On Mon, 2008-07-21 at 19:00 -0400, John Price wrote:
I for one am very opposed to the 3 and 10 gig transponder. I have seen little or no interest in the 1.2 uplink. Folks are not willing to spend $500.00 to work a transponder that is mostly quite and could go away over night like 2.4 did with AO-40. Did anyone listen to the L/u AO-51 on Field Day. While V/u was jammed I worked the first station I heard on L/u and there were maybe 5 others on that pass. I don't maintain 1.2 gig equipment here. It is not worth the investment.
And what would be the trigger for you to invest in the equipment? There is NO GAURUNTEES that any of these new birds will get to orbit in one peice. Look at AO-40. She was a GREAT birds at the beginning, then something happened and all we had were a couple of uplinks with one downlink.
Where is your sense of adventure with experimenting with something new and untested? How are you helping advance the Art of Amateur Radio and Satellites if we are STUCK back in the stone ages with 2m and 70cm and FM birds?
I for one would and have invested in the higher bands as I am also using that equipment for Rovering and some contesting which I have found that I really like. I also use this equipment to talk around my area/state. This equipment with a little modification is can also be used for when we have a HEO or GEO satellite in orbit.
I WANT more digital store-and-forward birds along with more Sideband voice birds on bands OTHER than 2mand 70cm. Right now there is no CHALLENGE in the current crop of satellites we have when all I can do MOST of the time is get on and have enough time to get a GRID SQUARE and a NAME/CALLSIGN of the person I am talking to. I want to be able to hold a net where I can talk to a NUMBER of people and find out more about everyone or ask for help and get it. I want to be able to send video via these new birds of my latest project or of the 'kids' as they operate. I want to be able to demonstrate what Amatuer radio is and can do that the internet can't. I want to be able to TINKER on these new birds with a new mode that I have either developed or have an interest in. I want to be able to use that new microwave transverter for things other than to talk to or see (video) locals.
Where is EVERYONES sense of experimentation or did we as amateur radio operators/licenses leave that at the door when we got licensed or are we just content with what has been done and happy to sit on our laurels and let the world leave us behind as a group that WILL die out in about twenty/thirty years as we don't have any NEW blood to carry on with the experimentation, thinking, and tinkering? Are we going to let the INTERNET be the thing to determine how and where we go as a group? Everyone on here gripes about how the internet is taking away everything what about how we are making things interesting to entice these people in the hobby and into Satellites? Where is the challenge anymore? I want to be able to EXPERIMENT on thse new crop of birds, not just sit around on 2m and 70cm and make a couple quick qso's to exchange grid squares!!!
Bill, I looked at your webpage and see that you MIGHT have a reason to have new birds up and running other than just as a member that wants to help out AMSAT through these trying times. I see no problem with that at all as AMSAT has had others like you on the BoD before and they have done a great job of not compromising their integrity as a Director. I just don't see anything saying if you are a owner or an employee of this company. Could you enlighten me and the others before I make a decision on which three candidates are the best?
James W8ISS - a voting member that has issues with the current crop of APPLIANCE OPERATORS on the amateur bands!!!