THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF MICROWAVES 

New 134GHz DX record claim

From: Brian Justin, WA1ZMS <wa1zms@att.net>

Thu, 8 Dec 2005
.
I'd like to claim what should be a new world DX record for the 134GHz band as well as a possible "first-on-band" for the USA. This QSO was between myself operating as W2SZ/4 and W4WWQ/4.

Band: 134GHz
Date: Dec 8th, 2005
Time: 02:43z
W4WWQ/4 (WA4RTS assisting) 36-59-28N 79-20-41W FM06hx
W2SZ/4 (WA1ZMS operator) 37-31-00N 79-30-35W FM07fm
Distance: 60.1km

W2SZ/4 WX:
Temp: -6.7C
Dew Point: -16C
RH: 45%
Baro: 882mb
Atmos Loss: 0.185dB/km

W4WWQ/4 WX:
No data taken.

The former 134GHz DX record was held by JA1KVN & JA1ELV at 56.4km. The signal margin on both ends of our QSO was a few dB so there is a chance we could better our DX. But first, I must investigate why one of the station's Gunn sources will not properly phase lock with good phase noise. Of course, you only find this out after you take
the equipment into the field! The equipment runs 5mW of TX power into a 30cm dish
with a Cassegrain feed and a dual-mode horn. Receive function uses a sub-harmonic mixer. Both TX and RX functions get their LO power from a phase locked 69GHz Gunn source.
The Gunn signal is frequency doubled when in TX mode.The operating mode was FSK-CW. The RX IF radio was an ICOM R-7000 on both ends.
I'd like to thank Geep, WA4RTS for helping Pete, W4WWQ during the QSO.

NOTE: As of last year, the 134GHz band has replaced the former 145GHz Amateur band. The 145GHz allocation has been removed from the Amateur Radio Service world wide, with the USA being the last country to make the change.

73,
Brian, WA1ZMS/4

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47GHz World Record Broken again, just a few weeks since the last one!

From: ad6fp@lbachs.com
Received:1 Nov 2005
On the evening of October 30, W6QI and AD6FP completed a 47GHz contact over a 343km path, 30km farther than the current record. W6QI operated from Frazier Mountain DM04MS
North of Los Angeles. AD6FP operated from Pilot Peak DM07BS near the northern entrance to Yosemite. The path is near line-of-sight with an obstructing peak about 20km south of Pilot Peak.

Signal levels were easy copy with some slow fading, 30+dB margin on the Frazier end and 6+ db on the Pilot end.

Weather conditions were seasonal normal for California, temperatures in the mid 40 fahrenheit range with ~ 60% relative humidity. Both Frank and Gary were returning from the Microwave Update 2005 conference that was held in Los Angeles and hosted by the San Bernardino Microwave Society. The stations used were the same as last time:

W6QI: 12" splash plate, 10mW, 8dB NF
AD6FP: 36" Cassegrain, 30W, 4dB NF

AA6IW had another 47GHz radio on the Frazier end with W6QI but due to local oscillator problems was not able to participate in the record breaking contact. N2MJI accompanied AD6FP to the Pilot end and assisted in the navigation to the site and the radio setup which were both done after sunset thanks to a flat tire on the way to Pilot. It took several hours to finally make the QSO due to problems at both ends: failing power inverter, failing local oscillator, aiming in the dark etc.

QSOs were also completed on 10 and 24GHz with very strong signal levels and 10GHz was used as the liaison frequency. To assist aiming W6QI played back his 47GHz audio to AD6FP over the 10GHz liaison allowing AD6FP to do the final peaking of the dish. Signal margins indicate longer paths are possible but further attempts will have to wait for spring .

AD6FP Gary
W6QI Frank

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W3IY - SILENT KEY

From:w4rx <w4rx@cox.net>
Date:Mon, 19 Sep 2005

W3IY, Bill Seabreeze, SK. VHF and microwave enthusiasts lost a true friend
and supporter today when Bill Seabreeze succumbed after a long struggle with
cancer at 54.

Bill was first licensed as WN3EIY in 1965. He quickly found his lifelong
passion of VHF and microwave radio. Virtually every VHF operator on the
east coast knew Bill as a friend. Throughout his life he Elmered
up-and-coming VHF operators. His laboratory was always available to help
solve our technical problems and to get our equipment working. His web site
http//users.adelphia.net~w3iy/ was a treasure-trove of valuable vhf
information, propagation data, and rover tips. He was a member of the
Potomac Valley Radio Club.

