Even though I'm "in the weeds" in this picture, signals were decidedly not weak from here in EN46AU (Kitchigammi Park) to EN57vk (Great Sand Bay), 291 Km.
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Even though I'm "in the weeds" in this picture, signals were decidedly not weak from here in EN46AU (Kitchigammi Park) to EN57vk (Great Sand Bay), 291 Km. |
That first weekend was a whole lot of fun. Signals ranged from incredibly strong to incredibly weak to non-existent. But the "fun meter" was pegged at full-scale most of the time. My longest contact was only barely made, a CW contact from the Thompson Hill Rest Stop (EN36vr) to W9FZ at Mount Brockway (EN67al), for 332 Km, and was the very last QSO of weekend one. I got lots of practice with my new 10 GHz system, lots of operating time (always in scarce supply for me), saw a beautiful part of Minnesota that I had never visited before (hard to believe I had never been there in the 26 years I've lived in Minnesota), and enjoyed the company of my wife, and of several friends from NLRS.
For the second weekend, that nasty four-letter word (WORK) reared its ugly head, and kept me mostly out of the fun. I managed a couple of hours before work on Saturday and a couple of hours on a long lunch/supper break on Sunday, and made a handful of short-distance QSO's only. Many of my NLRS acquaintances managed a much more enjoyable second weekend. Oh well, I have to leave some room for improvement in next year's score, although the current exponential rise in points (555, 2856, 32001) is certain to stop by then!
For more details on "The Road to 10 GHz, A Superior Experience", please check out http://www.qsl.net/w0jt/2004-08-10GHz/index.htm -- you may need to hit the "refresh" button a few times to get all of the pictures to load. And keep checking back occasionally, it is still very much a work in progress.
See you next year!
I quickly assembled my 10 GHz narrow-band (SSB/CW) station just before the first weekend. I used a 10 GHz transverter made by DB6NT and a 2 Watt DB6NT amplifier. I used an old Icom IC-202 as the IF.
I have no microwave test equipment and there are no other local amateurs on 10 GHz narrowband who could help me test my station. So, prior to the contest, I had no way of determining if the station was working or if it was on frequency.
I operated the contest from two hilltop outlooks in the Gatineau Park located just north-west of Ottawa and across the border (from my Ottawa Ontario home) in Quebec (VE2). The first site in the park (FN25bm) is easily accessible by a paved road. It is approximately 1150 feet ASL and approximately 800 feet above the terrain to the south and west. It provides an excellent clear shot towards New York state and southern Ontario. The second site (FN25bl) is at about the same elevation, but is only accessible by a hiking over a rugged trail. It provides good shots to the east and south-east, in addition to good shots to the south and west.
I was on the hill at the first site by 0800 on Saturday of the first weekend and started to set up. Rick VE3CVG and Doug VE3XK joined me a few minutes later. Rick got the talkback station going. Almost immediately, we heard VE3SMA at his home in south-west Ontario S9+ on 144 MHz. But Steve didn’t have a clear shot in our direction, so we didn’t try 10 GHz. Shortly after, the park police showed up and asked if we could be interfering with their radios as they were hearing other voices on their channel. I explained that was unlikely and that we had just switched everything off. I then explained that radio conditions were enhanced and they were probably hearing distant stations using the same channel.
We tried a few 10 GHz QSOs all over paths of around 200 km, but we had no success. The compass in my GPS gave erratic readings, so aiming was a problem. In all cases, we tuned over a wide range as we were unsure of our frequency.
Finally, we seemed to resolve our problems of aiming and got agreement between the GPS and the electronic compass. We made a sked with WB2BYP operating on a hill in FN23av south of Watertown NY. Doug VE3XK tuned him in on 10 GHz, but he couldn't hear us. He was Q5 copy over a path of about 181 km. And he was only off our indicated frequency by a few kHz. So at least we knew we could hear, we were on frequency, and we had resolved our problems with aiming the antenna. But we didn't know if the transmitter was working. We packed it in around 14:00.
The following week, I dug in to the station. I corrected an error that I had made in wiring the sequencer that had prevented the T/R relay from fully activating on transmit. No one could hear us on 10 GHz because our signal never made it to the antenna! I checked out the station a couple of weeks later when VE3NPB and I met at a local flea market and made a 10 GHz QSO over a distance of about 20 feet.
On the second weekend, I again arranged to meet Rick VE3CVG and Doug VE3XK at the first site in the Gatineau hills at about 0800 Saturday morning. It was bright and sunny but quite cool — about 6 degrees C (43 degrees F).
We got the 10 GHz station and the 2 meter liaison station set up quite quickly and looked around 2 meters for stations seeking skeds on 10 GHz. We tried a sked with K2LDU over a long path (about 300 km) without success. I again had erratic readings with the electronic compass in my Garmin GPS receiver, so we relied on VE3XK's electronic compass and included the correction factor for the difference between true and magnetic readings.
A little after 0930, we contacted Fred WO2P on 2 meters. He was operating portable from a hilltop in FN02xu — south of Rochester NY. The path was quite long — 343 km. He had a station similar to ours. We set the antenna direction and started sending dashes on 10368.1 MHz. He came back on the 2-meter liaison frequency and said he was copying us fine! He transmitted to us and we copied him immediately. We completed the exchange on CW — he was solid Q5 the whole time. We were thrilled because we had just made our first real narrow-band QSO on 10 GHz!
We then tried without success to work W2DYY who was located close to WO2P. W2DYY heard us, but we could not hear him.
At about 10:30, we contacted N2EZS on 2 meters. He was located on a hill south of Watertown NY in FN23av. We had heard WB2BYP when he was operating at this location during the first weekend. The path is shorter than that of our first QSO — 181km — but still significant. N2EZS started sending dashes and we heard him quite well once we expanded the range our search frequencies — he was a little lower in frequency than we anticipated. We worked him on CW — he was a solid 579. Then we switched to SSB and continued the QSO.
After this QSO, there didn't seem to be other stations to try to work. We ate a bit of lunch about noon. Unfortunately, Rick VE3CVG had to leave. But Doug was anxious to try to work stations to the south-east and east which were blocked at this outlook. We decided to try a second site in the park about 5 km away. It is in FN25bl and has excellent shots to the east in addition to great shots to the south and west. Unfortunately, it is accessible only by taking a rugged trail entailing a walk of close to a mile.
The view from the second site was great! Ottawa was plainly visible to the south-east, about 800 feet below us and beyond a lower nearby hill. We set up our 2-meter station and immediately heard Jimmy VE2JWH operating from a hill north-west of Montreal. We easily worked him on 10 GHz. We then heard KA1LEX on 2 meters operating from FN24xw in north-east New York state. We worked him on 10 GHz over a path of 154 km. We tried to work VE2PIJ on a hill in FN35qi — close to Mount Sutton (east of Montreal). He heard us, but we could not hear him over the 251 km path.
We thought there were stations operating on the mountains of New England, but we couldn't find anybody on the 2 meter liaison frequency. We then heard W2DYY on 2 meters. He was still at the same location as he was during the morning when we failed to complete a QSO. Signals were now down on 2 meters as it was the middle of the afternoon. We again tried to complete a 10 GHz QSO over the path of 343 km, but we could not hear each other.
By this time Doug and I were tired. So we shut down about 1530 and headed back. We didn't bring any water with us as we had tried to save weight and we were both very thirsty. And we knew we had a real tough hike back to the car. All in all, a successful and enjoyable outing!
View looking south west from first site FN25bm. Ottawa River visible about 800 feet below. |
VE3CVG operating 2-meter liaison station. |
View looking east over Ottawa from second site FN25bl. |
View looking south over the Ottawa River from second site FN25bl. |
VE3XK trying to make a QSO to south from second site FN25bl. |
This was my second 10 GHz contest. Like the first one, I had a blast. In August, due to other activities, I was only able to operate on Sunday from the peak of Mt. Evans, CO at an elevation of 14,130 feet. This is one of the two mountains in Colorado where you can drive all the way to the top, essentially giving you a 9,000' antenna elevation over the terrain to the east of the Rocky Mountain Front Range. The operating setup was a 2 foot dish with a DEMI 10 GHz transverter, a 1 Watt PA and an FT-817 IF radio.
Sunday morning was absolutely beautiful atop Mt. Evans, clear sky, light winds and a balmy 34 Deg. F. When I arrived at 6:40 am, I was the only one at the top except for the herd of mountain goats at the top. They stopped by to visit and see what I was up to. Mr. Murphy showed up a few minutes later... While removing the dish from the car, I sheared the +13V pin off the feed through capacitor to the transverter. Oops. Game over. I left the house at 5 am and drove all that way for nothing now. Fortunately for me, I left a roll of electrical tape in the car. I managed to tape the +13V supply to the feed through cap which allowed me to continue that day. I managed to work 49 QSOs, 4 grids with a best DX of 175 km with N0UGY and WB0WNV in DN71nb. Not too bad for one days work that almost ended in disaster before it even began. Before the day ended, while the Denver metro area baked in 90+ Deg. temperatures, I experienced in true Colorado form: sun, rain, wind and finally an inch of snow!
September I was able to work both days of the contest from Pikes Peak, CO at an elevation of 14,110 feet. Pikes Peak is the other 14,000+ foot mountain in Colorado that you can drive to the top. Again it was cold! Arrival at 6:50am on Saturday morning it was 34 Deg. F. On Saturday I was joined by N0IO and his son (unfortunately I lost his callsign..sri). Saturday's QSO total was 56, 5 grids and a best DX of 261 km with N0UGY in DN71ne. Sunday I returned to Pikes Peak and worked an additional 41 QSOs, and a best DX of 261 km with W1XE. Unfortunately the WX went downhill on Sunday. I spent the entire day in the clouds with no visual reference for pointing, other than a few rocks that I had vaguely remembered the day before and used a reference. I had a compass, so all wasn't lost, but it sure slowed things down. Fortunately for me Murphy did not show up again in September...maybe it was just too cold for him. In Colorado fashion, I had to leave the hill a bit early as it started snowing and I really didn't want to start my winter driving experience driving an hour down the mountain on snow covered roads with no guard rail. I'll wait for ski season for that!
Claimed Summary: 146 QSOs, 5 Unique Grids, 12 Unique Calls, 22798 km for a total of 23,998 points.
See you next year!
Visitor at N1SZ |
N1SZ Station |
Snow in August |
N0IO Station 10 - 47 GHz |
Looking towards Denver from Pikes Peak, CO. |
Looking into South Park, CO. with N0IO's 47 GHz in the foreground |
August Saturday was a blowout -- after a few hours the wind took my tripod and dish over and wiped out the 2W final. After an evening of metal bashing I got a new amp together and headed for Mt. Wachusett for a much better Sunday.
September brought more weather, but I was prepared -- I brought the LL Bean 6 Man Nylon Radome to Block Island to the operation with W1GHZ and W1AIM. The wind was ferocious -- a steady 35+ knots -- and the radome shows it. The rain eventually washed us off the roof.
September Sunday was much nicer. Gentle breezes, no precipitation.
The breeze catches the LL Bean Radome. (10GHz gear inside.) |
Inside the Radome in calmer conditions. |
KB1VC, W1GHZ, and W1AIM gazing off into the sunset. |
As for the second weekend of the contest...'had a ball. After some initial problems on Saturday, I hit the road on Sunday to work what I can work. Being power-budget limited as a roving station, it was extremely difficult to get noticed with my 2-watts on 144.260 SSB, so I brought along APRS. Anyone so interested could track my position, and know when I stopped. As it turns out, this was a very smart decision. Other stations quickly knew that I was "nowhere in sight" on Saturday (equipment problems) and didn't wait around to work me.
It's a strategy that I'd highly suggest for similar low-power-budget stations who can't get noticed any other way.
A Big thanks to the VE3 contingent. It was a real thrill to meet up with them west of Niagara Falls, Ontario and work a few new callsigns. It was disappointing to miss some other operators simply because my 2m liaison power was limited. My 5-watts and 2' dish on 10-GHz could have easily made the grade. Oh well...maybe the APRS strategy will catch on more next year.
Red River Valley contacts with VE4MA (Winnipeg), W0PHD/K0AWU (Warren, MN) and group at Sisseton, SD |
W9FZ at old radar site in Nekoma, ND |
Poor/non-existent liaison was our biggest failing. Conditions were at times good, at times fair, and at times poor. Better liaison during the fair and poor times would have let more people achieve more goals. For instance, KF9US setup to operate about 70 miles downshore. We were not able to work him on 10G and he was not able to work the opposite shore mostly due to nonexistent liaison with the North Shore. We're working on improving that for nest year. Another failing was frequency accuracy. We missed some Q's on account of not being on the frequency we thought we were.
The sheer number of people involved and the level activity was really rewarding and motivating.
The second weekend I operated in North Dakota's Red River Valley. More photos and text of that portion are available at: http://w9fz.com/ham/10g20042nd.html
I'm really proud of what we're accomplishing in the upper midwest.
Wait till next year!
The first weekend I operated from the Keweenaw Peninsula, the most northern part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I joined up with a good size group from the Northern Lights Radio Society from Minnesota, AA9IL and N8KWX from Illinois, and WA8VPD and N8PUM from else where in Michigan. On Saturday the conditions were good and we made many QSOs on 10GHz with the other large group from the Northern Lights Radio Society that was running up the coast from Duluth toward the Canadian boarder, and also two NLRS members on the lake in Wisconsin. Late in the day we moved to Mt. Brockway (EN67al) and worked the guys in Minnesota again, plus K0KFC/VE3 and K0AWU/VE3 near Wawa, ON, VE3KRP (with VE4MA with him) at Terrance Bay, ON, and K2YAZ, WB9SPT, NN9X, and K3SIW at Grand Marais, MI. I ended up working five different grids from Mt. Brockway for a VUCC award from there.
Sunday we had rain, and conditions were not very good. I was able to make a few QSOs across Lake Superior to the guys in Minnesota in the morning before Bob, WA8VPD and I had to leave to make the long drive home.
The second weekend of the contest I operated from many places on Lake Michigan along with many of the other operators around here. We were able to work AA9IL, N8KWX and W9GA across the lake on 10GHz. My personal highlight of the second weekend was making two QSOs of just over 1Km on 24GHz with my homebrew/surplus station. Bob WA8VPD was also able to work 1Km with his homebrew station. We had seven stations in northern lower Michigan running both 10 and 24GHz, (two of them also had 47GHz), plus one other station with just 10GHz. I believe the best local DX on 24GHz was Don, WW8M working Neil, WB9SPT at 138Km. Garry, K3SIW and Lloyd, NE8I were able to work five grids on 24GHz from one spot for their VUCC awards on that band.
Some of our photos can be seen at:
http://www.geocities.com/wb8tgy/jpg_2004/10ghz_contest_2004.html
WB0VHF's and W9FZ's stations setup at Great Sand Bay, EN57vk. |
Stations setup at Great Sand Bay, EN57vk. |
KD0JI, WA2VOI, and WA8VPD, setup on Mt. Brockway, EN67al. |
Bob, WA8VPD testing his homebrew 24GHz station. |
Neil, WB9SPT working 24GHz. |
Had a great time in this years contest. Roved 1920 miles and saw parts of California & Utah I'd never seen before. Many guys getting higher power radios and better systems. We all made some pretty long haul Qs from some pretty neat places. Great fun!
for more pics see: http://www.ham-radio.com/sbms/04_test_pics/04_test.html
73 Chip
Great shot to Southern California at 340 miles from Utah Hill at 7200 feet. Also had a great shot to Sacramento area but could only make it half way to Silver Peak near Bishop at 240 miles over all the mountains. We'll try again next spring. |
It got very windy on Low Potosi, Nevada SW of Las Vegas but we survived with the help of the batteries. |
Steep 4wd road near the top. |
The first weekend of the contest I operated from U.C. Davis / CM98dm, and Mt. Diablo / CM97av.
