Astra 2E: On Hold At 43.5E

[4wd]

Sent from my Marconi Spark Gap Transmitter using Morse Code.

lol+++ & thanks for your photo-skills.

 

[zorbua]

lol+++ & thanks for your photo-skills.

Sent from my Marconi Spark Gap Transmitter using Morse Code.

Damn and I thought the 'Oceanspan V11 was the earliest I worked On...beats me by a couple of Decades

 

[cazhh]

latest update from SES shows it still moving. But it's also just 1 hour younger than the latest celestrak update:

SUBJECT: ELEVEN PARAMETER EPHEMERIS FOR Astra-1H/ 52.30 DEG. E

YEAR  MONTH  DAY  HOUR  MINUTE  SECOND
2013  12    17  06    45      00

THE EPHEMERIS VALUES ARE:

LM0            LM1              LM2
DEG. E          DEG/DAY          DEG/DAY/DAY
31.6419      -0.5637            0.000800

They usually update several times per day and we should expect another one later which should show us what's the current status is.

 

[joddle]

Sent from my Marconi Spark Gap Transmitter using Morse Code.

Damn and I thought the 'Oceanspan V11 was the earliest I worked On...beats me by a couple of Decades

Wow - are those control knobs the same as on the famous T1154 transmitters? They certainly look familiar....

 

[Waveguide]

Marconi 1935 150 kW, Motala longwave transmitter, now a museum.
Spent a few summer holidays there during my school days as an errand boy.
Ahhh... the hum of transformers and the glow of radio valves.
It had a PanEuropean beam too.

 

[Vipersan]

Marconi 1935 150 kW, Motala longwave transmitter, now a museum.
Spent a few summer holidays there during my school days as an errand boy.
Ahhh... the hum of transformers and the glow of radio valves.
It had a PanEuropean beam too.
View attachment 60270

Nice !!!
So not not DAB then ?

All I can add to the museum is my old CR100
fully refurbed about 2 years ago ..and fully functional.
;)

 

[zorbua]

Wow - are those control knobs the same as on the famous T1154 transmitters? They certainly look familiar....

looks like it, though the Marconi Oceanspan was a shipborne equipment whilst the other an aircraft type.
The Oceanspan if my memory serves me right had about 110W c/w and 80W mcw. Went up to 22Mhz on HF. Used to get Portishead Radio from about 1500 Nautical miles away on HF 16/22Mhz. Ah those were the Days.

 

[cazhh]

11:45 yesterday. No sign of slow down. Probably they'll let it spiral in - or it's going somewhere else and another rumour goes bust.

SUBJECT: ELEVEN PARAMETER EPHEMERIS FOR Astra-1H/ 52.30 DEG. E

YEAR  MONTH  DAY  HOUR  MINUTE  SECOND
2013  12    17  11    45      00

THE EPHEMERIS VALUES ARE:

LM0            LM1              LM2
DEG. E          DEG/DAY          DEG/DAY/DAY
31.5243      -0.5633            0.000798

 

[Lazarus]

Yes, it's just as well we're not gamblers or the keys and the wife would be on the table by now.

 

[ExIcom]

Nice !!!
So not not DAB then ?

All I can add to the museum is my old CR100
fully refurbed about 2 years ago ..and fully functional.
;)

They are a bit different now

 

[Lazarus]

Mod. Note:


I've changed the title of this Topic for obvious reasons.

We'll have a Transit to 28.2E Topic when there's, errm, a Transit!

 

[Waveguide]

I think I will have a hard time capturing rumours accurately, no filters or settings
to bring them out unfortunately. Last night I tested another lens (70 mm) and it
covers from 44,5E to 26,5E. Moonlight swamped the light from satellites but no
other problems so when the "mooning" in the sky disappears new tests can be made.
Hints on where to look are of course welcome.

The moonlight reflected from particles in the air overpowers the light from satellites.
The uneven background makes it impossible to tweak the contrast to see the faint
satellites all across the image. Success in one part means failure in another.

... and then we quickly switch back to airborne radio, 1927. Imagine using this in an open
cockpit without a canopy. (from the Airforce Museum in Linköping)

The clothesline antenna must have been "challenging" to use!

 

[cazhh]

YEAR  MONTH  DAY  HOUR  MINUTE  SECOND
2013  12    17  14    15      00

THE EPHEMERIS VALUES ARE:

LM0            LM1              LM2
DEG. E          DEG/DAY          DEG/DAY/DAY
31.4655      -0.5631            0.000797

 

[solly]

it look take more two week move

 

[Luniman]

Mod. Note:


I've changed the title of this Topic for obvious reasons.

We'll have a Transit to 28.2E Topic when there's, errm, a Transit!

Maybe with all this talk of radio the title should be changed to Transmits ;-)

 

[Lazarus]

Quite.

I can't even chunter about it being off-topic because:

a. There is no Topic

and

e. It's interesting!

 

[Waveguide]

Maybe with all this talk of radio the title should be changed to Transmits ;-)

It's a question of balance - we're on the receiving end most of the time anyway.

 

[william-1]

I still find it hard to believe that a satellite costing approx £200,000,000 to build & launch is left idle 5 weeks after testing was completed,

I never known this to happen before as the operator normally wants the satellite working asap,

It just does not make for good economics not to have Astra 2E @ 28.2 east working & likewise Astra 1N moved to 19.2 east what has happened at SES Astra would drive most accountants to despair.

No explanation from SES Astra as to this delay in these proceedings of getting the satellite into service ??

 

[Lazarus]

No explanation, no: But why would SES-Astra feel the need anyway?

BSkyB and Freesat are services for popular consumption and only an insignificant minority (Us!) have the vaguest interest in how they are delivered.

As there is no interruption of service and (presumably) none in the offing, what's to tell?

Personally, I think that shifting 1H and the endurance of 2A are more critical: Had 2E been launched on time, I suspect she would have been put into service prior to these other issues, but the launch delay has engendered a re-appraisal of milestones.

I strongly suspect everything is under control.

 

[M60]

I also think the broadcasters and platform operators were probably a bit twitchy about rushing all these TP changes through before Christmas.

It's interesting if 1H is still moving west, if and where to we'll have to wait and see.