[amsat-bb] FM Birds, New Grids, and Chaos

[Clayton Coleman W5PFG]

I support a laissez-faire approach when it comes to FM transponder use. 
Not everyone chases grids. Not everyone chases DX. There are busy passes 
and there are slow passes. It balances out.

When I am out roving, I don't sit and call every station on the pass. I 
normally give my callsign once and wait for others to call me. On 
average, if I'm in a desired grid square, I might receive 20 direct 
calls. If most stations are hearing adequately and adhering to 
generally-accepted operating norms, there is plenty of room in a 11-13 
minute pass for twice that number of QSO's.

Last week, while I was operating from a remote grid in West Texas, 
another station was operating from desired grids further northwest. 
Between us there were nearly 40 clean QSO's, with the potential for 
more. It was amazingly orderly for an FM transponder - on a weekend!

Any transponder is a shared, multi-user resource. Except for emergency 
communications I don't believe consensus exists to prioritize use for 
particular groups (backyard/handheld warriors, rovers, home stations, 
club demo's, hamfests.) Who would make that determination? It would 
likely be unpopular. I try to prioritize the young people, Scouts, 
demos, and new calls but that is MY personal preference. HEARING the 
satellite is critical but LISTENING(comprehension) to the cadence of the 
pass is equally important.

Often I listen to transponders and hear very few stations. Time of day 
and footprint coverage are key elements to determine when a transponder 
will have activity. If someone new is expecting to make their first-ever 
QSO on a Saturday afternoon pass covering an entire continent, their 
expectation might not be met.

73
Clayton
W5PFG

 >     On Wednesday, February 20, 2019, 11:30:09 AM EST, Jerry Buxton <
 > n0jy at amsat.org> wrote:
 >
 >  Not to deter grid chasing and awards, does every FM bird have to be that
 > way?  I do miss my start with "portable stuff" a decade or so ago, and
 > just having quick QSOs with new contacts on SO-50 from the pizzeria
 > parking lot when I visited Mom and Dad...
 >
 > Jerry Buxton, NØJY
 >
 > On 2/19/2019 21:02, Bob wrote:
 > > I can tell you from personal experience as a satellite mentor, giving
 > > presentations which always excite potential new satellite users, then
 > > having them go into the field to experience the bedlam of a FM 
Satellite,
 > > that they too often become discouraged and give up.  Easysat is a very
 > > deceptive name, especially on weekends.
 > >
 > > 73, Bob, WB4SON
 > > _______________________________________________
 >
 >