[amsat-bb] AO73 Mode Change

[Gabriel Zeifman]

The primary mission of these satellites is education, not amateur communications. As such, in daylight the primary payload is active at full power (the telemetry beacons, they are deafening when the transponder is off). On the weekends and at night, when the primary users otherwise do not need the satellite, they turn over the transponder to our use. I would actually guess that the transponder uses less overall power than the full power telemetry due to reduced duty cycle at lower power on the transponder, particularly while it flies over remote areas. 

73,
Gabe
NJ7H/VE6NJH


> On Jul 30, 2017, at 8:48 AM, MrToby <mrtoburen7 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Thanks for all of the details about Funcube operations.  I'm new to Sats
> and have a question: what is the technical reason that Sats don't operate
> in eclipse (when the solar panels are illuminated?).  That seems counter
> intuitive to me as the Sat would have more power.  Thanks for the help.
> 
> Marshall, AA0FO (em29)
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