Following the successful inaugural use of HamTV during ARISS Scheduled Contacts in the UK with ESA Astronaut Tim Peake, there has been much interest in radio amateurs establishing their own HamTV station.
Jean-Pierre Courjaud, F6DZP, designer and implementer of the successful Tutioune series of software created a new USB connected DATV decoder and related software to decode the ISS HamTV signal. This decoder was used as part of the UK effort to receive HamTV both at Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station and at the school where the ARISS contacts were taking place.
Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD, has built a limited number of these decoders and is offering them to the ARISS/DATV community in the hope that additional HamTV reception capability can be developed in other countries around the world.
The decoder has been built according to the design of Jean Pierre F6DZP. The NIM used is the Sharp BS2F7V0169 and is capable of direct reception of the HamTV signal from the dish so avoiding having to use downconverters. The only other equipment needed to receive HamTV are a rotator, dish, feed and LNB/LNC* and possibly a 2.4GHz filter if you are in a busy Wi-Fi reception area.
The decoder is built into a powder coated die-cast aluminium box and the F-type, the USB and the power supply connectors are brought out to the rear of the unit. A plug to connect the unit to a power supply is also provided (power supply required is DC 12-16v)
The decoder comes fully functional and ready to go!
Details of the MiniTiouner software, its setup and configuration are available on Jean Pierre’s website at http://www.vivadatv.org and there is a good support forum at the BATC, http://www.batc.org.uk/forum/, who also provide streaming support for the Amateur community.
The decoder is priced at £250 plus postage & packaging (International tracked and signed for, estimated as £20 for USA/RotW and £16 for Europe).
For each decoder sold, a contribution of £50 will be made to support the ARISS Operations activity that helps schedule ARISS contacts worldwide.
Details available from Ciaran, M0XTD (m0xtd@it-sparkles.co.uk)
* The dish and feed used for the HamTV reception at the UK schools was
http://rfhamdesign.com/products/dish-feeds/iss-ham-tv-dish-feed/index.php
MARCH 2017 : ALL MINITIOUNE DECODERS SOLD !!!
