[amsat-bb] Re: a place for QRP ops

[Estes Wayne-W10191 <W10191@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ed Cole wrote:

I think that stations that operate at 10 dB below the beacon by
transmitting at say 10w on the uplink are not QRP.  

Wayne replies:

Agreed.  By QRP, I was thinking of stations that operate 20 dB or more below
the beacon.  For instance, people who make CW contacts with 10W ERP on the
S2 downlink near apogee.  Those guys are barely above the transponder noise
floor, and may only be audible when using a narrow IF filter.  Even with a
good receiving setup, you may not notice them when using a SSB IF filter.
These guys should not complain about being "stepped on" when operating in
the busy part of the transponder.

Ed wrote:

When a station operates at a level equal to the
beacon yet cannot hear my signal at 50w [2 Kw ERP], then he needs to work
on improving his receiving system if he hopes to talk to many stations.

Wayne replies:

Agreed, but this has nothing to do with the subject of QRP.  Yes, I have
encountered alligators calling CQ.  On two occasions I was the first SSB
contact for guys calling CQ.  I had to answer them 3 times, gradually
increasing my power until they could copy my callsign (making me LEILA bait,
of course).  I agree that those guys should not be calling CQ.
Interestingly, by the time they were able to copy my callsign, my downlink
signal was stronger than their downlink signal. That indicates that they
couldn't really hear themselves when calling CQ.

I still stick with my position that when operating at a power level that is
inaudible or barely inaudible to "most people", to avoid QRM one should
avoid the frequencies where "most people" operate.

Wayne Estes W9AE
off the air in Beijing
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