Yep, It just takes a little dedication. I was operating VERY casually this year mostly only on Ao-27 and a little on SO-50. The result for 2011 is: 470 QSOs, 41 states, 175 grids.

Keep trying, folks! And good work Clayton!

73, John, K6YK

On Mon, 2 Jan 2012 21:42:10 -0600 Clayton Coleman W5PFG kayakfishtx@gmail.com writes:

Since becoming active on satellites again in April 2011, I have managed to work 48 states on the FM transponders with portable equipment. I did not set out to accomplish this minor feat on FM alone because I do also operate VO-52, AO-7, and FO-29 /P. Hawaii is impossible for me unless AO-7 is used. New Hampshire is the other state I need but I've got several options to get it confirmed if I would just sit down and schedule one with friends. Maine is not common but New Hampshire seems less common in my ~8 month window of activity. All good award confirmations come to those who wait, right? What fun is chasing an award if it's easy?

There are lots of active grids, states, and countries available for paper chasers on the birds. More importantly, there are many genuine and experienced operators for which the satellite community can be grateful. Whether a casual operator, a paper chaser, or DX-hound, the current operational birds have a lot to offer proportionate to what you put into working them.

My suspicion is there is a group of "been there, done that" experienced operators that don't get on and operate much any more. Maybe this is because there's not a HEO satellite, maybe they have all the wall paper they want, perhaps they get annoyed the LIDs on FM transponders, or maybe they are just waiting on the "next great bird" to get them active again. In any case, I would invite those of you who have not operated the current satellites in recent times to get on the air so that some of us "newcomers" have a chance to be acquainted with you.

Looking forward to contact with you in 2012.

73, Clayton W5PFG

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