ISS Commander Attempting to Work All Continents on UHF this Weekend

NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 13, 2006--International Space Station Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, will be attempting to work all continents--including Antarctica--on UHF during the January 14-15 weekend (UTC). McArthur will be using the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) call sign NA1SS. The astronaut already has worked all continents plus Antarctica on VHF.

"It is his desire to work all continents on the UHF band (70 cm) from the International Space Station," said Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, the ARISS ham radio engineer. "The frequency he will be using will be 437.55 MHz FM simplex."

Ransom notes that the substantial Doppler effect on 70 cm dictates split-frequency operation for most of a given pass. He suggests setting up transmit and receive memories with 5 kHz spacing:

McArthur also needs two more states to claim Worked All States from space. At last report, he was still lacking contacts with Missouri and Alaska. US QSLs for NA1SS contacts go to ARRL, ARISS QSL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494.

"If you live in one of those states, then get on the air and help Bill achieve his goal of working someone in every state in the USA," Ransom urged. "Alaska will be seeing more favorable pass times starting January 20."

He says McArthur's NA1SS log now exceeds 700 contacts, including several repeat stations. "Please give others a chance if you are in a highly populated footprint," Ransom implored. He also offered some simple operating suggestions to increase everyone's chances of making a successful NA1SS contact:

• Wait for the ISS operator to call CQ or QRZ?
• Send only your call sign phonetically, and wait for crew to acknowledge your specific call sign.
• Listen closely for the call sign of the station ISS is working.
• If you do not hear your specific call sign, do not transmit again until you hear the ISS crew member say CQ or QRZ?.
• Be courteous.

Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, at the controls of NA1SS. [NASA Photo]

In addition to WAC and WAS, McArthur's been picking away at DXCC from space. Ransom said that at last report McArthur had logged more than half the needed 100 DXCC entities.

"I hope everyone has been enjoying how active Bill McArthur has been during these recent weeks," Ransom said. NA1SS was on the air during the Christmas-New Year holiday period and worked several US stations. Among others, he worked South Carolina AMSAT Area Coordinator Al Lark, KD4SFF, at club station N4ISS on New Year's Eve. "I wish everyone health, wealth and happiness, and of course peace," McArthur told Lark during the brief 2-meter QSO.

Weekends are McArthur's favorite operating times. "The weekend has few scheduled activities, so the crew may operate anywhere from 0800 until 2200 UTC," Ransom says. McArthur also operates in his free time on weekdays, and that includes his lunch hour, scheduled around 1200 to 1400 UTC.

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 and Tokarev will be aboard the ISS until early April.

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