Eclipses do not start for the satellite until January. Even if you are in the dark, the satellite is illuminated if anywhere in it's footprint is illuminated, so feel free to use AO-51 no matter the time right now. When we go back into eclipses in January, we'll likely configure the satellite to be off when in the dark. Thanks for asking though!
73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations
-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Kuitula ka8qcu@pasty.net Sent: Nov 8, 2010 6:24 PM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-51 on eclipse passes?
Hi all, I'm wondering if it is recommended to work AO-51 during the eclipse passes(early morning) over North America. From what I've heard on this BBS it will be entering a long period of eclipses, and the batteries are getting a bit long in the tooth. I don't want to mess things up. So I thought I'd ask ahead of time. Thanks to all that are monitoring and controlling ECHO. 73 de Doug KA8QCU _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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