ARRL 10 GHz & Up Contest 2015

Saturday, 5:30 am CDT, not too bright and way too early, my alarm awoke me to get showered, to get breakfast and to be out the door by 6:30 am to make the trek from Girard to Ohlman Cemetery EM59ji to participate in the first weekend of the ARRL 10 GHz and Up contest.  Since I had loaded the rig in my car the night before, all I had to do in the morning was to make a thermos of coffee, connect my 10 MHz OCXO to my car's 12 VDC so that it will be warmed up and stable when I arrived at the cemetery about 35 miles away.

By 7:45 am, I was not only up and running, but I was copying the WB9PNU beacon, 78.3 miles away, 599 +!  A personal first for me!  I tried to make a contact with Ron, W9ZIH, but I noticed that a juniper tree was directly in front of me about 70 yards.  I moved west about 60 feet and Ron's signal went from no reception to 559!  He was able to copy me at his QTH near Malta, IL EN51nv, 176.3 miles away at 8:15 am!  I made a video of our QSO which is posted here, but the other two videos (WB9PNU/B and W9SZ are too large to upload to this blog site, but they can be seen on my Facebook page.

My next QSO was with Jim, N5MU in Missouri, EM48qf (109 miles away) with a 519 report at 8:22 am.  Zack, W9SZ entered the log next with a 599 from EN50rl.  Zack was roaring in here and I've never heard him louder at 9:10 am!  I then tried to work Jim, W9SNR in EN62cc, 203.8 miles away, but we only heard bits and pieces of our signals - nowhere good enough to constitute a QSO.  After these QSOs I was feeling stoked!  I knew that Zack wasn't planning to operate on Sunday so, on the spur of the moment, I decided to drive to EN40 and EN50 to activate those grids!

An hour and  a half later, I was set up in EN50aa and I worked Zack, W9SZ at 1:22 pm in EN50xf (102.5 miles away with a report of 589.  He heard me just fine and then at 1:43 pm I made a two-way QSO with Steve, N4PZ in EN52gb (145 miles away with a 529 report.  At 1:52, Ron, W9ZIH and I made a Q - a distance of 105 miles.  Mike, AA9IL was not able to set up in EN52xi, so we were not able to try the path.  Next time!  Now on to EN40!

EN40 is only about a half of a mile away from my EN50aa spot, but trying to find a suitable microwave site proved to be quite a challenge.  When I had scoped it out last November, there were soy bean fields, but now there were tall, corn fields.  I spent the next 45 minutes driving around the countryside to find a good spot only to end up about a mile from the EN50aa location.  In about ten minutes I was now QRV from EN40xa.  It was flat and soybeans to the east and northeast, but tall corn to the north.  I gave Zack, W9SZ a call and after some trial and error, I arose out of the noise and we worked each other at 3:20 pm with a 529 report - a distance of 106.9 miles!  I tried calling Ron, W9ZIH on the phone, but he wasn 't home unfortunately.  I tried Steve, N4PZ and he could tell I was there, but I wasn't able to copy his signals.  The corn was just too tall and I didn't have a better spot to relocate.  A nice farmer came by to inquire about the set up and he was glad to see the operation.  After wishing me luck, he was on his way and I awaited Jim, W9SNR to arrive at his site.  Unfortunately, thunderstorms kept him from getting on the hill and he decided to call it a day.  By this time I was hot, tired and hungry, so I was ready to call it a day as well.

All in all, it was a great day to be out and about microwaving.  I am seriously thinking about activating EM69 and EM68 for the second half of the contest this September.  Debbie could visit her niece attending Indiana State U, as a freshman, in Terre Haute and she could also offer ops another call sign to work!  We will see what my search of Google Maps reveals in terms of potentially high locations.

                                         A great microwave tool - an engineering compass!

                                 Another important microwave tool - a thermos of hot coffee!

                                               EN40xa looking towards Zack, W9SZ

                               EN40xa looking towards Steve, N4PZ.  The corn was just too tall.

                 EN40xa looking southwest towards St. Louis.  Too hilly and corn is too tall.

ARRL UHF Contest 2014

For the second morning in a row, my cell phone alarm clock woke me up at 09:30 Z (4:30 am, CDT).  Yesterday, it was to get me up and going to unlock the venue for the West Central Illinois hamfest in Carlinville, IL.  Today, it awakened me to my trek to participate in the ARRL UHF contest.  Earlier, it dawned on me that I hadn't dragged my 10 GHz rig out at all for 2014 and I needed to rectify that omission.  A few days earlier, I posted with SLAMS asking if anyone was planning to participate in this contest.  Jim, N5MU wrote that he'd be available on Sunday morning.  We agreed to try and work each other at 7:00 am.  Jim went to the tried and true YMCA site in EM48 and I went to Ohlman cemetery hill, just east of Ohlman, IL. 

When my alarm woke me up from a deep sleep, I asked myself, "Ochu, what on God's green Earth were you thinking?"  I forced my self up, showered, dressed and loaded up the car and made the 42 mile trek to the cemetery, but not before first making a pot of coffee to assist me along the way.

It was spectacular morning.  The sun was peaking above the eastern horizon and it was awash in orange behind the low-hanging, fog banks.  The birds were chirping and there was the promise of working Jim, N5MU later on this morning.  Now, I remembered why I agreed to do this; especially so, since I just spent the prior day working on a hamfest!

I made it to Ohlman Cemetery an hour later after leaving my Girard QTH.  It was 7:00 am and I called Jim on the cell phone to tell him that I had arrived and that I would be up and running in about 20 minutes.  Less than ten minutes later I had the tripod set up and the 10 GHz rig warming up.  I erected my mast for my six element 70 cm yagi, connected the coax and hooked it up to the 817.  I gave Jim a call and we heard each other with no problem at 12:35 Z.  The S meter wasn't indicating anything, but we both had solid copy on USB.  An 81.5 mile QSO.  Now, let's try 10 GHz.  I was copying John, WB9PNU's beacon about a S-5.  It had been almost a year since I heard it last and hearing the beacon's CW telemetry was like hearing an old friend again after a long absence!

Peaking up on the beacon, I nudged my dish a degree or so to the south to hear Jim.  I could copy his CW about 519.  A short while later Jim was 579.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go back to him because my FT 817 wasn't keying up.  I could hear my rig's sidetone, but the rig itself wasn't keying up.  It turns out that, somehow, a menu setting had changed and once I found it, I was able to correct for it and I was putting out CW.  Jim and I made the QSO at 13:22 Z with 519 reports!

After working Jim, I swung my 70 cm yagi towards Ron, W9ZIH's direction and towards Chicago and I made some noise, both CW and USB, but to no avail.  I took down my portable station and soon I was on the road to nearby Pana for a sausage and egg McMuffin before heading back to Girard. By 10:40 am, I was pulling into my driveway.  All said and done, it was an exceptional start to my day.  Thank you Jim!

 

                                          ( About 4 miles east of Girard, IL.  Notice the sun and the fog bank)

                              ( A better shot of the fog bank.  A good day for microwaving!)

                                          (  My view to the south.  Notice the fog bank)

 ( Here I am on top of the Ohlman cemetery hill.  My 70 cm yagi and 10 GHz rig are visible)

                                           (Another view of the cemetery portable set up from EM59ji)

                             ( My view back southwest towards Jim in EM48, 81.5 miles away)