Hi folks,
Since starting my effort to work Europe on AO-7, I've found that the very low
elevation sigs vary significantly on different
passes. Some mornings I can easily hear my downlink and start working
Europe at 0.7 degrees elevation, while other days I can't hear myself
until 5 degrees elevation, after the window to Europe has closed. Not
sure if this is due to band conditions, satellite polarization,
obstructions at certain positions, operator error, local noise, or what.
Today I spoke with another experienced AO-7 op and he had an interesting
theory: on the bad days (when I don't hear my downlink until 5 degress), the
sat is in Mode C (lower power). This seems to make sense, because there does
not seem to be any middle ground -- I start hearing my downlink at either 0.7
degrees or 5 degrees, never at 2-4 degrees.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Are we able to predict when the sat will be
in one mode or another? Or any other explanation for the signal strength
variations?
73, Bill NZ5N
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