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E2A10

OPERATING PROCEDURES · Amateur radio in space: amateur satellites; orbital mechanics; frequencies and modes; satellite hardware; satellite operations

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What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?

  1. AHEO
  2. BGeostationary
  3. CGeomagnetic
  4. DLEO
Why A geostationary satellite sits in a circular orbit directly over the equator at about 35,786 km (22,236 miles) altitude, where the orbital period is exactly one sidereal day. Because it circles the Earth at the same rate the Earth turns, it stays over the same spot on the ground, so from your location it hangs at a fixed azimuth and elevation. That means a dish or beam can be aimed once and left there, with no tracking needed.
Watch out LEO satellites orbit only a few hundred kilometers up and race across the sky in minutes, requiring tracking, and HEO (high or highly elliptical orbit) birds move and change range over a long pass. Geomagnetic refers to the Earth's magnetic field, not an orbit at all.
Geo-stationary = stationary in the sky, 22,236 miles up over the equator, one orbit per day.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
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The rest of E2A

  1. E2A01 What is the direction of an ascending pass for an amateur satellite?
  2. E2A02 Which of the following is characteristic of an inverting linear transponder?
  3. E2A03 How is an upload signal processed by an inverting linear transponder?
  4. E2A04 What is meant by the "mode" of an amateur radio satellite?
  5. E2A05 What do the letters in a satellite's mode designator specify?
  6. E2A06 What are Keplerian elements?
  7. E2A07 Which of the following types of signals can be relayed through a linear transponder?
  8. E2A08 Why should effective radiated power (ERP) be limited to a satellite that uses a linear transponder?
  9. E2A09 What do the terms "L band" and "S band" specify?
  10. E2A10 What type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky?
  11. E2A11 What type of antenna can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation?
  12. E2A12 What is the purpose of digital store-and-forward functions on an amateur radio satellite?
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