Greetings to all.
My report from yesterday is successes and failures tantalisingly mixed together!
Some readers may recall my description of an intention back in the Winter VHF-UHF FD to go to an excellent microwave site in the Border Ranges NP, only to be confronted by a 'Road Closed' gate - most frustrating! Well, it has happened again with the next best microwave site, Springbrook, near the carpark for the "Best of All Lookout".
The locked gate/bar visible in the pic has only recently been installed preventing vehicle access to the clear North-looking place just beyond the trees. This forced my use of the 'normal' carpark which, as you'll see has many trees and shrubs around it. I parked strategically in order to take advantage as much as possible of a small gap in the foliage, but it meant abandoning the roof-mounted 2.4 GHz array and associated M/H box. The mast with 1296, 5760 and 10368 MHz antennas was looking over some of the immediate vegetation, but the 24 GHz antenna (on tripod under the plastic rain cover) was mostly blocked.
I recorded 8 QSOs on 1296 MHz, 3 on 5760 MHz, 6 on 10368 MHz including best DX (232 Km) to VK4JMC/P located at Mt Wolvi near Gympie, and 2 QSOs on 2403 MHz after I installed a tiny WiFi antenna on the branch of a shrub just outside the van window - connected only to the 1 W driver transverter. The following pic is like a "Where's Wally" image requiring you to spot the feedline and the 2.4 GHz antenna! (The unused dual loop array is also visible in the background.)
On 3.4 GHz I had overlooked the loading of the necessary FT-817 IF transceiver (that's a different long-ish story!) and a failure of a recent modification of my 24 GHz equipment combined with the blocking foliage to 'put paid' to any thought of QSOs on that band.
It rained heavily as I was driving towards Springbrook and after I departed, but in all the time I was operating there was only one light shower of drizzle, which is different from what others were reporting.
Another interesting observation was the inability to establish 2 metres FM liaison with the team (VK4WS, VK4JMC and VK7MO/4) on Mt Wolvi. After initiating things by mobile 'phone, we ended up using 1296 MHz SSB as the gain antennas at each end made on this band up for the losses over the path, whereas the Mt Wolvi crew were out of range of the RBN repeater and 146.5 MHz just didn't make it.
I do acknowledge the need expressed by Scott for a more organised approach to managing when folk use each band - that's the way we've done it for several earlier Microwave Activity Days, and I think it was a more thorough way of getting in touch with everyone who is 'on', compared to a 'free-for-all' approach. Nevertheless, I still had a lot of fun yesterday!
Always interested in other reports and thoughts on these matters!
Best 73,
--Doug Friend, VK4OE.
