Re: Another Great Tech Tuesday Net
... I guess but it's pretty meaningless for
those of us in the rest of the country.
About 60,000 licensed hams were within earshot in this region - I am not going to ignore such an "open mic" opportunity to "spread the word" on the birds.
Clint K6LCS
---------------------------------- Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com
Wow a whole 60,000? So how many of the rest of us couldn't hear it? I honestly think it's great what you do for the satellite hobby Clint. At least for the part of it that likes to user HT's and handheld antennas exchanging grid squares on flying repeaters. At the same time I get tired of your constant grandiose self promotion. Your E-mail to the BB did little more than tout how "great" you are to everybody. It also had the unintended consequence ( by you) of someone calling you on your BS. Here's an idea, how about keeping on doing what you're doing for your segment of interest in the hobby and let the accolades fall where they may instead of constantly patting yourself on the back. That would be a refreshing change. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/12/2014 9:30 PM, Clint Bradford wrote:
... I guess but it's pretty meaningless for
those of us in the rest of the country.
About 60,000 licensed hams were within earshot in this region - I am not going to ignore such an "open mic" opportunity to "spread the word" on the birds.
Clint K6LCS
Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
For all the dissenters...
What have you done to promote AMSAT and how many people outside of nthe satellite hobby have you affected?
I consider the reports of "missionaries" to be a promotion of ideas on how to spread the word.
If 60,000 doesn't impress ask one of the "missionary's" how you can link to their presentation either via RF or internet and find you own 60,000 followers.
Roger WA1KAT
On 2/14/2014 12:44 PM, Michael wrote:
Wow a whole 60,000? So how many of the rest of us couldn't hear it? I honestly think it's great what you do for the satellite hobby Clint. At least for the part of it that likes to user HT's and handheld antennas exchanging grid squares on flying repeaters. At the same time I get tired of your constant grandiose self promotion. Your E-mail to the BB did little more than tout how "great" you are to everybody. It also had the unintended consequence ( by you) of someone calling you on your BS. Here's an idea, how about keeping on doing what you're doing for your segment of interest in the hobby and let the accolades fall where they may instead of constantly patting yourself on the back. That would be a refreshing change. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/12/2014 9:30 PM, Clint Bradford wrote:
... I guess but it's pretty meaningless for
those of us in the rest of the country.
About 60,000 licensed hams were within earshot in this region - I am not going to ignore such an "open mic" opportunity to "spread the word" on the birds.
Clint K6LCS
Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Dear Friends,
Please use the BB to discuss satellites.
Any other communications should take place off of the BB.
Thank you! Tony AA2TX ---
On 2/14/2014 3:45 PM, Roger Kolakowski wrote:
For all the dissenters...
What have you done to promote AMSAT and how many people outside of nthe satellite hobby have you affected?
I consider the reports of "missionaries" to be a promotion of ideas on how to spread the word.
If 60,000 doesn't impress ask one of the "missionary's" how you can link to their presentation either via RF or internet and find you own 60,000 followers.
Roger WA1KAT
On 2/14/2014 12:44 PM, Michael wrote:
Wow a whole 60,000? So how many of the rest of us couldn't hear it? I honestly think it's great what you do for the satellite hobby Clint. At least for the part of it that likes to user HT's and handheld antennas exchanging grid squares on flying repeaters. At the same time I get tired of your constant grandiose self promotion. Your E-mail to the BB did little more than tout how "great" you are to everybody. It also had the unintended consequence ( by you) of someone calling you on your BS. Here's an idea, how about keeping on doing what you're doing for your segment of interest in the hobby and let the accolades fall where they may instead of constantly patting yourself on the back. That would be a refreshing change. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/12/2014 9:30 PM, Clint Bradford wrote:
... I guess but it's pretty meaningless for
those of us in the rest of the country.
About 60,000 licensed hams were within earshot in this region - I am not going to ignore such an "open mic" opportunity to "spread the word" on the birds.
Clint K6LCS
Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
OK then, I have a legitimate satellite question. Is Fox 2 going to be a linear bird? See, I have some confusion on this. I could swear I read somewhere that it was yet another flying repeater just like Fox 1 is but then someone here told me I was mistaken. Since you're here Tony, I thought I'd ask you since I'm pretty sure you can give me a definitive answer. I mean after all, since we are talking about " Tech" as in technology, I'd be interested to know if there is going to be any technical challenge to working Fox 2 or if it will just be yet another ones of Clint's Easysats. Unlike some folks such as Clint, I don't delight in how "easy" it is to work a satellite and actually enjoy a challenge like I had when I first got into this part of the hobby and put my station together using the homebrew SAEBRTrack tracking system I built along with the OR-360 rotators that you told me where to find back then. Thank you btw.... I mean if people enjoy working "easysats" with an HT and a handheld antenna, that's all well and good. To each their own. It's just that I'd like a bit more of a challenge than that. Unfortunately I missed out on A0-40 which I understand took a fair amount of "tech" savvy to conquer. AO-7 and FO-29 were fun mixed with a bit of challenge though and even AO-51 was pretty cool trying to conquer the S band mode. I'd very much like to start putting my old homebrew antennas and rotators back in the air if I feel like it will result in some challenge and a sense of accomplishment and knowing that I did something that "not just anyone can do" instead of "heck it's just so easy" as Clint likes to point out..... If Fox 2 is a linear bird, I'll even put my money where my mouth is and renew my long dormant membership in AMSAT because I will feel that they are moving in a direction that I and many others have interest in. If it's just another flying repeater though well..... YAWN....I'm getting sleepy now. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/14/2014 4:04 PM, Anthony Monteiro wrote:
Dear Friends,
Please use the BB to discuss satellites.
Any other communications should take place off of the BB.
Thank you! Tony AA2TX
On 2/14/2014 3:45 PM, Roger Kolakowski wrote:
For all the dissenters...
What have you done to promote AMSAT and how many people outside of nthe satellite hobby have you affected?
I consider the reports of "missionaries" to be a promotion of ideas on how to spread the word.
If 60,000 doesn't impress ask one of the "missionary's" how you can link to their presentation either via RF or internet and find you own 60,000 followers.
Roger WA1KAT
On 2/14/2014 12:44 PM, Michael wrote:
Wow a whole 60,000? So how many of the rest of us couldn't hear it? I honestly think it's great what you do for the satellite hobby Clint. At least for the part of it that likes to user HT's and handheld antennas exchanging grid squares on flying repeaters. At the same time I get tired of your constant grandiose self promotion. Your E-mail to the BB did little more than tout how "great" you are to everybody. It also had the unintended consequence ( by you) of someone calling you on your BS. Here's an idea, how about keeping on doing what you're doing for your segment of interest in the hobby and let the accolades fall where they may instead of constantly patting yourself on the back. That would be a refreshing change. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/12/2014 9:30 PM, Clint Bradford wrote:
... I guess but it's pretty meaningless for
those of us in the rest of the country.
About 60,000 licensed hams were within earshot in this region - I am not going to ignore such an "open mic" opportunity to "spread the word" on the birds.
Clint K6LCS
On 2/14/2014 4:57 PM, Michael wrote:
OK then, I have a legitimate satellite question. Is Fox 2 going to be a linear bird? See, I have some confusion on this....
Hi Michael,
Good question. I think I can clear this up.
The main point of Fox-2 is to develop and fly an advanced, software defined transponder (SDX.) An SDX can be programmed to be any kind of transponder. It will be a linear, inverting, mode-J transponder by default.
We would also like to try some new and interesting digital modes perhaps including digital voice which would be my personal favorite. That is the tremendous flexibility you get with an SDX. You can change the transponder in software.
ARISSat-1 was our first attempt at an SDX and it worked very well. It could only be programmed on the ground though. The SDX for Fox-2 will be programmable in orbit.
Fox-2 will be a 3U CubeSat (3x the size of Fox-1) providing a lot more power and space for the electronics.
The source of confusion may be because we are building four Fox-1 flight units. The idea is to have them available and ready to fly so we can easily team up with universities that want to fly science missions and get free launches. Building them all at once is also a much cheaper way to build satellites.
All four Fox-1 units will have the same hardware and avionics. The universities will supply their experiment cards and the software can be customized for each satellite as needed.
Once the Fox-1 flight models are built, the engineering team can begin working on Fox-2. That should start this year.
The status of the Fox-1 satellites is as follows:
Fox-1 (Fox-1A) is scheduled to fly on NROL-55.
RadFxSat (Fox-1B) is a joint project with Vanderbilt University. It has already been accepted into the NASA ELaNa program but it has not been assigned a launch yet.
Fox-1C and Fox-1D are not currently assingned.
OK?
Best satellite DX and 73, Tony AA2TX
I'm glad Mode J is on the agenda. Most of the birds that have launched recently and are scheduled to launch in the near future have 2m downlinks. Here in Southwest Washington, DC, about a mile from the Capitol, there's an awful lot of QRN on 2 meters. 70cm downlinks are much easier to hear. There is QRM from the military EPLRS system on 70cm, but the noise blanker is rather effective on reducing that.
73,
Paul, N8HM
On Fri, Feb 14, 2014 at 6:53 PM, Anthony Monteiro [email protected] wrote:
On 2/14/2014 4:57 PM, Michael wrote:
OK then, I have a legitimate satellite question. Is Fox 2 going to be a linear bird? See, I have some confusion on this....
Hi Michael,
Good question. I think I can clear this up.
The main point of Fox-2 is to develop and fly an advanced, software defined transponder (SDX.) An SDX can be programmed to be any kind of transponder. It will be a linear, inverting, mode-J transponder by default.
We would also like to try some new and interesting digital modes perhaps including digital voice which would be my personal favorite. That is the tremendous flexibility you get with an SDX. You can change the transponder in software.
ARISSat-1 was our first attempt at an SDX and it worked very well. It could only be programmed on the ground though. The SDX for Fox-2 will be programmable in orbit.
Fox-2 will be a 3U CubeSat (3x the size of Fox-1) providing a lot more power and space for the electronics.
The source of confusion may be because we are building four Fox-1 flight units. The idea is to have them available and ready to fly so we can easily team up with universities that want to fly science missions and get free launches. Building them all at once is also a much cheaper way to build satellites.
All four Fox-1 units will have the same hardware and avionics. The universities will supply their experiment cards and the software can be customized for each satellite as needed.
Once the Fox-1 flight models are built, the engineering team can begin working on Fox-2. That should start this year.
The status of the Fox-1 satellites is as follows:
Fox-1 (Fox-1A) is scheduled to fly on NROL-55.
RadFxSat (Fox-1B) is a joint project with Vanderbilt University. It has already been accepted into the NASA ELaNa program but it has not been assigned a launch yet.
Fox-1C and Fox-1D are not currently assingned.
OK?
Best satellite DX and 73, Tony AA2TX
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
Perhaps that was a legitimate question hiding in there, but I read most of that as cheap shots at Clint. Will you please let it rest? You don’t have to like him, but I’d appreciate some positivity.
Like you, I want to do satellite tracking hardware and not just point HTs at the birds and do manual doppler correction. But, there’s a very, very useful place for the newbie stuff that seems useless to you. Everyone benefits when the hobby grows, and overwhelming new people to the hobby with excessively technical projects can serve to scare them off. When more people join the hobby, more products are made, more competition between hardware manufacturers occurs, and the costs go down for all of us! That alone should be incentive for everyone to bring the newbies in.
So, I’m not suggesting that anyone needs to lighten the technical offerings, or make anything more simple. But, I do think that anyone offering marketable material that attracts newbies, regardless of how simple it may be, should be welcome.
We have to remember that there are people of all skill levels in this world, and not all of them are able to grasp things immediately. Sometimes, adding a lot of complexity isn’t fun for people looking for a little instant gratification. And it’s that fun that powers the interest in the hobby and creates a lifelong connection to it. So let’s avoid bashing anyone who likes “easysats” or anyone who wants to help others with them, OK?
Kevin
On Feb 14, 2014, at 1:57 PM, Michael [email protected] wrote:
OK then, I have a legitimate satellite question. Is Fox 2 going to be a linear bird? See, I have some confusion on this. I could swear I read somewhere that it was yet another flying repeater just like Fox 1 is but then someone here told me I was mistaken. Since you're here Tony, I thought I'd ask you since I'm pretty sure you can give me a definitive answer. I mean after all, since we are talking about " Tech" as in technology, I'd be interested to know if there is going to be any technical challenge to working Fox 2 or if it will just be yet another ones of Clint's Easysats. Unlike some folks such as Clint, I don't delight in how "easy" it is to work a satellite and actually enjoy a challenge like I had when I first got into this part of the hobby and put my station together using the homebrew SAEBRTrack tracking system I built along with the OR-360 rotators that you told me where to find back then. Thank you btw.... I mean if people enjoy working "easysats" with an HT and a handheld antenna, that's all well and good. To each their own. It's just that I'd like a bit more of a challenge than that. Unfortunately I missed out on A0-40 which I understand took a fair amount of "tech" savvy to conquer. AO-7 and FO-29 were fun mixed with a bit of challenge though and even AO-51 was pretty cool trying to conquer the S band mode. I'd very much like to start putting my old homebrew antennas and rotators back in the air if I feel like it will result in some challenge and a sense of accomplishment and knowing that I did something that "not just anyone can do" instead of "heck it's just so easy" as Clint likes to point out..... If Fox 2 is a linear bird, I'll even put my money where my mouth is and renew my long dormant membership in AMSAT because I will feel that they are moving in a direction that I and many others have interest in. If it's just another flying repeater though well..... YAWN....I'm getting sleepy now. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/14/2014 4:04 PM, Anthony Monteiro wrote:
Dear Friends,
Please use the BB to discuss satellites.
