Hello Auke,

Thank you for your report.

You may remember that the current status of AO-16 is that a hardware failure causes the satellite to reset itself (which turns off the transmitter). The issue appears to be related to the internal temperature of the satellite. When the satellite is in continuous sunlight (no eclipses), the bird warms up and will support continuous operations. When the satellite cools down (during periods of eclipse), it resets itself and turns the transmitter off. Th satellite is, and will be for the next several years, in an orbit with substantial eclipses, so the bird is cool and unable to sustain operations.

What you were hearing was me commanding ON a transmitter in AO-16, and then hearing it shut itself OFF. The satellite will not turn itself ON; it has to be commanded ON. Sadly, it will shut itself OFF, as it has been doing for the last few years. The satellite will stay up for only a few minutes at best. The duration seems very random, but it's always short...

When AO-16 is commanded ON, it defaults to the digital mode (1200 BPSK), so you'll hear it "humming". It takes another set of commands to configure the satellite into voice mode. Often the satellite turns itself OFF before it can be configured into voice mode...

I do keep testing the satellite every few weeks to see if conditions have improved or if the satellite has changed in such a way that would result in its continuous operation during orbits that include eclipses. So, if you are near the east coast of the US, you might "catch" me testing out the bird and hear it turned OFF and ON. To this point, nothing has changed for the better. We can keep hoping :) It will something like 10 years before the orbit of AO-16 will have no eclipses...

73,

Mark Hammond, N8MH AO-16 command station

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AO-16 intermittent telem

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Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-16 intermittent telem From: "Auke de Jong, VE6PWN" sparkycivic@xxxxxxx Date: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:37:09 -0700

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Hello All,

Today I noticed AO-16 buzzing over NA this afternoon, with it's signal abruptly cutting off, and later back on a few times for several minutes, as it aproached the North Pole.

I've no idea of the signifigance, if any that this behaviour indicates about it's declining health... or perhaps a command station was working with it at the time?

73' Auke de Jong VE6PWN DO33go Edmonton, AB