Hi!
I'm still working through some scenarios for my travels and radio operating while I am in Canada in just over a week from now. It is looking like I will spend most of Sunday, 4 July 2010, operating from somewhere on the CO60/CO70 grid boundary on Vancouver Island. Depending on how AO-7 is operating at that time, I may possibly extend that into Monday, 5 July, so I get an opportunity to work AO-7's mode B from that location. If I can find a way to safely get into CO50 on the far northwest end of that island, I will look for a spot at the CO50/CO60 grid boundary as my first operating stop on Vancouver Island. I still plan on visiting other grids on the island, but have not decided yet how and when I will do that. I will not have a 4-wheel-drive vehicle for this trip, so I will confine my travels to well-maintained roads and highways.
There is a scheduled meeting of the North Shore Amateur Radio Club (VE7NSR) in North Vancouver on the evening of Thursday, 8 July, that I am planning on attending. I will only be a spectator there, but would welcome the opportunity to meet any satellite operators in metro Vancouver that might make it up to that meeting. More information about that club and its meeting are available at the club's http://www.nsarc.ca/ web site.
As I mentioned on my http://july2010.wd9ewk.net/ web page, I hope to be able to stretch footprints to work stations in northern and northwestern Europe and possibly even northern Japan. That web page has a map I created, centered on metro Vancouver, with circles every 2500km. Since I will have my all-mode satellite station (two FT-817s) with me, I will look to work AO-7 (mode B) and FO-29 passes at every opportunity I find a spot to get on the air. HO-68 as well, depending on its schedule during the week of 4-10 July while I am in Canada.
If you are interested in making plans to try specific passes, please e-mail me directly with your requests. I can't guarantee I will be able to make the times you suggest, but I will try. After seeing what Adrian AA5UK did on his Hawaii trip, and all the operating Jim ND9M did on his long road trip through many US states earlier this year, I hope to get many stations contacts with these grids while I am up in that part of Canada.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/