Using a RTL SDR Dongle to receive pictures from the ISS! | Software Defined Radio

[@morphshag]

My 6 year old daughter loves it when the ISS is sending images. We set an alarm and both run in to the shack to see the images come down. I even sent away for the ARISS certificate for receiving images and put her name on it. She was SO pumped about it. Even took it to daycare to show the other kids.

[@HamRadioDX]

That’s awesome John-Paul! Glad she’s excited and interested in that. Well done 👏

[@dougtaylor7724]

How good of you to do that for her! Things like that stay with a child forever.

[@Ttalos]

Well now I know what I need to do for my sons.

[@paulsnelgrove1517]

I am a HAM in Canada, VE3SPP, hello. I have had fantastic success connecting to ISS. To get the station as it passes your best result is with a horizontal antenna. Better yet with 2 horizontal elements, one oriented north to south, and the other, east to west. This will cover your whole sky. I was told this by a ham and it works. My adaptation was to use a pair of trucker's CB whips into a Y to a single line into the station. The 1/4 wave CB whip is very close to a 5/8 wave of 2meter band where those pictures are transmitted. Loved this video, totally. 73s

[@aaron3966]

I got the same picture as you using a baofeng and a iPhone using the SSTV app, I tried on laptop and rtl-sdr but I think my bandwidth was wrong as it didn’t get much of a picture it was also a noolec retractable antenna, love the vids man good stuff! Going for my licence soon. Such an awesome hobby!

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks Aaron. Bandwidth on NFM should be about 25000 which is 25 KHz. I think that is what mine was set at. Good luck with your exam!

[@norrinradd8952]

My RTL-SDR was tied up, but I just used an audio cable and routed the audio from my radio to my laptop. Still worked great. Thanks for the great idea! :) I might buy another RTL-SDR, thanks Hayden!

[@HamRadioDX]

Nice work! Did you get some good pics?

[@norrinradd8952]

@@HamRadioDX I got a few decent pics on two separate passes. Surprised it worked so well with an Arrow jpole. I wish there was at least one satellite that was always transmitting SSTV. I bet you would get a lot of non-hams interested.

[@norrinradd8952]

@@HamRadioDX Also, I recorded one of the passes and played it back into my phone later using Robot36 on Android. Worked pretty well. Thanks again!

[@HamRadioDX]

I reckon! Great stuff!

[@ErnestGWilsonII]

Holy cow, I hopped on the Internet and caught you playing with your dongle on KZbin! All right then, I'm going to have to try SSTV from ISS as well! Thank you for making another video and sharing it with all of us. I am of course subscribed with notifications turned on and thumbs up! 73 W3GUY

[@HamRadioDX]

Haha Ernest, the things you find on KZbin! Thank you for the support and watching. This SSTV event lasts until the end of the week, but I'm sure there will be more!

[@andrewhamop6665]

I've successfully received several images with several different devices. I've used a baofeng and a phone recording the signal. I tried my upgraded HT antenna, to no avail. More recently, I've used a TYT and my tablet recording the signal. This along with a magmount antenna on a baking sheet netted me 3 almost perfect images from a single pass. I also managed to get a QSL card from this! I also now have an HT that can record directly from the RF, I have yet to try that. I'm planning on trying the same thing here, I know it won't be as good as my mag Mount that I can change the angle and direction of, but it's worth a shot. Great video as always Hayden, 73 de W8IJC.

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks Andrew, that’s awesome! I was amazed actually how strong the signal was. I think with a better antenna (and location even - maybe portable) I’d get some really good pictures. Had fun, these were the first SSTV pictures I received in over 10 years. I did SSTV when I first got into the hobby. Still just as fun 👍 thanks for watching

[@andrewhamop6665]

@@HamRadioDX For sure, the ISS's SSTV radio is using fairly high power for a typical satellite, 25w if memory serves. I've found that at those power levels, when I had a functioning yagi antenna I didn't really even have to aim it, and it was less hassle to just use the vertical on a baking sheet that I could change the angle of. I received three almost perfect pictures in the cold dead of winter, while holding an ht, my large tablet, and a weird looking antenna that caused people to slow down when driving past the field that was in. But it was 100% worth it!! If you're going portable, I'd suggest any recording app you can find, and for satellite tracking I'd use Heavens Above (on Android). Also if you're using the HT to smart device record option, obviously minimize any background noise that you can. I would actually record the files rather than decoding them in real time, because once you have the file, you can clean it up and decode it using multiple different programs for the best possible image. Hope this helps!

[@HamRadioDX]

@@andrewhamop6665 Thanks Andrew, awesome tips in here! I'll give it a go.

