EDITOR: ALLEN KATZ, K2UYH;
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).

SKEDS CORD & DIRECTORY: DL4EBY/DK0TU, KLAUS TIEDEMANN, HALSKESTR.35, D-12167 BERLIN, (49-30-7955467), E-Mail: Klaus Tiedemann.

***E-MAIL LIST CORD Scott KD4LT

*** NA EME BBS: 704-284-4854 ***

EME NETS:

14.345 1600 Z SAT/SUN;

• NET CONTL: JOE, K1RQG (207-469-3492), E-MAIL: Joe, K1RQG

• EME STANDINGS: JIM STARKEY, W0KJY, 3845 CAPITOL DRIVE, FT. COLLINS, CO 80526, (970) 226-0669)
  

• THE NL WEB VERSION IS PRODUCED BY W6/PA0ZN AND AVAILABLE AT: 432 MHZ AND ABOVE NEWSLETTERS.
  

7M2PDT

Shu (QM05ek) QSO'd on 15 Feb W8MQW (O/O) for initial #74, JJ1NNJ (M/O) #75, DK3FB (O/O) #76 and DF3RU, and on 16 Feb W1ZX (O/O) #77, JA5OVU, JS3SIM and G3HUL. Nil was heard in skeds with KF0M, N4PZ, W7CI, 9M2BV, UT7VF, G4ALH, EA3DXU, 4X1IF, EA8/ON5FF, CT1DMK and OH3LWP. Shu is working on a new antennas which will consist of 16 x 14 el FO rotatable yagis. He expects to have the array completed by 16 March.

DF9QX

Mathias writes that he is working on adding 13 cm. He has 60 w from a YD 1304 and is finishing up an IMU horn. He is also interested in details on G17B PA for 23 cm where he is presently QRV with a 5 m dish. His latest QSOs on 1296 were with F6KSX and K4QI, whose new address he needs. Mathias' tel is 0495221689949, which is not in the directory.

DL4MEA

Guenter, DL4MEA asks about the GS35A -- I am thinking about building a 70 cm version of CT1DMK amp published in the last DUBUS magazine. I have one GS35A tube, that is the same as GS35B, but for water cooling. It is rated to 2 kw anode dissipation instead of the GS35B's 1.5 kw. Has anyone experience with isolating 4 kV when cooling with water? I know, distilled water and a long tube inside the cavity are desirable, but what dimensions and material should be used for the cooling tubes inside the cavity because of the high fields? [ZL2AQE operated on 70 cm with a water cooled 4CX250R PA with several kV on the plate. He had a ready supply of water, and ran fresh water continuously through the tube. I have also experimented with water cooled amplifiers running up to 3 kV with no arcs or sparks. The vinyl plastic tubing was more than 3'in length. None of my amps were used in regular operation, or for any extended time period.]

DL6WU

Guenter writes -- I am now retired and hope to have a little more time for hamming. I tried to be active 70 cm last weekend, but had to stay in bed with the flu. I want to comment, however, on an EME band issue. I live on the edge of a city and have, depending on my antenna orientation, constantly about 10 signals in the lower 20 kHz, centered around 432.010. There is QRM higher up, but generally its not so bad above 432.015. Is there any possibility of moving the calling frequency a little up in frequency. I don't think this conflicts with anyone's band plan... and for me would be preferably to moving to another EME band. [Is anyone experiencing a similar problem? Here in NJ there is no difference in interference between .010 and .020 or .025. Such a move what not pose a problem. What do you think?]

G3LTF

Peter reports WX was a problem this SW with very strong winds on the 16th -- I was unable to operate during the day, and missed my WA8WZG sked. The winds have been even stronger since, but fortunately the dish is surviving OK. There was very low activity and I guess the problem must have been widespread. I worked on 1296 on 14 Feb at 2040 W2UHI and 2100 N6BQ, and on 15 Feb at 1349 JA4BLC, nil S59DCD, 1515 ZS6AXT and 1559 GW3XYW. I also heard DD1XF. I QSO'd on 432 MHz on 14 Feb at 2232 K1FO, and on 16 Feb at 0004 W7CI and 0043 W7FN. Heard were KA0RYT, ON4KNG, UR5LX and VE1ALQ. On 16 Feb, I CWNR many times at 0100 SM6?BYA, who was calling CQ on .015, and at 0020 VE6TA after his QSO with VE1ALQ - he was solid copy here. I also had a partial at 1709 on 15 Feb with OK1DFC, who got my call as G3LO. On 1296 I am now using a VE4MA feed, which is matched to my 0.38 f/d, with improved results. Sun noise on the 15th was 15.6 dB on 1296 with an NE32184 preamp, and 14.6 dB on 432 with the FHX35LG preamp. This month I hope to improve my 1296 6 tube PA and begin work on getting the 13 cm system running again. I am interested in skeds and can be contacted by e-mail at Peter, G3LFT

G3SEK

Ian tells us the story behind the change in dates for the DUBUS/REF EME Contest -- We originally chose 22-23 March because it was the weekend with lowest sky noise. We did this because in previous years 144 MHz operators had said sky noise is the most important thing. After DUBUS (4/96) had already gone to the printers in Dec, some of the 2 m operators complained about the low dec (short moon time) on the 22-23 March weekend. They said they would prefer more moon time on the 15-16 March weekend. In a telephone call on Sunday 26 January, DJ9BV and I decided to change it to 15-16 March. We knew that this would cause confusion when the DUBUS magazine appeared, but we thought it was more important to give people what they wanted. We realistically expect that communications between EME operators would be good enough to let all active EME operators know about the change in the following 6 weeks... So, for one more time: The 144/1296 weekend of the 1997 DUBUS/REF EME Contest will be on 15-16 March, repeat 15-16 March. PLEASE TELL EVERYBODY YOU CAN! This is FINAL. As the Referee for the EME contest, I apologize for the confusion.

G4RGK

Dave has not been QRV since The ARRL contest -- In Dec I decided that I would sell everything and start over again. At this time my 16' dish has been sold, and so has my 23 cm cavity PA - so near term operation on 23 cm is no longer anticipated. On 70 cm the station is dismantled. The antenna will either be sold or weworked into a system with pol rotation. I feel that after 10 years of using 8 yagis with fixed pol its time for a change. The time involved will depend largely on the British WX, but I will definitely be back for the '97 ARRL contest.

JA4BLC

Yoshiro's EME report is as follows -- I worked, on 19 Jan, on 1296, JA6CZD (449/559), OH2AXH (559/559), SM4IVE (559/549) for initial #62 and F2TU (559/549), and on 432, JA5OVU and JA2KRW, and on 15 Feb on 1296 S59DCD(O/O) for initial #63, G3LTF (559/559) #64, JA6CZD (549/559), GW3XYW (559/449) #65, and on 432 JJ1NNJ (M/O) #238, DF3RU and JS3SIM. My e-mail address has changed to Yoshiro, JA4BLC My old address will still be usable for the next few months.

K2DH

Dave's activity for the Feb SW reads -- Once again, Murphy paid a visit to my shack, but before he did, I managed to have some fun. On 14 Feb I worked VE3BQN (549/559) after several weeks of back and forth on the Internet trying to make a sked we could both keep. Ted had a good signal and commented that mine was one of the easiest QSOs he's had on EME. Then, on 15 Feb at 1920 (as the moon cleared the trees), I worked DD1XF (559/559), and heard PA3CSG calling WA8WZG in their sked. Tom wasn't there so after 15 min or so, I called Geert and worked him easily (559/549) for initial #82, and at 1953 ZS6AXT (559/579) - the best report I've ever gotten off the moon! Ivo commented that I was really pounding in there. My echoes were really good. I was running about 750 w at the time. Next I worked W2UHI (559/559) and at 2011 KB2AH (579/569) and (57/56) on SSB. SSB echoes were very good. Tom told me about the presence of I5MPK, so after we were done, I went down the band and worked him at 2024 (549/569) #83 and at 2043 GW3XYW (559/559). Then it happened, during a CQ I heard a big BANG and arcing sounds. I saw lightning in the shack! The amplifier was arcing over again. To make a long story short, I had developed another water leak. One water jacket was just barely seeping, but enough water ran down the tube into the anode cavity to cause major arcing and sparking. I ended up taking the whole cavity apart, sanding down the burrs and pits, cleaning up all the other mess and replacing two tubes. All is back to normal now, and I hope that with improved sealing techniques, to have finally cured the leakage problems. In almost 10 years of running the single tube N6CA amp, I never had a water leak. I guess I was lucky, and got careless, so this has been the price I've had to pay. The weekend after the skeds weekend (22/23 Feb), we had some terrific winds - gusts over 75 mph. I was fortunate that the only damage I sustained was a broken bolt pinning the azimuth drive to the main vertical drive shaft (this happens regularly - it's a grade 2 bolt which acts as a shear pin to keep from tearing up the lower end drive mechanism when the dish get rocking in the wind). It's all fixed, and barring anymore troubles, I will be active during the REF contest on 23 cm.

K4QI

Rusty has had some troubles getting his new call across to a few stations, but in general has done very well off the Moon. He QSO'd on 432, on 21 Dec K2UYH, W8MQW, EA3DXU, G4ALH, DF3RU, DJ6MB, RA3LE, K5WXN and EA3DXU, on 22 Dec KA0RYT, W7QX, ON4KNG, DL3EAG, W7FN, KB8ZW, K1FO, N2IQU, NA4N and UT7VF, on 16 Jan N2IQU, G3SEK and RA3LE, on 18 Jan NC1I, K5JL, K0RZ, DF3RU, DL9NDD, G3SEK, HB9SV, ON4KNG, UA6LGH, EA3DXU, N2IQU, OK1KIR, DL4KG and K2UYH, and on 19 Jan DJ6MB, EA8/ON5FF, G3LTF, SM3AKW, W7FN, K5WXN and VE1ALQ, and on 1296 on 19 Jan SM5DGX, DF9QX, G3LTF, LX1DB, ZS6AXT, W2UHI, N2IQU, SM4IVE, CT1DMK, SM3AKW, WD5AGO, VE6TA, OE9XXI and LA8LF. During the ARRL VHF contest all contact were with grid square exchange. This really helped Rusty's multiplier totals.

K6IBY

Joe in (DM13) is QRV with 4 x 24 el HB K1FO type yagis with AZ/el rear mounting, a system NF < 1 dB and output power > 400 w into the dividers. His address is (J. Burke, 315 University Dr, Costa Mesa, CA 92627), and his e-mail address is Joe, KB6IBY

N6BQ

Hoppy (alias AA6WI) has a new call -- On 23 cm I worked on 17 Jan CT1DMK, W2UHI and G3LTF - also heard was W7GBI, on 18 Jan OH2AXH, S59DCD, SM4IVE, IK3COJ, LA8LF, WD5AGO and W2UHI - heard was F1ANH, on 13 Feb W2UHI, on 14 Feb W2UHI, G3LTF, CT1DMK, W2UHI (again) and WB5LUA, on 15 Feb WB5LUA on SSB, JA6CZD for initial #114, W2UHI, K4QI and WB5LUA again on CW, and on 16 Feb HB9SV, ZS6AXT, LA8LF, OE9XXI on CW and SSB, OE9ERC on CW and SSB, K4QI and W2UHI. LX1DB was heard 15 dB out of noise with an elevation of only 2 deg, but no contact was made. OE9XXI was 25 dB out of the noise, (astounding for a 3.7 m dish). I had a very nice visit with DF6NA during this period. I tried to impress Rainer with 23 cm, but activity was very low Friday and Saturday evenings. Then I have a small "pile-up" the day he leaves!

NA4N

Greg sends -- I want to thank N2IQU and K1FO for the signal reports outside of the SWs. I think we're the only ones on the band when the Moon is up during the week. I wish we could get more activity on 432 during the week. I realize many people involved in moonbounce don't think much about getting on the air when there is no Eur or Asian window open. I think every time you make a contact its exciting. I worked 2 initials on 16 Feb DF3RU and K5JL on 432. I installed a video camera on my mast a week ago and it works fine. I'm going to be using it to keep tabs on the calibration of my ST-1 computer system, and for a backup. Most of the stations I have worked have sent return QSLs. I am anxiously awaiting cards from N2IQU, NC1I, OH2PO, SM4IVE, N4GJV and SM2CEW. If some of you have circuits for resonant cavity preamps that are straight forward and that don't require the use of a lath to make, I would appreciate hearing from you. [See WA7CJO's design in a past NL].

NL7F

Bill reports only 4 23 cm contacts in Feb -- I QSO'd on 16 Feb OK1KIR (M/O), WA8WZG (M/O) and ZS6AXT (M/M), and on 20 Feb OE9XXI (559/559). Peter had a (33) SSB signal here. The short path distance to ZS6AXT is about 15,684 km. I wonder how this compares with the current 23 cm DX record. [Al, WB5LUA keeps the distance record statistics. What do you say?] Unless someone wants to operate portable from Antarctica, this is the longest DX possible for me. After 3 months of EME activity I'm up to initial #16, 8 DXCC, 8 states, and ready for more skeds.... Bill, NL7F

NP4B

Bob reports that Puerto Rico will be QRV on 1296 EME shortly... I believe for the 1st time -- I just mounted a 5 m dish on a huge equatorial mount here in the Barrio Esperanza, close to Arecibo. I plan to operate soon on 1296 MHz with 150 Watt power, (QRP for now). I still have much to do, but expect to be on the air in April. Bob can be reached by e-mail BOb, NP4B or at (Bob Zimmerman, NP4B, Engineer, National Astronomy & Ionosphere Center, Arecibo Observatory / Cornell University, P. O. Box 995, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00613-0995). His tel is (787) 878-2612 and FAX (787) 878-1861.

OE9XXI

Peter was QRV on 2300 and worked on 13 Feb ZS6AXT (559/579) for an initial and a new country, and on 14/15 Feb OE9ERC (579/589), LX1DB (569/569) and (55/56) on SSB, ZS6AXT (569/579), SM3AKW (449/579), VE4MA (559/559), IK2RTI (559/559) initial, OZ4MM (569/569), WA8WZG (449/O) initial, F1ANH (559/559) and NU7Z (439/O). W4HHK was also copied. On 1296 he QSO'd on 16 Feb PA3CSG (569/579), S59DCD (549/579), N6BQ (569/569), CT1DMK (559/589) and (44/57) on SSB, OE9ERC (579/579), K4QI (569/579) and W2UHI (559/579). Heard were I5MPK, K3EAV and VE3BQN among others. On 20 Feb he QSO'd NL7F (559/559) for his 2nd QSO with Alaska. [Who was the 1st?].

