We did get the results. We got early notice. To those that don’t follow what’s going on, it seems like a scrapped effort without notice. Let me explain.
I’m also a member of the Amsat Phase 4B ground project. I don’t contribute there because the project is not getting a ride up on a satellite in the near future. Meanwhile Outernet is already doing the receive part, albeit not at the same data rates promised by the so nick-named “nickel-and-dime” (for 5 GHz up, 10 GHz down) project, where volunteers are doing all of the ground station work. The satellite side of that project is ITAR.
I joined Outernet end of summer, heading into fall. I was warned by the Outernet team that the version would be obsolete soon. I went ahead, fully knowing this, and built both a DC2 and a SDRx system. My purpose was not to deploy an appliance, but to learn something. A two or three month time horizon helped me get it up and running and then investigate.
It was really s l o w. It was like downloading a picture on the early internet, having to wait all afternoon. The L-Band solution was dead. There was not enough link margin to really drastically improve the link margin. The real game changer needed is a increas in the data rate. If you can keep the small antenna (size) that DC2.0 worked with, all the better.
Having worked with spread spectrum in my past cellular career (including the IS-661 standard that went no where) and having experimented with LoRa, I had an idea as to what it would take. @Syed and his Outernet team arrived at the same conclusion I had about a year before, but had to work this as a skunkworks project because of the number of other companies wanting to solve the same problem. In conversation, I had hinted to @Syed about what I thought. He leaked nothing, until the Christmas holidays.
I’m a Test Engineer. By profession, I’m someone who finds flaws in things and finds solutions to correct the product to meet the customer’s needs. I have to find ways of turning lemons into lemonade. Lives depend on what I work on for a living.
Crowdsourcing is definitely a way that a small company can make effective use of a very small amount of seed money they have. I prefer being told a product has not been tested up front and that the company has 50 boards that need to be alpha-tested versus being sold a pile of (fill in the blank) So my enthusiasm comes from seeing an idea evolve into something better rather than some elaborate conspiracy theory.
So far, I’m quite satisfied with the preliminary results of the Alpha trial of the DC3.0 project. We’ve hit a few challenges, but all in all, I’m quite confident that this will be a much better platform to expand on. The current antenna (although I’ve had to modify mine) is not any more difficult to aim than a conventional satellite dish. With a compass and a protractor I can get Outernet DC3.0 setup in less two-three minutes, without a complex robot arm to do it for me.
The next project I’m considering is a portable version of Outernet. I’ve already bought the “Pelican” case for it. I’m working on the mechanics on how the antenna will nest inside of the case, how the battery will fit next to the DC3.0 circuit board. Will I use WiFi dongle that has a better antenna on it, or will I have an Ehternet connection? Where does the tablet fit inside?
How the whole thing will be weather proofed?
On the note of being called a
I take that as a compliment. I haven’t really seen myself as much of a leader. Thanks.
The most effective leaders I’ve ever encountered were optimistic. They’re entrepreneurs. They see opportunities where others only see failures. They are able to put several life experiences together to find a solution. They inspire people. And, like pom-pom wiving cheerleaders, they rally people to move beyond the failures.
–Konrad, WA4OSH
