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Winter 2005 Issue |
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Microwave Rain Scatter in the |
 Photo B. KMØT helped NØDQS/R with the final installation of the microwave dishes prior to the 2002 UHF Contest. |
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I had spent a number of months on the microwave bands without knowing that a very promising method of propagation existed. Through multiple contests and chasing rover Gene, NØDQS, it became apparent that 5.7 and 10 GHz were enhanced when we had rain in the area. I wondered a bit about this and began to do some research on this particular propagation mode. With what I found, it was pretty much apparent that the guys in Europe probably laugh at us when we post our rain-scatter attempts and accomplishments, because this is a lot of their “bread and butter” propagation. There are some good articles on this mode by the European operators. There are also articles on 10-GHz rain scatter by Tom Williams, WA1MBA. A Google search of “European rain scatter propagation” will reveal a number of commercial and amateur radio references. For more on WA1MBA’s articles, please see his website: <http://www.wa1mba.org/10grain.htm>. Also see his article “10 GHz, a Nice Band for a Rainy Day” in the February 1997 issue of CQ VHF magazine, as well as his paper “Narrow-Band 10 GHz and Some Observations from New England,” which was published in the Proceedings of the 21st (1995) Eastern VHF Conference.
Working stations via rain scatter is not a
hard thing to accomplish. In fact, I was working it without really knowing
it. Now lots of the folks around the NLRS (Northern Lights Radio Society)
area are “in tune” with this predictable propagation mode and are taking
advantage of the potential it offers. You can get into the society’s loop
by subscribing to its reflector. Information on the NLRS, as well as
instructions on subscribing to its reflector, are at <http://www.nlrs.org>. |
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