Network radios and Oscar 100

I suspect many who get network radios or use Oscar 100 are/were concerned about poor conditions and are/were looking for a reliable means of chatting with people a long way away.

Certainly my own network radio has hardly been used. I bought it 2 years ago when we were on the way towards sunspot minimum. At least with Echolink I could access repeaters on the other side of the planet. Likewise Oscar 100 should open up DX to a good proportion of the planet at any time without fading. In many ways you might consider Oscar 100 perfect. Once the gear is set up and the dish(es) aligned there is nothing else to do. No neighbours to annoy, no big towers or beams to worry about....and yet.

Yet, for me at least, neither satisfies. I prefer "real" radio where every contact is a challenge. After about 60 years in the hobby I have found that the changing nature of propagation is what gives me a buzz.

Different people enjoy our hobby in different ways and the world would be a sad place if we were all the same.

Maybe my network radio will get used.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/network