There’s been a flurry of activity recently on the AMSAT-BB listserv about AO-27. Thanks to the efforts of the command team, the satellite has been restarted and is now operational again. The AO-27 webpage still lists the satellite as “On Orbit Checkout” which means the satellite may not fully operational yet, but there are people reporting to the mailing list that the repeater is active over North America.
AO-27 is an older satellite, being inserting into orbit in 1993. Because it is so old, the satellite is timed to only be in “repeater” mode while over North American latitudes, with it being in telemetry mode immediately before and after. To get more details on the schedule, check out the AO-27 webpage.
Many thanks to the AO-27 command team for their efforts in keeping the bird in service.