Pere Marquette State Park, IL EM48rx

Debbie had an appointment in St. Louis today.  After the appointment and enjoying lunch at Mt. Everest Café we went to Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton, IL (EM48rx) on our way back to Girard to scope out the scenic overlooks for potential microwave sites.  We found two great locations.  They are along Scenic Drive inside the park. There are about 5 overlooks, but two of them are looking into trees and when the foliage is out, uW work will be hindered.  However there is one  that allow you to set up next to the car (Good Spot) and another (Eagle Roost) requires a short walk over a flat, paved surface.  The third, called Flagpole requires going up some stairs, but the horizon is unobstructed.  I found Eagles Roost to be the best.  The other spot is not named by the Park, but I named it "Good Spot."

Here's the information of the scenic overlooks at Pere Marquette State Park:

Eagle Roost:  145 to 265 degrees unobstructed.  Elevation 818 feet on my GPS.  Brussels, IL is line of sight at 3.5 miles distance. N 38 58 687 W 90 32 013  A little walking from  the parking lot to the overlook is required, but it's a flat surface.  I can see Brussels from this location.

Good Site:  150 to 220 degrees unobstructed.  Elevation 853 feet on my GPS.  N 38 58 731, W 90 31 648.

Flagpole is between "Good Spot and Eagle Roost.At this time, March 27, 2019, the Illinois River is flooding and IL Route 100 (Great River Road) is closed just north of Grafton due to flooding.   The road is closed southbound just south of the state park entrance.  This necessitates accessing the state park from its eastern entrance along Powerline Road.  I'm not sure if the Grafton Ferry across the Illinois River is operational because of the flooding.  We'll have to check on its availability before our Saturday,  April 13th lunch at Wittmond's Restaurant in Brussels, IL. Likewise for the Golden Eagle Ferry across the Mississippi.The path from Eagle Roost to Brussels is unobstructed and it should be great for 10, 24 and 47 GHz!  It's approximately a 3.5 mile path.

At "Good Spot" I was able to set up from our minivan, but the path to Brussels to the southwest may be slightly obstructed by trees.  I had an unobstructed path to the WB9PNU/b (10.900 GHz) and it came roaring in at this spot!  Full scale on the S meter!  I copied the telemetry as 1.35 watts out, 12.94 VDC, 70.6 F Enclosure and 113.72 F on the PA.  Today was mostly sunny with a temp of 65 degrees.

I noticed that the PA temp sensor is giving me different readings.  I'm not sure that the PA temp is really 113.72 F.  Two weeks ago, I keep getting different PA temp readings ranging from 80.4 to 86.3 F.  Maybe the temp sensor is starting to go bad?

                             This is the path from Eagle Roost ( Pere Marquette State Park)to Brussels, IL

                             In the elevation profile, Eagle Roost is towards the left and Brussels to the right.

                      Pere Marquette's Eagle Roost from 145 to 265 degrees covers a big swath!

                                                  Eagle Roost to the WB9PNU beacon.  Eagle Roost is on the                                                               Elevation profile (left) and the beacon on the right.

                                This is "Good Spot" looking southwest towards Brussels.  According to my compass, Brussels is where the IL River meets the hill.  This could be a difficult path in that direction.

                              This is the path southeast to the WB9PNU/b from "Good Spot." The beacon was                                   roaring in with full scale S-readings!  The beacon is over 16 miles away.  A view                                   from 150 to 220 degrees.  Brussels, IL is 227 degrees.

                       
                                        A wider angle view from "Good Spot" looking southeast.

                      In my opinion, Eagle Roost is the best spot to do uW paths to Brussels or anywhere                             else within 145 to 265 degrees!

                                          Eagle Roost (145 to 265 degrees), what a view!

                                       Eagle Roost, Brussels, IL is just to the left of Debbie KC9ULA.

                   Eagle Roost    The WB9PNU 10 GHz beacon is just to the left of Debbie KC9ULA.

