This weekend AO-51 will operate in a special mode in anticipation of Richard
Garriott's visit to the ISS. Richard's launch is currently scheduled for
October 12th, with docking at the ISS on the 14th. Richard plans on being
very active from the ISS ham station, including extensive operation with
Slow Scan Television (SSTV).
In preparation for this event, AO-51 will be configured with dual repeaters
for the weekend of October 11th and 12th. The primary repeater on AO-51 will
be configured with an uplink on 1268.700 FM and downlink of 435.300 FM, and
will be designated for this period as an SSTV repeater. Users are encouraged
to exchange SSTV images in ROBOT 36 mode, as an opportunity for others to
practice receiving SSTV images from space before the ISS activity. Please
keep the images transmitted to space-related themes, and to the ROBOT 36
mode. Polite and courteous operation among those sharing the uplink is
crucial to the success of this mode.
Concurrently, there will be a QRP voice repeater running on 145.880 FM
uplink and 435.150 FM downlink. Users are asked to use 10 watts or less, and
omnidirectional or handheld antennas only.
Good luck receiving SSTV images this weekend, and from the ISS during
Richard Garriott's flight.
73, Drew KO4MA
AMSAT-NA VP Operations
