432 MHz AND ABOVE EME NEWS
MARCH VOL 28 #3
ALLEN KATZ, K2UYH
Editor
ENGR DEPT., THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY, TRENTON, NJ 08650-4700 (W 609-490-2817
OR H 443- 3184, FAX 609-443-1713, AND EMAIL:
Allen Katz, K2UYH
PRODUCTION ASSIST:
TOM KIRK, KA2VAD (908-521-2049).
NETNEWS EDITOR: G4RGK, DAVID DIBLEY
SKEDS CORD & DIRECTORY: DL4EBY/DK0TU, KLAUS TIEDEMANN,
HALSKESTR.35, D-12167 BERLIN, (49-30-7955467), E-Mail:
Klaus Tiedemann.
EME WEB DIRECTORY by DL4EBY
***E-MAIL LIST CORD: Scott KD4LT***
*** NA EME BBS: 704-284-4854 ***
EME NETS
14.345, 10 AM ET SATURDAYS, AFTER VARO NET SUNDAYS:
CONDITIONS
The March SW was unusual. Extremely low
libration with very sharp pol was reported on 432. At the
times I was on 70 cm, signal quality was good, and Faraday
required a 90 deg rotation between TX and RX to be heard.
The big focus was the SSB Contest on 1296. Conditions and
activity on 23 cm were good, but SSB activity was less
intense than in ‘99. My score was down by nearly 50 % from
last year. I have received very few contest reports thus
far. Of these KB2AH appears to be in the lead with 297
points. In March there be more 1296 contesting with the 1st
part of the DUBUS/REF EME Contest. However the contest and
the SW are not on the same weekend. 11/12 March is the
regular skeds weekend and 18/19 March is the 144/1296
section of the DUBUS/REF contest.
RIO 2000 EME CONFERENCE
Don (PY5ZBU) writes that he have
received many e-mails confirming the fact that the person or
persons concerned will attend the Conference, however
leaving the hotel accommodations "Open", or saying "Unknown"
or requesting accommodation for say "two or three people",
etc without specifying the hotel. The Organizing Committee
will only expedite reservations for those conference members
and families who intend to stay at the Conference Hotel -
Rio Atlântica Hotel (Av. Atlântica, 2964 - Rio de Janeiro -
RJ - Brazil - Tel. 55-21-548-6332/Fax 55-21-255-6410). The
remaining pre-reserved block of rooms at the Conference
Hotel now stands at 20. If the demand increases then we can
possibly try to pre-reserve a further 20 at the latest until
the month of May. After May the hotel will not guarantee
bookings. Please indicate clearly whether you intend to stay
at the conference hotel or personally select an alternative
hotel. All reservations for alternate hotels must be made by
the individuals concerned directly with the chosen hotel. As
a result of extensive inquires to various travel agents
including Brazilian and foreign airlines flying USA to
Brazil we have not been able to identify any special rate
availability. In Europe however there are many operators
practicing cheaper Non-IATA air fares to Rio de Janeiro, as
shown in our EME2000 web page. There is no branch of the
YMCA in Brazil and all Universities are in session at the
time of the conference; thus no chance of weekend dormitory
accommodation appear available. For touring purposes there
are many opportunities, including a Brazil pass air ticket
to fly around Brazil. For detailed touring information,
please e-mail the following travel agent:
Planeta Turismo Att. Carlos Mauad, tel. 55-41-322-9377, e-mail:
Travel Agency
It remains the responsibility of each
and every visitor to our conference to personally
investigate and pursue the best deal, hotel or tour, which
fits his or her pocket. There are infinite possibilities for
touring in Brazil, which is the size of a continent with
varying cultures and more than 7000 miles of sea coastline,
Amazon tropical forests, cities, etc.
GREENLAND EME EME DXPEDITION
GP47TA reports that an EME dxpedition to Greenland is planned for 29 May
to 5 June. They plan to use a 32 m dish that is located there on 23 cm
and yagi arrays on 2 and 70 cm (4 x 28 el 9 WL). [Why not
use the dish on 432 or even 144 as well as 1296?] They also
intend to be QRV 24 hours/day on 6 m and HF. More
information can be found at:
OX2K
AL7OB
Mike has had to cope with some pretty bad WX this
winter, but is still QRV -- The array survived another
attack from mother nature; 102 mph winds. They were clocked
by NWS. My wind sensor blew away. This time the array got
miss aligned pretty badly, so I had to go out and straighten
things up. The wind actually broke one of my Heliax phasing
lines at the connector. After fixed things up, I installed a
new ATF-10236 LNA. During the pre Feb SW I worked on 432
OK1KIR and LX1DB.
During the SW nil was copied from W7CI.
Later I worked
JA6AHB.
DD1XF
Frank found the conditions on 23 cm a little bit
better than normal during the Saturday of the Feb SW -- I
had to stop operation several times because of the wind, and
on Sunday I had to cease operation altogether at 1400. My
apology to OH2DG for missing our sked. I did not operated
the SSB contest, but did give out some points. 7 SSB QSOs.
I worked HB9SV, JA8IAD for an initial (#),
LX1DB on SSB, HB9BBD on SSB, OZ6OL on SSB, K5JL, W2UHI, KB2AH on SSB,
OE9ERC on SSB, W1QC #, OE5JFL on SSB, K2UYH on SSB and
PA3CSG.
DJ5MN
Bernhard reports on results from his modest 23 cm EME
station -- On 16 Jan, I worked
SV1OE for my DXCC 30. I also
QSO’d
OE9ERC, W2UHI, ZS6AXT, KD5IUV on CW and SSB, F5PL for
an initial (#), SM3AKW, DF3RU and DF4PV.
Heard but not called were HB9SV, OH2DG, WA9FWD, DJ9YW, I0UGB and GW3XYW.
My skeds were unsuccessful with W1ZX – nil heard and 9H1ES.
I was unable to operate the 1st day of the Feb SW and missed
my sked with W1ZX because of high winds. Beside my 2 m, 70
cm and 23 cm EME activity, I am considering operation on 10
GHz. Advice, comments and help are appreciated.
DL7APV
Bernd says that he wasn’t very active in Jan -- I
worked on 432 only
CT1DMK and VE6TA.
I need QSLs from WA4NJP and W7QX. During the Feb SW I added only
VK4AFL
for an initial. Nil was heard from UA4API and IK2EAD. I was on only
for skeds and did not spend any time on random. We had
several inches of snow and 13 °C temperatures, but the real
problem was storms. We had > 80km/h winds more than 6 times
since Christmas. The WX is now fine. I started a hole for a
new tower. I hope to finish soon and set the concrete before
March. I do not plan to be very active until the new antenna
is ready, but I am available for skeds.
F2TU
Philippe was among the victims of the savage storms
that hit Eur in Dec. I had severe storm damage in Dec. A
quarter of the QRA's roof flew away with rafters, batten and
tiles. My satellite antenna was beheaded by part of the
roof. The 6 m dish was crushed by another part of the roof.
Fortunately I was already working on a new 8 m dish before
this disaster. With a lot of work, I hope to be QRV again
this year.
F1ANH
Jean-Pierre will be QRV on 23 cm EME with his
portable demonstration station on 1 and 2 April at the
French VHF-UHF-SHF meeting at Seigy (JN07). During this
weekend operation will be by the "Briton Gang" consisting of
F6CGJ, F6ETI, F5PAU and F1ANH. Activity will start at 0700
on both days. The station is a 2.6 m dish and 4 x 2C39 PA
with 400 W out. No sked are planned, but they will be
looking for random QSOs.
G3LTF
Peter writes -- I was only active for Saturday this
time. I was unclear about what day the SSB Contest was on. I
spoke to Stuart GW3XYW and he reported very low activity on
1296, so I went on 432. Between 1900 and 2330 I worked the
following:
NC1I, DF3RU, UA3PTW #348, W7CNK, VE6TA, G4ERG and
N4GJV. I also heard EA3DXU with
a very good signal and AL7OB was CWNR. Conditions were unusual,
the QSB on Ron, N4GJV was
so slow it sounded like tropo, and he described it to me as
like 2M EME signals. I guess we were in a libration null for
this weekend. The pol. was all over the place. At 1900 echoes
were loud with 0 degrees shift, but by 2100 they were
inaudible and I had to rotate the feed by 90 degs to hear
them! In order to get Karl SM3AKW’s attention I had to
transmit 90 degs off the reception peak! There had been an
aurora earlier in the day. I'm working on various
improvements, but so far retirement has not speeded up the
rate at which things radio get done!
GM0ONN
Iain writes -- I am still alive but have suffered
the worst constant high winds for as long as I can remember.
I have had my 4 yagis for 70 cm built for 7 weeks now, but I
am fearful of leaving then up. The winter has been
unseasonably warm, but the sporadic winds have been
horrendous! On 23 cm, I still have 230 W and 4' dish, but I
have just been informed that a 6' Andrew dish is ready for
me to collect. This will give me a significant improvement
in performance. I hope to have it up by mid March. I will
then be ready to try some skeds again after my last "almost
promising" results. I am currently building DB6NT xvtr for 3
cm and have a 10 W TWTA. I also have a 40 W TWT, but will
need to build/modify a PSU. I also need to construct a feed
for 3 cm.
GW3XYW
Stu’s new millenium activity has been only on1296
thus far. He worked on 15 Jan
DC6UM (43/52) on SSB, IK2MMB (439/439) and OE9ERC (579/559),
on 16 Jan SM3AKW (549/559),
HB9SV (569/569), DF3RU (449/539) and G3LTF (549/559), on 12
Feb KB2AH (54/52), W1QC (539/549), ZS6AXT (549/569), W2UHI
(559/559) and G4DZU (449/559), and 13 Feb HB9BBD (57/56) on
SSB, HA5SHF (339/559), OE9ERC (57/56) on SSB, OZ6OL
(449/559), KD4LT (559/559), DJ5MN (549/559), K5JL (56/56) on
SSB and IK2MMB (559/549).
Stu has been exclusively on 23 cm
for 16 month and is up to initial 137 in 28 countries. In
the near future he plans to switch feeds to 70 or 13 cm. He
has not yet made up his mind as to which.
HA5SHF
Csaba (HA5BGL) reports that his group’s results on
1296 MHz during the Feb SW. They made only one QSO in the
SSB Contest. Worked on the 13th were at 1614
HB9SV (579/559),
1707 HB9BBD (589/559), 1735 GW3XYW (559/339) and 1916 OE9ERC
(57/559) SSB/CW.
IK2MMB
Sergio (JN45pq) sends the following info on his
station -- My station is composed of a 3.5 m (12’) 0.50 f/d
dish, full size W2IMU feed and TH308 PA. For RX I normally
use a FT847 but I am also looking into a good old R4C with a
125 Hz CW filter. My correct e-mail address is:
Sergio, IK2MMB
My QTH is in north Italy close to Milan.
My home tel is +39 039 920 2938 (good till 2000z - young
kids, mad wife...usual stuff) or cellphone at +39 335 617
4188.
K3HZO
Harry is temporarily QRT on 23 cm EME and asks for no
skeds until further notice. He had ice storm damage to his
dish. The broken panels have now been repaired, but a
variety of other EME system problems still need his
attention. Despite his desire and best efforts, he is unable
to address these problems right now. Harry has heavy
commitments on his time as a caregiver. His father and wife
both have had recent major surgeries. So what time he has
available now needs to go to keeping house and cooking. Both
are recovering fine. In a month or two, he should be able to
get back to isolating the remaining problems and be on the
moon again.
K6DV
Gene has been QRT for a while and is now working on
becoming QRV on EME again with his old 28’ dish and a new 7
m dish -- I got a dish positioner from VE1ALQ so a computer
can steer the dish. The 7 m dish should work great on 1296
and 2304, but is a bit too big for 10 GHz. I had a series of
storms come by, one after another. In ’92 after the last
storm passed, I had 5’ of snow on the ground. I stow the
dish when not in use at 90 degs to lessen the wind
resistance. The dish was completely filled with snow. Late
spring snow is wet & heavy. After the snow melted, I
couldn't turn it. I found a lot of bent and broken braces
rendering it inoperable. I lowered it to the ground, but it
wasn't until 2 years ago, when I retired that I was able to
get it repaired. Lanny (W6AT, exAA6GS) helped me fix it.
Lanny and I worked together. He went on the EME dxpeditions
10 years ago. We had to completely disassemble it to be able
to fix all the damage. After reassemble, there is a little
distortion to the surface. Before the accident, I could site
across the rim and the rim on the other side would be in
perfect alignment. Now there's a little difference. So when
I had the chance to get the 7 m dish, I grabbed it. I got a
used shipping container (8.5' x 8.5' x 20') that I'm
converting to a ham shack. It's positioned between the 2 EME
dishes. This will cut the feed line loss. I have 3 dB of
loss from the house to the dish on 1296 now. Lanny retired a
year before me. He's thinking about getting a motor home and
doing some touring. He said there's a lot of the country he
hasn't seen. I also have a 5 m TVRO dish. It's just a
reflector surface - very flimsy, but the f/d is .5. I was
thinking about making up back bracing supports and expanding
it to 20’. Building it in 2 sections, it'll ride on my
trailer like 2 clam shells. We would like to make 2 band
dxpeditions (432 and 1296). It'll be light enough for 2
people to handle and assemble at a DX site. We had faraday
problems with the yagi array on our OR and NM trips, but can
rotate the feed with a dish. Lots of projects! I'll keep you
informed of the progress.
K6JEY
Doug has switched from an array of 4 RIW19 yagis to 4
FO yagis on 70 cm -- I have made some measurements on the
new system. I did a preliminary sun noise measurement and it
was over 12 dB. Ground noise was more than 3 dB. The antenna
pattern is very sharp and nice. During the pre Feb SW I
QSO’d K1FO,
but made no others QSOs. It was nice to work
"the father of my antennas". I also added a TV camera to the
antenna, so if it is clear, I can point the antennas quite
well. I got a weatherproof camera the size of a lipstick
case for $100 and a 12mm lens. It works great! During the
last SW I had water in the TX coax, which was fixed, but
ended up with trouble with my linear amp (A Willie Fisher
single 4CX250R). I am still working on it. It is putting out
400+ W. I have 2 other amps in the works that use pairs of
250R's. One is a HB RIW type that is mostly together, and
the other is a Motorola base station amp that just needs to
be tuned up. I hope to have one of these on for March.
KB2AH
Tom was on for the SSB Contest and worked on 1296 on
SSB G3XYW IO, W2UHI EN, DD1XF JO, I0UGB JN, K2UYH FN, CT1DMK
IN, W1QC FN, PA3CSG JO, N2IQU FN, K5JL EM, WA9FWD EN, OE9ERC
JO, OZ6OL JO, OE5JFL in JN, W1ZX FM and HB9BBD JN, and on
SSB/CW ZS2AXT for (16x2 + 1x1) 9 = 297 points.
LU8EDR
Dany was active during the SW on 1296 with 40 W. He
made contacts with K2UYH partial and OE9ERC on SSB, and
K5JL, HB9SV and OE5JFL on CW. Dany should be on again in
March.
OK1KIR
Antonín (OK1DAI) sends news of his group’s Feb SW
results. On 432 MHz they worked on 12 Feb at 1104 VK4AFL
(O/O) for initial #343 and QG field (44), 1912 UA3PTW (O/O)
#344, 2101 VE6TA (O/O) #345, 2131 WB0GGM (O/O) #346 and 2201
W7SZ (O/O) #347, and on 13 Feb at 2302 AL7OB (M/M) #348 -
heard were DF3RU, DJ6MB, G3LTF, K1FO, KB1EYB(?), N2IQU,
NC1I, SM3AKW and W7CNK On 1296 MHz they QSO’d on 13 Feb at
1233 JA8IAD (449/O) for initial #165, 1303 JF3HUC (549/559)
#166, 1328 ZS6AXT (559/559), 1333 I0UGB (549/539) #167, 1403
IK2MMB (549/539) #168, 1435 OE9ERC (56/44) JN79/JN47 2x SSB,
1555 HB9SV (579/559), 2011 W1ZX (O/O) #169 and the state of
MD (26) and 2104 W1QC (549/449) #170 and the state of NH
(27) – heard were DD1XF, DF3RU, DJ5MN, G3LQR, G4DZU, GW3XYW,
IK6EIW, HA5SHF, HB9BBD, K5JL, N2IQU, OH2DG, OZ6OL, PA3CSG
and W2UHI.
