[Fourlanders] Microwave Update Conference

[Bob Lear]

I attended the Microwave Update conference in Dayton last weekend. It 
was great.  Got to see a lot of friends and make some new ones. Also 
learned some good stuff.  Bought nothing from the vendors or flea market 
though.  Just didn't have anything I might have needed.

Got there on Thursday afternoon and did another tour of the VOA museum 
in Hamilton/Bethany Ohio as they were having that open house in 
conjunction with the conference.  There is a amateur club station there, 
WC8VOA, in the old VOA transmitter and control building.  All the big 
antennas, three or four 400' or so towers and many curtain arrays and 
rhombics are unfortunately long gone.  One of the eight transmitters is 
still there but not operational anymore.  Each was 250 kW.  Some big 
tubes in them.  Nice visit.  The club also has a 24' dish that was used 
by VOA for sending content back and forth to DC.  They have that on the 
air for 10 GHz EME.  With only 12W or so from a TWT, very strong audio 
echoes on CW off the moon.  We didn't hear a Q because no one was on 
during the day on Thursday and the moon was already down for Eu.

The complete conference proceedings are available on the web page 
microwaveupdate.org along with pictures from the conference and the VOA 
visit.  They also had a Sunday visit to the AF museum at 
Wright-Patterson but I skipped that and drove on home on Sunday. I've 
been twice to that and it is a great visit too, easy to spend a whole 
day and still not see it all.

Next year Microwave Update will be in the Dallas area.  It's a great 
conference to attend.

73, Bob