[K4RY] moving the K4RY shack -- again

[Kris Kirby]

On Fri, 8 Jun 2012, William Capps wrote:
>      Have anyone contacted COSAM and Physics for a possible K4RY 
> location?  I do know there is a lot activity with the student high 
> altitude balloons and Aubie satellites. Maybe a shack could be set up 
> at Leach science center.  I know the Aubie sat students have been 
> given a fairly large lab to pursue their endeavors. These student 
> activities and K4RY seem a good match.

At the very least, K4RY should be coordinating with whatever group is 
doing balloon work. Having two stations on campus, HF/VHF/UHF 
coordination is best. But it may be better to funnel them in the 
direction of K4RY for "mission support". Usually, the grants for balloon 
work will pay for some V/U radios and maybe a rotor and antennas. After 
the project is done, these parts need some stewardship (someone to make 
sure they stay up there and functional) and support for "a continuing 
mission". Any professors who are working on Space Grant stuff should be 
made aware of K4RY's presence and K4RY is a great place for jumping off 
into the cosmos. And if the equipment is around, the next grant doesn't 
need to buy another set of hardware and can use the funds in other ways, 
like more balloons!

My first contact as a non-ham was a Shuttle commander in-orbit. I've 
been trying to build a satellite station ever since. (One of the reasons 
I'm here; once an object hits a certain altitude, tracking from 
Birmingham becomes a possibility). NASA and kids work well together, 
even if NASA is trying to figure out what the mission is right now. 

It's not a bad idea to separate VHF/UHF and HF from each other. With the 
new 5MHz 420MHz WiFi-ish cards out there, it may be possible to do 
in-band linking between a separate HF/UHF site and a VHF/UHF site.

If you're looking for a contact in HSV for NASA, WB5RMG is the current 
person working with WA4NZD, the MSFC ARC. Every NASA Center has a ham 
radio club, and a gift shop. 

--
Kris Kirby, KE4AHR
Disinformation Analyst