In a message to All & Tom Walker & Modera  Bruce LeGrande 
wrote:
 BL> Has anyone considered that the individual that posted the
 BL> original request for info MAY have been referring to the
 BL> "decoding" of downlink data from an amateur sat ?  Aren't there
 BL> several that broadcast general info in a telemetry format that
 BL> would require decoding ?  (ie DOVE ?)  Since this IS a HAM Radio
 BL> echo, it doesn't make sense to ask about commercial signals here,
 BL> and if this IS the case then wouldn't it be 'off-topic' and not
 BL> worthy of this thread ?
Yep. That's why I'm reviewing all this. I've been on vacation in CA from
FL and have not been here to make a decision (Chris? Rob?). However,
I have not seen a violation of the rules save the digression of argument.
(Probably why they haven't commented). 
We are pretty much open here. What commercial info you can gleen for 
amateur use and what amateur info for commercial use is OK on the echo.
I just want to keep it technical and not political. If it is steping past
that line I will butt in and ask for the thread to terminate.
Sometimes we get CB antenna questions that may or may not pertain to 
amateur radio. However, I let it slide unless it gets into how to 
mod a CB to outside freqs or how to convert a ham rig to CB. Antenna
questions are pretty general.
SAT questions and related stuff are left open until they cross the rules
line then my two assistants or I will step in. The echo is techical
and mostly relates to Ham radio, but there is always that:
               "What if ...."
That one "what if" is what makes the hobby better.
That one "What if we mod the feed such that ... and we can get ...
and then by decoding the info we can get ... and applying it to amateur
radio we can have ...". That's what the hobby is all about; taking
that step beyond.
-WS, Moderator, KB4YLY
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