[amsat-bb] Re: AO7 Eclipse Period

[Alan Cresswell]

Hi Frank,

In theory I could check this pass but 13:45UTC is in the early hours of the
morning here (1:45am).  The problem is that I am not sure what this will
tell you other than that A-07 switches off as it enters eclipse.  This is a
low pass here (10 deg max el.) and according to me it will go into eclipse
just after my TCA.  If you are looking for the exact time of eclipse I would
have to put a signal through the transponder and note the time I loose my
signal but I suspect on a low pass this may not be very accurate.

73
Alan
ZL2bx

-----Original Message-----
From: amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On
Behalf Of K4FEG
Sent: Monday, 20 May 2013 18:00
To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
Subject: [amsat-bb] AO7 Eclipse Period

Are there any of the New Zealand satellite operators that could listen 
to /*AO7 on May 21, 2013 during the 13:45:50UTC pass?*/

If I am correct this will be the beginning of the satellite eclipse 
period that will run until August 2, 2013.

I am not using any fancy software to track the eclipse periods so I 
cannot determine if the times are accurate or not, nor if the satellite 
tracking software is taking full account of all variables involved in 
tracking an eclipse period on AO7.

My understanding from others is that the design of the satellite is such 
that it will come up as the "first state on start-up" in Mode B. I do 
not know these things to be true but the information comes from what I 
consider to be reliable sources.

I am just interested in any type of satellite report from the operators 
that will first access to AO7 after it has been in an eclipse period no 
matter how brief. Any information will be of interest to me.

/The current mode switches on AO7 are occurring at approximately 1047UTC 
everyday, I suspect that if we get any type of a total voltage loss on 
the satellite that this time will change(just my opinion)./

 From the projections I have been running the eclipse periods will 
quickly increase in duration and they will vary during the day with 
respect to the time of day over the Southern Hemisphere.

One of my goals is to try and determine, with the software available to 
me, what duration of eclipse is needed to cause a "Zero Voltage Reset", 
which should result in the satellite reverting to Mode B.

Any help is appreciated! Happy "Bird" watching!
73
Frank
K4FEG
EM55aj84ta
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