Joe - Before FM birds came into being, Mode A was the easysat mode, although that term was not used. The 10M downlink doppler was easy to deal with and the 144 MHz uplink not much harder. The RS birds in particular had huge signals on the downlink, sensitive receivers, consistent 20+ minute passes, and could be heard with the gear most hams had; an HF transceiver. To get started, many hams used their 2M rig as a CW rig by keying the PTT. It sounded pretty chirpy, but those guys made a lot of contacts and generally graduated to a 2M CW or SSB rig.
The problem in those days was getting the Mode A easysat guys to move up to Mode B or Mode J, with better performance. It is a problem very similar to what we have today of getting the FM easysat guys to move up to the linear birds.
I have no problem with the entry level to satellite communication being easy. I do have problems when the entry level guys don’t move up, either because they are satisfied with the status quo, don’t get encouragement from experienced ops, or because the resources are not there.
I don’t mean to denigrate Steve’s article, but rather to respond to Cliff’s comments and its implications. - Duffey KK6MC
On Jul 4, 2015, at 11:19 AM, Joe nss@mwt.net wrote:
Funny how a linear bird is a technical challenge, wow, as a novice in 1975 I listened to Oscar 6 & 7 all the time. and once up graded used them also all the time. Sad to think that 1970's technology is high tech to anyone. Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 7/4/2015 12:10 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote:
Michael,
The idea is to get people hooked on satellite operating and then have them "graduate" to more challenging aspects of satellite operating.
AMSAT is, of course, working on projects that be more of a technical challenge than FM satellites, like Fox-1E with a linear transponder and the geosynchronous P4B project.
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Sat, Jul 4, 2015 at 1:02 PM, Michael Mat_62@charter.net wrote:
Once again I feel the need to say that we have gone in the wrong direction by trying to convince everyone how easy a "sat" is to work with a handheld antenna. I got into satellite communication because of the technical challenge involved, not by how "easy it was". This whole half or full duplex issue is a symptom of "dumbing down" There should never be any question on it. Full duplex should ALWAYS be used. 73, Michael, W4HIJ _______________________________________________ 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: http://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: http://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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb