September 21st & 22nd, 2002

Once again the team of Paul (AK1P) and Jim (WA6GER) participated, and once again we want to thank Dave Fifield (AD6A) for providing the 10GHz equipment, and to the 50MHz and up group of northern California for letting us be part of their contest team.

We left San Jose, Ca. shortly after 5:00 AM and headed for Interstate 5, which runs through California, Oregon, and Washington, from Mexico to Canada. We were to be "rovers" on that day, Saturday, and before sunup were set up at our first designated stop.

We continued on down I-5 for a total of eight stops, sharing the environment  with a hot sun, dust and dirt, and a lot of flies who were smart enough to  come into the car to get out of the heat.  But all that was largely ignored because we were making contacts, and when we quit to head for Calistoga and Mt. St. Helena, we had logged 30 contacts.

Calistoga is a small and quaint town located on the upper end of the famous California wine country, Napa Valley, and is quite picturesque.  Arriving in the town, we noticed a lot of people strolling on this warm evening.  There are a lot of botique shops, speciality and antique stores and of course,
places to eat.

We spent the night at a very comfortable motel and the next morning joined the Mt. St. Helena crew for the drive up the hill.  The mountain is about 4,000 feet tall, and we had a magnificent view from the top.

There were five stations operating from this mountain top, and thanks to Dave, AD6A for bringing an extra 10ghz station, WA6GER was operative as well as AK1P. We have not counted our total contacts yet but estimate about 80 for the two days.  It was reported that conditions were not as good as the first weekend. But the weather on the mountain top was delightful, a cool breeze and a canopy that one of the operators thoughtfully provided.

This then was our second time to operate on 10GHz, and we have learned a lot, and one of the things from the first weekend was not to bring so much junk in trying to provide for all eventualities that you couldn't find anything if you did need it.

But more importantly, we learned that those who operate on 10GHz are quite knowledgable and helpful, and as new to the frequency operators, we have benefited from their friendliness, and that is most appreciated.  We have learned a lot from these two weekends, and find operating on 10GHz most enjoyable.  After all, DX is relative, and the microwaves are the ultimate QRP.  It doesn't get much better than this.

See you next year at the Spring Sprint.

Paul, AK1P and Jim, WA6GER.