There is nothing wrong with a ship to ship contact just as for Summits on the Air there is nothing wrong with a summit to summit contact.. However, there are Activators (of summits) and Chasers (of activated summits). Our job as the special event station is to be a target for other hams. If they make 15 contacts they get a certificate. If we submit our log we get a certificate which is supposed to include the names of all of our operators. I have committed to giving a certificate from the USS Montrose N0P to everyone who helps at our station. If contacts calling us are slow, go look for a ship. Other wise, call CQ. If we hear a ship it might be good to set up on a nearby frequency to increase the chances of a ham finding us.
Some guys will want to log the contact, get the exchange and move on. Others may want to rag chew for a while. If they want to rag chew and we don’t have a pile up waiting, rag chew with them. The operating position will include a log book and a book with ship information. Operators must write clearly and record the actual UTC of the contact. We will have a UTC atomic clock. Since there is the Grid Chase underway I think that we should include the grid in our exchange. They can pick and choose from the information book the information that they want to share.
I think that our operators will be able to sense whether the contact wants to move on or stay for a while.
Be friendly. Take your time, Provide information. Have fun. There is no pressure to make one contact a minute. There is no requirement to recite the ship’s full operational history either.
Did you know that one of the Captains of the USS Montrose was a Medal of Honor recipient? That is an interesting story.
Propagation will probably be a challenge. Our beam antenna will be tuned to 20m. The wire dipole will tune 80-10. We will be frequency agile.
73 and I look forward to the event and your participation.
Lew K0LMF