AMSAT Home|
Although I am mainly an analog operator, I too
have given the digital vs analogue some thought and I agree totally with Laura,
it is what we do with the digital signals after we have received them, that is
the important issue.
APRS, although an interesting development, will
never take off here in Europe (sorry Bob).
I have all the equipment necessary in my shack
to set myself up as an APRS ground station, but I worked out that it would cost
me $1,288.00 per month for permanent internet connection to the APRS server. And
I just can't seem to get excited about sending one line messages, or waiting 5
days for conventional packet message to arrive.
In Mike's original posting, he hinted that there
are too many digital birds. I would suggest that there are not enough
!
What we need are 2 or 3 geostationary sats, so
that we can have a permanent real time link into our existing terrestrial packet
networks. This need not be as expensive as it sounds, as there is a lot of
unused capacity on existing commercial geostationary satellites that we ought to
be able to beg, borrow or even rent ! transponder space on. If we had
fast, real time, intercontinental digital links, then it may give the impetous
needed to upgrade the archaic 1200/9600 packet system into something approaching
our own internet. With a >= 56Kbs (at 10 gigs ?) TCP/IP backbone, we
could then run freely available web software and really have some fun, sending
and receiving digital pictures, digital audio and just about anything that you
can imagine, realtime, worldwide.
But then, it won't happen, will it ?
....................
73, Tony,
EI2FSB.
|