432 MHz MHz AND ABOVE EME NEWS

OCTOBER 1997 VOL 25 # 12

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).

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 KHz at 1600 Z SAT/SUN

CONDITIONS

Sept offered a good warm up for the coming ARRL EME Contest. The ARI Contest also helped to stir things up, but seemed to have generated less interest than last year. Although there are some mixed reports, conditions and activity were generally reported to be good on both 70 and 23 cm. There was also considerable activity on the higher bands. The 1st 10 GHz QSO was made from Russia by RW3PB with WB5LUA. On 432 look for LU4HO, who is reported to be coming on for the ARRL Contest.

CT1DMK

Luis is getting ready for the contest -- I left the 70 cm feed installed for a long period, and tried to get the best out of my dish. This band is now much more attractive then when I was running yagis. Since my last report I've worked on 432 DK3FB (O/M), JA9BOH (O/M), W7QX (O/O), G3LTF (439/439), SM2CEW (449/449), K2UYH (449/549), G4ERG (O/O), W6IMC (O/O), KB3PD (O/O), K1FO (559/549), VE1ALQ (559/549), KA0RYT (O/O), SM3AKW (O/O), OZ4MM (559/549), G3SEK (449/339), UR5LX (O/O), I2COR (O/O) and OE5JFL (579/449). Heard were DL6WU, OK1KIR and DL6NAA and CWNR were UT5EC, ON4KNG (559) - who I called for 1 hour, DL9NDD, DL6NAA and HA1YA (549). During the 1st contest weekend, I will start on 10 GHz during the US window and will be on 70 cm the rest of the time. If things get difficult on 70 cm, I may go to 23 cm as well. I have no window at sunrise or set, so I will be on 2 m at these times.

DH5NAH

Klaus is now QRV on 70 cm EME from JN59cp with 4 x 23 el FLEXA yagis, a 500 w TH308 PA and 0.4 dB NF SSB Electronics LNA. He is interested in skeds and can be reached via e-mail at: Klaus, DH5NAH

DL4KG

Gerald reports via e-mail for the 1st time -- In Sept I found conditions to be quite poor on 70 cm. Activity was low in spite of the Italian EME Contest. I worked the following station: on 19 Sept OK1KIR (O/O) for initial #27 and JA5OVU (549/449), on 20 Sept DL6NAA (O/O) #28, JA5OVU (549/549) and DK3WG (O/O), on 21 Sept OE5JFL (549/449), OZ4MM (O/O) and I2COR (O/O) #29, and on 27 Sept (just before my daughter's birthday party) K1FO (549/439) and N2IQU (539/539) #30. Heard were PA2CHR, ON4KNG, ON5OF and UR5LX. Nil on sked with 7M2PDT. I heard no NA stations. Were they active? [You may not have stayed on late enough.] The rig is still a TS-850 + homemade transverter (NF 0.5 dB) and 500 w PA. The Antennna is 4 x 23 el BV yagis. During the 1st part of the ARRL Contest, I will be on only the 2nd day, as I will just be coming back from my vacation.

DL6WU

Guenter sends 70 cm news -- I haven't been very active lately, but found condx good on 20 Sept and made a few QSOs. I worked at 0420 UT5EC ( 439/449), 0428 SM3AKW (439/549), 0452 I5CTE (439/439) for initial #191, 0510 G3LTF (449/549), 0623 KA0RYT (449/O) #192 and 0633 OE5EYM (439/449). I CWNR G4ALH. All QSOs were on random, as usual.

G3LTF

Peter found Sept conditions quite good, but not as good as in Aug -- I worked on 432 the following: on 19 Sept UT5EC, on 20 Sept JH4JLV, SM3AKW, KA0RYT, K5WXN, IK2EAD, I5CTE, DL6WU, G4ERG, G3SEK, HP3XUG for initial #318, JA5OVU and JA3IAF, and on 21 Sept OZ4MM, I2COR, G3HUL and EA3DXU. Heard were N9AB, UA6LGH, DL4KG, PA2CHR and UR5LX. CWNR were DF6NA and ON4KNG. On 1296 I worked on 20 Sept IK6EIW, EA6ADW, W2UHI, OH2AXH on SSB, F5PL, ON5RR, W4OP, N6BQ, DJ9YW, SM4DHN, KB2AH, VEIALQ and DK7LJ on SSB. CWNR was JH5LUZ. After about 0730 1296 went dead!

G4ERG

Peter's 432 report -- I worked on 30 Aug 7M2PDT (M/O) for initial #76 and JH4JLV (M/M), and on 19/21 Sept JA5OVU (449/449), UT5EC (449/559) #77, HB9SV (559/549), KB3PD (O/O) #78, G3LTF (549/449), ON4KNG (O/O), OZ4MM (549/449), UR5LX (O/O), partial KA0RYT (O/O) - no R's and OE5JFL (559/449). There were lots of getaways -- CWNR or QRZ'd K5WXN, PA2CHR, N9AB, JA3IAF, JA2KRW, I2COR and G3HUL. I also heard DF9QX, G3SEK, DL4KG, OK1KIR, DL6WU, SM3AKW, IK2EAD, I5CTE, OE5EYM, JA9BOH, DK2WG, JA4BLC and G4ALH. Conditions were reasonable, but deep/rapid QSB made copy quite difficult at times. I didn't find time to hook up the new HV supply before the SW. I am hoping to get it sorted out before the contest. In the meantime I've recommenced work on an amplifier that I started some time ago.

HP3XUG

Louis was not able to respond to his e-mail this month - [not clear why]. He was active on 70 cm Saturday and Sunday of the SW and worked G3LTF, KA0RYT, VE1ALQ, JA2KRW and KB3PD. Louis reports LU4HO will be QRV for the ARRL Contest, and operate on 432.022 or 432.029.

JA4BLC

Yoshiro reports on the ARI Contest weekend -- I was only able to operate during my Eur windows. On 20 Sept I worked Karl, SM3AKW on 3 bands (144, 432 and 1296) within one hour! We 1st had a sked on 2 m, but could have worked on random (O/O). Then we worked (549/549) on 1296 on random at 2216. At the end of this QSO, Karl asked me to QSY to 432. We finished with a 70 cm QSO (439/539) at 2225. Others worked were on 432 UR5LX, DK3WG, ON4KNG and ON5FF, and on 1296 DJ9YW, G3LTF, HB9SV, JH5LUZ, IK6EIW, HB9BBD and ZS6AXT.

JH1EFA

Shigeru is relatively new to 432 EME -- I first enjoyed "moonbounce" in the last ARRL EME completion. At that time my RF output was only 60 w at the feed point. This year my new power amp (about 400 w output solid state) is ready. I will be looking QSOs in the contest with 4 x K1FO 22 yagis. My address is (SHIGERU TAKEDA, HIGASHI 5-11-1 SATTE, SAITAMA, 340-01 JAPAN) in grid PM96ub. My e-mail address is: Shigeru, JH1EFA

K1FO

Steve found 70 cm signals excellent during the Sept SW. Activity from Japan was very good in Sept. Although he has said it many times before, Steve is still amazed how conditions and activity improve when Sept arrives. Stations worked were on 14 Sept KA0RYT and EA8FF and on 15 Sept NA4N - all with grid square exchanges for ARRL VHF contest QSOs, and on 19 Sept JO3RNL, on 20 Sept CT1DMK, S52CW, NA4N, UA6LGH, JA2TY, JA9BOH, JA3IAF, JH4JLV, JA5OVU and JA2KRW - heard were JH1EFA and JR9NWC. Steve started to give JR9NWC a call on 21 Sept but noticed that his HV didn't seem quite right. Checking the power supply he found one of the diode blocks in the bridge rectifier was very hot and had a burnt smell. Since he had 2 of the other 10KV/1A diode blocks fail in a past EME contest, he decided to build up a replacement rectifier bridge using old fashioned strings of 1N5408 (3A/1KV) diodes like he uses in his PS-70 power supplies. The 1N5408 diodes are low cost and with their 200 A surge rating he has never had problems with them. Steve worked on 27 Sept G4ERG, N2IQU, DL4KG and JA5OVU, and on 28 Sept W8MQW and N2IQU. Steve reports that the Sun is coming back to life. Sun noise has been varying around a bit and Sun activity is definitely on the up swing as his Sun noise measurements are inching up. He measured 18.4 dB on 20 Sept and 19.0 dB on 27 Sept; up over a dB from the end of Aug. Steve has resurrected an old 386/40 computer to dedicate to Realtrack and other EME software. The separate computer, with its monitor above the operating desk, is a big convenience improvement. When going through his computer junk box he found a 286/12.5 motherboard. It's available for free to anyone who would use it for EME tracking. The board looks like it has built in EGA, 2 serial, 1 parallel and a PS/2 mouse port plus 4 Mb of RAM plugged in it. 70 cm EME totals for K1FO are initial #513, WAS 49 and DXCC 75.

