10 GHz portable station

I dipped a toe into 10 GHz operation recently. I had all the pieces for a station, but finally got around to putting them together and taking them out.

I heard that some 10 GHz operators were going to be on Block Island, just East of Long Island for the 1st part of the 10 GHz and up contest on the weekend of August 17. I decided to give it a go. I ended up on the very north end of the boardwalk in Atlantic City on a foggy Saturday morning. Phone calls were made, and the initial contact was completed on 10 GHz CW! Of course, Atlantic City decided to place a large machine 50 yards from me with a loud back up beeper while I was trying to copy code.

That contact was about 190 miles on 10 GHz with 400 mW into a dish. That was pretty cool.

I planned to do the second weekend of the 10 GHz contest (Sept 21) again in Atlantic City, but I needed a spot with a better viewpoint. Since I don't have any relatives who own casinos to operate from the roof, I had to look around. Four miles north of AC is a town called Brigantine. At the very north end of it is a 2 story bird watching platform. The view of the horizon is spectacular! (see pictures) Its 6 digit grid square is FM29TK.

I copied operators on 10 GHz on Block Island and Martha's Vineyard on SSB with +9 signals! Then I spun the antenna around and talked with Ray. (the close ones are always the toughest) I also pointed at Camelback Mountain and made contacts there.

Sunday morning, I moved down to Wildwood, NJ to FM28OX. I set up on one of the paths to the beach, over the dune. It worked great! Again, S9 signals to Block Island and Martha's Vineyard.

I closed out the day at cape May, NJ. (FM28MW) Since I was on the west side of the peninsula, there was no shot to the North, but I did make CW contacts to some guys at Blue Knob Ski Resort, just south of Altoona, PA. That was a 212 mile shot, with the first 26 miles being over the water for me.

I have a 4 watt amp that needs modified for 10 GHz. That's way down on the to do list. For now, the 400 mW works great!

This is a panaramic view from 8 photos stitched together. Far left is South west. Far right is North east. Directly south is Brigantine and Atlantic City, with lots of houses and buildings. The line to Ray, N3RG, goes through some of the houses on the left side of the picture. Camelback mountain is center, and Block Island /Martha's Vineyard are off to the right.

Ok, ok, the flat earth thing was a joke. :-)

Wildwood, NJ, location on the beach! FM28OX I had a few curious people asking questions, and even someone wanting to know if I had the Eagles game on.

The scenery was much better than what you normally see operating on a mountaintop.

S9+ signals up to Block Island and Martha's Vineyard. I think we could have switched over to FM.