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CX2SA > SATDIG 26.01.14 21:03l 752 Lines 31384 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Sent: 140126/2002Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA #:2893 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:AMSATBB931
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA
To : SATDIG@WW
Today's Topics:
1. Re: status (Michael)
2. Suggestions for "I want a HEO" (Clayton Coleman)
3. Re: status (Michael)
4. Ham Video (Gaston BERTELS)
5. Re: status (n0jy)
6. Re: status (Dave Webb KB1PVH)
7. Re: status (Michael)
8. A quick follow up comment to the " Status" discussion (Michael)
9. Re: status (Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK))
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 12:52:57 -0500
From: Michael <Mat_62@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: Clayton Coleman <kayakfishtx@xxxxx.xxx>
Cc: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: status
Message-ID: <52E54B79.7080501@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Clayton,
You're certainly entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. I wasn't
insulting anyone. I expressed an opinion. To me it's idiotic to stand
outside in the cold or the summer heat juggling an antenna and an HT and
it proves nothing "good" or "great" about satellites. A well equipped
sat base station is much much more impressive to me. You won't run me of
this mailing list either so don't get your hopes up. All of us would
like to see this branch of the hobby flourish and prosper. Just because
some of us have a different vision of how that should be accomplished
doesn't make us bad people.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
On 1/26/2014 12:37 PM, Clayton Coleman wrote:
> Hey Michael,
>
> Insulting the many fellow radio amateurs who enjoy making contacts
> outdoors with the stroke of one email is quite an accomplishment.
> Momma must be proud.
>
> It is obvious from your lack of knowledge on presently active and
> future, planned satellites that you really are just hear to stir up
> crap and not contribute anything but a whiney email. Unfortunately
> W0JAB didn't live up to his promise back in September 2013 to leave
> the BB. Maybe you'll pick up the slack?
>
> 73
> Clayton
> W5PFG
>
> On Sun, Jan 26, 2014 at 10:48 AM, Michael <Mat_62@xxxxxxx.xxx> wrote:
>> I wasn't going to touch this as I've made my opinion about P3-E known
>> before but I can't be silent about some other things. I don't believe it
>> will ever fly because of the economic realities of today's world but hey,
>> stranger things have happened. Cubesats seem to be the wave of the future
>> as they are more affordable to get launched but if you ask me we are still
>> going in the wrong direction with them in a couple of areas. AMSAT seems to
>> be bent and determined to keep building and flying FM repeaters even when
>> ground based FM repeaters are slowly falling into disuse and projects like
>> Funcube AO-73 are showing how viable linear transponder cubesats are. There
>> also seems to be some continued fascination with showing how we can all
>> stand out in the frigid cold or the blazing sun balancing an HT in one hand
>> and a handheld yagi in the other to work the flying repeaters.......
YAWN!!!
>> The novelty of that has worn off just as quickly as it did on exchanging
>> nothing but grid squares and calls and calling it a sat QSO. The focus not
>> only needs to be on more linear transponder cubesats and developing new
and
>> efficient ways to communicate with them but also on developing affordable
>> ground equipment like complete SDR transceiver systems along the lines of
>> the funcube dongle except maybe abandoning the "dongle" concept and going
>> more with a desktop "black box" approach. A computer driven SDR base
station
>> with tracking and doppler correction and digital and CW as well as voice
>> mode communication is infinitely more interesting to me than seeing some
>> idiot balancing an antenna and an HT at a hamfest. Just my opinion.... That
>> and five bucks will get you a fancy Starbucks coffee blend but I had to put
>> it out there!
>> 73,
>> Michael, W4HIJ
>> On 1/25/2014 2:44 PM, i8cvs wrote:
>>> Hi John, W0JAB
>>>
>>> At the moment there is no hope to see again a satellite like AO40
>>>
>>> If we are like in the future probably we will see P3E, a satellite
>>> similar to OSCAR-13 built by AMSAT-DL
>>>
>>> 73" de
>>>
>>> i8CVS Domenico
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "John Becker" <w0jab@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
>>> To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
>>> Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2014 8:01 PM
>>> Subject: [amsat-bb] status
>>>
>>>
>>>> Whats the status of a replacement for the likes of AO 40?
>>>>
>>>> I know I ask this from time to time but never seem to see anything.
>>>>
>>>> I for one would very much like to see this type the a boat load
>>>> of small FM only type while there is still a place to park one.
>>>>
>>>> John, W0JAB
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
>> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 12:08:40 -0600
From: Clayton Coleman <kayakfishtx@xxxxx.xxx>
To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Suggestions for "I want a HEO"
Message-ID:
<CAPovOweqPRiHV64xOyG_iS=J7MpJVzjazFLbNkoVem1yb2A6iA@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I'd like to propose some alternatives to the whiney "I want a HEO" BB emails:
- Write up your vision for how a HEO linear transponder might be
constructed and launched. AMSAT-NA is always looking for articles.
- Share with us your plan for obtaining the funds necessary to launch
a HEO linear transponder
- Publish a paper with your technical design for a next generation HEO
- Designate part of your estate towards the launch funds of a HEO
- Participate in the various AMSAT-related in-person forums worldwide
discussing this issue
- Contribute your engineering expertise to current goals so that
future technologies can be discovered through one of the many ongoing
satellite projects throughout the world
The best part about the above suggestions is all but one require no
money, perfect for most hams who want to complain but never open a
wallet when there is a need. It's also worth noting that you don't
have to be a member of an organization to contribute, though it is
often beneficial in my humble opinion.
73
Clayton
W5PFG
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 13:16:43 -0500
From: Michael <Mat_62@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: status
Message-ID: <52E5510B.5090307@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
HI Jerry,
First of all, thank you for being civil. Nice change from the last
two responses to my post. Second of all, I apparently stand corrected
on one thing. It was my impression that Fox-2 was also intended to be
another FM sat. If I am wrong in that then I apologize for the previous
characterization that all AMSAT seemed to want to do is put up "flying
repeaters". However, I will not back off my assertion that there should
be more to this hobby than portable ops using HT's and handheld
yagis. The Funcube bunch showed us not only that linear cubesats are
viable but also that fairly inexpensive SDR technology is a great way to
go as one option in receiving them. The Funcube and Funcube Pro
dongles were also a great fundraising idea as near as I can tell. We
should be taking concepts like that one step or even several steps
further and developing SDR based ground station solutions just as we
are developing SDR based transponders. Why AMSAT is not developing
stuff along those lines is a mystery to me. I know AMSAT is volunteers
but so is AMSAT UK and they got it done. I wish I had the technical
expertise to develop stuff like that but I don't. I can certainly
build with the best of them but circuit development is not my strong
suite. It just seems all we ever do anymore is show folks how they can
operate an " easy sat" with an HT. That's very frustrating to me. I
apologize for the " idiot at a hamfest" comment too but really all I
was trying to do was to express my frustration with that same old
approach which has grown kind of tired and boring to me.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
On 1/26/2014 12:41 PM, n0jy wrote:
> Hi Michael,
>
> I have to defend AMSAT-NA a bit here, the perception that the
> organization is "bent and determined to keep building and flying FM
> repeaters" is not quite accurate.
>
> Fox-1 which is an "FM repeater" was underway over 3 years ago when
> AO-51 was failing. The purpose was to put up a quick replacement for
> AO-51's popular "easy sat" HT/yagi accessibility.
> In building such a project spares are necessary and hence there will
> be 4 Fox-1 type cubesats of which two are going to fly so far. They
> are all the same design with the difference being what experiments are
> loaded in order to get us that launch. The purpose of the spares is
> to have a ready replacement should one of the flight units fail at the
> last minute.
> We may then have up to four "FM repeaters" launched someday, but it's
> not because that's all we're pursuing.
> So it's not like we just keep building more FM satellites, we are just
> taking opportunities to fly what we have as the launches come up.
>
> And don't overlook the contribution of the experiments to the value of
> the satellite. While it may be an "FM repeater" they will carry some
> very interesting experiments providing telemetry and pictures for
> education and fun.
>
> In the meantime, there are still plans underway for AMSAT-NA to build
> a linear transponder SDR satellite as Fox-2 (series). That was the
> original idea until AO-51 started having problems.
>
> In my opinion and from the perspective of a participant in the Fox-1
> project people way underestimate what it takes to build a RELIABLE and
> ROBUST satellite what will last many years, projects being completely
> done by VOLUNTEERS. There are many people spending all available
> spare time, pushing the limits of matrimony and family, and
> essentially on a shoestring budget due to limited finances (i.e.
> contributions, memberships). Those limitations of available resources
> mean slow progress.
>
> And the resource limitations also mean that nothing will probably
> happen on the linear/SDR satellite until Fox-1 is done and launched.
