My XYL, Cori, and I will be leaving Cheyenne (DN71) tomorrow, 17 Sept, and take the long way to camp at Grand Teton Nat'l Park (DN43) and later on at Yellowstone in the northwestern corner of the state. There are 16 grids with significant chunks in Wyoming, and our plans are to operate from as many, if not all, of them on the way there.
Most operating will be on the FM birds (including HO68 when it's in that mode), but I'll also be QRV on the linear sats as well. Several ops have indicated that the eastern-most grids are the most needed, so we'll start there; DN73 seems to be the most wanted in this area. I'll also be running counties, both CW and SSB, on the HF bands; along with hitting all the grids, there are 23 counties in Wyoming, so our route will vary as we zig zag to hit everything possible. Because of all the multi-band operating, we'll probably take three days to get to the first campsite. After our stays in those parks, we'll head into Montana for more camping at Glacier Nat'l Park in DN28, and then it'll be on to North Dakota. More on that part of the trip later. I don't have APRS (yet), but the county hunters have a spotting web site set up, which is http://ch.w6rk.com. (No registration is necessary.) The info will show where I am, but it'll only be as accurate and current as the spotter who puts it in. It'll give a good idea of what part of the state I'm in at the time. For the Fred Fish Award chasers, I've got 6M with me as well. I won't be monitoring the band - two modes on three HF bands plus the birds will keep me busy enough - but if a band opening appears, give me a call (850-960-8566) and I'll be glad to switch over to the Magic Band and put out the grid I'm in. Cell service in Wyoming and Montana is far from solid, but otherwise feel free to call any time during the day or evening. I'll post planned grids as the trip progesses. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Cheyenne WY / Laramie Co. / DN71 _______________________________________________ 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
