Hi!
After the hamfest wraps up in Tucson AZ around midday on Saturday, I plan on heading east on I-10 toward the rarely heard grids DM51, DM52, and DM53. I will also be near New Mexico. For those who are interested in grids, I can stop and work from two of the 3 grids I listed. DM52 will certainly be one grid I can work from out there, and I can get to grid boundaries where I could also be in DM51 or DM53. Is there any preference on which of the other two grids I should go to? Or a QSO with New Mexico, which would still be DM52 but a little further east on I-10?
I've worked from this area on many post-hamfest road trips over the past few years, so I know the spots where I can park my car to be on those grid boundaries. Unfortunately, my car won't survive the dirt track to park on the Arizona/New Mexico state line, and I won't stop on the side of the freeway to be on the state line, so a New Mexico QSO will be from a freeway exit about 5 miles/8km east of the state line.
It looks like I will have one SO-50 pass I can work at the hamfest Saturday morning. The evening passes appear to be too late for me. I should be able to work VO-52 and FO-29 passes from wherever I end up out there. For those who can only work FM satellites (read "SO-50", for the time being), sorry. I will be back in this area in early May, and SO-50 might have better pass times for an afternoon/early evening swing through this area.
As with the satellite demonstrations at the Tucson hamfest, I will upload my post-hamfest log to Logbook of the World. I will also print QSL cards, and be happy to send one your way if you are in my log. Please e-mail me the QSO details, as there's no need to send me a card or SASE to get my card.
Thanks, and 73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/