122 GHz again

Harry WA0CNS and Herbert AF4JF succeeded in extending the distance covered by QSO on 122GHz to 7.671 km (4.76 mile) today. Harry was at new SLAMS location on Iffrig Road in St Peters, MO (EM48qt74cu) while Herbert went across Mississippi River to the Winneberg Road on a hill near Brussels, IL (EM48qv90rv). Two-way CW QSO on 122GHz was completed at 10:59am today (December 14, 2020). This is not only our longest QSO on 122GHz so far, but it also seems to be the very first QSO between Missouri and Illinois on 122GHz ever.

Herbert and Harry met at the Iffrig Road first. Harry started setting up while Herbert went to Golden Eagle Ferry about 3 miles away. That ferry operates every day and has quite short waiting time. At least usually. Mr. Murphy has not overslept today, so Herbert's crossing on the ferry was delayed by a huge commercial barge crossing the path. It took over 15 minutes until that huge thing disappeared.

There is a hill just across the river. It is not that high (590 feet a.s.l.), but still high enough to block the line of sight to everything on the Illinois side. Harry and Herbert actually tried much longer distance (over 25km) on December 4, but this hill protruded into the Fresnel zones between our intended locations. Luckily Harry WA0CNS, Herbert AF4JF and Ron KO0Z have done their homework this time and identified the location on Winneberg Road prior to this test today. Looks like we will use these two locations for future tests.

The atmospheric conditions were not all that great today. Sure, it stopped raining and fog went away this morning, but the relative humidity was still too high:

• temperature 3.6 deg. C

• dew point -5.2 deg. C

• pressure 1005.2 mBar

• humidity 51.1 %

• wind speed 2.4 m/s

Signal from Harry was S9 with QSB to S5. Herbert's signal was much weaker on Harry's side (Herbert uses a 21 dB horn antenna while Harry has a dish):

Herbert's AF4JF view towards Harry

Harry's WA0CNS view towards Herbert

Waiting for the ferry to return back to Missouri

Goal for today was met. However, we are still at the begin, many more miles to cross on 122GHz. Looks like this was probably close to the limit for a station with small horn antenna. We will try the same path with dishes on both sides next. Some other day.

SLAMS ZOOM MEETINGS

 We came, we saw, we chatted.  Doing our best to avoid COVID-19, yet still wishing to get together, thanks to the ingenuity, diligence and efforts of Herbert AF4JF; we have been meeting by ZOOM.  A few days before the ZOOM meeting, Herbert sends out an email to all SLAMS members reminding them of the upcoming meeting.  Last night, December 1 we decided to meet on the first Tuesday of every month by ZOOM for the foreseeable future.

A wide range of topics were discussed including the January VHF contest, PLUTO, 24 GHz, door knob capacitors and even audio frequencies.  Mostly, it was nice to see everyone and to catch up.

Pictured from top left to right:  Herbert AF4JF, Ron KO0Z, Gedas W8BYA, Zack W9SZ, Harry WA0CNS, Bob N0IS, Sam W0PCE and Jim N5MU.  Not pictured is Armand KD0PXF.

Martian Weather Forecast

Did you know that weather prediction for the planet of Mars is done on regular basis and you can even find in on the Internet? I have learned that today .... click here to take a look!

Further Experimentation

 Further Experimentation

Sunday, November 15, a blustery, albeit sunny day with temperature in the upper 40s around 9 am, found Harry WA0CNS, Herbert AF4JF and Ron KO0Z at Creve Coeur Memorial Park.  Harry and Herbert experimented with light communication. Harry was using red LED 635 nm in his station and Herbert was using 650 nm laser. That's a frequency around 462 THz! Harry also built an infrared beacon. Although the distance was only approximately 60 feet, both Harry and Herbert made successful 2-way QSOs using light.  Receiver sensitivity as checked and the experiment indicated that precise aiming of antennas is a necessity.  In early December, Harry and Herbert are going to further their 122 GHz distance record.

                             Harry WA0CNS receiving Herbert's AF4JF light signal.

                                      Herbert AF4JF transmitting to Harry WA0CNS

                                             Harry, Darcy and Herbert conferencing

                       Herbert AF4JF receiving Harry's WA0CNS signal at Creve Coeur Memorial Park

Success on 122 GHz

Harry WA0CNS and Herbert AF4JF met together for another round of testing our new 122GHz units from VK. Ron KO0Z has been in some activity with his grand children and supported us on the phone.

