On Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 10:46 PM, chris pellenz pellenzc@yahoo.com wrote:
I never made any contacts via AO-40. I was still preparing my station... I was busy being happy about my MIR packet contact... (I made the ANS one time) I still have a couple K5GNA downconverters... with the filter kits (as yet uninstalled) If we could get another in orbit I could use this stuff again... Ive been waiting a long time... Im sorta giving up on the project.. .so much $ and no results.. we really could use a HEO sat... I would be back.. I still show the kids the keps and the signs.. but with only 5 minutes to make a contact amongst a crowd im just shoved out of the way.. .
Chris --
It's really not that bad. On HO-68 or AO-7 you get at least 3x that time. FO-29 varies, but it also provides quite a bit of time. And there's a distinct lack of a 'crowd' on the linear birds. Even on VO-52 you can have a nice conversation because you can hear horizon-to-horizon.
The LEO scene is a different set of challenges, but they can be fun to overcome, and the same kids who are interested in the keps will *really* love to hear their own voice bouncing off of VO-52 :-)
Will we ever see another HEO sat??
As I see it, there is good news and bad news in this. For years, the bad news was that rides to space have become so commercialized that 'we' can't get freebies or ultra-cheapies anymore, and we simply can't afford to pay the proper price.
The good news, only recently, is that this commercialization is starting to provide full-cost opportunities that might be within our financial range. But these would require us to perfect many aspects of cubesat-level miniaturization, and would require much more advanced ground stations.
Of course, if some inexpensive opportunity arises, the AMSAT-DL P3E satellite is available.
73, Bruce