On Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 05:18:54PM -0400, Diane Bruce wrote:
Now hear me out before you hit that reply key. Field day operators are interested in those bonus points, we (amsat) are interested in promoting amateur radio sat operations. How many of these field day operations actually result in new satellite operators? Where are the surveys, stats? Does the extra massive battery use of our sats justify the PR? Keep in mind the state of AO-51 and FO-29.
Am I the only one? I'd be interested in a non-flame war discussion.
Sure, the person operating the radio is trying to collect the bonus points for their operation.
But most Field Day operations are a *group* effort. Many of the hams present may never have operated a satellite, and if shown that they can get on the FM sats relatively easily, may give it a try. There are typically dozens of people present besides the satellite operator, at least a few of which express some interest.
People who collect bonus points usually go for the public location/information table bonus as well, so you may be introducing possible future hams to satellite work.
If the argument is 'show me the data,' feel free to go collect it; the published FD scores is a good starting point for reaching out to the involved parties. Or you could fund a survey.
It seems silly to demand that outreach be justified for you; without it, you won't need those satellites anyway. Lack of outreach is a self correcting problem -- just add time, and there won't be any satellites left.
73,
Majdi, N0RMZ