Spacelog Apollo 8

Apollo 8. We can't handle the OMNI switching for about thirty more minutes, till we get back to an 85-foot dish, so you will have to watch the antenna store for a few more minutes.

Okay. I don't see any loose sensor—the upper, upper …

Are you trying to call, Houston?

No, I didn't. It sounded like you were getting an echo, and I checked, and I hadn't held the key down at the time either.

Okay. I don't see any loose sensors, but the upper sternal is beginning to irritate a little bit, but not badly; and possibly there is something going on there.

Okay. And did you copy about the antenna?

(Start music)

Apollo 8, Houston. I'd like to make a voice check with you.

Apollo 8, Houston. Radio check.

Apollo 8, Houston. Radio check.

Apollo 8, Houston. Radio check.

Apollo 8, Houston. Radio check.

(End music)

Apollo 8, Houston. Radio check.

Apollo 8, Houston in the blind now. We're not receiving down-voice. We have data, and it appears it's probably a ground problem.

Apollo 8, Houston.

Roger, Houston. Read you loud and clear.

Okay. I got you that time. I take it you were able to copy us with the music? Is that affirm?

I was able to copy you all the time, Ken, but I could only hear the music when you were trying to transmit. And I wondered if you noticed cycling on my suit power switch when you—when you called me. I am hearing an echo now.

Roger. I copy your echo. And what switch were you cycling?

I was cycling the suit power which turns off the BIOMED periodically. I figured that would wake the doctors up.

It appears that we have more than one communications problem.

Calm it. (Laughter)

You are cutting out, Houston.

Oh, that was an inadvertent cut-in.

You need the high gain, Houston, or will the OMNI's be okay?

8, Houston. That's negative. The OMNI is okay.

Roger. Be advised that about 50—I am hearing these echos quite a bit of the time, and if you are trying to play music, I am not hearing it.

Roger. We understand, and we are not trying to play music right now.

Okay. Who is this, COMM TECH?

Ken is only human. This is his substitute; this is Flight Director.

Oh, I didn't recognize your voice there.

I don't get to talk often.

Who is substituting for you now, Flight?

DFD.

Okay. Things are looking pretty good from here. How about down there?

It couldn't be better.

Apollo 8, Houston. Going to be handling over sites at 25. I will make a voice check with you when we come up on the new site, and the ground says thank you for your kind words.

Okay. We will be standing by.

Apollo 8, Houston through Honeysuckle.

Roger, Houston. Loud and clear.

Okay, Bill, and our BIOMED data still looks a little bit squirrelly. How about checking the blue signal conditioner on your BIOMED harness. You have one connector, should be the center package, has a blue connector on it. You kind of check that, and I don't know if you have changed the BIOMED harness leads recently; if you have, this might have caused our problem.

Roger. I was just cracking open some acorns here for breakfast. Let me put them down, and I will check my BIOMED leads.

Play it a little bit, and we'll talk about it.

(Begin music)

I can barely, barely hear it.

Needs to be just a hair louder.

That's good.

That will keep me awake.

Maybe you ought to crank it back down a little bit.

Great.

(End music)

Apollo 8, Houston. How was that?

That's real good for background level type, Ken. Maybe you can do some logging in here so that's real nice at that level; maybe for anything else it could be a little bit louder, but that's good for now.

Okay. That's about the MAX volume we can take down here; so if you want to talk to us, you may have to call us once or twice. You're just barely equaling it.

Okay. Try it again, and I'll give you a little louder call; I've been trying to keep it quiet.

Oh, yes, that's all right. Don't—I was aware you were calling; I just didn't make out what you said. And from now on, any time you call, we'll drop the music, and I'll talk to you.

Roger. Don't hesitate for me a bit.

Right.

And, Bill, we're going to have to wait until we get around to Bravo before we start switching. Our margin is still a little bit low.

Okay. I'll just go ahead and switch it and save you all that trouble.

Okay. Thank you. Our midnight DVA show's back on the air.

Roger.

(Begin music)

Apollo 8, Houston. Check your yaw gimbal angle.

(End music)

You must have been reading my mind.

No, the DSKY's.

Oh, okay.

When you go to high gain, would you tell me?

Houston, Apollo 8.

Go ahead, Apollo 8.

Ken, do you want me to use the high gain when we come around, or is the OMNI sufficient? It doesn't matter to me.

Okay. The OMNI is doing fine. I was just watching your middle gimbal angle there; it was getting a little far out.

Oh, okay. I thought you—I was, too. I thought you said check the DSKY, and I thought you were talking about the high gain antenna.

No, I'm sorry. I was just watching your middle gimbal.

Yes, this thing really slops around in deadband, but it's really nice flying otherwise.

Glad to hear that.

All I have used the while trip is pulse.

You just woke the doctor up. You said pulse, and he came alive. And he'd like to know if you did in fact, check out the BIOMED harness.

Yes, I tightened down all the plugs and checked all the leads, and everything looked in order. And when the other fellows wake up, if you remind me, why, I'll give it a more thorough going over.

Okay, Bill. It's been suggested that they would like to see you try switching the two leads, you know, a yellow and a blue one, and just go ahead and switch them, and they'll sacrifice their pneumogram because they'd rather have the EKG.

Do they need it now, or can they wait until somebody else wakes up?

I guess we can wait, Bill. Is that a hard thing to get to?

How's that, Houston?

Okay. Stand by, Bill. We'll take a look at it.