Even we know there is a ham radio operator on almost every corner of the US, not all of them operate on satellites, generally speaking about working satellites, a rare grid or grids will be those with a very few or almost no satellite ground station or hams that operate satellites, I can give a good example on all the time you have been working satellites how many qso's you can log for DM21 or DM20, just to mention this grids that I know that are close to me, and I consider them rare, for the reason that the few ham radio operators there are in some other frequencies but satellites, as well as this grids, I'm sure they are more all over the US with low satellite traffic which turn them into rare grids, but that does not means that they are impossible, is just that there is no satellite operator on that particular location, and with the help of an individual traveling, vacationing or passing by they can be activated, if you Just notice the post from Patrick Stoddard on here AMSAT-BB, he was traveling from AZ to UT to give the current satellite operator the opportunity to log some grids that are not active all the time like others that are very heavy in traffic like CM87 DM13 and all the grids that are on populated areas, also this moth KD8CAO Douglas Papay was on a trip to Drummnd Island and work satellites from EN86 which is considered a rare grid for what I mentioned above, so the Idea is that if someone have the chance to take an HT and Arrow antenna on its vacation or trip to work from a different grid then its own QTH is worth the effort.

From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected] Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2009 22:49:29 -0500 Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Rare grid squares?

George, I was thinking the same thing. Are there grids in Minn or eastern SD/ND That would make a nice weekend trip? What is needed? Marv N0FJP EN34

----- Original Message ----- From: "George Henry" [email protected] To: "amsat bb" [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 10:31 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Rare grid squares?

...

What are considered "rare" grid squares for satellite ops?

Maybe more of us could activate them, if we only knew where they were.....

George, KA3HSW _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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_________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™ Hotmail®: Celebrate the moment with your favorite sports pics. Check it out. http://www.windowslive.com/Online/Hotmail/Campaign/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_W...

Randy not only did WAS in reverse but also VUCC. He had worked from well over 100 different grids. I have not talked with him in a few years.

73...bruce

On 7/22/2009 7:40 AM, Jeff KB2M wrote:

Randy's call is now wi7p. I haven't heard Randy on the bird's since 2006, I hope he is doing ok. The thing I remember most about Randy is that he completed (to the my best of my knowledge) WAS in reverse. Another words he worked someone on a satellite FROM every state! I thought that was quite an accomplishment. He would travel somewhere for work and make sat contacts from as many states as he could drive too while he was in that general area. I remember him discussing this activity while we were having dinner at the AMSAT symposium banquet in 2000 in Maine. There was another person involved in doing this also, but I now forget who it was.

73 Jeff kb2m

-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gary "Joe" Mayfield Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 11:58 PM To: 'George Henry'; 'amsat bb' Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Rare grid squares?

DXers produce list of desired countries. Six meter operators have compiled such a list of grid squares, I suspect our list would be similar. If you have not read about the Fred Fish (w5ff) award, it is interesting. I think Randy, n7sfi is probably our Fred Fish as I don't know of anyone else who has all of the grids touched by the lower 48 states.

I would like to see two lists; one for Grids and one for States. Satellite operations should make for an easy WAS, but I know it took me way longer than I thought it should have.

A few years ago to spark interest QRP-L had a one state per weekend deal for QRP ops. Maybe we should do a one state a weekend for satellite ops?

Anyway... I would be willing to help with such a project. I think a good starting point might be a web site where folks could report what they have or have not worked. It might even be enough to get me to update my grid list :-)

73, Joe kk0sd

-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of George Henry Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 10:32 PM To: amsat bb Subject: [amsat-bb] Rare grid squares?

What are considered "rare" grid squares for satellite ops?

Maybe more of us could activate them, if we only knew where they were.....

George, KA3HSW

---

Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

Jeff and everyone,

Randy is doing well. I emailed him recently while researching the feature on Rob, KD4ZGW, that appears in the new issue of the AMSAT Journal, which has already hit a few mailboxes. Randy is the first to have earned the Central States VHF Society's Reverse VUCC Award on the satellites. Only one other operator - Allen, N5AFV - also has the award on the satellites. Congratulations to both of them. Those who know Randy may be interested in this update he provided, when I asked if he ever gets on the satellites these days:

I do listen on my way to work and did get back on for a few days last month. I am going to help a school in Salt Lake county with their ARISS contact which has not been given a date yet. When they get a date I will on the satellites a lot more to get back in practice. They last few years I have been active doing EME on 2 meters and I have 107 grids confirmed via the moon.

You can check out http://emeshack.com/ for my latest status.

It was fun to give out all of those grid squares. Feel free to use the map at

http://www.xmission.com/~rkohlwey/images/fromgrid.gif

The map is current of August 3, 2006. The dots are the locations I have worked a satellite from. The dots that are not in a shaded area I was not able to complete a contact. The grids with the grid square displayed are the ones that I did not send out a QSL card for. No one requested one.

Part of my motivation for giving out so many grids was to get help on working all of the grids in the 48 Continental states. I completed that on August 11, 2001. The blue dots on the following map are confirmed QSOs on satellite.

http://www.uglyfrog.com/n7sfi/images/usagrid.gif

I completed a reverse WAS on September 12, 2008 but do not have QSL cards for all the states.

Hope this helps,

Randy - WI7P

Moon VUCC! How cool is that?!

73 to all,

Tim - N3TL

-------------- Original message from "Jeff KB2M" [email protected]: --------------

Randy's call is now wi7p. I haven't heard Randy on the bird's since 2006, I hope he is doing ok. The thing I remember most about Randy is that he completed (to the my best of my knowledge) WAS in reverse. Another words he worked someone on a satellite FROM every state! I thought that was quite an accomplishment. He would travel somewhere for work and make sat contacts from as many states as he could drive too while he was in that general area. I remember him discussing this activity while we were having dinner at the AMSAT symposium banquet in 2000 in Maine. There was another person involved in doing this also, but I now forget who it was.

73 Jeff kb2m

-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gary "Joe" Mayfield Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 11:58 PM To: 'George Henry'; 'amsat bb' Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Rare grid squares?

DXers produce list of desired countries. Six meter operators have compiled such a list of grid squares, I suspect our list would be similar. If you have not read about the Fred Fish (w5ff) award, it is interesting. I think Randy, n7sfi is probably our Fred Fish as I don't know of anyone else who has all of the grids touched by the lower 48 states.

I would like to see two lists; one for Grids and one for States. Satellite operations should make for an easy WAS, but I know it took me way longer than I thought it should have.

A few years ago to spark interest QRP-L had a one state per weekend deal for QRP ops. Maybe we should do a one state a weekend for satellite ops?

Anyway... I would be willing to help with such a project. I think a good starting point might be a web site where folks could report what they have or have not worked. It might even be enough to get me to update my grid list :-)

73, Joe kk0sd

-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of George Henry Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 10:32 PM To: amsat bb Subject: [amsat-bb] Rare grid squares?

What are considered "rare" grid squares for satellite ops?

Maybe more of us could activate them, if we only knew where they were.....

George, KA3HSW

---

Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb