[amsat-bb] A051

[k3szh@netzero.net]

Subject: A051


As a long time active satellite operator starting with the days of A06 and up, and a 33 year AMSAT member, I have a question.  What happened to progress?  When A051 went up I thought and read that A051 was a stepping stone to the introduction of new  members to satellite communication, to get on with simple and doable equipment.  To feel the excitement of communicating via an orbiting satellite.  However, members and non members are still falling over and qrming each other to get that elusive grid square or state, and that’s fine.  What happened to progress?

Yes, I remember my first satellite contact on A06 which was across the pond to G2RD using mostly homemade equipment.  Even my wife celebrated my accomplishment with me.  The stuff was not as available as today, or I couldn’t afford some of it.  

The fm sats dominate as far as activity.  A07, V052 and F029 combined are not even close.  Why have people not progressed to the other sats to get the feel, experience and hopefully improve their receiving skills.  It will take that to be successful.  I could work 49 states (Hawaii is a stretch for me on A07) in a week or less if people from the fm satellites  would join us on these CW and SSB birds.  That’s how large the footprint is.  Check out Emily’s A07 Logger.  There are many more EU stations then on the US side.

Since A07 has come back from its long sleep it kept my interest going.  P3E will be going up shortly.  I have an almost daily QSO on A07,  yes a QSO,  with a friend Terry G1WPR  - sometimes 10 minutes or more.  And there are others.  The world is much larger than the A051 footprint.  It will also give you an opportunity to improve your receiving, which will be needed when P3E goes up.

No, I don’t like waiting for the next HEO to go up as my time is probably shorter than yours, but I progressed.  If it weren’t for AMSAT we wouldn’t have the satellites available to us.  And what about Martha in the office, what a gal!   Be an AMSAT member and not a freeloader.  Maybe we should have a contest for AMSAT numbers only - just kidding.  That’s my take.

Now before you rip me apart and put your flamethrower on, which seems to be the norm on the bb, I can take the heat.  Before my retirement I worked in management with a large heavy equipment hauling firm, in fact we transported the Hubble Telescope and a 33 foot diameter mirror for an observatory, as some items as heavy as 300,000 pounds plus some very secret stuff.  

73's Joe
AMSAT  3788