[amsat-bb] Re: Is it 100% impossible to work a satellite below the horizon?

[Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL]

At 07:13 AM 3/13/2011 -0700, <na2x at yahoo.com> wrote:

>I seriously doubt that satellites using 2 meters and higher frequencies 
>for uplink/downlink would show much (if any) below the horizon capability.
>
>Bob NA2X


It's possible to happen on 2 meters via satellite too.

In the early 90's I submitted proposals for Sarex contacts to NASA and was 
selected for two schools in the area, STS-56.  The day before I set up my 
oscar station at the high school where the contacts would take place. 
Antenna was a ten element RCHP cross yagi steerable on the school 
roof.  The morning contacts were to happen the weather was really weird, we 
had a spring snow storm go through, and I'm sure there must have been ducts 
of cold and warm air and inversions.  Another Amsat member Chris, KF7KN 
helped and we double checked each other work, we didn't want any mistakes. 
During the sarex pass for the first school, we were still communicating 
with the astronauts for about 25 seconds after LOS.  I have the whole thing 
on video.

It didn't happen again the second pass, the weather was more normal.

Back in those days, when you were scheduled for a contact, NASA faxed the 
latest keps for the shuttle. The element set we got faxed was less than an 
hour old, and they even faxed us a new set for the next pass.  Hee Hee, 
freshest set of keps I ever got.

KB7ADL