Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Dont want to work at it?

[sco@xxxxxxxxxxx]

>
>THE ISSUE strikes me is can a reasonalbe number of people who have little 
>"mode B" experience and mostly "mode VHF FM" experience assemble such a 
>station for any amount of money much less 500$.

HAM radio is a hobby that can be a very expensive hobby ... depending on 
the level that you wish to participate on. You can build a less costly 
AO-40 station or work on the higher end. A SSB-3000-SAT S band down 
converter and BBQ dish do cost a little more but they are the highest level 
of performance for 2.4ghz receive and do nicely for less than $500. Add 
those to a 70cm transmitter and simple quad or yagi antenna ... point it at 
the southern sky till you hear AO-40 and you do not need to track for a 
very long time (longing than any LEO would be available).

A friend talked with hams in Italy and the South Pacific from the eastern 
USA. THAT is DX on the satellites.

The money is not the issue. I went to a store the other day and spent $450 
on a new LCD screen for my laptop computer. People spend money on their 
hobbies. If I rent a small airplane to fly that same amount of money would 
cover 5 hours rental. Stop gripping. If you don't want to put out the 
little bit of money or effort to work AO-40, then don't.

W4SCO

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