Thursday, December 28, 2023

Snowscatter Attempt

 Wednesday, 27 December 2023, St. Louis saw it's first "significant" snowfall.  Some areas had big flakes, others not so much.  The snowfall didn't accumulate due to ground temperatures well above freezing.  However, it did afford me the opportunity to set my 10 GHz rig up in the family room, open our French doors to the backyard and to listen for the WB9PNU/B.  

The beacon is about seven miles away to my northeast, but my suburban setting blocks my view.  However, I have heard the beacon pointing north with rain scatter with good results.  Let's see how snow scatter works from the same location.

There wasn't a dense amount of snow falling when I attempted the experiment.  I listened around 3:15 pm and I could just make out the beacon.  There was QSB and the signal was not strong enough to get a good copy, but I could make it out. 

I varied my elevation and azimuth heading a bit with varying results.  I do have a limited view, but it fun trying nonetheless.  I consider my first experiment with snow scatter a limited success.

     I just turned off my rig when I took this picture, but I did copy the WB9PNU beacon with snow scatter from a very limited suburban view.



 



Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Annual SLAMS/BARS lunch 2023

We have met with the SLAMS group for our traditional lunch at the famous Chandler Hill winery on Saturday November 11, 2023 once again. 

Chandler Hill Winery

Some pictures and more info was published on the SLAMS blog site here (click to open). Nice location, tasty food and good company. Hope to meet here again next year!