Any other communications should take place off of the BB.
Thank you! Tony AA2TX
On 2/14/2014 3:45 PM, Roger Kolakowski wrote:
For all the dissenters...
What have you done to promote AMSAT and how many people outside of nthe satellite hobby have you affected?
I consider the reports of "missionaries" to be a promotion of ideas on how to spread the word.
If 60,000 doesn't impress ask one of the "missionary's" how you can link to their presentation either via RF or internet and find you own 60,000 followers.
Roger WA1KAT
On 2/14/2014 12:44 PM, Michael wrote:
Wow a whole 60,000? So how many of the rest of us couldn't hear it? I honestly think it's great what you do for the satellite hobby Clint. At least for the part of it that likes to user HT's and handheld antennas exchanging grid squares on flying repeaters. At the same time I get tired of your constant grandiose self promotion. Your E-mail to the BB did little more than tout how "great" you are to everybody. It also had the unintended consequence ( by you) of someone calling you on your BS. Here's an idea, how about keeping on doing what you're doing for your segment of interest in the hobby and let the accolades fall where they may instead of constantly patting yourself on the back. That would be a refreshing change. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/12/2014 9:30 PM, Clint Bradford wrote:
> ... I guess but it's pretty meaningless for
those of us in the rest of the country.
About 60,000 licensed hams were within earshot in this region - I am not going to ignore such an "open mic" opportunity to "spread the word" on the birds.
Clint K6LCS
Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
On 2/14/2014 6:55 PM, Kevin Elliott wrote: ... Like you, I want to do satellite tracking hardware and not just point HTs at the birds and do manual doppler correction. But, there’s a very, very useful place for the newbie stuff...
Hi Kevin,
Yes, that is why we need and are building a variety of satellites.
73, Tony AA2TX
The CubeSats, NanoSats, PicoSats, and even the behemoths that cost millions are pretty damn cool. I’m so excited that there are so many opportunities above our heads now in amateur radio! Soon there will be too many of them for any single individual to ever touch.
On Feb 14, 2014, at 4:06 PM, Anthony Monteiro [email protected] wrote:
On 2/14/2014 6:55 PM, Kevin Elliott wrote: ... Like you, I want to do satellite tracking hardware and not just point HTs at the birds and do manual doppler correction. But, there’s a very, very useful place for the newbie stuff...
Hi Kevin,
Yes, that is why we need and are building a variety of satellites.
73, Tony AA2TX
THAT is why I like amateur radio, ALREADY there are more things to do than I will ever be able to do in my lifetime! It's an ADD person's dream hobby! :-)
Jerry NØJY
On 2/14/2014 6:30 PM, Kevin Elliott wrote:
I’m so excited that there are so many opportunities above our heads now in amateur radio! Soon there will be too many of them for any single individual to ever touch.
I'll just say this Kevin. I was a "newbie" to all this a few short years ago too but you know what I did, I figured it out. I had no "Elmer" to guide me and I didn't need anyone like Clint holding and HT in one hand and an antenna in the other doing a demo to show me how " easy" it was. In fact, had I seen such a thing at the time, it probably would have turned me off to it more than anything. I enjoyed doing the research on antennas and rotator tracking systems and then building many of the items I needed. I then enjoyed the challenge of learning how to work the birds. The demos to show how "easy" it all is certainly have their place but I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think we sometimes do ourselves a disservice by the de- emphasis of the tech side of things and how one can build a much more complex and entertaining ground station if one so chooses. Sure you can scare people off by getting overly involved with technical stuff but I bet you can scare just as many away by showing them how "easy" it is too. Don't even get me started on the "instant gratification" business. That's a major part of what's wrong with society today. Anything worth doing is worth working for, but nobody seems to want to do that anymore. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/14/2014 6:55 PM, Kevin Elliott wrote:
Perhaps that was a legitimate question hiding in there, but I read most of that as cheap shots at Clint. Will you please let it rest? You don’t have to like him, but I’d appreciate some positivity.
