Hi!
After seeing a few messages showing a breakdown of QSOs by satellite for a few operators, I decided to go through my log after the end of the year and do the same thing. I logged more satellite QSOs in 2010 (2704) than in any previous year. Not only have I tried to be active from home (or close to it), I've been on whenever I've traveled away from home. None of my QSOs in 2010 were made from fixed stations; all were completed with my portable gear. As you've seen me write in many posts and probably have heard me say, working the satellites has been fun!
Here are some breakdowns of those 2704 QSOs...
QSOs by call sign:
2159 QSOs as WD9EWK 377 QSOs as VA7EWK (July 2010) 152 QSOs as XE2/WD9EWK (February and July 2010) 16 QSOs as VA7EWK and WD9EWK (Canada/USA border, 8 July 2010)
QSOs by satellite:
741 on AO-51 - 27.4% 587 on AO-27 - 21.7% 428 on SO-50 - 15.8% 390 on HO-68 - 14.4% (311 in FM, 79 in SSB) 227 on AO-7 - 8.4% 211 on FO-29 - 7.8% 105 on VO-52 - 3.9% 15 on SO-67 - 0.6%
QSOs by mode:
2082 in FM - 77.0% 616 in SSB - 22.8% 6 in CW - 0.2%
Operated from: 7 US states (Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Washington, Wisconsin) 1 Canadian province (British Columbia) 1 Mexican state (Baja California) 2 US state boundaries (Illinois/Wisconsin, Indiana/Ohio) 1 international boundary (Canada/USA) 38 grids (CN78, CN79, CN88, CN89, CN99, CO60, CO70, CO80, CO90, DM21, DM22, DM23, DM24, DM25, DM31, DM32, DM33, DM34, DM35, DM41, DM42, DM43, DM44, DM45, DM51, DM52, DM53, DM54, DM56, EM79, EN40, EN41, EN51, EN52, EN61, EN62, EN70, EN80)
My first QSO of 2010 was with Omar XE1AO on AO-51 (FM), operating from Phoenix AZ (DM33xp/DM43ap) on 1 January 2010. My last QSO of 2010 was with George WA5KBH on FO-29 (SSB) from north of Black Canyon City AZ (DM34we) on Friday (31 December) afternoon. I thought I'd have more AO-51 QSOs than I did, but I'm not surprised it has been the satellite with the most QSOs. Despite all its issues, AO-51 has been the most productive satellite for QSOs since my first QSOs in late 2005. HO-68 is generally not available in the evenings here in Arizona, which is a shame. With that said, it has been a very good performer since it was first activated in late 2009 - in FM and SSB.
I know there are some who have traveled more and worked from more places than I have in the past year. K8YSE's road trip in September around Lake Superior comes to mind, as do ND9M's trips during the past year. The only way I can approach what they have done on their trips would require more vacation time or winning lottery numbers. :-) I have noticed more have taken up the challenge of working the satellites away from home, a good thing.
Since my trip to Dayton in May, I have taken my all-mode satellite station anywhere I've gone. I've been picking up more new call signs on the SSB passes throughout 2010, so there is hope for more activity on those satellites in 2011. SSB activity may never match the level of FM activity, but I'm happy I took the time to learn how to do that.
Thanks to everyone for all the QSOs on the satellites throughout 2010. Happy 2011 to all, and 73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/