Slowly creeping up?

Every few days I take a look at narrowband activity on the geostationary Oscar 100 satellite using the web SDR at Goonhilly in Cornwall. Although activity seems to be slowly creeping up, activity levels are much lower than I expected.

A few minutes ago I counted 8 SSB transmissions. Some were CQ calls and some QSOs. OK, at first it is bound to be microwave enthusiasts and it will be some time before traditional HF types wake up to it.

I suspect some will never join the fun unless there are commercial offerings equivalent to a "shack in a box" starting to appear. After all, if you can afford several thousands for a rig, a tower, beam, rotator and linear, then an Oscar 100 set up with 1 or 2 small fixed dishes with no noise or neighbour issues is a bargain. Don't forget DX from South America to SE Asia is available at any time without QSB. A few watts and a small satellite dish are all that are needed.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/  .