[MAMS] Sept weekend 10 ghz contest

[Zack Widup]

I took Friday off from work (I have quite a few vacation days left)
and drove to Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

Garry K3SIW and I stayed at the Village Inn on the Lake in Two Rivers,
WI on Friday night. We were just a few rooms apart. We went to Point
Beach State Park (Rawley Point) EN64ff on Saturday morning where Pete K9PW
was already set up. We all worked the gang across the lake on 10 GHz
(K2YAZ, WA8VPD, KB8U, WB8TGY, NN9X, NE8I, W8ISS). Garry and Pete also
made some 24 GHz QSO's. My 24 GHz transverter didn't work. After a few
shuffles of people on the other side, we went to Red Arrow Park on the
south end of Manitowoc EN64eb and worked everyone again. Then Pete went to a
location a ways south (over 10 miles) and Garry and I later went to
Sheboygan EN63ds. Garry decided to head home, so we got something to eat in
Sheboygan and I went to Sheboygan Point, where I met K9PW again and we
worked the people across the lake. By the time we were done, it was dark.

We drove to Port Washington where we met up with Jim W9SNR and we all
got motel rooms in Port Washington. On Sunday morning we went to the
lake front in Port Washington EN63bj and worked some of the Michigan gang as
well as Ron W9ZIH in the opposite direction. I had found in previous
years that I could work Ron by pointing just to the left of a power
plant on the south end of Port Washington.

We then split up, with Jim going north, Pete going a ways south and I
went all the way to Kenosha EN62cn.

It didn't end on a happy note for me. When I got to Kenosha it started
raining. I set up and tried to keep the rain out of the equipment.
Conditions were very poor by this time and I was only able to work
WA8VPD and WB8TGY. K2YAZ and I could not hear each other. I
couldn't hear NE8I. I then tried to work W9NU who was at home. By this
time, water had gotten into the board that supplies 24 volts to my T/R
relay and the relay wouldn't switch into transmit. It got me a little
upset because I was hearing Neil quite well and I'm sure we could've
worked if I could've transmitted.

At that point I took everything apart and headed home. I drove through
over 200 miles of solid rain. It's still raining here.

I should've put a plastic bag over that relay as soon as it started
raining. I have had the same trouble before with the circuit that
converts 12 to 24 volts for the relays. The relay with board attached
is outside the case of my 10 GHz transverter. As soon as the board
gets wet, it stops functioning. In the June VHF contest the dew got
onto a board with the same circuit on my 1296 transverter overnight
and cost me a few 1296 QSO's in the morning till it dried out. I'll
know better next time.

I was concerned that transmitting into an open circuit for a minute
before I found out the relay hadn't switched might have damaged my
amp. But I just checked it out. The relay is dried out now and works
again, and the amp appears to be fine.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I hope to do it again next year,
with 24 GHz working by then!

73, Zack W9SZ