OK1DFC

Zdenek had good results during the Feb SW. He QSO'd UT7VF, G3LTF, DK3WG, K2UYH, UR5LX, K1FO, W7CI, N4GJV and ON4KNG. This brings him to initial #15. Zdenek is preparing for 70 cm activity during the April portion of the REF/DUBUS EME Contest.

OK1KIR

Tonda (OK1DAI) writes -- On 432, we worked on 15 Feb at 2100 partial NA4N (O/nil) and 2231 WB6IMC (O/O) for initial #329, and nil in skeds with UT7VF, JO3RNL, JJ1NNJ, JH7PAV, IK0EQJ, KF0M, WA8WZG, NC7K and WD8ISK. We heard 7M2PDT, DF3RU, DK3WG, DL6WU, DL9NDD, EA3DXU, HA1YA, JA4BLC, JA5OVU, JH1XUJ, K1FO, K2UYH, KB8ZW, N4GJV, OK1DFC, ON4KNG, PA2CHR, RA3LE, RB5LX, SM3AKW, VE1ALQ, VE6TA and W7CI. On 1296, we worked on 16 Feb at 0024 NL7F (O/M) for initial #136, DXCC 34, BP (29) field and the 1st KL7-OK 23 cm QSO, 0048 N6BQ (449/339) [new call AA6WI], 0057 W2UHI (449/439), 1225 JH5LUZ (439/429), 1752 I5MPK (O/O) #137, 1801 ZS6AXT (449/449) and 1930 CT1MDK (449/449). Nil in skeds with JR4AEP, JA6CZD, 4X6UJ, DH9FAG, ON5RR, WA8WZG, VE1ZJ and KA0RYT. We heard DD1XF, F2TU, HB9BBD, HB9BHU, HB9SV, K3EAV, K4QI, LX1DB, OE9ERC, OE9XXI, OZ4MM, PA3CSG, S59DCD, SM2CEW, SM5DGX and VE1ALQ. We plan activity on 14 March on 2304 and 22/23 March on 1296. [Please NOTE the change in dates for the REF/DUBUS Contest. I believe you may wish to revise your operating plans!]

ON4KNG

Peter was QRV on 70 cm for the 15/16 Feb SW -- I contacted, (all on random), DF3RU, RA3LE, N4GJV, EA3DXU, VE6TA for initial #112 - 5 min before our sked, S52CW #113 and DXCC 31, DL3EAG #114, OK1DFC #115, DL4KG #116, W7FN, JA5OVU and SM2CEW.

OZ4MM

Peter is trying to stir up 13 cm activity -- For the Jan SW I set up several 13 cm skeds via the NL and mail. Condx and WX were fair at my end, but made problems for my sked partners. Several stations showed up on random too. So I tried again in Feb with even better results. Stations worked on 18 Jan were on random ZS6AXT (M/O) - Ivo used > 8.5 w at his horn, IK6EIW (439/559), OE9ERC on SSB (56/55), I6PNN (449/O), W4HHK (449/O), F1ANH (559/439), and on sked NU7Z (O/O). Heard was EA3UM (459), and on 15 Feb OE9ERC, LX1DB for initial #25, OE9XXI, I6PNN, nil EA3UM - heard him FB in 3 sequences and nil WA8WZG. The 13 cm setup is a 10 m dish, W2IMU horn, HEMT preamp and 100 w (in shack) and 30 w (at the horn). On Sunday 16 Feb I switched to 23 cm and worked I5MPK for initial #116, ZS6AXT, SM2CEW, HB9BHU, HB9BBD and CT1DMK. My moon noise on 23 cm was lower than normal (down to 0.4 dB), but the CS/G noise was normal. I didn't check Sun noise because of the low el. Signals on the moon also seemed lower! I hope to find any fault before the contest.

PA2CHR

Chis is new on 432 EME -- I am running 4 x 11 wl yagis and a YL1050 PA with about 850 w output. There will be more soon. TX loss is about 2 dB. This will be less soon too. I use a TS850 with audio DSP and .35 dB NF MGF1302 LNA. Thus far I am up to initial #32. I prefer working random, but will accept skeds. Usually I call CQ and run skeds on 432.019 if possible. My address is (C. Ploeger, Monnikensteeg 32, 6823 AC Arnhem, Netherlands), grid is JO22xa, phone is ++31 (0)26 3515999 and Fax is ++31 (0)26 4452502, and e-mail Chis, PA2CHR

SM2CEW

Peter reports being active on 16 Feb -- I worked the following stations on 432: JH4JLV (449/449), JA5OVU (559/559), G3HUL (549/449), SM3AKW (449/559), OH3LWP (O/O), I5CTE (449/429), ON4KNG (549/549) and DL8OBU (539/449). Activity was low, but echoes were good. On 1296 the following were worked: HB9BBD (559/529), OZ4MM (569/559), SM5DGX (539/549) for initial #91, ZS6AXT (549/559), LX1DB (579/559), OE9ERC (579/559), W2UHI (559/559) and PA3CSG (569/549) #92. Finally I worked Geert on 23. We've managed to miss each other up until now. PA3CSG is another station now worked on 3 bands. I've been using a beta copy of VK3UM's new EMETRAK with the EME directory incorporated for easy tracking of other stations Moon position/spatial offset and station information. It is working very well. Also there is a totally new "spatial screen" that shows the AZ/El in 46 different places on the earth at the same time, plus spatial offset to them. A very nice tracking screen, and an excellent tool for stations with pol rotation capabilities. If Faraday rotation is known, one will always know where to put the pol to be received horiz, in any selected target area. Doug has the same tracking screen in his EME Planner as well. Final versions will be available soon.

UR5LX

Sergej on 15 Feb heard nil in skeds with HP3HUG and WD5AGO. He logged on 432 initials with OK1DFC (O/O) for #309, WB6IMC (O/O) #310 and KF0M (O/O) #311, and also worked VE6TA, SM3BYA, S52CW, DJ6MB, G4ALH, W7FN and WA9FWD. On 16 Feb he added DL4KG and DK3FB, and had a partial QSO with EA2LY (moonset).

VE6TA

Grant's sends a summary of his activity over the last few months -- I was on 1296 in Dec and generally had a lot of fun on the band. I QSO'd on 21 Dec W2UHI (549/439), CT1DMK (O/O) for initial #49 and CT1 for DXCC and PA3CSG (559/449) #50 and PA, on 22 Dec K2UYH (459/549), partial with NL7F (O/T) and JA4BLC (O/O) #51 for a new country and continent. I had tried a few skeds with Yoshiro before, but Murphy had always intervened. This time my chain drive broke due to high winds just before the sked, but I managed to repair it in the dark at -30 degs C with about 30 head of deer looking on! I worked on 19 Jan LX1DB (549/449) #52 and LX1, and OE9XXI (559/439). In Feb, I switched to my 432 feed as per several sked requests and worked on the 15th JA5OVU (449/449), DJ6MB (O/O) #47, ON4KNG (O/O) #48 and ON4, UR5LX (O/O), EA3DXU (O/O) #49 and EA, on the 16th VE1ALQ (O/O) #50 and VE, JR9NWC (O/O) #51, DK3WG (O/O) and DF3RU (449/439), and on the 24th WI7Z (O/O) #52 - arranged via e-mail. I plan on being QRV for the Eur contest on 1296 the 1st weekend, and on 432 the 2nd. We will be trying out a new 1296 feed courtesy of VE1ALQ to see if my RX abilities improves.

VK3UM

Doug is now the proud owner of a 30' Kennedy dish (12 segments) -- Its in mint condition. I have to pull it down and transport it home! Its fixed on 2 frames on the horizon. I am after ideas for mounting/tower system you and others have employed. I don't have the specs either... weight/wind loading/ f/d, gain, upper freq limits etc? I have nothing!! [My Kennedy is supposed to be good to about 6 GHz. It weights about 1,800 lb. and has an f/d of about .445. Details of my mount are in PA3CSG's Anthology of past NL Technical reports, which I know you have a copy.] Building something to keep it on the hill will be a bit of a challenge. (I have winds regularly over 125 kph!)

W1ZX

Willie worked one JA station on 16 Feb at 0400 7M2PDT (O/O) with RX pol approx at + 70 deg and TX pol at 0 deg (vert). Willie is still looking for skeds with JA stations for the Mar SW, via e-mail, Willie, W1ZX. He has a very narrow window. Willie had problems during the Jan SW. On 18 Jan his azimuth drive frozen up, and on 19 Jan his preamp went bad - no receive. On 21 Jan nil was heard during his CT1DMK sked.

W2UHI

Frank found 1296 activity was down from last month -- I heard 16 different stations over the SW and worked the following: On 15 Feb S59DCD, ZS6AXT, K2DH, I5MPK, GW3XYW, KB2AH and N6BQ, and on 16 Feb LX1DB, I5MPK, OE9ERC, SM2CEW, HB9BBD, LA8LF, PA3CSG, OE9XXI and N6BQ. Conditions were nominal. All signals good Q5 copy. I called CQ for an hour during the Asian window with no response. Only N6BQ and I were active at this time. No other stations were heard.

