[aprssig] Re: RS on expedition, but non ham?

[Scott Miller]

> Equipment contributed/run by a US amateur would really not be appropriate
> unless they were physically ON the expedition, even assuming it might be
> legal for them to supply.

I'm offering to contribute the encoder hardware, not radio gear.  As far as
legal operation of a transmitter, I think having a member of the expedition
get a license would be the safest way to go.  I have no idea what Russian
law says about automated beacons.

> communications. Playing with satellite transmissions using ham equipment
> *probably* will not be as reliable and compact, even if you had a trained
> operator on the expedition.

At 80 degrees North, you're probably not going to hit many equatorial birds
or ISS, so your options are going to be pretty limited.

I still think an HF QRP rig would be the way to go, if you could set up an
appropriate antenna.  I'm not an expert on HF propagation or antennas,
though.  What's an appropriate band for QRP at the pole, and what's a good
antenna for a sled?

Scott, N1VG
http://n1vg.net/opentracker