Dear AMSAT friends:
I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful positive support. I am on the 100-th hour I have given to AMSAT this week. In the next three weeks I wil spend four days doing mechanical design work on Eagle and four days doing computer work for Phase 3E and Eagle where we are attempting to bring up the computer bus system that will control the spacecraft.
Your constructive criticism, based on nearly completely FALSE information, has been a major source of inspiration for many VOLUNTEERS who do this work
The engineers recommended to the AMSAT-NA board of directors that we adopt a U/V/L/S standard transponder set for linear operation based upon SDX in its primary form. THIS IS A LINEAR TRANSPONDER SUITE. Our current calculations show that on V band it will be much louder than AO-13 and slightly louder than P3E on V. On S band downlink for Eagle we will be MUCH louder than AO-13 and significantly louder than AO-40.
The advanced communications package recommended to the AMSAT BOD will use two uplinks, L band and 3.4 GHZ. It has a proposed C band downlink. The system design proposes the use of the SAME 60cm dish that many of you have purchased from James Miller or Dave Olean will work perfectly with a proposed dual band feed/widget we are proposing and will design. The details of this work will be forthcoming in the next few months.
The user will need your AO-13/AO-40 station to operate the V/U/L/S packages and widget that you will not be able to easily build but will be able to purchase from some group like TAPR or Ettus or AMSAT. The single most expensive decision we have made is to have sufficient solar arrays to support both packages.
Please expect to see lots of details from us. An official announcement from the organization will appear on ANS and AMSAT web site shortly. I have requested a lot of money from the AMSAT board of directors to begin real work on details of this during the year 2007. This is in addition to the budget we have requested for our support activities for P3E.
Irrespective of all of the things said here about me and the unbelievable collection of the most high powered technical team we have assembled in a long time, we continue to work hard on your behalf. I am really personally disappointed in the level of discourse in the AMSAT BB. It is extremely harmful, possibly beyond repair, to our organization. We are seeking serious external funding, and we need to make a significant investment in many areas to get this spacecraft built. I have never been prouder of where the AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL engineers are going on your behalf than I am right now. I am very disappointed in the members of this forum. It is so damaging to our public image that if this does not improve and significantly, I will have to recommend that we end its current form. You are hurting your fellow satellite users and the VERY small number of volunteers who make serious personal sacrifices to build these things, and much larger number of volunteers who daily make quiet personal efforts in near silence on all our behalf. In my opinion, there is not a single member of the included thread who can hold their heads high and be proud of it.
Let me remind you once again. NO ONE speaks for AMSAT-NA outside of the entire board of directors who make policy and the five or so bylaws enabled officers. Anyone else may have influence. But until you hear the outcome from official channels. On P3E and AMSAT-DL, NO ONE outside of Peter Guelzow is considered by me to represent AMSAT-DL or Heike Straube on P3E.
In my opinion, you owe the organization and the members of this forum an apology. I don't care if none of you speak to me every again. But the members of the engineering team and the volunteer supprters holding official positions have been ill served by this.
Bob N4HY
Dave Guimont wrote:
On 5 Oct 2006 at 8:21, John Champa wrote:
I really do get bored reading about all these threats to Mode S from WiFi, etc.
For a bunch of supposedly sophisticated wireless guys, you sure don't know beans about consumer grade wireless devices. That includes our wonderfully dedicated but pessimistic AMSAT satellite engineers!
Luc wrote:
I agree... but it sometimes very hard to convince and ridicule may prove too much for some readers but it can be of some help for some stubborn minds who are not pessimistic but unrealistic.
Some of these guys would complain if they were hung with a new rope, and I'll supply ALL THE ROPE THEY CAN USE !!!!
73, Dave wb6llo@amsat.org Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...