articles.

Last but not least, many celebrities were (and are) hams, too.
In some way or another it's like a big family, so to say. 😉
http://www.bedworthlionsclub.co.uk/abtamfam.htm

Just one little "warning":
Amateur radio is a hobby with many fascets
and so equally different are those people participating this hobby/service.
That's why you will encounter the whole spectrum from very kind and humorous types of people up to the grumpy old "get of my lawn" people.

That being said, amateur radio is neither just about technology or communications, nor does it end past the amateur radio bands.

Many if not all hams have other hobbies, too, which they sometimes combine with amateur radio.
Like astronomy, meteorology, hiking, sailing, chasing radio sondes (weather probes), making music, raising cacti, etc.

Pierre32 wrote on 2021-01-28, 22:20:

Coincidentally I've been researching a sound card in the past couple of weeks, and in the process learned that people created special drivers back in the day to use the DSP for HAM purposes including packet radio.

This package contains software for using the DSP chip on a PC sound card to implement an HF DSP modem. Please note that this sof […]
Show full quote

This package contains software for using the DSP chip on a PC
sound card to implement an HF DSP modem. Please note that this software
will only run on PSA-based soundcards. The PSA sound cards contain a
three-chip set from Analog Devices that includes an ADSP2115 DSP, memory,
and a CD-quality 16 bit A/D - D/A. There are several manufacturers for such
cards: Cardinal Pro 16 (and Pro 16 plus), Orchid Soundwave 32, Western
Digital Paradise 16-DSP, Wearnes Beethoven, Echo Speech
...

Googling psator10 or dspsnd5 will link directly to the old text files, and I found an FTP full of the stuff too: ftp://ftp.ucsd.edu/hamradio/dsp

That's really neat, thanks a lot for sharing! 😎

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 7 of 7, by Jo22

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Update. The antenna cable for the Packet Radio/APRS station on the European Columbus module is "fixed".
http://southgatearc.org/news/2021/march/iss-c … operational.htm

If I do correctly understand, the SSTV station is part of the russian Zarya module, so it perhaps wasn't affected.
https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/iss-sstv/

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//