Saturday I met W6BY / Brian and AA6HA / John at U.C. Davis where we worked K6GZA / Ron on 10 and 24 GHz with bone crushing signals.
Unfortunately I was only able to operate for a very short time due to other commitments.
Sunday I met AD6A / Dave and AD6IW / Goran on Mt. Diablo and worked WA6CDR / Robin, W6QI / Frank, and AA6IW / Lars on Mt. Frazier at 439 km, my best 10 GHz DX of the contest!
The second weekend W6BY and I started from a vista along I-5 in CM97kh.
I worked W6QI on 10 GHz using a horn antenna and heard AA6IW on Mt. Frazier but could not complete.
The next stop was Santa Rita Peak / CM96qi. Murphy just couldn’t stay away, and I got a flat tire on the way up the mountain.
After getting the tire changed,I finally got set up.
We met a group of amateurs from Western Intertie Network (WIN System) http://www.winsystem.org/index.html installing a repeater at the site.
These guys really know how to throw a work party. My compliments to the chef, Thank You for the delicious lunch.
The highlight of this stop was working AD6FP / Gary on 47 GHz., my best DX on the band at 232 Km!
Gary's signal was very easily heard and full quieting!
Thanks to W6BY for the use of some WR19 to install my amp!
It was a very time consuming QSO, as I had to install the amplifier to transmit, and remove it to receive, but well worth the effort.
Then I headed South for the long drive to Mt. Frazier. I arrived on Mt. Frazier around 7:00 a.m. on Sunday. It was a chilly 33 degrees Fahrenheit and very windy.
The highlight of this stop was working W6QI / Frank on 24 GHz at 290 km, my best DX ever!
The high elevation of the California mountains really made a huge difference.
I worked 106 QSO’s with 44 unique calls. Signals were extremely loud at all locations.
I also heard reports of rainscatter contacts on 10 GHz but didn’t work any myself.
Thank You for the use of the Cactus Repeater System during the contest. It’s really great to be able to work from Northern California to Southern California and beyond using only an HT!
I’m always interested in microwave QSO’s, and can operate 903 MHz through 47 GHz from Mt. Diablo / CM97av almost any weekend!
Please send an e-mail to set up a sked. I hope to CU on the bands soon.
Thanks to the rovers for all you do!
73
Steve
AA6HA / John @ U.C. Davis |
AD6A / Dave on Mt. Diablo |
KB8VAO on Mt. Diablo |
W6QI / Frank & W6BY / Brian @ CM97kh |
AD6FP / Gary on Mt. Frazier just after breaking the World Record on 47 GHz! |
AD6IW & WT6K on Mt. Frazier |
N6LL, AD6FP, WT6K, AD6IW on Frazier |
Cold Winds -- Lake Superior |
EN18oe Looking South |
The second weekend I joined W0PHD in Warren MN EN18oe to test paths up and down the Red River Of The North valley. High winds were a problem for all involved, but a 284Km path was worked without difficulty with several stations.
A great big THANKS to the 10Ghz group in the Northern Lights Amateur Radio Society for their constant efforts in encouraging 10Ghz activity. The rover activities of W9FZ and W0ZQ have been of great assistance in defining paths that show promise for larger groups and contest operations. 10Ghz is alive and growing in Minnesota and the upper midwest. I'm already looking forward to next year!
The gear is a DEMI transverter, Qualcom amp at 1 watt, 18" DSS dish with a modified DSS feed and Yaesu FT290RII if rig.
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