[amsat-bb] Re: Status on AO-16?

[Mark L. Hammond]

Hi Mike,

Indeed, over the last several days you are likely to have found AO-16 silent.  There appears to be something in the spacecraft shutting down the transmitter after a short, random period of time.  Current speculation on the problem includes a temperature issue that has reared its ugly head now that the eclipse periods are increasing and the spacecraft internal temperatures are decreasing.  It may be a hardware timer.  It does not appear to be a battery issue.

At this point, the best we can do is to manually turn the satellite ON and then configure it for voice operations.  This is a manual process and command stations are limited to the East coast of the US.  As our busy schedules permit, we'll try to turn it ON; for now, it's the best we can do.  Only time will tell if the current situation will stay the same, improve, or get worse.

73,

Mark Hammond, N8MH
AO-16 Command Station


>Can anyone tell me the status of AO-16? I recall a message here that it was 
>having problems, but no updates or new lately that I can find. I heard nothing 
>on the passes I've tried over the last few days.
>
>Mike WB1AAT


Mark L. Hammond  [N8MH]