I'm looking for something a little more than just HEO v. LEO. I'm looking for modes of operation. I'd love to hear from someone on the use of PACSAT birds, APRS, and maybe some keyboard- to-keyboard digital modes (PSK31 anyone?).
Well, here are my APRS comments.. Any of the digital birds that can be operated in bent-pipe digipeater mode can be used for real-time text messaging, status reporting or position tracking. The current satellites that have been used this way are ARISS,GO32,ECHO, and PCSAT.
Typical applications are: 1) Exchanging contacts and grids, and live demos 2) Position reporting on long trips from far places 3) Status reporting on long trips from far places 4) Data reporting from far places and experiments
In this last category, there have been ski-pole mounted WX stations that have been placed in the Arctic and Antarctic and reported back via amateur satellite, there was a truck driver that drives the frozen rivers in the arctic circle that used APRS via the satellites to let his wife know where he was.
We are making ocean floating buoys for student experriments in environmental sensors. I am testing one in the attic of my dad's house in Alabama, so I can keep track of the temperatures (from here in Maryland) to make sure the heat is on, etc.. We have a team going to Mongolia, and they will take an APRS device, so they can send data and email.
Any APRS radio can send text messages and email from the radio without even needing a PC. Just set the message and when a satellite comes into view, it will be delivered. For any remote world travelers, this has value, thought there has to be a ground station in the same footprint to relay it into the global APRS internet linked system.
Bob
73, Eric W4OTN
Eric:
This is where the "beauty" of HEO satellites are seriously
missed. Unlike
LEO satellite exchanges, HEO satellites promote true, long
discussions with
hams in other countries creates genuine cultural exchanges -
much more than
"just talking". I can cite chapter and verse of such past
QSOs.
'73, Dick Jansson, KD1K [email protected] [email protected]
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Eric Christensen Sent: Thursday, 02 October, 2008 01:04 To: AMSAT FieldOps; [email protected] Subject: [fieldops] What do you do with satellites?
I had a question a couple of days ago from someone that
thought all you
could do over the satellites was talk. I explained to him
that there
were other things you could do but I'm sure I left out some
things.
That got me thinking, though. I wonder how many people just
aren't
familiar enough with satellites to know there are other
things you can
do with them than just pick up a microphone and talk.
I've already started writing an article on what you can do
with
satellites but I'd love to hear from all the users out there
as to how
you operate over the birds.
Please respond directly to me at [email protected].
73, Eric Christensen, W4OTN AMSAT Area Coordinator - Southeastern Virginia USA AMSAT Member 35360 http://www.ericsatcom.net GPG Key Fingerprint: 4395 EF8D DDFF E681 26CB 7165 2F95
7CC9 D749 08ED
Fieldops mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA [email protected] http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/fieldops
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: