[amsat-bb] FD- 2011

[Peter Portanova]

Hello All,

I too was disappointed by the pileups on all the satellites, our FD 
location, W2GSB,is part of our Town Hall facility, it is a great location 
for the public to experience what we do as amateur radio operators.  However 
it is a very poor location for satellite activity, too much RF leakage from 
the cell towers buildings and large trees.  I was using a hand-held antenna 
and low power and didn't have a chance.  It was the type of chaos we see for 
a rare DX station or in one of the popular contests, having a mix of CW and 
SSB in the same space on the linear satellites was an additional challenge.

I had visitors during all my passes, we had groups from the Scouts, the 
Explorers etc., unfortunately they heard what I heard and it was not a good 
demonstration of what Field Day should be.  I really don't know what the 
solutions if any, to fix it for us.  What we do is a challenge during the 
best of times when you add the FD fuel, with less structure that terrestrial 
radio has, chaos ensues.  I wonder if it's feasible to have a few satellite 
stations, around the country, that have a good FD location, act as "the DX 
stations" and set up a call in by numbers for a few designated passes, to 
demonstrate to the public why we love what we do and maybe interest them 
enough  to join AMSAT and become a satellite operator.

73's Pete
WB2OQQ
www.massapequanyweather.com