This year's 10 GHz & up contest was again a lot of fun. I operated both weekends from four different locations, on 10 GHz only.

I started on August 19 from Camelback mountain, (Tannersville, PA), FN21HB. Fellow Packrat Rick K1DS joined me from the opposite side of the parking lot. He had a good 2 meter station and took care of the liaison most of the time. I ended up with 17 QSOs, including K1WHS at 446 km. The weather was very nice.

On Sunday August 20, I went to Sandy Hook, NJ (FN30AJ), and operated from a parking lot right by the shore. I had a nice shot to New England, but certainly plenty of obstructions in all other directions, particularly to the south due to the Atlantic Highlands. Interestingly, I worked Russ, K2TXB, with very good signals beaming into the mountains (knife-edge diffraction?), and K2SMN bouncing the signal off an SUV parked not far from my dish. Jim, K2KIB, was also operating from the same parking lot, so he helped out with the 2 meter liaison and when my car battery went flat. I worked 10 stations from there. The weather forecast was wrong and the thunderstorms never happened.

On September 16, I decided to try a new location that I only surveyed with Google Earth. It was a nice parking lot by the shore in FM29VS, Barnegat, NJ. I was lucky again to have Rick K1DS operating near my station helping out again with the liaison on 2 meters. I worked 14 stations from there, including N1FOJ for a 435 km QSO.

Finally, on September 17 I operated from High Point, NJ (FN21QH). This was the worst place in terms of obstructions, since there are trees and shrubs all around, plus the hill where the monument is located. Nevertheless, I managed to make 21 QSOs. My own 2 meter liaison worked quite well due to the very high location.

So far, this was my best 10 GHz contest score, in spite of having no rainscatter or enhanced conditions. I worked 28 unique calls, and a total of 62 QSOs. My homebrew 10 GHz equipment worked very well. K1DS and I are seriously thinking about going to North Carolina next year. Signals from the stations on Block Is. and Martha's Vineyard are so strong (20 or 30 dB over 9 on SSB) that I am sure we can work them on CW from further distance. We need to find two suitable locations to operate a complete weekend.

73, Marc