Hi!

I have secured the special call sign W7O (WHISKEY SEVEN OSCAR) for use in commemorating the 40th anniversary of the launch of OSCAR 7 on 15 November 1974. I plan on having this call on the air between 15 and 24 November 2014, working satellites and possibly other bands. I will work satellite passes from Arizona, including AO-7 passes, and hope to recruit a small group of operators who can work other passes that cover eastern North America along with other places I can't work from here (Europe, north Africa, South America). I may also try to get some operators working HF with this call.

I will handle the QSL requests for W7O during this period. I am thinking of incorporating the original QSL card design AMSAT used to confirm AO-7 reception reports from the 1970s in the W7O card. (Does anyone have a good scan of both sides of that 1970s QSL card? Not the 30th anniversary AO-7 card - I have those, and there is a copyright on that design I do not wish to violate.) The QSL cards will be printed after the W7O activity wraps up. I will also upload W7O QSOs to ARRL's Logbook of the World system.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions related to this operation, or if you are willing to operate on satellites and/or HF as W7O during this 10-day period.

Thanks in advance, and 73!

Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/