I'll just add in that I have only ever operated a satellite by handheld antenna and an HT. I've received SSB sats on stationary antennas but never worked them. I don't have the infrastructure to do so nor have I had the time to set something up. I just graduated college and moved 3,000 miles across the US to Los Angeles (South Bay area) where very few people own their homes and like me rent. I really can't install and antenna and feedline and everything must be portable. One day I'll get a semi portable station together but until then I enjoy helping others get onto the birds (AMSAT Engineering) and hearing other people have fun working them. Same story for my involvement in K2GXT at RIT. I hardly ever operated in college but spent a majority of my time helping others learn the ropes in ham radio, making sure they had access to the equipment they needed, and transferred any experience I had to them. This makes me content to know that my efforts let other people have fun.
On that note, since LA is a pit of RF noise (especially HF at night!) I've toyed with the idea that once my college loans are paid off (that... will take a while) to team up with some other hams I know and purchase some cheap land in the middle of nowhere (like Mojave Desert area) with access to power and internet then set-up a remote station to operate HF/satellites. It would be a neat project and probably make my HOA president much happier :D. Just my $0.02 and story Bryce KB1LQC On Sat, Mar 29, 2014 at 3:21 PM, Michael <[email protected]> wrote: > Been down this road before. I have nothing against operators who want to > work satellites with an HT and a handheld antenna. I tried it and don't > see the attraction once the novelty wears off but hey, to each their own. > Said it before and I'll say it again, I think we do ourselves a huge > disservice by constantly trying to convince people just how "easy" it is to > work the sats. Some of us were drawn to this branch of the hobby because > of the challenge, not because of how "easy" it was. Operators who don't > back down from a challenge are our future..... or they should be. > 73, > Michael, W4HIJ > > On 3/29/2014 12:16 AM, Gus wrote: > >> On 03/28/2014 12:20 PM, Clayton Coleman wrote: >> >>> I cringe at the "anti-handheld in the backyard >>> mentality" because those operators are our future. >>> >> >> A single-band CW Tx with a crystal oscillator and a simple, >> single-conversion Rx may be a perfect way to encourage newcomers to the >> world of HF. Especially as it shows that a large investment is not >> necessary to get started. But it would be WRONG to mislead prospective >> hams into believing that such a setup is the be-all and end-all of >> operating HF. They should be made to understand that considerable >> sophistication is possible when operating HF and sophisticated equipment >> available to suit. >> >> Similarly, a "handheld in the backyard" method of operating via satellite >> works. It has the beauty of being (comparatively) easy to set up as a >> demo, and promises success for the newcomer on a limited budget. But it is >> WRONG to suggest that this is the peak of sophistication in ham satellite >> operation, and that old-timers as well as newcomers should be satisfied >> with having to drape their equipment around their neck and run out into the >> backyard, rain or shine, every time they want to operate. >> >> I'm not saying there is anything wrong with handhelds in the back yard. >> I'm saying that as far as I'm concerned, I'm not interested. I took the >> training wheels off my bike a long time ago, and I wear long trousers now. >> >> (Actually, I wear shorts almost exclusively. But hopefully you get my >> point.) >> >> > _______________________________________________ > 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
