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UA9FBV > SAT 25.01.04 05:15l 53 Lines 2295 Bytes #999 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS-025.02
Read: OE1DMB DC3RJ DB0FHN GUEST
Subj: PCSat Status
Path: DB0FHN<DB0THA<DB0ERF<DB0SON<DB0SIF<DB0EA<DB0RES<ER3KAZ<UA9FBV
Sent: 040125/0310Z @:UA9FBV.PRM.RUS.AS #:47755 [Perm] GATEWAY $:ANS-025.02
From: UA9FBV@UA9FBV.PRM.RUS.AS
To : SAT@AMSAT
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 025.02 From AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD. January 25, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-025.02
PCSat is now in negative power budget and practically unusable.
The Command Team will try for a few more days to turn everything off
(INCLUDING THE DIGI) to try to get it through eclipses. When the digi is
off, the only packet you will see is the 1/min telemetry packet and it will
be from the callsign of NODIGI...
It was a good run. We got 33 days out of it this time....
Pasco was restored to full operations on 15 Dec 2003, 2 days before full sun
and she supported users to over 50 a day around the world through the end of
the year.
She entered eclipses again on 1 Jan 2004, yet continued to support even
growing numbers of users. During this same time, the ISS packet system
became operational again, further attracting users to this mode. Often,
Pasco logged 60+ users (the size of our WEB log) in just over 12 hours.
Bob, WB4APR, tells what happened, "Over the weekend of 17-19 Jan 2004 we
lost her back to negative power again. During the last pass on Friday the
16th all telemetry looked good and I restored the 72 hour timer and we were
all set for the weekend. But with seconds before LOS, I noticed that
although the telemetry was showing, and I had commanded the TX's to isolate,
they weren't. The relay was stuck. And it was our last pass for the next
16 hours."
Bob continues, "All weekend the 3 Command Stations around the world tried to
re-energize this stuck relay, and I came in on Saturday and was sure I was
successful, but again, on each eclipse we lost it again. Finally on Tues.
and Wed, we also were able to fully command it, but the eclipses are just
too long and she dies on the dark side."
As a result Pasco has returned to the catch-as-catch can mode until next
full Sun in May. This is the longest period PCSat has been without a full
Sun period since launch.
The Command Team will continue to attempt recovery for a few more days.
After that there will be no further attempts to turn
off the DIGI and PCSat will revert back to the mode of "if you can hear it,
work it..." And that will only be in the SUN...
[ANS thanks the Bob, WB4APR, for the above information]
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