K1JT – WA3BZT – K2TXB WB2RVX – W3CMP – W3HMS PackRats 21 October, 2010 Moonbounce “HowTo” K1JT – WA3BZT – K2TXB WB2RVX – W3CMP – W3HMS PackRats 21 October, 2010

Overview K1JT – EME fundamentals WA3BZT – antenna, preamp, feedline, … K2TXB – “back end” setup; making QSOs WB2RVX – EME and contesting W3CMP – portable EME W3HMS – 1296 EME with a 3m dish

EME Basics It’s hard… so it’s fun! Path loss: -240 to -290 dB Best possible Rx NF High power, big antennas ??? Which band(s)… and why?

Sky Map: Galactic Noise, 144 MHz Spectrum f -2.6

Tsys – the Fundamental Limit 50 144 Pnoise = kTB 10 432 1.3 3.4

Which Band ? 50: galactic noise → high Tsys 144: most activity, easiest 432: smaller antennas; low Tsys 1296: 10-12ft dish “enough” 2.3, 3.4: SSPAs; activity gaining 5.7, 10: TWT amplifiers

Desirable Equipment Preamp at antenna Sequencer to protect preamp Low-loss feedline 144, 432: polarization diversity Antenna positioning in Az, El Computer-rig interface

Typical Requirements, CW EME (BW = 50 Hz S/N = 3 dB) Frequency Ant G HPBW TxPwr (MHz) Type (dBi) (deg) (W) 50 4×12 m 19.7 18.8 1200 144 4×6 m 21.0 15.4 500 432 4×6 m 25.0 10.5 250 1296 3 m 29.5 5.5 160 2304 3 m 34.5 3.1 60 3456 2 m 34.8 3.0 120 5760 2 m 39.2 1.8 60 10368 2 m 44.3 1.0 25  But: JT65 needs 10 – 15 dB less 

KL7UW – 4×6m yagis, 144 MHz

VA7MM – 3m dish, 1296 MHz

N4MW – 2.6m dish 10 GHz Xvrtr TWT PA

Portable/QRP EME, DXpeditions TF/DL3OCH Iceland Moon 3A/DL3OCH Monte Carlo

DL3OCH: 1296 MHz EME station

Does EME Really Work? K1JT on 144 MHz WAS = 50 DXCC = 97 WAZ = 34 VUCC = 543 2m grids, VHF SS = 76 EME “initials” = 638 EME QSOs ~ 3000

Putting it all together Finding and tracking the Moon Good times of the month Measuring Sun noise Hearing/detecting your own echo Computer-to-rig interface The “loggers” Making QSOs