Characterization of the PACSAT file broadcast system

Since January 1990, amateur radio operators around the world have had the opportunity to use several low-Earth-orbit satellites providing store-and-forward communications services. The author focuses on the broadcast mode of operation as implemented on the PACSAT-1 and UoSAT-5 amateur radio satellites in 1992. The evolutionary process leading to the broadcast mode of operation is given along with a brief description of the ground station software. Utilization statistics are given for PACSAT-1 for July 1992 and February 1993. Similar statistics are given for UoSAT-5 for November 1992. The utilization figures are given in both graphical and tabular form and include transaction counts, byte counts, average time a user spends waiting for a directory broadcast request, and the average time spent waiting for a file broadcast request.< >