Gentlemen,

Your difference of opinion may stem from the fact that AO-6 through AO-8 had orbits that were in the 1450km range, and not the 600-800km that is more common now. That might hose up the numbers some, as the angles and path losses are considerably different.

You just might be _BOTH_ right for the assumed scenario.

73, Drew KO4MA

-----Original Message-----

From: Bob Bruninga bruninga@usna.edu Sent: Apr 12, 2011 2:24 PM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: satellite average elevation

...

As I said, in the "goode olde dayes" we used 30 degree up tilt and it worked well... Lessening the up tilt may increase the gain for the lower angle passes but will also decrease the gain on the higher angle passes. So, it is a "trade off" no matter what you do!

Sorry to sound like I am quibbling... but that last sentence implies the idea of an equal "trade off". But the tradeoff is not equal at all and may be missing the point here.