Bill's pride and joy was his rover, the official Intergalactic Roving Battle
Jitney. He never missed a VHF contest until this September, when he was
confined to bed. He didn't enter for score, but to give out rare grids to
his friends. He developed a circuit starting in FM15 and FM25 on the outer
banks of North Carolina, and continuing up through the eastern shore, taking
advantage of coastal tropo to give these rare grids to stations as far up
the coast as Maine. In recent years he was joined by his friend Christophe,
ON4IY, who flew over from Belgium for each contest to rove with Bill. I
will always remember Bill's whispering yet reliable 10-GHz signal from the
outer banks. His perennial admonition, "don't forget to listen for the weak
ones" is known to us all.

Bill was Vice President for Engineering of Microcube Corp. in Leesburg VA.
He is survived by his wife Kathy, his son Billy, and his daughter Kristine.
Viewing will be at the Loudoun Funeral Home and Chapel, Catoctin Circle,
Leesburg, VA, to be followed by a brief service, date and time to be
announced.

Well, 73, Bill. I know from now on the propagation will be a bit more
difficult but we will still be listening down in the noise for you, just
like you taught us.

de W4RX

DATE:Mon, 19 Sep 2005

From: Nd3f@aol.com

Bill Seabreeze, W3IY, became a SK this week, after a long bout with
cancer. He was a partner, sometimes a head-to head competitor; most
importantly, he was a true friend. Bill embodied the "Radio Amateur's
Code", perhaps more than any person I have known in 40 years of ham
radio:

Bill was:

CONSIDERATE...never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the
pleasure of others. In fact, he made it more fun for all of us,
putting rare grids on the air, instigating and encouraging Microwave
Activity Days, and gently enforcing good operating practice by example!

LOYAL...offers loyalty, encouragement and support to other amateurs,
local clubs, and the American Radio Relay League, through which Amateur
Radio in the United States is represented nationally and
internationally. Bill supported clubs including numerous local clubs,
the PVRC, the Grid Pirates, the Packrats and others as a member and
supporter. He went the extra mile to give briefings and demonstrations
of roving and microwave operations. He was a great encourager of new
hams; helping not only by his infectious example, but also by giving
equipment, antennas, and time to newcomers. One fond memory is his
stand on the various rule changes that have happened over the years-he
simply got on the air and operated; that was and is the most important
thing!

PROGRESSIVE...with knowledge abreast of science, a well-built and
efficient station and operation above reproach. Most don't know that
Bill was an awesome engineer and designer from HF-microwave and up. We
worked on some projects together, and Bill was the cornerstone to a
successful project design and implementation for a millimeter wave
system. He also held some distance records at millimeter wave. I have
many fond memories of Thursday night work and strategy sessions at
Bill's lab-started off by an early dinner of Chinese food at a local
restaurant, and sometimes going well into the night until we squeezed
the last dB out of a project!

FRIENDLY...slow and patient operating when requested; friendly advice
and counsel to the beginner; kindly assistance, cooperation and
consideration for the interests of others. These are the hallmarks of
the amateur spirit. Bill was a friend to many. One of the key people
at his workplace mentioned that in 15 years she saw him get angry at
someone only once.and that was well justified! His pleasant demeanor
was a hallmark both in person and on the air-we can all learn from
that. Bill gave of his time, especially in support of getting new
microwavers on the air. He also shared operating strategy, site
information, and even equipment with anyone who would ask.

BALANCED...radio is an avocation, never interfering with duties owed to
family, job, school or community. Bill was exceedingly proud of his son
Billy, who recently returned from Iraq. It was very nice to see his
various operating awards posted in his den at his very nice home-the
Tom Kirby award, a QST cover plaque, and many many contest awards among
others. He cared deeply for his family, and we often cut short our
technical visits so he could appropriately attend to family matters.

PATRIOTIC...station and skill always ready for service to country and
community. Bill was extremely supportive of our country! His job
served the nation's defense, and he was always prepared to rove to
anywhere he was needed in an emergency.

I miss Bill already-I last visited with him a couple of weeks ago at
his home-he wanted to make sure that I correctly integrated a 903 MHz
amplifier project that we had started a few months ago but never
finished.that's Bill-doing whatever he could to get one more signal on
the air!

73 Bill-I'm certain your new rover is the best one yet!

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47GHz World Record Announcement

From:Frank Bauregger W6QI <Frank.Bauregger@novariant.com>
Date:Tue, 23 Aug 2005

This past Sunday afternoon during the "10 GHz and Up Cumulative Contest" W6QI and AD6FP completed a 47GHz contact over a 313km distance to extend the current world record on that band. W6QI operated from Frazier
Mountain DM04MS north of Los Angeles. AD6FP operated from Devil Peak DM07DM just south of Yosemite. Signal margins were >40dB on the W6QI end and about 8dB on the AD6FP end. The weather conditions were sunny, clear, warm, and dry at both locations. An earlier attempt was made from Mt. Frazier to Mt. Oso(375km path) at 0600 on Saturday morning with no results. However, after successful completion of a 170km QSO between Frazier and the valley floor (DM06AB) on Saturday evening, it was decided to try Devil Peak onSunday.

