On Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:47:00 -0500 John Becker <[email protected]> wrote:
> I got to agree with you. > > The FM sat's in my option is near useless with all the > "using them famous words of the late W2OY" > Just way to many "kids, lids and space cadets " > Standing in their back yard on a FM HT. Standing in your back yard with an FM handie and a homebrew antenna is a great way to communicate, and I'd recommend it to anyone. It takes skill to build a decent aerial, build a diplexer, set it all up and work out where to point. These are skills that anyone can learn, if they choose to. Where's the skill in the "armchair copy" computer-controlled stuff? You buy some aerials, buy the brackets, buy a rotator, buy a CAT cable, buy some proprietary software to drive it, and then plug it together. If you can wave a credit card and click through the install wizard, you're on the air. > Pass after pass it seems to always to be the same people. Yup, it's nice being able to catch up with friends in another country, quickly and easily. > Sure do (still) miss AO-40.... If you want to sit in front of your computer and have it steer the aerial and do all the tuning, then that's great. You could get the same effect by using Skype. I honestly cannot see the attraction in HEO satellites, and I *am* old enough to have experienced them when they were working. Maybe there's something subtle I'm missing, I don't know. I just don't get it. -- Gordon JC Pearce MM0YEQ <[email protected]> _______________________________________________ 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
