Lite rapporter frn Stacey och AMSAT-UK frn de senaste testerna p Oscar-40:
Post-launch info 1930 GMT 02 March
From Stacey:
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.
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.
Post-launch info 2155 GMT 24 February
Stacey reports: Two tests were performed on AO-40 yesterday.
The first was a long shot and involved listening for the S1 transmitter exciter stage using Gnter Wertich s EME dish. Nothing was heard during a 20 MA window of testing in which the S1 Tx was connected to the middle beacon.
The second test involving the S-band receivers was completely successful. Extremely strong downlink signals were possible using S-band uplink to K-band downlink. Charlie (G3WDG) phoned me and I heard beautiful downlink signals from his ~5 watt uplink to S1. S2 was also active, but because of its higher, less common frequency (2446 MHz), it may not have been tested. The S1 Rx uses the S1 Tx high-gain dish, and the S2 Rx uses the 5 turn helix used by the S2 Tx, so signals would not be as strong through S2 at low squint. More information will undoubtedly be posted on this by the participants, but special thanks to Charlie (G3WDG), Mike (N1JEZ), and Dom (I8CVS), and any others who participated in this successful test.
The S1 Rx can certainly be listed as fully functional. We will await further testing/info. on the S2 Rx.
Charlie, G3WDG, has also produced a how I did it report, see it at: http://www.g3wdg.free-online.co.uk/s_ktest.htm
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Klla: AMSAT-UK