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
Oh boy, here we go....
-----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tucker McGuire Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2017 6:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Dupe contacts on SO-50
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
Tucker has expressed a real concern about a real problem.
And now we know who the actual curmudgeon is.
Steve AI9IN
On 2017-04-16 22:00, Ted wrote:
Oh boy, here we go....
-----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tucker McGuire Sent: Sunday, April 16, 2017 6:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Dupe contacts on SO-50
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
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
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
Mike,
I agree completely. Your post goes into better detail and clarifies what exactly I meant.
Cheers & 73, Tucker W4FS
On Sun, Apr 16, 2017 at 10:24 PM, Mike Diehl [email protected] wrote:
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
Tucker W4FS,
First, you are far from being a curmudgeon! You'll have to put in many years of crankiness before you can claim that title.
You raise a point that has persisted for quite a while regarding FM Satellites. Experienced operators usually follow the proper protocol/etiquette on the single-channel resource. They rarely chit-chat unless the bird is idle. As with anything else, newbies are learning the ropes.
The FM SATs, as we all know, are where the new folks start out because they are easy due to readily available equipment. These operators are trying to figure everything out at once - the frequencies, the antennas, the PL, the AOS/LOS/AZ/EL, the protocol, etc., etc.
Until they figure all of these things out, the rest of the users are going to have to endure problems of various kinds. It's the utter reality of the situation. However, they are the "new blood" that we need to keep this aspect of the hobby growing.
And, believe it or not, not all SAT Ops are Grid Chasers. Some only care about the thrill of pointing a signal up toward the sky and saying hello to someone via something flying through Space. We have no choice but to co-exist in this environment. It is what it is.
A good primer for new operators can be found on John K8YSE's website at: http://www.papays.com/sat/general.html
All we can do is be good examples for the new/other users. When someone is operating from a rare Grid and we already have it confirmed, stay clear. If the pileup dies down and no one is calling, it's perfectly fine to say a quick hello to let them know they are being heard. During routine passes, if you hear a new Call, it's nice to give them a shout so they get the operating experience.
73 & GL 2 All, Bob K8BL
________________________________
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
_______________________________________________
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
participants (5)
-
Mike Diehl -
R.T.Liddy -
skristof＠etczone.com -
Ted -
Tucker McGuire