Hi Drew!
Thanks for your reply. Having this discussion out in the open is a good thing.
No one is trying to limit the the usefulness. Exactly the opposite, the idea is to pick the mode that is the MOST useful. It's a quantity versus quality problem. On a typical V/U FM Field Day pass, very few contacts actually get made, and most of the pass (at least on the east coast) is nothing but a fragmented dogpile of pieces of calls, whistles, blowing in the mike, etc. Some people enjoy that, others walk away in disgust, and think "why would I want to be part of that mess".
As with any other part of the hobby, if operators choose not to cooperate, problems like that will occur. The same thing happens on HF during a contest or trying to work a DXpedition. With cooperation, at least 40 or more QSOs could be completed on a 15-minute AO-51 V/U FM pass. It is unfortunate that some (many?) do not take the time to get familiar with satellite operating before Field Day weekend. In a less-than-perfect situation those operators who are able to complete the QSOs would be a great example of what the situation could be if we were in an emergency situation instead of a weekend operating exercise or "contest".
It's my contention that we pick a mode on AO-51 that provides a more challenging goal for the technically inclined portion of the hobby, encourages clubs to actively seek help from their local AMSAT types, and provides a more civilized environment on just one of the eight LEOs likely to be active that weekend. Think of it as showcasing what amateur satellites can be like on days other than Field Day. By limiting the accessibility, we improve the quality of the experience for those actively participating, and
.... and possibly paint an inaccurate picture of amateur satellite operation on days other than Field Day, to someone listening to the activity?
If only a few dozen stations are going to be able to use an L/U configuration throughout Field Day weekend, and even fewer an L/S configuration, is this really what amateur satellites are like on days other than Field Day? Beyond my own recordings of passes I have worked and listened to since early 2005, K8YSE has an archive of MP3 recordings of FM satellite activity over the past several weeks. Many passes that are not way out over an ocean will have more activity than an L/U or L/S pass will be able to offer with the current numbers of stations capable of those configurations. Right now, it is a "chicken and egg" situation - with only one satellite with L or S capability, not many will add these to their stations unless there were more options to use the gear. S is easier to deal with than L, with the strong downlink signals from AO-51 copyable with downconverters and simple S-band antennas, but still a smaller number of stations on S than V/U using FM, SSB, CW, etc.
Your response from earlier this morning included my comments about AMSAT and its fundraising goals and increasing its membership. I appreciate that you, as one who wears many hats for AMSAT (director, officer, volunteer, and probably a few others), picked up on that. AMSAT should be interested in ensuring that it is an organization interested in building up its membership. This, in turn, will help in the fundraising efforts. Otherwise, catering to a few dozen stations for Field Day weekend may turn off more people from taking up this part of our hobby than a crowded pass might. Judging from the numbers of unique callsigns in my log, I contend that the chaotic V/U FM passes during past Field Day weekends haven't kept people from getting out and trying the FM satellites.
If the scheduling caters to that small number of stations that can work L/U or L/S, this may cause some to think AMSAT is an elitist organization. I hear that from time to time at the hamfests I attend, whether I'm talking with some who were active in the days or AO-10, AO-13, or even in AO-7's first life in the 70s.
just listening. Again, AO-51 is one of many satellites. If it were just AO-51, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.
Since AO-51 has the flexibility that the other satellites lack, we are able to have this discussion regardless of the status of other satellites. If AO-51 was the only satellite, there would probably still be some discussion due to this satellite's flexibility.
One option that hasn't been floated is trying a mode switch on the early AM Sunday pass. We could go from L/U to V/U very easily. If we do this, I'd like to work with Bruce and actually count the number of QSOs reported per mode.
Now this would be interesting. There would need to be a command station available during the weekend - either a west-coast station during the last Saturday evening pass, or an east-coast station for the first Sunday morning pass - to make this work. Could you please check with the command stations, and see if this is something that you (or one of the other command stations) could commit to? Let's see if this is even possible, before the discussion shifts to which 2 modes will AO-51 have during Field Day.
Unfortunately, relatively few logs are submitted for AMSAT Field Day. Using additional resources like recordings from passes like those K8YSE has archived and information from stations that worked those passes would be useful.
Thanks for your time in having a discussion here on the -BB. I'm looking forward to seeing you in Dayton, and attending the AMSAT events over that weekend. 73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/