[amsat-bb] AO-51 new ops/best QSO practice

[Andrew Glasbrenner]

  All,

I heard quite a few new ops on the 435.300 repeater tonight. Many seemed 
to be getting the hang of things quickly, and I even heard some coaching 
in the background as contacts were made. That's great! I've noticed that 
the new ops who do the best are those that follow a simple practice. 
When trying to initiate a contact, they pick out a station they can 
hear, and call them directly, as in "KO4MA, this is KJ4XYZ EL78". When 
someone hears that, they know that op can hear the satellite, and they 
can answer quickly and give them the QSO. This is a good thing.

On the other hand, there are those that merely state their call and 
grid, without calling someone, over and over. Tonight, sometimes even 
over top of ongoing QSOs. Over and over. This type of procedure often 
indicates someone who cannot hear the satellite and calls to them often 
go unanswered, a waste of everyone's time. Do this enough and people 
start ignoring you. Make a habit of it, and people might describe you as 
a synonym for a container top or cover. This word used to have more 
meaning among our ranks than it does today, and I don't use it here for 
the sake of the ladies amongst us.

So far we have not tested the orbital Rettysnitch on AO-51, and I'd 
prefer to keep it that way (Google it if you don't know what it is, or 
for what it is used.)

Seriously tongue-in-cheek,
Drew KO4MA
AMSAT-NA VP Ops