Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. We'd like to go ahead and get into this COMM check here, on the last of this high-gain period. If you're ready to go on it I'll read you some witches.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Stand by. We're ready. Go ahead.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. Number 1. S-band normal mode voice to VOICE.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Go ahead—keep going.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Uptelemetry data to DATA.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

CDR Normal mode voice to VOICE. Uptelemetry data to DATA.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay, uptelemetry command to NORMAL.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

High-gain antenna track, AUTO.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

High-gain antenna beam width to NARROW.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay, this will be our base-line data check. This will be a full uplink voice with ranging and full downlink.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. We are going to have to delay the COMM check again.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Houston, Apollo 8. how do you read?

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Did you call?

Frank Borman (CDR)

Roger. We lost you for a while there. Are you reading us there now?

Frank Borman (CDR)

Okay. Thank you. So are we.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay, Apollo 8. Do you want to try that AUTO REACQ? 33 plus 24 looks like a good time and the angles are the same. And the late ball scores is 24 to 14 —

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

I say a late ball score there is —

Frank Borman (CDR)

Baltimore over the Vikings?

Frank Borman (CDR)

We have reached the scan limit on the high gain. what do you want us to do about it now?

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, what we would like to do with these angles is to set it in AUTO REACQ over on panel 2, and it is under the tracking for the high-gain antenna, and it'll—the lower position will say REACQ, and on the position dials we would like to set pitch to minus 45 and the yaw to 90.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Pitch minus 45, yaw 90.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Roger. If we could leave it in REACQ if you want to use the high gain, it would keep from waking us up every REV.

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Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. I think we may have gotten off on a tangent. These pitch and yaw angles that we called up to you for the high-gain antenna were in response to Bill's request to know what positions we could put on there for a—for the AUTO REACQ position. The constraint still remains if we don't want to be on an OMNI antenna at the same time. We are in the AUTO REACQ position; we should be in one or the other. So you can use that information if you want to try it out. Otherwise, the procedures you've been using all along will be just fine. Over.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. I am transmitting in the blind right now. Our downlink isn't working so well; I'm just going ahead on an uplink.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Houston, do you read? Apollo 8.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, read you weak but clear now.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. Looks like we had a ground problem there.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

- okay. Looks like we're —

Frank Borman (CDR)

Go ahead, Houston. Apollo 8.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

— Looks like we're in a good attitude to try this high-gain antenna on the COMM check one more time. I believe you're still on an OMNI. Is that correct?

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. If we could try the high gain and maybe we can get started on this COMM check. I'd also like to verify that you've got the LMP and the CMP trying to get some sleep here, and we could use an oral temp from you, too.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Roger. My temperature is 97.5.

Frank Borman (CDR)

That's what it was this morning when I felt badly.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Do you want me to go to OMNI now, Ken?

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

I'd like for you to go to high gain.

Frank Borman (CDR)

High gain?

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Spoken on Dec. 22, 1968, 9:58 p.m. UTC (55 years, 10 months ago). Link to this transcript range is: Tweet

Frank Borman (CDR)

This is Apollo 8 on high gain.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Roger. Reading you kind of weak now, but we're gonna take a look at it.

Frank Borman (CDR)

Houston, Apollo 8 on high gain.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. I'm reading you loud with just a little background noise.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. We're not getting a good lock. I wonder if we could try making sure that we're in AUTO on the tracks and that we're in narrow beam width?

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. That works reel good.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. What we're doing right now is collecting baseline data, and we'll be in this mode for another couple of minutes and then we'll be moving out to the second signal.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. How do you read?

Frank Borman (CDR)

Houston, Apollo 8. Read you five-by.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. We are … we have some ground problems, and we're reading you weak but clear. We're ready to start into our test. We're going to be changing our modes so you'll probably hear a burst of noise as we make the change. This will be a noise that sounds like an S-band onlock. However, your AEC leader will lock that off. This is due to the loss of modulation on the uplink. There will be about 2 minutes, and during this time, you will hear one burst of noise.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Voice check. Over.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Ready to check.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, this is Houston. Do you read?

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay. Thank you. Were you reading all along? We just—This is the first time we've heard you call back.

Bill Anders (LMP)

We've been reading you; we're trying to hold the noise down so we can get some sleep.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Roger. We'll be through with this in just a minute, I think.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Roger. I will answer you, but I'll try to do it quietly.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay, Apollo 8. The next portion of our test is like we did yesterday; We'll be changing the uplink modes to uplink command and ranging with no upvoice. We'll be in this mode for approximately 2 and 1/2 minutes and send two test messages. During this time, we will not have uplink. We are going to this mode at time 33:48:30, and we'll be back in this configuration at 33:50:00. Over.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. Radio check.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Loud and clear, Houston.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Okay, fine. How about telemetry inputs PCM switch to LOW, please?

Bill Anders (LMP)

They're in LOW, Houston.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, we've completed the third test; we're going into the final test now. PCM switch to HIGH, please.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston. We're going to switch uplink to the upvoice backup for about 2 minutes, and may take a few seconds to link the transition. And we'll be back up at 33:56 in our normal mode to place the up-telemetry data switch to upvoice backup at this time. Over.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, Houston on backup voice.

Bill Anders (LMP)

Loud and clear, Houston.

Ken Mattingly (CAPCOM)

Apollo 8, let's go back up-telemetry data switch to DATA.