Michael,
If you will bother to read the rest of the post , you will
see where I apologized for the comment. It was a poor
choice of words but I was trying to express my UTTER
FRUSTRATION with this approach to trying to "sell" the
concept of hamsats.
Thanks for the apology for the "idiot" comment.
You really think the average person
who can whip out their I-phone or Droid and preform what
would have been considered technological marvels a few
short year ago is impressed with your HT and a handheld
antenna working a sat to exchange a cryptic bit of
information such as a callsign and a grid square? It may
have been impressive ten years ago on even five years ago
but it's old hat now.
As for your question about crowds being impressed with what we can do with an HT and Yagi (or some other radio and antenna) via satellite, the answer is still "YES". There is still something to being able to talk across the country via satellite, not using the Internet or telephone network, with a small radio (or radios). At the hamfests where I represent AMSAT, I get larger crowds for the SSB satellite demonstrations than for the FM satellite demonstrations, but crowds show up for both.
I suggest a fresher more technologically savvy approach. I'm truly and sincerely sorry though if I hurt the feelings of outdoor portable sat ops enthusiast or the AMSAT volunteers who do such demos.
We're listening... what do you suggest?
Sophisticated home stations like what you described in an earlier post don't work well for those of us at hamfests or other events, even if we have videos that can show that off. The sophisticated home station may even scare off some, who fear that it would take a lot of time - and more $$$ - to get on the satellites.
One thing I've advocated is to do demonstrations that use more than FM satellites - or, right now, FM satellite (SO-50). For the past few years, I do a lot of SSB satellite demonstrations at the hamfests I attend. Sometimes, this is out of necessity (FM satellites are not passing by during the hamfest, or aren't available for some other reason). Two weeks ago at a hamfest here in Phoenix, all of my demonstrations were done on the SSB satellites (AO-7, FO-29, VO-52), because SO-50 didn't pass by during that morning. I also used my FUNcube dongle and laptop with the FUNcube dashboard software to show off and talk about AO-73 during its two passes at the hamfest.
The portable setup like I use (and is well documented in my videos at http://www.youtube.com/va7ewk if you want to take a look), which you apparently don't like, is compatible with places that have antenna restrictions. I explain that the same gear I use at the hamfest can be the basis for a home station. More, and better, coax is needed for a longer run at home than at the hamfest demo. A rotator of some sort is needed for a directional antenna. Preamps and/or power amplifiers may also be needed. Replacing one FT-817ND with a radio like an FT-857 or IC-7000 may take care of the need for more transmit power. But my two FT-817NDs and Elk log periodic can still be the basis of a home station. When I add in the FUNcube dongle as the receiver instead of one FT-817ND, I'm expanding the capability of my station - whether at home, at a hamfest, or operating somewhere else. This is certainly cheaper than the last fully-SDR satellite- ready transceiver I remember seeing on the market (Flex-5000 with VHF/UHF module).
We all would like an HEO satellite. I fear Phase-3E will continue to ride the shelf at its German laboratory, absent a large infusion of funds to cover the gap between however much $$$ AMSAT-DL has raised and the US$ 10 million or US$ 15 million needed to pay for a launch. Until then, I'm enjoying the different challenges of working the satellites we have, and doing this using different combinations of radios and antennas, working from different locations, and periodically showing this off at hamfests and other events.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/