At 02:27 PM 9/30/2007, you wrote:
Can I offer my viewpoint as a newcomer and a relative outsider?
Bob, there are no OUTSIDERS in amateur radio...I've been licensed for 57 years, have operated the amateur satellites for 28 years, and have operated everyone launched since then, analog/digital/am/cw/ssb/fm. Have hundreds of QSL cards to prove it, and have made well over 7000 logged ssb/cw amateur satellite contacts. And I've been helped by dozens of other hams, since then, and still need it once in awhile for things I've forgotten...I'm 85. AO7 was my first one by the way, and I operated it then(1980) with wa5zib, Andy (he has a new callsign w5acm, I believe) and operated AO7 with him again on 21mar 04.....when it miraculously came back to life!!
So don't let any of the Johnny-Come-Lately's on here (and there are some, with responses that sound as tho they were licensed yesterday) cause any grief!!
A good idea to start is with the THE RADIO AMATEUR'S SATELLITE HANDBOOK by Marty Davidson if you don't have it..
From my POV, AO-7 is the most successful amateur satellite
ever made. It's the energizer bunny of satellites, it has a large footprint, and a long hang-time. To top it off, it's easy to access for someone with few financial and technical resources.
I've seen a few comments about AO-40, but where is it? Again, from my POV, it's a proof of concept that needs to be followed up with a working model.
To sum it up, I've spent most of my years in ham radio on HF. I like the idea of being able to contact people in foreign countries.
Me too, and I've talked to over a hundred on the satellites!
A lot of us understand your dilemma. AO40 and other high altitude sats enabled worldwide communications with enough bandwidth, that I've never heard of anyone being able to get on...Some times sounded like 20 meters at sunspot high, but that's the fun of ham radio....Most of those have deserted the reflector because of a lot of the crud that is on here, but just hold on until P3D is launched!!!
Google Peter Guelzow DB2OS, and it will tell a bunch about P3D.
But I am interested in ham progress to the moon, mars, and anything else that can be dreamed up, but I want any small contribution that I have or might make to got to development of a high orbit satellite, and not some dumb 2 user FM bird. (That we have circling us now!)
OK, there's my oar, it's been bent before so go ahead!!
73, Dave wb6llo@amsat.org Disagree: I learn....
Pulling for P3E...