On 2022-08-12 5:53 p.m., Rob Carter wrote: would an old fashioned linear transponder and a 1296 option warrant us continue grinding away at this mountain?
YES !!!
From the first time I heard Oscar-6 I kept working them all changing equipment as I went along to use whatever was up there. Yes I miss AO-40, but the ones up there now I try to use daily. I am not on the FM birds much because it is hard to figure out calls with the rapid fire speech of operators. I would welcome something like AO7 to use for QSOs that form friendships over time, something the digital (FT8 type) cant do.
Yep I am an old gieser that starts most sentences with "I remember when" but I remember the old birds and miss them dearly, so if another AO7 is possible you have my vote and support.