October 2017 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

FUNcube operations
by Graham Shirville 22 Oct '17

22 Oct '17

Hi All, FUNcube-1 /AO73 is now in autonomous mode for the weekdays. FUNcube-2 on UKube continues to be in transponder mode 24/7. The transponder on FUNcube-3/EO79 has been reported as being off – investigations are presently underway! Nayif-1/EO88 continues to operate in autonomous mode 24/7. 73 Graham G3VZV

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ANS-295 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 22 Oct '17

22 Oct '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-295 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT Describes RadFxSat/Fox-1B Commissioning Plans * CAS-4A and CAS-4B Amateur Radio Linear Transponders Activated * Caution Urged in Using High Duty Cycle Digital Modes via Satellite * ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, Wins G3AAJ Trophy * AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel Updated with 2017 Colloquium Recordings * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-10-19 * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-295.01 ANS-295 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 295.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 22, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-295.01 AMSAT Describes RadFxSat/Fox-1B Commissioning Plans AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY wrote what to initially expect when the AMSAT RadFxSat/Fox-1B cubesat is launched as a passenger on NASA's ELaNa XIV mission on Friday, Nov. 10, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Liftoff will be aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 and is targeted for 1:47 a.m. PT (4:47 a.m. ET, 9:47 am UTC) at the opening of a 65-second launch window. Launch cov- erage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website at 1:15 a.m. PT. RadFxSat/Fox-1B will automatically come up in Beacon Mode, transmitting a beacon and voice ID (Veronica saying "RadFxSat Safe Mode") every two minutes, starting about 50 minutes after deployment. The AMSAT command stations will want to see voltage and current data to determine that it's healthy and conduct various tests before opening it up for general use. Telemetry makes the engineering and operations teams very happy, starting ASAP after startup (~55 minutes after deployment) and for the next 72-96 hours at least as we look for successful startup, watch the general health and function as the satellite begins to acclimate to space, and perform the on orbit checkout. Ground stations are also invited to continue uploading received telemetry for the life of the satellite. If you are capturing telemetry with FoxTelem please be sure that "Upload to Server" is checked in your settings, and your Ground Station Params are filled in as well. You can help AMSAT and everyone waiting to get on the air with RadFxSat tremendously, by capturing RadFxSat telemetry. In the initial Beacon Mode, the transmitter is limited to 10 seconds on time then does the two minutes off cycle as Paul pointed out. For those of you capturing telemetry, that means that you will only see Current frames and no High or Low frames because the High and Low are truncated as it takes just over 10 seconds to send two frames. Veronica may also be cut off before she gets to say her whole ID string. If Veronica is speaking, "RadFxSat Fox-1B Safe Mode" which is the full ID, if it's cut off then we're still in Beacon Mode. If we are seeing good data from user telemetry data, it is likely when it comes over the U.S. for the first good pass we will command it from Beacon Mode to normal Safe Mode, which then puts RadFxSat in full (still Safe Mode though) operation and transmits a full two frames of telemetry which is one Current frame followed by, and alternating each ID cycle, a High or a Low frame. Veronica now has time to make the whole ID announcement, in Safe Mode. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED! -------------------- Jerry, NØJY commented further ... Help your friends and all of our satellite ham friends get on the air and have fun sooner by being polite and patient! The on orbit checkout procedure is similar to Fox-1A/AO-85 and could be completed in as little as a few days if we have the cooperation of the users. It is very important, not to mention just plain good Amateur Operating Practice, to refrain from using the transponder uplink so we can do the on orbit tests, including when we turn on transponder mode for testing. I can't stress enough, the importance of this cooperation not just for us but for all users, simply having a little patience so we can conduct the tests as quickly and accurately as possible. AMSAT will make it broadly known when the tests are complete and the transponder is available for all to use. If you hear someone on the transponder, please don't assume that it is open for general use - check the AMSAT website, Facebook, Twitter, to be sure you're not accidentally jumping in with and unwittingly interfering with the commissioning process. Lots of hams put thousands of volunteer hours of their time into making RadFxSat happen. Just like any ham radio project you might undertake, we build satellites. We do it because we like to, and when we're done we freely share our project with hams everywhere as is the spirit of amateur radio. I am asking all satellite hams to contribute just a little bit of your time to the fun now, by being patient and just gathering telemetry, not using the transponder uplink, and helping us complete the last few days of getting RadFxSat in orbit and operating for all of you. Thank you very much, see you on the bird! [ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President Engineering, Jerry Buxton, NØJY, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAS-4A and CAS-4B Amateur Radio Linear Transponders Activated On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 the amateur radio linear (SSB/CW) transponders on the CAS-4A and CAS-4B satellites were activated. CAMSAT’s amateur radio payloads piggybacked on the optical remote sensing micro- satellites ZHUHAI-1 01 (OVS-1A / CAS-4A) and ZHUHAI-1 02 (OVS-1B / CAS-4B) that were launched at 0300 GMT on Thursday, June 15, 2017 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, on the CZ-4B launch vehicle. The primary payload of the launch was a hard X-ray modulation telescope satellite (HXMT). CAS-4A Amateur Radio Payload: Call sign: BJ1SK VHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at +Z side UHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at -Z side CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.855 MHz 17 dBm AX.25 4.8k Baud GMSK Telemetry: 145.835 MHz 20 dBm U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.870 MHz 20 dBm, 20 kHz bandwidth, Inverted U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.220 MHz CAS-4B Amateur Radio Payload: Call sign: BJ1SL VHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at +Z side UHF Antenna: one 1/4? monopole antenna with max. 0 dBi gain located at -Z side CW Telemetry Beacon: 145.910 MHz 17 dBm AX.25 4.8k Baud GMSK Telemetry: 145.890 MHz 20 dBm U/V Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.925 MHz 20 dBm, 20 kHz bandwidth, Inverted U/V Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.280 MHz [ANS thanks Alan, BD1DU, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Caution Urged in Using High Duty Cycle Digital Modes via Satellite A report in ANS-288 discussed an experiment operating with the WSJT-X FT8 via satellite. Satellite operators have gained more experience with this mode over this past week. As a result of on-the-air observation other satellite users planning to try FT8 or MSK144 modes via satellite are encouraged use caution using these modes and possibly avoid their use completely in light of problems. Dave, KG5CCI wrote, "He noticed a very hard time getting into the transponder. The pass was nearly overhead, and the 3w-4w that is normally sufficient was barely cutting it. I also noticed it was 'up and down' alot, whereas some moments it was easy to get in, then it would be nearly impossible. There were also pockets of 'noise' all over the transponder, that sounded somewhat digital, but I just couldn't place them." Further investigation revealed that an MSK144 signal in the transponder passband was causing the problems. Matthew, NJ4Y