15 May 2019

Tools for planning 10 GHz "expeditions"


Activity on 10 GHz means portable operations. If you live near some mountains, it is a matter of finding a panoramic spot, clear of vegetation, open to possible correspondants. Besides asking for advice to "who has already been there", technology and Internet help a lot.

Street View on Google Maps allows to survey many places directly from home. You can get an idea of the possible presence of vegetation, parking place, pic-nic table or grass field for stuffing the equipment.

Once you're done you can run a coverage simulation with Radio Mobile online. You'll need some practice in order to get meaningful and reliable maps, but I am sure there are many tutorials to choose from.

Last but not least, the wonderful www.peakfinder.org website lets you name mountains/peaks surrounding any location of the world: without running a simulation you will know if two remote locations can "see" each other and stand chances for a 10 GHz QSO. This is also useful if someone will operate from home and wants to know if the portable station is visible.

06 May 2019

Just another 10 GHz test transmission

Yesterday I wanted to test again my HB100 signal and the online receiver 30 km away. No dish on either side. This is the result of my WFM signal modulated with a square wave (which generates two parallel traces on the waterfall).

Three beacons and me on 10 GHz.

My transmitting setup.
I did not leave it transmitting for long given its strength on the waterfall and the frequency too close to beacons. Moreover the TX beam was 60 degrees off, at least according to the theoretical/datasheet radiation pattern. 

Simply amazing.