K9BCT/4

Randy has completed a 4 tube (air cooled) PA for 23 cm -- I am getting well over 300 w out. Unfortunately it's very thermally unstable. I tried some larger blowers; better but still not usable. I have some larger ones to try with a little better venting, but I am starting to be very pessimistic, and am beginning to think it's not possible to air cool 7289's at this power level. I guess I'll probably end up going the water route or returning to solid state. In any event, I will continue to play, and am still hopeful of having something up and running for the contest on 23 cm.

KB3PD

Rick reports success on his 432 skeds during the Sept SW with HP3XUG, G4ERG, partial IW5AVM - heard for 30 sec on his 3rd sequence then nil, nil HA1YA and 7M2PDT cancelled because of high SWR.

KF0M

John in (EM17) had skeds on 70 cm with 7M2PDT in Aug and Sept, but heard nothing both times. He did copy K1FO on 20 Sept at 1400, but didn't have time for a QSO. John plans to be active on 432 during the contest.

LA8LF

Anders ran with the JAs on 13 cm in Sept. He had a partial with JA7BMB due to 2424 receive problems, but could still copy both stations (O) with only 7 dB of sun noise on 2324. Anders is getting 16.1 dB of Sun noise on 2320 and 17.2 dB on 2304. All 3 of his receive converters have a .55 NF, but do not perform the same on line. JA4BLC had problems with high winds. During the SW Anders CWNR ZS6AXT (539) on 2304, copied nil from OK1KIR on sked, was called on .050 from 0450 to 0543Z by an unidentified station with a very rough CW signal, and worked WB5LUA (569/M) for initial #6. Nothing was heard from W4HHK or WA8WZG on sked. Anders plans to stay on 13 cm through the winter because of his noise problem on 23 cm, and therefore needs more power for 2300 operation. He is looking for a 13 cm amplifier with 70-100 w preferably for a 2C39BA or 7289.

N6BQ

Hoppie's Sept 23 cm report -- Due to business travel I haven't been QRV since the June SW during which my operating time was cut short by a water leak in the PA. The water got into the HVPS! I had planned to operate on Saturday morning (20 Sept), but attended a social function with the XYL at a local winery. After a four-course meal and several bottles of wine, I had forgotten the Morse code by moonrise, so it was off to bed instead of EME. However, Sunday morning (21 Sept) I was finally ready and able to play EME. Conditions were great and so was the activity. I was able to make 16 QSOs in the 1st 3 hours. I had a near miss with NL7F, then off to bed. I got up for the JA window and snagged K4QI for QSO 17, but no JAs were heard during 1.5 hours of calling CQ. Stations worked were as follows: W4OP, G3LTF, F5PL, OH2AXH, SM4DHN, ON5RR, DJ9YW, SM3AKW, W2UHI, EA6ADW, VE1ALQ, OE9XXI, DL0SHF, F6CGJ, OE5JFL, OK1KIR and K4QI. I almost worked NL7F and heard but didn't work KB2AH and K5JL (who apparently went to bed early). I was hearing OE9XXI at (579) on my "lil" 3.7 m dish and was reminded of the big signal from VE3ONT (unbelievably strong). All stations had very good signals and it looks as though this years' ARRL contest will have some great competition. I was using a TH328 driving a DL9EBL-built TH-327 cavity amp at 900 w output in the shack. The TH-327 is a very "thirsty" tube and I was pulling about 1.3 A. This power level is about the maximum for the ham shack's 20 A/230 VAC circuit breaker. I believe it's now time to upgrade the ham shack mains breaker - HI. I was only using 2.3 kV dc under load, so this was one reason for the high anode current at only 900 w. For Oct I'll raise the anode voltage to approx 3.3 kV under load, which should help a bit. The new PA worked beautifully and required no retuning all through the EME session. My next project is to install a KB2AH feed with built-in polarizer and 7/16 connector on the TX input, so the new PA won't destroy any N-connectors or the Quad Hybrid which is currently being used. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. that I'll be home instead of in Australia during the Oct contest weekend.

