Clint, IMO there is room to promote new participation with basic FM repeaters in the sky, while at the same time providing an architecture and program for advanced operations. The vision there is to also provide a blueprint for entry-level participation at very reasonable cost. More work than a tape measure and an HT but the vision was definitely to help relative newcomers take it to the next level. There's room for both, no? Rob KA2CZU On Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 11:26:00 PM EDT, Clint Bradford via AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org wrote:
These new projects - seems like they are “marketed” towards a very small segment os satellite operators.
Is there truly a worthwhile “return on investment" when a ground station might have to include …
“ … radio system is a 10 GHz downlink that will support 1 Mbps. You'll need a 10 GHz antenna that can be steered to track a LEO satellite and probably a low-noise block downconverter (LNB) feeding an SDR. I think similar receivers are used for QO-100, so a Google search may yield some designs that are currently working, although QO-100 is nearly stationary … “
Feels like a very few hams will partake … Exciting, indeed. But surely not geared to the masses …
Clint Bradford K6LCS _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb