>>>>> BIG CHANGE <<<<<

After the K5N group changed their 1-6 June DXpedition location from DL88 to EL58, I received numerous requests/suggestions that I delay my shakedown cruise from 11-16 May into June so stations outside m/s range would have a chance at DL88 via Es. I have bowed to these requests and have tacked the S-NM/SW-TX DXpedition onto the beginning of the Interior-West DXpedition to make one long trip that starts on 25 May.

As I still need a Shakedown Cruise to confirm my operational concept and stress-test hardware, I have added a loop up into Southern Utah in early May where I will be operating from the last three planned locations from the Interior-West trip.

Please check all scheduled activity for date/time changes as merging these trips required a large number of schedule modifications. I also added some down/flex time each week while on the road to take care of unforeseen issues and to get some R&R.

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Interior-West DXpedition: 25 May - 10 July; Operating from 90 grids and transiting 30 more.

The operating plan for all trips is to run m/s FSK441 during the entire posted operating period until Es season starts. Then I will run m/s in the early AM, switch to Es when 6m opens, and return to m/s when Es fades. If no Es, I will continue through the entire period on m/s.

Since I do not expect many (OK, most) of these grid locations to have cell coverage, I will stick to my plan and depend on others to post to PJ/etc for me when I am heard. Please spot me on the various sites when you hear me.

For m/s FSK441; I will be CQ'ing on 50.260 but listening for calls and QSO'ing on 50.245 ONLY. Please do not call me on 50.260 as I won't hear you. As soon as I hear a ping on 50.245, I will QSY my transmit to 50.245 and operate simplex on 50.245 for as long as there are callers. Watch my CQ's as if 50.245 is QRMed or occupied I will be showing a different QSY freq. I will always be transmitting first period (standard Rover ops), and initially pointing the beam Southeast and working around counter-clockwise. If I have internet (AT&T iPhone) I will post QSY freq & beam azimuths on PJ.

I will be using my operating location grid as my FSK441 exchange. If I am in a single grid, I will use that (i.e. DM45). If I am on a grid boundary, I will be using both grids (i.e. 'DM4546' or 'CN9303' - meaning CN93 & DN03). If I am at a grid confluence (corner), I will be using diagonal grids (i.e. 'DM3647' meaning DM36, DM37, DM46, & DM47).

I have been asked to give the general procedure for FSK441 random operations so stations will have an idea which way I will jump. This kind of long winded but it is more art than science......
Generally, I start CQ to the Southeast and step 45 degrees at a time in the CCW direction every 3-4 cycles. I stop when I hear a reply to my CQ and 1) if I decode a call, I turn direct to the published grid of the station. If no decode, I will switch to "QRZ NJ0W" and wait for another ping. If the call's grid isn't published I will stay on the initial azimuth. 2) If no luck on direct heading, will try the HOT heading from WSJT. 3) If still no luck, will try 45 degrees left, then 45 degrees right azimuth. 4) If still no luck, will try 90 degrees left, then 90 degrees right. 5) if I still hear the station transmitting but still no exchange, I will try 180 degrees from initial azimuth. 6) If I am getting tropo I can't decode with FSK441, I will try switching ISCAT as a last resort.
Each one of the steps I will try for 3-4 cycles. If I hear you, I will keep trying to work you. If another station starts Tx, I will 1) add them to a list and try to complete our QSO, or 2) if they are not too strong and on the same azimuth, I will work them simultaneously, or 3) if they are too strong, I will work them to clear the frequency and return to the original QSO.
Basically, don't assume I didn't hear you because I didn't come back right away. Sometimes it can take a while.....

When working Es, I will be CQ'ing on 50.125 USB phone only and will base beam azimuth on openings. If 50.125 gets congested, I will announce QSY to a higher open frequency and operate there as long as I have callers. 50.138 will be my first choice of QSY frequency and if not available I will step up from there to the first clear frequency.

Interior-West Rare-Grid DXpedition (25 May through 10 July)
135 driving hours over 7722 statute miles while transiting 118 grids, burning an estimated 483 gallons of regular unleaded, and programmed to log 406 operating hours in 90 different grids (1160 total grid-hours)

DATES ARE LOCAL/TIMES ARE UTC

25W			Driving from Flagstaff to New Mexico grids
26R	1200-2000	.C DM63/64/73/74	SE of Albuquerque, NM
	0200-0400	.C DM71/72/81/82	Near Alcatraz Reservoir, NM
27F	1200-1600	.C DM71/72/81/82	Near Alcatraz Reservoir, NM
	2200-0300	.B DL88/89	Big Bend National Park, TX Memorial Day Weekend
28Sa	1100-0300	.B DL88/89	Big Bend National Park, TX Memorial Day Weekend
29Su	1100-0300	.B DL88/89	Big Bend National Park, TX Memorial Day Weekend
30M	1100-1600	.B DL88/89	Big Bend National Park, TX Memorial Day Weekend
	2100-0230	.C DM70/80/DL79/89	South of Marfa, TX Memorial Day Weekend
31T	1030-1600	.C DM70/80/DL79/89	South of Marfa, TX