The station details are as follows:

W6QI: 12" splash plate dish, +10 dBm TX Power, 8 dB NF, OCXO locked
AD6FP: 36" Cassegrain dish, +45 dBm TX Power, 4 dB NF, Rb locked

- Frank, W6QI

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VK5ZO, AN AMATEUR MICROWAVE PIONEER PASSES AWAY IN HOSPITAL

All microwavers will be saddened at the news of the passing of Des Clift, VK5ZO, on the 6th June2005. I've just heard the news via Des's long time microwave pal, Lyle Patison, VK6ALU (formerlyVK2ALU) and also directly from Des’s wife Marjorie. He died in an Adelaide hospital in South Australia, following a heart attack. I believe he was just into his eighties.

Des was an amateur microwave pioneer, making the very first 10GHz contacts in the UK during the late 1940s/early 50s when he was G3BAK. By that time there were a few UK amateurs taking an interest in microwaves. Two of them, Des and G3LZ, began experimenting in 1949 and, in January 1950, were rewarded with the first UK two-way contact on the 10GHz band. Des eventually moved to Australia where he carried on his microwave activities, mainly on the 5.6GHz band, first as VK2AHC in New South Wales and later as VK5ZO in South Australia.
His 10GHz equipment for that 1950 contact with G3LZ consisted of a mains powered klystron transmitter/receiver and the path was just a "few miles" (actually about 1.75 miles) across the Manchester Ship Canal in North West England. Of just as much interest was his use of  70cm for talkback. At that time, even the 432MHz band was for radio pioneers!
In the past couple of years I have had the pleasure of keeping in touch with Des over the internet Echolink system. Des did not have HF facilities and this most useful internet resource enabled him to chat to microwave friends around Australia and overseas. I never actually met him but our Echolink chats, letters and emails made me feel I had known him as a true friend for a very long time.I know everyone will join with me in passing their condolences to his wife Marjorie and the family.
Peter, G3PHO

From Sam Jewell, G4DDK:
I'm really sorry to hear of the passing of Des. I was fortunate to visit with Des and Marjorie twice in the last few years, the last time being in February of 2004. He was a fine gentleman who always had time to talk and explain and who was, when I visited him in 2004, re-building his 3cm gear.

As G3BAK, Des published many fine articles including a 70cm converter. It used the well known two-stage Butler oscillator! This was in the 1960's, when the converter design was well ahead of its time.

I will miss not being able to visit him again. Rest well, friend.

From Dale Cavies, VK5DC:
I am saddened to hear of Des's passing.
I live in Mt Barker where he resided and spent some time over the last 15 years or so helping make loop yagis and being fascinated by all the experimenting he carried out.

From Mike Dixon, G3PFR:
My sincerest commiserations. Des started his microwave (10GHz) experiments (using QRP
klystrons) not 20 miles away from my present QTH (see the now defunct RSGB Microwave Manual, Volume 3, Chapter 18) in 1949 - that’s some record of achievement!
Vale. Rest in Peace, knowing that you've achieved much!

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Jan-Martin Nøding, LA8AK, now Silent Key

After being missing for about one week, Jan-Martin Nøding, LA8AK, was found dead on Wednesday 27th April 2005. He died from a heart attack on a walking trip in an area near his home near Kristiansand, Norway. He was in his fifties.

There cannot be many radio amateurs, especially in the VHF/UHF/SHF field that have not heard of Jan-Martin, LA8AK. A prolific writer and experimenter, he published his findings and ideas world-wide and particularly on his website: www.agder.net/la8ak/index1.htm which is still in operation as this report is being put together.

Ian White, G3SEK, comments,” Amateur radio has lost its genuine Norse Giant. Jan-Martin was a man of huge stature, with an engineering talent to match.

Condolences maybe sent to his family at:
jon@noding.com

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The following post appeared on the Moon Net reflector:
April 16, 2005 - Announcement of the first two way QSOs via the moon on 47GHz.

The team of RW3BP, AD6FP, W5LUA, and VE4MA would like to announce that The first 47GHz contacts via the moon have been completed. As you may recall, RW3BP heard the first lunar echoes on 47GHz back in August of 2004. At that time he was heard by AD6FP, W5LUA, VE4MA and VE7CLD. Since the receipt of the first 47GHz echoes via the moon, numerous tests between RW3BP and AD6FP led to improvements by RW3BP, allowing him to copy calls from the lower power signal of AD6FP in January of 2005.