RW1AW
Alex reports that he is just about ready to add 1296
to the list of bands he is QRV on EME. The project is 80%
complete. He has a 3.8 m dish with 0.34 f/d and VE4MA feed
horn. He also has a HB 5.7 m with 0.54 f/d, but the mesh is
not good. LX1DB is sending him some very good mesh (9x9 mm).
He has several PAs for 23 cm. A GI-7B with 320-350 W out,
GS-31B with 540-560 W out, and in Feb Alex tested a GS-35B
in the same cavity with 740-760 W out! His feedline is only
3.42 m long and 7/8" hardline. On RX he has a HB cavity with
NE 324 at 0.3 dB NF and 2 x MGF 1302s. He hopes to be fully
operational in June or July. Alex can be reached at e-mail:
Alex, RU1AW
VE6TA
Grant was active on EME on 3 bands in Feb. He made [I
believe] his 1st 222 MHz EME QSO with K6MYC
using 1 kW and
his 16' dish. On 432 he had 10 QSOs including 3 new
initials. On 1296 he added 2 initials with OE5JFL and HB9SV.
VK4AFL
Trevor had some good contacts during the Feb SW.
Initials included OK1KIR, DL7APV, W7SZ, SM3AKW, DJ6MB, HB9SU
and EA3DXU. In almost every case the polarity rotator had a
good workout in order to complete the contact. I have found
that down here the Faraday shift has been almost a constant
45 – 60 degs over the last several weeks. I am available for
skeds. My e-mail address is:
Trevor, VK4AFL
W1QC
Wayne (FN42iu) sends the following info on his EME
station -- My rig consists of a 5 m (16’) TVRO dish with
0.38 f/d, KB2AH (IMU) feedhorn, KB2AH 500 W 4 tube amp (350
W at feed horn) through approx 80’ of 7/8" hard-line for
both TX and RX, KB2AH pre-amp with 0.5 dB NF and DEMI 1296-
144 and 144-28 transverters. I am using camera tracking only
at present. My moon window is 20 degs above horizon looking
east to approx 10 degs above horizon looking west. I have a
tree blockage zone from approximately 200 deg to 290 deg. I
can work through it when the leaves have fallen and can hear
my own echoes. I am having problems with receive gain or NF.
So I can't hear as well as I should. I hope to have this
problem solved very soon. My address is (Wayne Mueller, 22
Hemlock Street, Londonderry, NH 03053), e-mail:
Wayne, W1QC
W7SZ
Larry in Feb worked on 70 cm VK4AFL
for a new
continent, KB8RQ, OK1KIR and WB0GGM
for initials. He also
worked NC1I
and heard AL7OB quite well. On 23 cm W1ZX was
Larry’s lone initial, but he also worked W7QX, N2IQU, K5JL
on SSB and OE9ERC on SSB. I plan to reposition the 23 cm
dish this summer for an earlier look at the Euro window.
WB0GGM
John reports the following sked results on 70 cm in
Feb: DJ3FI nil, SM3AKW nil, RW1AW nil, KB8ZW for initial
#69, OK1KIR #70, DJ6MB #71, partial EA3DXU (M/M) – did not
get final R’s, partial AL7OB (M/?), W7SZ #72 and partial
VE6TA (O/?). He later completed with VE6TA for #73.
ZS6AXT
Ivo writes on 23 cm activity -- During the ARRL’s
Jan VHF Contest I worked W5ORH, WA8WZG,
and I thought also
W1ZX (but Willie got my callsign wrong) and K4QI.
Heard were
SM3AKW, OZ4MM, WA4OFS and VE6NA. I CWNR many times W1QC.
During the SW, I QSO’d on 12 Feb OZ6OL, JA8IAD for initial
#151, HB9SV, HB9BBD, LX1DB, W2UHI, GW3XYW, K5JL and G4DZU on
the horizon. CWNR were SV1OE and W1QC. On 13 Feb I added
OK1KIR, IK2MMB, DJ5MN and N2IQU, and on CW/SSB with KB2AH,
HB9BBD and CT1DMK, then back on CW with
W1ZX #152, K5JL,
G4DZU and IK6EIW on horizon. Heard were W5ORH, OZ6OL and
GW3XYW, all with good signals. Just a remark: the "big guns"
should be more careful where they call, especially on SSB.
