[amsat-bb] Possible EM88/EM98 Grid Activation Sunday 20Sept

[John Papay]

Weather permitting I will be operating on the
EM88/EM98 grid boundary in West Virginia on Sunday,
September 20th.  The current forecast is a 50% chance
of rain so it might not work out for all passes. I'll
try to operate on the following passes:

----------------------------------------------------------
      Day     Object       AOS (U) LOS Period maxEl   AZ
  ----------------------------------------------------------
  20.09.2009  AO-27        18:41 18:48    15   44  148 - 354
  20.09.2009  AO-27        20:22 20:29    13   20  204 - 332
  20.09.2009  AO-51        21:14 21:26    12   13  113 - 008
  20.09.2009  SO-50        21:38 21:51    13   49  333 - 136
  20.09.2009  AO-51        22:51 23:06    15   74  168 - 347
  20.09.2009  SO-50        23:19 23:31    12   16  309 - 189

West Virginia is hilly and the hills are covered with trees.
Although Google Earth etc. can give you some idea of what to
expect, you just don't know until you get there and see for
yourself.  For those in the West, AO-27 at 2022Z and SO-50
at 2319Z will offer the best chances to work me.  It will be
sunset around the end of the last SO-50 pass.  Operations on
AO-51 will be on the non-QRP pair, 435.300/145.92.  If the
grid boundary doesn't work out, I'll focus on finding a spot
in EM88 first.  If conditions permit, I might then operate from
EM98.  Hopefully the grid boundary will work out.

My progress enroute can be monitored on aprs.fi or findu.com
using k8yse-8.  There are no digi's near the grid boundary
location but you never know until you get there.  I plan to
have another radio on 145.825 and could be digi'd through the
ISS during the 1911Z, 2047Z, 2224Z and 0000z passes.  The ISS
radio will use k8yse-9.  It's about a 4 hour trip each way.

There is no need to send or request a qsl card.  I will send a
card to everyone that I have in my log.  EM88 is fairly rare so
this should be a good one for grid chasers, especially for those
in the western states.  Thanks to all of you who have operated from
grids away from your home QTH.  Hopefully you will benefit from
this operation as I did from many of yours.  EM97 may be a
possibility in October if you need that one.

73,
John K8YSE