                        The state park has a diagram of the vista (yellow lines) from Eagle Roost.

            Looking south from Eagle Roost. Minor flooding on the Illinois River as of March 27, 2019

                   It's only a short distance from the parking lot to Eagle Roost overlook.

   Flooding along IL 100 (Great River Road) has it closed just south of the state park and just north of Grafton, IL

                         
                                             Yep, the Illinois River is out of her banks.

WB9PNU 10 GHz Beacon Update

Visiting my grandchildren on Sunday afforded me the opportunity to introduce them to microwave hill topping and to check my 10 GHz rig to see if it is still working and frequency stable.  I set up behind St. Robert's Catholic Church (EM48rs) located on a ridge near Missouri Route 94 and Interstate 70 in St. Charles.  I aimed my dish towards DePaul Hospital about 4 miles away due east in EM48ss.  I am happy to report that the WB9PNU 10 GHz beacon is QRV and so is my rig!  Beacon telemetry on Sunday, February 25 around 4 pm local time indicated beacon power output to be 1.43 watts, 12.94 volts, 64.7 F enclosure and 66.7 F amp temperature.

Vy 73 de Ron, KO0Z

BARS September 30, 2017 Lunch

Litchfield, IL, I-55 exit 52, Maverick Steak House and Spirits restaurant, Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 10 am.  Herbert, AF4JF, Zack, W9SZ and Ron, KO0Z met at the restaurant parking lot and moved a quarter-mile north to parking lot overlooking a field and Zack drove northward to a parking lot at the opposite end of the field, approximately 1 km to test out Herbert's 24 GHz transverter with a 432 MHz IF.

Zack and Herbert were able to hear each other quite well!  A successful test for AF4JF!  Ron, KO0Z is still working on his 24 GHz rig.  He needs to get a 12 GHz doubler to proceed further.

It was a beautiful, fall Saturday with temps in the 70s and low humidity.  A good day to microwave.  After the test, we ate a big lunch at Maverick's and made plans for the upcoming microwave sprint/MAD on Saturday October 7th. Both Zack and Ron were able to copy the WB9PNU beacon in Bridgeton, MO with S-1 signals.  Not very strong, but detectable.  We had the I-55 off ramp ridge between us about a half-mile away which could have been blocking signals.

                   Herbert, AF4JF setting up 24 GHz to work Zack, W9SZ across the field

Zack, W9SZ looking south, across the field, towards Herbert, AF4JF

 
                                      Initial contact between AF4JF and W9SZ on 24 GHz

 

 

                                         24 GHz QSO between AF4JF and W9SZ EM59de

                               Zack, W9SZ and Herbert AF4JF chatting in Maverick's parking lot

                                                 AF4JF's 24 GHz dish with splash feed point

                   Herbert, AF4JF setting up while Zack, W9SZ is doing likewise across the field.

                                           Close up of  the 24 GHz splash feed 

                                                      AF4JF's 24 GHz transverter 

                                             Herbert ready to make a 24 QSO test with Zack!
 

               
                                                      Herbert's 1.2 GHz transverter 

                          Zack, W9SZ set up at the north end of field with his 24 GHz rig. 

                    A successful 24 GHz QSO, now time for lunch at Maverick's in Litchfield.

2017 ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest - Round One Narrative by KO0Z

Round one of the ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest, August 19th and 20th, a most interesting weekend!  Largely due to the total solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 and its path of totality crossing Nebraska, Missouri and Illinois on Monday, 21 August, as well as the FB efforts of Bruce, W9FZ's Eclipse-O-Mania's organization;   a larger number than usual of 10 GHz rovers made their way towards the Show-Me-State and Corn Husker states!   Microwave signals abounded.  Bill, K0AWU from northern Minnesota made his way back to the family farm in central Missouri, EM39ka.

