Wow, I just worked Block Island on 10GHz! I feel a lot like the first time I made a simplex contact on two meters…​ a little confused on how I was able to connect with another station over such a vast distance without the aid of a repeater, and at such a high frequency. Now, of course, I understand atmospheric conditions and propagation better than I did back in 1997. But it’s still really cool to think about a simplex contact over such a great distance.

At the end of July I finally had all the pieces I needed to build a 3cm (10GHz) transceiver. Using an Elecraft KX3 transceiver, Downeast Microwave (DEMI) 10368-144 transverter, and Directive Systems Dual Band Feed (for 5 and 10GHz), and a Directive Systems 60cm aluminum dish, I was finally on the air.

After a couple of failures to make contact with local hams, I took all of my gear to Dave K1RZ’s house to troubleshoot. It was determined that everything seemed to be working appropriately and, since I was over that way, I took everything to Gambrill State Park's Frederick Overlook to test at a more reasonable distance. On 4 August 2024, my first contact on 3cm was made at a distance of 32km. At least I knew that my gear was working but how well it was working was still in question.

Fast forward to today and I was setup along the west shore of the Chesapeake Bay pointing in the direction of Block Island. With half of the operating group in town searching for ice cream, I lined up my dish to attempt to work AF1T. Contact was made using CW at 16:37Z with AF1T’s signal a decent Q4. Very cool.

At least I know my system works and I’m looking forward to the upcoming ARRL 10GHz and Up Contest and making contacts from the southern shore of Lake Erie in Ohio.