[amsat-bb] AO-51 Signal Strength

[John Papay]

AO-51 is extremely weak now.  Normally AO-51 would
produce a signal in excess of .6 uV at the receiver
in the shack.  This is from a 40el KLM with a 20'
9913 pigtail and 50' of 7/8" Heliax.  The maximum
signal strength on the 2113z 24Nov pass (38 degree
elevation) was only .22uV.  It is down about 7 or 8
db from just a few days ago.  As a comparison, a
SO-50 pass at 2151z (6 degree max) produced .25 uV.
SO-50 continues to fade severely whereas AO-51 does
not exhibit that fading on Left Hand Circular.

AO51 was in the sun for about 40 minutes before my AOS.
The angle might not have been that great but it wasn't
that close to darkness.

It's getting harder to hear AO-51 now.  Many stations are
heard but don't respond when called.  Let's hope it stays
on the air.  The data buzz is now heard all the time where
a week ago it only appeared a minute or two before eclipse
on the morning passes and was never apparent on the afternoon
passes.  Even with the low power it's still a great satellite.
Use it while it is still working.

73,
John K8YSE