I'll just add in that I have only ever operated a satellite by handheld antenna and an HT. I've received SSB sats on stationary antennas but never worked them. I don't have the infrastructure to do so nor have I had the time to set something up. I just graduated college and moved 3,000 miles across the US to Los Angeles (South Bay area) where very few people own their homes and like me rent. I really can't install and antenna and feedline and everything must be portable. One day I'll get a semi portable station together but until then I enjoy helping others get onto the birds (AMSAT Engineering) and hearing other people have fun working them. Same story for my involvement in K2GXT at RIT. I hardly ever operated in college but spent a majority of my time helping others learn the ropes in ham radio, making sure they had access to the equipment they needed, and transferred any experience I had to them. This makes me content to know that my efforts let other people have fun.
On that note, since LA is a pit of RF noise (especially HF at night!) I've toyed with the idea that once my college loans are paid off (that... will take a while) to team up with some other hams I know and purchase some cheap land in the middle of nowhere (like Mojave Desert area) with access to power and internet then set-up a remote station to operate HF/satellites. It would be a neat project and probably make my HOA president much happier :D.
Just my $0.02 and story
Bryce KB1LQC
On Sat, Mar 29, 2014 at 3:21 PM, Michael [email protected] wrote:
Been down this road before. I have nothing against operators who want to work satellites with an HT and a handheld antenna. I tried it and don't see the attraction once the novelty wears off but hey, to each their own. Said it before and I'll say it again, I think we do ourselves a huge disservice by constantly trying to convince people just how "easy" it is to work the sats. Some of us were drawn to this branch of the hobby because of the challenge, not because of how "easy" it was. Operators who don't back down from a challenge are our future..... or they should be. 73, Michael, W4HIJ
On 3/29/2014 12:16 AM, Gus wrote:
On 03/28/2014 12:20 PM, Clayton Coleman wrote:
I cringe at the "anti-handheld in the backyard mentality" because those operators are our future.
A single-band CW Tx with a crystal oscillator and a simple, single-conversion Rx may be a perfect way to encourage newcomers to the world of HF. Especially as it shows that a large investment is not necessary to get started. But it would be WRONG to mislead prospective hams into believing that such a setup is the be-all and end-all of operating HF. They should be made to understand that considerable sophistication is possible when operating HF and sophisticated equipment available to suit.
Similarly, a "handheld in the backyard" method of operating via satellite works. It has the beauty of being (comparatively) easy to set up as a demo, and promises success for the newcomer on a limited budget. But it is WRONG to suggest that this is the peak of sophistication in ham satellite operation, and that old-timers as well as newcomers should be satisfied with having to drape their equipment around their neck and run out into the backyard, rain or shine, every time they want to operate.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with handhelds in the back yard. I'm saying that as far as I'm concerned, I'm not interested. I took the training wheels off my bike a long time ago, and I wear long trousers now.
(Actually, I wear shorts almost exclusively. But hopefully you get my point.)
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