Here is a very interesting article from SwissInfo.

A zeppelin will replace all of the terrestrial mobile phone antennas in
Switzerland - if a Swiss inventor has his way.

Should Kamal Alavi's project for the high-tech airship take wing, the
worlds of mobile telephony and data transmission would be turned on
their heads.



Not only would the technology, called High Altitude Platform Systems
(Haps), make the current 1,000 earth-bound antennas redundant, it would
drastically reduce radiation.

A Swiss of Iranian extraction, Alavi is a former aerospace engineer
turned entrepreneur who heads his own firm, Stratxx. Together with a
team of 50 scientists, he is preparing a 2007 test run of the airship,
which he has named the "X station".

Thanks to a GPS steering system developed by the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology, the 60-meter long helium-filled balloon will
remain stationary at 21 kilometres above the earth.

A small-unmanned aircraft outfitted with a mobile phone antenna and
other devices for transmitting digital data will be attached to the
zeppelin. The X station has been equipped with giant propellers to help
counter the almost constant buffeting from the wind.

Solar panels will supply the energy to propel the airplane and antenna.
Underneath will be a platform containing technical equipment, conceived
by Ruag, the large Swiss aerospace concern.

Radiation

"Transmitting on earth causes lots of radiation, because you have to
penetrate countless buildings," Alavi says, arguing that phone
connections are more reliable when transmitted from above because the
signals are unobstructed by manmade or natural objects.

And "spot beam" antennas developed at Lausanne will allow radiation to
be adjusted according to usage, regions with little activity receiving
relatively less.

But Switzerland's largest mobile telephone operator, Swisscom believes
not all of the technological hurdles have been overcome.

"This project cannot replace the present mobile telephone system,"
spokesman Sepp Huber told swissinfo.

The X station would not be limited to forwarding mobile telephone
signals, but would also be capable of handling the radio, television
and internet needs of entire nations.

Alavi believes that his project is also economical. He estimates that a
Haps airship will cost no more than SFr40 million ($32 million).

In comparison, a single mobile phone antenna costs about SFr300,000
while a communications satellite starts at SFr600 million.

Alavi says the X stations are conceived to be low maintenance. In the
event of a defect, the aircraft will be decoupled from the airship and
returned to earth, much like a mini-space shuttle.

The project is now in a key phase. Solar cells are being tested at an
altitude of 30 kilometres, and final preparations are underway for the
launch of the first airship into the stratosphere. The entire system
should be ready for testing a year from now.

The potential is enormous if Stratxx manages to be the first to fly
with this new technology. About 20 Haps would be required to cover
Europe alone while Africa would need twice as many.

swissinfo, Etienne Strebel


So, has anyone or group tried to get a couple ham antennas on this
thing???


Bill

http://MarklinBuyer.com
I buy Marklin model trains