2 Apr 2019

Oscar 100 - still very quiet

Just a few moments ago there was an OE6 calling CQ via the satellite and getting absolutely no response. At most there were perhaps 3 SSB signals. There was one PA on Hellscreiber, so you could read the callsign and QTH locator by looking at the waterfall.
By now, with more people building gear, I was expecting it to be very busy. If anything, I suspect there are fewer users than a few weeks ago.

OK, this is a weekday. Perhaps people are tired of working the same people and telling them about their dishes and LNB? Maybe the challenge was getting that first QSO and now the interest is waning? Maybe just talking through a geosynchronous satellite is no challenge? Perhaps every QSO is just like another?

Perhaps this is all too premature. Having DX QSOs and local QSOs with no QSB at any time day or night takes some getting used to?
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousTue Apr 02, 02:32:00 pm GMT+1

    Hi Roger,

    At the moment it seems to be more of the uWave operators / builders / experimenters on the Sat than traditional HF DX'ers.

    I'm sure it will change, but as it's a new type of operating I think it will take a while to settle down.

    In the meantime folks are experimenting with different modes and operating techniques which is interesting in itself.

    I had a couple of Digital Voice QSO's yesterday using Free DV. I've never found it to work too well on the HF bands, but it seems OK via the satellite, and I believe that and new HiFi version is likely to be released, especially for operation via Oscar 100.

    So maybe it will encourage a bit more experimentation, rather than the usual "59 & good DX" exchanges - which would be nice.

    Regards,

    Martin - G8JNJ



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