JUNE
DATES ARE LOCAL/TIMES ARE UTC

01W	1000-1330	.B DM83/84	South of Amarillo, TX Times are for m/s, will rotate back for Es 'til 2330
	1330-1700	.B DM93/94	South of Amarillo, TX Times are for m/s, will rotate back for Es 'til 2330
02R	1000-1400	.B DM86/87	Near Elkhart, OK Times are for m/s, will rotate back for Es 'til 2330
	1400-1800	.B DM96/97	Near Elkhart, OK Times are for m/s, will rotate back for Es 'til 2330
03F	1100-2330	.B EM08/09	Near Wakeeney, KS
04Sa	1100-2330	.B DN92/93	Near Martin, SD
05Su	1100-1800	.B DN73/83	Near Newcastle, WY
	2030-0300	.B DN75/85	Near Buffalo, SD
06M	1100-1530	.B DN75/85	Near Buffalo, SD
	1830-0300	.B DN95/EN05	Near Mobridge, SD
07T	1430-2230	.B EN05/15	Near Groton, SD

08-10		.S EN16	In residence Fargo, ND. Will announce any Op times/locations on PJ.
11Sa	1430-0100	.B EN38/48	Near Slim Lake, MN ARRL VHF Contest; will be announcing EN48
12Su	1100-0400	.B EN28/38	Near Big Falls, MN ARRL VHF Contest; will be announcing EN28
13-19		.S EN16	In residence Fargo, ND. Will announce any Op times/locations on PJ.

Please Note:
The Western North Dakota and Eastern Montana areas have been experiencing exceptional rain and snow melt this year. Expect variations in operating times and grid combinations resulting from access issues due to wet terrain and roads. Many of my planned operating locations are in remote areas accessed by dirt 'roads' that may not be useable even with 4WD. Be careful to check my grid exchange to make sure you are getting what you think you are (i.e. confluences may convert to two boundary operations so you may need to wait and get a second contact after I move to get all four grids.)

Evening operation times assume that Es will be present. If no Es develops and I am alone on m/s, I may leave a location early to get set up for the next day. On Part I of the trip I found this to be very beneficial to catching up on sleep and getting an early start the next morning. Generally I was on the air by 1000z every morning.

20M	1630-0100	.S EN07	Kidder County, ND
21T	1200-2400	.C DN87/88/97/98	Near Plaza, ND
22W	1200-2000	.B DN67/77	Near Ft Peck Dam, MT
	2000-0400	.B DN67/68	Near Ft Peck Dam, MT
23R	1400-0400	.B DN58/68	Near Malta, MT
24F	1200-1900	.B DN58/68	Near Malta, MT
	2130-0400	.C DN56/57/66/67	Near Mosby, MT
25Sa	1200-1700	.C DN56/57/66/67	Near Mosby, MT ARRL Field Day
	1830-0400	.B DN65/66	Near Pompeys Pillar National Monument, MT ARRL Field Day
26Su	1500-2100	.C DN53/54/63/64	Near Worland, WY ARRL Field Day
	2300-0400	.C DN52/53/62/63	Near Riverton, WY ARRL Field Day
27M	1200-1400	.C DN52/53/62/63	Near Riverton, WY
	1800-2300	.B DN50/60	Moffat County, CO

REMAINDER OF TRIP HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED DUE TO ENCOUNTER WITH AN ANTELOPE LEAVING DN50/60
Below is the Updated Itinerary

JULY
DATES ARE LOCAL/TIMES ARE UTC

01F	0100-0500	.C DN32/33/42/43	.Near Bancroft, ID
02Sa	1200-1900	.C DN32/33/42/43	. Near Bancroft, ID
	2300-0500	.C DN24/25/34/35	. Lemhi County, ID
03Su	1200-1500	.C DN24/25/34/35	.Lemhi County, ID
	0300-0500	.C CN93/94/DN03/04	.Crook County, OR

04M	1200-1800	.C CN93/94/DN03/04	. Crook County, OR
	2230-0500	.C DN01/02/11/12	. West of McDermitt, OR
05T	1200-2000	.C DN01/02/11/12	. West of McDermitt, OR
	2200-0500	.C DN00/01/10/11	. West of Winnemucca, NV
06W	1200-0100	.C DN00/01/10/11	. West of Winnemucca, NV
07R	1200-2000	.B DN20/21	. Near Elko, NV
	2200-0500	.C DN10/20/DM19/29	. Eureka County, NV
08F	1200-2000	.C DN10/20/DM19/29	. Eureka County, NV
	2330-0500	.C DM17/18/27/28	. Nevada County, NV
09Sa	1200-1800	.C DM17/18/27/28	. Nevada County, NV

THE TRIP HAS BEEN COMPLETED!!!

Thanks to everyone that kept me busy on M/S since Es was pretty much a bust. Didn't get to any confluences in this section for various reasons, including one that was 6' off the face of a 1000' vertical cliff, two that were under water due to rain filling dry lakebeds, one that the access road to crossed posted private land, and one on posted reservation land.

TRIP STATISTICS:

...47 Operating Locations
...91 Grids Activated
...1055 QSO's
...2352 Grids Issued (2.3/QSO)
...701.4 Gallons of Gas Burned
...10,032 Miles Driven

Notes:
Dates are Local
Times are UTC/Zulu
S - Single Grid Operation
B - Grid Boundary Operation (2-fer-1). Will announce Both Grids.**
C - Grid Confluence Operation (4-fer-1). Will announce Diagonal Grids.**

** - Planned Grid Boundaries and Confluence locations should not be a problem (thank you Degree Confluence Project). However, if upon arrival access has changed, alternate boundary locations have already been determined. In the case of Confluences, two boundary locations will be used and the block time will be split between them (priority will be given to FFMA designated Rare-Grids).