noted, "Experimentation isn’t the problem, too much power is. It’s bad enough on SSB, worse with CW, and killer on constant duty cycle modes like FT8." To gain a full understanding of the situation readers are encouraged to follow the amsat-bb message thread which can be accessed at: http://www.amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2017-October/064896.html [ANS acknowledges the comments submitted via amsat-bb from W5RKN, KG5CCI, KB1PVH, W5PFG, and others] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, Wins G3AAJ Trophy ARISS International Chair Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, has been honored with the Ron Broadbent, G3AAJ, Trophy. The presentation came during the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium this past weekend. “AMSAT-UK totally shocked me yesterday at the colloquium with the Ron Broadbent Trophy,” Bauer reacted. “I was nearly speechless when asked to come up and receive the trophy for ARISS work. I mentioned that, early on, Ron was a phenomenal supporter and contributor to ARISS, with his sage advice and guidance.” The G3AAJ trophy is awarded annually by AMSAT-UK to an individual or group for outstanding service to the Amateur Satellite service. The trophy was donated to AMSAT-UK by the late Ron Broadbent, G3AAJ. ARISS received the G3AAJ trophy last year in recognition of the ARISS UK team’s dedication in working with the UK Space Agency to facilitate the Principia Mission of astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI, aimed at engaging students in 10 UK schools in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel Updated with 2017 Colloquium Recordings AMSAT-UK has begun uploading recordings of all talks from the 2017 Colloquium, October 14-15 to the AMSAT-UK YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/AMSATUK Some of the videos have already been uploaded; refresh your screen occasionally to to catch additional 2017 Colloquium uploads. 2017: An introduction to Amateur satellites - David Johnson, G4DPZ and Carlos Eavis G3VHF https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tj2rUsNpPs&t=1039s 2017: Es'hail-2 Geostationary Amateur Satellite - Peter Guelzow DB2OS (AMSAT-DL) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L67pza0hCZw 2017: The Goonhilly project (aka playing with big boys toys) - Noel Matthews G8GTZ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzrcLFFEq74 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-10-19 Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, IL, direct via W9AM The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR (***) Contact is a go for: Mon 2017-10-23 15:31:15 UTC 27 deg (***) Beaconsfield State School, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via IK1SLD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA (***) Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-10-26 08:23:02 UTC 40 deg (***) Glanmire Community College, Cork, Ireland, direct via EI5CRC and Colegiul National Calistrat Hogas Piatra Neamt, Piatra Neamt, Romania, telebridge via EI5CRC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR (***) Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-10-26 09:55:45 UTC 68 deg (***) Istituto Tecnico Tecnologico “Enzo Ferrari”, Borgo A Mozzano, Italy and Liceo Statale “G. D. Cassini”, Sanremo, Italy direct via IQ5LU and IQ1SM The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Contact is a go for: Sat 2017-10-28 08:13:31 UTC 24 deg (***) Watch for Ham TV (***) [ANS thanks Charlie, AJ9N, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Valdir Lima, PY5/PW8PM and Dave Swanson, KG5CCI completed a 7763km contact via AO-7. During his activation of the GG35 and GG36 grids Valdir also made contact with PT9BM PU2NGB PT2AP LW2DAF NJ4Y KO4MA K4FEG KG5CCI. Video of the contacts can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/L2m0byYTxug (via Valdir Lima, PY5/PW8PM) + Sean Kutzko KX9X was interviewed on Ham Talk Live Episode 86. The topic was Getting Started with Satellites with KX9X Listen to the podcast at: https://www.spreaker.com/user/hamtalklive/episode-86-getting-started-with- satellit_1 /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KT4TZ kt4tz at amsat dot org

