----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Bruninga" [email protected] To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 4:00 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: JUBILEE and other frustrations

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There seems to be a proliferation of satellites using the Amateur bands as cheap down links, and using Radio Amateurs as a cheap way of collecting their data. It is MY personal belief that a satellite should only use our hard-earned and much coveted frequencies if they REALLY do carry an Amateur Radio payload... I.E. a Transponder!

While I too like to see transponders, I do not like to see all the negativizim, hate and rabble-rousing against those who actually get something into space. The self-richeous nay-saying comments are about as practical as these:

"Those HF contesters should not be using the Amateur Bands, they should be passing useful communications or traffic!"

"Those Traffic passers are not real amateur operators, because they will not respond with QSL's!"

"Those old fud rag chewers on HF think they own the frequency. They should let others use the frequency for more useful communications"

"Those FM commuters are just wasting air time, saying the same old thing every day. Why don't they just use a cell phone!"

"Those AM guys are just wasting 6 KHz of spectrum, they should be made illegal on the amateur bands"

"Who wants to look at all those SSTV pictures, Its just the same old post-card! They should not be using 3 KHz of bandwidth for such stupid applications"...

"Those Winlink guys are killing amateur radio by turning the bands into an automatic communications system."

"Those Echolink and IRLP links are bad for ham radio. Why don't they just use HF or a phone if they want to talk to someone far away."

"Those Radio control Airplanes operating on the Amateur band should never be there, they are not communications".

"Those experimental Balloons just transmit pictures and telemetry, without a transponder, they have no purpose in Amateur Radio"

And on and on...

Face, it.. Ham radio is as rich in applications as there are innovative and resourceful people. If you want something done, then go do it. If you don't like what others are doing with their hobby, then get out of the way.

Public negativizim and constant complaining never accomplishes anything except darken our collective hobby. Save that for the politicians who are supposed to respond to their constituents. For a hobby that is just the collective "us" with each licensed individual having the same equal opportunities as everyone else, complaining about what others do is just pointless.

Bob, WB4APR

Hi Bob, WB4APR

You cannot get out of the way those Amateur Radio users actually requesting OSCAR's Satellites with on board transponders because the Amateur Satellite Service started when in 1972 OSCAR-6 was launched and thousand's of the above maltreated and by you offended HF users decided to abandone the Amateur Service to enter into a more bright and promising Amateur Satellite Service. The above thousand's HF users invested worldwide a lot of money and a lot of efforts to convert their HF stations into VHF/UHF/SHF Satellite Stations with the purpose to get a more communication efficiency against the problems due of propagation using short waves. Without the above prerequisite the Amateur Satellite Service never would had spring up.

Read please this "Brief History" written into page-1 of the AMSAT-UK OSCAR-13 Operations and Technical Handbook 1989

"Amateur radio satellites have gone through three phases; phase 1: experimentation to find the possible; phase 2: long life, low orbit satellites to gain experience; and phase 3: high altitude orbits with complex transponding and control systems.

Phase 1 started when OSCAR-1 was launched on 12 December 1961 and phase 2 was led by OSCAR-6 in October 1972. Amsat's first attemp for phase 3 (the satellite known only as phase 3A ) failed when the experimental Ariane rocked plunged into the South Atlantic in May 1980 . Amsat second attemp for phase 3 partially succeeded in June 1993 when OSCAR-10 was released into space . The world's radio amateurs after more than 10 years of low orbit satellites and associated short visibility periods, at last tasted Amsat's policy of equivalence to a permantly open 14 MHz band with practically world wide communications.

OSCAR stands for Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio and a satellite is a package equipped with solar cells, batteries, receivers, and transmitters, aerials and control electronics. The batteries are charged by the solar cells whenever the satellite is in sunlight. Signal received in part of one amateur band are retransmitted in part of another amateur band. Unlike terrestrial, single frequency, analog repeaters ,the satellite relay system (called a transponder ) will translate linearly any type of narrow-band signal such as CW, SSB, RTTY, NBFM, or AM although only the first four are recommended, being power-efficient and RF low duty cycle -------------------- Bob, This is why the above thousands Satellite Experimenter's and User's mostly coming from the HF are actually waiting for P3-E and her transponders. Read again please:

".................when OSCAR-10 was released into space . The world's radio amateurs after more than 10 years of low orbit satellites and associated short visibility periods, at last tasted Amsat's policy of equivalence to a permanently open 14 MHz band with practically world wide communications."

I hope that the original unchanged AMSAT's policy will be now clear for you.

73" de

i8CVS Domenico Past President AMSAT-Italia