Like you, I want to do satellite tracking hardware and not just point HTs at the birds and do manual doppler correction. But, there’s a very, very useful place for the newbie stuff that seems useless to you. Everyone benefits when the hobby grows, and overwhelming new people to the hobby with excessively technical projects can serve to scare them off. When more people join the hobby, more products are made, more competition between hardware manufacturers occurs, and the costs go down for all of us! That alone should be incentive for everyone to bring the newbies in.
So, I’m not suggesting that anyone needs to lighten the technical offerings, or make anything more simple. But, I do think that anyone offering marketable material that attracts newbies, regardless of how simple it may be, should be welcome.
We have to remember that there are people of all skill levels in this world, and not all of them are able to grasp things immediately. Sometimes, adding a lot of complexity isn’t fun for people looking for a little instant gratification. And it’s that fun that powers the interest in the hobby and creates a lifelong connection to it. So let’s avoid bashing anyone who likes “easysats” or anyone who wants to help others with them, OK?
Kevin
On Feb 14, 2014, at 1:57 PM, Michael [email protected] wrote:
OK then, I have a legitimate satellite question. Is Fox 2 going to be a linear bird? See, I have some confusion on this. I could swear I read somewhere that it was yet another flying repeater just like Fox 1 is but then someone here told me I was mistaken. Since you're here Tony, I thought I'd ask you since I'm pretty sure you can give me a definitive answer. I mean after all, since we are talking about " Tech" as in technology, I'd be interested to know if there is going to be any technical challenge to working Fox 2 or if it will just be yet another ones of Clint's Easysats. Unlike some folks such as Clint, I don't delight in how "easy" it is to work a satellite and actually enjoy a challenge like I had when I first got into this part of the hobby and put my station together using the homebrew SAEBRTrack tracking system I built along with the OR-360 rotators that you told me where to find back then. Thank you btw.... I mean if people enjoy working "easysats" with an HT and a handheld antenna, that's all well and good. To each their own. It's just that I'd like a bit more of a challenge than that. Unfortunately I missed out on A0-40 which I understand took a fair amount of "tech" savvy to conquer. AO-7 and FO-29 were fun mixed with a bit of challenge though and even AO-51 was pretty cool trying to conquer the S band mode. I'd very much like to start putting my old homebrew antennas and rotators back in the air if I feel like it will result in some challenge and a sense of accomplishment and knowing that I did something that "not just anyone can do" instead of "heck it's just so easy" as Clint likes to point out..... If Fox 2 is a linear bird, I'll even put my money where my mouth is and renew my long dormant membership in AMSAT because I will feel that they are moving in a direction that I and many others have interest in. If it's just another flying repeater though well..... YAWN....I'm getting sleepy now. 73, Michael, W4HIJ
Hi Michael,
Yes, I think pushing people to learn for themselves and discover the deeper technical concepts should certainly be encouraged. But consider this. There are droves of high school students who would have otherwise watched reality television who are instead becoming interested in the hobby because they think it’s “cool” that they can talk to an astronaut, or bounce a signal off a satellite. These youngsters have a lot of other distractions available to them, and when things are overly complicated it will be too much of a struggle to get their attention.
I’m not talking about the already nerdy high school students who could gravitate towards self learning and technology, naturally. I’m talking about the typical student, some of which are edgy, high risk, and even special education. who have become interested in ham radio because of AMSAT and NASA (and a few helpful ham radio folks who have make it fun and interesting).
I think that’s what makes this hobby great. There are all shades of topics, and all levels can participate. And we should encourage the ability to have all levels of it to persist. While the easy/beginner levels might not suit you and I, it does bring in a slew of new people to the hobby. An those people will need nurturing so they become the experts in the next 20 years.
I’m like you. Someone showing me the easy route doesn’t help me. I like to learn by myself, by engaging and exploring. I like to work hard to learn. Advanced topics lure me in, and that’s what keeps me fascinated. But surely we can’t hold everyone to that standard, and they shouldn’t be made to feel bad for not learning the same way!