W7HR

Randy (who is responsible for much of KB2AH's WEB page) wants pictures and short descriptions of your 23 cm EME station. He is looking for start to finish pictures (8 to 10) for a new 1296 MHz home page dedicated to construction and system engineering only. One or two paragraphs per picture with details on tower construction, dish construction, mounts, readouts, autotrack, feeds, etc. Also equipment description, final amp used, power out, xcvr, transverter so people can get a complete story of the station capability. A series of pictures showing construction would be the best, but even a single picture of the existing antenna and shack would be great too. Participants would have their own page under Randy's home page. Randy has a high quality scanner, and a lot of server space. E-mail Randy if you are interested at Randy, W7HR

WA8WZG

Tom says -- I have made the old Murphy's tale come true!! "If it ain't broke. Don't fix it!!" I worked all night on 23 Feb to add another dipole to my 70 cm feed for pol rotation on my 5 m dish. I also added a receiving converter at the feed to convert 432 to 28 MHz, thinking this would help me on receive... WRONG. Either the converter is not right or the extra dipole I added is screwing up the dish illumination, or both. I received word that JA5OVU copied me (439) with rotatable pol, but that JA9BOH heard me only (M) and JR9NWC nil - probably because of cross pol. I heard nil of them, as well as K2UYH, because of the above problem. I should have things fixed very soon. 23 cm seems so much easier than 70 cm!

ZS3AXT

Ivo (KG33vv) writes -- I managed to work a few more initials on 13 cm. Added on 10 Feb were LX1DB (569/559) for initial #6 and OE9ERC (589/559), on 13 Feb OE9XXI (579/569) #7, on 14 Feb W4HHK (559/439) #8, OE9ERC (589/559), OE9XXI (579/569) and WA8WZG (O/O) #9. On 23 cm, I QSO'd on 11 Feb VE3BQN (O/O) for initial #115, on 15 Feb DD1XF (569/559), G3LTF (559/559), GW3XYW (569/549), nil S59DCD in sked, I5MPK (559/559) #116, S59DCD (449/339) #117 on random, W2UHI, K2DH and KB2AH - with the usual strong signals, on 16 Feb NL7F (M/M) #118 via my east - on horizon for both of us, LX1DB, JH5LUZ, OZ4MM, F2TU, I5MPK, OK1KIR, SM2CEW and N6BQ - all with strong signals. But what a mess and confusion with the changes of call signs in the US! Heard on 23 cm were JA4BLC, PA3CSG, HB9BBD, OE9ERC, SM5DGX, HB9SV and WA8WZG. Nothing was copied in skeds with WA7BBM and K9BCT, and I CWNR JA6CZD. After optimizing my 13 cm PA, I am now getting just under 100 w in the shack, less 1.9 dB for cable losses to the feed. The maintenance and modification of output coupling of the "old" 23 cm PA plus the change of one of the 2C39BA has resulted in improved output power. Output is now around 300 w. But with the tubes (and the HV power supply) on the limit, I cannot run SSB anymore. I can not run SSB on 13 cm either, as the YD1304 is also on the limit. In fact I am probably overloading it already since the air cooling at my altitude (6000'asl.) is less efficient than at sea level! I will have to change it ASAP to water cooling. Progress on the 70 cm yagi array is slow, due to problems with my back. I also hope to be operational on 6 cm in few months. This project is not going so well. I need more help with ideas, etc. But I will manage. [Ivo's e-mail address is Ivo, ZS3AXT ]

K2UYH

I had planned to try 1296 during the Asian window on Friday night of the SW. When I turned my 23 cm PA on, I was disturbed to discover that several tubes were shorted. I was perplexed by why this had happened, until I remembered the high VSWR problem I experienced last month. I ended up staying on 432 all weekend, and QSO'd on 15 Feb at 2030 OK1DFC (O/O) for initial #589, 2115 RA3LE (559/559), 2130 nil NC7K - I messed up this sked transmitting in the wrong sequence for 1st few periods, when I realized my mistake someone else was on freq - and 2200 IK0EQJ (449/O) #590, on 16 Feb at 2240 NA4N (559/559), 2314 EA8/ON5FF (559/559), 2322 DF3RU (54/54) on SSB and 2348 SM3AKW (559/559), and on 24 Feb at 0400 partial WA8ZWG (O/?). In general I found conditions not particular good. Copy was difficult - I spent 15 mins trying to identify a weak station around 2015 on the 15th before they gave up on me. Next month I will stay on 1296 both days for the Eur contest.

EA6ADW will be on the island a little earlier this year, and thus will be QRV on 1296 for the REF/DUBUS Contest. Peter can be reached at tel/Fax ++34-71-534498.

F5PAU, Francis is now on e- mail at Francis, F5PAU

UA6LGH Victor logged a new initial with JH4JLV for #194.

UT7VF, Victor worked with JA9BOH and ON4KNG for initials #39 and #40.

W0RRY has a 10 m dish in the yard and is ready for erection. It is an RF Systems dish, very much like a Kennedy. Charlie is looking for mounting ideas. His new e-mail address is Charlie, W0RRY

DK3WG has a new e-mail address DK3WG

WA5ETV is no longer QRV on 432 EME.

WB6IMC has a new e-mail address WB6IMC

KD4LT is working on the mount for his 22' dish, and will be QRV only on 70 cm only during the March SW. Scott is very pleased with the 23 cm to 28 Mhz xverter from Parabolic. He recommends you checkout their WEB page at Parabolic . He QSO'd NC7K with a bit of difficulty. This brings his standing on 70 cm to initial #297, 46 DXCC and 34 states.

NU7Z is now a Grandpa!

K5JL reports he is up to initial #626 on 432.

W8TN is going to FL to pick up a 4.6 m dish. Clark expects to be QRV on 1296 late this summer.

FR5DN's new e- mail address is FR5DN

W7QX worked DF3RU and JA3SIM on 70 cm. His correct e-mail address is W7QX

ON5RR will be QRV on 15 Mar on 23 cm.

WD5AGO will not be QRV for the REF/DUBUS Contest.

W4HHK in Feb worked on 3 cm ZS6AXT (559/439) for initial #35, heard OE9ERC with a big signal, and had a partial with WA8WZG (T/O).

KF0M in Feb QSO'd UR5LX, VE1ALQ and JH0YSI, and had partial with DJ6MB on 70 cm.

NC7K has a new call: K7XC, but asks stations to continue to use his NC7K call sign for skeds for the time being. He confirms QSOs with DL9KR and KD4LT in Feb. He is using 4 x FO25 yagis and a 100 w brick, and will be QRV on 432 in March.

DL9KR in Feb worked NC7K with some difficulty and EA2LY.

LX1DB worked on 13 cm in Feb ZS6AXT, OE9XXI, VE4MA, NU7Z, F1ANH, OE9ERC and OZ4MM.

VE4MA worked OE9XXI and LX1DB with excellent signal on 13 cm.

CT1DMK was on the moon on 23 cm for 10 min when his el actuator failed. Luis is working on a new feed for 70 cm and presently is not QRV on this band.He is also working on 10 GHz EME.

DF3RU confirms QSOs with W7QX, WI7Z, NA4N, JJ1NNJ and SM3BYA.

KB0PYO reports nil from WB5LUA on 1296. He had snow at the time. Mark has a new 2 stage preamp ready to install and is now QRV with several hundred watts.

W7CI worked many stations, but spent 1.5 hours calling ??A3LE (RA3LE). He copied K1FO the strongest ever, and reports G3LTF had a great signal, but achieved only a partial with NA4N. He head no VKs, but worked many JA's.

KB7UWC (Mark, tel 509-837-6265) will be testing on 23 cm with OE9XXI.

HFQ problems with his pol rotator in Feb. He will be QRV on 432 in March.

WQ0P, Greg is coming on 70 cm EME with 2 x 13 lambda yagis and 1 kw.

DL2GSG is now located in New Zealand and has the call ZL1GSG. His e-mail address is DL2GSG

WB5LUA worked on 23 cm VK2FZ. VK2FZ was using 4 x loop yagis and 150 w.

KB3PD (Del) has his new 6 yagi array up, and is QRV on 70 cm EME.

WE2Y, John in NY has an array of 16 x 12 el pol rotatable yagis up, but only 30 w of power. He is working on a 700 w PA, and hopes to be fully QRV soon. He can be reached via e-mail at John, WE2Y

K7ICW's address is (George A. (Al) Olcott, 3145 W. Serene Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89139) - TNX W7CS.

KB3PD has for sale ($50) a 10.5' (3.2 m) dish. It is in very good shape, and has a ..29 f/d. Pick up of course. Contact Rick at e-mail Rick, KB3PD or phone 302-737-7966.

KB2AH has a full line of cavity amps and 1, 2, 4 and 6 tube ring amps, lin/circular feed horns and LNAs for 1296... And recently he has added mounting blocks for K1FO yagis. For full details see Tom's 1296 WEB page at Tom, KB2AH for price e-mail ,Tom or phone 908-223-5067, FAX 908-223-0901 (24 hrs) or voice 908-223-8124.

K5JL Jay has 3 of the tracking boards that work with realtrack for sale. (A 7213 tube and cavity capable of producing about 1.5 kw on 432 went to JA9BOH.) Call or e-mail Jay for details.

W1ZX has available from the '96 Int'l EME Conference hats ($7) and clocks ($3) - all with the Conference logo of course. Willie has had some late requests for the Conference Proceedings, but he needs a minimum number for printing - at least 6 more requests. He also has available a GR IF amplifier 1236A $US150 + shipping, Dielectric-Coaxial Dynamics 1000A Wattmeter $US125 + shipping, Bird 43 Watt meters (1) $170, (2) $185, (3) $200 with new meter movement + shipping, AIL 75 NF meter with cabinet $US275 & shipping, AIL 7010 Noise Generator $US25, AIL 70 Diode Noise Generator $US25, HP 349A UHF Noise Source $US50, Noise Comm Noise Diodes NC305 $33, several Transco "Y" type Relays with "N" connectors $US55 + shipping, a 220 to 432 MHz 6992 PA with 1 to 2 kw output for $500 with pick-up, (this is the same type amp as NA4N is using). Call Willie only at 301-645-5584, 2000-2230 EST, FAX 301-645-6853, 24 hrs, or e-mail to Willie, W1ZX

WA3HMK is looking for 4 432 yagis, FO-22's, 25's, modified CC 424B's or equivalent. Please contact Chris via e-mail or at 717-569-3828.

