[amsat-bb] Re: status

[Michael]

I wasn't going to touch this  as I've made my opinion about P3-E known 
before but I can't be silent about some other things.  I don't believe 
it will ever fly because of the economic realities of today's world but 
hey, stranger things have happened.  Cubesats seem to be the wave of the 
future as they are more affordable to get launched but if you ask me we 
are still going in the wrong direction with them in a couple of areas. 
AMSAT seems to be bent and determined to keep building and flying FM 
repeaters even when ground based FM repeaters are slowly falling into 
disuse  and projects like Funcube AO-73 are showing how viable linear 
transponder cubesats are. There also seems to be some continued 
fascination with showing how we can all stand out in the frigid cold or 
the blazing sun balancing an HT in one hand and a handheld yagi in the 
other to work the flying repeaters....... YAWN!!! The novelty of that 
has worn off just as quickly as it did on exchanging nothing but grid 
squares and calls  and calling it a sat QSO. The focus not only needs to 
be on more linear transponder cubesats and developing  new and efficient 
ways to communicate with them but also on developing affordable ground 
equipment  like complete SDR transceiver systems along the lines of the 
funcube dongle except maybe abandoning the "dongle" concept and going 
more with a desktop "black box" approach. A computer driven SDR base 
station with tracking and doppler correction and digital and CW as well 
as voice mode communication is infinitely more interesting to me than  
seeing some idiot balancing an antenna and an HT at a hamfest. Just my 
opinion.... That and five bucks will get you a fancy Starbucks coffee 
blend but I had to put it out there!
73,
Michael, W4HIJ
On 1/25/2014 2:44 PM, i8cvs wrote:
> Hi John, W0JAB
>
> At the moment there is no hope to see again a satellite like AO40
>
> If we are like in the future probably we will see P3E, a satellite
> similar to OSCAR-13 built by AMSAT-DL
>
> 73" de
>
> i8CVS Domenico
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "John Becker" <w0jab at big-river.net>
> To: <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2014 8:01 PM
> Subject: [amsat-bb] status
>
>
>> Whats the status of a replacement for the likes of AO 40?
>>
>> I know I ask this from time to time but never seem to see anything.
>>
>> I for one would very much like to see this type the a boat load
>> of small FM only type while there is still a place to park one.
>>
>> John, W0JAB
>>
>>
>>