Also, what of the original "ECHO" , a metalic baloon launched as a
satellite- acted as a reflector - was pretty big for it's day, tho
obviously, not the most effecient. Jim NN7K

ECHO was a 100' balloon constructed from 1 mil aluminized mylar. It was an early
attempt to achieve global TV transmission by reflecting signals from the ground
station, launched on August 8, 1960. Proved unuseful due to the excessive power
required of the ground transmitter.

ECHO had two beacon transmitters, one at each pole, operating on 108 and 108.3
MHz. I had the priviledge of designing the antennas used on the beacon. One of
my colleagues at RCA designed and built the 10 mw transmitters. The purpose of
the beacons was to assure knowledge of the balloon's position duing launch in
case it was obscured by clouds.

Pictures showing the beacons and the technician attaching them to the balloon
material will appear in my book Reflections 3, which is now in the production
stage.

Walt Maxwell, W2DU