Re: The Moon is our Future
I heard the same things when the first HEOs went up. It takes to much money, it takes to much specialized equipment, it takes to much knowledge, it is for elitists only... The bottom line is a LOT of hams used them and it took some ingenuity, some new equipment, and yes we all had to learn now things to use them. the bottom line is they worked and worked well... My suggestion is quit looking at pitfalls and problems as reasons not to do something, but as opportunities to learn to accomplish new things (or improved communications anyway) and move forward... We can put up all the leos we want, but until someone makes something like B. Bruninga's cell concept work, we are only going to have more of the same, We don't need more of the same!
DE - KD1PE
----- Original Message ----- From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; "'Joe'" [email protected]; "'MM'" [email protected] Cc: "'Jack K.'" [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 8:28 AM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: The Moon is our Future
Don't want to get a whole new thing started here but - I don't think we ever went to the moon in 1969 and I don't think we will ever goto the moon - in 2012 or whenever they proposed a "return" to the moon
I would love to see an amatuer repeater on the moon thou - from my understanding EME is expensive to do, so I think it would leave most of us out
Where as and bringing things back around - LEOs are realitive low cost to use to the normal everyday day
I will put my two cents in for more LEOs - :-)
Hey are there any geosynchinze amatuer sats up?
The moon will require a reasonable radio and big antennas but at least it moves very slowly and you can see it so it should be very easy to track.
On the contrary, we need more LEO's to augment and replace the existing aged fleet.
Whilst AMSAT works on the HEO's lets put some of our efforts towards the Universities who seem to regularly put up 2/70 satellites!
On Thu, 2009-07-02 at 11:15 -0400, David - KG4ZLB wrote:
On the contrary, we need more LEO's to augment and replace the existing aged fleet.
Whilst AMSAT works on the HEO's lets put some of our efforts towards the Universities who seem to regularly put up 2/70 satellites!
I'm relatively new to both amateur radio and the LEO satellites, I'll admit it. But I just can't see why we aren't constructing and launching more mode V/U LEO sats. A couple of the cubesats that are already flying are basically using stripped-down commercial radios in an off-the-shelf bus. It *cannot* be that hard to do, *if* you avoid getting bogged down in "clever" stuff.
I appreciate that a mode V/U satellite would need to be a little more sophisticated than a pair of cheap Chinese HTs gaffa-taped together and thrown out the driver's window of a passing Space Shuttle, but the fact remains that such a contraption *would* actually work, briefly. Most people on this list probably have enough junk lying around to build a viable mode V/U transponder if not a whole satellite (I'd need to hit eBay after payday for the solar panels, and scrounge around in Clyde Space's bins for the chassis).
The tricky bit is getting launches, but it must be possible somehow.
How hard can it be?
Gordon 2M0YEQ
someone I can't remember wheremade a ultra cool linear transponder recently, too bad it most likely isn't rad hard.
for it was like dirst cheap, but can't remember who made it.
Joe WB9SBD
Gordon JC Pearce wrote:
On Thu, 2009-07-02 at 11:15 -0400, David - KG4ZLB wrote:
On the contrary, we need more LEO's to augment and replace the existing aged fleet.
Whilst AMSAT works on the HEO's lets put some of our efforts towards the Universities who seem to regularly put up 2/70 satellites!
I'm relatively new to both amateur radio and the LEO satellites, I'll admit it. But I just can't see why we aren't constructing and launching more mode V/U LEO sats. A couple of the cubesats that are already flying are basically using stripped-down commercial radios in an off-the-shelf bus. It *cannot* be that hard to do, *if* you avoid getting bogged down in "clever" stuff.
I appreciate that a mode V/U satellite would need to be a little more sophisticated than a pair of cheap Chinese HTs gaffa-taped together and thrown out the driver's window of a passing Space Shuttle, but the fact remains that such a contraption *would* actually work, briefly. Most people on this list probably have enough junk lying around to build a viable mode V/U transponder if not a whole satellite (I'd need to hit eBay after payday for the solar panels, and scrounge around in Clyde Space's bins for the chassis).
The tricky bit is getting launches, but it must be possible somehow.
How hard can it be?
Gordon 2M0YEQ
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On Thu, Jul 02, 2009 at 06:48:51AM -0600, Jack K. wrote:
communications anyway) and move forward... We can put up all the leos we want, but until someone makes something like B. Bruninga's cell concept work, we are only going to have more of the same, We don't need more of the same!
I couldn't agree more - we don't need more of the same.
If I want to sit back and have a two hour rag-chew with someone on the other side of the planet I will use Skype or my cell phone!
Dreaming about what *might* be in space is a fun exercise. Actually doing something about it requires sending things to LEO because reality has dictated that's as far as we can afford to go.
How's about we use some of that frustrated *imagineering* to come up with interesting new concepts at LEO? We don't need any more FM repeaters buzzing overhead, but what about more cameras downloading HD images, scientific payloads that monitor the ongoing climate change, payloads to study the Earth's magnetic field, etc. etc. Our own 'Twitter' messaging network from space...?
The Apollo 13 creed of "failure is not an option" has completely infected the brains at AMSAT and this list. You want something at HEO or on the moon, cut a check for $15 million dollars and let's get on with it. Been waiting since 1996 for another AO-13 and I am getting too old to keep waiting.
AMSAT is becoming completely irrelevant as it strives without success for the impossible mission and exhibits a shocking amount of leadership malfesance as it stubbornly refuses to recognize and adapt to realities in the launch business.
I know, I know maybe NEXT year someone rich will die and leave us a boatload of cash. Or the bankrupt US government will suddenly cough up a billion dollars for some orbiting emergency communication system. In the meantime we have to stifle the truth because it might blow yet another *secret* deal that's in the works and *almost* a done deal, so let's not complain publicly and ruin it.
Heard the stories, heard the lies, got all the t-shirts and ball caps. Whatever.
It's called APRS.
Jeff Davis wrote: Our own 'Twitter' messaging network from space...?
participants (6)
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David - KG4ZLB -
Gordon JC Pearce -
Jack K. -
Jeff Davis -
Joe -
Nigel Gunn G8IFF/W8IFF