[amsat-bb] Orbit visualization & antenna performance

[Zach Metzinger]

Hello all,

In order to evaluate antenna effectiveness in the 70cm downlink band, 
I'm trying to visualize the orbits of the following satellites:

AO-27
SO-50
RS-44

I can find the perigee/apogee and output power on these, and, so far, I 
have:

AO-27	788x801 km	1W/0.5W/0.1W
SO-50	603x713 km	0.25W
RS-44	1175x1511 km	5W

On the FM birds: My observed data shows that SO-50 is difficult to hear 
while AO-27 is booming, so I hypothesize that AO-27 is transmitting with 
0.5W or 1W.

RS-44's beacon seems to be fairly weak, while CW/SSB signals on the 
transponder are quite strong.

Does anyone know where I might find more details on RS-44's construction 
such as antennas and power output for the beacon?

Thanks,

--- Zach
N0ZGO
EM12jw