[@GraemeKoch]

Sold, buying the RTL SDR, you have me hooked.

[@HamRadioDX]

SSTV on the ISS this round finishes up in a few days. They'll announce on that ARISS SSTV blog site when the next one will be.

[@daghanabi]

The satellite sound is beautiful man I cant describe how much I like it. Also, the video is fantastic. Your microphone, The sdr and the obs setup are phenomenal.

[@HamRadioDX]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks

[@HamRadioDX]

Use a radio to talk to the International Space Station? Check it out here 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hH2pdH5rlNSon6M Have you received the ISS, let us know below 👇👇

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Good video, thanks! I was able to download pics from the ISS from an online SDR to my phone. There was some green banding like yours but I was lucky in that they sent the same pic of the Russian astronauts a few times and I was able to merge them together in Photoshop and have a really nice souvenir from the ISS.

[@IrishHamRadio]

Hi Hayden, I’ve found that a simple pvc pipe and coax QFH antenna worked brilliant for me for a good while… It eventually got damaged in a storm and I haven’t built a new one, but I would definitely recommend for circular polarisation. De Dave (EI5IMB).

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks for the tip!

[@Roosta35]

Great video, I'm also trying the same tonight with my RTL and a LNA, also have the same problem with interference from local pager towers decreasing the signal.

[@HamRadioDX]

Did it work? I wonder how many pics you decoded? Yes I got a bit of interference but overall it went well.

[@dansummers2965]

That was interesting, watching the effect as the station passes through the squashed-doughnut radiation pattern of your co-linear - the signal getting _stronger_ as it approaches the horizon is unusual :D. I've had some success with a horizontal dipole/SDR and the ISS before (elements perpendicular to the track of the station), but the radio environment around my house is pretty noisy (I live in a suburb, so there are microwaves and inverters and SMPSes all over the spectrum). When the next ARISS event occurs at a time when I can be mobile (i.e. not during a workday), I'll try taking a rig out into the farmland east of my QTH and see if I can get a clearer signal, I think.

[@danvandertorre]

a stacked tracking array would do the job perfectly.

[@stevenbernier4206]

Got some clear pictures using my ft1dr with the factory antenna, held up to my Android phone using the robot32 app.

[@sbennettyt]

I received voice from ISS a few month ago when they were scheduled to talk to students in Greenbank, WV. No SSTV yet.

[@FEPLabsRadio]

Very cool! There goes me actually getting anything done at work today. (I said that in a russian accent)

[@HamRadioDX]

LOL

[@TheSmokinApe]

Awesome stuff Hayden 👍

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks Ape

[@56932982]

Recently Kevin Loughin, KB9RLW, made an entire video series about receiving SSTV from the ISS and satellites. Have a look at it. It's quite nice.

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks Jochen I'll check it out!

[@ponzzo5663]

Good video but you did't mention anything about mmsstv settings.

[@HamRadioDX]

Beginners guide to SSTV here - kzbin.info4UJSMfdajV4

[@SeasparrowDD979]

​@@HamRadioDXwhy didn't you put that link up BEFORE you started??

[@HamRadioDX]

@@SeasparrowDD979 Because that video was done about a year and a half after this one

[@TechMindsOfficial]

Great video!

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks mate! I’ve learnt a lot from your SDR videos too, great stuff

[@garycraig701]

When using my RTL SDR Dongle it was getting so hot, so I pulled it apart and drilled some holes in the casing witch helped a lot to cool it down. Now it's not so hot.

[@fedep2753]

How much RF power are you getting from ISS? Great work!

[@mattslivar5174]

I got 2 handheld ham radios no licence but i like to listen now i got rtl sdr v4 and i love it i wanted to buy some realy good reciever but everything is ower 1k to 5k $

[@Dusty_Ham]

It is SO MUCH fun when they are transmitting from the ISS. I didn't get anything this pass, but have participated in others. You can also get a certificate for getting an image as well! You could also do similar with NOAA passes as well using the same software. It's live weather images as the satellite passes it's quite fun as well!

[@HamRadioDX]

Yep, one of the guys here got his certificate the other day. He got some pretty good images over the past few days

[@MousyOrla]

Been trying since last night to get something other than just NOAA radio and regular AM/FM stations working. All attempts to get ISS or any weather satellite to appear signal wise have failed. I'm new to all this, bought the RTL-SDR V3 with the dipole antenna. I'm at the point of giving up on trying to get an image from orbit, I don't think I'm actually ready for this hobby after all.

