[amsat-bb] AO-16 maybe back operational

[Andrew Glasbrenner]

It looks like the temperature has come up enough on AO-16 that the watchdog 
problem has gone away. I turned the satellite on this afternoon on the 
~1920Z pass, collected some telemetry, and then commanded it into bent pipe 
mode. On the next orbit, it was still on, and in bent pipe mode. It may or 
may not stay on. The command team will monitor http://oscar.dcarr.org/ and 
amsat-bb, and if the satellite goes quiet we will endeavor to restart it as 
soon as possible. Occasional interruptions to gather telemetry are likely.

Just as a reminder, AO-16 now operates as a cross mode, cross band voice 
repeater, with an uplink on 145.920 FM. The downlink is reduced carrier AM, 
similar to double sideband, on 437.026. Most stations find receiving the 
downlink on USB works best.

Work is continuing to predict how long this latest period of operation may 
last, but initial estimates are around 2-3 months total, symmetric around a 
period of continuous illumination in October. There may not be another 
opportunity after this one, as the satellite will generally head towards 
longer eclipses (and lower temperatures) for several years.

73, Drew KO4MA
AMSAT-NA VP Operations

PS Satellite is still on as of 2245Z