So it sounds like what we all want is a HEO satellite with both FM and linear transponders. This could be in a bigger form factor cubesat to improve thermal issues and power budget. Maybe we can share some space with university experiments as well to fill it out and share costs. One issue would be frequency allocation. Assuming two transponders and the ability to use them simultaneously, you would need 4 frequencies. U, V, and L would be obvious, but the 4th frequency would likely be 10m, which is hard to get gain on, or higher frequencies where it's hard to find a radio.
Some of the CAS satellites supposedly will have FM and linear, but I'm guessing it's some kind of SDR so they can just program whatever mode they want.
It also sounds like making things as analog as possible is the best. I would think some kind of simple old-school processor could handle turning the radio on and off. However, so far the problems with the AMSAT birds does not sound like issues with the chips, as far as I can tell.
-Stephen N8URE