As others have said, it's a single channel bird, so with contention (even with perfect behavior on the part of the operators), the channel is going to be overloaded.
I recommend to folks starting out with satellites to give SO-50 a try, but late at night when there are fewer people competing for the limited resource. Also, don't forget the PL tone needed to get in to this one.
The good news is that you passed the first two major stumbling blocks - you figured out where and when the pass was, and you actually heard it, so you've got the downlink side nailed. Next is just a matter of the uplink frequency, PL tone, and timing on the PTT switch.
Good luck!
Greg KO6TH
Peter Wilson wrote:
To all in Europe.....
We have just had an overhead pass of SO-50 and yet again, not one successful QSO.
I heard many stations trying to access the bird but not one station managed a two way contact.
Can any experienced European operator explain to me what is happening.
I thought the FM birds were supposed to be the easy ones?
Peter
G8KEK
Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb