[amsat-bb] Update: Rent GEO bandwidth for US

[Joe]

Yup that's it, and it's still very busy!

Joe WB9SBD
Sig
The Original Rolling Ball Clock
Idle Tyme
Idle-Tyme.com
http://www.idle-tyme.com
On 8/22/2019 10:58 AM, Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL) wrote:
> Joe,
>
> Your referring to QO-100 the websdr can be found at 
> https://eshail.batc.org.uk/
>
> 73,
>
> Peter, 2M0SQL
>
> On Thu, 22 Aug 2019 at 16:44, Joe <nss at mwt.net <mailto:nss at mwt.net>> 
> wrote:
>
>     There is that Geo bird over Africa.
>
>     I had the URL for a site that lets you listen to the whole bird
>     passband.
>
>     When it first went up I listened to it a LOT and was amazed at all
>     the different modes and coverage.
>
>     But I can't find the URL anymore. I was gonna go and listen to see
>     what the activity level is now like since it is much older and the
>     newness has worn off.
>
>     Joe WB9SBD
>
>     The Original Rolling Ball Clock
>     Idle Tyme
>     Idle-Tyme.com
>     http://www.idle-tyme.com
>     On 8/22/2019 10:04 AM, Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL) via AMSAT-BB wrote:
>>     Hi Michelle,
>>
>>     Excellent that they came back with the price and while the project
>>     sounds potentially interesting it's of course, not an amateur radio
>>     satellite, has anyone considered any risks for example, does this have
>>     the potential to raise questions when AMSAT approaches gov/orgs for
>>     discount launches for satellites we build that they might say that we
>>     could just go rent some transponder space.
>>
>>     I know in the states disaster comms is a huge point (weirdly not
>>     something that's pushed in Europe), but agencies could already access
>>     this kind of technology just by purchasing sat phones, for example, I
>>     have an iridium unit that lets me make calls and access the internet
>>     although slowly but handy in highlands of Scotland with poor mobile
>>     coverage.
>>
>>     By the sounds of this, it will be access points that then aggregate
>>     into a central point via probably internet backhaul then its dumped up
>>     to the satellite, to me that doesn't really feel within the ham
>>     spirit, although I'm sure tons would argue :)
>>
>>     I know there's a big desire for GEO over North America, but do ops
>>     really think this is the ultimate solution? we're talking 96000 USD
>>     over 4 years.
>>
>>     Think it really requires some heavy thought before just jumping on the idea.
>>
>>     Just my thoughts, and I know I'm on the other side of the pond in the
>>     QO-100 footprint.
>>
>>     Peter, 2M0SQL
>>
>>     On Thu, 22 Aug 2019 at 02:36, Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB
>>     <amsat-bb at amsat.org>  <mailto:amsat-bb at amsat.org>  wrote:
>>>     An arrangement on Echostar9 for 1MHz of bandwidth for up to 4 years of
>>>     USA+Mexico+Canada coverage is on offer for $2000 a month.
>>>
>>>     I'm putting together a grant proposal for ARRL, FEMA, and others to pay for
>>>     at least year of access. I've gotten some positive feedback already. I
>>>     think we can make this happen with some fundraising effort. I'm willing to
>>>     provide the human resources and whatever incidental financing needs to
>>>     happen to secure a grant for rental.
>>>
>>>     The main purpose of this type of system would be to enable field deployment
>>>     of "legacy mode" aggregators, like the Phase 4 Ground ARAP (Amateur Radio
>>>     Access Point). This is where traffic on any ham band, using FM or analog
>>>     gear, is digitized by a local "collecting" repeater, and is then sent to a
>>>     satellite from that repeater. FEMA and ARRL have expressed a lot of
>>>     interest and support for this in the past. Phase 4 Ground needs an ARAP in
>>>     order to support legacy radios.
>>>
>>>     You don't have to personally have a microwave digital uplink. The
>>>     aggregator equipment does that part for you.
>>>
>>>     This is most useful for public service and emergency communications. A
>>>     communications emergency is declared, someone (FEMA, Red Cross, motivated
>>>     ham volunteer) drops in the aggregator, and all ham traffic it hears is
>>>     sent to the satellite and then transmitted to the entire footprint.
>>>
>>>     The downlink is 12-14GHz. This is not 10GHz, but is receivable by
>>>     individuals using very inexpensive gear. Traffic can be repeated over the
>>>     internet.
>>>
>>>     What does this get us?
>>>
>>>     An opportunity to do all the R&D for the aggregator and get some experience
>>>     with uplinks.
>>>
>>>     What do we not have?
>>>
>>>     A true ham band downlink. You can still receive the downlink yourself, or
>>>     you can get it over the internet from an earth station distributor.
>>>
>>>     That's where we're at with *this* proposal.
>>>
>>>     I think it's worth it to provide a US-based way to design, deploy, test,
>>>     and use real world aggregator equipment. We learn a lot about GEO comms and
>>>     figure out a lot of the ins and outs.
>>>
>>>     Comment and critique welcome and encouraged.
>>>
>>>     More soon!
>>>     -Michelle W5NYV
>>>     _______________________________________________
>>>     Sent viaAMSAT-BB at amsat.org  <mailto:AMSAT-BB at amsat.org>. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
>>>     to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
>>>     are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
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>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Sent viaAMSAT-BB at amsat.org  <mailto:AMSAT-BB at amsat.org>. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
>>     to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
>>     are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
>>     Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
>>     Subscription settings:https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>>
>>
>