[amsat-bb] RE: AO-40 passband usage

["Bill Acito W1PA" <w1pa@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with Hilton. I will qualify my remarks by saying I haven't been very
active on AO-40 since FD, but I would really like to see LEILA activated in
the L-Band uplink.

It's clear that some users are not following the "gentleman's" 10db rule.
What have the most recent DX "pile-ups" been like? Do the U-band uplinks
have to wait for the L-Band uplinks to work them first?

If there is a fixed amount of passband power available on the downlink, and
an unrestricted way to get access to it, of course users are going to
propagate over to it -- rationalized by "others are doing it". FM LEOs on FD
are a good example of the power escalation.

I may sound pessimistic about human nature, but I, personally, think it's
the "elephant in the room" -- Most users out of the box don't have L-Band
capabilities, and it's not trivial to purchase that capability... the move
to L-band is driven either because you see it as a technical challenge
(personal satisfaction), or you see it as a means to have a lower profile
antenna presence (dual patch on _one_ dish), or because, jees, those other
L-band guys are really loud...  I want to be really loud, too...  I'll be
good, really I will...


(and I'll be honest...  I've considered the third reason myself -- and I'm a
QRP'er!)

As we see more of the rare DX expeditions bringing AO-40 equipment with
them, I only see it getting worse.

Bill
W1PA (still on U-band only)


>Eric,
>I am not saying that there is anything wrong with using 1.2GHz, but I
>would like to see the 10dB below beacon strength observed by everyone
>regardless of uplink frequency.
>I may even be on 1.2 myself one day.
>73
>Hilton ZL2MN  Member AMSAT-ZL#35

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