At 05:49 AM 2/4/2011, Diane Bruce wrote: > > What is the motivation for some to operate on LEO satellite? The > "exotic" mode and bands? The pleasure to achieve an OSCAR class station? > >My initial motivation to getting on satellite was AO-40. That was >exciting, very neat and a fun technical challenge. I did make it >on AO-40 btw, I think I made at least one cw QSO before you folks >broke it. ;-)
AO-40 was an incentive for me, though I never got beyond monitoring the 2m beacon in the early days after launch and before the incident with the 400N motor. I did collect a lot of good telemetry though > > There is new modes actually growing DSTAR, DRM, DIGITAL VOICE > (FDMDV) is this can be an alternative to those who wants something else? or > > will we be facing with this alternative, overcrowded single > channel satellite pass? Where is the place for experimenting on the actual LEO > > fleet? Our licence was not created for "experimenting"? > >The reality is, LEO is all we are going to be able to afford. I do not >see the thousands upon thousands of amateurs willing to put up the $$ >to put another HEO like AO-40, in the near future anyway. And yes AO-7 >is still going, but is really sick sounding. The only short term realistic >answer is more LEOs as I see it. But please, not another FM bird please. >There is absolutely no reason we couldnt put a simple linear >translator up and allow FM on one frequency, such as India does. I do agree, more linear birds would be a good thing, and the idea of "sharing" with FM might work well in these parts, where it can be hard to find anyone else on, and FM might be the difference between having someone to talk to, and enjoying a conversation with yourself! :) Traffic density over VK/ZL can get very low at times, so for us, FM is often a plus, although I'm interested in playing around with SSB too. A "hand me down" and recent upgrades now mean I have more than enough gear for the SSB birds. Unfortunately, LEOs can't solve the problem of vast distances meaning little chance of variety - all I've ever worked on satellite is VK, ZL, P29 and 3D2, but we have to make do with what is practical. :-/ 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. 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
