I saw in another thread a breakdown of satellite passes, and thought what a cool idea. I didn't start working sats until January 2010, because I wasn't licensed until December 2009. All of my sat work is standing outside, with an ht and Arrow antenna. Due to my being surrounded by 13,000 ft mountain ranges, all passes I work have to be 30 degree elevation or higher. I get to work AO-27, AO-51 and SO-50 each once a day. I know I listened for a week before I had the courage to transmit but what a thrill those first few contacts were!
1st contact was 01/19/2010 with KI6IUJ Last contact was 12/31/2010 with WD9EWK
AO-27 - 322 AO-51 - 208 SO-50 - 173 HO-68 - 25 SO-67 - 18
TOTAL - 746 contacts plus one with the ISS
I've qualified for VUCC, just waiting on the award to arrive.
Worked sats from DM68 (home grid) and portable from DM57, DM58 and DM67. This summer I plan on making several trips to rare grids around me.
Working sats for me is a blast, frustrating at times but still lots of fun. And thank goodness for digital tape recorders!
Jim Adams - K0BAM Ridgway, Colorado