BY ANGELO GIUFFRÈ, VK2NWT, for the WIA
LATROBE, TASMANIA. — Forget Starlink, mobile phones, the internet and wi-fi. Real communications is coming to Tasmanian students. You can’t call the ISS on a mobile phone or via Starlink, but you can (if licensed) call the International Space Station. An amateur radio operator’s licence is not required if you are only listening and not transmitting.
The next upcoming ARISS contact is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9, at 08:28:24 UTC or (18:28:24 AEST). The contact will be between students from the Geneva Christian College, Latrobe, Tasmania, and Astronaut Chris Williams KJ5GEW on board the International Space Station.
The ground station for this contact will be none other than our very own ARISS Australia Coordinator, Shane Lynd, operating as VK4ISS from his home in Mackay, Queensland.
You can listen to this contact live from anywhere in the world via EchoLink Node 69556, IRLP Node 9556, as well as several other VoIP modes. For a full list of all the VoIP Modes and their respective Talk group numbers, head on over to the Anzel.radio website. Call-backs, as usual, will be taken immediately after the contact by John, VK3HJQ, for reporting back to NASA.
The audio for this contact can also be received directly on 145.800 MHz FM (plus or minus Doppler shift adjustments) over a large portion of Eastern Australia as it passes over.
Please note, if you wish to join the ARISS email list and be directly notified of upcoming ARISS contacts, don’t hesitate to send your request to John using the following email address: vk3hjq[at]hotmail.com