> Volunteers are not crawling out of the woodwork, and many who have
> signed on have come and gone or had to regulate their participation
> due to the need for real life as in jobs, family, and so on.
>
> Opinion is entirely mine, and any misrepresentation of AMSAT-NA plans
> that I may have stated is not intended.
>
> 73,
> Jerry
> N0JY
>
>
> On 1/26/2014 10:48 AM, Michael wrote:
>> I wasn't going to touch this as I've made my opinion about P3-E
>> known before but I can't be silent about some other things. I don't
>> believe it will ever fly because of the economic realities of today's
>> world but hey, stranger things have happened. Cubesats seem to be
>> the wave of the future as they are more affordable to get launched
>> but if you ask me we are still going in the wrong direction with them
>> in a couple of areas. AMSAT seems to be bent and determined to keep
>> building and flying FM repeaters even when ground based FM repeaters
>> are slowly falling into disuse and projects like Funcube AO-73 are
>> showing how viable linear transponder cubesats are. There also seems
>> to be some continued fascination with showing how we can all stand
>> out in the frigid cold or the blazing sun balancing an HT in one hand
>> and a handheld yagi in the other to work the flying repeaters.......
>> YAWN!!! The novelty of that has worn off just as quickly as it did on
>> exchanging nothing but grid squares and calls and calling it a sat
>> QSO. The focus not only needs to be on more linear transponder
>> cubesats and developing new and efficient ways to communicate with
>> them but also on developing affordable ground equipment like
>> complete SDR transceiver systems along the lines of the funcube
>> dongle except maybe abandoning the "dongle" concept and going more
>> with a desktop "black box" approach. A computer driven SDR base
>> station with tracking and doppler correction and digital and CW as
>> well as voice mode communication is infinitely more interesting to me
>> than seeing some idiot balancing an antenna and an HT at a hamfest.
>> Just my opinion.... That and five bucks will get you a fancy
>> Starbucks coffee blend but I had to put it out there!
>> 73,
>> Michael, W4HIJ
>
> _______________________________________________
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 19:35:10 +0100
From: Gaston BERTELS <gaston.bertels@xxxxxx.xx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Ham Video
Message-ID: <c8efce$mt62d9@xxxxx.xxxxxx.xx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format=flowed
HamTV Bulletin #5
January 26, 2014
Ham Video Commissioning ? Blank Transmissions
As announced December 22, 2013 the Ham Video
transmitter is onboard the International Space
Station and stored in the Columbus module. It is
slated to be installed February 5, 2014 by
Michael Hopkins KF5LJG. Hopkins will also install
the camera and the supporting Bogen arm.
The Ham Video transmitter will be connected to
the ARISS 41 antenna and to the KuPS power
supply. The installation procedure comprizes a
check of the electrical connections. The
transmitter will be powered on and will transmit
a signal on 2.422 GHz. This check will be very
limited in time, just enough to verify that the
control LEDs are nominal. Then Ham Video will be
powered off, ready for the first Commissioning Step.
January 23 and 24, Commissioning Simulations were
again performed by ESA, in collaboration with
ARISS. The ARISS Team, in charge of receiving the
signals during the Commissioning, worked with
B.USOC, simulating the four scheduled
Commissioning Steps. The procedure was an update
of the Simulations performed 5-6 September 2013,
as reported in HamTV Bulletin #2. (All HamTV
Bulletins are archived at <http://www.ariss-eu.org/>www.ariss-eu.org ).
The four Commissioning steps are scheduled
February 8, 15 and 16 and March 5. These dates
are still to be confirmed and this depends on the
signature of the Flight Rules relative to Ham Video (see HamTV Bulletin #4).
Blank Transmissions will start immediately at the
conclusion of Commissioning Step 1 and will
continue till Commissioning Step 4. This means
that the Ham Video transmitter will operate continuously during 25 days.
The DATV signal parameters will be:
* Downlink frequency: 2.395 GHz
* DVB-S standard (QPSK modulation)
* Symbol rate: 1.3 Ms/s
* FEC : ?
* Video PID = 256
* Audio PID = 257
* RF radiated power : approximately 10 W EIRP
Ham Video will operate with a Canon XF-305
camera, but the camera will be turned off during the Blank Transmissions.
Blank Transmissions
A ? blank ? DVB-S signal contains all the data of
normal DVB-S. The information tables describing
the content and the content itself, i.e. the
video (black) and the audio (silence), are the
same as for the image and the sound produced by a camera.
