Reminds me of a discusion I withnessed here localy. a club had the oppertunety to promote hamradio on a local event with a stall. On the day of the event it turned out that the stall had nothing more then a few HF stations all with CW key and one computer for digital modes. When asked about why there was no attention for ariss or modern technics but only HF the answer was that CW was hot and they had one young man (yes ONE) that came back to see it again and ISS was nothing more then a flying mailbox and that getting a qsl card for leaving a message in an orbiting bbs was dumb.
Personaly I think answering 59 please repeat all details is dumb but I don't go around making my personal opinion superior to any other, if they are happy doing it fine, the hobby is big enough to allow all aspects to be valid.
73 Andre PE1RDW
Op 2-10-2011 19:29, Clint Bradford schreef:
In another forum, an unenlightened ham made the following allegation. Sorry, folks - I just cannot let this type of nonsense go unanswered ... (grin)
ELSEWHERE>> ... I'm sure but the amateur satellite service is on life support right now ... things like the ARISSAT are just a novelty ...
I am proud to report that NO, this aspect of the hobby is by no means "dead" nor dying.
We received more than 100 applications for ARISS school-to-ISS contacts for the first part of next year. That means there's 100 school principals and 200 teachers who are interested - and their enthusiasm is transmitted (pun intended) to their students, numbering in the thousands. SO, there ARE educators and school children receiving information and whose lesson plans include amateur radio and the ISS.
This is important. Those who demean projects like ARISSat-1 are not educators. This project alone has stimulated the minds of hundreds of thousands of school children around the planet - through the work of teachers. There's PLENTY to be taught and learned from such a project - and it IS being taught.
One of the two popular study guides for amateur radio licensing - the "2010-2014 Technician Class by Gordon West" - has a sidebar with satelllite-related links for further information. Heck, Gordo ran a Technician class yesterday to a standing- room-only crowd, and he made his traditional "test call" on a local repeater ... I happened to be on the air, answered him, and gave those soon-to-be-hams a plug for working the satellites ...
Of course we would like another high-altitude bird. It takes money. 99.999% of those who demean current AMSAT projects don't give a cent to AMSAT. The wildly-successful-by-ANYone's-standards AO-51 project cost approximately $500K to build, plus another $110K to launch. As a testament to how well that sat was engineered, it is continuing to transmit at 800mW+ the past two months - with one battery cell dead and another at 0.1V. It continues to be included in school lesson plans, as well as public demonstrations, Field Days, JOTA and Scout activities, and it's there for just you and me to step outside a few times a week and work with a Watt or two ...
My bottom line? Folks who claim that this aspect of the hobby is "dead" or "dying" might be correct, in that for them in their small circles, they may not be excited with the current satellite projects. But in reality, the existing LEOs are wonderful teaching tools - being taught about and studied and appreciated - in classrooms and presentation rooms and hamfests and conventions and parking lots and public parks - across the planet.
Donate to AMSAT. Today. Be a part of the future of the amateur satellite program. Amend your will, and include AMSAT-NA in your estate - there's a method to donate that doesn't "hurt" a bit. And volunteer to give a demo at your local middle school or high school. Be a part of the educational process - see how YOU can bring excitement to a classroom of future hams.
OR, just sit back and without knowledge of reality declare "Ham sats are dead," in public message forums.
The choice is yours.
Clint Bradford, K6LCS NASA / ARISS school technical support volunteer AMSAT area coordinator 909-241-7666
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: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb