Re: [amsat-bb] Special Bulletin - new satellite

[Bob Bruninga <bruninga@xxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 27 Apr 2002, Claudio Martins wrote about FM satellites.

>  As far as I'm concerned, I find this a very narrow vision of Amateur
> Satellite Operation.

It is only one satellite under discussion.  There are 20 or so working
amateur satellites in orbit.  We dont need to insist that every single one
be the same "perfect"  satellite.  Demanding that every satellite be a
wideband analog transponder or high-tech whiz-bang for use by only a few,
seems to me to be the narrower vision...

> ...Don't you see the hopless problems FM repeaters in orbit present?

No, I use them frequently in my school classes.  The kids love to hear the
activity.  Most of the time on UO-14 and AO-27 (during the daylight school
time) we just listen (so I can talk to the kids about what is happening)
but I have never had any problem getting in with just a handheld standing
outside.  And this is the middle of the East Coast USA.

> FM repeaters are a bad practice in orbit: you are spoiling satellite
> operators, giving them this kind of payloads.

Actually, I think the ones that cause problems are spoiled already.

> And then perhaps AMSAT will put a new high tech bird with a fancy
> transponder on the air...

I am all in favor of that too.  But remember that this new bird is a
digital bird with multiple digital receivers and multiple transmitters.
The only thing that is causing all this discussion is that some of the
receivers are being configured with the possibility to bypass the digital
modems and operate as an FM transponder "if needed"...

It is NOT being designed as a single channel FM voice bird!  Remember that
UO-14 operated as a DIGITAL bird for the first 10 year(?) or more of it's
life, and it was only after its digital mission was no longer viable that
it was switched into this last FM mode.  Thank heavens for the forsight of
the builders to include this fall-back FM mode.  FM is better than
nothing.

> The more I think the less I understand this attitude. How can you
> people see the kind of technology that is being used today commercially
> and military, and then just walk away in other direction down to 1950?

Because why not include it as a fall back mode?  When we spend all the
time money and effort to put a bird in orbit, it is just good foresight to
include a fall-back mode so that when all the fancy stuff cesases to
function viably, you can at least use it somehow...

> Amateur Radio Satellites used to be new communication experiments that many
> times gave birth to new widespread communication technologies. But now you
> want to turn them into orbiting museums. Think about it. This is not the way
> you are going to attract fresh new people for AMSAT membership.

I think there is a very big missunderstanding about the design and mission
of this new satellite.

WB4APR, Bob

----
Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org