[amsat-bb] Re: Field Day Dual-Hop!

[Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)]

Joe,

> I feel the ideal would be the one QSO per station during FD. As it is
> intended to be.  Maybe have an OO monitor passes like when FD is
> happening and send out pink slips to all that do not abide by the one
> QSO policy during FD?

Other than possibly having the OO's cite the operator for not following
"good amateur practice" in FCC part 97.101a of the FCC rules, what
could an OO do?  There is no FCC rule that says operators make one
and only one QSO on an FM satellite, and OO's are not in the business
of upholding contest rules.  If stations are identifying and not causing
willful or malicious interference that could be cited under FCC part
97.101d, and aren't violating any other part of the FCC rules, then the
OO has nothing to send out a pink slip for.  Even if an OO were to
send out a pink slip, the station would receive it a few days after the
Field Day weekend - which doesn't help matters during the weekend.

> I don't know.
> A simple small linear transponder would be soo much nicer. And not all
> that hard to make either.

We have 3 that were used a lot over the weekend, much more than normal.
When it isn't Field Day, there are many times where stations can call CQ
for an entire pass on those satellites yet work nobody.  I even saw this a
couple of times on Saturday afternoon, where I moved higher in the
passband so I could hear my downlink easier, yet nobody responded to
my CQ calls.  Or everyone crowds the center of the passband and ignores
the remainder of the 50- to 100-kHz transponder, making it almost seem
like you're on an FM satellite.

73!





Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK
http://www.wd9ewk.net/