[@HamRadioDX]

Keep trying. The ISS was off the air for a space walk recently, and they aren’t transmitting SSTV pictures at the moment. For the current status on active frequencies onboard the ISS check this out here - www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html

[@strunfer]

Thanks for the video!!! I'm looking forward to try it. Just a question (sorry, I'm a beginner and I know nothing): any antenna recommendations? (Big one is impossible for me as I live in a flat, so I can't install a big antenna on the roof. If you could share some link it works be great). Thanks again!!!

[@HamRadioDX]

A magnetic base mobile antenna might work, perhaps you can put it on a balcony? Similar you could maybe build what they call a flowerpot antenna, Google, pretty easy to put together but really anything you can manage

[@danedewaard8215]

Enjoyable video, thanks!!!

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks Dan

[@chilskater]

What are the settings on the MMSSTV?

[@bhamptonkc7]

that antenna has a nul overhead, you need a pass that is offset a bit

[@LaFantar-j1m]

Hey @HamRadioDX, I am a newbie so please excuse me for asking this. My question is - how long is the coaxial cable running from your terrace/antenna to your studio where you have your RTL-SDR plugged in. Also if you could tell the Ohm of the cable...is it 50 or 75 Ohms.

[@HamRadioDX]

G’day mate! No worries on the question. I’ve moved house since this video, but the cable was about 15m long. The cable was LMR240 and is 50 ohms.

[@LaFantar-j1m]

@@HamRadioDX Thanks for your reply - very kind of you. I am in the process of setting everything up...ordered SDR dongle, made a rudimentary v-dipole antenna and installed required software's. Waiting for SDR to be delivered. In the meantime, I would like to install the antenna but the distance from my terrace to my studio/room where I would be connecting the coax cable to the SDR is roughly 40-50 meters. I know, that's a lot of distance and will definitely weaken the signal strength as it would be traveling such a distance. Is there a piece of hardware which I can connect at maybe mid-point of coax cable so the signals does not fade off by the time it reaches my SDR? Or do you suggest me buying one of those NooElec NESDR Extended Tuning Range extender? Please suggest or point me to some online articles where I can find the answers - I have several questions and queries on my mind.

[@HamRadioDX]

Pop a preamplifier at the antenna, this will offset for a lot of the loss of your cable. Mount it in a waterproof box as close to the antenna as possible in the coax line

[@LaFantar-j1m]

@@HamRadioDX Will do...Thanks so much for your help !

[@tomb9420]

Wow thats unreal ! 😮

[@rupee0987]

Hi Hayden, how would you go with a coax switch to say a 1/4 wave ground plan to offer an alternative lobe pattern when the satellite is overhead. Cheers

[@HamRadioDX]

I tried to find an old magnetic base to put a 1/4 wave whip on, but I couldn’t find it. Would have helped I think

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

If you had an ICOM 7300 you would have an Adaptive Noise Filtering option that would leave you with noise free signals.

[@HamRadioDX]

The 7300 doesn’t do 2m where the ISS is transmitting the SSTV. I do have a 9700 which I listened to it yesterday, but I thought a simple RTL SDR dongle would be more fun

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

@@HamRadioDX I thought it did but maybe the same thing applies for the ICOM 9700

[@flowa2788]

Heeeeeiiii it's possible to see the tv remote control?? And what frequency or configuration is necessary. I've tried looking for it few times... .... PLS some Answer and THANX in advance!!

[@HamRadioDX]

I've lost the remote

[@lyledal]

That's pretty cool!

[@HamRadioDX]

Thanks Lionel, appreciate the comment

[@85Studios]

I have actually heard this signal at 145.800 on my SDR very loud and clear, but I never knew what ir actually was. Never even thought it might be from the ISS or sending Image data, I only really thought "Hmm that's an interesting signal" But it was very intermittent and choppy, and it disappeared and reappeared. I became disinterested in it because I did not know what it was. All I knew was it was some kind of Computer Data being sent. I did think it was strange that it was on 145.800 because nothing is on that frequency, but this is interesting. I had hoped they would send a picture of the earth from the ISS though, not these onboard images I am seeing now that I am trying your trick here. THey are kind of generic and all over the internet and they send the same ones over and over again. It's cool, but not really useful. I wish more people would transmit the images like this other than ISS on different frequencies. I wonder if it would be legal to hit up Klink Repeater and transmit some images across the world or not. Doesn't really say that we can't use it for that in the FCC Licensing material. We can use it to transmit computerized and telecommunicative data. So IDK.. Not as cool as receiving signals from space, but still cool.

[@HamRadioDX]

You’ll find plenty of these SSTV images being sent on HF all over the world on 14.230 MHz I think? Is one of the frequencies - there’s a few more too.

