Had to miss HamCation this year and really wanted to work the W1AW/4 special event station they operate during show hours. I'm working on WAS and could really use Florida for a new state confirmation. Are there other major hamfests or special events coming up that typically run W1AW portable operations?

I saw there was a Severe Weather Awareness event with N0A on multiple HF bands and FT8 recently. Looking for more opportunities like that - especially anything running on 20 or 40 meters during evening hours when I can actually get on the air. These stations generally operate for a short time and have special QSL cards which makes them even more appealing!

Pacificon 2026 is October 16-18 and usually runs W1AW/6. Also check the ARRL website - they maintain a searchable database of upcoming special event stations. Field Day in June always has tons of activity too!

Don't forget about Museum Ship Weekend where stations submit logs to the coordinator and upload to LoTW in late June. Great for working different states and the ships usually have good operators. Keep an eye on the various contest calendars too - lots of special event overlap.

Watch the DX clusters and spots - many special events now use spotting pages to announce their operation and encourage re-spotting. I've worked several rare ones that way that I never would have found otherwise. QRZ also has a good special events calendar.