We have decided to repeat the test from October 25 (2020) when Harry went to SSM facility in EM48rq and Herbert found a nice parking lot on Katy Trail in EM48rr. We didn't make that QSO on October 20. There is a direct line of sight between both locations, so we tried again using rifle scopes to aim our antennas today. Following pictures show Herbert's side of the path on Greens Bottom Road in EM48rr:

Thanks to using powerful binoculars, Harry spotted Herbert's car arriving at the parking lot and knew exactly where to aim the antenna. We have made our CW QSO at 08:43 am with signal strength S5-9 on both sides. The distance, according to Google Earth, was 3.26 mile (5.25 km):

Weather info taken in EM48rr at 08:30 am CST:

• temperature 22.8 deg. C
• dew point 9.3 deg. C
• pressure 1010.2 mBar
• humidity 43.1 %
• no wind

This was first part of our plans for the day. The second part was moving to the town of Defiance, MO to our "backup location" along the Katy Trail. Harry stopped close to Defiance in EM48op and Herbert went a little further to Matson in EM48oo. The distance between these points is, according to Google Earth, 1.74 mile (2.80 km):

Weather info taken in EM48oo at 10:39 am CST:

• temperature 26.8 deg. C
• dew point 12.2 deg. C
• pressure 1008.7 mBar
• humidity 38.9 %
• wind 2.2 km/h ( 2 feet / sec)

This location, despite the shorter distance, turned out to be more difficult due to a problem with direct line of sight - rifle scope on Herbert's side revealed that he was pointing at wrong location and had to move a little to see the correct one. After moving the station, QSO was made at 10:49 am CST wit the same strength as the first QSO (S5-9 QSB). However, thanks to the blowing wind, the frequency was a little unstable. We definitely need to pay more attention to thermal insulation of the 122GHz board to prevent wind from changing frequency through making temperature changes. Both stations were using GPS reference 1 pps, which seems to be too slow. We need to modify our stations for 10MHz reference signal disciplined by GPS.

Picture shows the "Judgement Tree" memorial park in Matson, EM48oo where Herbert was located:

Herbert is only using a 19dBi conical horn for antenna. Harry's station has a 13 inch dish antenna:

This was our last attempt for QSO for the day. Next topic on our plan was the SLAMS/BARS planning meeting at the Chandler Hill winery. We usually do not eat inside any facility these days, but this winery is offering outdoor seating and online ordering of food and drinks. Here is how the seating looked like (and Yes, this facility allows dogs even inside):

Everything considered, a very successful day! We have pushed our 122GHz record up to 5.25 km. Our next attempt, hopefully this year, will be to get it over 10 km. Watch for new posting soon!

Outdoor Microwave Activity

The SLAMS/BARS groups will hold 3 outdoor activities, aside from any contest, to compare, tune and test our microwave stations and equipment next year. These are labeled "24GHz And Up" or "24+ GHz" on our schedules, but you can bring any band, even HF mobile, if you want to test it or share your experience with the group.

As always, these outdoor activities are announced on both blog sites, SLAMS and BARS. This posting is just pointing them out for you. Should you not be a member of any of our two groups yet or even if you are not a HAM but are interested in our hobby, you will be welcome!

Here is the schedule for these outdoor activities:

- May 15th, 2021 (Eagles Roost or Pere Marquette, IL)

- September 4th, 2021 (Ohlman Cemetery, IL)

- November 6th, 2021 (Defiance, MO)

We will publish more details, specify the location and time of these activities when the time comes. Keep your eye on our blog sites or simply contact us by email!

122GHz challenge

When Harry WA0CNS and Herbert AF4JF made their first 122GHz QSO on September 20, 2020 during second leg of the ARRL microwave contest, everybody was surprised how easy it was. Our second 122GHz QSO during the SPRINT Contest on October 12 made it look even easier. We were planning on extending the distance spanned by our QSOs over 10 miles. First step was supposed to be a QSO from EM48rq (Chesterfield, MO) to EM48rr (Harvester, MO) across the Missouri river over a distance of 3.65 km with direct line of sight. We have found suitable locations, checked them ahead of time ... everything seemed to be "granted":

This picture shows Herbert's location and open view towards Harry (on a hill on the horizon):

However, neither of us heard a beep, just a noise. We have tried to turn our antennas, tune the radios up- and down, move around the parking lot ... nothing. Herbert even went across the river to Harry's location to make sure that Harry really points his antenna in correct direction. Everything was OK, just no signal. 

Weather situation (recorded on Herbert's side of the river) was:

• temperature 4.1 deg. C
• dew point 1.3 deg. C
• pressure 1011.9 mBar
• humidity 43.2 %

The day was actually very windy, we were both "frozen to the bone", so we gave up for the day and decided to continue on the next day, make sure our stations still work and decide how to continue.

Next day was a little warmer. It was also the day of a SLAMS meeting. The SLAMS just started having meetings in the local park instead of eating breakfast together at Denny's. Harry WA0CNS and Herbert AF4JF got together in the Creve Coeur park. (EM48sr). Armand KD0PXF joined us for a short talk later. Harry started a small fire to keep our fingers movable:

Weather situation was:

• temperature 16.3 deg. C
• dew point 3.9 deg. C
• pressure 1000.5 mBar
• humidity 40.2 %

We have set up our stations approximately 100 ft. apart first, then about 1000 ft. In both cases, we have heard each other immediately. Signals were very strong and stable, exactly on the frequency (IF on 144.4 MHz CW) where expected:

WA0CNS

AF4JF

View from AF4JF towards WA0CNS

Well, our stations appear to be in good shape. Signals were very strong and aiming was not too critical (at least not for Herbert who uses a conical horn). We are not sure why our contact across the distance of 3.65 km didn't work. Looks like QSOs on the 122GHz band will be a challenge and come with surprises...

Herbert and Harry already decided on next try, two weeks ahead from now. We hope to have more good news to report after that next test.

73 Herbert

AF4JF

Fall Sprint October 2020

 Saturday, October 10th afforded me an opportunity to see Herbert AF4JF and Harry WA0CNS operate in the Fall Sprint.  They were able to make a two-way 1.2 GHz QSO with Zack W9SZ in Illinois from the YMCA.  They also tried on 2.3 GHz and 10 GHz with no propagation.  They spent the rest of the morning experimenting with 122 GHz.  Stability issues were resolved and successful Qs were made in the YMCA parking lot.  Feeling empowered and emboldened, we decided to relocate at 370 Lake Park (EM48rt) near St. Peters, MO.  

S-9 signals were achieved shooting across the lake about six-tenths of a mile.  We are making plans to attempt a 7K path in a few weeks!

                            Herbert AF4JF at the YMCA parking lot with some of his uW antennas.

                                                       

                    Harry WA0CNS with his portable uW gear at the YMCA parking lot

                      

                 AF4JF is setting up his 122 GHz rig to work Harry WA0CNS at the YMCA parking lot.

    The view at 370 Lake Park, EM48rt from WA0CNS across to the other side to AF4JF about .6 miles.

                  Harry WA0CNS with his 122 GHz rig at 370 Park EM48rt 

Herbert wrote about his  sprint experience: 

I have participated on the contest too. However, my participation was aimed at testing new technologies. 

I have made a CW QSO with Zack W9SZ on 1296MHz across 259km, but not on 2.3GHz although the stations were comparable in RF power and antenna gain on my side. Maybe next time. We have also tried 10GHz, since we have worked each other from this location, but no luck this time.

The next thing I was testing was my new 122GHz unit from VK. We have made a contact wit Harry WA0CNS using these units before, but it was on windy day and my station was open with no shielding of the PCB. As a result, the frequency stability, although GPS disciplined, was not good enough. This has definitely changed, two pieces of styrofoam fastened to the PCB on both sides to cover the oscillator did the trick! Even with 1pps frequency reference (I haven't modified this board for 10MHz yet), the frequency was stable enough for convenient CW QSO! We have worked each other across a lake with Harry WA0CNS with S9+ strength and nice clean signals ... wow!

One of attached pictures shows my "small" 122GHz unit with conical horn in front of the 10GHz tripod. I am also including a picture of Harry's station that uses a dish and rifle scope for aiming.

We are planning one more test over longer distance this year.

73 Herbert

AF4JF

ARRL 10GHz And Up 2020 as seen by AF4JF

As Ron KO0Z has just published in his posting, some of the members of the SLAMS group attended second leg of the ARRL 10GHz And Up contest today. We have not attended the first leg for various reasons, so we decided to take it light and only participate in one day of the activities. Some of our usual contacts went to the Great Lakes for this contest anyway.

As we published earlier this week, we have recently tried to use good tropo propagation to work Russ KB8U and Gedas W8BYA on 10GHz. We didn't make the QSOs, but it was close. Gedas W8BYA and Ron KO0Z copied each other S-8, but the propagation didn't last long to complete the QSO. Driven by this in our mind, we tried again and scheduled some tests with Gedas this morning. However, there was no propagation, no enhancement from Mr. Hepburn or Rain Scatter and we didn't make a QSO today. No problem, there will be more thunderstorms in the future!

We have picked a location at one of the YMCA gyms in Saint Louis, because it is close to the WB9PNU beacon and because we have worked stations from the direction to Gedas on this hill before. Following picture shows the horizon in the direction of 60 degrees:

Herbert AF4JF and Harry WA0CNS set up their stations for 10GHz and 122GHz today. Darcey (Herbert's dog) made sure everything was set up properly:

Speaking about 122GHz - Harry and Herbert both used the popular module from Australia with a radar chip on it. The modules worked well, but we will have to make some finishing touches to our stations - thermal insulation being one of them. The CW signal was a little unstable until Herbert covered the unit by Darcey's drinking bowl to lower frequency drifting. The units are GPS-disciplined by 1pps signal, but the short term stability needs to be improved. However, that didn't stop us from making our first QSO.

All this activity took place in the morning. Ron, KO0Z arrived at his location on the cliff in EM48rx shortly after 10:00 am and we made our contest QSOs on 10GHz.

Herbert and Harry moved from YMCA in EM48sq to the Community College in St. Peters (EM48qs) and later to the town of Wentzville (EM48ot) and mase several more contest QSOs on 10GHz. It was shortly after 1:00 pm when we decided to stop for the day and return home.

ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest - September 2020

 COVID-19, busy work schedules, grandchildren, moving QTH locations all combined took its toll on this year's SLAMS efforts to be radio active for the ARRL 10 GHz and Up contest.  Still, it's hard to keep uW hams away from a contest and Harry WA0CNS, Herbert AF4JF and Ron KO0Z put in a day's worth of activity on Sunday, September 20, 2020.  We weren't trying to break any records.  Instead, we wanted to try 122 GHz and get some activity on the air.  Herbert and Harry tried to work Gedas W8BYA in Indiana, but the path just wasn't there.  KO0Z didn't even try.  His path to Gedas would involve shooting into a thick forest.

Basically, our plan was a modified version of last year's operation.  Ron positioned himself at Eagles Roost at Pere Marquette State Park, EM48rx, near Grafton, IL.  Herbert AF4JF and Harry WA0CNS moved along Interstate 70.  We made 3 attempts and we made 3 QSOs each.  Some on USB and some using CW.  

The weather was nice.  The morning was chilly (47 F), but by 10:30 it was in the mid sixties.  It was a sunny day.  Ron noticed the river water levels were way down from April of this year.  With such nice weather, KO0Z had a fair number of visitors to Eagles Roost, which made shooting a 10 GHz signal to the west problematic.  He packed it in around 1:30 pm after it took about 30 minutes for the crowds to thin out to make a QSO with Herbert and Harry.

The real big story is Harry and Herbert made a 122 GHz QSO!  I will let Herbert tell the story and to supply pictures!  Although, it was a clear, nice, sunny day, the pictures will reveal a haze.  The haze is due to high altitude smoke from all of the forest fires along the west coast.

                                              Grid square EM48rx, Pere Marquette State Park, IL

    Flood conditions on the Illinois River in April 2020.  St. Charles, County is in background.

       A small crowd at Eagles Roost, just where I need to point my dish to the west.

                                  Toula keeping a watchful eye out for visitors to Eagles Roost

                In between 10 GHz QSOs as Harry and Herbert moved along I-70, I had a good book to read.

            More people gathering at Eagles Roost.  Otherwise, the site is great for uW.

                                Note the hazy skies due to forest fire smoke out west.

                      I took the Grafton Ferry boat across the Mississippi River back to St. Charles County.

September 2020 Tropo Opening

 Tuesday evening, September 15 around 7:25 pm (September 16,00:25 Z), I set up my 10 GHz station in the MidRivers Mall northeast parking lot to attempt a 10 GHz QSO with Gedas W8BYA in northern Indiana EN70jt.  A distance of about 261 miles.  This would beat my longest contact by 35 miles on this band.  First try, I peaked up my dish on Gedas and his CW signal was S-8!  So was mine at his end!  Then the band dropped out and we both managed to be at or below the noise floor.  What a tease.  We tried for over and hour, but with no two-way QSO.  Oh well. Next time.  Herbert AF4JF and Harry WA0CNS were both heard and they could hear him, but not very well.  Drats!  Next time! 

 The Hepburn website showed excellent propagation in the Midwest.  The best we've seen in quite some time.