Bob and all, WAC definitely is possible - in some portions of the lower 48, at least - with today's fleet of satellites. On the AO-7 passes that I've used to work Alaska in the past, far eastern Russia was well within the footprint. The same is true now for HO-68 during appropriate passes. The obstacle, of course, is a lack of operators that far east in Russia.
Bob, I suspect you are too far east to be able to get Hawaii for Oceana. However, stations at your latitude and slightly farther south (maybe as far south as 45 degrees, but definitely at 40 degrees and north) who sit somewhere from the Mississippi River east to at least the Cleveland area should be able to earn Satellite WAC. UA9CS shows up fairly regularly on Mode B passes of AO-7, and the log page on the AO-7 Web site reflects that K3SZH (Harrisburg, Pa., area) works him fairly often. That is asiatic Russia, so would count for Asia. K8YSE (Cleveland area) has worked WH6BIE on Oahu. I believe John may also have worked Adrian, AA5UK, when he was portable earlier this month from KH6. So that's Oceana. EA8AVI is active on AO-7 and other satellites, and the Canary Islands provide Africa. From this far south in EM84, I have worked all but Asia - and it IS possible here. Sadly, however, it would involve finding an operator across the Bering Strait who could work either AO-7 Mode B or HO-68 using either the linear or FM transponder. I have looked at a gazillion low-angle AO-7 passes to my east, and none of them have the right angles to fit UA9CS and me in the footprint at the same time. Given HO-68's nice footprint, I believe it should be very possible to earn Satellite WAS hand-held (and, of course, with a base station) for any station located from the creater Kansas City area west on the lower 48. It might even stretch a bit farther east, but I haven't looked at it. Satellite WAS definitely is possible as far east as my QTH, but it takes the right pass of either AO-7 or (as I surprisingly discovered) FO-29. And this is about as far east as either the AO-7 or FO-29 footprints will stretch. But that makes Satellite WAS possible for a significant portion of the lower 48. Before closing, let me add my congratulations to Loren on his all-handheld Satellite VUCC. That's also how I earned mine (No. 170), and it was a real thrill. The ironic thing is, it took longer to get all the cards I needed to apply for the award than it did to actually work 100 grids. I needed 28 days to work 100 grids, but another 49 days to get all the cards I needed to apply for the award ... hihi. As a result, my all-handheld VUCC was, in all, a 69-day project. I remember asking on this BB about who else had done all-handheld VUCC, and there were several operators who responded. Also - for Loren and others who might be interested - the QRP Amateur Radio Club International has added satellite endorsements to many of its awards, including its Grid Square and All States awards. The Grid Square Award is like VUCC - it requires a minimum of 100 grids. However, the QRP-ARCI award is far more rare. I suppose that has to do with the nature of QRP operation. I earned Satellite Grid Square Award No. 1 from them, and it is only No. 7 overall. I encourage anyone who has VUCC using HTs or a QRP rig like the Yaesu FT-817 to check it out. The group's All States Award is like our Satellite Communications Achievement Award, which requires confirmed contacts with at least 20 states/Canadian provinces/DX entities. The QRP-ARCI All States Award requires contacts with a minimum of 20 states, and it offers endorsement in increments of 10 states from there (i.e., 30, 40 and 50 states). I earned Satellite All States No. 1 using only contacts I'd made, handheld, running 50 milliwatts out of my Yaesu VX-7 HT. My award, which is only No. 16 overall, is for 30 states at .05-watt. I suspect that Loren and others have more than they need to earn one or both of these awards. They're not AMSAT awards, but neither is VUCC, WAS or WAC. For those of us who enjoy low power, however, I believe they are nice additions to the awards options we have. Information on those awards is available at www.qrparci.org. 73 all, Tim - N3TL Athens, Ga. - EM84ha ________________________________ From: Bob DeVarney W1ICW <w1...@myfairpoint.net> To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Fri, April 23, 2010 10:00:52 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 5, Issue 185 Congrats, Loren. That's quite an accomplishment for a portable setup. Just as a yardstick, I got SAT VUCC # 64 back in November of 1996 so you are definitely in exalted company ;-) It's actually quite surprising there aren't more VUCCs done in that length of time. I wonder what the League's statistics are for the "regular" VUCC. Moreover, I wonder how many Satellite WAS or WAC awards have been issued since the 90s. I got sat WAS #299 in December 2004.. WAC is dated 1993, but I wonder if it can even be done now with the current crop of satellites. In the Oscar 10 or -13 days you could almost work it in a single pass. Has anyone heard if a sat DXCC has been done any time in the recent past? BTW, this is your opportunity, guys and gals on the -BB, to beat me up if I owe anyone a QSL card... I am coming out of a long hiatus so I'll put priority on returning those cards that people are really waiting on. Some random, Friday morning musings de Bob W1ICW ( the sat operator formerly known as WE1U ) ________________________________ > From: LOREN RASMUSSEN <lorenrasmus...@msn.com> > To: amsat-bb@amsat.org > Sent: Thu, April 22, 2010 1:48:49 PM > Subject: [amsat-bb] Satellite VUCC # 194 > > It came in the mail today. It took from > November 2009 through February 2010. > About 600 QSOs. FT-60R and an Arrow. > 36 states confirmed. > Thank you all that returned cards. > Yeah, I'm jazzed. > 73 > Loren > k7cwq > CN94 > > -- "I love the freedoms we got in this country, I appreciate your freedom to burn your flag if you want to, but I really appreciate my right to bear arms so I can shoot you if you try to burn mine." Johnny Cash from "Ragged Old Flag" _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. 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 _______________________________________________ Sent via amsat...@amsat.org. 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
