On 07/21/2014 02:53 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote:
I'm not totally unsympathetic to Phil's ideas. They have quite a bit of merit, but clearly AMSAT would also have to develop the ground station equipment in order for it to get a user base that would make it worthwhile.
Absolutely. About 14 years ago (i.e., at the beginning of the 21st century) I made a donation to AMSAT earmarked for the development and initial production of the low-cost ground station hardware absolutely necessary to the success of a new digital satellite mode.
I didn't specify any particular digital mode. ANY new satellite mode would qualify as long as it's digital and requires new ground station hardware.
As far as I know (the AMSAT treasurer can comment), my donation is still sitting there.
AMSAT's limiting factors are money and volunteer time. Unfortunately, neither money nor people's time grow on trees.
I think you'll find that the supply of both money and volunteer time depends strongly on what that time and money will be used for. If you think the supply is limited, you might consider being a little more imaginative and ambitious in your goals.
--Phil