April 18, 2014

FCC Technician Exam Question Of The Day (T8B09)

Q) What causes "spin fading" when referring to satellite signals?

A) Rotation of the satellite and its antennas

NJ2X Notes:
Aside from the above natural sources of signal fading, the satellite itself is often spinning.  This spinning continuously changes the orientation of its antennas with respect to your ground station.  Changes in antenna orientation cause the signal strength to fade periodically.