Hi!
The last few AO51 passes I have been on over the last few days have seemed to have a very weak signal. I can usually acquire the bird at about 2-3 degrees when it comes up from the S, but I was having a hard time hearing it at 10. Max elevation of the last pass was 23 degrees, and I could barely hear it then. It seemed like the polarization was all over the place too – clear one minute and gone the next.
I was wondering if the transmitter power is lower than it has been – I have not seen anything on the BB regarding any mode change. Hopefully it is not something up with my antenna.
73!
Zack KD8KSN
Hi Zach,
We've gone from 500 mW down to about 460 mW over the last week or thereabouts, so I don't think that would be fully explain what you're seeing...
It's a big difference from when we were running 1-1.5 watts, but we haven't been at that power level since Feb 26th or so.
The bird is spinning pretty slowly, making 1 revolution around every 10 mins or so. If it happens to have a bad attitude (heh) relative to you, it might make one pass better than the other.
73,
Mark N8MH
At 05:33 PM 3/12/2011 -0500, Zachary Beougher wrote:
Hi! The last few AO51 passes I have been on over the last few days have seemed to have a very weak signal. I can usually acquire the bird at about 2-3 degrees when it comes up from the S, but I was having a hard time hearing it at 10. Max elevation of the last pass was 23 degrees, and I could barely hear it then. It seemed like the polarization was all over the place too clear one minute and gone the next. I was wondering if the transmitter power is lower than it has been I have not seen anythinng on the BB regarding any mode change. Hopefully it is not something up with my antenna. 73! Zack KD8KSN _______________________________________________ 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
Thanks Mark,
I guess I will just ride it out... ;-) I have been through this before, and it has gradually gone away. I would say it was weather related with all of the extremes we have had lately, but that shouldn't affect it.
73!
Zack KD8KSN
-----Original Message----- From: Mark L. Hammond Sent: Saturday, March 12, 2011 5:58 PM To: Zachary Beougher ; amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Weak Signal on AO-51
Hi Zach,
We've gone from 500 mW down to about 460 mW over the last week or thereabouts, so I don't think that would be fully explain what you're seeing...
It's a big difference from when we were running 1-1.5 watts, but we haven't been at that power level since Feb 26th or so.
The bird is spinning pretty slowly, making 1 revolution around every 10 mins or so. If it happens to have a bad attitude (heh) relative to you, it might make one pass better than the other.
73,
Mark N8MH
At 05:33 PM 3/12/2011 -0500, Zachary Beougher wrote:
Hi! The last few AO51 passes I have been on over the last few days have seemed to have a very weak signal. I can usually acquire the bird at about 2-3 degrees when it comes up from the S, but I was having a hard time hearing it at 10. Max elevation of the last pass was 23 degrees, and I could barely hear it then. It seemed like the polarization was all over the place too clear one minute and gone the next. I was wondering if the transmitter power is lower than it has been I have not seen anythinng on the BB regarding any mode change. Hopefully it is not something up with my antenna. 73! Zack KD8KSN _______________________________________________ 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
participants (2)
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Mark L. Hammond -
Zachary Beougher