Jacob,

A couple of different points:

First, the only satellite that is not available in eclipse of our four voice satellites (AO-7, FO-29, SO-50, and AO-73) is AO-7 as it runs solely off of solar power. AO-73, in it's normal mode, is actually only available for amateur use while it is in eclipse.

Second, the satellites are anywhere from 595 km to 1,459 km above the Earth's surface. In many cases, while it's dark on the ground, the satellite may be in sunlight. For example, FO-29 is in constant sunlight until sometime in March (and it was definitely dark at 3:16am when I was using it this morning) while AO-7 is in constant sunlight until April. Many tracking programs will tell you whether or not a satellite is in sunlight. Ir yours doesn't, N2YO's website is convenient for checking: http://www.n2yo.com/?s=39444

73,

Paul, N8HM

On Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 10:14 AM, jacob.tennant jacob.tennant@comcast.net wrote:

Am I mistaken as I thought the satellites were only accessible when in sunlight?

Heard a few stations on SO-50 last night around 10:30pm Eastern time and it was definitely after sundown locally.

Jacob Tennant WF8S

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