[amsat-bb] FM Satellites: Good Operating Practices for Beginning and Experienced Operators

Wed Dec 13 03:48:36 UTC 2017

Hi all-
Matthew NJ4Y and a few others put it more succinctly than I did: Item 6 in my document is about extending courtesy to a station that goes to the trouble of setting up away from their home or back yard. That can be for a demo, a special event station at a hamfest, or a rare grid. All item 6 is asking for is some consideration for that op's effort.
I live in grid FN31. It's a very common location. I tend to focus on calling other stations on FM passes from Connecticut.
I activate other grids from time to time. When I do so, I usually take a full-duplex linear station with me, so I can work the more capable stations on SSB. But I still work FM passes, because there are some stations that only have FM capability. Sometimes I only take an HT with me, and am limited to FM only. Here are a couple examples: This July, I was back home in Illinois, and did a few SO50 passes from the EM59/EM69 grid line with my HT and Arrow. EM69 is kind of rare (not sure why), so I was happy to hand it out. One pass, I made 17 QSOs. Another pass, W4FS was on as K2J from North Carolina for the 13 Colonies special event; we split the pass.... I took the first half, Tucker took the second. It all worked out just fine, with no advance planning or coordination.
One night, I'd announced on Twitter I was going to the grid line for an SO50 pass. AA5UK was in the Cayman Islands, and announced he was able to make a quick trip to FK09, a very rare grid, but was only there for a day or so. His access to passes was very limited and his time was short. He was in a far rarer location than I was...he was going to be able to hand out a rare grid and possibly a new DXCC entity for many people, so I bailed out and let him take the pass. I went back to my grid line the next night, after AA5UK had left his rare spot. No skin off my nose, and I didn't interfere with people trying to work a much more enticing station than me.
That kind of courtesy and awareness is all item 6 is advocating for. If a station is on from a different DXCC entity, a cruise ship handing out water grids, or doing a demo at a Scout Jamboree, throw 'em a bone. If you were the station of interest, I'd wager you would appreciate the opportunity.
And of course, if a bona fide emergency pops up and a LEO is the only way a station can get a message out, then everybody else should stand by.
Sean Kutzko Amateur Radio KX9X 

    On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, 9:15:55 PM EST, Sean Waite <waisean at gmail.com> wrote:  

 Bow ties are cool, too.

So we have a bunch of other uses for the birds. How does this fit into rule
6? Do rare grids make way for DX? Does DX make way for NBEMS?

I'm new to the satellite game, so I don't really have an opinion, but maybe
there is more discussion here than a simple dismissal. Maybe not. Almost
every grid is a new grid for me.

Sean WA1TE

On Tue, Dec 12, 2017, 20:31 Devin L. Ganger <devin at thecabal.org> wrote:

> There's the "Doctor Who" reason:
>
> Satellites are COOL.
>
>
> --
> Devin L. Ganger (WA7DLG)
> email: devin at thecabal.org
> web: Devin on Earth
> cell: +1 425.239.2575
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On Behalf Of Mac A.
> Cody
> Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2017 5:12 PM
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] FM Satellites: Good Operating Practices for
> Beginning and Experienced Operators
>
> I would hope that another reason for working the satellites is
> experimentation to broaden the applications of amateur satellites. This is
> seen, of late, with the resurgence of 'Experimenter's Wednesday' on AO-85.
> I would like to see more experimentation in other areas.  Here are some
> examples and I'm sure that there are others:
>
> o Use of LEO satellites for emergency response traffic (e.g. Narrow Band
> Emergency Messaging Software - NBEMS).
>
> o Use/development of alternative modulation schemes on linear transponder
> satellites to enable more efficient use or lower the barrier to access (e.g.
> double-sideband
> modulation, digital voice, low-power digital modes).
>
> o Development and test of homebrew satellite ground stations to lower the
> barrier to working amateur satellites (e.g. antenna systems, filters,
> amplifiers, full-duplex transceivers).
>
> 73,
>
> Mac Cody - AE5PH
>
> On 12/12/2017 06:36 PM, Sean Waite wrote:
> > I'll bite. As far as I can tell, there are 2 main reasons for working
> > the satellites. Chasing grids and making contacts via space. This
> > includes both these acts as well as the fun of overcoming the
> > challenges of doing the same.
> >
> > Maybe Zach has a third option that we haven't considered, one that is
> > contrary to the grid hunt. Rag chews aren't really viable due to the
> > limited resource and short time, but there could be something else.
> >
> > 73,
> > Sean WA1TE
> >
> > On Tue, Dec 12, 2017, 19:05 Jeff Johns <jeff30339 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I don’t have him on my logs either.
> >>
> >> Jeff WE4B
> >>
> >> On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, David Swanson <dave at druidnetworks.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Zach,
> >>>
> >>> Do you avoid Satellites too? I've looked thru my logs and I don't
> >>> have
> >> your
> >>> call in there. I've asked a few other prolific ops and they lack a
> >>> QSO
> >> with
> >>> you as well. Just curious why the strong feelings on Item 6 if
> >>> you're not active on the birds.
> >>>
> >>> 73,
> >>>
> >>> Dave, KG5CCI
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 4:30 PM, Zach Metzinger <zmetzing at pobox.com>
> >>> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> On 12/12/17 14:25, John KI4RO wrote:
> >>>>> Just like rare DX Zach...you must be a great operator on HF
> >> too...Ugh!
> >>>>> 73
> >>>>> John KI4RO
> >>>> John,
> >>>>
> >>>> I generally avoid 160 meters, as there are too many on there who
> >>>> resort to disparaging insults.
> >>>>
> >>>> 73,
> >>>>
> >>>> --- Zach
> >>>> N0ZGO
> >>>>
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Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
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