[Skimmertalk] SSB + Skimmer idea

[Edward Kritsky]

Dear Skimmertalk,

Together with my friend, Yuri, UA3ATQ, we came up with an interesting
idea on how to identify SSB stations in contests using skimmer
technology.

All of the elements are currently present out there and require no or
minimal modifications

1. Radios
2. Computers
3. Skimmers
4. Spotting networks

What needs to be modified would be logging software to enable
additional radio station identification.

How?

The idea is to identify stations by transmitting CW ID at high rate of
speed (at maximum speed that skimmers can accept), at intervals that
would be determined by the operator's behaviour (CQing vs. searching).
CW ID should not be set to tax outside ops' hearing and would be for
skimmers only (although I would not exclude humans entirely).

Logging program would send an ID based on what the op is doing.

There is some trial and error needed to set this in motion - how
often should ID be sent, how fast, on what sideband (to correspond to the
operating SSB frequency). The op should have a choice of turning it on
and off, not to slow him or others down, not to cut into his
transmissions etc. Operator's action should have precedence over
logging program actions. When ID has not been sent in its entirety,
skimmer should ignore it or wait for a successful re-identification.

I'm sure there is a bit of intelligent analysis required on how to make this
work for everyone. CW ID can be very short (fraction of a second), it
would not slow things down, it (hopefully) would not be viewed as an
annoyance (unlike an end-transmission beep in the commercial world)

In my view, it needs to be experimented with before it becomes a
mainstream, in or out of contests

What we have seen in CQ WW CW contest with skimmers basically changed
how we operate, where we operate and how stations are spotted. Perhaps
this is an easy and inexpensive way of bringing this technology to
SSB. I don't think FCC should object since maximum allowable CW speed
is not an issue - transmitting station identifies itself in voice
anyway.

I'm not a member of this forum, so if you wish to reply to my posting,
my email address is on the bottom of this message

It would be great to get this off the ground

de Dave, K1TTT: One other consideration is the bandwidth of the
existing skimmers. Most are only skimming the bottom 96khz or at most
192khz of the bands, so making wider bandwidths or shifting them for
phone contests would be necessary. Some do scan the bands on a
schedule so that might be a possibility also.

73 to all,

Ed Kritsky/NT2X
Brooklyn, NY
-- 
Best regards,
Edward      mailto:red at escape.com