G4ALH is looking for TR-7 CW filters.

NU7Z needs finger stock for 2C39s - about 18". He is also looking for a 903 hybrid and isolator.

We also learned that SM4IVE lost his 40' dish on 8 Feb. It was completely destroyed. This is not the 1st time that Lars' dish has come down. Last time was 11 years ago - it doesn't seem that long ago. At that time he was back in operation very quickly. Let's hope it is even sooner this time around.

Aren't all those new calls something? The U.S. has just gone through a unique period, where the FCC has allowed hams to apply for new calls from a list of recently open and long time available calls. All the new calls are a result of this opportunity. It would be useful if someone would prepare a translation chart for inclusion in a future NL.

There are fewer skeds than normal this month because of the contest.

Among the many items of interest in this NL are:

1) See DL6WU's report. Guenter has a proposal for moving the 70 cm calling frequency a little up in the band. I would like to hear your comments on this idea.

2) See also SM2CEW's report for news of VK3UM's new Moon tracking software.

3) NP4B is about ready to put an other DXCC location (Puerto Rico) on 1296 EME - see his report.

4) W7HR is creating a 1296 Construction Oriented WEB Page - see his report.

W0KJY is still looking for EME standings updates. Please when listing initials in your reports, give the total initial count as well as the change.

On the TECHNICAL side there is an excellent tutorial by Chuck, W8MQW.

Please keep the news and technical reports coming. E-mail is the preferred way to submit information, but we will take reports in all forms.

Good luck in the REF/DUBUS Contest. I will be looking for you all off the Moon during the contest.

73, Al - K2UYH

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432MHz & up EME skeds

Skeds for MAR 15

Time   432.040        432.045        432.050

0230z                 KA0RYT-NA4N
0400z  JA9BOH-WB0GGM
1330z  G3LTF -UT7VF
1400z  G3LTF -JH4JLV
1500z  DK3FB -4X1IF
1530z  G3LTF -OK1DFC
1700z  KB3PD -4X1IF
1830z                 KB3PD -DK3WG
1900z  KB3PD -IK0EQJ  WB0GGM-W8MQW
1930z                 EA3DXU-HA1YA
2000z  K1FO  -YL3AG   KB8ZW -HA1YA
2030z  K1FO  -OK1DFC  KB3PD -OH3LWP
2130z  NA4N  -G3LTF
2200z  WB0GGM-G3LTF
2300z                                W7FN  -IK0EQJ
========================================================

Skeds for MAR 16

Time   432.040        432.045

0030z  WB0GGM-EA8/ON  KB3PD -HP3XUG
0230z  W7QX  -KF0M
0400z  7M2PDT-WB0GGM
0430z  7M2PDT-KB3PD
1100z  DL4KG -7M2PDT
1130z                 DL4KG -JA5OVU
1200z                 DL4KG -UR5LX
1300z  DK3FB -9M2BV
1330z  EA3DXU-9M2BV
1400z  EA3DXU-7M2PDT
1430z  EA3DXU-IW5AVM
1500z  EA3DXU-YO2IS
1630z  DF3RU -DL4KG
1700z  DF3RU -YL3AG
1730z  DF3RU -OH3LWP
1900z  HP3XUG-DF3RU   DL4KG -DK3WG
1930z  DL4KG -DJ6MB
2000z  WB0GGM-DJ6MB
2100z  W7HAH -EA3DXU
2130z  W7QX  -DF3RU   N2HLT -DL9KR
2200z  NA4N  -DF3RU   K7XC  -DL9KR
2230z                 WD8ISK-UR5LX
2330z  W6WE  -DF3RU   W7QX  -HP3XUG
======================================================

Skeds for MAR 17

Time   432.050

0000z  W7FN  -IK0EQJ
======================================================

Skeds for MAR 15

Time   1296.050

0300z  VK2FZ -W2UHI
0330z  VK2FZ -N6BQ
======================================================

Skeds for MAR 16

Time   1296.050

1500z  G3LTF -4X6UJ
1530z  PA3CSG-4X6UJ
2000z  4X6UJ -K2DH
2030z  4X6UJ -WB5LUA
2100z  4X6UJ -N6BQ
2130z  VE4MA -DD1XF
2200z  VE4MA -I5MPK
2230z  K2DH  -KB0PYO
2300z  PA3CSG-S59DCD
=====================================================

Skeds for MAR 14

Time   2304.050

1830z  OK1KIR-ZS6AXT
2100z  F1ANH -OK1KIR
2130z  DF3RU -OK1KIR
2200z  IK2RTI-OK1KIR
=====================================================

Skeds for MAR 15

Time   5760.100

2100z  VE4MA -I6PNN
=====================================================

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EUROPEAN EME CONTEST

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This information was obtained from Scott, KD4LT

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Top Page

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For Comments or corrections: Rein, W6/PA0ZN

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