09/20/2005 | K2DH What a contest! I believe it was the best ever from the microwave gang in the Rochester VHF Group. While we know we can't turn in scores like the folks in California or New England, we always set out to have maximum fun and to try to set new goals for ourselves. This year was no different- there's a devout group within the RVHFG who are playing (almost exclusively) with the bands at and above 10GHz. Our goal this year was to finally make VUCC on 47GHz- we'd been stuck at 4 grids apiece for about a year. From Western NY, the best opportunity to get grid #5 on 47GHz is across Lake Ontario- even though it's a major body of water and the path loss associated with damp air is a limiting factor at 47GHz, it's also the shortest path to the 5th grid square. On Saturday of the first weekend, myself, W2DYY, and N2EZS set up in FN02xu (Transit Rd), southwest of Rochester- a great site- high and clear in many directions (especially across the lake)- and the location where we've all gotten our first 4 grids on 47GHz. Saturday was damp, so the decision was to plan on the 47GHz attempt on Sunday, which was forecast to be cooler and much drier. On Saturday, we maximized our efforts locally on 24 and 47, and worked plenty of DX on 10 from that site. My personal best DX was AF1T on Block Island (FN41ee- 561km), with me running only 1W. Thanks to the crew of NE8I, K3SIW, and WA8VPD for their efforts to work us from Lake Erie- that was great, guys! So, Saturday ended with all of us feeling pretty satisfied, but knowing the big test was Sunday.
Sunday morning at FN02xu looked grim- fog and drizzle, so I had my doubts about 47GHz. But, John WB2BYP headed for the site in Canada- FN04xa, East of Toronto. By the time he got there, the air had cleared and the haze of the day before was gone- the humidity was much lower and there was a brisk breeze. That day, only W2DYY and I were at the FN02 site. Signals from WB2BYP on 24GHz were extremely strong (on the pin), so we immediately went to 47GHz and found John's dashes quickly. Two quick QSO's later, W2DYY and I had completed our VUCC on 47GHz! We were easily able to talk John into going to the next grid to the East (FN14aa) to try it again. He went there, got set up, and the same thing- easy QSO's on 47GHz! Call them "insurance contacts". Needless to say, everyone was extremely elated, and now we had the confidence that the path could be made (numerous attempts before had been unsuccessful- only one other time had signals been heard on 47GHz across the lake). So, Russ (W2DYY) and I agreed that the second weekend would be our turn to go across, in order to give the rest of the group a shot at the 5th and 6th grids on the band. I had also decided that whichever day we DIDN'T go to Canada, I'd go to a different location on this side- FN12hr (Gannett Hill), which has a great shot towards New England. I took my QRO 10GHz station- 40W TWT and 2' dish, to be the beacon on the band and get people to point our way. That day turned out to be Saturday- again, the forecast for Sunday was better (from a 47GHz perspective) than Saturday. W2DYY, N2EZS, and K0SM/2 agreed to join me there, and when we got to the top of Gannett Hill on Saturday, we were enveloped in heavy fog. The picture I've included shows the rigs, set up and waiting for a bit of clearing- W2DYY on your left in the photo, K2DH next, K0SM/2 next, and N2EZS on your right. The very first station worked on 10GHz that morning was K1TEO- nice signal, Jeff! Next was the group of NS1O, AF1T, and W1MKY on Martha's Vineyard (FN41oi), for my best DX of the contest at 564km. Then Dave K1WHS, and later the groups on Block Island and Mt. Wachusett. Still later, there were reports of some rainscatter and we took advantage of that, working N2UO on random and the crew on Martha's Vineyard again- this time on SSB! (Note: W2DYY runs 0.5W, K0SM runs about 2W, and I believe they both completed with AF1T et al on SSB).
Sunday, W2DYY and I headed for FN04xa/FN14aa. We got there by about 1400Z and were on the air by 1430. We tried with WB2BYP (in FN02vu) on 47, but no joy at that time. So, we agreed that we'd wait a bit and try later, as the air continued to clear and dry out. In the meantime, we worked some of the VE's that were around and the guys in our group on the lower bands (10 and 24 Gigs). At 1658Z, WO2P in FN02xu was the first to hear us on 47GHz and we quickly completed with Fred. Next was N2EZS (who, in spite of having the same equipment as the rest of us, had the loudest 47GHz signal). Next was WB2BYP, and we completed easily with him, too. (Note: having your 47GHz dashes played back on the 2m liaison frequency is pretty exciting- plus, it does allow one to peak their dish before listening for the other station). So now, two of the three guys at FN02 had VUCC on the band- WO2P and N2EZS. WB2BYP still needed one more, so off we went to FN14aa to make that happen. Russ and I got there and were set up quickly. In less than an hour from the time we made our last QSO in FN04xa, we had completed with the guys from FN14aa, including WB2BYP, who now had his 5th grid on 47 and VUCC! We tore down and headed for Rochester, a four hour drive away- tired but extremely pleased.
All I can say is, what a blast! My gear all worked flawlessly over both weekends, and as a group, we accomplished all the goals we set out to make- we had stirred up quite a bit of activity locally, and gotten alot of folks to point our way, as well as now having completed FIVE VUCC's on 47GHz!
I ended with my best-ever score: 54 QSO's, 37 unique callsigns on three bands, and 9705 distance points for a total score of over 13k. I believe it's the first time anyone has scored over 10k points from Western NY in this contest.
Keep your ears open for us- we promise more next year!
Dave K2DH -- K2DH