Re: [amsat-bb] Re: 13 Satellite are not amateur satellites

["H. Paul Shuch, N6TX" <n6tx@xxxxxxxxx>]

Nigel A. Gunn G8IFF/KC8NHF wrote:

> True but that mission staytement is strictly only applicable to the 
> geographical area represented by Amsat NA.

Nigel,
	As a globalist, I would never restrict my educational activities only 
to North America.  I have taught in about twenty countries on five 
continents, and even though my official title was conferred by AMSAT-NA, 
I consider education a worthy GLOBAL endeavour.

> The resulting satellites cover the whole world.

Which is exactly why they require, and receive, IARU frequency 
coordination.  Remember, the I stands for International.

> Those that built them were, in the main, also Amsat members and licensed 
> radio amateurs. That's not the case with the university projects.

Those CubeSat students who are greeted with warmth and encouragement, 
who are made to feel welcome by the amateur radio community, often 
become hams and AMSAT members.  Those who are treated with belligerence 
and made to feel somehow inferior will never join us.  We must take 
great care not to become too exclusive, lest we each end up belonging to 
a club of one.

> Lets encourage them to earn licenses, 

Ah, we do!

> not freeload our hard earned 
> frequency allocations.

	Freeload?  By this you mean educational projects should not be 
encouraged to use our under-utilised amateur frequency allocations, thus 
helping to protect them from commercial incursion?  Listen around the 
satellite bands -- it's not exactly QRM City up there.  Perhaps you're 
also suggesting that we should not let non-members freeload on AMSAT's 
hard earned web space and bb?  But how then are we ever to attract new 
members, if we slam the door in the face of prospects?
	In short, I am in no way diminished by the presence of non-members on 
this bb, nor am I disadvantaged when another 435 MHz telemetry beacon 
shows up from LEO.  If only one CubeSat leads to only one new ham and 
AMSAT member (I'm sure the numbers are significantly more extensive), 
but if that new member goes on to become another Jan King or Tom Clark 
or Perry Klein -- or even another Nigel Gunn!  then we are all well served.
	73,  Paul

-- 
Dr. H. Paul Shuch, N6TX
AMSAT Director of Education
n6tx@amsat.org    www.qsl.net/n6tx
Grid Square  FN11lh
----
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