* Original message posted in: TVRO.
* Crossposted in: PACKET, HAM_TECH.
Hello All!
   Just sitting here reading my mail, and I got to thinking
how nice it would be to be able to use my earth station not
JUST as a receiver, but be able to uplink as well.
   I'm an Amateur Op, so I've had a chance to experiment
with the use of ax.25 packet protocols and TCP/IP comms,
and I can't think of a reason that it SHOULDN'T be poss-
ible (with the proper hardware) to use a satellite in the
same way as one would use a mountain top digipeater.
   With the advent of DBS/DSS Ku-Band satellites there has
been room created on C-Band.  It seems a shame to let this
resource go to waste.  What would be involved in building
a microwave transmitter (or better yet, a tranceiver) that
would be 'rockbound' on maybe one or two frequency pairs
so the average public earth station could have uplink
capability as well ?  With the speed of 19200kbps digital
(which I understand is actually becoming comparativly slow)
and the packetizing protocol that would allow many connects
on one frequency via rotational sharing, I would think that
quite a large number of stations could be served from one
transponder on the audio frequencies.
   If one were to use TCP/IP protocols, wouldn't it be
possible to take advantage of the included servers/clients
(ie ftp, telnet, tty, etc...) in multi-level connects ?
   I am aware that there are data signals currently being
sent down containing internet e-mail and other such, but
replies are STILL limited to terra-link pathways. AFAIK
   If the normal mesh dishes (7-12') could also be used
for transmitting, the cost for that part would be small.
Even if it required a solid dish with a deeper parabola,
it would surely be possible for the homebrew enthusiast
to construct a functional array with available materials
and techniques.
   And the wattage output of most of the "C" xpndrs being
around 20-30 watts, it doesn't seem like it would be too
hard to develope at least that much (if not a bit more)
for purposes of uplink.
I'd like to discuss the feasability of this idea.
And if there is already a system like this in operation
(I've heard of Digital Amateur Packet Sat Gateways),
I'd like to know more about it.  IE; what would I need
in the way of hardware to obtain access ?
Sincerely,
           Bruce - kb6lwn - ck1@pacbell.net
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