I would vote for switching from L/U to V/U. I would love an opportunity to work a satellite on L band, if only for the technical challenge of it. Mode S would be harder to do, as I'd have to build a downconverter to hear it (though such a project would not be totally out of the question).
My feeling is this--with 7(?) other birds up there, variety is a good thing. 73 de Mike KI4RIX On 05 May 2010, at 07:19, Andrew Glasbrenner wrote: > No one is trying to limit the the usefulness. Exactly the opposite, the > idea is to pick the mode that is the MOST useful. It's a quantity versus > quality problem. On a typical V/U FM Field Day pass, very few contacts > actually get made, and most of the pass (at least on the east coast) is > nothing but a fragmented dogpile of pieces of calls, whistles, blowing > in the mike, etc. Some people enjoy that, others walk away in disgust, > and think "why would I want to be part of that mess". > > It's my contention that we pick a mode on AO-51 that provides a more > challenging goal for the technically inclined portion of the hobby, > encourages clubs to actively seek help from their local AMSAT types, and > provides a more civilized environment on just one of the eight LEOs > likely to be active that weekend. Think of it as showcasing what amateur > satellites can be like on days other than Field Day. By limiting the > accessibility, we improve the quality of the experience for those > actively participating, and just listening. Again, AO-51 is one of many > satellites. If it were just AO-51, we wouldn't even be having this > conversation. > > One option that hasn't been floated is trying a mode switch on the early > AM Sunday pass. We could go from L/U to V/U very easily. If we do this, > I'd like to work with Bruce and actually count the number of QSOs > reported per mode. > > 73, Drew KO4MA > > 73, Drew KO4MA > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via [email protected]. 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 Best regards, Mike Benonis [email protected] KI4RIX _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. 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
