[amsat-bb:66611] AO-40 Update, 2003-03-02

["Stacey E. Mills" <w4sm@xxxxxxxxxx>]

We are continuing to move ALON forward to keep the solar angle within 
range.  The current ALON / ALAT = 15/0 (nominal), and we are slowly moving 
to ALON =20, but this will take about 6 more orbits.  To compensate for the 
change in squint the K-window has been moved.  Further passband shifts will 
come when we reach ALON=20.


N  QST AMSAT AO-40          SCHEDULE                2003-03-02
      MA      010   050   180   182   190   230   244   010
      ---------7-----1-----3-----6-----4-----5-----0-----7
      S2/K-Tx  |  S  |  S  | S/K | S/K |  S  |  S  |  S  |
      MB       |  *  |  *  |  *  |  *  |  *  |  *  |  *  |
      RUDAK    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
      V/U-Rx   |  U  |  U  |  U  |  U  |  U  |  U  |  V  |
      Uplink   |     | UL  |     | UL  | UL  |     |     |


Here is a provisional schedule of things to come:

We will continue slowly moving ALON forward toward 45 degrees during the 
month of March.  In early April we will begin raising ALAT toward 20 degs. 
By mid-April we should be at ~ ALON/ALAT = 45/20.
Passband activities will be turned off at that time.  We will drift for 
approximately one month, arriving at ALON/ALAT = 315/20 in mid-May.  We 
will then lower ALAT to 0, restart passband activities (shifted to the 
early part of the orbit), and begin moving back toward ALON = 0, chasing 
the sun at the rate of about 1 deg/day.  We should return to ALON/ALAT = 
0/0 about June 20th.  We can stay at ALON/ALAT = 0/0 until early October, 
when the cycle starts over.  Thus, expect the passbands to be off from 
about mid-April to mid-May, but active at varying phases of the orbit, the 
rest of the time.  We should be in good position for field day, just 
getting back to 0/0.

--W4SM for the AO-40 Command Team




-- 
  _______________________________________________________________________
  Stacey E. Mills, W4SM    WWW:    http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/ham1.html
   Charlottesville, VA     PGP key: http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/key
  _______________________________________________________________________

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