At 11:34 PM 11/23/2009, Jan-Albert Koekemoer wrote: >In an effort to make this as painless as possible, I would like to request >comments on the possible use of regional coordinators, which I believe worked >quite well for SO-35. Such coordinators would then be responsible for >setting up schedules in advance for their specific regions, taking into >account obviously the pool of possible satellite passes, as well as local >events / fairs etc. We would then simply load the schedules on a weekly >basis.
I was the VK/ZL coordinator for SO-35, and drew up the schedule for the region for over a year. If I recall correctly, I was the first of several regional coordinators. The arrangement worked well, and I formed a close working relationship with the SO-35 team. The work wasn't particularly difficult, and having local knowledge, I could tweak the passes to suit the needs of the local satellite community. I also helped the SO-35 team test different transponder configurations (some worked better than others), by offering feedback about how well the different configurations worked, using my setup of known performance. Based on my experience, I would recommend and encourage the use of regional coordinators. It's not a particularly difficult job, it takes the load off the satellite operators, and it provides a local point of contact for satellite users to request passes for special events, or to cover areas that were missed out. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb