432 MHz MHz AND ABOVE EME NEWS
DECEMBER 1997 VOL 25 # 14
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
- 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.
CONDITIONS
Nov produced another good one. Contest reports were again very
positive with regard to conditions. Criticism if any was aimed at the
format of the contest. I shall be discussing ways we can make the
contest(s) more exciting in future NLs. This month’s NL is devoted to the
many contest reports we have received. There is an important discussion on
possible dates for the next ARRL EME Contest at the end of this NL.
HIGH CONTEST SCORES
’97 has produced some surprises. On 432 it appears
that OH2PO 147x43 has the high score followed by DL9KR 137x42, N2IQU
132x37, OE5JFL 120x39, K1FO 121x37, UR5LX 116x39, OZ4MM 112x36, DL9NDD
108x36 and in Japan JA5OVU 90x33. On 1296 OE9XXI 72x36 still remains the
leader, but was very nearly surpassed by K2DH 71x36 followed by K5JL 65x34,
OE5JFL 64x31, OZ4MM 64x31, W2UHI 62x35 and ZS6AXT 58x27. KB2AH was put out
of the running by a bad back which kept him in bed and did not allow any
operation during Nov.
4X6UJ
Howie is back on 23 cm EME in a big way after repairing storm damage
-- Now we really know how 23cm EME operation should feel. During the 1st
phase of the contest we used the same setup as last year: a 3 m TVRO dish
and 175 w. The improvement noticed on my signal was due to a much lower
loss feedline (1.5 dB). During the test we had an horrible storm - the dish
became unusable. I started a big campaign to find a better dish for the
next phase of the test. This is not an easy task in Israel where
professional dishes are rare). I managed to find a 5.1 m solid dish used
for uplinking at Gilat in Jerusalem. After much bargaining (hi). I bought
it for a reasonable amount (6,000 USD) together with the original pedestal
from Scientific Atlanta. It all weights around 750 kg. The time of the
contest being very close, I made giant efforts to bring it to Haifa and
erect it on the roof. Two hours after the contest was on, I came down from
the roof, and almost fell over in surprise... The band sounded like 20 m. A
push on the key gave me the 1st EME echo in my life (8-12 dB over the
noise). The power is still 175 w from a solid state power amp (SSPA). (I am
building 350 w SSPA.) The LNA is very good (0.27 dB NF). We made 40 QSOs
and missed 7. A lot of big guns were missing during this phase. (Where was
Tom? [In bed with a bad back.]) We also made 2 SSB QSOs with OE9ERC and
DL0SHF. I can hear my echoes even on SSB. Talk about excitement around
here... Ralph, 4X1IF is also excited by the results. We are contemplating
getting on 70 cm and of course the upper bands. The team here was myself
and 2nd op Chris, 4Z5JA.
7M2PDT
Shukou reports on his contest results -- I was not active in the
1st part due to the JA 430SSB GW MEETING and a high SWR problem. I worked
only 7 staions in the 1st part. I replaced the Blower of HPA to a bigger
one. This caused the air flow to increase, and I increased drive power to
bring the output power from 1.3 kw to 1.5 kw. Everything was fine on 15
Nov, but not on the 16th because it was rainy and the SWR increased. My
score was 45x24 with initials JH1EFA, KL7HFQ, DL4KG, F1CH, UA6LGH, EA8FF,
ON5OF and W0KJY to bring me to #97. I hope to make #100 before the end of
‘97.
AA5C
Greg did not make it on in Nov -- I was unexpectedly out of town for
the 2nd half of the contest. I did complete a 10 GHz EME schedule with
SM4DHN earlier in the month for initial #14. Easy copy with (O/O) reports.
Lars-Bertil has fixed his elevation drive and put a new preamp on the
system with very good Sun and Moon noise. He runs CP. I am always looking
for skeds with stations I haven't yet worked on 10 GHz. I am also looking
for leads on 432 cavity designs using the 7213 tube.
DD1XF
Frank writes -- I worked the following initials on 23 cm in Nov:
JL1ZCG, 4X6UJ and OK1DFC - if he is an initial?. [OK1DFC was using the same
site as OK1CA. So if you have not worked OK1CA on 23 cm, he would count as
an initial.] Conditions were was good, but with lots of QSB. I am working
on 6 cm EME and am concerned about my feed. I have finished a 6 cm feed for
vertical pol. Now I read that some stations are using circular. We must
have a decision for one standard. I hope to be QRV on 6 cm by the end of
the year with vertical pol. I am also making slow progress on 13 cm.
DF0OVH
Joe, DJ7FJ reports -- This is the club call of the radio club of
Haslach, a small town in the Black Forest. The club celebrated its 35th
anniversary on 20 and 21 of Sept. As a special event some 10 GHz EME QSOs
were arranged. Due to the "uncomfortable" availability of the moon - there
was only a short window in the morning before the moon set - skeds were
arranged with WB5LUA and WA7CJO to give the spectators a chance to here
strong signals. Both were worked with good sigs and Jim even was even
copied in SSB. Prior to these QSOs, tests were made with RW3BP, but failed.
The equipment consisted of a temporarily mounted 3.3 m dish and a 50 w
TWTA. The dish and TWTA was loaned from by myself. DL1GNM, Mike was the
main operator.
DJ7FJ
Joe was active on 3 cm on 19 Oct, the 1st night of the 1st part of
the ARRL Contest on 19th Oct. There was an arranged a sked with Sergej,
RW3BP, which ended with (M/O) reports for initial #30. Sergej was copied
with a relatively good signal. He had some QSB. Later that night Jim,
WA7CJO was directly called and worked in SSB (56/56), followed by Greg,
AA5C (539/539). Our station still consists of a 4.5 m dish, but now driven
electro- mechanically instead of by muscle-power, and a new 200 w amp! The
new TWTA had to withstand the foggy night - which it did after some high
voltage buzz and bangs. Due to work there was no possibility to be QRV
during the 2nd contest leg. DJ7FJ is an independent call. I have nothing to
do with DL0SHF, DK7LJ and others.
DJ9YW
Heinrich sends his 23 cm Nov contest QSOs -- I worked on 15 Nov
S59DCD, OH2AXH, JLlZCG and OKIDFC, and on 16 Nov 4X6UJ for initial #76 and
possibly 1st 4X - DL 1296 QSO, K2UYH, G3LTF, W40P, NU7Z #77, OZ4MM, LA8LF,
HB9SV, F1ANH, SM4DHN, JH5LUZ, SM2CEW and OE9ERC. The rig is now a 4.5 m
dish, f/d 0.47, with 360 w at an IMU circular long feed horn, and overall
RX NF is .48 dB. For skeds send FAXs to my new Fax # ++49-5155-983256. I
need QSLs from SM2CEW, SM6CKU, SM5DGX, I6QGA, 15MPK, DJ7F, K5JL, VE3BQN and
S59DCD.
