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I was excited to hear, the other day, via John G4BAO that there is now a online SDR for 10GHz. Located on Mow Cop, in the UK on the Staffordshire/Cheshire border, it enables you to tune across the 10GHz beacon band.

If, like me, you are intrigued by microwave propagation, but for whatever reason, don’t have gear of your own, this provides the opportunity to listen to the band from a good location in different conditions and see what you can hear.

I am particularly looking forward to seeing what possibilities are afforded by rainscatter. So far, when I have been listening, I have heard the ‘local’ GB3XGH beacon at good strength and fading up and down. I also saw traces of GB3KBQ on the Mendips. Judging by the short duration, I wondered about aircraft scatter.

Anyway – have a look for yourself! The 10GHz SDR receiver is online here (make sure you have Java and Javascript enabled).

Thanks to G7CKX, G4HJW and G6GXK for a very interesting facility!

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].

I spent a long Labor Day weekend at my new QTH in Santa Fe, New Mexico. From a flatlander's point of view, Santa Fe is SOTA heaven. Lots of nice peaks to climb and now with a place to lay my head, I can go back home and not to a hotel room. From my home QTH in Boerne, TX it is 380 miles to the nearest accessible peak. As I would discover, there is a nice 8 pointer 11 miles from my front door.

Day 1 Peak 8409 W5N/PW-027 (8 pts)

We are still setting up house in Santa Fe and so on this Friday morning there were deliveries scheduled for 9:30. So I needed a quick hit summit that I could get on and off of quickly and get back home. Peak 8409 fit the bill. The summit is 11 miles from my house and isn't a particularly difficult summit as you can drive to within a few hundred feet of the summit. So I left the house early and found a pull-out on the road to the summit and scrambled up ~200 feet to my eventual operating position. Quickly the antenna was in place and I was calling CQ within 5 minutes. A chaser pile quickly ensued and in 25 or so minutes of operation I made 23 QSO's. After a few unanswered CQ's, I quickly tore down the station was back home in time to meet the delivery man. Cool, 8 activator points and back home in time to get something done.

Day 2 Atalaya Mountain W5N/PW-023 (8 pts)

Atalaya is not in the easy ascent category. The hike isn't too long, ~5.6 miles round trip depending on where you start (we took Trail #170), but it is relatively steep. I wouldn't call it a hard hike, so moderate is probably the best description. My son Jake, KB5SKN, who flew in the day before, would join me on this one. Jake isn't that active as a ham but when asked if he wanted to operate from the summit, he said he would rather operate than just watch me. So, in addition to my ATS-4, cw only rig, I made Jake carry the FT-817 so he could operate SSB. This is a nice hike and the views of Santa Fe are outstanding. It took us 90 minutes to get to the summit, with Jake having to adjust a little to the altitude, but we make relatively decent time.

Jake was new to mountain portable operation and he was surprised how quickly we were on the air. We set up the EFHW, stringing it in the trees to my carbon fiber collapsible pole. We received good reports, I made 21 QSO's on CW and Jake made 12 on SSB. He was surprised at how effective this antenna was. It was a nice walk down and a good day for father and son.


KB5SKN Logging His First Activation

AD5A on Summit of Atalaya :Mountain

Sandia Crest is the big mountain that dominates the Albuquerque landscape. I decided to take a chance on a Sunday afternoon activation. Thunderstorms are always an issue in this part of the world, but there is a tram that takes you up the mountain, so I decided to risk it.

Sure enough when we arrived at the tram there was a light rain on the summit. Actually I thought the tram landing was within the activation zone. When we arrived, in the rain, I realized we need to ascend another 200 feet before I was high enough on the summit. A favorite activation location on this mountain is Kiwanis Cabin; it was a short 1.5 miles away. So my XYL and I set off in the light rain for the cabin. While the rain was light, thunder was echoing through the valley as there were widespread thunderstorms. Upon reaching the cabin, the rain had stopped, so I set up my station. On crowded summits I use the Alexloop antenna. It has a small footprint and actually works pretty well. After tuning it and calling CQ, I didn't get any immediate responses. Little did I know there had been a CME just a few hours before and conditions were not good. Over about a 15 minute time span I made 8 QSO's. Then the wind came up and the thunder got louder, so I shut down. We hiked back to the tram to find a 90 minute wait to go down. This was a holiday weekend after all. So rain, a CME and tram delay turned this into a little more adventurous and time consuming outing than planned, but I made the QSO's to qualify the activation and enjoyed some magnificent views.

AD5A on Sandia Peak

View from Sandia Peak

Day 4 Santa Fe Baldy W5N/PW-006 (10 pts)

John, K1JD, sent me an email asking if during my stay in Santa Fe I would be interested in doing Santa Fe Baldy, the tallest mountain in the Santa Fe area at 12,622 ft. It is a 10 point summit and I had already done a fourteener this year, (Sherman 14,036), so I knew I could handle the altitude. “Of course” was my response. The kicker on this hike is that it is a 15 mile round-trip. The hike is not 7.5 miles up and then 7.5 miles down, it is a rolling hike for several miles until you get to the trail up to the saddle that leads to the summit. We both knew there were easier 10 pointers around, but activating Santa Fe Baldy is a badge of honor; it looks good on the resume. So as you talk among other activators, you can always ask what their longest hike was and odds are, at 15 miles, not many can best that. So some bragging rights are at risk here and that’s important. We appropriately planned the hike for Labor Day.
The weather forecast wasn’t favorable for a Labor Day activation, 50% chance of rain, which translated during monsoon season in the New Mexico mountains, it’s gonna rain. We toyed with idea of doing it on the Sunday before Labor Day, but my son was in town and I couldn’t get away. So we took our chances on Monday.



AD5A Operating from Santa Fe Baldy

K1JD on Santa Fe Baldy

Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Hello fellow hams,

Based on the amount of emails I’ve received with both questions and encouragement, I know many have been inspired by my blog updates on my own progress to better health.  Since my amateur radio blog is picked up by a few different blog sites I don’t want to post material which is off-topic to amateur radio.  If you are interested in learning more about my quest for better health through diet and exercise, please follow my personal blog.   You can subscribe to the RSS feed via this link. 

Now I return you to your normal amateur radio blog content already in progress.

73 de KDØBIK (Jerry)

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].

We all have to make compromises and mine is likely to be outside the shack and in the garden. I’d love to get a full size Steppir into the back garden and whilst it’ll fit, it won’t fit if you get what I mean.

My geeky hobby is tolerated by the XYL, but only to a certain point and when planning for a new antenna I’ve looked at loads, from Quads to Wires to Beams and Moxon’s. They are all a change from the vertical I do have, which has performed well but is something I want to move away from in search of a couple of dB in gain.

I’m very keen on my Cobwebb because its compact and works well. But. A beam would be slightly better. Something I’ve not quite got my head round is if a mini beam is worth it. Ask 10 people and you’ll get 10 different answers. We all know they aren’t as good as a dedicated monobander but we all know we need to make sacrifices.

I’ve had a look at a Moseley one that comes complete with lossy traps but hey ho. We all have to make sacrifices.

 

Manufacturers claims show its not much more than a short dipole on 12m and 17m but may be useful on the others

 

The turning radius is what I’m most interested in as I need to fit it against the side of the new room but obviously not too close to windows. 3-4m looks ok but I’ll need to check / adjust dims accordingly. Its a lot of money for what it is at around 750 Euro’s from Wimo so its quite an investment.

Only another month or so until the planning application decision comes back. It may not be on the shopping list if the application gets bounced but I’ve no control on that. So for now its all in the planning stages

Alex Hill, G7KSE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, UK. Contact him at [email protected].

This should have been a piece about my adventurous adventures in radio land. But alas, last week during the reception of a Wefax image the display of my not-very-trusty TS-440S went completely blank. It is not the first time this 23 year old rig is going cold on me and – yes, I know – if I want reliability I should buy myself a new rig. No problemo! I have money in the bank and could buy the new IC-7100 right away. But that is money we put in the bank for our first house, the kids tuition, a new second hand car and what not. It’s not easy being a poor ham, but I won’t bother you with my misery. Time for ACTION! If I really want that new rig then I have to make some extra money on the side. So I dug out my investment portfolio details, but…..no win, no loss. So, I took an extra hour of teaching English, but that is only making me 10 dollars per week. By the time I have enough money for a new rig the next solar maximum is already upon us.

Then I stumbled onto this video by VK3YE, Peter Parker in Melbourne, Australia. If you never seen any of his videos, then it is heartily recommended you check them out. His unique presenting style, clever video editing and outdoor QRP operations make them very entertaining and interesting. And this video is especially unique in that he is wearing a suit! You don’t see hams in suits often, so grab the opportunity.

But….making money with ham radio? I don’t think it is for me. So, after a deep sigh I dug out my TS-130V and also put the FRG-7 back on my desk. The TS-130V is only putting out 15 Watts so it feels like I am working QRP right now. But….but….I don’t want to be a QRPer! I want my 440 back!! MOMMY!!!!!

Hans "Fong" van den Boogert, BX2ABT, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Taiwan. Contact him at [email protected].

This afternoon Judy and I hiked on Shute Hill. I worked Italy, France, Russia, Slovenia and Sardinia.

It was a cool but beautiful day. The trail is lined with wildflowers… asters, goldenrod, and jewel weed. We stop to enjoy the brook that flows out of the beaver pond.

About a mile up the trail there is a rich fragrance permeating everywhere. It is a vast field of goldenrod.

At the top of the hill there is a clearing. We will stop here. I heave a wire in an old butternut tree. Judy finishes up some knitting in the warm sun.

I have brought the KX3. I pull up 33 feet of wire and begin operating on 17 meters. The band is excellent. I make six contacts in about 25 minutes. Here is my log.

8 Sep-13 1948 18.075 IK2CIO CW 599 599 Italy
8 Sep-13 1950 14.011 F8DGY CW 549 599 France
8 Sep-13 1956 14.060 W9PP CW 569 599 Ind
8 Sep-13 2008 14.037 UA0IT/6 CW 559 599 Russia
8 Sep-13 2011 18.072 S51WO CW 589 599 Slovenia
8 Sep-13 2016 18.074 IS0GQX CW 599 599 Sardinia

Now I pack up the gear. It is a perfect afternoon. I glance behind before starting the hike back.

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Six Episode Eighteen of the ICQ Amateur / Ham Radio Podcast has been released. The latest news, Listener Mailbag, Propogation Report from Steve Nicholls (G0KYA) and Martin (M1MRB) answers questions.

• Ham Radio: Helping to Build a Fast and Free Internet
• US Vanity Call Sign fee goes up
• SDR Zone
• APRS destination address for ham radio satellites
• Noise Floor Study
• Radio museum loses premises
• SOTA now active in VK2
• Ham video transmitter onboard Columbus

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].