I am glad that the FCC considered this and granted the experimental license. You can simulate for all eternity but nothing replaces a real world test. By obtaining an FCC experimental license, the application with initial descriptive details become public record. The licensee then has the option of sharing with the amateur community or not.
- Howie AB2S
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 22:14:33 +0000 From: m5aka@yahoo.co.uk Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Two hundred 437 MHz satallites launch March 16 + WebSDR To: howied231@hotmail.com; amsat-bb@amsat.org
This may be true if the owner of the satellite is not licensed in the USA or it is operating on some service other than the Amateur Radio Service. ITU recommends policy, it doesn't make or enforce law as I understand it.
Judging from the number issued in recent years the FCC seem happy to issue experimental licenses for satellites in 144/435/2400 including the use of emission types that aren't covered by existing FCC amateur radio regulations.
AggieSat4's 153.6 kbps 4 watt 436 MHz downlink using ITU Emission Designation 406KF7DBN might breach the bandwidth limits of an amateur license, its 406 kHz B/W comfortably exceeding the FCC 100 kHz limit on the band, but FCC were okay with issuing an experimental license for it.
As I read the FCC amateur regs emission spread spectrum emission modes such as CDMA can be used on all amateur bands as long as ITU emission designation symbols 2 and 3 are not both X. Such XX modes are designated by FCC as "SS" and only permitted above 420 MHz. 73 Trevor M5AKA