Michelle Thompson, W5NYV

w5nyv@yahoo.com

This premier microwave conference brought the cutting edge of microwave technology to an enthusiastic group of hams.

Cerritos, California was the site for this year’s Microwave Update. Held at the Sheraton Hotel on October 21-24, this remarkable amateur microwave event attracted over 150 ham radio operators from around the world and focused on amateur communications from 300 MHz to 300 GHz.

For those able to arrive on a chilly, overcast and drizzly Thursday morning, there was a choice of activities. Conference attendees could go on an area surplus tour or take a tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I chose JPL.

The tour began with a video presentation of JPL’s milestones in planetary exploration. Each side of the theater was lined with large models of recent and historical spacecraft. At 10:21 AM, while we were in the JPL museum, an earthquake drill interrupted us. Called the Great California Shakeout, this annual event seeks to raise awareness of earthquake safety and preparation. Stern warnings on the PA system ordered us outside. We calmly evacuated the building and were directed to the parking lot where we waited for the all clear.

The 5000 employees of JPL gradually joined us as their buildings were emptied and orange-vested volunteer “floor wardens” checked that everyone was present and accounted for. Coworkers greeted each other and held impromptu conferences. The end of the drill was marked by the sizable crowd moving back into the buildings to resume the work day. While walking back to the next stop on the tour, we saw several smaller-scale drills with practice triage exercises. Volunteers acting as casualties were given patient assessments and then treated by drill participants. There were patients on backboards being moved to a staging area and ambulances being loaded in the alley.

After winding our way through what felt like the set of a disaster movie, we resumed our tour in the Mars Science Laboratory, where we saw the next Mars rover being assembled in a clean room. For a look, go to the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Web page and follow the links to the clean room Web cam.

This tour of JPL was kindly arranged by Pete Lyman, K6PTL, a member of the San Bernardino Microwave Group who happens to be a former deputy director at JPL. Through his efforts, and with the logistics support of Tony Long, KC6QHP, 40 conference attendees were able to tour JPL’s science labs and attend several highly detailed technical presentations.

One of the presentations concerned a major refurbishment of the azimuth races on the 70 meter dishes belonging to the Deep Space Network. Repair of such a large structure is an art unto itself. The descriptions of the problem solving and the compelling narration of the efforts were amazing. These 70 meter dishes are going to be replaced with pairs of 34 meter dishes over the next several years. They will continue to be used for radio astronomy research after they are retired from the front-line Deep Space Network infrastructure.

Getting Down to Business

Conference talks began on Friday morning and continued through Saturday afternoon. Between talks were numerous auctions of microwave-related equipment and tantalizing previews of the prizes to be awarded at the Saturday evening banquet.

The variety and quality of the talks was very high, with several extremely entertaining presentations. Tony, KC6QHP, described his 47 GHz transverter. He shared his experiences constructing his transverter with bare monolithic microwave ICs (MMICs), pronounced “mimics,” and gave results from his experiments in making the physical connections to the MMICs. These integrated circuits provide mixing, amplification, low-noise amplification and switching functions at microwave frequencies.

Unlike other packaged ICs, the MMICs that Tony used for this project don’t have a protective package with large pads for soldering. Tony developed a series of tools and used advanced techniques, including wire bonding, to cut the dies and connect them to other parts of the circuit. See this article for details about his diamond saw and other construction techniques. Tony used both traditional machine tooling as well as electronic discharge machining in the construction of his rig. An extremely attractive design, Tony’s transverter sparked a lot of conversation.

Walter Clark, a nonham, presented a two part program that summarized efforts to repeat all the major optical physics experiments in the microwave bands. The most enthusiastic response was given to a simple apparatus that clearly demonstrated different types of polarization. Those who have ever slogged through a college physics lab, with two-slit experiments and diffraction gratings, found this presentation to be a real delight, as all those old familiar experiments were repurposed into an Amateur Radio context.

Kent Britain, WA5VJB, gave a whirlwind tour of very early radio electronics. While most radio operators in the room were familiar with the frequently recited narrative of early spark gap experiments, Kent uncovered new territory by focusing on the important and often overlooked contributions of Indian scientist J. C. Bose. Bose demonstrated radio transmission in 1896 in Calcutta in front of the British Governor General. The 3 mile transmission was impressive enough that he was invited to repeat his demonstration to the Royal Society in London in 1899. Bose was offered the position of Professor at Cambridge, but he declined. It is believed that Guglielmo Marconi, who was present at the meeting of the Society, stole Bose’s notebook. Marconi’s coherer, introduced in 1901, was (coincidentally?) an exact copy of that of Bose.

Kent also gave a presentation on the many different types of waveguides. His examples ranged from the very small to the extremely large; from the humble and simple to the gloriously complex. The stories behind many of his photographs were ample proof of an extremely interesting career and adept storytelling talent.

Another nonham presenter was Dr Cam Nguyen. He found out about Microwave Update while on the Web, realized he’d be in town visiting relatives on the same weekend as the conference and offered to give his talk about “Ultra Wideband CMOS Antennas and Transmitters.”

Expecting a crowd similar to an industry group composed of people paid to be interested in this sort of work, he was astounded to find that everyone in the room passionately pursues microwave radio engineering as their hobby. His talk was well received. It generated several questions from the audience, which included a quick and productive dialogue between Dr Nguyen and Kent, WA5VJB, about his approach to limiting power levels. The theme of academia being impressed with the work presented at Microwave Update was touched upon several times during the conference.

Swapping and Swinging

A large private swap meet was held Friday night in the main ballroom. The tables that had so recently held laptops, conference proceedings, notebooks and pencils, now held large cardboard boxes full of all kinds of microwave treasures. Entire systems were for sale, including one regionally infamous rig known as Junior. This rig, a 10 GHz portable with dish on a tripod, managed to injure her owner at the swap meet with a well-placed scrape to the chin. While many of us anthropomorphize our radios, this one sure seemed to be showing the spirit. Other offerings at the swap meet included a variety of test equipment, reels of wire, cables, fixtures, components and anonymous small gray boxes of unknown lineage. The scent of machined aluminum and dust grunge filled the air.

At the conclusion of a presentation by Tom Williams, WA1MBA, on his ongoing efforts to build and operate a 78 GHz station, Jeff Kruth, WA3KZR, stood and declared that in his work with radio astronomers, the scientists were often astounded and impressed with the quality and ambition of the amateur microwave community. Jeff emphasized that the level of achievement by the participants at Microwave Update was appreciated and acknowledged by those outside of Amateur Radio. A rousing ovation followed. There was no better way to close the conference than with those celebratory and inspiring words.

After a brief break, during which a hardworking team of volunteers led by Tisza Posner, KI6DBR, decorated the banquet hall, the doors opened for dinner. As the conference attendees and guests, in their Sunday best, filed into the hall, over 1000 prizes awaited them arrayed on a long series of folding tables at the edge of the spacious room.

Yes, that’s right, there were over 1000 prizes. Almost everyone at the conference was assured of walking away with multiple treasures. All you had to do was show up at the banquet. The more persevering banqueters stayed up to claim the last batch of prizes at 9:45 PM. The final auction was for a cake, made by Tisza, expertly formed in the shape of a Yaesu FT-817 transceiver. The grand prize, an Agilent N9430B portable spectrum analyzer, was won midway through the evening by a very joyful Jeff Fort, KN6VR, a member of the San Bernardino Microwave Society.

The guest speaker, Dr Kate Hudson of JPL, spoke about California earthquakes, compared and contrasted the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti to the May 2010 earthquake in Chile and discussed the motivation for and participation in the Great California Shakeout.

Up on the Roof

The Sunday morning activity was antenna testing, headed up by Kerry, N6IZW, and Lee, KDØIF. The far end of the antenna test range was on top of the hotel looking down into the parking lot. Greg Bailey, K6QPV, and Ed Munn, W6OYJ, handily managed this lofty perch. The other side, with the measurement equipment, was set up in the parking lot, along with the public swap meet. I was able to test my new-to-me 3 GHz and 5 GHz rigs, which I had purchased from Pat Coker, N6RMJ. Pat was the chair of Microwave Update for 2010 and worked tirelessly throughout the conference to make absolutely sure that things went well, that everything got done on time and participants were satisfied with the event. He did this with unwavering good cheer and his customary gruff charm.

The rigs had been tested the day before in the indoor lab that the San Bernardino Microwave Society had set up for the conference. This lab, open throughout the conference and available to all attendees, provided testing for frequency stability, gain, power and output spectra for almost any amateur microwave band. Dave Glawson, WA6CGR, and Mel Swanberg, WA6JBD, set up, managed and staffed the temporary laboratory. Dave also served as auctioneer between presentations throughout Friday and Saturday. Their efforts provided access to advanced test equipment that very few amateurs own.

Now, backlit by the gentle warmth of the sun on a beautiful October morning, the rigs were tested for antenna gain. The only troublesome result for me was the gain of the 5 GHz dish being lower than expected. The consensus of the antenna range team was that the feed should be investigated.

Throughout the conference, activities for families of conference participants were offered. Highlights included a visit to the Nixon Presidential Library, an enjoyable sojourn down the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, a tour of the Santa Monica Pier, a fun and fancy tea party and several luncheons. During the Friday evening swap meet, the family program provided several tables of delightful gifts and clothing for sale from local shops and businesses. This program, hosted by Tisza, was extremely well received.

As with any large and successful event, many more people than the few mentioned here were responsible for the success of the conference.

On the Move

Microwave Update 2011 will be in Connecticut. In 2012 or 13, Microwave Update will come to Morehead University’s Space Science Center, in Kentucky. Check the Microwave Update Web site for details on future conferences. The intent of the groups that volunteer to host Microwave Update is to make it as accessible geographically as possible by rotating the region of the country where the conference is held.

Conferences such as Microwave Update provide some of the best social experiences in Amateur Radio. They offer a way to meet people who care deeply about the same Amateur Radio activities that you are interested in. In the case of amateur microwave, the field is somewhat small. In most areas of the country, there may not be any groups dedicated to the microwave bands. There may not seem to be any other operators. It is a tremendous opportunity and extremely inspiring to come to an event such as Microwave Update, where the Amateur Radio values of collaboration, support and encouragement are so generously shared.

Photos by Michelle, W5NYV, except as noted.

Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, an ARRL Life Member, enjoys thinking and doing, but not necessarily in that order. She has an MSEE from the University of Southern California in Information Theory. She enjoys working with software-defined radios, digital signal processing and field-programmable gate arrays, and actively participates in amateur microwave activities. Michelle edits Scope, the Palomar Amateur Radio Club newsletter and serves as an ARRL volunteer examiner. She can be reached at 5379 Carmel Knolls Dr, San Diego, CA 92130-3207.