Alan, ZL2BX:
Hi Mike, all commands sent and acknowledged at 23:38:30 UT. No beacon or test beacon.
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All commands sent and accepted at 2102 UT.
A test beacon was received 5min and 40 seconds after the test beacon command.
A normal beacon began 3min and 40 seconds later but unfortunately Compass was at zero deg elevation when the beacon began. I have a -1 deg horizon in this direction so managed to get part of the frame as follows:
FF18090011710020……..(LOS). The 11 in the middle was very noisy but almost certain they are OK (Definitely 1 or 0) and just managed to confirm that the heater was off before it went into the noise!
At least the system is up and running – good signal strength from the test beacon. Alan, ZL2BX
Bob W1ICW:
Just tried the 15:47 pass. I commanded the heater off and test beacon several times and got confirmations back every time. Heard no confirmations other than for commands I sent ( nobody else sending commands ) I did not get a test beacon during the entire pass. Hopefully someone can get one, perhaps Alan. I will be tied up tomorrow but will be back Saturday to help.
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Mike, on the 14:10 pass over the eastern US, I was able to upload the heater off and test beacon commands several times successfully. I also heard confirmation tones several other times during the pass, so others are also able to get into the satellite.
I commanded the test beacon several times and got confirmation, but never did hear the beacon come on during the pass. Perhaps because so many people were sending commands at the same time, it just kept resetting a timer.
I believe Compass is getting healthier; it certainly seems a LOT more responsive today than it was, say 4 days ago. I think this is encouraging. Hopefully someone can get a beacon out of it this pass. I wlll be listening up for the 15:43 pass and hope to hear a beacon then.
73 de Bob W1ICW
Alan, ZL2BX
Hi Mike, sent commands at 1006 UT at 8 deg el. on the eclipse pass last night and the first three were acknowledged (14, 13, 16) but no further commands were accepted. Tried again at higher elevations later in the pass but no response.
First pass this morning (4.5 deg max el) all commands except the test beacon command were acknowledged. No beacon heard but pass very short. Alan, ZL2BX
Greg KO6TH:
Hi Mike, another repeat of previous nights. COMPASS came out of eclipse at 04:04z and I followed it to the horizon, sending the heater-off command (****14#200#) every 30 seconds or so. No beeps heard, but who knows, maybe the satellite heard it and took care of the extra load. Should I keep trying? I don’t mind, if there is any chance that it will do some good. Greg KO6TH