[SCCC] ARRL 10 GHz and Up - N7DA

[Drew Arnett]

Two years ago, I was running about a 10 dB NF and +6 dBm conducted
with a 28 inch dish.  Last year, I replaced the feed for 9 dB.  This
year added an LNA and a PA.  (Estimated conducted Pout of 27 or 28
dBm.)  It was a lot of fun running barefoot, and that made a QSO SDG
to Vegas on rainscatter with a big gun station, even with the poor
feed.  Last year was better.  And this year definitely didn't feel QRP
as it was much easier to work bounce paths, troposcatter, etc.  Also
only logged 3 CW QSOs this time and no mixed mode QSOs.

Claimed score per my calculator is 10,720.  ARRL submission tool says:
 10,734.  Take your pick.  :-)  Best DX was 407 km.  (Op on mountain
top north of Phoenix and I was on Laguna looking east.  Very easy copy
on phone.)  Best DX SDG to SDG might have been Laguna area to big gun
station N6NKC on Otay, because I was pointed at Gorgonio.  I didn't
want to move my antenna and lose the peaking I had done on other
signals, so I made Dan work for it.  :-)

Lots of familiar ops and lots of new ops in the contest this year.
Worked 28 unique callsigns, but I came far from working everyone I
could have worked.  Wow, is that right?  It's hard to work everyone on
during the 10 GHz contest, because it's so busy?  Maybe I need to work
on butt in the chair time?  We did have a tropical storm rain out one
day.  And the drizzle knocked my al fresca T/R circuitry offline
another day.  (Could have gotten it back online, but decided to just
hang out with the other ops and relax the rest of the day.)

Things I like about this contest that folks can't help but to ask you
what you're up to.  We're kindof asking for it.  :-)  Another thing is
really working all kinds of propagation, often several types at once,
and hear what it sounds like:  tropoducting, aircraft scatter,
troposcatter, terrain bounce, knife edge? (not sure how to know when
this is happening, yet), rainscatter.  Ducting and scatter can work
for you or against you.  The thick marine layer last weekend could at
times put a real damper on a path.

Microwave contesting isn't VHF contesting.  VHF contesting isn't HF
contesting.  Looking forward to CQP.  :-)

Fun stuff.

Drew
n7da