BARS members Ron, KO0Z and Herbert AF4JF made plans for the contest weekend.  On Saturday, 19 August Ron put into play a "shoot and scoot" tactic.  He activated four different locations.  The first was east of Virden, IL EM59dm, the second was a hilltop farm near Raymond, IL, EM59fh, the third was Ohlman cemetery EM59ji and the fourth was Gillespie, EM59bd.  Herbert spent most of the day near I-55 and IL Route 140, outside of Hamel, IL EM58bv.

Surprisingly, Ron, KO0Z wasn't able to communicate with Herbert, AF4JF from EM59dm to EM58bv, a path of only 41.2 miles.  There must have been some obstruction.  The path to Bill, K0AWU was blocked by a coal mine gob hill to the west.  Zack was on the move from his EM50rl hilltop site.

Next Ron went to a hilltop farm near Raymond, IL, EM59fa with fabulous views in all directions except for northwest, north and northeast due to cornfields.  The east, south and west views are great.  If soybeans are planted next year, then the northern views should be excellent as well.  KO0Z worked AF4JF in EM58 bv with good signals both ways.  A path of 33.9 miles.  Next, KO0Z tried to work Bill, K0AWU in EM39ta without any luck on either side.  A path of  153.5 miles.

At Ohlman cemetery, EM59ji, Ron worked Herbert AF4JF. still at EM58bv, a path of 47.9 miles, with strong signals both ways.  KO0Z tried working Ron, W9ZIH in EN51nv, a distance of 185.8 miles, and both ops were able to hear one another, but W9ZIH wasn't able to copy KO0Z's grid.  Drats.  A half-houir later, KO0Z tried again with similar results. In the meantime, Ron copied the WB9PNU/b at S-5 and its telemetry indicated 1.19 watt output, 12.94 VDC, 111.76 F beacon enclosure temp and a PA temp of 107.84 F.  By this time Zack, W9SZ arrived at Ohlman cemetery. set up about 10 feet away from KO0Z and with many repeats he was able to successfully complete a two-way with Ron, W9ZIH!  At 12:52, Ron worked Jim, W9SNR in EN51xr for a distance of 175 miles!  Afterwards, Ron KO0Z drove 2.2 km from Zack's location and worked him before heading to Gillespie, IL EM59bd and Zack went on to Dow, IL EM49ua.  Unfortunately, Zack had a hill in the direction of Gillespie and even though they were only 24 miles apart, they couldn't hear each other.

Ron's plans included activating a high spot with views to the west from on top of the bluffs overlooking Grafton, IL EM48sx, but the hot, humid sunny day was taking its toll.  Herbert, AF4JF already called it a day, Zack, W9SZ promised a friend near Carbondale, IL that he'd be there by 8 pm and by this time it was already after 6 pm.  Bill, K0AWU was back at the farm so there wasn't too many folks to work and to be perfectly honest, KO0Z's face was sunburned, not to mention, tired as well.  So he wrapped things up from EM59bd and headed the 30 miles back home to Girard, IL to prepare for Sunday.

On Sunday, 20 August, Ron, KO0Z, Debbie, KC9ULA and Roman, KD9COA participated in the second day of the contest.  Our first stop was at Edwardsville, IL ( EM48xs/EM59as) overlooking the Mississippi River flood plain towards St. Louis but not after a long delay to get there because IDOT closed I-270 westbound lanes for repaving which caused Ron some frustration.  Herbert, AF4JF and Rich, N0PQU were set up outside of Kingdom City, MO, EM38xw and Bill was QRV from "Cow Hill" in EM39ka.Meanwhile as Herbert and Rich waited for KO0Z they worked Bill, K0AWU.  Ron wasn't able to work Herbert, a distance of  95.5 miles or Bill a path of 167.1 miles.  By this time, Ron was feeling cursed.  Zack, W9SZ was set-up near Carbondale, IL but KO0Z didn't try to work him because he would have been aiming his dish at an apartment building only 50 feet away.  Darn the luick.  Ron did have successfully reading the WB9PNU/b about 23 miles away with telemetry of 1.26 watts out, 12.9 VDC, beacon enclosure temp of 78 F and a PA temp of 96 F.