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Falconsat Success
by Tony 22 Oct '17

22 Oct '17

All: Managed to work Falconsat this morning using UZ7HO's Soundmodem, WISP and VSP. I don't have a PTT circuit so I had to use the rigs MOX function to send file requests. I wouldn't recommend doing that for obvious reasons -- need to build a PTT circuit ASAP. If anyone is interested, this video guide shows the basics on how to setup Wisp and Soundmodem using HW-VSP. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ahlA-bRb5A 73, Tony -K2MO

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, IL
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 21 Oct '17

21 Oct '17

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, IL on 23 Oct. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:31 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and W9AML. The contact should be audible over the state of Illinois and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Chiddix Junior High School (CJHS) in Normal, IL, in partnership with the Challenger Learning Center (CLC), the Children's Discovery Museum (CDM) and Central Illinois Radio Club CIRC), W9AML is pleased to talk with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). The ARISS contact aligns with CJHS's mission for students to achieve personal success and the CLC's learning objective to engage students in hands-on, dynamic activities while increasing interest in STEM careers. In preparation for this event, approximately three hundred CJHS students have participated in a question writing contest. Students will have the chance to participate in designing a mission patch for the CJHS ARISS contact and will learn about the ISS. The contact will be broadcast live to the entire school and Unit 5 school district. Hari Rebba, a community leader, a member of the Central Illinois Radio Club (CIRC), and Lead Program Coordinator for ARISS school contact, who pursued this idea with his son, Dhruv for more than two years, has been instrumental in this program that benefits all students. Dhruv Rebba, KC9ZJX, the Student Lead, will be the control operator. Students from the CLC attended this summer's International Space Station Underwater Adventure camp where they learned about the ISS, living and working in space and built a model of the ISS underwater at the Normal Community West High School swimming pool. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How do you prepare mentally and physically to go to the ISS? 2. What must you do to prepare for coming back to earth and its gravity? 3. What did you do when you were a child that helped get you to where you are today? 4. What is the most fascinating part of Earth to fly over? 5. How would you describe space to someone who has not been there? 6. What do you do to stay busy in space? Do the days go by really fast or does it feel like a very long time up in space? 7. What is the most accurate space travel movie you have seen? 8. How do you get exercise in space? 9. What has been your favorite experiment so far? 10. Does space have different effects other than gravity on the human body than being on Earth? If yes, do you feel those effects while in space, or are they just happening? 11. What are some difficult health effects, you have to overcome aboard the ISS? 12. When you trained for being an astronaut, did you ever train under water? If so, is it close to what space is like? 13. What are some simple tasks on Earth that can be very challenging in space? 14. What is the most unusual payload you have seen on the ISS? 15. What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you while in space? 16. Does your view of Earth and Space ever get old? 17. Do you think it would be safer to have a space station based on the moon instead of floating in space? 18. How often do you go into space for spacewalks? 19. What advice would you give to young people dreaming about becoming an astronaut? 20. What influenced you to or what made you want to go in space? 21. What do you miss the most from Earth that you don't have in space? 22. How do you protect the spacecraft from being damaged by meteoroids or other space debris? 23. What do you do if you get sick in space? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. Beaconsfield State School, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-10-26 08:23:02 UTC 2. Glanmire Community College, Cork, Ireland, direct via EI5CRC and Colegiul National Calistrat Hogas Piatra Neamt, Piatra Neamt, Romania, telebridge via EI5CRC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Joe Acaba KE5DAR Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-10-26 09:55:45 UTC 3. Istituto Tecnico Tecnologico "Enzo Ferrari", Borgo A Mozzano, Italy and Liceo Statale "G. D. Cassini", Sanremo, Italy direct via IQ5LU and IQ1SM The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be IRØISS The scheduled astronaut is Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Contact is a go for: Sat 2017-10-28 08:13:31 UTC Watch for Ham TV About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Fox-1A (AO-85 ) Uplink Frequency
by "Stefano (IUØDFT)" 21 Oct '17

21 Oct '17

I have a doubt, since I’m seeing different Fox-1A (AO-85 ) Nominal Uplink Frequencies on the net.Some report 435.180 MHz as the correct one, other sites write that AMSAT made a change and the correct Uplink is 435.170 MHz. Which one do you guys think is right? Thanks in advance for your reply. 73 Stefano (IUØDFT)

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Re: [amsat-bb] EO-79 Transponder On Times - 21-Oct-2017
by David G0MRF 21 Oct '17