NA4N

Greg writes -- I installed a cavity filter and cleaned up a few connectors to get my Sun noise back up where it use to be, and started hearing stations again. I worked on both 15 and 20 Aug K1FO, and on 21 Sept UR5LX and N9AB for an initial - who had a good signal. I am looking forward to getting on during the contest. I have the week off. My house is still up for sale. I am going to try to stay up and running until it's sold. I still need QSLs from the following: OH2PO, NC1I, SM4IVE, K5GW, N4GJV and K5JL. My correct address is 6608 Kelly Rd, Warrenton, Va. 20187.

NC1I

Frank's array is on the ground for repair. He hopes to have it back up in time for the ARRL EME contest, but it is going to be difficult to make the repairs and put the array back on the mount in the next few weeks.

NL7F

Bill's report for the Sept SW follows -- After spending the summer repairing/modifying old antennas and building new ones, and repairing the preamp, I am back on 1296 EME. Random contacts were made on 21 Sept with OE5JFL (M/O) for initial #27, F6CGJ (M/O) and VE1ALQ (M/M). The repaired preamp still needs work. Sun and CS/G noise are down about 3 dB. As soon as I get a supply of transistors I will begin playing. [Bill can be reached via e- mail for skeds at: Bill, NL7F ]

OH2AXH

Pertti passes on the following Sept SW info -- I was QRV on 1296 and QSO'd on 21 Sept SM3AKW (579/569), ON5RR (559/569), W4OP (559/559), K5JL (569/569), KB2AH (569/569), F5PL (559/559), EA6ADW (559/559), N6BQ (559/559), S59DCD (449/449), DK7LJ (56/55) on SSB, G3LTF (54/55) and ON5RR (35/55) on SSB. I now have fixed my 2.3 GHz converter/preamp, and am hearing my own echoes with a few watts. Sked partners for 3400.100 MHz are also wanted! Unfortunately we have only 3400-3408 MHz in Finland and thus I cannot work on 3456 MHz. My echoes on 3.4 GHz were heard in Aug with 7 w. Now the power has been increased to 12 w. I will be QRV in the ARRL contest as usual.

ON4KNG

eter was QRV for the ARI Contest -- After a few months of inactivity, I was on for the ARI Contest. I contacted on 20/21 Sept: SM3AKW, IK2EAD, KA0RYT, G4ERG, G3HUL, DL9NDD, OZ4MM, UR5LX, EA8FF, ON5OF, I2COR, OE5JFL, DL3EAG, JA5OVU, JA9BOH, JA4BLC, JA2KRW and 7M2PDT. Heard were K1FO, OK1KIR, DL6WU, HA1YA, DL4KG and CT1DMK. Conditions were the better toward the end of the contest - (Sunday from my moonrise at 2100 to the end). One week before I went to WEINHEIM and met some of EMEers. Pictures of them are on my home page:
Peter, ON4KNG

ON5RR

Marc was again active on 23 cm in Sept -- We made our 1st SSB contacts using only 120 w in the shack! We started at around midnight with very little activity and bad, unstable propagation. Conditions improved a lot after 0400, with the opening of the NA window. The highlight of this Sunday's activity was working OH2AXH and DK7LJ on SSB - not so bad for an air cooled 120 w PA and a 6 m dish. The following random QSOs were made HB9SV, GW3XYW, OH2AXH (CW and SSB), G3LTF, SM4DHN, F6CGJ, K5JL, ZS6AXT, VE1ALQ, SM3AKW, KB2AH, OE9XXI, N2IQU, N6BQ, OE5JFL, DJ9YW, W2UHI, DK7LJ, DL0SHF and W4OP. Initials were W4OP, DK7LJ and DL0SHF to bring us to #44. CWNR were DF3RU, S59DCD (for 1 hour) and F5PL. Heard were JH5LUZ and EA6ADW. Nil was achieved on skeds with S59DCD and HA1YA. I will be QRV in the ARRL Contest and looking for more 1296 QSOs.

OZ4MM

Stig stayed on 432 for the Sept SW -- I was on 432 and only QRV for a few hours in the morning. I found condx were down on Sunday compared with Saturday. I QSO'd on 20 sept OE5EYM for initial #135, WI7Z, IN3KLQ, G4ERG, CT1DMK, ON4KNG and SM3AKW, and on 21 Sept UR5LX, EA8FF, KA0RYT, I2COR, G3SEK, DL6NAA, S52CW, DL4KG, ON5OF, G3HUL, EA3DXU, G3LTF and DF9QX.

RW3BP

Sergej (KO85ws) has completed the 1st EME QSO from Russia on 10 GHz! He worked on 20 Sept WB5LUA (M/M) for initial #1 followed by WA7CJO (O/O) #2. He has a 1.8 m dish and 30 w TWTA. Serej is receiving 11 dB of Sun noise and 0.9 dB of Moon noise. QSLs should be sent to PO Box 462, Moskwa, Russia 111555. He is interested in skeds.

UR5LX

Sergej was active on 20-21 Sept on 432 in the ARI Contest and completed 32 QSOs. On 25 Aug he worked W5ZN (O/O) for intial #320 and WAS 39. Sergej is now using a new 1" Heliax feedline which has gained him 2 dB of power TNX to DF6NA and DH9NDD. He also reports that UA9XEA will be soon QRV again on 432 with 4 x F9FT yagis and 500 w from a new QTH in LP63un.

VE1ALQ

Darrell found band conditions excellent on both 70 cm and 23 cm during the Sept SW -- I was not active for very long periods. I started on 70 cm at 0215 on 20 Sept and remained there until 0430.(As I was not feeling the greatest and I went to bed). I added 2 initials on 70 cm: CT1DMK (539/559) #125 - fantastic signal from Luis, and WA7BBM (559/449) #126. I did not rotate polarity with WA7BBM, perhaps I should have, because Luis peaked at 45 deg form horiz, which seemed to be consistent with all signals form across the Atlantic. My own echoes on 70 cm remained very steady at around S6, and I thought conditions were much better than they have been for some time. I also worked on 70 cm HP3XUG and JA9BOH. A number of others were heard but not worked. Conditions on 23 cm were also found to be exceptionally good. There was a slight indication of QSB, but libration disturbances seemed non-existent. I was on 23 cm form 0700 to 1100, when all activity seemed to stop except for N6BQ (S6). All signals on 23 cm were very, very strong, W2UHI was S5 to S6. OE9XXI was notably strong at 20 dB over S9 (with peak "hold" S meter turned on). Other stations worked were OE5JFL (589/569) for initial #83, DL0SHF (579), SM4DHN (569), SM3AKW (569), F6CGJ (589), DJ9YW (559), N6BQ (569), ON5RR (539), G3LTF (539) and NL7F (529) - I had one heck of a time getting him to hear. With so many strong signals, there was no noticable SSB, at least below .025. This was very pleasant, especially when working the lighter stations. I remember my activities on 2 m EME, when SSB was suggested, we automatically went to 144.110. Perhaps this can be, or should be done on all the EME bands? [SSB is illegal below .100 in the USA on 144. Similar regulations do not exist on 432 or 1296. Perhaps we need an SSB calling frequency on 1296.] My plans for the ARRL EME Contest are to operate 70 cm the 1st Moon of each half of the contest, then go to 23 cm for the 2nd in each half.

W1ZX

Willie has not been QRV the last 3 or 4 months, because he has been working on a new dish (32' with a f/d of .55 and 24 ribs - the ribs were built 2 or 3 years ago). Willie took down his old 24' dish on 13 Sept. He hopes to have the new dish up and working by late Oct or early Nov, on 432 1st and later in the winter on 1296. His older dish is now available - see the FOR SALE section of this NL.

W4OP

Dale has finished his KB2AH 4 x 7289 HPA and is getting a stable 500W out -- I am very glad I included a flow meter on the front panel. I originally considered it window dressing, but find it a real comfort to know the water system is moving. The rest of my setup is a 12' dish on H/H mount, KB2AH feed and preamp, and 40' of 7/8" hardline to dish. I worked on 23 cm on 20 Sept K2UYH, EA6ADW, SM3AKW and F6CGJ, and on 21 Sept K5JL, OH2AXH for initial #28, F5PL, KB2AH, W2UHI, ZS6AXT, G3LTF, N6BQ, ON5RR #29 and DJ9YW.

W5AK

Dick (x-N4EL) who was formally QRV on 70 cm EME from NJ is now located in Ala. He brings us up-to-date on his EME plans -- I sold my 70 cm amp when I left NJ in '88. So I am looking for a GOOD and BIG 70 cm amp to get back on EME. I have for sale or trade a very nice N6CA 23 cm amp (single tube) built in a cabinet with power supply. I've never tested it, but I believe it is in wonderful condition. It belonged at one time to a 23 cm EME operator from Colo. I think it was used to drive a larger 23 cm amp.

