Is it just me or has something happened to the power level on AO-51 recently? Ever since Frank & Clayton (K4FEG & W5PFG) 'broke' it Monday evening on the 2130Z pass (just kidding guys), my receive audio has been 'scratchy' like I'm not getting enough signal into the receiver. Nothing has changed on my end and though I usually run mobile, I was sitting in a parking lot for that pass instead of driving down the road, I'm just curious if anything got changed during the reset. AO-51 has been my favorite satellite since I got started doing them 2 1/2 years ago and I cringe every time she 'goes down' knowing that we may never hear from her again.
Jeff Lamb, NX9B (EM66)
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Hi Jeff,
I assure you, nobody broke it on Monday :) I simply had it in telemetry mode in order to grab fresh telemetry (battery voltages, temperatures, etc.). The bird never went down; I simply changed from voice, to digital, back to voice.
No change in the power was made, it's still running just under 1 watt (980 mW).
The crazy thing has been operating without a crash for what---10-12 weeks now? I've lost track, which is a GREAT thing! It's a real surprise that the bird is running on only 4 out of the 6 original cells in the battery, all the way through eclipse at full smoke.
It won't last forever...so enjoy it while it lasts!
73,
Mark N8MH AO-51 Command Station
On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 12:23 PM, Jeff Lamb Jeff.Lamb@trin.net wrote:
Is it just me or has something happened to the power level on AO-51 recently? Ever since Frank & Clayton (K4FEG & W5PFG) 'broke' it Monday evening on the 2130Z pass (just kidding guys), my receive audio has been 'scratchy' like I'm not getting enough signal into the receiver. Nothing has changed on my end and though I usually run mobile, I was sitting in a parking lot for that pass instead of driving down the road, I'm just curious if anything got changed during the reset. AO-51 has been my favorite satellite since I got started doing them 2 1/2 years ago and I cringe every time she 'goes down' knowing that we may never hear from her again.
Jeff Lamb, NX9B (EM66)
Notice: This email message, including any attachments, contains information belonging to Trinity Industries, Inc. and its business units. It has been sent solely for the use of the intended recipients and may be confidential, proprietary, copyrighted, and legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient, please advise the sender of the error and permanently delete all copies of this email, including any copies that may reside in your deleted box. The unauthorized review, use, disclosure, distribution, or copying of this email or its contents is strictly prohibited. _______________________________________________ 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
Just to set the record straight, Frank/K4FEG broke it, not me. I am an innocent victim in this sinister plot. I think he needs to be put on double-secret-probation under the watchful eye of the other EM55 satellite operators.
If anything, I thought the power was increased after the telemetry. After speaking with another on that pass who shared the same thought, I emailed Drew to find out that the power is still set to just under a watt. I can't explain why I saw a signal strength "bump" after the telemetry download, but I know what I saw. Either way, that bird is working great!
Kudos to the entire team keeping this satellite usable despite the battery situation.
73, Clayton W5PFG
On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 12:09 PM, Mark L. Hammond marklhammond@gmail.com wrote:
Hi Jeff,
I assure you, nobody broke it on Monday :) I simply had it in telemetry mode in order to grab fresh telemetry (battery voltages, temperatures, etc.). The bird never went down; I simply changed from voice, to digital, back to voice.
No change in the power was made, it's still running just under 1 watt (980 mW).
The crazy thing has been operating without a crash for what---10-12 weeks now? I've lost track, which is a GREAT thing! It's a real surprise that the bird is running on only 4 out of the 6 original cells in the battery, all the way through eclipse at full smoke.
It won't last forever...so enjoy it while it lasts!
73,
Mark N8MH AO-51 Command Station
On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 12:23 PM, Jeff Lamb Jeff.Lamb@trin.net wrote:
Is it just me or has something happened to the power level on AO-51 recently? Ever since Frank & Clayton (K4FEG & W5PFG) 'broke' it Monday evening on the 2130Z pass (just kidding guys), my receive audio has been 'scratchy' like I'm not getting enough signal into the receiver. Nothing has changed on my end and though I usually run mobile, I was sitting in a parking lot for that pass instead of driving down the road, I'm just curious if anything got changed during the reset. AO-51 has been my favorite satellite since I got started doing them 2 1/2 years ago and I cringe every time she 'goes down' knowing that we may never hear from her again.
Jeff Lamb, NX9B (EM66)
Notice: This email message, including any attachments, contains information belonging to Trinity Industries, Inc. and its business units. It has been sent solely for the use of the intended recipients and may be confidential, proprietary, copyrighted, and legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient, please advise the sender of the error and permanently delete all copies of this email, including any copies that may reside in your deleted box. The unauthorized review, use, disclosure, distribution, or copying of this email or its contents is strictly prohibited. _______________________________________________ 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
-- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]
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
Glad I'm not a cat, because curiosity got the best of me. I looked it up...last restart of AO-51 was July 31, 2011.
That means as of today, we've had 80 days of uptime without a crash or interruption of service.
73,
Mark N8MH
On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 1:09 PM, Mark L. Hammond marklhammond@gmail.com wrote:
Hi Jeff,
I assure you, nobody broke it on Monday :) I simply had it in telemetry mode in order to grab fresh telemetry (battery voltages, temperatures, etc.). The bird never went down; I simply changed from voice, to digital, back to voice.
No change in the power was made, it's still running just under 1 watt (980 mW).
The crazy thing has been operating without a crash for what---10-12 weeks now? I've lost track, which is a GREAT thing! It's a real surprise that the bird is running on only 4 out of the 6 original cells in the battery, all the way through eclipse at full smoke.
It won't last forever...so enjoy it while it lasts!
73,
Mark N8MH AO-51 Command Station
On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 12:23 PM, Jeff Lamb Jeff.Lamb@trin.net wrote:
Is it just me or has something happened to the power level on AO-51 recently? Ever since Frank & Clayton (K4FEG & W5PFG) 'broke' it Monday evening on the 2130Z pass (just kidding guys), my receive audio has been 'scratchy' like I'm not getting enough signal into the receiver. Nothing has changed on my end and though I usually run mobile, I was sitting in a parking lot for that pass instead of driving down the road, I'm just curious if anything got changed during the reset. AO-51 has been my favorite satellite since I got started doing them 2 1/2 years ago and I cringe every time she 'goes down' knowing that we may never hear from her again.
Jeff Lamb, NX9B (EM66)
Notice: This email message, including any attachments, contains information belonging to Trinity Industries, Inc. and its business units. It has been sent solely for the use of the intended recipients and may be confidential, proprietary, copyrighted, and legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient, please advise the sender of the error and permanently delete all copies of this email, including any copies that may reside in your deleted box. The unauthorized review, use, disclosure, distribution, or copying of this email or its contents is strictly prohibited. _______________________________________________ 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
-- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]
participants (3)
-
Clayton Coleman W5PFG -
Jeff Lamb -
Mark L. Hammond