Thank you, Mexico! Thank you, Northern California and AMSAT Patrick! Thank you, Texas!
(That IS three countries, isn't it ???)
I was invited MONTHS ago to show off AMSAT at the Victor Valley Amateur Radio Club's JOTA at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds. It's an hour drive each way for me ... there ARE "closer" JOTA events occurring ... But Victorville was the first to ask ...
We had a GREAT time. Arrived at 1PM for lunch, set up out informal table for the scouts to visit, and then had the wonderful pass of AO-51 at 5:55PM local time. I did NOT record the pass to initiate QSL cards - but will certainly respond to ANY of the 8+ contacts we made on both the special JOTA repeater and the "normal" V/U repeater. (That's INCLUDING Patrick, who I think had one foot in New Mexico and the other in Arizona ...)
Wonderful kids ... supportive parents ... Elmers from as far away as San Diego (150 miles' drive each way). Even got my wife to go with me this time, right after her month-long trip to Tibet. Ya know when you can impress your spouse, you've accomplished SOMEthing! We couldn't spend the night, as both our horse and burro(*) called us to remind us of their regular evening feeding.
Seeing scores of kids that age as interested in amateur radio and electronics and mathematics as these kids were - just makes me believe that the next generation of policy makers were in the audience ....
Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com
(*) - Yes - If you have read my "bio" that's all over the 'Net, I do, indeed, own a burro. "His name" - you might ask? "edward R. Burro."
---------------------------------- Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com