Hi all...
As I awoke on this Easter Sunday, I was scanning my email (I subscribe to lots of groups and get lots of daily summaries) and once again found myself reading amsat-bb. Amidst the normal, pleasurable messages, I was again (as it seems to happen weekly) faced with a message of disappointment in AMSAT, this time by Brian Beckius. It seems that whatever he was searching for, he didn't find it in AMSAT, and thus proclaimed to all that he wouldn't be renewing his membership.
He's not alone of course. Lots of people aren't very satisfied with the current state of AMSAT-NA or amateur satellites. It's not very hard to understand why: launching satellites actually _is_ rocket science. It's difficult, and even more difficult with limited funds and relying solely on the efforts of volunteers. But the simple fact that it can be done at _all_ should give everyone in amateur radio a sense of justified pride.
I'm a total newbie when it comes to satellites. I've worked mostly the FM birds for less than six months. I don't have L or S band equipment. I've never worked AO-40 or any of the RS birds. I am still trying to perfect my setup to work the linear birds. But I have had fun, and I've tried to pass on that spirit of fun to others, to let them know just how much enjoyment you can get, even with modest equipment, even by just listening to what goes on.
If you can't find a reason to renew your membership, don't. We are all free to take our dollars elsewhere, and to spend them how we see fit. If that $40 makes you happier when spent elsewhere, then I think you should spend it elsewhere. If that donation of $100 or whatever to a different organization makes you feel a greater sense of altruism or achievement, then by all means, send your money there.
Me? I'm happy to be a member. I'm getting way more out my membership than I put in, even when the organization itself doesn't exactly meet my own personal expectations of what they can and should be doing. I'd like to see firm plans about where AMSAT-NA is going, and when launches will happen just like everyone else, but in the mean time, I'll be happy doing what I'm doing, and stretching what I can do with new projects as time and money in my rather hectic life allows. And I'll be looking to help new satellite projects with donations when I can.
Maybe you aren't so happy. Maybe the loss of AO-40 and the slow progress toward another Phase 3 or Phase 4 makes you grumpy. Maybe you see the money spent on a single channel FM bird as a complete waste of time. There are lots of you out there. I hear you on this mailing list every few days. But here's the thing: no amount of growsing about the state of the amateur satellite service gets any hardware even a foot closer to orbit. It doesn't make even one more person smile. It doesn't help get even $1 donated to the creation of new amateur satellites.
It's Easter. It's a time of renewal and rebirth. Cast aside some of your bitter skepticism, and rededicate yourself to trying to actually help make amateur satellites a fun and rewarding endeavor for all.
Catch you on the birds...
Mark KF6KYI