The International Space Station was broadcasting SSTV images on 145.800MHz this week.  I knew it was coming and did a little practice with my Baofeng UV-5R beforehand.  The ISS made 1 good pass each day and I was able to get images on 2 of them.  I connected the Baofeng to my MacBook Air with a cheap USB sound card and an adapter cable for the radio.  On a recommendation of WU2F I recorded the audio to process it later.  I used Audacity to record and made sure to enable playback during recording so I could hear the signal.  The signal was very strong in my front yard.  I used…

I’ve always been interested in electronics. Most of my radio experience was with RC cars. I considered getting into ham radio when I was younger but the code requirement scared me away. An episode of NCIS got me interested in it again. With my EE background I was able to pass the Tech practice exam without reviewing the material. For the General and Extra I used the free iPhone “Ham Radio Exam” apps as study guides and the HamStudy.org website for practice tests. It was hit or miss whether I was going to pass the Extra and luckily I was able to pass all 3 tests in one sitting. I’m glad because…