It was a VERY busy weekend (Part 3 Mt Ste Marie Microwave Contest)

Continued from Part 2…

Made it home by about 1015pm and then tried to get some sleep because the Mount Ste Marie Microwave DXPedition started early (way too early) on Sunday Morning but thats for Part 3…

The alarm on my phone woke me up at 6am BC (Before Coffee) and I stumbled around getting ready.  On the bright side the kit bag was still packed from yesterday’s use at Britannia (see part 1) and Kemptville (see part 2) so I knew it was all good to go…

I made a coffee and turned the handheld on the VE2CRA Repeater and waited for the call from VE3XRA Glenn telling me that he was getting close and I should head out to the parking lot…  I had already heard from Dave VE3TLY who was going to meet us in Wakefield (at the Timmies) and Martin VA3SIE who was going to pick up Tom VA2EPR (you might remember Tom from my last Foymount DXPedition back in April 2012) and also meet us at Wakefield…

View Larger Map

Just before 7am I heard from Glenn and by 7am we were on our way to Mt. Ste Marie QC to participate in the ARRL Microwave Contest.

The map does not show everything…  The roads from Ottawa to the ski hill are great….  The road from the bottom of the ski hill to the top of the mountain are less than stellar…  I would describe it as a “Rough Trail that is covered with rocks (to avoid washouts in the rain) and those rocks are roughly between the size of golf balls and softballs… If you happen to spin your wheels on the road you will just dig in and although its easy to get unstuck and go backwards down the hill its very hard to get moving forward again unless you are driving a 4 X 4.

Above Photo courtesy VA3SIE/VA2EPR– This pic shows Martin on the hike down but pay attention to the path/road.  This was about AS GOOD AS IT GOT…  The rest is in much worse shape…

Glenn’s station wagon made it about 3/4 of the way up the hill before we had to park it on the side of the trail but thank goodness that Dave owned a Jeep and it made it the rest of the way with the gear although I had to hike up the last km with my gear…

Above Photo Courtesy VA3SIE/VA2EPR-  Shows who/what we share the summit with… 

There was some 2m intermod issues even though the towers were behind the beam but it was not that bad

The only reason I can see for the road is so the Techs that service the massive amount of electrical gear on the towers at the top so I guess they all drive 4 Wheel Drive vehicles of some sort…

Anyway it did take us a bit longer than expected to get up and to get set up but finally we were setting up the gear at the GAZEBO (how did they lug the wood up there?) at the summit…

Above Photo- VA3QV- Showing the marker at the summit… (First time I have ever seen one close and personal)

For those of you who are interested in Summits of the Air (SOTA) Stuff this peak was VE2-OU-001 if I remember correctly from working them in a previous DXPedition

Above Photo – VA3QV- Shows the the antennas at the Gazebo-  Orange Pole (far left) 88 foot doublet for HF, then the 24 GHZ Dish, then the 10 GHZ Dish and then if you look very carefully on the rt hand side you might see the 2m beam we used to arrange contacts.  More on that later…

It did not take that long to get the 10 GHZ and the 24 GHZ stations up and running although it seems we did have a problem with the 10 GHZ station which had to be fixed.  Fortunately it was corrected in time that we could make our only contact of the day.

The Operators

VE3TLY (L) and VE3XRA (R)  (photo VA3SIE/VA2EPR)

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VA3SIE (photo VA2EPR)

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VA3QV (photo VA3SIE/VA2EPR)

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VA2EPR (photo VA3SIE)

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So now let me try and explain how this thing works… remember this is from a Newbie’s eyes….

You aim your 2m beam towards the area you think you might hear one of the participants.  There are not that many microwave types out there so being a small group you tend to know everyone it seems…

Once you make contact on 2m you exchange grid squares so you know exactly what heading to aim your dish at.  Both parties do this…

Station “A” then sends a long series of dashes via cw so station “B” can adjust slightly the bearing of his dish to get the best possiable signal…

Above photo (VA3SIE/VA2EPR) shows VE3TLY watching VE3XRA as he adjusts the position of the dish while trying to make a 10 GHZ contact

Station “B” then sends a long series of dashes via cw so Station “A” can adjust slightly the bearing of his dish to get the best possiable signal…

Going on the assumption the two stations have successfully heard the other stations dashes then they either have their microwave contact in either CW or SSB depending on the quality of the signal and the equipment….  The contest exchange is the qrid square  ( ours was FN25bw) the 5/9 signal report (it is a contest right?)   You also exchange some social comments as you have the time as the pileups are small…

Our one contact was with station on Mt Mansfield (FN34) which was a distance of approx 300 kms from Mt Ste Marie.  The contact was initiated on 2m ssb and then was successfully completed on 10GHZ.  We also tried on 24 GHZ but had no luck on that band.  In our defense we did work about 10 station on 2m ssb in attempts to get a 10 GHZ or a 24 GHZ contact but although we could do it on 2m …  the higher band contacts eluded us…  As in any contest a bit of luck is often needed…

And yes… You did hear me use the term “Newbie”…  Sunday was the first time in over 20 years as an Amateur that I have ever concidered operating a Microwave station.  I’m still trying to get a feel for the whole process…  I enjoyed the very low stress side of the contest…  It makes the RAC Canada Contests seem hectic in comparision…  I enjoyed being able to chat with my fellow station operators…

Above- The circle at the bottom of the picture shows the Gazebo where we operated from.  The Square shows the parking spot we had the Jeep in and the line between is the 200m approx of the trail which I mentioned below thatI really found hard going…  I guess is a sign of things to come…

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I did not enjoy the hike up (especally the last200m or so which was more of a climb than my body wanted to do.

The younger (lighter) operators were going like mountain goats and well…

I felt a bit self consious and if we had been going further I would of felt I was holding them back…

Next time I should take the elevator…

But its all a learning experience…  And I learned that I am not in as good shape as I thought I was and I also learned when to say no…  That sould of been before I started the last 200m…

However the view was worth all the pain the next day…

Above Photo- VA3SIE/VA2EPR

So sorry about all the pictures and the more rambling than usual but I did enjoy myself and the scenery (as you can tell was just fantastic).  If I could borrow a 4X4 I would love to get up there when the leaves finish turning but….  definately no climbing or hiking…

Thanks to VE3EMB, VA3SIE and VA2EPR for the photos provided in all 3 segments….

Well between Part 1 – Part 2 & Part 3 you now know more than you wanted/needed to  about my weekend…  but how was yours?

73bob

RAC Bulletin 2012-24E – New Deputy Director Ontario North/East 2012-04-20

The following was received via the RAC Bulletin Service and is posted in an attempt to keep the Amateur Radio Community informed…

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RAC Bulletin 2012-24E – New Deputy Director Ontario North/East 2012-04-20

I am pleased to announce that Glenn MacDonell, VE3XRA of Ottawa has agreed to become the new Deputy Director for Radio Amateurs of Canada, North East Ontario Region.
He obtained his Basic Amateur certificate with honours in 2008 and obtained his Advanced Amateur certification in 2009. He has been interested in Amateur Radio since the late 1950′s and participating in a couple of Field Days with the Kingston ARC in the early 1960′s.
Once Glenn obtained his license he joined several Ottawa clubs and started to take a leadership role in the Ottawa ARC. In 2011 he was elected president, a position he continues to hold. He led the team that made presentations the Ottawa city council regarding amateur radio exemptions from the municipal public consultation process for antenna systems which was completed successfully in March 2012.
Glenn enjoys operating on the bands from 160 m to 70 cm using various modes of communications. He participates in public service, assisting in the Canadian Ski Marathon 2010, 11, 12, and as net control on local HF and VHF (SSB) nets. He also dabbles on microwave bands from 2.4GHz to 24 GHz during ARRL VHF and microwave contests.
During his working career he was employed by the Federal Government in various departments as diverse as Environment to Foreign Affairs. He was also an advisor on industrial development and international cooperation related to Canada’s space program (Space Station, RADARSAT 1 and RADARSAT 2, space science and satellite telecommunications).
Glenn will bring administration, innovation and management skills to RAC and I am looking forward to working with him as part of the North’East Ontario team.
Glenn can be reached via email at ve3xra@rac.ca
Bill Unger VE3XT North East Ontario Regional Director Radio Amateurs of Canada
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Vernon Ikeda – VE2MBS/VE2QQ Pointe-Claire, Québec RAC Blog Editor/RAC E-News/Web News Bulletin Editor

