[NLRS] Corrected - 1st weekend of 10GHz Up, E-o-M, Summary

[Jim Froemke]

Eclipse-o-Mania in Big-Dish-Country

It was an exhilarating experience to participate in the 10GHz-&-Up, E-o-M
event from our South Dakota vantage point. The rolling plains of Nebraska
and southern South Dakota were in full view from our fixed position near
Radar Hill, SD. Both Jim, K0KFC and Gary, WB0LBJ had recently upgraded to
bigger, microwave dishes which were quite suitable for this operation.

Our thanks go out to Janice, KA9VVQ and Bruce, W9FZ for creating and
organizing Eclipse-o-Mania. The rover packs and other fixed/portable
stations greatly contributed to the overall success of this event.
http://w9fz.com/eclipseomania/

 

Two rover packs and many, single fixed/portable stations helped keep us
busy. There were down times while both rover packs were moving.  Splitting
up into three rover packs Sunday afternoon helped level out the activity
peaks and valleys. http://w9fz.com/eclipseomania/images/Aug15update_1.jpg

 

The locals (mostly ranchers and farmers) that stopped by received a brief
education on ham radio and a detailed hand-out explaining the E-o-M event.
It helped that one of their own; Jim, K0KFC (a local SD native) spoke South
Dakotan with a convincing accent. 

 

Propagation was considerably enhanced during Saturday morning with several
rain scatter opportunities on Sunday. We also tried airplane scatter to
round out the weekend. 

With 74 and 43 QSOs on Saturday and Sunday respectively, there was quite a
bit of activity. We completed two-way contacts in five states including: SD,
NE, IA, MN, and MO. Distances were quite varied. The rover packs ranged from
chip-shots at 68 km up to 325 km. The fixed/portable stations were more
distant ranging up to 613 km (Bill, K0AWU). These 117 QSOs were with 23
unique call signs for 26K points for the first weekend. 

 

Of particular interest was James, KK6MC who with 200 mW and a 20dBi horn was
able to hang in there with the big guns. We made it one-way while he was
still in Kansas. Also, Ron, W9ZIH and I were able exchange signals at 796
km. but, without a successful QSO. These were both examples of digital mode
opportunities! Barry, VE4MA tried aircraft scatter at 763 km using ISCAT
but, we couldn't quite resolve the doppler shifts. 

Sorry that we missed some QSOs on the tail end of the event but, we had a
long drive back to the Twin Cities Sunday night.

 

So, in summary, the chemistry was good and we had a good time! Looking
forward to the 2nd weekend.

 

73, Jim

K0MHC