Welcome
to the W8JSA Homepage. I participate in several facets of the Amateur
Radio "hobby". Such as U S Army MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System),
ATV (Amateur TeleVision), digital modes and the satellites.
WHAT IS MARS?
The
Military Affiliate Radio System (
MARS) is an
organization of FCC licensed Amateur radio operators who
provide
volunteer emergency communications support to national,
regional, state and county organizations, agencies, and units. MARS is
a
Department of Defense sponsored
program, established as a separately managed and operated program by
the
Army,
Navy, and
Air Force.
WHAT IS ATV?
ATV also known as FSTV or Fast Scan TeleVision is
different from but akin to Slow Scan TeleVision where graphic images
are transmitted via RF. FSTV however is more like broadcast TV and SSTV
which is also called FAX. Getting into ATV is fairly easy if you have a
dual-band rig and a camcorder/video camera. My recommendation is
to get an ATV receiver, such as the P C Electronics' TVC-4G Packaged
Downconverter for about $100. Instead of rehashing good
information, my suggestion is to check this site for excellent ATV
advice.
http://www.hamtv.com/info.html
Another excellent source of ATV information can be found at
ATV Quarterly.
WHAT ARE THE DIGITAL MODES?
The original digital mode was CW. For quite some
time the only way to converse was using the spark. Then came CW or
Morse Code and the spark went to the wayside. Around the early 1900's,
AM came into being but it had its drawbacks, namely static. Art
Collins, W0CXX, SK, came up with SSB. Which stands for Single Side
Band.
There's the Upper and Lower Side Bands along with the carrier. It's
possible to go digital using SSB if you use AFSK (Audio Frequency Shift
Keying) otherwise the preferred way to go is FSK.
http://www.tapr.org
WHAT ARE THE SATELLITES?
The satellites are man-made objects put into orbit
around the Earth
either with a multi-staged rocket or NASA's Space Shuttle. The best
site on the Web for information on Amateur Satellites is AMSAT.
http://www.amsat.org