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Speaking on a personal level.  I’ve had dealings with Glenn on several different occasions and I must agree with Bill on this one.  He did pick the right person for the job…  Eastern Ontario will be well served with today’s announcement

Thank You Bill and CONGRATS to Glenn

73bob

Playing in Weston Park (Day 2)

It was a bit of late start this am….  The fog finally burned up at 0830 and I left the house at 0845 (EDST) and walked over to Weston Park.  Same radio gear as yesterday but the Par end Fed was left at home and my homebrewed W3EDP antenna came out for some fresh air…

Although there seem to be many diffierent variations of the W3EDP the main part is a 84 foot radiator and a 17 foot counterpoise joined by a 4:1 balun.  This configuration will work on 10m to 160m if you use a good tuner with it.  I have had exceptional luck with the LDG Brand of Auto tuners and I think they could load up wet string if they had to…  I have had very good luck with the following design of W3EDP.  I run the 17 foot counterpoise beside the 84 foot radiator as if it was ladder line.  This in effect gives you an 84 foot end fed long wire and this makes it very easy to set up and very veresatile to deploy in the field…

Ignore the timewave ANC4, LDG and FT847 and think of a FT817 with the LDG QRP Autotuner instead 

I have made this antenna with  84 feet of 300 ohm twin lead with a notch cut on one side after 17 feet,  I have used 17 feet of 450 ohm ladder line then added 67 feet of insulated automotive wire on one side and I have also just run the 17 foot counterpoise paraell to the radiator and kept them seperated with spreaders which gave it the effect of home brewed ladder feed line…  All three have worked well for me and I find using the 300 ohm twin lead model the easiest to build and deploy but thats just my choice…

I got the antenna set up in a sloper configuration  running from the south east at about 30 feet to the park bench I was sitting on at about 3 feet above ground.  The LDG 4:1 balun was being fed by a 5 foot long RG8X cable.

As I mentioned earlier it is versatile.  It has the same features of a dipole if you run it at hight.  If you keep it lower it acts like a NVIS antenna and if you run it as a sloper then it is slightly directional…  3 antenna all in one package…  Plus the ease to deploy as its an end fed…

At 0915 I got on the air and made my first contact (of a few) on 80m.  I started out on 3.768 and checked with Paul VA3PC who is the Net Control Station of the North Bay Net.  I got there just before the net closed but I did get some expected signal reports fro the net participants…  Signal a bit lower than usual (not at home with 100e) but the audio was good.  As any QRP operator will tell you if they can hear you …  That s the important thing…

At 0930 I slipped down to 3.755 and joined the ONTARS Net.  The NCS was VE3HA Gord who lives in Oro Ontario.  Without looking at Googlemaps let me remind you thats in the Barrie Ontario.  I had a couple of minute chat with Gord and then also with Cliff VA3CAF from Trenton Ontario who was one of the net participatnts…

There is a local net here in Ottawa on 80m on 3.760 and I wanted to check into that and say hi to the locals…  The net started at 10am and VE3EJJ Ernie was the NCS Station…  He was a solid S9 to my location and he gave me a good report as well.  Other Ottawa participants were VE3GX Ed, Glenn VE3XRA, VE3NPO and Norm VE3LC.  Good reports were exchanged with these stations with Ed and Glenn living within 3kms of the park I was operating from.  Other participant were Mike VA3TJP from Braeside Ontario and K2JAF Jim from Utica NY.  Jim was a little light with me and he never did give me a report so…Did he even hear me???

Anyway around 1045 things closed up and it was time to pack up and head home…  The park was starting to get other people in it and part of my sloper was in an area that could impede traffic as people were walking around…  It was not a problems at 930 but at 1030 it could start to be one…  Before I left I spun the dial and checked the other bands…  10m to 20m seemed fairly poor to me and I did hear some activity on 40m but there were not calling CQ or calling for check ins so I let them continue with their conversations and just packed up…

You might call todays event more of a COMMS exercise as I managed contacts all around North Eastern Ontario and it was all on 80m…  It was also fun…  If the WX guess for tomorrow is accurate then I’ll be back in the park with the PAR trying for some DX in the early afternoon

73bob