Next stop was New Florence, MO, EM48 gv by the water tower, but what looked good on Google maps turned out to not be so good, so on to Danville, MO, EM48fv. at the truck stop rest area.  Herbert was31.6 miles away and Bill was 90.2 miles away.  Ron was shooting into some brush and the ridge on the other side of the big dip in I-70 near Mineola, MO may have been too high.  No signals were heard.

On to Mineola EM49ev and I-70 exit 155 but trees, trees and more trees prevented any clear, unobstructed paths to the west.  Ron scoured the area, went to Fulton and still wasn't able to find a suitable site.  By this time we all wanted lunch at the Iron Skillet in Kingdom City, MO and Ron was there, but still no suitable westward site.  Giving it the "old college try and with the patience of both Debbie and Roman, KO0Z did find a site with a view to the west from EM48aw near the University of MO prairie research lab.  At 1:50 pm, KO0Z, KC9ULA and KD9COA worked Herbert, AF4JF and Rich N0PQU (5.3 miles) on CW and SSB but still no luck with Bill, K0AWU.  So far, a somewhat rewarding, but very  frustrating, disappointing day.

We gathered for lunch at the Iron Skillet in Kingdom City, MO for good food and to compare notes.  It was great seeing Herbert and Rich.   After lunch, Herbert and Rich returned home.  Ron, Debbie and Roman continued west and  went to Herbert's spot at EM38xw and finally, Ron KO0Z was finally able to put Bill, K0AWU into the log at 4:05 pm for a distance of 63 miles.Both Debbie and Roman were able to exchange SSB QSOs with Bill.  By this time, Ron's Yaesu FT817 was acting strangely.  Frequency split operation and problems switching between CW and SSB.  At one point, Ron accidentally turned off his battery booster and his signal was drifting until he realized the problem and turned it back on and the drifting stopped.  Repeated stops, set-ups and tear down's was beginning to take its toll on KO0Z.

Finally, Ron, Debbie and Roman made it to Centralia EM39wf to visit some friends, but before heading out to dinner, off to the east a line of thunderstorms extended between New Florence, MO to Hermon, MO.  Ron called Bill on the phone to try some rainscatter.  Ron's FT 817 was still on the blink.  Perhaps the heat and the humidity along with operator error were to blame.  Both Ron and Bill could see the Tstorms and we targeted the tallest one with an anvil forming.  KO0Z could hear K0AWU"s strong rainscatter signal, but Ron's FT817 would not send CW.  Drats.  Not giving up, Bill suggested FM, but Ron's FM had a offset to it, but both he and Ron were able to successfully exchange call signs and grid squares for a distance of 55 miles between them.  The actual radar indicated storm was 43 miles from Ron and 90 miles from Bill!  Not too shabby!

Upon returning home, Ron, KO0Z looked at his cw key and wire, but found no broken connections.  He couldn't find out what was wrong with his FT-817.  He did a factory reset and his FT-817 is once again working properly.  He wishes he would have had the documentation with him to have done this out in the field.  Lessons learned.

A big shout out to Bill, K0AWS, Herbert, AF4JF and Rich, N0PQU for their patience, hard work, encouragement and sunburns!

We're planning now for Round 2 of the contest  September.16 and 17!  Leapfrog strategy is being discussed.  Possibly up the Mississippi River Road and MO Route 79 or on to Herman, MO with a stop at Stone Hill Winery!
 

                         Hilltop farm outside of Raymond, IL EM59fh looking west.

