Hi Drew, Well the southern hemisphere is a big place and I can assure you there is no operation in eclipse from VK/ZL. I monitor almost all evening passes here which occur shortly after the eclipse and on a number of occasions I have noted that the transponder was on at my AOS. It also tends to drop out shortly after AOS so given the length of the timer this would indicate a turn on somewhat south of ZL. This would also correspond to the time AO-51 comes out of eclipse. My first guess would be that sometimes the transponder is triggered as it comes out of eclipse as there are no stations south of ZL to trigger it. There is also continual switching between the normal and reduced power levels during the evening passes. I presume this indicates a marginal condition so perhaps usage down this way should be limited for a time after eclipse as well to give the batteries time to recover.
Alan ZL2BX -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Glasbrenner Sent: Wednesday, 16 June 2010 00:54 To: Rick - WA4NVM Cc: AMSAT BB Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 Down?? Rick - WA4NVM wrote: > Hi All, > > I haven't heard the bird the last two orbits. I double checked the sked.... no change. > > 73 all, > > Rick WA4NVM > We have been very close to the low battery trip points due to continued attempted use in eclipse in the southern hemispere. I'll try to reset things first available pass, probably tomorrow AM EDT. 73, Drew KO4MA _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