Receiving a black image and silent sound may seem
uninteresting but, from a technical perspective,
the digital signal offers an important source of information.
The decoded signal provides many data :
* the video stream can be measured (Tutioune + TS reader)
* the audio stream can be measured (Tutioune + TS reader)
* the DVB tables can be decoded (satellite
receiver (Set Top Box) or Tutioune or TS reader or VLC ?)
The DVB tables mention the PIDs (content
identification numbers) as well as the SDT
(Service Description Table) with the TV channel name, which will be ? HAMTV ?
Even without decoding, several measurements of
the received signal provide valuable information:
* analogic HF signal strength (dBm)
* analogic Signal/Noise ratio (dB)
* digital Signal/Noise ratio = MER (dB)
* error/correction ratio = Vber, Cber ?
* validation of the received transport stream = TS
Reception Reports
Ground stations with S-band capability can
provide valuable information, which will be much appreciated.
Basic data such as:
* noise level without signal
* AOS time (UTC)
* maximum signal level during pass
? LOS time (UTC)
can be reported by ground stations without the
need of special DATV hard- and software.
ARISS is preparing a Ham Video Internet Reporting
Program for collecting reception data from volunteering ground stations.
These most needed reception reports will be gratefully accepted.
Basic DATV receiver
A ?Set Top Box? or a Television receiver with
satellite tuner can be used for receiving Ham
Video signals during a pass of the ISS.
When scanning the 2.395 GHz frequency, the DVB
stream can be decoded. When this is successful,
the channel name ? HAMTV ? will appear on the TV screen.
Windows computer with TechnoTrend TT S2-1600 card and Tutioune software
A Windows computer with TT S2-1600 receiver card
can be used for Ham Video reception. See appended
Block Diagram of N6IZW Station.
The Tutioune software, developed by Jean Pierre
Courjaud F6DZP, measures and records the Ham
Video signals second per second:
* HF signal level
* digital Signal/Noise level = MER (dB)
* error/correction = Vber
? validation of the received transport stream = TS
The recorded file can be examined and forwarded to ARISS.
Better even, the data can be forwarded during an
ISS pass to the TiouneMonitor on
the <http://www.vivadatv.org/>www.vivadatv.org
website. In other words, the data can be observed worldwide, real time.
Tutioune also shows the constellations during
signal reception (see HamTV Bulletin #4). The TS
stream can be recorded, but this is less
interesting since richer information is already available.
Tutioune also decodes the DVB tables and provides
the PIDs and the channel name (? HAMTV ?) recovered from the SDT table.
73,
Gaston Bertels, ON4WF
ARISS-Europe chairman
Annex:
<http://www.ariss-eu.org/N6IZW_Station.pdf>www.ariss-eu.org/N6IZW_Station.pdf
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 12:53:51 -0600
From: n0jy <n0jy@xxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: status
Message-ID: <52E559BF.2040206@xxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
One thing I overlooked is good old ITAR. Hell, I'm even afraid to tell
my friends around here what I do for a "living". I'm pretty sure that
AO-73 was a collaboration between AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NL, a luxury that
we don't have. Plus, we are limited to U.S. launches and some of them
(i.e. Fox-1A) have a LOT of restrictions and paperwork on them, a whole
'nother full job of volunteer work. I spent weeks working on the
paperwork for the license (yes, we need a license because it flies from
the U.S.) for the camera experiment.
That being said, there are no opportunities to share with other AMSAT
organizations on development and if coming up for volunteers to build
the satellite is so difficult then that also applies to other
opportunities such as ground station solutions. Manpower... Can't even
share details about "this is what we would like the satellite to
accomplish can you (AMSAT-notNA) help with some ground station design
ideas".
As has been pointed out if anyone has any ideas go for it, but
realistically it should be something that you can offer a solution for.
Throwing out ideas is great, maybe some things have not been thought of,
but that's just like saying "and here you go do it". Get a group of
people interested in accomplishing it, at least come up with a conops,
requirements... even if you can't build it (and believe me, I am waaay
past the age of seeing some of them teeny parts much less avoiding
scattering them to the wind when my allergies kick up a good sneeze)
there is something to work with when someone comes along who can build
it. And those people are out there, but you need to get every aspect
together, so that you have the people with the plans and the specs and
the people who design the circuits and the people who get the parts and
the people who put the parts together and the people who test it. It
has to progress in steps. Start with those who can do the starting
steps, build a team, and over time you can do it!
