Re: [amsat-bb] UO-14 demo at FD

[Jim Jerzycke <kq6ea@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bob, I *did* present it as a demo. I told them ahead of time that it was 
just like a repeater, and only two stations at a time could use it, and 
that since it was going over the middle of the USA, it would be quite 
crowded. I was amazed at the poor operating practices shown; people 
repeatedly calling CQ for long times, people whistling (!), people 
talking on top of each other, heterodynes, and just a general feeling 
of being "Out-of-Control" as one of the younger viewers put it.
I tried once to use it, and just decided it wasn't worth it, as I 
already had my 100-point bonus for my club, and so I spent the rest of 
the weekend explaining things to people, messing around with my AO-40 
downlink, and letting the kids point the antennas and play with the 
tracking program and radio. A year or two ago everybody griped about a 
particular "Power Station" that "hogged" it every pass. At least we got 
on the bird, along with a lot of other people, with the "Power Station" 
almost acting as a Net Control.
Maybe that's the way to go for Field Day on the FM sats. Designate a 
"Control Station", and let HIM give everybody a chance.
73, Jim

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