And we have TV from the Moon! (Patreon)

A small step for CuriousMarc & Team, but a giant leap for the Apollo communications restoration project. We just transmitted a black and white TV picture using the original Apollo microwave equipment. 

Here is the setup. Our repaired NASA PM transmitter, PM receiver and FM receiver on the left, earth side. We'll only need the FM receiver for this TV transmission experiment. In the middle, an old B&W TV monitor. On the far right, our Apollo transponder, with a period-correct vidicon TV camera sitting atop of the transponder test mount.

And of course, the vidicon camera, which was a donation to our channel (thanks Philip!), didn't quite work at first. In fact, it let out the magic smoke on its first power up. But after we replaced a burned out resistor and a shorted tantalum, it came back to life.

Unlike the PM transmitter and receiver, the FM receiver had not been modified for other missions. So after the usual inspection and careful power up it started to work without much drama, and auto-tuned to the Apollo FM carrier as designed.

Now all we had to do is to switch the Apollo FM transponder to TV mode, and turn on the camera. What could go wrong? Well, for once, nothing! We instantly received a clean video signal from the Moon.

Time to hook up the monitor, and voila, picture from the Moon. Master Ken gave a TV transmission from the spaceship.

We then pointed the camera out the spaceship window, and got an earthrise. Amazing! We'll be landing shortly!

Except of course it was just us pointing the camera at Mike's T-Shirt...

Hahaha. Very funny. Well you can tell NASA they don't really need to go to the Moon anymore. We can fake it right out of our basement, with their original equipment to boot!

Marc