from AMSAT BB list:
The ARISS team has been working very closely with NASA and ESA to identify
potential ARISS radio anomaly causes and resolve the radio issues that were
observed after the EVA (spacewalk) conducted on January 27. During this
spacewalk, cabling was installed to support the commissioning of the
Bartolomeo attached payload capability mounted on the Columbus module. Part
of this cabling rerouted the cabling of the ARISS antenna on Columbus to the
ARISS radio system.Through a great deal of coordination with NASA and ESA, ARISS will be
conducting a set of APRS tests to determine the operational use of the ARISS
radio system in Columbus through employment of three different cabling
configurations. Over the next couple of days, ARISS will be performing a
series of tests using our APRS capability through the standard 145.825 MHz
APRS frequency. The crew will be periodically shutting down the radio and
swapping cables so ARISS can troubleshoot the radio system and the cabling.
ARISS is unsure of the exact swap times as it will be dependent upon the
crew’s availability. We expect these tests to start no earlier than 1600
UTC on March 2 and run through sometime on March 3. We cannot guarantee
that these troubleshooting tests will resolve the radio issue. But we
encourage ARISS APRS operations in this time span. Additionally, a
contingency task has been approved for an EVA planned for this Friday March
5 if these tests are unsuccessful. This EVA task would return the ARISS
cabling to the original configuration prior to the January 27 EVA. Being a
contingency task means the crew will only be perform the activity if time
allows. So there is no guarantee that this EVA will be conducted on Friday.We ask to please not send any “No contact” e-mails or social media responses
as this will overwhelm the ARISS team. But if you definitely hear the
packet system working or are able to connect through it, let us know the
Date, Time and Grid Square of the occurrence.We thank you for your patience as we work through this somewhat complex
anomaly.73,
Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
ARISS, International Chair
Executive Director, ARISS-USA