                                     
                                Hilltop farm, EM58fh looking towards AF4JF in EM58bv
                             

                                   Ohlman cemetery, EM58ji looking towards EM58bv 

                                Ohlman cemetery looking northeast towards Jim, W9SNR in EN51xr 

                                         Zack, W9SZ on site at Ohlman cemetery, EM59ji
 

                          Zack, W9SZ at EM59ji with 24 GHz attempting to work AF4JF in EM58bv

                                                            Gillespie, EM59bd site 

                                    Gillespie site EM59bv looking towards Dow, IL EM49ua

                                      EM4838xv outside of Kingdom City, MO looking towards EM39ka

                                               Em38xv looking west towards St. Louis

            Centralia, MO, EM38xw working Bill, K0AWS via rainscatter using FM.  The T-storm between the trees is about 43 miles to my southwest and 90 miles to Bill's southwest. 

WB9PNU/B Telemetry

I posted this video earlier, but for some reason it didn't upload, So here's round two of the WB9PNU 3 cm beacon in St. Louis as received by Ron, KO0Z at EM49ua, Dow, IL on Sunday, June 11, 2017 around 3 pm. 

The telemetry translates:  1.10 watts out, 12.9 VDC, Beacon enclosure temp of 98F and beacon PA temp of 101.9F.

WB9PNU Beacon Telemetry 6-11-17

On Sunday, June 11, 2017 around 3:00 pm, I copied the WB9PNU 3 cm beacon in St. Louis from Dow, IL EM49ua.  Band conditions were good, in spite of the windy conditions.  John's beacon was pounding in at the site with over S9 signals! 

The telemetry copies as 1.10 Watts output, 12.9VDC, beacon enclosure temp of 98 F and the PA temperature of 101.9 F.

73 de Ron, KO0Z

BARS Get Together June 2017 Pontoon Beach

What a weekend, chock full of ham radio activity.  The ARRL June VHF Contest began on Saturday at 18:00Z, the Egyptian ARC Hamfest in Granite City was on Sunday and BARS had its June meeting after the hamfest at Uncle Linny's in Pontoon Beach.  Zack, W9SZ spent most of the weekend on top on the hill in EN51 blown about the high winds.  Ron, KO0Z operated from his QTH in EM59 and Harry, WA0CNS operated from his EM48 QTH.  On Sunday, KO0Z took a break from the contest to attend the Egyptian ARC hamfest.  Other BARS members were also attended and afterwards we met at Uncle Linny's in nearby Pontoon Beach, IL.  After lunch, Ron tried to operate 10 GHz from EM49ua in Dow, IL, but discovered that his deep cycle battery wasn't charged.  He was able to connect his car's power to his rig and copy the WB9PNU beacon.  WB9PNU/B's telemetry indicated that it is putting 1.10 watts out with 12.9VDC, the enclosure was 98 F and the PA temp was 101.9 F.  However, being tied to the car's electrical system kept KO0Z from being able to move his dish very far from the car, so he made tracks back to EM59ck to continue with the contest, but not before making four, six meter contacts along the way!

All in all, it was a very fun weekend and seeing everyone was well worth the trip.  It was interesting hearing Gene, N0BDS and Mike, WB0SND's accounting of the muddy, Dayton/Xenia Hamvention.  So far the Es season has been great and hopefully uW conditions will be good this season.

I asked Zack if Sunday morning at EN51rl, on the hill, was any better than Saturday.  W9SZ responded, " Yes, actually Sunday did turn out to be better up to a point. The wind
died down overnight on Saturday and was still not bad on Sunday
morning at 7 am, so I set up the 902 and 1296 stations and the tripod
with dish. But then the wind started picking up again around 9 am. I
managed to wok K2DRH and W9XA on 902 and 1296, and K2DRH on 2304 and
3456 too. I did also work a few other stations on 1296.  But I had to
hold the dish and tripod while making the microwave QSO's to keep the
wind from blowing the dish over. I balanced the IF rig with keyer
paddle on top of it on the car window ledge. Lucky nothing got damaged
this time. After that, I took the dish off the tripod to be used only
if I heard someone who had microwave bands. No one else showed up. Ron
W9ZIH never showed up and Jim W9SNR/R wasn't on, either. I have to
figure out how to stabilize that dish so it won't blow over. Something
easier to implement than putting a screw anchor in the ground. :-)

Saturday night I had something interesting happen. The bands seemed
dead so I went to sleep in my car (if you could call it that) at 11
pm. At 12:30 I woke up with some sort of premonition or something that
told me to turn the rig on and see what I could hear. I found KA1ZE/3
in FN01 just booming in on 144 MHz. I worked him. 555 miles away. That
may be my best DX ever on 144 MHz with 6 watts.

