Yeah let's not write off emergency comms as -part- of its use.

With new hams entering the ranks and most maybe not having much experience with CW, the added "repeater in the sky" that could control access to emergency channels would be much helpful. 

Imagine trying to setup a portable HF station after a hurricane has bombed a region. Short antennas are not very effective. You're depending on atmospheric conditions for propagation. If the noise is high from exiting storms, other operators that have no regard for emergency comms or propagation just isn't there, then you have to somehow communicate with the other stations telling them to change bands, etc etc and hope that works.

Internet...forget it! Cellular service....forget it! In 99% of areas with a disaster...those services will be gone!
 
The simple ease of setting up a small ground base to satellite station is easy! I would imagine the dishes would be small...dish net or direct TV sized dishes, the equipment setup has a small foot print, low energy consumption, is easily controlled as far as other station access, you get on and start taking care of what we are there for....not having to tinker with radios, HF antennas, multiple VHF/UHF stations to form a network back to central command.

Not saying any of the aforementioned things aren't good, but with one more "device" in the "tool box", it sure would/could make things easier.

As for other uses, we're back to it being a big repeater in the sky, but it could be used with multiple digital modes.

I'm sure someone has an idea or two that would make funding even more appealing.

Some people like HF, some like VHF/UHF simplex and repeaters, some like analog, some like digital, some rather do everything via the internet, some like to tie radio and the internet together and some like satellites etc etc. What might not be of interest to one person could be of great interest to another.

Think outside of the box.

Bob Carter

MidAtlantic-Engineering-Service L.L.C.

FCC License:
KC4QLP - WQJK414 - WRFT769 - RR00096040

maes-llc.com
kc4qlp.com

On August 9, 2022 12:20:50 AM Bruce Perens via AMSAT-BB <[email protected]> wrote:

Obviously your grant requests have to be written for the grantor's desires. And we need to transition to making education and technology the main justifications for Amateur Radio in Part 97.1, because the current ones were written when we were providing trained Morse operators to the military, and international friendship before social networks.

But I'm not quite ready to write off public service communications.

Thanks

Bruce

On Mon, Aug 8, 2022, 21:00 Joseph B. Fitzgerald <[email protected]> wrote:

Bruce,

We are substantially in agreement, especially your assertion that there will be a community to use digital geostationary amateur satellites.   But probably not the emergency communication community.  I simply lack the imagination to see how they improve on existing alternatives in that domain.  The essence of my concern is that we need to look for funding using justifications other than emergency communication - we are more likely to get funding by claiming other benefits.  Let's focus our efforts where it will most likely bear fruit. That being said, if someone can use emergency communication as a justification to get funding I would be glad to look silly!

-Joe KM1P

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