At 01:24 PM 10/13/2008, you wrote: >Hi Stan, > >There will be a few Scout Groups using VK3RWN B and VK4RGC B or C for JOTA. > > From discussions on this list we will link VK3RWN port B to REF004 A for >part of the JOTA weekend.
Just a thought, based from previous experience with JOTA and IRLP. Back in 2001 and 2002, I was involved in JOTA on IRLP. Back then, we used a similar idea, encouraging JOTA stations to connect to a particular reflector. What we found was that while the reflector was an excellent meeting place to make initial contact, where problems occurred is when stations stared holding QSOs on the reflector. When this happened, two JOTA stations would effectively tie up the reflector, and everyone else would be sitting on the side, waiting their turn. On the last JOTA I was involved with, we tried an experiment, and used the reflector as a "calling frequency", and when JOTA stations made contact, we'd pair them off and get them to make direct contact. This worked to a point. Where there was a skilled operator on one end, the JOTA stations would go away, connect directly and put the kids on to talk. When they'd finished, they'd come back to find someone else. As a service, I'd keep a list of waiting stations, so they could be paired up as quickly as possible. Where this fell down was that a lot of JOTA operators were inexperienced (in some cases, this was their first contact) with IRLP, and were relatively inactive on air, except for JOTA. In the worst cases, the JOTA operators were given no information or training in how to use IRLP. I fear, this could be a big issue for D-STAR. Anyway, just throwing in a few thoughts. Good luck, and I hope D-STAR is a success for this year's JOTA. I'm interested to know how it goes. 73 de VK3JED http://vkradio.com
