[amsat-bb] Re: geo stationary bird

[Don Fanning]

I think that people tend to wax sentimental when a new satellite goes up 
that fails to meet their sense of what the hobby is.  I see 
geosync/phase4 being a great boon for the entire amateur hobby.  Not 
only does it provide a means for us to do plug-n-play radio, but it also 
allows us to use parts of the spectrum that until recently have had no 
reason for usage.  We would be able to utilize our band allocation 
rather than having them sit dormant risking reallocation by the FCC or 
other governing authority.  Not having to compensate for doppler and 
with higher frequencies means we'll be able to fit more into what we're 
given and be able to "get back to our roots" instead of using the 
Internet as a bandaid for what we do.  (Remember those old battles about 
IRLP repeaters is not really ham radio since the long haul isn't over a 
radio link?).  Most definitely there will be extra expense unless you're 
a S-Band operator already which in their case, they probably have all 
the parts to hit 24+ghz in their junk bins.  But the ability to have 
clear radio links anywhere the footprint sits, makes for an exciting 
hobby.  Since most of us use directional antennas already, the thrill of 
tracking/tuning is still there for the existing LEO birds *and* I doubt 
by any stretch of the imagination that microsat/picosats will be going 
away for a long time.  Colleges and Universities are sending them up 
more and more so they can teach engineering practices and be able to 
send up new "experiments" that would most likely be beyond the realm of 
the geosync/phase4 constellation.

That being said, I think the payload that goes up on the geosync/phase4 
birds should reflect not only the current but the future of radio since 
they'll be sitting there for the better part of 15-20 years.  Let's not 
dwell on the past where we try to accommodate everyone from DC to 
daylight and focus on bands/technologies that reflect the experience 
we've gained from 50 years of space flight.  And since we don't have to 
deal with much stationkeeping tasks, more effort can be put into 
redundant RUDAK's and better efficiency in the power budget.

Any idea of where the proposed longitude locations will be and 
footprints?  Will it be a shared antenna array?  I'd love to know the 
engineering details of the agreement.

de Don - KL7EET


Michael Tondee wrote:
>  This is kind of along the lines of what I was thinking. Please don't 
> get me wrong, I think AMSAT has an excellent opportunity here  but won't 
> this take some of the challenge out of things? I missed AO-40 altogether 
> and I'm not active now because I had to sell my equipment  but what 
> originally drew me to sat operation in the first place was the challenge 
> and thrill of working birds like the LEO linear and FM birds. I enjoy 
> watching the footprint move across my PC screen. Heck, sometimes I just 
> liked to go out on the deck on a not particularly good pass and watch 
> the antennas track! I'll certainly be back in business for 
> geostationary  piggy back systems and use them but I'm thinking it will 
> seem rather ordinary. Any ham who is capable of pointing an antenna to a 
> fixed spot can become satellite active. I know, I know, thats good but 
> it also takes away some of the novelty of it. I guess we can still 
> challenge ourselves with P3E.
> Again, please don't misconstrue my intention here, I'm not meaning to 
> criticize or complain, I'm just making an observation.
> 73,
> Michael, W4HIJ
> w7lrd at comcast.net wrote:
>   
>> Hello
>> To play the devils advocate for a moment.  
>> With a geo (stuck) sattelite we are pretty much stuck with the same foot print forever.  Unless of course there is some sort of cross linking in the future.  I very fondly recall AO-40 and bringing it up on my computer and seeing where the foot print was today.  Maybe it's the Europeans or perhaps the VK's, ZL's (love their accent), or maybe some JA's, (practice my Japanese).  At some time, I knew I could cover the whole planet.  I do of course believe this is an excellent opportunity, though there are a some limitations.
>>
>> --
>> 73 Bob W7LRD 
>> AMSAT member 28498 
>> Seattle
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