Yup that's it, and it's still very busy!

Joe WB9SBD Sig The Original Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme Idle-Tyme.com http://www.idle-tyme.com On 8/22/2019 10:58 AM, Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL) wrote:

Joe,

Your referring to QO-100 the websdr can be found at https://eshail.batc.org.uk/

73,

Peter, 2M0SQL

On Thu, 22 Aug 2019 at 16:44, Joe <nss@mwt.net mailto:nss@mwt.net> wrote:

There is that Geo bird over Africa.

I had the URL for a site that lets you listen to the whole bird
passband.

When it first went up I listened to it a LOT and was amazed at all
the different modes and coverage.

But I can't find the URL anymore. I was gonna go and listen to see
what the activity level is now like since it is much older and the
newness has worn off.

Joe WB9SBD

The Original Rolling Ball Clock
Idle Tyme
Idle-Tyme.com
http://www.idle-tyme.com
On 8/22/2019 10:04 AM, Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL) via AMSAT-BB wrote:

...

Hi Michelle,

Excellent that they came back with the price and while the project
sounds potentially interesting it's of course, not an amateur radio
satellite, has anyone considered any risks for example, does this have
the potential to raise questions when AMSAT approaches gov/orgs for
discount launches for satellites we build that they might say that we
could just go rent some transponder space.

I know in the states disaster comms is a huge point (weirdly not
something that's pushed in Europe), but agencies could already access
this kind of technology just by purchasing sat phones, for example, I
have an iridium unit that lets me make calls and access the internet
although slowly but handy in highlands of Scotland with poor mobile
coverage.

By the sounds of this, it will be access points that then aggregate
into a central point via probably internet backhaul then its dumped up
to the satellite, to me that doesn't really feel within the ham
spirit, although I'm sure tons would argue :)

I know there's a big desire for GEO over North America, but do ops
really think this is the ultimate solution? we're talking 96000 USD
over 4 years.

Think it really requires some heavy thought before just jumping on the idea.

Just my thoughts, and I know I'm on the other side of the pond in the
QO-100 footprint.

Peter, 2M0SQL

On Thu, 22 Aug 2019 at 02:36, Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@amsat.org>  <mailto:amsat-bb@amsat.org>  wrote:

...

An arrangement on Echostar9 for 1MHz of bandwidth for up to 4 years of
USA+Mexico+Canada coverage is on offer for $2000 a month.

I'm putting together a grant proposal for ARRL, FEMA, and others to pay for
at least year of access. I've gotten some positive feedback already. I
think we can make this happen with some fundraising effort. I'm willing to
provide the human resources and whatever incidental financing needs to
happen to secure a grant for rental.

The main purpose of this type of system would be to enable field deployment
of "legacy mode" aggregators, like the Phase 4 Ground ARAP (Amateur Radio
Access Point). This is where traffic on any ham band, using FM or analog
gear, is digitized by a local "collecting" repeater, and is then sent to a
satellite from that repeater. FEMA and ARRL have expressed a lot of
interest and support for this in the past. Phase 4 Ground needs an ARAP in
order to support legacy radios.

You don't have to personally have a microwave digital uplink. The
aggregator equipment does that part for you.

This is most useful for public service and emergency communications. A
communications emergency is declared, someone (FEMA, Red Cross, motivated
ham volunteer) drops in the aggregator, and all ham traffic it hears is
sent to the satellite and then transmitted to the entire footprint.

The downlink is 12-14GHz. This is not 10GHz, but is receivable by
individuals using very inexpensive gear. Traffic can be repeated over the
internet.

What does this get us?

An opportunity to do all the R&D for the aggregator and get some experience
with uplinks.

What do we not have?

A true ham band downlink. You can still receive the downlink yourself, or
you can get it over the internet from an earth station distributor.

That's where we're at with *this* proposal.

I think it's worth it to provide a US-based way to design, deploy, test,
and use real world aggregator equipment. We learn a lot about GEO comms and
figure out a lot of the ins and outs.

Comment and critique welcome and encouraged.

More soon!
-Michelle W5NYV
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_______________________________________________
Sent viaAMSAT-BB@amsat.org  <mailto: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