Tucker,
You bring up a situation that I'm all too familiar with. I'm not sure but it seems to be closely coupled with FM repeater operation where stations give a shout out to other stations they know. If only regular FM repeaters worked 10 minutes every hour and a half then maybe ops would realize how precious of a resource FM passes are.
I also agree with the lonely pass situation. Out here on the left coast we run into a lot of quiet time. Many times I'm surprised I don't have to turn the bird on. On this type of pass it is perfectly acceptable to work the same stations or put your call out to generate activity to help others find the bird. Even some rag chewing with breaks is perfectly fine given you don't loose situational awareness.
I think the situation you're describing is where a rare grid(s) is on or a demo station is on and you get a station who feels the need to call out or work dupes. There are many passes where I've just listened to the magic of radio in action, it has its own rewards. Making contacts is great but you really have to remind yourself that everyone else is trying for the same. It really is OK to have a pass go by where all you do is SWL.
73,
Mike Diehl AI6GS
On Apr 16, 2017, at 6:58 PM, Tucker McGuire [email protected] wrote:
Hello space bird enthusiasts,
I have noticed that certain stations on busy SO-50 passes work the same stations that they have worked on many previous passes when they are in the same grid. Dupe contacts.
This can prevent and has prevented other stations from trying to work new grids that happen to be on or perhaps prevented them from working a new guy that hasn't been on the satellites before. On quiet passes I see no issues with working the same station you've worked hundreds of times before but on busy SO-50 passes it is just disruptive.
Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon but that's my two cents.
Cheers & 73, Tucker W4FS _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb