ARRL 10 GHz & Up Contest, Leg 2, September 2026

Typically, the middle of September in Missouri can either be hot or cooler.  The weekend of September 19-20 was hot, grueling hot and humid. Humidity percentage in the 70s and temperature in the mid to upper nineties.  Armed with copious amounts of ice and water, Herbert AF4JF and Ron KOØZ left the comforts of home in EM48qs (St. Peters) northwards towards one of our all time favorite uW spots, Lover's Leap, EM49hq overlooking the river town of Hannibal at O dark thirty...5:00 am. We encountered several deer along MO Hwy 61 on the road's shoulder. Fortunately, no mishaps. 

                                                              Getting up at O-dark-thirty

We needed to leave so early, to make the 120 minute drive to Hannibal and to be set-up and ready to work Gary WBØLJC in central Iowa working his way back to Minnesota. We arrived on site, quickly set up and greeted the morning's sunrise.

 

                                                         Sunrise at Hannibal, MO EM49hq

 

                                       

                                             Herbert AF4JF READY AND RARING to make some 10 G Qs!

     Ron KOØZ's rig pointing towards Kevin AD7OI & Tammy KI7GVT's  QTH in Hannibal EM49hp

                                                            Ron KOØZ tolerating the day's heat.

 At 12:21Z both of us worked Kevin in EM49hp only a few km away from EM49hq. At 13:13 Z, we put Gary WBØLJC in our log book from Iowa, EM 32fg, a distance of 340km!  

                                               Pointing towards Iowa and Gary WBØLJC.
 

Next we worked Gary in EN32GKJ for another 340km path about an hour later.  We listened for Greg WQØP in Kansas.  We heard him dashing but he wasn't able to log us.  Drats!  Our path to the west is not that good from Lover's Leap.  However, we did log Gary again at 16:12Z in EN32kj.

KOØZ decided to add a new dynamic to our trip by heading north toward Palmyra, MO EM49fv.  The hardest part about roving is trying to minimize travel time and to find a suitable site to operate.  I found a construction company with a gravel road to a farm field which proved suitable to work Herbert, Kevin and Tammy.

 

                                             

                                                EM49fv looking back towards Hannibal

 Where to next?  Tnx to Kevin, he suggested Villa Katherine in Quincy, IL EM49hu.  This architecturally  interesting building from the early 1900s has a commanding view of the Mississippi River. From there I worked Herbert, Kevin and Tammy. I found the Qs to be invigorating, but I was also looking forward to my car's air-conditioning.  I drove back to Lover's Leap, and Herbert and I made the short jaunt to see Kevin's shack.  His QTH is even higher in elevation than Lover's Leap.  Add to that a 75 foot tower with his 40 watt 10 GHz rig with dish on top of the tower and we have a new Midwestern "anchor station" that Kevin plans to also offer a omni, 10 GHz beacon! 

 

 

                                                 Villa Katherine in Quincy, IL EM49hu

 

 

          Kevin AD7OI's tower with 40 watt, 10 GHz dish, Kevin and Herbert outside his shack, Kevin inside his well equipped shack.

 After visiting with AD7OI and KI7GVT, we made our way back to St. Peters.

Sunday, the 20th found Jim KKØU, myself and Debbie KC9ULA heading towards Pere Marquette State Park near Godfrey, IL EM48rx. Thankfully, we didn't need to get there until 10:30 am.  Jim was up and ready by 10:15 am at EM48qt (MidRivers Mall in St. Peters, MO).  Around 1540Z we easily made a two-way Q with Jim.  I could easily copy the WB9PNU beacon 1Ø368.9ØØ telemetry 4 watts out, 12.5 VDC, 98 degrees outside and 102 degrees inside the box.

Next we worked Jim atr EM48OT then EM48mw, EM48kx and EM49ia near Hawks Point, MO, our most distant Sunday Q.  Jim discovered bouncing his signal off of city water towers works really well!

After working Jim, Debbie and I went to Dow, IL EM49ua, an old AT&T microwave site to work Kevin and Tammy back at EM49hp on phone.

                                                                       Dow, IL EM49ua

                                              Looking back to EM49hp from Dow EM49ua

Now it was time to pack it in and to head back home but not before working Kevin and Tammy from MidRivers Mall in EM48qt.  To save time, we took the Grafton, IL Ferry across the mighty Mississippi to St. Charles county.

 

I dropped off Debbie back home and I went to the mall parking lot.  Around 23:00 Z I was able to hear Kevin, but we didn't have a two-way path.  But wait, I saw a thunderstorm to my northeast centered over Ramsey, Il (approximately 80 miles away) and Kevin, Tammy and I were able to make another QSO!

 

 

                                           Looking northeast towards the Ramsey, IL T-storm.

 All-in-all, a rewarding, exhausting, exhilarating contest.  Propagation wasn't the best, but hey it was good to once again have my rig at full operating power of 3+ watts!  Thanks Kevin for the use of his workshop,  to Steve at DEMI for looking at my transverter, Herbert for giving me a new relay and to everyone who was on the air over these two contest weekends!

 

Oh before I forget, a personal joke among SLAMS (St. Louis Area Microwave Society) members is we should plan our activity around a winery.  Well, we finally did it.  Just south of Hannibal on MO Hwy 79 is a winery at Mark Twain Cave.  We finally did it!

 

 

73, de Ron KOØZ  

ARRL 10 G & Up Contest, Leg 1, August 2026

 Leg one, August 15, 2026, of the ARRL 10 G & Up contest started with thunderstorms overnight early Saturday morning just past dawn. Today, it looked like it would only be Kevin AD7OI and myself and whoever else I could hear to operate leg one of the contest.  I decided to go for distance points. I, KO0Z left St. Peters EM48 amidst rain heading towards Litchfield, IL EM59ee at 7:00 am.  Plans are to be QRV by 9:00 am to work Kevin AD7OI located on one of our favorite microwave sites, Lover's Leap, high above Hannibal, MO EM49hq 100 miles away to my northwest.  

                        KO0Z set up at Litchfield, IL EM59ee ready to work Kevin AD7OI in EM49hq

                                               Rain just north of Litchfield early Saturday morning 

 Around 9:00 am Kevin and I tried to work one another but without any luck.  Kevin discovered an issue with rig. In the meantime,  I was able to hear the St. Louis 10 G beacon WB9PNU very well. Kevin's workshop is close by to EM49hq so while I waited for Kevin's return, I called CQ towards Chicago but with no response.  A very short while later, Kevin was back and both he and I tried again.  I could hear Kevin, but he could neither hear or see me on his Icom 705's display  We were 100 miles apart. Drats.  We attributed it to poor propagation.

I packed up and headed east 25 miles towards Ohlman Cemetery EM59ji.  It felt good to arrive at another one of my favorite microwave locations for it had been four years or more since I was there last.

           The sun was beginning to pop out between the rain clouds at Ohlman Cemetery EM59ji

 

             Pointing towards St. Louis and the WB9PNU/b from Ohlman Cemetery EM59ji

 While at the cemetery, I could easily copy the WB9PNU beacon 73 miles to my southwest.  I then tried to work Kevin from this location, now 118 miles away.  I could hear him but once again, he couldn't hear me.  I suspected my transverter or its relay were malfunctioning.  Since propagation wasn't too good for either of us. Kevin kindly made available his excellent workbench in Hannibal to test my rig. Darn, so much for working distance points plans. Now I needed to drive a distance.  Ah, the best laid plans of mice and a frustrated microwaver...

                                                 Kevin AD7OI testing my Xverter output 

 

                              AD7OI outside his Hannibal shack next to his VHF-SHF tower.

 I'm glad I made the trek over to Kevin's.  We measured my output at approximately 80 milliwatts.  No where near my normal 3 watts output. I'll be sending my Xverter back to Steve at DEMI for his expert repair.  Oh well, I can now claim I'm working 3 cm QRPp!  Tnx Kevin for making you and your bench available to test my 3 cm rig.

Sunday, August  16,2026

Armed with the knowledge I am now operating 3 cm QRPp, my strategy changed.  I planned to operate closer in to our Sunday location - the Farmersville, IL gob EM59ek.I again left St. Peters EM48 at 7:00 am amidst light to moderate rain heading towards a rendezvous with Jim N9LQF, the keeper of the gate, at the Farmersville, IL  gob wind turbine just east of I-55 exit 72. We were up on  the gob by 8:30 am.

                              Driving up towards the wind turbine atop the Farmersville gob EM59ek.

 

                                         Me set up next to  the wind turbine on the gob.

 Soon Herbert AF4JF arrived on site and together we were set up ready to work our fellow microwave enthusiast and SLAMS member,  Jim KK0U who was setting up at Litchfield, IL to our south by 22 miles, which we both did.  We were also ready to work Kevin AD7OI and his wife Tammy KI7GV at Hannibal EM49hq.

     IDOT left their mowing tractors on top of the gob and Herbert used the trailer's additional height.

Herbert was able to put Kevin and Tammy into his log, but my 80 milliwatts wasn't punching through the 118 mile path.  I was able to work Jim KK0U 22 miles away with my QRPp station! After that QSO, I decided to rove around the gob to give Herbert and Jim more points.  I went to Morrisonville, IL, Pawnee, IL and finally at Virden, IL. I was able to put Herbert and Jim in my log.

                                                      Me set up near Morrisonville, IL 

 

 

                                           Morrisonville looking west towards the gob's direction.

 

 

                                                        Storm clouds over Pawnee, IL.

 It was now around 2:30 pm and thunderstorms were rapidly approaching.  Herbert tried to work Mike KM0Tvia rainscatter but with no luck on two different occasions.  So we packed up, left the gob and headed west to Girard to try out a new Mexican restaurant El Campineo.

 

                                        Jim KK0U and Herbert AF4JF looking over the menu.

 

 After a late lunch, Herbert left and Jim and I decided to take the "scenic" route back to Missouri stopping every 10 miles to find a location and then one of us would travel another KM to make a two-way QSO. It was a lot of fun and quite an adventure!  We ended up arriving home in EM48 somewhere around 7:00 pm.

On Saturday, I managed to add 350 miles on my new Subaru Outback.  Sunday, I added over 200 miles. 

10 GHz Tower Scatter from Hannibal, MO!

 10 GHz Microwave Scatter from Hannibal EM49 or Mark Twain ain't got nothing on us!

 

Kudos to Kevin AD7OI who posted this video of his rig listening to the St. Louis WB9PNU 10 G beacon in EM48 from atop of DePaul Hospital scattering off a local Hannibal EM49  water tower!

Tnx Kevin for the video!

 

 

 

 

 

CSVHFS 2027 SPRINTS

 

CSVHFS CONFERENCE 2026, CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO

 I just had to make this my opening (staged) photo of Scott N0EDV looking directly into a uW horn, non-energized of course at one of the many fabulous forums offered over the weekend of July 24-26 at the Drury Inn Conference Center just off I-55 in Cape Girardeau, MO.

 

The WX was nice and the company, food and lodging was excellent.  Well, the WX was a bit too hot and humid, but for the end of July in Missouri...it wasn't too bad at all.  I've been to hotter conferences and in northern states over the years!

 

 Below is a picture of Debbie KC9ULA, and a pic of my extended leg, relaxing on the 8th floor balcony next to the CSVHFS hospitality sweet.

Kent making measurements at the uW section of the antenna range.  I brought my refurbished dish to be measured and it came in at a startling 35.5 dBi!

 

 

You meet some of the nicest folks on the antenna range. Here's me along with Ben K4QF.  Ben's done and continues to do some amazing work with broadcast television tower scatter.  Ben's holding a vilvaldi directional microwave antenna.  

Mike KM0T is chatting with Pete early Saturday morning at "Dish/Rover Row."

 

It was good seeing Tommy Henderson at the antenna range as well.  He's semi-retired from teaching at the local community college.

 

                                               White board attendees at this year's conference.

                                                       One of the rovers on rover row.

Drury Conference center at night.  Great accomodations.  CSVHFS board is putting this venue into the mix as a future conference site.

 

                              CSVHFS always has interesting forums over a wide variety of topics.

 Cape Girardeau spectral display on my Tiny SA from my conference room 100 kHz to 2.0 gHz.

 

            A uW antenna used on a KC-135 tanker is part of Kent's antenna collection.

           Some of the measuring equipment used by Kent on the microwave antenna range.

 

                                                      Another great Friday night flea market.

 

                                            Mark, Kent and Rod chatting at the conference

                                  Barry VE4MA chatting with Bob N0IS during a forum break.

                                            It's always good to see uW friends at the conference.

 

Next year, CSVHFS Conference 2027 will be hosted at Springdale, AR.  All-in-all, another great conference. Kudos to our president Tammy and her husband Kent along with the board of directors for all of their hard work behind the scenes to make this a one to remember conference.