Aloha All
Just a note on my personal Arrow experience. With many satellites, ie, AO-51, SO-50, Cubesats Prism, SEEDS, etc., I have found that a "twist" of the wrist" can make the difference between a "clean" signal and no signal at all! This is a common phenomena that I experienced less than 2 hours ago on AO-51. The AO-51 pass was noisy at 14 degs max. el. using my Arrow and HT. Antenna "adjustment" helped significantly.
Having only been on 51 a handfull of times during the past week I cannot pass any judgment regarding recent downlinks in Hawaii. My impression is that AO-51 is a very dependable, fantastic FM bird. The same goes for it's Operations team and those I regularly hear on the mainland. Tonite's "noise" may be been an anomoly or perhaps the current orientation of AO-51 has shifted some signal strength in favor of the southern hemisphere. I did did have several clear QSOs. I will continue to evaluate AO-51's signal quality.
73 to everybody Respectfully- robert, NH7WN Honolulu, Hawaii