In any case, I think your heart is in the right place, and we’re saying similar things in different ways. Thank you for the conversation!
Cheers and 73s, Kevin
On Feb 14, 2014, at 6:48 PM, Michael [email protected] wrote:
I'll just say this Kevin. I was a "newbie" to all this a few short years ago too but you know what I did, I figured it out. I had no "Elmer" to guide me and I didn't need anyone like Clint holding and HT in one hand and an antenna in the other doing a demo to show me how " easy" it was. In fact, had I seen such a thing at the time, it probably would have turned me off to it more than anything. I enjoyed doing the research on antennas and rotator tracking systems and then building many of the items I needed. I then enjoyed the challenge of learning how to work the birds. The demos to show how "easy" it all is certainly have their place but I've said it before and I'll say it again, I think we sometimes do ourselves a disservice by the de- emphasis of the tech side of things and how one can build a much more complex and entertaining ground station if one so chooses. Sure you can scare people off by getting overly involved with technical stuff but I bet you can scare just as many away by showing them how "easy" it is too. Don't even get me started on the "instant gratification" business. That's a major part of what's wrong with society today. Anything worth doing is worth working for, but nobody seems to want to do that anymore. 73, Michael, W4HIJ On 2/14/2014 6:55 PM, Kevin Elliott wrote:
Perhaps that was a legitimate question hiding in there, but I read most of that as cheap shots at Clint. Will you please let it rest? You don’t have to like him, but I’d appreciate some positivity.
Like you, I want to do satellite tracking hardware and not just point HTs at the birds and do manual doppler correction. But, there’s a very, very useful place for the newbie stuff that seems useless to you. Everyone benefits when the hobby grows, and overwhelming new people to the hobby with excessively technical projects can serve to scare them off. When more people join the hobby, more products are made, more competition between hardware manufacturers occurs, and the costs go down for all of us! That alone should be incentive for everyone to bring the newbies in.
So, I’m not suggesting that anyone needs to lighten the technical offerings, or make anything more simple. But, I do think that anyone offering marketable material that attracts newbies, regardless of how simple it may be, should be welcome.
We have to remember that there are people of all skill levels in this world, and not all of them are able to grasp things immediately. Sometimes, adding a lot of complexity isn’t fun for people looking for a little instant gratification. And it’s that fun that powers the interest in the hobby and creates a lifelong connection to it. So let’s avoid bashing anyone who likes “easysats” or anyone who wants to help others with them, OK?
Kevin
On Feb 14, 2014, at 1:57 PM, Michael [email protected] wrote:
OK then, I have a legitimate satellite question. Is Fox 2 going to be a linear bird? See, I have some confusion on this. I could swear I read somewhere that it was yet another flying repeater just like Fox 1 is but then someone here told me I was mistaken. Since you're here Tony, I thought I'd ask you since I'm pretty sure you can give me a definitive answer. I mean after all, since we are talking about " Tech" as in technology, I'd be interested to know if there is going to be any technical challenge to working Fox 2 or if it will just be yet another ones of Clint's Easysats. Unlike some folks such as Clint, I don't delight in how "easy" it is to work a satellite and actually enjoy a challenge like I had when I first got into this part of the hobby and put my station together using the homebrew SAEBRTrack tracking system I built along with the OR-360 rotators that you told me where to find back then. Thank you btw.... I mean if people enjoy working "easysats" with an HT and a handheld antenna, that's all well and good. To each their own. It's just that I'd like a bit more of a challenge than that. Unfortunately I missed out on A0-40 which I understand took a fair amount of "tech" savvy to conquer. AO-7 and FO-29 were fun mixed with a bit of challenge though and even AO-51 was pretty cool trying to conquer the S band mode. I'd very much like to start putting my old homebrew antennas and rotators back in the air if I feel like it will result in some challenge and a sense of accomplishment and knowing that I did something that "not just anyone can do" instead of "heck it's just so easy" as Clint likes to point out..... If Fox 2 is a linear bird, I'll even put my money where my mouth is and renew my long dormant membership in AMSAT because I will feel that they are moving in a direction that I and many others have interest in. If it's just another flying repeater though well..... YAWN....I'm getting sleepy now. 73, Michael, W4HIJ
participants (7)
-
Anthony Monteiro -
Clint Bradford -
Kevin Elliott -
Michael -
n0jy -
Paul Stoetzer -
Roger Kolakowski