[amsat-bb] Is This AMSAT's Future?

[Zach Metzinger]

On 07/22/20 02:23, Clint Bradford via AMSAT-BB wrote:
>>> This could very well be. Tech changes over time. IMHO, Hams need to change over time to keep the hobby viable.
> 
> That required station is quite a jump from enjoying LEOs - and getting involved in satellite communications for well under $200, though.

There will always be some cost to this hobby, part of which can be 
mitigated by more home-brewing of equipment. However, if one doesn't 
want scratch-build the entire system, there are rather inexpensive 
solutions from commercial components.

OZ1BXM has an overview of the 13cm (2.4 GHz) uplink / 3cm (10 GHz) 
downlink system here:

https://oz1bxm.dk/sat/QO100-rig.html

Seems like the receive chain is quite simple and cheap. I recently 
acquired a 10 GHz LNB, new in a box, from eBay for $20. The RTL-SDR is 
about another $20, and a bias-tee is probably $10, if one can't cobble 
it together from the junk bin.

The transmit path requires a 2.4 GHz radio or converter, which is likely 
the most expensive part of the whole system.

One could argue that this setup pushes new operators toward learning to 
track and listen before trying to transmit. This is probably a good thing.

The 10 GHz information will be useful for GOLF-1's microwave capabilities.

--- Zach
N0ZGO