[amsat-bb] Question on AO-40 Offpoint Angles and Alon/Alat

[KB7ADO@xxxxxxx]

I understand that the command team is still working to determine this 
satellite's position in order to tweak the ALat/ALon with the intent to go to 
0/0.  The terms are usually reversed (ALon/ALat) in discussion, but 
InstantTrack requires them to be entered in the previous order.  Still, 
something doesn't seem right when it comes to projected squint angles for my 
location in Washington.  I'm using the new version of InstantTrack and enter 
the Attitude just as it should be.  From what it's telling me, I will never 
see an offpoint angle under 46.  Even when it is that low, the schedule has 
the passbands off, and the bird is barely off the horizon.  Most of the time 
the angles are in the 100-170 range.  Is the 0/0 adjustment considered to be 
the optimum setting, or is the intent to eventually be something else?  I ran 
the projections using the approximate current settings of  0/330 as well as 
0/0.  For this location, there isn't much difference between the two.  It 
appears I'll never see the 20 degree angles some people have talked about, 
unless something has been entered wrong in InstantTrack.  Just in case I 
wasn't putting them in right, I tried entering the numbers reversed, but it 
wouldn't accept them.

Bob, KB7ADO
kb7ado@aol.com
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