Dear All,
Forgot to say a major positive about QO-100 which is the cost of setting up a Ground Station for narrow the band transponder, assuming that the PC is already available and that one use a Tx/Rx such as the Pluto or Lime SDR,s a few Chinese WiFi booster, a PLL LNB and a 80cm dish, the total cost is less than US$ 400.
This is really attractive to students and for all Ham’s with modest means compared with buying any commercially available transceiver (or may be 2 actually) for satellite operations, thus cost of entry in QO-100 is really affordable to newbies, more these guys may immediately jump in real Dx QSO’s and learn the trade, this surely motivate them for further experimentation. Particularly in remote Islands like us in that part of the globe.
My 1 cent additional input to the subject.
73
Jean Marc (3B8DU)
On Jun 20, 2020, at 6:50 PM, Jean Marc Momple jean.marc.momple@gmail.com wrote:
Mattias,
Thanks for having corrected the matter which may have created wrong perceptions.
Thanks to AMSAT DL, QARS and the sponsors who made such a great Radio Amateur bird possible, again congratulations for that.
That said I wish to confirm/comment your last paragraph, as follows:
In the Indian Ocean FR (mainly Reunion Island and 3B* Mauritius) we are only a few Hams. With HF not going through these days the hobby was somehow left on the side by some and QO-100 has really revived the activities.
To share my personal case I was able to experiment microwave (2.4/10GHz) and modes such as ATV for the first time in my Ham life (licensed since 1977) as there was no-one around to be able to contact on these bands and modes. Now building a 3m dish experiment different types of feeds etc.. (some other local guys also and even students).
In a nutshell a new world (or at least a half one) made available to us, many experimentations and learnings. I feel like again being 16 (age when I got my licence) as building antennas again, feeds, assembly of various components to build the QO-100 station.
I just hope the ones not in coverage presently will get a in a Ham GEO coverage soon and hopefully will fully understand what it means really.
73
Jean Marc (3B8DU)
On Jun 20, 2020, at 12:29 PM, Matthias Bopp via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
Paul,
With all due respect. I already tried to explain to you less than 48 hours ago: this is not just a simple retuned hardware on QO-100
You stated "It’s important to note that QO-100 is not an amateur payload at all." The payload was specified by AMSAT and during the design AMSAT did participate in all critical design reviews. AMSAT indeed first intended to build the transponders themselves. The owner of the satellite did trust the technical knowhow of AMSAT but for safety and insurance reasons the hardware was built by a professional company. Of course, QO-100 was coordinated via IARU and fully qualifies as an amateur satellite (payload). Therefore, it got the number 100 (from AMSAT-NA).
You stated "The two transponders in amateur use are on-orbit commercial spares modified to tune to amateur frequencies." Let me explain it in simple words so you understand: you cannot simply retune a WCDMA cellphone and use it as a 2m FM handheld transceiver The hardware in commercial satellite transponders is not meant to be a linear transponder with an AGC etc. In addition, there are no 2.4GHz/10GHz transponders on commercial satellites. Thus, the hardware had to be custom built for QO-100. The same is true for the uplink and downlink antennas. The only parts which are reused are the TWT PAs.
So please, if you need help to understand the architecture or the published block diagram of the amateur payload please contact the responsible people of AMSAT-DL and they will be happy to help you. But please stop commenting about a satellite you have apparently no clue about or you do not understand the underlying technology.
In any case, meanwhile there more than 1000 happy users in more than 100 countries who are enjoying QO-100 using many different operating modes. QO-100 has stimulated a lot of technical activities in the microwave bands and a lot of radio amateurs, who never used the microwave bands, learned how to build and operate a station with 13cm uplink and 10 GHz downlink.
Kind regards
Matthias
www.dd1us.de
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org Im Auftrag von Paul Stoetzer via AMSAT-BB Gesendet: Samstag, 20. Juni 2020 06:21 An: Joe Leikhim rhyolite@leikhim.com Cc: amsat-bb@amsat.org Betreff: Re: [amsat-bb] GeoSat OSCAR-2024 Positive comments, no, whining....(Was need HEO..please..)
Joe,
It’s important to note that QO-100 is not an amateur payload at all. The two transponders in amateur use are on-orbit commercial spares modified to tune to amateur frequencies. And, of course, there’s the risk that the spares may be needed for commercial service some day.
The issue is that to get an American company to do this, you need millions of dollars up front and then probably millions of dollars a year to support it. It’s been looked into multiple times over the years and no one is willing to just give that away or even quote a price that’s remotely reasonable.
I do take issue with your choice of words in describing GOLF-TEE as “baby steps.” GOLF is a project that AMSAT has committed a large amount of money and man-hours to. It is a very significant project and will lead us back to HEO. Our engineering team is doing tremendous work and deserves the full support and encouragement of the amateur community. Sadly, I feel that support is often lacking and, frankly, our volunteers deserve better than that.
If you want a HEO, support AMSAT and GOLF in any way that you can. AMSAT is 100% committed and I am personally 100% committed to making this happen for the community.
73,
Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Executive Vice President AMSAT
On Sat, Jun 20, 2020 at 00:01 Joe Leikhim via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
Robert;
AMSAT has been in HEO before and can get there again.
The idea of my proposal is to piggy back on a willing commercial satellite. The owner of that satellite would be handling the necessary regulatory issues/problems. This idea has been proposed before but convincing a commercial satellite owner to attach unproven payload has always been an negative argument. No longer, because OSCAR-100 is proven hardware and it should be considered.
Meanwhile GOLF-TEE can continue to take baby steps.
Looking for ideas to promote this idea. Be positive.
-- Joe Leikhim
Leikhim and Associates
Communications Consultants
Oviedo, Florida
JLeikhim@Leikhim.com
407-982-0446
WWW.LEIKHIM.COM
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb