3.4 GHz QSO Party

[VK3ALB]

Wow, wow, wow, wow

Looks like everyone had a good day on the radio. Based on information from this thread as well as logs collected by various GARC members I calculate that we had 9 x VK2s, 28 x VK3s, 6 x VK5s as well as 4 x ZLs all on the one band at the same time. Surely some kind of microwave activity record. I made contact with 21 operators and worked five grids. My best contact distance was to VK3WRE and VK3ZYC in QF31GO around 190km.

Thanks to all of you who made the effort to build and convert panels and go out to make contacts as well as those that took your high power systems out. As much as the plan for this day came from Chas and I, it would not have been the success that it was if it wasn't for all of you going out to do the very thing that hams do - talk on the radio. Well done everyone.

VK3ALB on Flinders Peak

This is my station setup @ 325m ASL on Flinders Peak at the You Yangs. The outlook you see is the same for 360 degrees which help explain some of the great contacts I made today.

[VK3AV]

I would like to mirror the comments from others about the activity. Well done Lou, Chas and GARC.

I had a set-up issue at the start and did not plug in the Bias-T correctly hence no transmit. That is why I specifically missed 3MY and 3KQ early in the session. Then I could hear folk but waited my turn only to have others swing away from my direction and lose the signal completely or at least it would drop so far that I could not tell when a QSO had finished. Lesson for next time - announce yourself whilst you can and wait, someone might have heard the callsign.

To those that I contacted, thank you. My first venture above 23cm was a success with 6 contacts between 90 and 120klm. I am definitely looking forward to next time from the same location. (Mmm, I forgot to take a photograph as well.)

As an FYI, Frank Thompson Reserve in Kinglake is beside 2 commercial towers and 2m contacts are regularly obliterated by those services. I tried 70cm on Saturday with some success so built a 70cm slim-jim from 450ohm ladder line, that I attached to a squid pole, to make it easier on Sunday. I suspect though that the coax was picking up the commercial signals and causing me some grief still. In the end a 4-el yagi pointed at the 3RGL into a Wouxon handheld worked quite well indeed.

Regards
Bernard

[VK3XL]

Well done all involved with this project. I visited Rob VK3MQ on Mt Dandenong while he was operating. I have my first contact on 3.4 ghz with Lou Vk3ALB soon after the start of the action.
It was like dx on 20 metres there for a while, there were stations all over the band calling, having QSOs etc. I picked up 3 panels at Gippstech last year and had not made a start on the conversion ..... until today. I have been enthused by the activity on the weekend and am planing to have at least 1 panel running for the next activity day.

I may need some assistance once all the hardware mods are done to get the things peaked up etc and to measure the output as I have no equipment to do that as yet.

Again thanks to all involved

[VK2XTC]

I'd love to be part of this next time.
Is it too late to get a panel ?

Does anyone know if there will be any at Wyong next weekend ?


Brian

VK2XTC

[VK3ALB]

Well, it's on again. We had so much fun last weekend that we have decided to do it one more time before winter sets in. Same formula as before, plan your location, work out a liaison system and let everyone know where you are.

The club will field a number of 3.4GHz capable stations on hilltops and high spots around the Geelong area and invites all those with 3.4GHz equipment to join us. We will be looking in all directions to make contacts with as many 3.4GHz operators as we can.

Monday, April 25th 10:00am to noon.

[VK2ZRH]

Brian VK2XTC wrote:
I'd love to be part of this next time.
Is it too late to get a panel ?

Does anyone know if there will be any at Wyong next weekend ?

Hi Brian,

Gavin VK3HY will be at Wyong tomorrow. He has two (2) panels left.

Gavin will be checking-in to the V-U-SHF weak signal get-together, which starts at 11am.

CU there, be (3.4 GHz) square !

[VK2KYP]

Hi All,
The next 3.4 GHz QSO Party is on Anzac Day 25th April, who in NSW is going to participate?
I have my panel working running low power ( about 250mW).

Any takers?

73 Gary vk2kyp

[VK3PY]

I am very much looking forward to operating in the next 3.4GHz QSO party on ANZAC Day. My QTH will be the same as last time, QF21CU, 15km west of Geelong at about 210m ASL. This time I might just take my 600mm dish rather than the 1.2m one as the smaller dish is a little easier to handle on my own. However, if there's the prospect of a DX contact I might change my mind and take the bigger dish. I would be particularly interested in any VK5 activity from the Adelaide region.

I assume the operation will run for the same two-hour period, 10:00AM to 12:00PM local VK3 time, which by then will correspond to 0000UTC to 0200UTC.

Chas
VK3PY

[VK3KQ]

VK3KQ/p will be out and about. Will endeavor to be in a more reachable spot this time. Looking forward to it.
Could be very thirsty work on the day I will have to see if Mr LL is available for extra entertainment

[VK3BA]

VK3KQ/p will be out and about. Will endeavor to be in a more reachable spot this time. Looking forward to it.
Could be very thirsty work on the day I will have to see if Mr LL is available for extra entertainment

Could be thirsty, eh?? With you blokes, it's always thirsty work... you do your best work after midnight...

Cheers,

[VK2JDS]

The vk2 effort this time will be in the central west.
Kim vk2asy will activate the pinnacle, near mt canobolas, for the amateur radio central west group.
Steve vk2kfj will be at clarence , to the east of lithgow.
Matt vk2dag will be at my mountain.
I will go to mt aberfoil.
This will give us some longer haul contacts than what we had in the sydney basin activation last time. I am not sure if Mark vk2ema at totenham has 9cm....
There wil likely be a few others on good spots out this way as the event unfolds.
73 Dave vk2jds

[VK2JDS]

Update
Justin vk2cu will be operating from Mt Lambie which is a high spot between vk2kfj's portable location and mt canobolas.
Several years ago i was up at the 55 metre level on the mt lambie main tower pulling dishes off the frames with help from a large crane. I was watching a c130 flying in the valleys below looking down onto the top of its wings.... its a high spot!
The manly radio club guys have struck a snag so they wont be operational, but will be next time.
So far all looks good for the central west activation, and we will have 47 and 76 Ghz running as well, with 3 stations operational.
73 Dave

[VK3AV]

I will be operating from Frank Thompson Reserve in Kinglake. 600m ASL. QF22PL

Looking forward to a few more contacs.

Regards
Bernard

[VK3ALB]

That's good to hear. I'll be on Flinders peak again with my improved panel. In the week after the February outing I added a GALI+39 preamp. Hopefully I'll be able to hear a few of those weaker signals.

Don't forget to add your location details to Contest Radar on Sunday arvo so it will be visible to everyone on Monday.

[VK3MAT]

Hi all

i will be at the home QTH in qf02xf, garc transverter connected to a 600mm dish

not an ideal microwave location so contact me if you would like to try for a contact.

Matt vk3pp

[VK3ALB]

Thanks to all those that came out and joined the fun. I know some of you in VK3 had technical issues with your gear and others didn't have much time to dedicate to the task but hopefully you all found some positives in the day. From my estimate I think there were at least 17 operators active in VK3, two in VK5 and at least four in VK2. Afterwards, our club members met up at a local park for a BBQ and chatter.

An excellent day.

[VK3PY]

Another exceptional outing on 3.4GHz today courtesy of the Geelong Amateur Radio Club's initiative. While the total number of operators was slightly down on last time, the good news was finding two new operators on the band, being Dennis VK3BQZ from Lara and David VK3KQT from Ballarat.

My total contact haul was 14. Best distance was once again VK3BQJ at Bairnsdale, about 310km. Right on mid-day I also worked Peter VK3PF on Mt Tassie, about 208km. The latter contact succeeded despite the combine harvester, ship container and feed hopper just 100m in front of my dish. Unfortunately, I was unable to contact VK5DK who is normally a pretty easy contact on the lower microwave bands.

Once again, the "after-party BBQ" was an enjoyable bonus, offering participants the opportunity to brag about the haul or commiserate about the "the one that got away". A special thanks to Jenni VK3FJEN for organising this part of the event.

No photos this time as my equipment and location were the same as last time.

With the winter months on the way, I guess this is pretty much the end of portable microwave operation for us in SE VK. However, there is the mid-winter FD to look forward to. If the weather is half reasonable, as it often can be, I'll head out for sure.

Chas
VK3PY

[VK2JDS]

Just sitting down in the house to type this up after a busy day on 9cm and above !
The vk2 activity kicked off at 11 am with an unsuccessfull very optimistic attempt to cross the ranges to mangrove mountain to Gary vk2kyp. We previously found 23cm worked, but not today...
Kim vk2asy walked up to the pinnacle at mt canobolas carrying his battery, panel and gear including 2 grandkids and had a great outing, easily working Matt vk2dag and myself with separate stations 25 kms away at mt aberfoil.
He could hear Justin vk2cu at mt lambie between lithgow and bathurst, but wasnt able to complete the contact.
Justin worked us over a 74km path on fm and ssb on 3400.1 then swung his panel east and worked the manly club fellows with full scale signals.
Steve vk2kfj, Dom vk2jna and Geoff vk2avr had set up with a panel in the mountains to the east of lithgow and are really getting into the swing of finding excellent radio sites for microwaves.
There was an attempt at 47GHz but this proved difficult due to conditions, so thats for next time.
Its been a great day out in the field for all of us, no disasters, and mostly great signals.
It was the long path from us at mt aberfoil getting to clarence, with difficult qsb on ssb with 5/1 some of the time.
Coordinating the group onto a common channel proved to be troublesome as mt bindo repeater is really poor these days and the distances we had to cover, so we opted for a temporary crossband link which did the job.
stations active today : vk2dag, vk2cu, vk2kfj, vk2asy, vk2jna, vk2avr, vk2kyp and myself vk2jds.
73 from Dave

[VK3TU]

An excellent day.

Indeed, what an excellent day.
The weather was perfect and the QTH I picked turned out to be excellent. No QRM on 3.4GHz and the paging TX on the tower next door wasn't a problem for either the 144MHz IF radio on the transverter or the Motorola hand held I used for 2m liaison.
I made 11 contacts with the best being 113km to VK3AV at Kinglake. I heard VK3BQJ at Bairnsdale but couldn't make the contact stick. Lack of dish area and horsepower, I'm afraid.
The GARC in the Park soiree was excellent too. Well done to the "ground crew" who put that together.
I took the pic as I was packing up. I kind of forgot to take any during the proceedings. The hills on the left are Flinders Peak (VK3ALB/P) and the You Yangs. The tower about 1/3 way from the left is VK3RGC at Montpellier. Arthurs Seat (VK3KQ/LL/P) is just to the right of the trees.

Bert
VK3TU

[VK2KFJ]

http://vk2kfj.blogspot.com.au/

my summary of yesterday's activity from QF56CM with some photos.