[amsat-bb] "Walking and chewing gun at the same time"

[Michael Tondee]

So now the line is that an HEO or a GEO, besides being expensive to 
launch, will be difficult and expensive for the average ham to acquire 
the equipment for so we should just forget about it? Is that what I'm 
reading? The hams I once knew, never backed down from a technical 
challenge. By all accounts it wasn't exactly "easy" to build an AO-40 
station but a whole bunch of hams managed to get it done. There was a 
time when generating and receiving an SSTV signal was an enormously 
involved process but somehow the early innovators in the field got it 
done. Now it's one of the more simple and inexpensive things to do. Hams 
have always overcome technical challenges. It's what we do, or we used 
to do it anyway.

  Correct me if I'm wrong but AMSAT used to be able to walk and chew gum 
at the same time. We had AO-40 and a myriad of other sats with varying 
degrees of challenge to working them. I don't think anyone is saying 
that we should just abandon the so called "easy sat" concept. Far from 
it. If that's what you enjoy, then more power to you but there is a 
large number of people out here that want something more than that. We 
enjoy the challenge. It's what drew us to this side of the hobby in the 
first place.  Why can't we do both?  We used to do that back when I was 
an enthusiastic member of this organization and I think it can be done 
again. I wouldn't still be here on this list hoping and praying for a 
change in it's direction and a return to it's former glory and status if 
I didn't.

73,

Michael W4HIJ