I am curious if we are still not supposed to be using the transponder during eclipse? I've been away from sats for a bit, and the downlink sounds strong here in FN41 during the late night passes.
Larry N1MIW
On 2/15/22 22:26, z man wrote:
I am curious if we are still not supposed to be using the transponder during eclipse? I've been away from sats for a bit, and the downlink sounds strong here in FN41 during the late night passes.
Hello Larry,
On this page:
https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/
you'll find notes for each satellite. AO-91 (and -92) has a note beside it that says "Do not attempt to access in eclipse".
--- Zach N0ZGO
Larry, we appreciate you asking. It's good that the power seems good at night, but the capacity of the battery is still very limited. In fact, 91 has its computer turned off so it sends no telemetry and does not send every 2 minutes if not being used, all to save the battery. If you heard it at night, someone must be using it without paying attention to our request.
The reason for all this is that If the battery gets drawn down too far too many times, it will fail totally--often shorted--and that would mean no transponder in the daytime either.
Burns, WB1FJ AMSAT Flight Software Lead
On Tue, Feb 15, 2022 at 11:34 PM Zach Metzinger [email protected] wrote:
On 2/15/22 22:26, z man wrote:
I am curious if we are still not supposed to be using the transponder during eclipse? I've been away from sats for a bit, and the downlink sounds strong here in FN41 during the late night passes.
Hello Larry,
On this page:
https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/
you'll find notes for each satellite. AO-91 (and -92) has a note beside it that says "Do not attempt to access in eclipse".
--- Zach N0ZGO
Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/
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Thanks Burns for the explanations and others for the questions/answers. Here's another way to look into the future---AO91 is operational what looks to be every day during daylight hours (when the bird is illuminated, basically). On the other hand, AO-92 is a step ahead, so to speak, and evidently has a failure of one of the cells. AO-92 "sometimes" wakes up and is operational, but most of the time it isn't...it's hit and mostly miss at this point.
So---Operating AO-91 only while the satellite is illuminated is a good way to slow down the pathway to where AO-92 is now! Let's make it last...
73,
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station
On Wed, Feb 16, 2022 at 12:10 PM Burns Fisher [email protected] wrote:
Larry, we appreciate you asking. It's good that the power seems good at night, but the capacity of the battery is still very limited. In fact, 91 has its computer turned off so it sends no telemetry and does not send every 2 minutes if not being used, all to save the battery. If you heard it at night, someone must be using it without paying attention to our request.
The reason for all this is that If the battery gets drawn down too far too many times, it will fail totally--often shorted--and that would mean no transponder in the daytime either.
Burns, WB1FJ AMSAT Flight Software Lead
On Tue, Feb 15, 2022 at 11:34 PM Zach Metzinger [email protected] wrote:
On 2/15/22 22:26, z man wrote:
I am curious if we are still not supposed to be using the transponder during eclipse? I've been away from sats for a bit, and the downlink sounds strong here in FN41 during the late night passes.
Hello Larry,
On this page:
https://www.amsat.org/two-way-satellites/
you'll find notes for each satellite. AO-91 (and -92) has a note beside it that says "Do not attempt to access in eclipse".
--- Zach N0ZGO
Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/
View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/
View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
participants (4)
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Burns Fisher -
Mark L. Hammond -
z man -
Zach Metzinger