[amsat-bb] SuitSat Telemetry Update #11 & #12 from N2SPI - ALL HANDS ON DECK!!

[Richard Crow <rfcrow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

N2SPI Comment:
--------------
As you can see, there is a noticeable acceleration in the rate of 
battery voltage change.

In approximately 24 hours, from update #9 to #10, it dropped only 0.2 
volts. In the next (approximately) 23 hours (#10 to #11), it dropped 
1.1 volts.

This battery appears to have a "knee" in its discharge characteristic.  
If this is so, it appears we have now dropped over the "knee".

I'm thinking now is the time to get as many battery voltage readings as 
we can.

With this in mind, I tried to capture telemetry at both my 04:34 and 
09:22 UTC SuitSat passes (relatively high elevation passes).  No such 
luck.  Both times the message rotation was not in my favor and 
"telemetry time" occured as SuitSat sailed over my "LOS" horizon.

In desperation, I tried my last SuitSat pass of the day.  This pass, at 
10:57, UTC, had a maximum elevation of only 14 degrees - a pass I 
normally wouldn't bother with.  Unbelievably, at 02:42 minutes into the 
pass, the first readable message was the telemetry.

It was very noisy, but I believe the lady said 18.3 volts.  I'm going 
out on a limb here (...again?), but this is important.  If this is so, 
the battery voltage may have dropped another 6.9 volts in only 8 hours. 
  If this is so, the battery voltage is "dropping like a rock".  
However, I won't put this voltage reading in the table until the 
battery voltage is verified or corroborated.

If someone out there has a fancy audio processor, maybe you can listen 
to the 10:57 UTC telemetry clip (on "www.aj3u.com") and verify the 
voltage reading.

Again...


     **** ALL HANDS ON DECK!! ****


 From now on, we need to get as many SuitSat telemetry readings as we 
can - especially the battery voltage.  The "end" of SuitSat-1 may be 
near.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
         RUNNING TABULATION OF SUITSAT-1 TELEMETRY FROM N2SPI
---------------------------------------------------------------------

------ --- --- -------- ------- ----------- -------- ----------------
                         SuitSat SuitSat     SuitSat
N2SPI  Telemetry        Mission Temperature Battery   File name for
Update message heard @: Time in in Degrees  Voltage   source audio:
Number Mo  Day Time UTC Minutes Celsius     (Volts)   (".wav" file)
------ --- --- -------- ------- ----------- -------- ----------------
       Feb   8 13:49:41  006607          12     26.-   8Feb1340z_telem
       Feb   9 12:37:29  0--967          --     -6.7   9Feb1237z_telem
     2 Feb  10 06:39:29  009-44          13     26.7  10Feb0639z_telem
     3 Feb  11 07:04:41  010501          --     26.7  11Feb0704z_telem
     4 Feb  11 11:50:53  010786          --     26.7  11Feb1153z_telem
     5 Feb  12 05:52:34  01--62          14     26.-  12Feb0552z_telem
     6 Feb  13 04:39:57  01-222          --     26.6  13Feb0439z_telem
     7 Feb  13 06:18:18  --3320          14     2-.6  13Feb0618z_telem
     8 Feb  14 05:05:24  0-4680          15     26.6  14Feb0505z_telem
     9 Feb  15 03:52:54  016040          --     26.5  15Feb0348z_telem
    10 Feb  16 04:18:32  0--49-          16     26.3  16Feb0411z_telem
    11 Feb  17 03:05:45  ------          --     25.2  17Feb0300z_telem
    12 Feb  17 10:59:42  0--3-9          15     --.3  17Feb1057z_telem
------ --- --- -------- ------- ----------- -------- ----------------

All data listed is for year 2006.

Hear source telemetry audio at "www.aj3u.com"

-Richard, N2SPI
----
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