Re: [amsat-bb] JUly 2001 President's Letter

["Robert Oler" <cvn65vf94@xxxxxxx>]

Arthur...thank you for being so kind as to answer my post AND pardon the 
late reply.  Life has been moving at an unbelievable pace.

>
>My own opinion here, as always.  Something I learned from the frequency
>management business is that, if you ask people what they would like to see,
>they usually talk in terms of what they already know.  Often, it's helpful
>to be able to think in other terms.  And, in AMSAT, we have lots of very
>creative people who can and do think in new and interesting ways.

I really dont understand this paragraph.  First off it seems to state the if 
asked the membership would probably want something pretty much status quo 
But then you state that "in Amsat" there are very creative people.

Well the folks who mostly are going to pay the bills for this new bird are 
probably AMSAT members and it strikes me that they should be the ones who 
get to decide (or at least have some input) on what goes on the bird.  I am 
pretty sure you were not implying ONLLY the people who "made the decisions" 
are 1) AMSAT or 2) the only creative people in the organization....but what 
would it hurt to poll the membership?

TDMA is a neat mode BUT its success on the satellite depends on a couple of 
things...not the least of which is software to use the mode AND the radios 
to do so.  Current radios might be compatible but then again they might not 
be.  AND unless the user base is going to be those who can glue their own 
stuff together then getting some commercial group to go that way might be a 
little hard with just one bird.

Of course that might only be the start and if it works then we might have 
something, whats the catchword for everything these days "exciting and fun". 
  On the other hand we might have PANSAT.

A mode that almost no one uses or builds things for.

>
>What's the best way to go?  Well, for many years I've heard people asking
>for OSCAR VI and VII all over again.  (Seems we both used them!)  They were
>great.  But, we need to explore our other frequency allocations.  And, has
>been made clear here in the USA, we'd better show some technical leadership
>or, once again, be at great risk of loosing our precious frequency bands.
>
>Seems the idea of extending the use of common equipment, like PC's, with
>some interesting techniques, which may not be all that difficult to apply,
>could be a reasonable way to go.
>
The use it or lose it approach really is a fiction I think of the 220 
battle.  If the commercial interest wanted our frequencies they would take 
them.  I think down in Austrailia it was done in one of the more popular 
bands.

I have no data to support this but I bet you if we had 4 or 5 AO-10 class 
birds 1) there would be more commercial hardware 2) more hams would use the 
birds and 3) the bands would be more secure.

It would be interesting to find out what the "majority" of AMSAT members 
want.  I for one (as a life member) would like to see that.

Just my thoughts (and thanks for a very pleasant and polite conversation)

Robert
>
>Thanks for sharing.
>
>Hope my ramblings make some sense.
>
>73, art.....
>
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