DK3FB
Ruediger end up with a score of 33x20. He worked 5 initials with all
QSOs on random. Additionally, Ruediger heard JA9BOH, JJ1NNJ, EA8FF, CT1DMK,
S52CW, DL4MEA, F5FEN, K5JL, W7FN, KN6(5)M, KA0RYT, N9AB, G3FUF, G3LTF and
G3SEK. Ruediger is now up to initial #96. He has no e-Mail, but sked
requests can be forwarded to Stephan, DL3EAG at e-mail:
Ruediger, DK3FB
DL3EAG
Stephan was active in the contest -- He worked on 15 Nov N4GJV
(439/439), SM2CEW (429/439) for an initial (#), W7FN (439/439) #, OH2PO
(559/O), HA1YA (439/439) #, DL9NDD (O/O) and I2COR (O/O), and on 16 Nov
G3LTF (O/O). I ended with 19x17. I found conditions not as good as on the
1st leg of the contest, but quite OK. Heard were also 7M2PDT, JL1ZCG, N9AB,
K5GW, K0RZ, ON4KNG, ON5OF and F5FEN. I used an improved preamp with 0.5 dB
NF, abt 1 kw. I had some problems with a coaxial switch, but this will be
solved soon. I have a new e-mail address:
Stephan, DL3AEG Skeds
requests are welcome.
DL4KG
Gerald's report for Nov -- I worked on 432 on 08 Nov SM2CEW (O/O),
on 15 Nov N2IQU (O/O), OH2PO (O/O), DL9KR (559/549), N4GJV (O/O), DF3RU
(O/O), KA0RYT (O/O) for an initial (#), W7FN (449/449) #, SM2CEW (549/549),
DL9NDD (539/529), SM3AKW (O/O), ON5OF (529/519) #, JA9BOH (O/O), 7M2PDT
(O/O) # and JA5OVU (439/449), and on 16 Nov OZ4MM (539/529), S52CW (O/O) #,
WD5AGO (O/O) #, VE1ALQ (439/439) #, UT5EC (O/O) # and G3SEK (O/O) #. The
ARRL contest brought me 12 initials and a lot of fun. Final contest results
were 31x19. Standings are now #42 initials, 17 DXCC and 9 US states. I
heard my echoes for most of the time which has not happened very often
before. Maybe that I got a little bit more experienced now. Most pleasant
was the high number of station who answered my CQ. I never expected it.
Heard but not worked were I2COR, JL1ZCG, K0RZ, HA1YA and all others which I
worked in the 1st part. My rig was TS-850 + transverter (NF 0.5 dB), 700 W
at feed and 4 x 23 el DJ9BV (6 lambda) yagis. Sked proposals are very
welcome via PR DL4KG@DB0MKA.#NRW.DEU.EU or my e-mail:
Gerald, DL4KG
DL4XX
Andreas is back on 70 cm moonbounce -- The station is the same as
described in DL4EBY's list. I can hear my own echoes very often (2 kw) and
sometimes with only 400 w. My e-mail address is:
Andreas, DL4XX
DL6WU
Guenter had problems -- I made only one 70 cm contact in Nov with
EA8FF for initial #194, and then my T/R relay in my FT 726R failed. A minor
failure, but it took a lot of time to find and fix. Condx seemed relatively
good, but on Sun there was a lot of rapid Faraday fading.
DL9NDD
Gunter ended the contest with a score of 108x36 -- I worked in the
2nd part: S57Q, G4FUF, KD4LT, SM2CEW, WD5AGO, K2UYH, OE3JPC, KAORYT, W8MQW,
W3AD, 7M2PDT, DL8OBU, DL0AR, DJ5MN, I2COR, DL4MEA for an initial (#),
DK3FB, HA1YA, DL3EAG, DL4XX #, DF4UE # (4 x yagis and 80O w), IK5WJD,
GM3JFG, FICH #, IK0EQJ, W0KJY, K1OR #, W5ZN, DK8VS, DL8QS, IN3KLQ and
J03RNL. I am interested in skeds with WA7TZY, W8QX, N2HTL, NC7K, K9BCT,
JH1EFA, JA5NNJ and JA2TY.
EA3DXU
Josep in Nov added several new ones -- In the 2nd leg of the ARRL
contest I finally I crossed over 100 QSO line, and ended the contest with
102x54 multi-band with 66x30 on 144 and 36x24 on 432 for 550,800 points. I
am really happy because this is my best score in 12 years on EME. Before
the contest initials were made with EA8/ON5FF #74, PA2CHR #75, VE6TA #76,
DJ6MB #77 and CT1DMK #78. In the Oct part there was excellent activity and
many easy QSOs. I completed 23 QSOs and 19 sections as follows OH2PO, F1ANH
#79, DL9K5, DL9NDD, ON5OF, OE5JFL, K1FO, N2QIU, F5AQC #80, OZ4MM, DK3BU,
HB9SV, UR5LX, ON4KNG, PA3CSG, I2COR, SM3AKW, K0RZ, K5GW, JA5OVU, JH0YSI
#81, G3LTF and EA3UM. On 25 Oct I worked 7M2PDT #82. In the Nov part there
were similar conditions and I added 13 more QSOs and 5 sections with
SM2CEW, K2UYH, N4GJV, W7FN, DK3WG, HA1YA #83 and DXCC 30, G3SEK, F5FEN,
JA9BOH, VE1ALQ, DF3RU, UT5EC #84 and EA8FF. I am a small antenna (2 x 38 el
M2 yagis and GS23B 950 w PA), and very much like to call CQ. I was
fortunate to be answered by 11 medium/big stations (DK3BU, HB9SV, UR5LX,
JA5OVU, JH0YSI, G3LTF, G3SEK, F5FEN, JA9BOH, DF3RU and UT5EC).
EA6ADW
Peter worked on 23 cm 41x22 in the 1st part of the EME Contest. He
was only active on Saturday (on 1296) during the Nov part of the contest.
On Sunday evening Peter took the ferry to Barcelona with his wife, 2 dogs,
the car and much home-stuff to return to DL for the winter. He expects to
be back on the island in March. Peter also notes his LOC was and is JM19LU.
(LOC JM19NW is his 10/24GHz-Portable-QTH.)
EA6SA
Josep in JM19KO will be QRV soon on 70 cm. EA6ADW is helping him to
prepare his station. They tuned up a 450 w PA (700 w soon). He has EA6ADW's
old 4 x 33 el BV array. The open wire feed system still needs to be
installed, as well as the LNAs.
F5PAU
Francis wrote -- I worked in the 2nd part of the ARRL contest on
1296 CT1DMK (559/559), OE9ERC (569/569), LA8LF (559/579), WA0OFS (449/559)
for initial #89, K9BCT/4 (449/559) #90, VE6TA (559/559), VE4MA (449/559),
NU7Z (449/559) #91, F5AQC (569/569), DL0SHF (559/559), 4X6UJ #92, JA6CZD
(559/559), DF3RU (549/569), OK1KIR (559/569), NP4B (O/O) #93, NL7F
(559/549) #94, F5PL (559/569), SM2CEW (559/569) and WA8WZG (O/559) #95 for
a total of 56x31. (Francis, e-mail is looking for the
postal address of DL0SB and 4X6UJ.)
G3LQR
Simon now has systems for 70, 23, 13 and 9 cm. On 3400 he has 20 w
in the shack from a TWTA, but feels he needs more power to be successful.
On 13 cm he has 2 VE4MA amps. Back in July he made his 1st 13 cm QSO with
OE9ERC (O/O) and has heard ZS6AXT, OZ4MM and DL3EBL. He made no 2300
contacts in the contest, but did copy OH2AXH. He spent most of his time on
23 cm where he is presently using a 4 x 2C39 PA giving only about 150 w at
his feed, but is working to increase this level. In the 2nd part he QSO'd
on Saturday W2UHI, F6CGJ, EA6ADW, OE5JFL, K2DH for initial #52, LA8LF, K5JL
#53, W4OP #54, VE1ALQ #55, OE9XXI and G3LTF, and on Sunday OZ4MM, ZS6AXT,
SM4DHN, OH2AXH, PA3CSG #56, HB9SV, F5AQC, OK1KIR, S59DCD #57, K2UYH, K4QI,
#58, OK1DFC #59 and SM2CEW for 24x18s. Heard were JH5LUZ, W7GBI, WA4OFS,
CT1DMK, OE9ERC, F2TU, DC6UW, F5PL, N6BQ, F1ANH, EA3UM, WB5LUA, HB9BBD and
K9BCT/4. Simon also on 70 cm and scored 8x8, but is not happy with the way
his old yagi array is acting.
G3LTF
Peter ended the contest with a final score of 55x32 on 432 and 53x29
on 1296 -- Before the contest on 13 cm on 15 Sept CWNR SM3AKW, ZS6AXT,
W4HHK, OZ4MM and F2TU. All called on 2320 of course. I know Paul was
listening there as he called "CQ G" (TNX Paul) but my power is not enough
though I was hearing echoes consistently. I believe SM3AKW heard me. I
worked on 1296, on 15 Sept CT1DMK, LA8LF, VE4MA, VE1ALQ, G3LQR, F5AQC,
F2TU, OK1KIR, OE9ERC, OE5JFL, I6QGA, DD1XF, JL1ZCG for initial #126, 4X6UJ
#127, JA6CZD #128 - nice to work him again, ON5RR, HB9SV, DD0SB #129 and
GW3XYW, and on 16 Nov K4QI, K2UYH, F5PL, N6BQ, NU7Z #130, DJ9YW, DL0SHF on
SSB, and on the last pass JH5LUZ, F1ANH, DF3RU, OZ4MM and SM2CEW. CWNR were
DC6UW, NP4B, PA3CSG, JH3EAO, PA0JCA, NL7F, W0KJY, W7GBI and KB0PYO (3
multipliers!) On 432, I worked on 16 Nov N4GJV - great to chat with Ron
again, W0KJY, WB6IMC, W7QX, KN6M for an initial, DL3EAG, SM2CEW, WD5AGO and
N9AB. CWNR were WA7BBM, K2OS, UA6LGH and G4RGK. I lost my 1296 preamp, but
replaced the NE321 with a FHX35LPT and got a real improvement, abt 0.4 dB
NF in the WD5AGO circuit. Apart from this all worked well. I do think we
need to address the question of 13 cm activity, perhaps with a separate
weekend for the bands above 13 cm or some extra multipliers. It was a good
contest, the WX was kind, and it was great to hear many old friends again.
G4ERG
Peter's total for the contest was 48x28 for 134,400 point -- In the
2nd leg of test I added 18 contacts (half of which were initials). Worked
were ON5OF, SM2CEW, K2OS for initial #85, W7QX #86, N4GJV, WB6IMC #87,
KA0RYT, SM3AKW, W0KJY #88, WI7Z, W8MQW #89, W7FN, HA1YA #90, 7M2PDT, DL4MEA
#91, VE1ALQ, N9AB #92 and UA6LGH #93. Also heard were K3HZO, W5ZN, W8TN,
WD5AGO, JS3SIM, YO2IS and JA9BOH. My totals stand at initial #93, WAS 19
and DXCC 24. I've added 28 initials with the new antenna system since the
end of June. I shall be looking for skeds during the Dec SW via the NL or
e-mail at:
Peter, G4ERG
GM3JFG
Iain in the Oct and Nov contest weekends worked DL9KR, OE5JFL,
OH2PO, UR5LX for initial #18, N2IQU #19, K1FO, N4GJV, OZ4MM #20 and SM2CEW
#21. Equipment used was a new DEM transverter and 900 w from an RIW PA. The
Rev. Canon Iain McHardy, GM3JFG, Navity, CROMARTY, Ross -shire, IV1 8XY is
not yet on e-mail directly, but messages will be forwarded from:
Iain, GM3JFG
GW3XYW
Stu missed the 1st contest weekend as he was away searching for a 3
cm TWTA at a radio flea market. Unfortunately Stu was unsuccessful. He was
active on 1296 and worked on 15 Nov F5PL, DD1XF, EA6ADW, ZS6AXT, OE9XXI,
LA8LF, OZ4MM, SM4DHN, OH2AXH, F6CGJ, JH3EAO, DD0SB, OK1DFC, OE5JFL, G3LTF,
HB9SV, S59DCD, F5AQC, VE1ALQ and ON5RR, and on 16 Nov OK1KIR, W2UHI, EA3UM,
K2DH, W4RDI, K5JL and CT1DMK for a score of 27x20. Conditions were good
with strong signals, however at times CW signals seemed suffer from a
"smearing" effect. Stu had a strange receive problem. His preamp started to
show instability when tilting the dish or cycling the T/R delay. The cause
turned out to be a bird nesting in his IMU feed horn. [I have had problems
with birds and squirrels. Plastic screening can be used to protect the
inside of the horn from uninvited residents.]
HB9BBD
Dominique writes -- My contest effort on 1296 resulted in 50x23x8
(QSOs x countries x states). This year hopefully is the last with the small
8' dish. 4 years listening with this small antenna resulted in 91 initials
so far. The new dish will now be assembled and positioned, and should be
operational in Jan. My contest log follows: Worked on 18 Oct F6KSK
(529/549), ZS6AXT (549/569), OH2AXH (569/569), EA3UM (569/559), G3LTF
(519/559), EA6ADW (569/559), W4RDI (569/559), SM4DHN (569/559), KB2AH
(579/559), F6CGJ (579/549), K2DH (549/549), K5JL (579/569), SM3AKW
(539/549), OE9XXI (589/569), WD5AGO (529/549), WB5LUA (539/549), W2UHI
(559/559), W4OP (529/569), OK1DFC (519/549) for initial #85, F5PAU
(559/549), JH5LUZ (529/559), F2TU (579/559), OE5JFL (579/569), DD1XF
(529/529) - needs QSL, F1ANH (559/549), S59DCD (539/569), I6QGA (559/539),
DJ9YW (579/539), JA4BLC (529/559) and ON5RR (519/529) #86, on 19 Oct OZ4MM
(569/559), DD0SB (529/559) - needs QSL, OE9ERC (599/559), DC6UW (559/559)
#87, K2UYH (579/549), N6BQ (549/569), VE1ALQ (559/559) and IK6EIW (539/549)
#88, on 15 Nov OK1KIR (539/549), LA8LF (559/549), JL1ZCG (549/539) #89,
DL0SHF (579/569), HB9SV (579/559) - welcome to the club of the TH347s!,
PA3CSG (539/549), F5AQC (559/559), F5PL (559/569), GW3XYW (549/569), and on
16 Nov 4X6UJ (519/559) #90, K4QI (559/549) #91 and CT1DMK (519/539). Some
dupe QSOs were made during the contest with DL0SHF on SSB (53/55), K2UYH
(579/559), EA3ADW (559/559), DC6UW (559/559) and I6QGA.
I2COR
Luigi had very band WX conditions during the 1st part of the
contest. 90 kmph winds made it impossible to use the dish. Ones life was in
danger. During Nov WX was not good with heavy rain contributing rain noise.
Despite these problems they QSO'd on 432, on 18/19 Oct OH2PO, OZ4MM, G4ERG,
HB9SUL, DL9KR, K1FO, N2IQU, DK3FB, VE1ALQ, G4ALH, G3SEK, G4RGK, VE6TA for
initial #239, G3LTF, JH4JLV #240. DK3BU #241, UA3TCF #242, UT5EC, JA5OVU,
UR5LX, G3HUL, UA6LGH, EA3UM, EA3DXU, SM3AKW, S51ZO #243, CT1DMK, K5GW,
N9AB, DK3WG, KD4LT and W8MQW, and on 15/16 Nov K0RZ, DL9NDD, DF3RU, JJ1NNJ
#245, OE5JFL, 7M2PDT, JA9BOH, I5TDJ, JR9NWD #246, IK5WJD, DL4MEA #247,
ON5OF, DL4XX #248, DL4KG, IN3KLQ, I5CTE, EA8FF, YO2IS, F1CNE #249, HA1YA,
VE1ZJ #250, OE5EYM #251, N4GJV and WD5AGO for a score of 56x29.
I5TDJ
Piero's contest 2nd leg report -- Conditions looked good during on
Saturday, but so so on Sunday. I QSOed on 15 Nov K2UYH, DF3RU, K4QI,
SM3AKW, N4GJV, W7FN, SM2CEW, JA5OVU and I2COR - CWNR were JL1ZCG, HG1YA and
DL4MEA, on 16 Nov VE1ALQ and G3SEK - CWNR were WD5AGO, N9AB and JA9BOH. My
contest score is 23x17. In the 1991 contest, I worked 38 stations and since
then in the subsequent contests I ended up with a far lower number of QSOs.
This year too, the 4 and 8 yagis stations, including Eurs, didn’t show up
into my receiver. Maybe the 1991 conditions were exceptional?
IK2RIT
Pioufauco writes that he is now QRV on 6 cm EME. He is using a 4.3
m .5 f/d dish with 25 w from a TWTA at a short (vert pol) IMU horn.
Pioufauco is receiving .6 dB of Moon noise and 11 dB Sun noise (SF 84). He
worked on 17 Oct OE9ERC (O/O) and I6PNN (O/M) and planned to be active
again in Nov.
IK5WJD
Alex writes -- After about one year of absence from the shack due
to some work problems and family problems, (illness of my mother), Piero
I5TDJ persuaded me to clean the dust from my yagis and get back on. In the
last part of the contest conditions on 432 were good. I worked 18 stations
and 3 initials as follows: UR5LX, K4QI, OH2PO, DF3RU, N2IQU, OE5JFL, N4GJV,
SM2CEW, DL9KR, I2COR, JA5OVU, DL9NDD, K1FO, ON4KNG, G3SEK, K5GW #61, VE1ALQ
#62 and W7FN #63. My standings are now up to #63 initial, 13 US States, 23
DXCC, 20 Grids and WAC.
JA4BLC
Yoshiro's Nov EME report -- I was not allowed to be QRV for the Nov
part of the contest because my mother passed away on 13 Nov. She was 82 yrs
old and had been in the hospital for last two months. [My sincere sympathy
and that of all the EME community for your loss.] Now all is back in
normal. My contest score remains same as on Oct, namely 35 on 2 m, 18 on 70
cm, 22 on 23 cm and 2 on 13 cm. I will send logs via airmail this year.
Just before the contest weekend on 11 Nov, I was fortunate to successfully
contact JA8ERE on 432 (549/O) for initial #239 and on 2424 (M/O) for
initial #17.
JA5OVU
Tom ended up with 90x33 in the contest -- My '97 score was slightly
better than last year. Stations worked on 70 cm were on 18 Oct N2IQU, WI7Z,
VE6TA, K3HZO for an initial (#), W8MQW, N9AB, K1FO, JA2KRW, JA4BLC, W7QX,
JR9NWC, JL1ZCG, JH4JLV, JJ1NNJ, 9M2BV, JA5NNS #, UR5LX, DK3BU, OH2PO,
UT5DL, OE3JPC #, SM3AKW, DL4KG, G3LQR, DL6NAA, DL9NDD, JH1EFA, HB9SV,
G4ERG, DL3EAG, DK3FB, G3LTF, S51ZO #, ON5OF, OZ4MM, ON4KNG, UT5EC, DK3WG,
EA3UM, DL9KR, I2COR, YL3AG, OE5JFL and OE5EYM #, on 19 Oct W7FN, K5GW,
N4GJV, K2OS #, K4QI, K0RZ, JA9BOH, K5AZU, JS3SIM, JA2TY, JH0YSI, DL4MEA,
UA6LGH, PA3CSG, EA3DXU, G3HUL and DF3RU, on 15 Nov HO3A, K2UYH, WB6IMC,
7M2PDT, W7KK/6 #, WD5AGO #, W5ZN, K5WXN, KF0M #, DL8OBU, S57Q #, I5TDJ,
DL5FN #, UT5EC (dup), S52CW, HA1YA, DL4XX #, IN3KLQ #, G3SEK, DL4KG (dup),
F1CH #, YO2IS, G4RGK, G4ALH #, IK5WJD and G3HUL (dup), and on 16 Nov DF8LC
#, PA2CHR, DK8VS, KL7HFQ, DF4UE # and SM2CEW. My array is 16 x 14 el (3.6
wl) rear- mounted yagis with pol rotation, FHX35LG 0.3 dB NF LNA and 8938
PA at 1.5 kw.
JJ1NNJ
Kouichi's 70 cm report for the ARRL EME Contest Part 2 -- On 70 cm
my system consists on RX of a 2SK609/2SK571 LNA, HB converter and TS850. On
TX I use 3 x MRF176GU (Power MOS FETs) for a 250 w SSPA. The antenna is 16
x 13 el FO LR yagis. QSO'd on 15 Nov were at 1757 I2COR for initial #35,
1825 DF3RU, 1837 HA1YA #36, 2025 G3SEK #37, 1111 VE1ALQ #38, 1216 N4GJV and
1935 SM2CEW (449/439) #40. CWNR were 7M2PDT, JA9BOH and W7QX. Heard were
UT5EC, JS3SIM, JO3RNL, W0KJY, JR9NWC, JR1RCH, N9AB, ON5OF, DL4MEA and
PA3CSG for a total of 29x18 or 52,200 points.
JH4JLV
Kaz's 70 cm ARRL Contest results for the 2nd period -- I worked
WD5AGO for initial #54, JR9NWC, 7M2PDT, JA2TY #55, G3SEK, VE1ALQ and EA3UM
for a score of 32x19 or 60,800 points. CWNR were W8MQW, K2UYH, JO3RNL,
K5WXN, W7QX, W7GBI, KA0RYT, JA9BOH, JS3SIM and G3ERG. I'm planning to built
a new antenna and linear amp for the next ARRL contest.
K0RZ
Bill operated fixed vertical polarity in Oct and fixed horizontal pol
in Nov. He QSOed on 18 Oct DK3BU, DL9NDD, EA8FF, F1ANH, F1CH, F5AQC, G3LTF,
G3SEK, G4ERG, G4RGK, I5CTE, JA2JRJ, JA2TY, JH4JLV, JL1ZCG, JO3JJN, JO3RNL,
JS3SIM, K1FO, K2UYH, K4QI, N2IQU, N9AB, OE5EYM, OE9JFL, OH2PO, ON5OF,
OZ4MM, S51ZO, S52CW, UA6LGH, UR5LX, UT5DL, VE6TA, W7FN and W8MQW, on 19 Oct
DK3FB, DK5WG, DL9KR, EA3DXU, G3HUL, HB9SUL, JA3IAF, JA5OVU, JJ1NNJ, JR9NWC,
K5GW, KA0RYT, KF0M, KL7HFQ, N4GJV, ON4KNG, SM3AKW, UT5EC, W0KJY and W7CI,
on 9 Nov OE3JPC, on 15 Nov 7M2PDT, I2COR, JA9BOH, K2OS, K5WXN, KB3PD,
KD4LT, KN6M, SM2CEW, W5ZN, W6WE, W7QX, WA7BBM, WB6IMC and WI7Z, and on 16
Nov DF3RU, N2HLT, VE1ALQ, WD5AGO. These brought him from initial #232 to
#246 respectively with OE5EYM, F1CH, F1ANH, S52CW, F5AQC, JO3RNL, JS3SIM,
JO3JJN, KL7HFQ, JJ1NNJ, OE3JPC, W5ZN, KN6M and N2HLT. W5ZN provided state
#42. He still needs HI, ID, IN, KY, ND, NV, TN and VT for WAS. Standings
are initial #246, Country 43 and State 42. ARRL contest results were 74x29.
K1FO
Steve missed the 1st day of the Nov contest weekend due to ice
problems. A storm that was supposed to pass by on Friday stopped when it
hit CT and deposited freezing rain for over 20 hours. When the storm was
over the array had up to 3/4" (18mm) of ice on it which made it totally
useless plus dangerous to attempt to use due to the weight imbalance
created on a rear mount array. On Saturday afternoon the temperature rose
to just above freezing and Steve went up the tower to knock the ice off. It
was interesting to see that while the ice was about 1/4" thick near the
ground, above tree top height the ice was much thicker. It took almost 3
hours to knock all the ice off the array. Near the end of the job the
temperature dipped back below freezing which greatly increased the
difficulty of removing the ice. The array ended up with a few bent elements
and one missing director, but at least it was back in action for the 2nd
evening. Activity was definitely up this year. Conditions were also better
than the past couple years with the contest weekends near perigee and
declination high. Although Steve operated over 20 less hours than in the
1996 contest (most of it due to the ice problems) he was up 5 QSO's from
last year ending up with 121 x 37. In spite of the increased QSO count
there were quite a few stations that got away including some of the bigger
stations. Among the stations that were heard but not worked were K2UYH,
WA4NJP, YL3AG, HB9SV, LU4HO and OM1TL. He was a bit disappointed to not
even hear several stations that have been reliable QSOs in past EME con-
tests. Among the missing in action were 4X1IF, A22BW, 9M2BV, SM2CEW,
WA9FWD, UA9FAD and VK5MC. Steve also wonders if anyone has heard from Doug,
VK3UM and does Doug have any plans to get back on 70 cm EME? Steve made 4
initials in the second contest weekend. New stations for both weekends
were: on 18 Oct, F1CH, DH5NAH, WB4BKC, JJ3JRK and JI3GER, on 19 Oct ZS6PT
and W7KK/6. On 15 Nov OE5EYM, on 16 Nov KN6M, K1OR and JA3SGR. Stations
worked outside contest hours were on 11 Nov N2IQU, on 13 Nov KA0RYT, W3XS,
W8MQW and N9AB, and on 22 Nov JA5OVU. Steve notes that in the 13 years that
he has been on 70 cm EME overall the operating practices have improved
significantly. The vast majority of stations now answer your CQ within a
couple hundred Hz of your frequency. Years ago it seemed like you had to
tune all over the band to find stations. QRM problems were minimal this
year in spite of the increased activity. Stations now spread out from about
432.005 to over 432.030. The bottom 432.000 to 432.005 is now abandoned
ground -(Is this due to computer QRM?). He remembers that activity used to
really pack in below 432.015 with stations making noise below 432.000 in
the old days. Stations calling CQ seem to end up positioned about 1 KHz
apart which is just fine if you are using a narrow CW filter but leaves him
wondering what the stations that use 2.1 KHz wide filters do? All this has
resulted in the ability to work stations much quicker. The faster QSO pace
has also seemed to make many of the operators less patient. In the old days
stations would call you for over 30 minutes to get a QSO. Today is seems
that if you don't answer a station after 2 calls they are gone. When QRM is
high and you are searching for the polarity peak it may require more than 2
calls to pull out a weak station. Some bad habits continue, however. The
most prevalent offense is not putting long enough spacing between CW
characters and words and especially running calls together. The 2nd biggest
problem is stations that call way off frequency. Steve found a couple of
stations calling him so far off that he had to tune past another QSO to
find them! 3rd on the list of operating problems is just sending CW too
fast which causes the characters to get chopped up from the libration fad-
ing. In all Steve had a great time in the contest and is looking forward to
the DUBUS/REF contest this spring. Steve is would like skeds with the
following stations that were reported QRV during the contest: YL3AG, DF4UE,
DL5FN, DL9EBF and LA4GA. 70 cm EME totals for K1FO are #524 initials, 49
states and 75 DXCC. [See additional comments by Steve on proposed '98 ARRL
EME Contest dates in the FINAL section of this NL.]
K1OR
John (ex WA1TFH in FN42) is now active on 70 cm EME from NH -- I
operated the 1st weekend of the EME contest using a 4 x RIW19 array and a
8938 amp. I QSO'd OH2PO and N4GJV back in the Dubus contest last spring. I
worked on 18 Oct OH2PO and DK3BU, and on 19 Oct DL9KR and N2IQU. I decided
that I really needed a bigger array and so in the 4 weeks between the
contest weekends, I built 4 new FO33's and replaced the RIW's, (and the
mount). I almost didn't finish time due to the poor New England WX we've
had. I worked on 15 Nov N4GJV, OZ4MM and SM2CEW, and on 16 Nov K1FO, K5GW,
OE5JFL, DL9NDD, N9AB, W7FN and VE1ALQ for 14x12 in the contest. I also
heard over the 2 weekends K0RZ, ON4KNG, HO3A, K2UYH, W0KJY, WA7BBM, WB6IMC
and others. I plan to be active until the spring when I will be forced to
move the array for some home remodeling. My e-mail is:
John, K1OR
K2DH
Dave's acticity report for the 2nd contest weekend -- I found
conditions fine on 23 cm. There seemed to be plenty of activity, but my QSO
rate was way down from the 1st weekend, (not that many new stations to
work!). I ended the contest with 71x36. This was far and away my best ever
on 23 cm. However, the single band 23 cm ops don't have to worry about that
score, since I was a multi-op with 2 other stations - K2OS on 70 cm and
N2WK on 2 m. On 70 cm, Frank (K2OS) had some trouble, but nevertheless
worked 23x16, and on 2 m, Wayne (N2WK) did very well with his four yagis,
working 56x27. So our combined score was 150x79 for a final score of
1,185,000. Not too bad for a modest 1st effort. Watch out next year!!!
Just before the 1st contest weekend, I worked Scotty KD4LT (449/569) for
initial #95 on 1296. During the 1st contest weekend, I had initials with
OK1DFC (doesn't count since I've worked OK1CA before), JL1ZCG (O/O) #96,
DD0SB (449/559) #97, JA0RBK (M/O) #98 and JA6CZD (449/449) #99. Between the
2 weekends, I sort of worked 9H1ES (O/439), which I didn't count because he
seemed to need some practice with procedure - I never heard final R's, and
on 11 Nov, I picked up W8MQW (M/O) for initial #100! During the 2nd contest
weekend, I worked WA4OFS (449/549) #101 and 4X6UJ (449/559) #102. There
were a couple of getaways during the contest. I never heard I6QGA, though I
was told he was on. I missed 9H1ES (apparently he was on), also DD1XF, N4MW
and W0KJY. I was surprised by some of the stations who WEREN'T active (at
least, not on 23 cm) - LX1DB, SM6CKU, WB0DRL and G4CCH to name a few. Also,
I heard no YL (Latvia) stations this year. There were 2 last year. I was
very pleased with the performance of my PA. Great credit goes to Tom, KB2AH
for constructing a cavity that just seems to work and work! I did add a
heat exchanger (in the form of an automotive transmission cooler) to the
water-cooling between weekends, and this kept the maximum water temperature
down to about 85 degrees F in spite of endless CQ’ing, at 600-650 w output.
Now the water in my water- cooled 60W driver gets hotter! I'm now looking
forward to QSY'ing to other bands. I've been informed that South America
might show up very soon on 23 cm (PY5ZBU), and I'll wait to see if that
happens, to complete my other goal of WAC on 23 cm. After that, I'm going
to try 432 and 2304 this winter. Everything for these bands is ready to go,
so I expect that if the PY shows on 23 cm soon, I'll go to 2304, then 432.
I think the dish will work through at least 3456. I plan to try that soon,
as well. 5760 may be another issue. I don't know how well shaped the dish
is, but if it has reasonable gain on 5.7 GHz, then I'll go there too. 10
GHz will have to wait till spring when I can put up a 12' solid dish and
give it a try.
KB8ZW
Bill's contest operating time was limited by family commitments in
the Oct session of the contest to Saturday night. Stations worked were
N2IQU, VE1ALQ, K4QI, K1FO, K5AZU, W8MQW, N9AB, S52FD, OH2PO, EA3UM, DL9NDD,
N4GJV, UR5LX, UT5DL, DL9KR, K5GW, JL1ZCG, JA3IAF and JA2KRW. The Nov
weekend was totally washed out do to ice and snow on antennas. Bill plans
to be QRV for Dec SW and is interested in schedules. Bill tel 216-543-4991
and e-mail is:
Bill, KB8ZW
KF0M
John (EM17) found the '97 contest not quite as good as last year. He
worked 13x11 with 2 yagis and 1 kw. Stations heard but not worked were
W7QX, K4QIF, JL1ZCG, K2UYH, ON5FF, SM3AKW, K0RZ, JA2KRW, N9AB, 7M2PDT,
WD5AGO, I2COR and W7FN. The loudest stations were N2IQU, DL9KR and OE5JFL.
John's e-mail address is:
John, KF0M
LA8LF
Anders contest report -- I scored 58x33 during the Nov contest
weekend. QSOs included 8 initials with W4OP, DD0SB, 4X6UJ, WA4OFS, OK1DFC
(I have not worked OK1CA before), JL1ZCG, DC6UW and KB0PYO. Lost were
K9BCT/4, W6/SM0PYP, N4MW and W0KJY because my LNA was unstable during whole
weekend. Before the contest I worked on 11 Nov W4HHK (569/M) on 13 cm for
initial #9 and still only 16 w into feed. Last week I found my 23 cm noise
problem. It was a video camera on top of a 70 m high building crane
operating on 1297.8 MHz with a bandwidth of 8 MHz and 0.5 w into a vertical
antenna. The crane is located 4 km from my QTH and I look straight into it.
It completely wiped out my 23 cm EME operation since March. It is illegal
in Norway and supplied by a Swedish company. SM EMEers be aware. Our FCC
closed it down.
NC1I
Frank has been slowly making progress on getting his EME array back
up. Unfortunately, he missed the ARRL EME contest, but he does have all 12
new baluns soldered to the open wire phasing lines and on the array. He has
cut the new LDF4-50 phasing lines and hopes to get them on the array and
get a crane in to put the array back up by the 1st week in Dec. The only
problem that would delay getting the array up is if too much snow
accumulates on the ground. If the snow gets too deep, the crane won't be
able to get to the array.
NL7F
Bill 1296 EME report for the Nov SW -- I QSO'd on the 15th EA6ADW
(O/O) for initial #31 and DXCC 12, LA8LF (439/449), F5AQC (559/549) #32,
VE1ALQ (439/529), W2UHI (439/539), W7GBI (539/M) #33 and state 10 and K2DH
(539/549), and on the 16th OZ4MM (M/O), OE9XXI (559/549), F5PAU (549/559)
#34, OE9ERC (569/559), OE5JFL (549/559), K2UYH (549/549) and WB5LUA
(549/549). On both days I answered JL1ZCG, but he never got my call. Condx
sure seem better when the preamp works right. My system receive temp is now
about 60 deg K (including cold sky noise). But at moonrise ground noise due
to the trees is 2 dB at 25 deg elevation. I can still hear echoes at 18 deg
el thru 4 dB of ground noise. Only a chain saw will make things better!
OE5JFL
Peter ended the contest with 120x39 on 70 cm, 64x31 on 23 cm and
101x40 on 2 m for an overall score of 3,135,000 - exactly the same as last
year! Initials were on 70 cm were K1OR, KN6M, W6VPH, K7XC, W7QX, VE1ALQ/9
[?], DF4UE, DL5FN, DL4XX, EA2LY, F1CH, F1AQC, JA2TY, JJ3JHP, JA3SGR and
JI3GER, and on 23 cm W3XS, W4OP, WA8ZWG, KB0PYO, DD0SB, DC6WU, JL1ZCG,
OK1DFC, PA0JCA and VE1ALQ/9 [?]. This brings me up to initial #502 on 70 cm
and #177 on 23 cm - it is several since I have had to make any skeds. This
will probably be the last year I put a major effort into the ARRL EME
contest. I have been active for 10 years. It has been a lot fun, but I am a
little tired of contesting now. In the future I plan to reduce my contest
time (at least not as competitive) and spread my activity over the whole
year. I am looking forward to the EME Conference in Paris.
OE9XXI
Peter's Oct report arrived on time but was misplaced by us and thus
did not appear in the Nov NL. My apology for this error. Now we have
Peter's Oct and Nov reports. He operated only on 1296 -- In Oct I achieved
54x31 including VE1ZJ (449/579), OK1DFC (599/589), 4X6UJ (439/559), DD0SB
(549/579), WA4OFS (449/549), KB0PYO (549/559), VK1VP (O/O), DH9FAG
(449/579), JL1ZCG (549/579) for initial #217, ON5RR (549/549), PA0JCA
(439/529) #218 (6.3 m dish and 80 w linear pol) and 9H1ES (43/44) and NL7F
(43/54) on SSB. 53 QSOs were made on random. CWNR was PA3CSG. In Nov I
added VE4MA (559/579), K9BCT (449/559), NU7Z (549/559), G3LQR (559/589),
CT1DMK (569/579), F5AQC (579/579), LA8LF (569/579), N4SZ (449/559), OK1KIR
(569/579), DL0SHF (56/58) on SSB, 4X6UJ (549/579) dup, DD0SB (549/559) dup,
JR9NWC (O/O) #219, JA6CZD (559/569), PA0JCA dup, GW3XYW (569/569), F5PL
(569/579), K4QI (569/589), NP4B (449/599), NL7F (549/559) dup, SM2CEW
(559/579) and W0KJY (O/O) for a contest score of 72x36.
OH2AXH
Jukka (OH6DD) reports that his team worked in the 1st leg on 1296,
on 18 Oct EA3UM (569/559), ZS6AXT (569/589), HB9BBD (569/569), OK1DFC
(569/569) for an initial (#), G3LTF (559/569), SM3AKW (569/569), EA3ADW
(569/569), HB9SV (579/579), W3XS (559/569), W4RDI (569/579), F5PAU
(569/569), DD0SB (559/559) #, 4X6UJ (O/O) #, F6CGJ (579/57), K2DH
(569/569), W4OP (559/569), S59DCD (559/569), KB2AH (579/579), WA8WZG
(O/539) #, F6KSX (549/569), W2UHI (559/569), WD5AGO (559/559), JH5LUZ
(549/559), SM4DHN (559/559), DD1XF (539/449), OE5JFL (549/569), F2TU
(559/559), JA6CZD (549/559), DF3RU (539/559), F1ANH (579/569), DH9FAG
(429/559), JL1ZCG (539/559) #, ON5RR (539/539), OE9XXI (589/569), S59DCD
(53/55), DC6UW (54/56), I6QGA (52/53), JA4BLC (559/559), JA6CZD (549/559),
DJ9YW (559/579) and DD0SB (31/54), and on 19 Oct OZ4MM (579/579), OE9ERC
(599/569), KD4LT (539/559) #, K5JL (569/569), K2UYH (569/569), WB5LUA
(559/559), N6BQ (549/539), VE1ALQ (559/559) and WA4OFS (449/449) for a
score of (47x23). Ops were OH2AXH, OH2BNH, OH2LCT and OH2BSH. [I do not yet
have a report for Nov.].
OH2PO
Matti's group finished the contest with 147 x 43 on 432 -- Our
results were not as high as we had hoped, since our old friend Mr. Murphy
visited us during the 1st part. We had very high winds and heavy rain, and
the whole 2-dipole feed was blown off. When setting it back, we did not
notice that the feedline to the other dipole was cut off. Some 8 hours of
effective working time was lost. Due to nearby buildings we can not be QRV
at moonrise for Moon el less than 10 degs, so additional hours were lost.
Band conditions were, as most of the people have said, very stable.
Operation was done mainly by Jukka OH6DD with Toni, OH2JTE. [Last year
Matti's team were the multi-op winners for the 432 MHz band, but somehow
their score among others were lost in the ARRL's contest report. Hopefully
this year there will not be a repeat of this problem.]
