On 11/12/11 21:49, Clint Bradford wrote:

...

...

... "OSCAR" stands for Orbital Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio ...

Why was it changed to "OrbitING Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio?"

Did "Orbital" just sound too geeky for the masses?

YES - the early citations from the 1960s had it as "Orbital."

WHO changed it to "Orbiting" ???

I don't think it was "changed" so much as someone used a different word. The words orbital and orbiting are very close to each other. So close that I'll bet most people would not readily discern the difference.

I learned it with orbital. I'd probably use that if talking with people, but hardly think that orbiting is bad.

So use either. Orbital is better--or more historically accurate-- but not worth fights over (not implying you were thinking that).

--STeve Andre' wb8wsf en72