People say (quoting you for recency) "why AMSAT is not..." but AMSAT is
not a being. We are AMSAT. Saying "Why AMSAT is not" means "why I am
not" (contributing, building, designing, whatever) "is a mystery to me."
It doesn't have to be an official AMSAT-NA program I don't believe, look
at what Mark Spencer WA8SME has done with the ideas based on the Fox
satellite.
73
Jerry
N0JY
On 1/26/2014 12:16 PM, Michael wrote:
> HI Jerry,
> First of all, thank you for being civil. Nice change from the last
> two responses to my post. Second of all, I apparently stand corrected
> on one thing. It was my impression that Fox-2 was also intended to be
> another FM sat. If I am wrong in that then I apologize for the
> previous characterization that all AMSAT seemed to want to do is put
> up "flying repeaters". However, I will not back off my assertion that
> there should be more to this hobby than portable ops using HT's and
> handheld yagis. The Funcube bunch showed us not only that linear
> cubesats are viable but also that fairly inexpensive SDR technology is
> a great way to go as one option in receiving them. The Funcube and
> Funcube Pro dongles were also a great fundraising idea as near as I
> can tell. We should be taking concepts like that one step or even
> several steps further and developing SDR based ground station
> solutions just as we are developing SDR based transponders. Why AMSAT
> is not developing stuff along those lines is a mystery to me. I know
> AMSAT is volunteers but so is AMSAT UK and they got it done. I wish I
> had the technical expertise to develop stuff like that but I don't.
> I can certainly build with the best of them but circuit development is
> not my strong suite. It just seems all we ever do anymore is show
> folks how they can operate an " easy sat" with an HT. That's very
> frustrating to me. I apologize for the " idiot at a hamfest" comment
> too but really all I was trying to do was to express my frustration
> with that same old approach which has grown kind of tired and boring
> to me.
> 73,
> Michael, W4HIJ
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 13:54:16 -0500
From: Dave Webb KB1PVH <kb1pvh@xxxxx.xxx>
To: AMSAT -BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: status
Message-ID:
<CAEMY9FeyuCZY2teyRNdt4K00r5VkvAC_oL0PD_N7k7sn1KFkfw@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On Jan 26, 2014 1:20 PM, "Michael" <Mat_62@xxxxxxx.xxx> wrote:
HI Jerry,
First of all, thank you for being civil. Nice change from the last two
responses to my post.
That's just a classic opening statement after insulting those that do
hamfest demonstrations with an HT and handheld antenna. Sounds like you are
OK to dish it out, but can't take it when someone responds back with a less
than civil attitude to your direct insult. Nice job!!
Dave-KB1PVH
Sent from my Verizon Wireless Droid RAZR
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 14:25:06 -0500
From: Michael <Mat_62@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: status
Message-ID: <52E56112.9020604@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
If you will bother to read the rest of the post , you will see where I
apologized for the comment. It was a poor choice of words but I was
trying to express my UTTER FRUSTRATION with this approach to trying to
"sell" the concept of hamsats. You really think the average person who
can whip out their I-phone or Droid and preform what would have been
considered technological marvels a few short year ago is impressed with
your HT and a handheld antenna working a sat to exchange a cryptic bit
of information such as a callsign and a grid square? It may have been
impressive ten years ago on even five years ago but it's old hat now.
Autopatch on the repeater from your HT or mobile rig used to be
impressive too but I think we agree it's an idea whose time is pretty
much passed. If people enjoy that type of operation then more power to
them. For me personally I was bored with it by the third time I tried it
and I think there are better and more interesting ways to enjoy the sat
hobby. I suggest a fresher more technologically savvy approach. I'm
truly and sincerely sorry though if I hurt the feelings of outdoor
portable sat ops enthusiast or the AMSAT volunteers who do such demos.
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
On 1/26/2014 1:54 PM, Dave Webb KB1PVH wrote:
> On Jan 26, 2014 1:20 PM, "Michael" <Mat_62@xxxxxxx.xxx> wrote:
> HI Jerry,
> First of all, thank you for being civil. Nice change from the last two
> responses to my post.
>
> That's just a classic opening statement after insulting those that do
> hamfest demonstrations with an HT and handheld antenna. Sounds like you are
> OK to dish it out, but can't take it when someone responds back with a less
> than civil attitude to your direct insult. Nice job!!
