Isn't it neat that Amateur Radio allows you to have a very narrow interest and get enjoyment out of it. From HF to multi GHz. From terrestrial to EME.
One subset is amateur satellites. Further subsets within amateur satellite includes those who love to work the FM Grid Sats, others like the "beep" Sats while others explore the old dead birds looking for a Phoenix a la AO-7. To complain about the use of spectrum by one group or another is nuts. In the last day I've read such nonsense as "use of amateur frequencies for telemetry". Duh? Was it being used for something else? Did anyone notice that the "beep" Sats for the most part do their beeping on UHF. Those are not exclusive amateur frequencies. We, as amateurs, are the SECONDARY user of a shared frequency. In the meantime, instead of complaining, get involved with your local CubeSat project to make sure that a FM or linear transponder is part of the spec. I think Delfi is a perfect model for us to pursue. Post science, post amateurs assisting with near whole earth orbit data acquisition, the satellite is turned over for amateur use. What a wonderful model of collaboration and win-win Delfi set for all of us. Which leads me to my final comment on this Friday night rant... I don't expect to see another HEO or MEO in my life time. I think there is a better chance to see a constellation of LEO picosats running a mesh-like network. A network built up gradually over time by the CubeSat community 2 or 3 cubes at a time over many years costing no one group an arm and a leg to move toward that goal. No one launch failure jeopardizing the big picture. No one satellite failing in the constellation putting down the whole network or our enjoyment of it use. Step'n off the soap box... 73, Alan VE4YZ EN19kv AMSAT LM 2352 http://www.wincube.ca _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@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
