[amsat-bb] Behavior on FM Satellites

Sun Dec 10 22:11:43 UTC 2017

Good thoughts on the topic Bernie. 

Myself, I don't advocate public calling out and shaming. In fact I don't even recall the callsigns of the AO-51 operators causing difficulties because I don't recall that ever being exposed. It was just the general discussion among the group of the situation which led to operator changes for the better.

--
73 de JoAnne K9JKM
k9jkm at amsat.org

> -----Original Message-----
> From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On Behalf Of Bernie and
> Cheryl
> Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2017 3:27 PM
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Behavior on FM Satellites
> 
> Dear Folks:
> 
> I certainly don't want to argue with the central premise, i.e., that
> when there's a rare grid square, it is good operating practice to back
> off of the bird and let everyone have a crack at working the "DX".
> Neither do I have a problem with good operating practice dictating that
> people not hog the bird (as has been described by Paul and other
> posters).  I do have a problem with public shaming, especially if not
> preceded with a congenial email suggesting that the operator in question
> give people a chance. Most folks have their email addresses on QRZ.com.
> 
> The important thing to remember is that AMSAT hasn't published (to my
> knowledge) a rule stating that /only/ certain types of QSO's can occur
> on the FM satellites.  I just looked at the website and there is a
> section called "Working Your First Satellite" and I don't see anything
> on there like that.  The section on "Communications Satellites" has
> nothing like that either.  Unless the control operators of the satellite
> (e.g., AO-91) made a decision in that vein, then the bird is open to all
> comers.
> 
> Paul's post mentioned that the FM birds open up the hobby to a lot of
> people.  That means the FM birds are going to have new people on them,
> and I think good operating practice indicates that people are welcomed
> on satellites, and if they make a mistake, the "suggestion" to improve
> their operating practice occurs in such a way that they aren't shamed,
> i.e., a tasteful email or perhaps even a snail mail.
> 
> His post also mentioned that he monitored Twitter and took some other
> steps while preparing for the pass.  I have to be honest and say I'm not
> a big social media person.  I only opened up a Facebook page last year,
> and don't really know or care to know how to get on Twitter.  Other than
> checking when AOS occurs, I typically don't do that much preparation for
> a pass.  I don't think that disqualifies me from being able to operate
> on the birds.  Like I said above, I will back off if I'm aware that
> there's a rare grid square on there, but I don't always know that's the
> case.  All of us are coming within the footprint of the bird at
> different times, and so the newest person in the footprint won't always
> know what's happening at that moment.
> 
> I guess the reason why this thread affected me to the point that I felt
> the need to reply is that I could see the situation degenerating very
> quickly into a war between two classes of operators.  And then, given
> the nature of FM birds, it will be impossible for anyone to use them (it
> would be relatively easy for one angry operator to jam the bird during a
> pass), short of handing out CTSS tone codes to a select group.  Until
> something like that happens, the satellites are a shared resource, and
> we're always going to be faced with folks who screw up unintentionally.
> I'd just hate to see a flame war on the birds like we sometimes see on
> the internet.
> 
> I'm not suggesting that satellite operating is "The Wild Wild West".  I
> think it's just a matter of education, and courtesy.
> 
> Admittedly, I'm on the FM birds rarely (I've operated AO-91 exactly
> once).  I prefer the linear transponder satellites with their
> opportunity to have a real conversation as opposed to shouting out grid
> squares, but recognize (as Adrian points out in his post) that the setup
> for those birds requires more infrastructure that may be beyond a lot of
> people.  However, I've been around a while (my first satellite QSO was
> on RS-10 back in 1994) and I remember how excited I was when I made my
> first QSO's, and know how devastated I would have been if someone called
> me out in a public forum because I did something wrong that I didn't
> know was wrong.
> 
> All I'm asking for is that all operators in good faith be granted a
> modicum of courtesy, and we should be careful before deciding that
> someone is acting in bad faith.  I love this hobby and my heart aches at
> some of the stuff I've heard on 75 meters, and on the local 2 meter
> repeaters.   I'd hate to see that transfer over to the satellite
> community, which by and large, seems to be pretty professional.
> 
> See you all on the birds.  73 de Bernie, KF0QS
> 
> 
> On 12/10/2017 11:35 AM, JoAnne Maenpaa wrote:
> >> There's no need to work a hundred stations on every pass of AO-91,
> >> especially when two guys in rare grids with low power equipment are
> >> attempting to hand them out. It's all about situational awareness.
> > I remember situations like this arising during AO-51 operation. Of
> > particular note beside working 100 stations on a 10 minute pass were
> those
> > fellows on AO-51 with enough aluminum and RF wattage to capture the AO-51
> > receiver then greet each other every morning like they hadn't spoken for
> 20
> > years. They would then give each other a weather report. This was
> followed
> > with a status of breakfast report. We often found out someone's dog
> needed
> > to step outside! Then the same 3 or 4 fellows would repeat this again on
> the
> > next pass. They would begin with the missing-person from 20 years ago
> > greetings ... even though they had already greeted each other 90 minutes
> > ago.
> >
> > Other operators began note these boorish manners and after a while much
> of
> > that behavior was gradually moderated and mostly went away.
> >
> > --
> > 73 de JoAnne K9JKM
> > k9jkm at amsat.org
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership.
> Opinions expressed
> > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite
> program!
> > Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
> >
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
> expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
> AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb