Hi!

I was at the Old Pueblo Radio Club hamfest in Tucson AZ on Saturday, 18 October 2008. It was a good event, with nice weather that morning. The hamfest was in the parking lot at Tucson's Kino Sports Complex (grid DM42me):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=32+10.793+N+110...

I had an AMSAT table at the event, with the help of Larry Brown W7LB. Along with the AMSAT table, I had demonstrations using 3 satellites - AO-51 (2 passes), SO-50 (1 pass), and VO-52 (2 passes). We also copied the SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station during 2 passes, hoping that we might hear voices on the 145.800 MHz downlink. The demonstrations were well attended.

Since AO-51 was set up in the "JOTA" mode (uplink on 145.880 MHz FM, downlink on 435.300 MHz FM +/- for Doppler) for the weekend, I wanted to work any Scout groups that might be on the passes. If a Scout was available at the hamfest, I wanted to put the Scout on the radio to work either other Scouts or anyone else who might be on those passes. I did not have any Scouts around for the first AO-51 pass I heard at 1336 UTC. I - and a few others - worked KT4BSA in North Carolina on this pass. For the second AO-51 pass at 1511 UTC, I was able to put a Boy Scout on the mic.

Jim Fagan KE7IDC, a Tucson ham and Boy Scout, made his first satellite contacts using my portable FM satellite station (IC-2720H at 15W, Arrow Antennas handheld 2m/70cm Yagi) at the hamfest. I held the Yagi and took care of adjusting the 70cm VFO to deal with Doppler, and Jim did the rest. He made a total of 7 contacts in the span of 5 minutes - two Canadians, one Mexican, and 4 US stations. Jim had fun, and I had fun helping him make those contacts. Last night, I sent Jim and his father an MP3 with that audio and Jim's 7 contacts.

Besides the AO-51 passes, I was able to do my first demonstrations at a hamfest via VO-52. Using my two FT-817NDs and my handheld Yagi, I was able to make a few QSOs on the two passes I had. I tried to work FO-29, but had a lot of difficulty hearing its 70cm downlink over the intermod from military UHF radio systems at Davis-Monthan AFB a few miles/km east of the hamfest site. I apologize to those who were hoping to hear me on FO-29 Saturday morning, as I was not able to overcome that noise.

I was able to work one SO-50 pass along with the others I've already mentioned, ending up with 20 QSOs for WD9EWK (plus 7 for KE7IDC) at the hamfest. Not a bad morning.

After the hamfest, I drove to a spot south of Tucson straddling a grid boundary (grids DM41mx and DM42ma):

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=32+N+110+59.649...

This location is approximately 15 miles/25km south of downtown Tucson along the I-19 freeway. A casino, Indian reservation, copper mine, and an ICBM missile silo-turned-museum are all nearby. The Mexican border is only 50 miles/80km south of this spot. I wanted to work AO-16 from somewhere in southern Arizona, and possibly an AO-51 pass, before returning home. I was able to make 18 contacts from here - 14 via AO-16, 4 via AO-51 (including a Scout group in Texas using the special call W5S).

Thanks to all who made contacts with me (and KE7IDC) at the hamfest, and to those who worked me from DM41/DM42 later in the day. QSLs for those who worked WD9EWK at the hamfest went in the mail this morning. I'm not the QSL manager for KE7IDC; his address on sites like QRZ.com is correct. Jim would appreciate receiving QSLs from the stations he worked.

73!

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