W6/SM0PYP

Paul (DM12ju) is now QRV on 3 cm EME -_ I made my 1st 10 GHz EME QSO on 28 Sept with WA7CJO, and on 30 Sept added WB5LUA (449/O). I borrowed a TWTA from Bill (W4TJ), repaired the power supply and increased the power from 19 to 26 w. I also extended the supply wires for the TWT so that I have TWT mounted very close to the feed horn. (I repaired the power supply for my own TWT. It had many problems. Finally I was forced to rewind one of the ferrite transformers between push-pull stages. Also one CMOS IC, a transistor and an electrolytic capacitor were bad. Someone else before me tried to repair this power supply. I also confirmed that my own TWT - Thomson TH3631W is definitely bad. Now I have to find a TWT for myself.) My dish is 10' with f/d of 0.29 and a linear polarized Chaparral feed. I measured the illumination of my dish. At the edges in the horiz plane it is -12 dB and in vert plane -13 dB using the Chaparral feed with three chokes. My RX system consists of an isolation relay, G3WDG LNA followed by a 3 stage LNA having an NF of 2.2 dB and gain of 28 dB, and 2.4 m of RG223 down to the transverter. The transverter has 3 ports for 144 MHz, one for the transceiver, the 2nd for the main receiver and the 3rd for a power meter for dish aiming. I am using a standard IC202 as RX-TX transceiver and my old modified IC202 as a main RX. For dish aiming I am using a prototype of milliwatt meter 20-2000 MHz, which I developed many years ago for professional use. The TX output from the transverter is 23 dBm which goes through 3 m of RG223 and a 3 dB pad to the TWT input. The TWT is hanging at the focus of the dish and is connected through a 30 cm PTFE coax line (similar to RG223) and 2 relays to the feed horn. The transverter and TWT power supply are mounted at the back of the reflector. I found a degradation in the RX system when everything is warmed by the Sun at an ambient temperature of about 90 deg F. NF of the 1st LNA will of course rise, but possibly the bias is also changing. I will add a servo to maintain the bias to my G3WDG LNA and check again. Total NF measured at the bench is 1.6 dB. When mounted on the dish I get only 1 dB of Moon noise. Previously I had 1.7 dB of Moon noise with a preamp NF of 2.1 dB directly attached to the feed horn. The feed horn alone has a return loss of < -20 dB. I will be QRV in the contest on 144 and 10 GHz. My window for Eur is very short. So I prefer to wait with NA stations until after my Eur window is over. My e-mail is: Paul, SM0PYP , phone/fax at home (619)-623-9693.

W7GBI

Charlie has not been active for the last 3 months due to problems with his elevation drive -- I am currently working on gear box which had stripped motor gears. It was very hard to get replacement parts. I just completed a 7000 volt power supply for my klystrons on 23 and 13 cm. I hope to have them on in time for the contest. I am having trouble getting connectors that will stand the power. WA8WZG is working on it. I am finally on e-mail at: Charlie, W7GBI

WB5LUA

Al had excellent results during the Sept SW. He worked on 2304 LA8LF, on 3456 NU7Z, and on 10,368 I4CHY, DF0OVH and RW3PB all for initials. He says he was amazed by RW3PB's signal level. He also had a nice 3 cm SSB QSO with WA7CJO. Al asks (on 23 cm) if DC6UW, DK7LJ and DJ7FJ are all initials or do they share the same station. [DC6UW is definitely a separate station. I believe DK7LJ and DJ7FJ are also different, but DK7LJ may be related to DK0SHF.]

ZS6BTE

Ian is setting up for 3 cm EME. He has 3 m dish, WDG LNA, feedhorn and tracking system - all home brew. His LO and mixer are on loan from G3WDG. He says "Once basic receive capability has been demonstrated I will be able get going on TX as well". Ian is located (PO Box 825, Randpark Ridge 2156, South Africa), tel: 27 11 7

ZS6AXT

Ivo writes -- During the Italian Contest I tried my luck on 13 cm, but nobody was there. (Later I learned that LA8LF called me with his QRP, but by then I was probably so tired, that I missed him.) So I went to 23 cm and worked on 20 Sept SM3AKW, N2IQU, KB2AH, W2UHI and K5JL, and on 21 Sept OH2AXH, G3LTF, K5JL, W4OP, F5PL, ON5RR, EA3ADW, W2UHI, DJ9YW, JA4BLC and HB9BBD. CWNR were DF3RU and JH5LUZ. (No Italian stations?) Signals were generally very good and weather here was also very good. Of course my Moon window is shorter especially to the west. On 28 Sept I worked on 1296 F1ANH, DD1XF and DJ9YW. So there is 1296 activity outside the SW. Slow progress here on 6 cm, but I hope to be QRV soon. There is relatively little info available on 6 cm equipment. I hope that the activity during the ARRL Contest will be better, especially on 13 cm.

K2UYH

Family commitments again limited my operating time. I was only able to be QRV on Saturday and decided to stay on 1296 for the single day. Conditions seemed good and there was lots of SSB activity. At 0447 I called CQ and immediately became involved in a 3 way SSB QSO with KB2AH (57/57), W2UHI (55/56) and K5JL (56/56). Jay was having some problems with his audio but was still Q5 off the Moon. This was followed by contacts at 0516 DK7LJ (57/55) on SSB in JO54cg, 0545 W4OP (559/569), 0603 SM3AKW (55/54) on SSB, 0612 EA6ADW (55/44) on SSB, 0640 I2COR (?) - I thought they called, but I never copied them again and 0700 F6CGJ (57/56) on SSB.

PARIS '98 NEWS

Since last month some additional pre-registrations have been received. The organizing group wishes to thank all those who have pre-registered: 47 OMs, more than 30 YLs and 9 children as of 24 Sept. (9U5DX, CT1DMK, DD1XF, DF6NA, DJ6MB, DK3FB, DL3EAG, DL6WU, F1EHN, F5FLN, F5IVP, F5PAU, F6HYA, F6CGJ, G3LQR, G3LTF, G3SEK, G4CCH, G4ERG, G4RGK, JA4BLC, JH3EAO, K1IM, K1RQG, K2RIW, K2UYH, KD4LT, N6BQ (ex AA6WI), N8XA, NA4N, NC1I, OE5JFL, ON5RR, ON6JY, OZ4MM, S56UUU, SM2CEW, SM3AKW, SM6CKU, UR5LX, VE1ALQ, VE4MA, W6/SM0PYP, W7GBI, W8MQW, W8TN, ZS6AXT.

NETNEWS

DD1XF has a new e-mail address: Frank, DD1XF

VE6JW plans to attend the Paris Conference.

KA0RYT has his 4 yagi horiz array back on line on 432. He had water in a power divider and it had migrated upward into the hardline - now all is fixed. Ron worked 11 during the SW with initials from I2COR, DL6WU and HP3XUG.

KD4LT is listening again after his major lightening hit. On 23 cm he copied W2UHI and F1ANH with good sigs. On 70 cm Scott has the tracking running once more and hopes to be QRV for the contest.

W4TJ is trying to be QRV on 1296 by contest time. He has 500 w and heard DJ1YW, W2UHI and F1ANH in Sept.

W2UHI worked on 1296 JH5LUZ, DC6UW on SSB and DK7LJ on SSB during the SW, and during the post SW KB2AH, F6CGJ, F1ANH and DJ9YW.

VE1ZJ's (x-VE1BVL) e-mail address is: VE1ZJ

AA5C will be on 10 GHz both days of the contest.

VE4MA is basically QRV on 10 GHz with his new dish. He ran several skeds with WB5LUA and heard Al every time, but Al did not hear him. His TWTA was putting power out, but on wrong freq. Barry is receiving 1.4 dB of Moon and 12.75 dB of Sun noise. Barry will not be on for the 1st weekend of the ARRL Contest because of a business trip.

G4RGK has not been active this summer, but hopes to be on 70 cm for the contest weekend.

DL9KR ran skeds with K7XD on 432 and heard him (O) copy, but K7XD had receiver problems.

F/G0VBA (JN04ft) will be QRV on 70 cm EME receive in the next 4 to 6 weeks. His e-mail address is: F/G0VBA

KB7CWB in Idaho is building an array for 70 cm EME.

EA8FF is QRV on 432 MHz with 16 x 9 el WU yagis and 1 KW.

K5JL worked 12-15 stations on 23 cm during the SW.

WA8WZG on 13 cm heard LA8LF (O), but could not track the Moon to xmit. Later he copied WB5LUA and LA8LF in QSO. Nil was heard from W4HHK. W4HHK is QRV and will be on 13 cm for the ARRL contest.

K6MYC is working on 432 and 1296 EME, and could be active on the horizon on 70 cm during the contest.

I6PNN will be QRV on 5.7 GHz in Oct.

IK2RTI is ready for 5.7 GHz now with a 4 m dish and 12 w.

FOR SALE

DD1XF has available a complete 23 cm PA using a TH308/328/338 with one tube. He also has for sale a 23 cm W2IMU short feed with hybrid. These items are for pick up only. You can reach Frank at: Frank, DD1XF

W5AK has for sale or trade a very nice N6CA 23 cm amp (single tube) built in a cabinet with power supply. Dick is looking for a 1.5 kw HPA for 70 cm.

W1ZX has for sale a 24' dish with 18 ribs, 24" W x 30" H hub and 1" outside rim. Pick up only from Waldorf, MD - just south of Washington, DC. Willie also has a General Radio IF amplifier 1236A 30 MHz IF for $US150 + shipping, Dielectric-Coaxial Dynamics 1000A wattmeter $US115 plus shipping, a Bird 43 wattmeters (1) $US170, (2) $US185, (3) $US200 with new meter movement, (4) Bird 43 wattmeter, fair condition.

DL8RDI has for sale several brand new 23 cm EME Cavity Amplifiers for use with TH308, TH328 or TH338 tubes. The power output is 800 w at 2,200 V anode voltage. Drive power for maximum power is 60 w. The amplifiers are made from brass and polished. All PAs are pre-tuned and tested. Anyone interested should call (09441/28856) or write to (Heiner Jordan, Nelkenstr. 26, D-93346 Ihrlerstein Germany).

LA8LF is looking for a 13 cm PA with 70 - 100 w preferably for 2C39BA or 7289.

K1FO has the Lunar-Link Systems LA-200, 2 m and LA-70B, 70 cm 1500 w amplifiers again available with parts for another production run arriving. Steve does have a significant backlog, however. 3CX800A7 and 3CPX800A7 tubes for the amplifiers are now available from Lunar-Link Systems. Contact Steve, K1FO at 203-421-3377.

KB2AH has a full line of cavity amps and 1, 2, 4 and 6 tube ring amps, lin/circular feed horns and LNAs for 432 and 1296. Tom also has mounting blocks for K1FO yagis. For full details see Tom's 1296 WEB page:

KB2AH
for more details and pricing info e-mail:
Pricing
or phone 908-223-5067, FAX 908-223-0901 (24 hrs) or voice 908-223-8124

TECHNICAL

This month we have a very interesting article by Chuck, W8MQW on "Hearing CW in Noise" which raises a number of intriguing questions. Next month there will be an up-date on VE1ALQ's linear encoder board.

FINAL

Congratulations to Charlie, W7GBI on his 80th Birthday!

* There seems to be more and more SSB activity on 1296. Although this is good, it does pose a problem as pointed out by VE1ALQ: the SSB can interfere with weaker CW stations. One solution is to have an SSB calling frequency around which SSB activity could congregate. I do not think we want to put this frequency too high up in the band. .100 is not good as this is the tropo calling frequency in NA. We also do not want SSB activity to interfere with a small station calling frequency - although I have not heard much about this idea in recent months. Would a 1296 SSB calling frequency at .025 or .030 make sense?

* There has been quite a bit of discussion on the 20 m net on the new RF radiation safety standards the USA is now instituting for amateur as well as commercial stations. These standards may be more of a problem to stations using smaller antennas since are power is distributed across the large aperture of our arrays/dishes. K2DH notes regarding the comments in Sept QST related to field strength that low band stations with ground mounted antennas will really feel the effect of these new rules. EME type "stations" will have the consideration of ant pattern, freq, time duration etc. Time of exposure to radiation is of prime consideration.

* I want to again express my thanks for the many messages of condolence I received on the passing of my father. It makes me appreciate the closeness of our "EME family".

* I know I do not need to remind you to submit operating new with the EME Contest coming up, but please keep the technical material coming too. I hope to give all of you some points during the contest.

EME Activity Note Box

EME Skeds for Feb 15 and 16 1997

432MHz & up EME skeds

This information was obtained from Scott, KD4LT

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For Comments or corrections: Rein, W6/PA0ZN