[Lowfer] SAQ TEST TRANSMISSION 2012-01-12

[JD]

There's a low pressure system spinning up in the southwest that may bring 
severe weather to the Deep South on Tuesday, so I'm fearful of what the 
static levels may be like here in the Plains by daybreak.  But I'm going to 
give it a try.

Right now, the mobile listening post is covered in frost, just as it was on 
the morning of Christmas Eve...although I was in the field well before it 
got so frosty that night, and tonight the frost is glistening in the 
moonlight while I am yet at home.  The car is loaded up with most of the 
gear.  The receiver is already in position and warming up while the car's 
electrical system is on umbilical power from the gantry--I mean, back porch. 
Indoors, the upconverter (with its ovenized crystal oscillator) is on mains 
power, awaiting last minute transfer to its own battery pack in the capsule 
immediately prior to launch--that is, the car at departure; and the computer 
is also on mains power until lift-off.

So, after all this pre-launch preparation, I'm really eager for a quiet dawn 
in the field!

John