[amsat-bb] Re: Radio amateur calling protocol

[Bruce Robertson]

On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 7:22 AM, Bato, Andras <bato at starjan.hu> wrote:
> Gentlemen,
>
>  In case we are rally corresponding about radio amateur calling and QSO protocol, Dave WB6LLO is quite right writing:
>
>  "AO7, is what, 25 years old, none of those problems existed there, and
>  still don't today..."
>
>  Except for the sad fact that some feels it is compulsory to call like "CQ CQ CQ CQ AO7 satellite this is EE0LL (15 times) is standing by for any possible satellite call."
>
>  During this time of a long call VO52 flyes across Europe and no QSO will be made at all!
>
>  I was planning  to write this list asking everyone to KEEP IT SHORT for the God's sake !!!
>
>  I call like "HA6NN CQ"
These comments aren't directed specifically at Andras, but rather to
the general tenor of this thread.

I'm not sure that this list is the best place to discuss egregious
operating habits on the satellites. It's my impression that most of
these are due to newcomers experimenting with setups that have poor
reception or who are very occasional users of the satellites. But this
list isn't, in my experience, well subscribed by those two audiences.
Recently, someone on the list made a longish document regarding
satellite etiquette, and it was picked up by the RSS services. Perhaps
a web or wiki page on these matters would be most effective.

Another thought: people who are failing to receive their own signals
or who are making long CQs to tune their setup (which I suspect is
going on in the situation described above) are, in fact, doing that
which the satellites are meant to support: experimentation with space
communication. If this is so, then they represent the future of our
branch of the hobby, not merely an annoyance. Our advice should be
geared toward improving their experiments and helping them build
satellite communication skills; if their tentative steps disrupt our
regular communication is, to my mind, secondary.

It always concerns me that newcomers reading a thread like this will
be frightened away. It might seem that there are too many ways to be
branded a lid in satellite operations, and if people on email are this
judgemental, it must be brutal on the birds. I'm sure everyone will
agree that this is not the case: a new callsign, however deaf :-), is
greeted with great enthusiasm and everyone tries to support everyone
else with technical advice and a kind word. We want you to succeed and
to learn about the amazing mix of planetary physics and RF that makes
satellite operations so engaging.

>  That's all. As somewhere someone told those who had not been experienced in RTTY contests, it is a general habit on that mode!
>
>  Than there is no rule to tell QSP-partners even your name every time! Beside this, some tells everything about his equipment, the wx, etc.
>
>  THERE IS NO TIME TO DO THAT ON SATELLITES!
>
>  Learn the only sensible radioamateur QSO protocol what OH8MBN Mika or UA9CS Igor uses -not to mention K3SZH and some other regulars on AO7.
>
>
>
>  > Blame those that encouraged and built  AO51...
>
>  That was one of the gratest mistake of the history of Amateur Radio.
>
>  > Why was it built??
>
>  ...that is the question.
>

Again, for the benefit of the larger audience, it should be noted that
this is of historical interest only. The current AMSAT-NA mission
statement involves the production of HEO satellites while supporting
others in LEO work, FM or not. There may be those of us, like me, who
find AO-51 provided a fine stepping-stone to linear work, but we are
happy to have our membership fees and donations support the HEO
mission. Moreover, the dichotomy between FM and linear LEO is a
somewhat false one. VO-52 has shown that a linear transponder can be
used in FM over part of the world and linear usage over others. Kiwi
sat and others intend to provide both services in their upcoming
birds. I'm grateful to be able to use an FM bird in portable
circumstances, since I don't have a full-duplex SSB radio that I can
carry around in the forest (now that would be a great homebrew project
:-)

73, Bruce
VE9QRP