21 Oct '17

Hi Paul. Thanks for the heads up on this. I'm away from home at present so not able to check on-air. Any transponder reports welcome. Looking at the pass times, I think the schedule is OK. For example: 10/21/17 (all +/- 30 sec) 10.20.40 UTC exits eclipse over Antarctica. 10.56.40 UTC (+ 27 mins) Transponder turns on over Namibia at 24 degrees south Satellite heads North + passes over Africa and Europe with transponder on (perhaps!) 11.21.40 (25 min of on time) Transponder switches off just East of Iceland apx 64N So schedule is fine, but perhaps the satellite has switched into a safe mode. I'll forward your mail to AMSAT-NL Many Thanks David G0MRF I was curious about the status of EO-79 as the transponder has not been reported on in quite some time. AI6GS checked a pass this afternoon and heard nothing but the beacon. As the transponder's operation causes the satellite to be power negative, the satellite is currently configured to charge for 27 minutes after coming out of eclipse and then the transponder is on for 25 minutes. When this schedule was put in place last year, this favored mid-latitudes, but due to orbital precession and the changing seasons, this is now seems to favor lower latitudes. If anyone wants to check out the transponder today (21-Oct), I have calculated the following on times (by utilizing eclipse predictions in DK3WN's Illum). 0117 - 0132 0253 - 0318 0430 - 0455 0607 - 0632 0744 - 0809 0919 - 0944 1057 - 1122 1234 - 1259 1411 - 1436 1548 - 1613 1725 - 1750 1901 - 1926 1938 - 2003 2215 - 2240 2352 - 0017 73, Paul, N8HM

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Re: [amsat-bb] Wisp TNC Commands?
by Mark L. Hammond 21 Oct '17

21 Oct '17

Tony, MSPE should be putting the TNC into KISS mode, and passing all of the TNC parameters in the TNC Settings tab, and setting your call, and setting the callsigns of the satellite, which are in the General tab. If you want to watch the actual commands, you could set up a virtual serial port/splitter, point MSPE to one port, and watch it via a terminal program on the other port. I find MSPE works as expected with the Paccomm Spirit-2 I'm using. It supports other TNCs, via menu selection in the TNC Settings tab. Mark N8MH At 02:49 AM 10/21/2017 +0000, you wrote: >Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2017 14:41:33 -0400 >From: Tony <dxdx(a)optonline.net> >To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >Subject: [amsat-bb] Wisp TNC Commands? >Message-ID: <7dabcd0a-29d1-ee13-36b6-41d2065ca28f(a)optonline.net> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed > >All: > >Is there a way to monitor the commands Wisp sends to a TNC during >startup? I searched the Wisp directories and couldn't find anything. > >A utility program that monitors commands being sent to the TNC would be >helpful. Thought of using a simple terminal program along with a comport >splitter of some kind, but not sure if that would work. > >Perhaps there's a list of Wisp TNC commands for different TNC's >somewhere on the web. > >Thanks, > >Tony -K2MO

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CAS-4A and -4B
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 21 Oct '17

21 Oct '17

The transponders on these satellites were turned on last night. They sound much like the XW-Xx birds--good ears and strong downlinks. Two more opportunities now available. 73 Glenn AA5PK

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Uni_Trac 2003
by Reg Wood 21 Oct '17

21 Oct '17

Hi Does anyone have a ZL2AMD Uni_Trac 2003 unit for sale ? If so please email me at vk2rw.sat(a)bigpond.com with the price you want and can I pay via Paypal or direct transfer. Regards Reg Wood VK2RW

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EO-79 Transponder On Times - 21-Oct-2017
by Paul Stoetzer 21 Oct '17

21 Oct '17

I was curious about the status of EO-79 as the transponder has not been reported on in quite some time. AI6GS checked a pass this afternoon and heard nothing but the beacon. As the transponder's operation causes the satellite to be power negative, the satellite is currently configured to charge for 27 minutes after coming out of eclipse and then the transponder is on for 25 minutes. When this schedule was put in place last year, this favored mid-latitudes, but due to orbital precession and the changing seasons, this is now seems to favor lower latitudes. If anyone wants to check out the transponder today (21-Oct), I have calculated the following on times (by utilizing eclipse predictions in DK3WN's Illum). 0117 - 0132 0253 - 0318 0430 - 0455 0607 - 0632 0744 - 0809 0919 - 0944 1057 - 1122 1234 - 1259 1411 - 1436 1548 - 1613 1725 - 1750 1901 - 1926 1938 - 2003 2215 - 2240 2352 - 0017 73, Paul, N8HM

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