Hi!
Sorry for the delay in posting this. It's been a busy week since this quick trip to a hamfest in southeastern Arizona and the post- hamfest road trip I took.
The Cochise Amateur Radio Association had its annual Larry Warren Hamfest at its "Green Acres" field in Sierra Vista. I was at this event last year with an AMSAT table, and made a return trip this year. This is not a large event, and - like many hamfests here in Arizona - wraps up by midday. During the morning, I did 4 satellite demonstrations (2 on AO-51, 2 on VO-52), plus listened in on a scheduled ISS contact.
The first AO-51 pass, at 1335 UTC, had 14 QSOs - 5 Mexican stations, and 9 stations from all over the US. After that, at 1514 UTC, the second AO-51 pass had 5 more QSOs (2 Canadians, 3 US stations). Then the ISS passed by, and we listened to half of a scheduled contact. This is always fun to do, even if the questions are very similar from contact to contact. Later in the morning, I worked 2 VO-52 passes, logging 5 QSOs on those passes to complete the satellite demonstrations.
Again, thanks to the Cochise Amateur Radio Association for allowing an AMSAT table at their hamfest. It was nice being down there once again. Thanks also to the stations that worked WD9EWK on those 4 passes during the hamfest. Having stations on all those passes to work makes the demonstrations successful.
After lunch and spending a couple of hours in Sierra Vista, I drove about 60 miles/100km to the DM51bx/DM52ba grid boundary. I was at this spot after the same hamfest in 2008, and made a quick stop here last month. This time, I planned to stick around for 2 AO-51 passes followed by one SO-50 pass. This was a productive stop. :-)
The first AO-51 pass I worked, starting around 0042 UTC, was busy. Lots of stations from all over North America. Even an Alaskan showed up at the end of the pass. In all, I worked 17 stations - the Alaskan (KL7XJ - thanks Dale!), a Canadian, 4 Mexicans, and the rest were spread out all over the US. The 0222 UTC AO-51 pass, to the west, had a good turnout as well. Nine QSOs logged, from one Mexican to two Alaskans. SO-50 at 0305 UTC only had 4 QSOs logged, but came close enough to the last AO-51 pass so I waited for it before moving on. With 31 QSOs in the log on these 3 passes, it was time to move on.
Since the I-10 freeway was closed through the center of Tucson during this weekend, I used that as my excuse to repeat the drive I took in April after the Tucson hamfest I attended. I drove north along US-191 toward Safford AZ, then on US-70 followed by US-60 to get back to the Phoenix area. With this route, I would cross the DM52/DM53 grid boundary again. It was 90 miles/144km from the DM51bx/DM52ba grid boundary to the DM52ax/DM53aa boundary along US-70. Google Maps says this is a 104-minute drive, and I made it in 90 minutes - keeping to the speed limits on the various highways the whole time. I made it to DM52ax/DM53aa about 2 minutes into an SO-50 pass starting at 0445 UTC, and logged 5 QSOs to finish my operating for this day. Three hours and 150 miles/241km later, I got home at 0100 local (0800 UTC). Including the drive from Phoenix to Sierra Vista the night before the hamfest, I drove a total of 555.5 miles/894km for this hamfest and the post-hamfest stops.
If anyone worked me on 2-3 May and needs confirmation for any QSOs logged with WD9EWK, please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. If you're in the log, I will mail a card. The next hamfest I will attend with an AMSAT table will be on 30 May in Prescott AZ (grid DM34). Hope to hear you on during that hamfest - and on passes later that day, from wherever I might visit on my way home.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/