[amsat-bb] Re: Satellite user "communities"

[Bruce Robertson]

Quoting Frank Brickle <brickle at pobox.com>:

> On Dec 13, 2007 5:28 PM, MKM <starlight04 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > Just listen to 80m at nite and this is what you will get with
> > channelized P4 digital venue.
> 
> This whole line of discussion is doing a wonderful job of turning the
> reflector into an email version of the same. Congratulations.
> 
> I myself happen to be one of the volunteer developers of the digital
> software, and am in a state of continual astonishment at the sense of
> self-righteous entitlement expressed by some of the commentators here.
> What is the point of amateur satellites if not the advancement of the
> radio art?
> 
> If you ain't part of the solution, you *are* the problem.

Without getting into the personal aspects of this, I think it is important
that one point be made clear for those who haven't been closely following
the design of software defined transponders and the advanced digital
package. The former technology (abbreviated as 'SDX'), in its usual
configuration, provides a linear transponder which, to the ground station,
will be functionally equivalent to the ones we use now.  It is easy to get
confused and think that SSB/CW, etc. will not work on this because it is
'software defined'. I understand we'll have a chance to try this out in
space on Suitsat2; can't wait -- got a school class all lined up, too.

In contrast, the digital package will support various digital modes
including a messaging system that will make much less demand on the ground
station from a radio standpoint.

Around here, 80m facilitates some excellent conversations and some poor
ones. That's the nature of human communication, in my experience. I don't
expect Frank Bickle and others to solve *that* problem, too :-)

73, Bruce
VE9QRP