[amsat-bb] Re: AMSAT Operating Areas (OA's)

[Bruce Robertson]

Good job, Bob.

I think that the Hamsat folks exploited these differences quite
adroitly when they announced that FM was permitted via VO-52 over
India, etc., but not over NA. For all our concern about misuse of
these resources, *that* human contract has held well. I think future
developers should seriously consider it, rather than develop both FM
transponders and linear ones in one bird. The last time I brought this
up, the stations from India assured me that the FM operation in their
part of the world and elsewhere did not overwhelm the power budget of
the bird.

Of course, a really fun geeky solution would be to hook up a SDX to
GPS and program a LEO bird to switch from FM over Africa to SSB/CW
over Europe. You could also modulate the output power, making the bird
easier to work with minimal antennas in places where Amsat operations
are less common, or over the Arctic, where low-horizon DX is probably
the only way a QSO will be made. Kiwisat is flying a GPS; perhaps they
have something like this in mind. Or perhaps, 18 years into *its* life
they'll give it a go :-)

73, Bruce
VE9QRP

On Jan 29, 2008 6:11 PM, Geoff <vk2tfg at ozemail.com.au> wrote:
> On Wednesday 30 January 2008 08:10, Robert Bruninga wrote:
> > Well, I took a crack at a possible draft Map:
> > http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/AMSAT/AMSAT-OAs.GIF
> >
> > I used the minimum distances such as for the ISS.  I have no
> > idea about loading over Sibera, India and the Middle East.
> >
> > Just an idea.  Bob, WB4APR
> >
> lots snipped