I'm just starting to work sats - are QSL cards commonly exchanged? How is the exchange initiated? Also, what is the voice protocol on a busy bird?
Thanks,
Tom Williams KJ4EAW
Tom Williams wrote:
I'm just starting to work sats - are QSL cards commonly exchanged? How is the exchange initiated? Also, what is the voice protocol on a busy bird?
As far as QSL cards, yes many people send them. When I was active, I would QSL to any station that I had not talked to before, or any time upon request. I normally just sent the postcard, and I did have special QSL cards printed for satellite use with a custom set of fields that made more sense for satellite work. See http://home.earthlink.net/~k6ccc/QSL.html for my cards. If the other station was on an expedition (for example a rare grid), I would send an SASE as I knew they had gone to special expense to activate a grid for the community so I would pay for the postage both ways.
For the voice protocol on the busy birds, the best way is to listen for a couple passes and you'll pick it up pretty quickly. The short answer is keep it VERY SHORT and FAST. When the birds are not busy, you can actually chat. Back a few years ago when I was active, there were northbound passes on UO-14 in the late evening that were well off the Pacific coast of the USA and the footprint just skirted the west coast. As I am in the Los Angeles area I often got on and there was only one or two other stations for the first one to three minutes of my pass. We would often chat for fun that way. As the bird went farther north, there were more people and it was back to the SHORT and FAST operating mode.
Hi Tom,
QSL cards are handled about the same as with HF; some operators send them, others do not. It depends on what they're after. (But please, if you do receive one, send one back!)
On the busy FM birds (AO-51, especially), the trick is timing. You need to be able to slip your call sign into a gap in the exchange. If your call is short, phonetics are best, but most of the time the window is short, so just try to say it normally, clearly and quickly. If there is someone specifically you want to contact, say their call sign and then yours. Saying just your call is equivalent to a CQ; saying CQ is not expected on the busy FM birds. Again, timing is key, and be brief. When you venture to the SSB/CW satellites (FO-29, AO-07, VO-52), others need to find you, so stringing out a couple of "CQ Satellite" calls is appropriate. You will be able to hear someone coming back to you, because there's no capture effect; both signals will be heard.
Listen for a few passes to get the feel of it, and then try on one of the late night passes when it's not so congested. I recall a few passes on UO-14 (RIP) around midnight where there were just three of us on, and it was just like a round-table on our local repeater.
Good luck!
Greg KO6TH
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2009 02:26:57 -0800 From: tdub20120@yahoo.com To: AMSAT-BB@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] QSL Cards?
I'm just starting to work sats - are QSL cards commonly exchanged? How is the exchange initiated? Also, what is the voice protocol on a busy bird?
Thanks,
Tom Williams KJ4EAW
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
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participants (3)
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Greg D. -
Jim Walls -
Tom Williams