Here are some certificates that well known club member and VHF-UHF and higher bands contestor Graeme VK2QJ has been awarded.
Results for the SARC Station VK2SRC/P on the John Moyle Memorial Field Day and VHF-UHF Field Days have been updated on the CONTESTS page.
Quite an achievement, great work Graeme and the club station.
MAD DAY (Microwave Activity Day)
Sunday 24th was set aside for another Microwave Activity Day. Andrew VK2XI and Paul VK2AMT joined up at St Helena. We were joined by Kevin VK4UH and Colin VK4UV. Kevin and Colin are active members of the Brisbane VHF Group and Andrew and I were very grateful that they came down to join us for some Microwave fun.
Andrew’s new setup for 5.7gHz, a Yaesu FT817 driving a 23cm transverter which also drives a 5.7gHz transverter into a panel antenna.
The weather at St Helena was much the same as we have had for weeks. Fresh south easterly winds driving showers onto the coast and nearby hills. The plan was to set up 10gHz and 24gHz which Kevin and Colin had brought down to test signals down to Graeme VK2QJ who was set up on Vista Point.
Kevin testing the path down to Graeme QJ at Vista Point on 10gHz.
The initial setup to align the dishes was done with CW followed by USB. There was a rapid flutter on the signals which made readability near zero. Kevin soon diagnosed this as the effect of rain scatter. A slight adjustment to the dish position avoided the worst of the showers and Q5 readability was achieved. A test was made on 24gHz but the weather absorbed and scattered the signals, so that didn’t work. Andrew’s 5.7gHz signal was received well by Graeme but his signal was too weak to be read from St Helena. Col put up a very basic 10gHz dish antenna and this received CW from Vista Point, over 196 k’s so that was very good. Col said that a dish antenna would produce a much stronger signal than the panel antenna Andrew was using. We were showed the centre of a dish antenna which supports multiple feeds, different bands on the same dish. Amazing. We decided to move to Scarrabelotti’s Lookout, along the Coolamon Scenic Drive, for more testing.
Andrew successfully using 5.7gHz from Scarrabelotti’s Lookout to Vista Point both ways, between the rain showers!
Graeme QJ said that the signals from the lookout were 4 -5 S points better to Vista Point than the St Helena spot, so guess where Andrew will be setting up in future? It was disappointing that the 24gHz effort didn’t work, but considering the horrid weather and that we were transmitting into rain clouds, it was very satisfactory all round. Kevin and Col didn’t set up at the lookout but there was enough gap between the showers for Andrew to prove that his 5.7gHz gear worked. Andrew was a very happy operator. Graeme QJ was very pleased also that the two locations’ radio paths were tested and his 10 and 24gHz systems were field tested. A very successful Mad Day considering the conditions. Thanks again for Kevin and Col for coming down from Brisbane to join us. Andrew and I were very appreciative
de Paul VK2AMT
More microwave MADNESS from Graeme VK2QJ
Thanks to Col VK4UV and Kevin VK4UH for making the trip down to Northern NSW. A great day out Saturday at the OARC Hamfest with Kevin, Col and Graham VK2BWC. Saturday afternoon we tested my 24ghz system against Col’s known working unit, followed by a short 150m contact. Sunday morning we completed a 17km contact from The Pinnacles to Waterview Heights. We then made our way to Graham’s place for morning tea.
Col and Kevin headed to Meerschaum Vale, Graham and I headed to Maclean Lookout to try a 67km contact. Things didn’t look great once we arrived at site, the rain had moved in between both locations. We set up to give it a go anyway. I put up some Morse, much to our surprise, shortly after Col confirmed he was receiving it, he then sent Morse back and I peaked on his signal. We changed to SSB, there was Col S7-8 & my signal was similar. Kevin and Graham also completed contacts. We switched to DStar with S8-9 signals both ways. A great result considering the rain in the path. Thank Kevin, Col and Graham for a great first test of my 24ghz system.
Graeme VK2QJ