[amsat-bb] ANS-199 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Fox-1C Launch Opportunity Announced

[Paul Stoetzer]

Getting the $125,000 to launch a 1U cubesat into LEO should be plenty
doable, but raising $10-$15 million for a launch to HEO?

AMSAT-DL has been raising funds for P3E now for nearly a decade. If
they thought they had a chance of success, I'm sure there'd be a much
more public push to raise those funds.

Unfortunately, there are not enough amateur radio operators interested
in the amateur satellite program to put up that kind of money. Million
dollar DXpeditions are doable because of the broad interest among the
amateur radio community in funding those projects. A good number of
amateur radio operators are only vaguely aware of the amateur
satellite program and consider it to be quite esoteric. Heck, on the
extremely rare occasion that the amateur satellite program merits a
mention in a QST column these days, it's often in WB8IMY's "Eclectic
Technology" column. That, unfortunately, shows you how the amateur
radio community as a whole views the amateur satellite program.

The bottom line is that AMSAT-NA needs a significant boost in
membership and visibility and that boost needs to be soon. Putting two
satellites into orbit that nearly every single ham will be able to
easily hear (even a $30 Baofeng and it's stock duck should hear high
passes of the Fox-1 satellites) along with the accompanying publicity
should provide that boost. ARISSat-1 and the heavy publicity in QST
and other amateur radio news sources is what got me involved in
amateur satellites, though it would take me another two years before I
really got into it seriously. Now I've really been bitten by the bug:
293 grids, 48 states, 4 Canadian provinces, and 27 DXCCs in my log
plus I've done two public demonstrations of amateur satellites and
assisted the AMSAT booth and demo station at Dayton. That's all
because of a project derided by many on this board as a waste of
AMSAT's time and resources!

73,

Paul, N8HM



On Sun, Jul 20, 2014 at 12:42 PM, Bob- W7LRD <w7lrd at comcast.net> wrote:
> a different slant-not wanting to enter the fm vs linear ongoing debate or
> the "easy sat" concept-I started satellites not because it was easy, but
> because it was hard, and at times still is!  This was back in the days of
> the RS satellites.  I believe if you present the challenge they will come.
> Unfortunately we need the money upfront not after the fact.  Perhaps this
> "incremental" effort toward HEO or MEO is required, however we (AMSAT's)
> have been doing this for a long time and I think should have had our "ducks
> lined up" by now.   We're a bunch of cleaver people and should develop a
> method getting the necessary funds for launches.  Everything is now "bottom
> line" driven.  We should "just do it".
> 73 Bob W7LRD
> Seattle
>
> ________________________________
> From: "Paul Stoetzer" <n8hm at arrl.net>
>
> To: "Phil Karn" <karn at ka9q.net>
> Cc: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Sent: Saturday, July 19, 2014 12:28:12 PM
> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] ANS-199 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT
> Fox-1C Launch Opportunity Announced
>
>
> Are FM repeater satellites what we all want in orbit? No. Personally,
> I'd like a Mode J linear transponder in a sun synchronous circular
> orbit of about 2,000km (if we can't get anything to HEO).
>
> However, the Fox-1A, Fox-1B, Fox-1C, and Fox-1D satellites will
> eventually lead to the Fox-2 series of satellites. The software
> designed transponders on board the Fox-2 series will be capable of
> operating in any number of digital communications modes as well as
> operating as linear transponders.
>
> AO-51's V/U FM repeater was probably the most popular amateur
> satellite ever launched. Since the loss of AO-51, AMSAT-NA membership
> has been declining and is at the point where membership dues alone do
> not sustain the operating costs of the organization.
>
> Right now, those who are mildly interested in amateur satellites have
> one satellite to try with a minimal investment: SO-50, which is a
> satellite that for about half the days of each month is not convenient
> for most people who work 9-5 and sleep 10-6 and has a weak downlink
> that is often very difficult for newcomers to hear. Even experienced
> satellite operators are at times heard to transmit without being able
> to hear the satellite. With EO-80 (QB50p2), Fox-1A, and Fox-1C
> hopefully in orbit and operational next year, there will be three
> easily heard FM satellites (the 9 dB advantage of the 2m downlinks on
> these satellites will be quite welcome) - two in sun synchronous
> orbits with relatively consistent pass times. Having those satellites
> in orbit will mean that more hams get bitten by the satellite bug,
> join AMSAT, and progress to improving their stations to operate on the
> linear transponders and, potentially, on digital satellites.
>
> Bottom line - an AMSAT with more satellites in orbit means an AMSAT
> with more members and that's how we are eventually going to get our
> ideal satellites in orbit.
>
> 73,
>
> Paul, N8HM
>
> On Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 2:54 PM, Phil Karn <karn at ka9q.net> wrote:
>> On 07/18/2014 12:08 PM, Joseph Spier wrote:
>>
>>> Fox-1C is the third of four Fox-1 series satellites under
>>> development, with Fox-1A and RadFXsat/Fox-1B launching through the
>>> NASA ELANA program. Fox-1C will carry an FM repeater system for
>>> amateur radio for use by radio hams and listeners worldwide.
>>
>> YET ANOTHER analog satellite?
>>
>> I'm not interested.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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