Detailed Description
AO-51 contains an FM repeater with both a 144 MHz and 1.2 GHz uplink and 435 MHz and 2.4 GHz downlinks. Additionally AO-51 contains a digital subsystem that transmits TLM on 70cm and provides complete PACSAT BBS that can be configured on a L band uplink.
Experimenters can use their equipment to communicate with the satellite in various modes including V/U, V/S, L/S, L/U, and others. AO-51 supports digital store-and-forward at speeds up to 76.8 kbps, and a contains a wideband SQRX Receiver. A current schedule of operation is kept up-to-date by the AO-51 Control Team.
With four VHF receivers, two UHF transmitters, six modems, fifty-six channels of telemetry, and various other subsystems AO-51 is quite a complex spacecraft. The two UHF transmitters are connected to two antenna arrays, one in the right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) and one in the left-hand circular polarization (LHCP). Transmitter A (435.150) is connected to the LHCP antennas and is often used for digital modes. Transmitter B (435.300) is often used for analog and is connected to the RHCP antenna.
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