The EM38xw location is conveniently accessible from the interstate highway I-70, exit 144 (easy to remember). We usually set up on the intersection of a service road that goes parallel with I-70 on its southern side and the gravel country road. There is little to no traffic on either road, but we always make sure there is enough space left for farm vehicles.
We have been there several times in the past, see for example the postings here, here or here.
I went there twice this year so far. My first trip there was on Saturday June 4, 2022 for a MAD Day (Microwave Activity Day). I took 1296MHz and 10GHz with me and tried to work several stations on both bands. It was a hot day without any clouds, no Rain Scatter on 10GHz possible. I have only made 2 QSOs on 23cm - with Zack W9SZ who was 350km away (I used 2W of RF power) and with Pete N0OY who was 498km away (but I needed 40W of power to my 16el. COMET antenna).
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| AF4JF set up in EM38xw |
My second trip to that location took place on Saturday July 2nd, 2022 for another MAD Day. I only took 10GHz with me. It was a rainy day and I was hoping for some Rain Scatter (RS) QSOs on that band. The weather map looked very promising in the morning - I expected the storms to pass just South of my location. Unfortunately, the storm cells decided otherwise and included me in their path.
I have tried to work Greg WQ0P in EM19, but there was too much water in the air between us. We tried several times, but no luck. However, several attempts that we made with Gedas W8BYA finally lead to success. We have made a nice RS QSO on 10GHz across 620km (387miles)!
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AF4JF aiming for WQ0P (dish pointing West)
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| View towards West |
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| Aiming East (South of W8BYA) at a storm cell |
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| Rain Scatter map that day |
Zoom in on the pictures from July 2nd, you will see lots of water drops on the equipment. I was hiding under the open back gate of my SUV but the station was exposed to the water, so I have packed everything up after spending 2 hours at that location and went to nearby gas station for hot coffee. My dog refused to leave the car the entire time.
This is one good location for future activities, the SLAMS team will return here in the future.
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