I went QRT at noon on Sunday and took everything down without losing
any antennas over the weekend. I wish I could've had the 6m beam up
stably. It's my biggest beam with the most wind load.

One other interesting thing. When I got to the hill, I saw a huge
crane truck parked on the gravel road where I usually operate from. I
think it was there for maintenance on the windmill power farm. I
parked about 50 feet from it. Slightly down from the peak of the hill
but not enough to matter. But I noticed my beams, particularly the 2m
beam, had virtually no directivity in most cases. I worked a lot of
people off the sides and back of the beams. I'm pretty sure it was due
to the proximity of the large truck."

73, Zack

                                            Entrance to the Egyptian ARC indoor hamfest

                                                        Hamfest flea market parking lot

                                            Some of the Egyptian ARC HF antennas.

                                            Check out the Uncle Linny hamburger!

                     BARS June meeting at Uncle Linny's in Pontoon Beach, IL  From left to right:  Mike, WB0SND; Herbert, AF4JF; Bob, N0IS; Wayne, KB0NEO; Harry, WA0CNS; Gene, N0BDS, Rich, N0PQU and Sam, W0PCE.  Ron, KO0Z is taking the picture.

                                 Lewis and Clark historical site near Alton, IL on the way to Dow, IL

                                                 Dow, EM49ua coming into sight.

                                          The Dow, IL AT&T tower in EM49ua.

                          Herbert, AF4JF's more "moderate" burger.  Compare it to the Uncle Linny!  Herbert's burger is small in comparison and he has a good size burger!  AF4JF photo.

                          WA0CNS photo, from left to right:  Rich, N0PQU; Sam, W0PCE; Ron, KO0Z; Mike, WB0SND; Herbert, AF4JF and Bob, N0IS.

BARS, Wine & Microwaves - A great mix!

Today, Saturday, April 8, 2017 around 11:30 am, Herbert, AF4JF; Zack, W9SZ; Rich, N0PQU and myself, KO0Z meet at Aerie's Winery overlooking Grafton, IL in grid square EM48sx.  The WX was spectacular and the sun abundant.  Herbert, picked up a little too much sun and went home with a headache and reddened skin.  It was great seeing everyone after a winter of microwave inactivity.  Zack and I brought our 10 GHz rigs and we were able to copy the WB9PNU beacon very well from the winery parking lot and from the Dow AT&T site in EM49ua.  In fact, at the winery parking lot, no matter where I turned my dish, the beacon was very clear.  A great second meeting for BARS!  Next time, I won't be so late arriving for the meeting ( I was 90 minutes late....ouch!). 

             Thanks Herbert for suggesting this winery!  It's a wonderful place with fantastic scenery.

 Zack, W9SZ; Herbert, AF4JF and Rich, N0PQU enjoying lunch high above Grafton, IL in EM48sx.  In the background is the Mississippi River and St. Charles County, MO also in EM48.  Temp was around 72 degrees, sunny and windy.

Looking south along the Mississippi River with a tow boat and barge.  The Ameren UE Portgage Des Sioux power plant is in the background.

                                             Zack, W9SZ setting up at Dow, IL in EM49ua.

                      Ron, KO0Z with his rig at the Dow site receiving the WB9PNU beacon.

                           S-9 signal report for the WB9PNU/b at Dow, EM49ua.

            AM broadcast station WJBM, 1480 near Jerseyville, IL on my way back home to Girard, IL

                                                      WJBM broadcast tower.

                                              Some more WJBM broadcast towers.

                                     Sometimes, wild weeds provide the prettiest ground cover!