Hi!

Thanks to all the stations that worked the K7UGA special-event station in the past week, helping the Central Arizona DX Association in its commemoration of the Arizona statehood centennial. Between Tom NQ7R and me, we made 122 satellite QSOs. Tom, who worked satellites a long time ago and is coming back to them, worked a handful of passes I didn't work at the end of the week. He also worked a VO-52 pass I was on Sunday morning. I was able to get WD9EWK into the K7UGA log, when Tom worked me as K7UGA. :-) I was able to make at least one QSO on every pass I attempted as K7UGA, and there was one FM pass that saw 14 QSOs logged!

Tom worked his passes from his home in Casa Grande AZ (grid DM42). For passes I worked at the start of the week through Thursday afternoon, I was operating from DM43 here in the Phoenix area. For the passes I worked Friday and Saturday, I was at the Yuma Hamfest. On Sunday morning, I parked next to the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park overlooking the Colorado River. Both Yuma sites are in grid DM22.

Besides the satellite operating Tom and I did as K7UGA, other CADXA members activated the call on all HF bands along with 6m and 2m from locations all over Arizona. I even used the call from the AMSAT table inside the main hall at the Yuma hamfest Saturday morning on a cross-band repeater that flew with a high-altitude balloon. I made QSOs as K7UGA with a couple of stations outside the hall at the hamfest and two others in different parts of Arizona through that repeater.

Initial reports show that K7UGA made over 6500 QSOs on all bands including the satellites during the past week. Whether you worked K7UGA on the satellites, on HF, or in both places, thanks to all who took the time to call K7UGA. It was a fun time working as K7UGA, especially hearing some of the (quick) stories related to the call's original holder, Barry Goldwater.

73!

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