Two of my QSOs were virtually wiped out by them. What about
- SSB only above .025? This will make it fair to the smaller
stations, I noticed few times that smaller stations were
calling CQ and one of the SSB stations sat just next to
them, wiping them out. Certainly this is not in ham spirit?
[Apparently Ivo did not realize that the SSB contest was
taking place. The problem is usually attracting activity,
not too much. Many SSB stations were calling among weaker CW
stations, they were trying to attract for contest QSOs. I
hope no one takes offence at having a SSB contest on one day
of the year. As for SSB operation above .025, I do not favor
this proposal. Several years ago, this range was set aside
as a weak signal calling frequency, but this plan has not
worked in practice.]
K2UYH
At the start of the Feb SW, I had problems with my
432 preamp. I thought the problem was in the wires that
provide the voltage to the preamp. Trouble shooting was
complicated by snow on the ground. We had snow cover for
more than 3 weeks. This is unusual in NJ. By the time I had
the problem located and the preamp replaced, it was the
start of my sked time JH0WYH. Then I discovered a problem
with my AZ readout. By the time I had the readout fixed and
my dish on the moon, the sked was almost over. Later I
learned by e-mail that JH0WYH could not make the sked. After
the sked I did work at 0335 N9AB (559/549)
and 0355 JA2YT
sent a QRZ but did not respond to my reply. I was still
hearing echoes up to about 0405. The next day I was not on
for my 432 sked with GM0ONN. I tried to cancel this sked as
I wanted to concentrate on the 1296 SSB Contest. On 1296, I
QSO’d on 12 Feb at 1957 W2UHI (55/55) EN, 2002 KB2AH
(57/56), FN, 2009 I0UGB (55/53), 2016 W1QC (55/55) FN for
initial #171, 2029 CT1DMK (34/54) IN, 2052 N2IQU (55/55) –
Mark was using only 50 W, 2055 K5JL (56/56), 2106 W1ZX
(55/55), 2145 QRZ LU8EDR?, 2153 WA9FWD (549/33) on SSB /CW,
2200 OZ6OZ (54/55), 2210 OE9ERC (57/57), 2234 IK2MMB
(55/53), 2246 OE5JFL (57/57), 2300 DD1XF (55/54), and on 13
Feb 0412 JA8IAD (549/539) #172 on CW – I could not get him
to respond to my SSB and W3XS (43/54) FN. My contest
operating time was limited by visiting relatives, but I did
end with (14x2+1)x8 for 232 points and a good time. On 14
Feb I had everything preset on the moon, for an extra sked
with KB0VUK at 0100. This was so that I could go to the
shack at 0100 and start operating. When I got there, I was
hearing nothing... including my echoes and this is very
unusual. Everything seemed correct. I double checked my
readouts. Finally in frustration I started moving my antenna
heading off the moon. Weak echoes appeared, and I realized
that I had not corrected for the offset of my 432 feed. As
soon as I had entered the corrections signals appeared loud
and clear. I peaked the pol (vert on RX). Thus it should
have been ok to also call on vert, which I did. Only no
reports were heard in reply. The next period, next to my
last, I rotated back to hor and called again. This time Matt
copied and we QSO’d (O/O) for initial #622. At 0130 I ran
with K6JEY, but only heard some (T) signals. The next
weekend disaster struck. I set up a string of re-skeds. We
had several inches of snow, but at sked time the moon was
visible and the base of the dish clear. I was over confidant
and did not consider the weight of the wet snow in my dish.
The welds holding the elevation control piston snapped and
the dish hit the ground. Fortunately nothing else was
damaged. The dish is now back in operation TNX to the help
of KB2AH, and I am QRV again.
NETNEWS
G4RGK, DAVID DIBLEY
WA1JOF is still working on improving his system and asks for
no skeds until further notice.
KB0VUK is up to initial #9 on 432 EME.
OE9XXI's e-mail address is wrong in the directory. The
correct address is: OE9XXI
DL8YHR's new e-mail address is: DL9YHR
KA0RYT is working on 2 amp projects as well as some preamps.
WB4BKC (EM74) just finished wiring his rotor and will be
putting antennas up for 70 cm EME.
K0YW is working on 1296 EME. His tower is up and he has 350
W from a TH-328 PA.
W4TJ is playing with a TWTA for 10 GHz EME. He now has 30 W
out. He still has to complete his new tower and dish mount.
VE4MA reports bad WX. He will not be back on 23 cm until
spring at the earliest. Barry feels that everyone operating
skeds should follow the procedure put forth by G3SEK. If
someone has a different procedure, he asks that it be
written up for discussion. [See W2UHI's comments on Doppler
at the end of this NL and my introductory comments in
TECHNIAL.]
N4GJV worked IK5QLO and G3LTF in Feb, but heard nil from
K6JEY.
W2UHI reports good activity on 1296 during the SW. Frank
worked about 25 stations; 15 on CW and the rest on SSB. He
made one initial with IK2MMB.
VE1ALQ is temporarily down with a broken shear pin. Darrell
has purchased the Analog Devices DSP unit that K3HZO has
been talking about and reports that "it looks good".
W7QX had major problems with high VSWR in Feb.
KB8RQ heard nil from AL7OB and KL7HFQ on skeds and wishes to
run again.
WE2Y in Feb copied both KB8RQ and AL7OB on vert pol only and
heard nil from K6JEY and LX1DB. Later John completed with
LX1DB (569/449).
N2IQU is currently QRP (50 W) on 23 cm due to a defective
circuit breaker on his PA.
W7CNK found good condx on 70 cm and worked a few in Feb.
K2DH has his 23 cm system working again and should be back
on the Moon soon.
K5JL is running EME tests with W9ZIH. Jay heard Ron (M-O),
but Ron could only just detect a signal. W9ZIH is running 4
loop yagis and 400 W.
WD5AGO is still waiting for better WX to change dishes.
Tommy plans to be on 222 MHz EME in March.
K5WXN in Feb called RW1AW for about an hour with no luck.
UA3PTW's grid is KO93bs.
JH0WJF's grid is PM86wj in Nagano.
DL9KR was in a serious auto accident. Fortunately Jan is
fine and no one was hurt. Jan heard LX2DB calling CQ on 70
cm. LX2DB is LX1DB's son.
CT1DMK has switched feeds to 23 cm and is taking skeds. Luis
will be back on 70 cm later.
W4AD is working on his dish for 23 cm. He should be QRV in
March.
JA8IAD is running a 4 m dish with a YD1300 PA at 200 W. His
address is (Michi Narumi, 2-12 11-11, Tukisamu-Higashi
Toyohira –Ku, Sapporo, Japan 062-0052).
FOR SALE
K3XF has a 6 x 7289 KB2AH 23cm
PA for sale. It includes all
bias and filament voltages and only HV and a water supply.
Call 717-932-4405 or e-mail at:
K3XF
W6WE is looking for MRF15090 devices for his 23 cm BCT SSPA.
He is also looking another SSPA and/or more details on a kit
for the 23 cm SSPA described by DJ9BV in DUBUS. You can
contact Mike at:
W6WE
W7QX has a Sperry wavemeter/detector calibrated from 2400-
3400 MHz with all cables, adapters, connectors, etc. Anyone
interested please contact Jerry.
N4GJV is
looking for a source of 10 mil Teflon.
TECHNICAL
For more than 25 years standard EME sked
procedure has been to transmit on the sked frequency
irrespective of the frequency you hear your own echoes. Over
this time period technology has changed greatly. Today just
about everyone uses a computer to determine the position of
the moon. These programs also predict the affect of Doppler
on received frequency. With this information so readily
available, does it make sense to TX such that our own echoes
and those of the station we are trying to work do not fall
on the same frequency? Reception of our own echoes provides
very useful feedback during the course of a sked. This is
the point of W2UHI's proposal shown at the end of this NL.
Frank feels it is time to change the standard sked
procedure. I agree with Frank, but suggest a small
simplification. When you set your echoes to fall on the same
frequency as those of a received station, the station you
have received will hear your signals on the same frequency
as he hears his own echoes. Thus I suggest that the 1st
station to transmit in a sked set his TX frequency so that
he will be received at the sked (2nd) station on the sked
frequency. The 2nd station now need only to set his own
echoes so that they fall on the sked frequency, and the 1st
station will hear him on the same frequency as his own
echoes. An alternate procedure would be for the 1st station
to initially transmit such that he hears his own echoes on
the sked frequency. The 2nd station, if he hears the 1st
station, sets his frequency so that his echoes fall on the
same frequency as he hears the 1st station. If not, he sets
his own echoes to fall on the sked frequency. Then the first
station to hear the other station adjusts his frequency to
fall on the other station's frequency. This alternate
procedure has the advantage of simplicity, but it creates
the possibility of a station changing his frequency after
the other station has detected him. Of course when running
on random, if you set your echoes to fall on the same
frequency as those of the station your are calling, he will
hear your signal on the same frequency as he hears his own
echoes.
