The Plan:

Jim, KØKFC and I share an interest of trying to determine if it is possible to extend the distance being worked on Lake Superior in the 10Ghz and Above Contest during the August weekend. I am new to 10Ghz and I am more interested in trying to learn more about what is possible than really "working" the contest.

Jim had observed, that as the group of 10Ghz operators moved from the Duluth, MN area up the North Shore of Minnesota, they were not only pointed to the Michigan UP but also within a couple degrees of Wawa Ontario. Would it be possible that some of these stations might be heard and worked across the entire lake as they moved north?

We expected that it would be easy to work the UP stations at Mt Brockway and the stations on the south shore of Lake Superior west of White Fish Point, MI. We might even have a chance to work some bounce shots off the high MN shoreline.

Coordination:

Jim has 40 meter mobile and I have 2 meter SSB mobile. It was hoped that that coupled with telephone calls to people with cell phones in the North Shore group we would be able to coordinate. Wawa has no cell phone coverage and we knew ahead of time that the phone would be something that could only be used at night or by traveling back to the motel.

Operation Locations:

Jim contacted Mark VE3MOU by telephone early in the spring, explaining what we hoped to do and the type of location that would be necessary for 10 Ghz operations. Mark did a great job and from his notes and photos, we were assured of having several possible locations from which to operate. Two beach locations and an overlook location were scouted.

Reality:

Friday afternoon at 23:00Z we coordinated with Bob WØAUS on 40 meters and "tested" the path between the Minnesota NS and Wawa. We ran even/odd minute sequences and nothing was hear at either end.

Jim is running 2watts and uses a 30" dish while I run 1 watt and an 18" dish. Conditions across the lake are dynamic and we were not discouraged by this test.

Contest Operations:

Given the length of the path and the fact that the NS group starts at a "high" location, we started "high" as well from the overlook location at 12:00Z Saturday morning.

This time period would provide the longest possible distance (356miles or 572Km) and the smallest heading difference between the UP group and us.

We were unable to obtain any information on conditions or progress of the NS group as they worked their way north.

We moved operation to "The Beach" mid morning, assuming that the NS group would now be along the beach. We had heard nothing and thought that "low" to "low" locations might be better. The beach would also allow us to look for the group on the south shore of the lake.

In this photo, Jim is beaconing south while I beacon and listen toward the UP and NS.

The wind increased rapidly and we had to leave the beach by early afternoon. We tried to work the UP on 2m SSB, for liason, but signals were too weak to be successful.

2 Meter Liason Pays Off!

Fairly late in the afternoon we were able to reach Bruce W9FZ on the UP and find out a bit more of what was going on. The progress had been slow and signals had been poor, but were improving. (very general information.) We would check with Bruce after that every hour or so for more information, since we had a schedule with them at 23:00Z when they were expected to move to Mt Brockway. During one of these conversations, K3SIW from the South Shore group broke in:>)

We quickly set up a sked with them. That sked would require a change of our operation location by a couple of miles. We tore down and moved to a small field about 2 miles away that allowed a better vantage point south.

EN76aq

WB9SPT, K3SIW, NN9X aand K2YAZ were worked in short order with some signals being well over S9. All signals were strong enough for SSB even though some ran CW. Bob K2YAZ stayed on CW and was way over S-9. The path was just over the landmass to our south, but signals were still strong. Path distance 100miles or 161Km. Signals rock solid and no QSB.

EN76is

Lloyd NE8I was next in line. Lloyd was at Crisp Pt, MI and that path was only 84 mile or 136Km, but it was over a much higher part of the landmass to the south and ran for many miles. His CW signal was a solid S1 on CW and the contact was made easily.

Note: These 5 stations were heard on their first sequences and all were within 1Kc of what we considered 10,368.100Mhz.

EN67al

We relocated back to our overlook and set up for what now had become a 23:30Z schedule with Mt Brockway operators.

After 14min of beaconing with W9FZ, his signal was found 43Kc higher than where we had centered much of our attention. Bruce had indicated mid- afternoon that they were running about 20 to 25kc high. So we beaconed and listened in that area the rest of the day. Jim on a "flier" spun the tuning knob upwards after hearing nothing for this entire time and he ran across Bruce beaconing S-9! We had listened too low the entire day.

W9FZ, KCØP, NØHZO, WA8VPD, N8KWX, WA2VOI, WBØVHF, KCØIJB, AA9IL, WB8TGY and KDØJI were worked with excellent signals and all on SSB. Path distance 150miles or 241Km. The path was very dynamic with night falling and at times large amounts of QSB were present.

We swung more westerly looking then for the NS group and/or VE4MA and VE3KRP at Terrance Bay Ontario. We were absent any method of coordination with both groups. Nothing was heard and we tore down as darkness approached.

Sunday:

We setup in the wind and rain under Jim's 10x10 awning and ran a 20min schedule with VE4MA and VE3KRP on a very obstructed path, trying both direct and indirect paths. Nothing was heard. The rain was heavy at times and after trying to listen for the NS group for a while, we tore down and headed home. It was hard to continue to monitor in the rain and being uncertain of frequency or if anyone was on. Was the rain washing everyone out?

Summary:

Jim and I know little that we didn't know before our 1400mile international expedition. We really had no chance to hear anyone, given the difference between the frequency operated and expected. I never tuned within 10kc of them all day and was in total disbelief when Jim said he found them on 10,368.143Mhz.... We still don't know if trans-Superior 10Ghz contacts are possible.

The equipment worked well with no failures except for the tuning control on my FT290RII that became intermittent from tuning abuse early Sat afternoon. I ran the rest of the operation using the UP/DOWN buttons on the mike. ARGH ...

Many poeple dropped in on our operations for a visit as well as just to see what we were up to. Only one "sour puss" the entire weekend. Mark brought a reporter up that "strings" for the paper down at "The Sault". I hope she can somehow put a story together, not an easy job. Nice people and some good eats too for a town of 4500 people. Some were just sure we were eavedropping on the salmon fishermen.

Jim put lots of work into this trip and made it easy for me to join into the fun. Thanks Jim for your work ahead of time and allowing me to share in the adventure. Special thanks to Mark VE3MOU, Bud WØLCP and my wife Pat for their assistance. Will we be back at Wawa next year? I don't know, but I do know that Marathon Ontario has one great beach site for operations on 10Ghz. I heard Bob K2YAZ calling CQ there on 2m SSB Sunday afternoon on the way home. I couldn't raise him and a 10Ghz attempt was lost. I also know that much improved liason and frequency control are necessary to make any expedition worthwhile.

Bill KØAWU (/VE3 EN77nw)