Satgen 33 15th Nov 89   Solar Flare Damage?, Terrestrial PSK, NGC, BSB

Low earth orbit satellites, (mean ht below 1600kms), are deep inside the 
shelter of the earth's magnetic field, and are rarely troubled except 
when Solar Flares increase atmospheric density = atmospheric drag.
Not all satellites lead such a benign existence. Geostationary and Molniya
elliptical orbiters , go out to 36000 kms from the earth, where they get
far less protection.Recent flares have upset several of these high flyers.
Last solar max (1979),several geosats (including the prototype Meteosat )
suffered both power supply and memory glitches. These were credited to the
flare induced build up of static charges on the sats, which caused "local"
lightning flashes, whose powerful electromagnetic pulses temporarily
knocked out the satellites.One solution was a cover to dissipate static.
This 89/90 solar max , we have even bigger flares . Both the newest Euro
Weather sat and AO13 have problems. In the AO13 case the problem seems to
have occurred when it was behind the earth, sheltered from the Sun. But,
as sat ISEE 3/ICE showed in 83 when it made several trips down the magneto
tail behind the earth, it got severe jolts every time a solar flare
induced a change in the magneto tail magnetic field. This field acts like
a gun.Solar flares provide the ammunition build up for 2 or 3 hours,then
something trips, and the built up plasma is fired both down tail away from
earth, and up tail back at the earth, thumping any sat it meets on the way
before re entering over the poles producing a major magnetic storm/aurora.

Packsat proxy. With Oscar 12's power supplies negating European JD orbits,
have been looking at using G3RUH's modem for terrestrial PSK, and with
GM4JJJ, have modified the modem so that it sends the TNC a DCD signal ( an
inverted modem lock ).Some work is clearly necessary before we get optimum
Tx Rx passband alignment,then the real test is to try it on a 12 kms local
link through a 200m high lump of Scottish granite ,which bars our FM path.

Non Great Circle signal paths. Thanks for comment on RadCom Nov89, article
G3IOR's modern HF direction finder monitoring of RS10 is very revealing. I
also like the simple note that when NGC direct path G to W on 14 MHz Amsat
net is no good, try beaming south of GC path for useful signal copy. This 
latter is very much in accord with G2FKZ's Uosat 2 work which has revealed
North Atlantic ionospheric anomaly sometimes near 40N 20W ,600 kms height.

BSB DBsatTV  To confound last weeks report,it has been test signal only on
11780 MHZ, nothing on 11860 or 11938, but it may be on channels above
12000 , which I cannot tune. 73 de GM4IHJ@GB7SNE  18 Nov 89.