As of April 16, 2005 the team of AD6FP, W5LUA and VE4MA have each completed a CW QSO via the moon with RW3BP.
The station at RW3BP consists of a 2.4m offset fed dish and 100 plus watts while the station at AD6FP consists of a 1.8M offset fed dish and 30 watts. At W5LUA and VE4MA 2.4M offset fed dishes and 30 watt TWTs
were used. Noise figures of all stations are in the 3.5 to 4.7dB range.

Photo: RW3BP's47GHz EME dish(thanks to RW3BP for the picture)

Since the doppler shift can be as much as 100 + kHz at 47GHz, one must continuously adjust the receive frequency to keep the station centered in the passband. Precision frequency control was obtained by using GPS controlled,Rubidium locked, or TV sync controlled phase locked local oscillators. Various techniques were in use to keep the Doppler shifted frequency in the passband of the receivers.

[Submitted by RW3BP, AD6FP, W5LUA and VE4MA]

Webmaster's note: A fantastic achievement! Our congratulations go to everyone involved in this historic series of contacts.All this puts my meagre 22 milliwatts of 47GHz into perspective!

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FRENCH PLAN DXPEDITION TO RARE IO51 SQUARE

From: F6DRO, DEHAYS Dominique <Dominique.DEHAYS@enac.fr>

IO51/EI xpedition:
F1HDF and F6DPH plan to be QRV from IO51 at the end of September on all bands from 144MHz to 24GHz (and maybe 47GHz)

The planned dates are: 23, 24 and 25th September 2005

73 Dom/F6DRO

Please note that this expedition does NOT coincide with any organised UK activity day or contest. Please support Dom's efforts by being active on those three days.

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NEW WORLD LIGHTWAVE RECORD

From: "Chris L" <vocalion1928@hotmail.com>

Date: 03 Mar 2005 00:36:01.0010 (UTC)

Just a few lines to let you know that on Saturday 19 February 2005, Mike VK7MJ and I set an Australian optical comms DX record between Mount Barrow and Mount Wellington in Tasmania, a distance of 104 miles or 167 km - and we
did it without the uage of laser sources!

The light sources used were amplitude modulated 630 nM 1 watt Luxeon LEDs, collimated through 20cm by 25 cm fresnels. Receivers used BPW34 PIN photodiode into a low noise, FET-input transimpedance preamp. Full details,
photos of equipment, audio grabs of the contact and pics of past equipment are at:

http://reast.asn.au/optical.php

We are principally interested in developing NON-laser systems for long range use as, going by the strict letter of the law, they require no licensing and therefore are usable by a much broader section of the community than are
laser-based systems. Some aspects of our optical design are novel, such as the usage of a secondary plano-convex lens between light source and fresnel to optically vary the effective size of the source, in order to fill the
fresnel's rather fuzzy prime focus area without increasing beam dispersal excessively.

Mike VK7MJ is now back in Hobart and is writing an article on our experiments... I'm concurrently preparing a web page (or series of same) which will eventually (not for a few weeks yet) appear piggy-backing on the webpage of Tony Sanderson VK3AML at:

www.bluehaze.com.au

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As the photo of VK7MJ above shows:

Aiming is via rifle sights, and the optical unit operates by bonding two co-lined fresnels to a single protective cover-glass sheet. Full duplex operation is provided.

We'd welcome any correspondence on the subject...!

Best wishes to all,

Chris Long (for Mike VK7MJ, Joe VK7JG and Jason Reilly VK7ZJA).

Even more 122GHz DX ... NEW WORLD RECORD

From: Brian Justin WA1ZMS <wa1zms@att.net>
Date:Tue, 18 Jan 2005

Since we had some tiny signal margin on 122GHz at 79km and we knew we could get a few more dB from the use
of Spectran software, we were able brave the cold night air and better our World DX record to 114km.

Details of QSO:
Date: Jan 18, 2005
Time: 03:46z
WA1ZMS/4 N36-43-03 W80-19-23 EM96ur
W4WWQ/4 N37-31-00 W79-30-35 FM07fm
Distance: 114.4Km

WX at WA1ZMS QTH:
Temp: -12.0C (10F)
Dew Point: -23.1C
Relative Humidity: 37%
Pressure: 920mb
Atmospheric loss: 0.336db/km

WX at W4WWQ QTH:
Temp: -17.5C (0F)
Dew Point: -21C
Relative Humidity: 74%
Pressure: 877mb
Wind: 24km/hr
Wind chill: -28C (-18F) <--- !!!!
Atmospheric loss: 0.362db/km

A few photos, Spectran screen shots, and some audio files are posted at www.mgef.org

I'd like to really thank Pete for dealing with sub-zero wind chill temperatures while making the
QSO. It took us about 40 minutes to send and copy all the necessary info via QRSS mode. My feet were
so cold just standing around waiting for the very slow CW to be sent that I put a pair of
chemical/air-activated hand warmers in my shoes. They worked very well. No more cold toes!

-Brian, WA1ZMS

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