The weekends of August 17-18 and September 21-22 will give adventurous radio amateurs the perfect chance to explore the microwave portion of the radio spectrum with the 2013 ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest. The contest period on both weekends runs from 6 AM local time on Saturday until midnight local time on Sunday. Participants earn points based on the distance of each QSO, and operating from several locations  — mountain-topping is popular — during the event is not only allowed, it’s encouraged! Most participants use SSB, although CW sometimes is a better bet. In contrast to the typical HF contest paradigm, most stations on the microwave bands run only several hundred milliwatts, making up the difference with gain dish antennas. Operators might experience the thrill of completing a contact by bouncing a signal off a mountain or building or even raindrops! Contact coordination typically happens on 2 meter SSB. Tropospheric openings have also been known to occur and boost propagation. Past participants have worked up to 900 miles on 10 GHz! Interested? A list of VHF/UHF/SHF clubs is available on the ARRL website. Send paper logs to ARRL 10 GHz and Up Contest, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.