Kent,
VO-52 has a strong beacon at 145.936.
This is quite a mystery, if I lived closer I'd visit your shack and try to help further.
In your driveway, your antenna is not so close to the house that it blocks the path, is it? If your house (or a neigbor's house or a big tree) blocks the path between the antenna and the sat, then you would not hear the bird. Have you tried from an open area?
I was on AO-51 last night around 0100 UTC, 7pm Central Time. Lots of activity from Canada to Venezuela. Is that when you were listening?
For tonight (Tuesday), I'm seeing a nice high pass for you from 0148 to 0201, highest at 0154. If you are in the clear and don't hear anything on 435.3 at that time (start at 435.305 near the beginning of pass, 435.3 in the middle, 435.295 near the end), something's wrong.
73, Bill
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