11/05/2009 | VE3FN On 10 GHz, I use a DB6NT transverter and pre-amp. My 12 Watt power amplifier is from DL2AM and my antenna is a 2-foot dish.

This year I added a 24 GHz station based on a DB6NT transverter, LO (PLL locked), and pre-amp. The power amp is from Toshiba and it runs about 1 Watt output. The antenna is an 18 dish. I would like to give special thanks to Mike N1JEZ and Henry KT1J who kindly gave me some key components and Paul W2PED who tuned my waveguide filter. I would also like to thank Wayne VE3CZO for helping with much of the construction especially those areas requiring steady hands.

I enter the contest simply to have fun! I enjoy working longer paths and really don't care very much about getting a high score. So while the sites from which I operate are quite good, they are off the beaten path thus greatly limiting the possible number of QSOs (only 18 this year). However, all of them are over fairly long paths. To illustrate, on 10 GHz, the shortest path I worked was 215 km and the longest was 490 km. The average path length worked was about 357 km.

I again operated from 4 sites in eastern Ontario and western Quebec during the contest. The first is a hilltop in FN25bl, a little north west of my Ottawa home and just inside Quebec (VE2). Everything must be carried in to this site. The second is the 2800 foot summit of Mont Tremblant, Quebec (FN26rf) and access is via a gondola lift. The third is at the top of a small hill in Numogate Ontario (FN14xw) while the fourth is from the top of a hill in Foymount Ontario (FN15ik).

Foymount was the site of a military radar station in the former Pinetree line. I understand that at over 1700 feet ASL, it is the highest populated location in Ontario. The hamlet is built on the north side of the hill and, as you might imagine, it has good shots to the north. But from the top of the hill, there are also good shots in all other directions if you move around a little.

I believe that all 5 of the QSOs we worked from Numogate FN14xw (afternoon of Sunday Aug 16) were on rain scatter my first experience with that mode. Signals on the first QSO (KA1OJ) had the distinctive hiss that is usually associated with rain scatter. And signals peaked on the direct path.

But signals from the other four I worked (on Mount Washington) were strong (I was able to work all on SSB, including K1LPS who was running about 250 milliwatts) and lacked any hiss or distortion on the 383 km path. However, while they were beaming the direct path to me, I heard no signal from them when I listened on the direct path -- their signals peaked when I pointed my antenna about 25 degrees north of the direct path. This suggests that there was a bounce near my end. But there is no tall man-made structure in the direction I pointed. However, there were clouds.

My second personal first was that I made my first (and, so far, only) contact on 24 GHz on the second Saturday (Sept 19) when I worked N1JEZ on Mount Mansfield (FN34om) while I was operating from the summit of Mont Tremblant (FN26rf). Mike had a very good signal on SSB over the 234 km path. The first Saturday, I had tried to work N1JEZ on Mount Mansfield when I was operating from FN25bl. Even though signals on 10 GHz were very strong, the longer path (256 km) combined with high humidity killed our attempt.

I was very glad to work Dave K2DH on 10 GHz. The Rochester gang gave me my first ever contacts on 10 GHz a few years ago. I missed hearing them last year and I am very happy that K2DH operated during the second weekend. In fact, he was my only QSO that Sunday!

My thanks to VE3XK who helped me throughout the contest, and to VE3AAQ and VE3CZO who assisted on one day of the contest.

73

Ray Perrin -- VE3FN