Knowing I would not be able to operate on every possible pass for these two satellites, I had my pass predictions - 17 possible passes for SO-50, and 16 for AO-51. I decided to bring 3 radios in case I ran into any problems while in Dayton:
I was on SO-50 from outside the hotel around 11.30pm (0330 UTC Friday), and sent my callsign along with the grid locator for the hotel (EM79su). After a few minutes, Bobby KF4GTA in south Georgia responded to me. My first contact, and only contact for this pass. I tried the later pass just after 1am (0500 UTC), but heard nobody else on. Time for bed.
I knew my IC-W32A had a very sensitive receiver, but I was not ready for what I saw. I planned on bringing my other Icom radio, an IC-T7H, on Saturday and trying again.
As with the night before, I had missed the AO-51 passes for the evening, but SO-50 was still an option. I found one pass that started just before midnight (0400 UTC Saturday), and tried that. Just like the night before, I heard only one other station during the entire pass - George KB1FCB in Massachusetts. I did not try the later pass, as that was not until 1.30am (0530 UTC Saturday), too late if I expected to get any sleep.
Just before the start of the pass, I walked to the west end of the fleamarket area outside the arena. I set up my IC-T7H with the antenna and recorder, as well as the AO-51 frequencies in the two VFOs. I would have to press the radio's BAND button to switch from the receive to the transmit frequency before I transmitted, and press the same button again after my transmission so I could hear the satellite again. Extra steps, but worth the effort. The IC-T7H was more resistant to the local RF environment, and could hear the AO-51 downlink.
In 5 minutes, I made 5 contacts. I worked stations in Minnesota, Texas, Mexico (one near the Arizona border, one in central Mexico), plus the AMSAT demonstration station operated by Drew KO4MA. As this was the last daytime pass for these two satellites, I wandered around the HamVention until the closing time before meeting up with my father-in-law and planning our evening activities.
This pass, around 9.30pm (0130 UTC Sunday) from grid EM79up, was the most productive pass while I was at Dayton. I made 8 contacts with stations in 7 states, and now I start thinking about where I can go for the next AO-51 pass around 11pm (0300 UTC Sunday). I had my GPS receiver, but didn't realize where the grid boundaries were in relation to Dayton. I knew the hotel was not far from the Indiana/Ohio state line, and decided to head there.
After a quick stop at the hotel to get some snacks and so I could have my IC-W32A for the upcoming pass, I went west on I-70 to the border. Richmond, Indiana, is at the border, along with an exit for US route 40. I found a grassy area east of the interchange on the state line. A gentleman drove up in his pickup truck, and mentioned that the curb on the east side of this driveway we were standing on was the state line. I took a GPS reading to determine the grid (EM79ou), and I prepared for the pass.
This AO-51 pass covered most of North America, and it was busy. I made 4 contacts with stations in the USA and Mexico, and heard stations as far away as Seattle and northern Mexico. After the pass, We return to our hotel - but I'm not done yet.
There was an SO-50 pass around 12.25am (0425 UTC Sunday), and I was there. I worked 2 stations this time - KF4GTA (I worked him on Thursday night and a little earlier on AO-51 from the state line) and VE3BI in Ontario. With this, I go to bed.
The first pass was around 9am (1300 UTC) on SO-50. I worked 4 stations, including KO4MA doing the AMSAT demonstration. Later on, around 11.20am (1520 UTC), there was an AO-51 pass where I worked 4 more stations. For the later pass, I was standing south of the AMSAT demonstration. I wandered back to the demonstration, to listen to Drew work the VO-52 satellite before going back into the arena for the last hour or so.
North of the town of New Carlisle, I found the spot where grids EM79, EM89, EN70, and EN80 come together (40 degrees North, 84 degrees West). It is just within the highway right-of-way, near a fence. Since it is late afternoon, and there are no satellite passes due for a few hours, I went north to the next spot where 4 grids come together.
After a stop for drinks, I went north on I-75 toward Findlay, and through the farmland west of the freeway looking for the spot where 4 more grids come together (EN70, EN71, EN80, EN81 - 41 degrees North, 84 degrees West). I found the spot on a small bridge over a creek, and thankfully I would not have to stand in the water to reach the spot. :-) After more snacks, I went back to this spot in time for an AO-51 pass just before 9pm (0100 UTC Monday). It was a low pass to the east, and I worked only one station from this 4-grid location (Jerry W0SAT in Iowa) with my IC-T7H and AH-510R whip. I head back to I-75 to head back toward Dayton and the hotel, looking at the GPS map and the clock to see where we could end up for the next AO-51 pass at 10.30pm (0230 UTC Monday).
I made it to Lima about 15 minutes before the AO-51 pass, and saw that I was only 3 miles or so away from the EN70/EN80 boundary. I went to that spot, and got ready for the pass. I stood along the road, and worked 5 stations - 3 in the USA, 1 in Canada, and 1 in Mexico. A pretty good pass. After that pass, I looked to work one more satellite pass - an SO-50 pass around 11.15pm (0315 UTC Monday).
Back on I-75, I made it to Wapakoneta - Neil Armstrong's home town - in time for this SO-50 pass. I didn't expect a lot of activity, since the satellite passed to the east and did not cover much of North America, but there is some activity. I heard a couple of Mexican stations talking as the satellite comes in range for me, and I worked both of them (XE1MEX and XE2AT). After the two Mexicans signed off, I worked KC8ZFN in Michigan before I lost the satellite's signals.
I returned to the hotel, passing by that spot where 4 grids came together near Dayton. I wanted to confirm the time it would take to get there, if I wanted to try for that in the morning.
After checking out of the hotel, I went to that spot north of New Carlisle where 4 grids came together (EM79, EM89, EN70, EN80). I set up my IC-W32A, antenna, and recorder, and walked to the spot for those 4 grids. SO-50 was passing to the west, covering much of North America, and I worked 2 of the stations I heard on that pass (Jerry W0SAT in Iowa, followed by Allen N5AFV in Houston) to conclude my satellite operating from the Dayton area. Then I went to the museum, had dinner, and then went to the Dayton airport for the flights back to Phoenix.
I probably should have anticipated the intense RF environment at the HamVention, but that allowed me more time to walk around the arena and fleamarket areas plus talk with other hams. I was surprised there were no other hams trying to work satellites from the HamVention grounds, but maybe the others were concerned more with buying lots of stuff (junk?) than playing radio. This was a great learning experience; operating from lots of different locations, and with a simple station that is not optimal for satellite work. The trip proved that I can take a simple station with me and make satellite contacts, even in areas with lots of RF in the air.
Until my next trip.... 73!