FINAL
I must admit I was a little disappointed by the
turnout for the SSB Contest. I arrived on late myself. This
contest was meant to be a low pressure, "fun" competition.
1296 activity was good, but I did expect a little more
intensity and a few more contest reports. I guess my
feelings are not that different from those of PY5ZBU. Don is
concerned by the small number of talk proposals and
technical contributions he has received for the RIO 2000
Conference. He sees time ticking away with less than 197
days go. Please get your material into Don. Please keep the
material coming to this NL too – including SSB Contest
scores. I shall be looking for all of you on the moon during
the extended activity period this month, 1st primarily on 432
during the SW, and 2nd on 1296 the following weekend during
the DUBUS/REF Contest.
73, Al - K2UYH
SKEDS
11 MARCH
Time 432.040 432.045 432.055 432.070
0230z 7M2PDT-AL7OB
0730z AL7OB -UA9FAD
0800z AL7OB -RW1AW
1730z N3FA -IK2EAD
1800z N3FA -DK3WG
1830z N3FA -OE9ERC WB0GGM-EA3DXU
1900z WE2Y -LX1DB WB0GGM-RW1AW
1930z KJ7F -RW1AW WB0GGM-SM3AKW
2000z AL7OB -HB9SV WB0GGM-DJ3FI
2030z AL7OB -OE9ERC WB0GGM-DL1YMK
2100z AL7OB -HA1YA WB0GGM-ON4KNG
2130z AL7OB -WB0GGM KJ7F -W7CNK
2200z N3FA -VE1ALQ W7SZ -PY5ZBU AL7OB -G3SEK
2230z N3FA -K2UYH KJ7F -KD4LT AL7OB -EA3UM
2300z N3FA -K1FO AL7OB -HP3XUG KJ7F -WB0GGM
2330z N3FA -KB2AH AL7OB -PY5ZBU
12 MARCH
Time 432.040 432.045
0000z AL7OB -K6JEY
0030z K6JEY -KD4LT
0330z JA6AHB-WB0GGM
0400z W7SZ -WB0GGM
2300z KJ7F -WA4NJP
11 MARCH
Time 1296.050 1296.060
1830z OH2DG -KD4LT
1900z W1ZX -DD1XF OH2DG -WA4NJP
1930z W1ZX -9H1ES LU8EDR-WA4NJP
2000z W1ZX -I0UGB VE6NA -WA4NJP
2030z W7QX -WA4NJP
2100z VE6NA -KD4LT W7QX -SM3AKW
2130z W7QX -SM2CEW
2230z W7QX -PY5ZBU
12 MARCH
time 1296.050 1296.060
1200z PA3CSG-JF3HUC
1230z PA3CSG-SV1OE
1300z OK1KIR-RW3BP
1400z 9H1ES -OK1KIR DJ5MN -I5MPK
1430z DJ5MN -9H1ES
1730z WA8WZG-DJ5MN
1800z WA9OUU-DJ5MN
1830z K9BCT -DJ5MN W1ZX -I0UGB
1900z W1ZX -9H1ES WA9FWD-DJ5MN
1930z W1ZX -DD1XF WA9OUU-OK1KIR
2000z W4AD -OK1KIR LU8EDR-DJ5MN
2030z W7QX -ZS6AXT LU8EDR-OK1KIR
2100z LU6DW -OK1KIR
2130z W7SZ -OK1KIR LU8EDR-KD4LT
2200z W7QX -OK1KIR W7SZ -LU8EDR
2230z W7SZ -LU6DW
2300z W7SZ -W1ZX
2330z W7SZ -PY5ZBU
This information was obtained from: Scott, KD4LT
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Rein, W6/PA0ZN
19990615