[@doc_ineeda_win5834]

would an older satellite from direct tv work for an antenna? i have one mounted i dont use so just wondering

[@brandongotzpowers]

I tried to receive signal when they pass over but the only thing I hear is the Beacon I guess it’s not active I tried it with both sdr and my portable radio

[@jamesacland1041]

I just tried this last night actually after listening to the WIA news service I missed over the weekend. I had a quick chat on the local repeater and they told me to use the same software but set to Auto. I was able to hook up my old PCR1000 with a mic cable to the computer and bang, away she went. Wow that was easy. I tried following the recommended frequency on the Amsat satellite tracker which put the number at xxx.820 and I was trying to follow the doppler shift on the way through. It would of been easier to just set it to xxx.800 and just listen but I didn't have a direct overhead pass into Perth. I'm just using a discone antenna at just above roof height. Do these passes need to be logged anywhere? I'm going to try and leave it running for an extended period and see if it will pick up anymore.

[@HamRadioDX]

Nice work! I think you can submit your pictures decoded through to ARISS. Probably more on that in the link in the description

[@jamesacland1041]

@@HamRadioDX tried again today and got a perfect image with no fuzz. Awesome!

[@koras_FPV]

you forgot about the Doppler effect

[@miniseriee]

I can replace the RTL-SDR, by a 50KHz-200MHz Malachite SDR Radio Malahit DSP ??

[@niallmccaffrey791]

Can you pick up any space stuff with the little antenna kit the radio is packaged with?

[@HamRadioDX]

Very unlikely. A external antenna mounted in the clear would be much better

[@EtzEchad]

How does it compensate for doppler shift?

[@rectify2003]

Awesome

[@mibtech1]

R u working on Windows or Linux?

[@HamRadioDX]

Windows

[@mibtech1]

@@HamRadioDX so I‘ll try your setup first and then search to do the equivalent on Linux 👍

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

I would love to join but I haven't taken the RSGB Radio examinations sorry.

[@vk3xe]

You don't need a license as you are only receiving

[@DAVIDGREGORYKERR]

@@vk3xe I would have loved to have taken the RSGB Examinations at the same time as my friend who has my President McKinley 240 Channel rig among other transceivers that he was given.

[@Waton_Mangap]

Can I receive a picture from ISS picture from Indonesia ?

[@KeiranR]

Try a horizontal V dipole add 20 degrees between the elements and that should allow you to pick up a lot better... the interference is pager system ..

[@Digi4u]

True, but 20 degrees is a bit narrow....I guess you mean 120 degrees between the elements as it should be ;o)

[@hoteny]

4:57 why is it mostly green?

[@ntfshard]

7:27 "18 серия" is on picture

[@johntinamostyn4044]

Is virtual cable free? It’s asking for donations?

[@HamRadioDX]

Yes should be a free download

[@borismetodiev3218]

Are you working on Mac?

[@HamRadioDX]

Windows

[@chrisedwards9462]

I have the same version of MMSSTV but have no PD120 listed as a video mode! Anyone got any ides on how to get it set up???

[@OzzieKev]

I'm amazed no one has answered yet. Right click on any of the more buttons. You will get a pop up list to choose modes from.

[@chrisedwards9462]

@@OzzieKev I figured it out about a week ago, using a crappy 2 bay 150 Mhz folded dipole and pics are mostly noise, I get better reception on the h.f. band doing wefax. Thanks

[@SeasparrowDD979]

I believe you can use auto..

[@ricardohernadez4525]

Does anybody knows if they still sending SSTV? I checked for a shedule but looks like they dont.

[@HamRadioDX]

They just had an SSTV event but it ended on Dec 30 I think

[@SeasparrowDD979]

The event didn't happen. Problems..

[@crystal_royal3405]

epic

[@rayhamer2847]

From tassie hobart I didn't think there were people interested in the hobby

[@HamRadioDX]

We have 130 in our club in Hobart, and many more in the area

[@davet9900]

What on earth is the point in getting pics from a satellite? Is this meant to be some sort of proof of concept for something bigger? Could internet be sent using this

[@HamRadioDX]

How else will you know what the weather is gonna be like?

[@davet9900]

@@HamRadioDX watch the weather on telly!

[@chrisadams3668]

@@davet9900 you're boring

[@RicSpivey]

That looks just like my gp-15! Lol

[@HamRadioDX]

Very similar, I think the Comet and Diamond's are very close

[@johnvernon6328]

its over you right now lol!

[@daverdal1]

Is that Dr. Fauci on the ISS ?

[@bilmemne5901]

TB1HAS 73! 🇹🇷

[@advajithkumarsr2835]

VU2AJO

[@georgen9755]

bloody cows

[@ALSNewsNow]

Virtual cable tanked my sound card driver. Don't install!