>
> Dave-KB1PVH
>
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless Droid RAZR
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 14:52:03 -0500
From: Michael <Mat_62@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: "amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxxx <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] A quick follow up comment to the " Status"
discussion
Message-ID: <52E56763.4070508@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
BTW,
What always attracted me to sat operation in the first place was not how
"simple" it was but how "complex" it was. I originally took it on
because of the challenge involved. A lot of people become bored with
things when they become too easy. I think we sometimes do ourselves a
disservice with the HT and handheld antenna demos showing everyone how
"easy" it is. For example, I had someday hoped to try EME but even
that is losing some of it's appeal to me now because it's not as hard as
it used to be. Again, just my humble opinion....
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 19:58:28 +0000
From: "Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)" <amsat-bb@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: status
Message-ID:
<CAN6TEUer+7jz5_RfFziV31BAb=+eXXWzfcyLn-B7g3cSfpVCSg@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Michael,
> If you will bother to read the rest of the post , you will
>
see where I apologized for the comment. It was a poor
>
choice of words but I was trying to express my UTTER
>
FRUSTRATION with this approach to trying to "sell" the
>
concept of hamsats.
Thanks for the apology for the "idiot" comment.
> You really think the average person
>
who can whip out their I-phone or Droid and preform what
>
would have been considered technological marvels a few
>
short year ago is impressed with your HT and a handheld
>
antenna working a sat to exchange a cryptic bit of
>
information such as a callsign and a grid square? It may
>
have been impressive ten years ago on even five years ago
>
but it's old hat now.
As for your question about crowds being impressed with what
we can do with an HT and Yagi (or some other radio and
antenna) via satellite, the answer is still "YES". There is
still something to being able to talk across the country via
satellite, not using the Internet or telephone network, with
a small radio (or radios). At the hamfests where I represent
AMSAT, I get larger crowds for the SSB satellite demonstrations
than for the FM satellite demonstrations, but crowds show up
for both.
> I suggest a fresher more technologically savvy approach.
> I'm truly and sincerely sorry though if I hurt the feelings
> of outdoor portable sat ops enthusiast or the AMSAT
> volunteers who do such demos.
We're listening... what do you suggest?
Sophisticated home stations like what you described in an
earlier post don't work well for those of us at hamfests or
other events, even if we have videos that can show that off.
The sophisticated home station may even scare off some, who
fear that it would take a lot of time - and more $$$ - to
get on the satellites.
One thing I've advocated is to do demonstrations that use more
than FM satellites - or, right now, FM satellite (SO-50). For
the past few years, I do a lot of SSB satellite demonstrations
at the hamfests I attend. Sometimes, this is out of necessity
(FM satellites are not passing by during the hamfest, or aren't
available for some other reason). Two weeks ago at a hamfest
here in Phoenix, all of my demonstrations were done on the SSB
satellites (AO-7, FO-29, VO-52), because SO-50 didn't pass by
during that morning. I also used my FUNcube dongle and laptop
with the FUNcube dashboard software to show off and talk about
AO-73 during its two passes at the hamfest.
The portable setup like I use (and is well documented in my
videos at http://www.youtube.com/va7ewk if you want to take
a look), which you apparently don't like, is compatible with
places that have antenna restrictions. I explain that the
same gear I use at the hamfest can be the basis for a home
station. More, and better, coax is needed for a longer run
at home than at the hamfest demo. A rotator of some sort is
needed for a directional antenna. Preamps and/or power
amplifiers may also be needed. Replacing one FT-817ND with
a radio like an FT-857 or IC-7000 may take care of the need
for more transmit power. But my two FT-817NDs and Elk log
periodic can still be the basis of a home station. When I
add in the FUNcube dongle as the receiver instead of one
FT-817ND, I'm expanding the capability of my station -
whether at home, at a hamfest, or operating somewhere else.
This is certainly cheaper than the last fully-SDR satellite-
ready transceiver I remember seeing on the market (Flex-5000
with VHF/UHF module).
We all would like an HEO satellite. I fear Phase-3E will
continue to ride the shelf at its German laboratory, absent
a large infusion of funds to cover the gap between however
much $$$ AMSAT-DL has raised and the US$ 10 million or US$ 15
million needed to pay for a launch. Until then, I'm enjoying
the different challenges of working the satellites we have,
and doing this using different combinations of radios and
antennas, working from different locations, and periodically
showing this off at hamfests and other events.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/
------------------------------
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End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 9, Issue 31
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