OK1DFC
Zdenek used the same equipment in the 2nd part of the contest
because of time pressure from work -- The WX was again bad with rain and
wind the 1st night, but we were able to complete 49 QSOs on 1296. In the
2nd part we QSO'd JL1ZCG (449/439), OK1KIR (449/439), JH5LUZ (dup), LA8LF
(449/439), I6QGA (449/449), OE5JFL (559/559), 4X6UJ (O/O), ON5RR (449/429),
OE5ERC (559/559), OZ4MM (559/559), DC6UM (449/439), PA3CSG (559/549), DD1XF
(449/O), DJ9YW (449/439), F5AQC (559/559), GW3XYW (O/449), VE1ALQ
(559/559), PA0JCA (339/449), F5PL (449/449), K4QI (449/339), K2UYH
(559/559), G3LQR (439/439), N6BQ (559/439), CT1DMK (449/449), F2TU
(559/559), NU7Z (O/419) and SM2CEW (O/O), all together 49 QSOs, 23 DXCC and
8 WAS for 156,000 points. I plan to attend the Paris EME Conference in Aug
with Franta OK1CA.
ON5RR
Marc reports that he survived the contest -- I am now off for 2
weeks under the Carebian sun ... We should do this after every EME Contest
- Hi. In the 2nd part, we started Saturday 15 Nov at about 1800. It was
raining, but conditions seemed not too bad. We worked 15 stations in total.
Our initials were: OK1DFC, I6QGA, F5AQC and 4X6UJ. The strongest station
heard was HB9SV - great signal and very, very loud. CWNR were JL1ZCG,
DD0SB, JH3EAO, CT1DMK and W4RDI. We shut down Sunday at 0300. Our score was
42x24 on 1296.
OZ4MM
Stig writes -- In the last part of the contest I found the condx
great on Saturday morning, until a heavy rain started here. I began
operation on 13 cm and worked F2TU, ZS6AXT, OH2AXH and W4HHK. CWNR was
SM3AKW and nil was heard from G3LTF on 2320. I switched between 432 and
1296 the rest of the weekend. On 432 I worked SM2CEW, K20S for an initial
(#), KN6M #, W5ZN #, S52CW, KL7HFQ #, W0KJY, DH5NAH #, WD5AGO, K5WXN,
DF3RU, K1OR #, KB3PD, W6WE #, G3HUL, JR9NWC, DL8OBU, 7M2PDT, JA5NNS #,
HA1YA, KD4LT, HO3A, W1ZX, K7XD #, W7KK/6 #, ON5OF, EA3DXU, DL4KG, W7HAH,
IK5WJD, DL5NH #, DK8VS and GM3JFG #. On 1296 I QSO'd I6QGA, EA3UM, JL1ZCG
for an initial (#), HB9SV, F6CGJ, 4X6UJ, DH9FAG, OK1DFC, F5PL, LA8LF -
great signal, G3LQR, DD0SB, F5AQC, JH3EAO, SM4DHN, DL0SHF, JH5LUZ, DF3RU,
GW3XYW, PA0JCA #, OK1KIR, JA6CZD, K4QI, PA3CSG, K9BCT, CT1DMK, W0KJY, NU7Z,
N4HZ #, VE1ZJ, DJ9YW, NL7F and G3LTF. Between Saturday and Sunday night my
432 preamp blew, because of radiation from the 1296 feed. (I had forgot to
switch the 432 system off!). So in the middle of the night, dark and rainy,
I put a 500 w spot in the garden and spent most of an hour changing to a
spare preamp. Now I am sure, if not all the neighbors already knew how
crazy EME hams can be, NOW THEY KNOW!. My XYL and the kids know from past
years. They leave for the whole weekend, so I can have fun with the Moon -
Hi. Overall contest results were 4x4 on 13 cm, 64x31 on 23 cm and 112x36 on
70 cm for a total of 176x71 giving 1,249,600 points.
PA0JCA
Jan (PA0PYL) says -- Yes, we finally managed to get the dish up and
running! Although very limited we were able to make some QSOs for the 1st
time. It was very surprising to find everybody in nearly 20 kHz of the WIDE
band! Some stations call on almost the same frequency. We ran 100 w into a
2 dB coaxial cable and a 0.4 dB preamp. We used an OE9PMJ linear feed
(temporary). The Sun noise was measured at 13 dB. Initially we used the
IN3HER tracking program, but found the dish ran off the moon after a while.
We found no stations detectable when dish is off by to 10 deg el! The call
used was PA0JCA. This will continue for 23 cm activity, and my call will be
used for 3 cm when we are ready. The following stations were worked: OE9XXI
(449/529), OE9ERC (339/529), HB9SV (O/M) for initial #5, OZ4MM (O/M) #6,
F6CGJ (O/529) #7, F5AQC (529/519) #8, OE5JFL(559/M) #9 and OH2AXH (O/O)
#10. CWNR were F5PAU and PA3CSG although we detect our own echoes many
times while calling. (Possible this was due to a pol problem?). We are
constructing a IMU circular feed and will have 1000 w available soon.
RW3BP
Sergei was active on 3 cm on 15 Nov and copied from 0400 to 0540
WB5LUA calling VE4MA and getting (T) from him. Then I heard WB5LUA and
WA7CJO on SSB followed by a short QSO between WB5LUA and W6/SM0PYP. I heard
W6/SM0PYP (M). Then WA7CJO called CQ. I also transmitted CQ 2 or 3 periods,
but received no reply with my low ERP.
S51ZO
Joze operated the contest on 432 with a TS940S, LT70S, MG1302 LNA,
400 w PA and 8 x 33 el DJ9BV 10 lambda yagis. He scored 28x19 will
operating only part of the contest. CWNR many times were EA8FF and JL1ZCG.
Joze feels it's time to pump up his power with GS35. Skeds can be arranged
via his wife's email at:
Joze, S51ZO
UR5LX
Sergej was QRV on 432 15/16 Nov during contest. His final score was
116x39. Initials were made with WD5AGO, UT3LL, GM3JFG and JR1RCH. Sergej's
70 cm EME totals are now up to initial #443, WAS 39 and DXCC 58.
UT3LL
Valery is new station on 432 EME. He is using 2 x F9FT yagies and
400 w PA. His grid is KO70wk. In the contest he wmade his 1st 2 contacts
with DL9KR and UR5LX.
VE1ALQ
Darrell writes on the contest -- Well another great contest is in
the books, I had a great time considering I lost 20.5 hours total moon time
for various reasons. In the 1st half I thought conditions were excellent on
both 70 and 23 cm. Signals were excellent on both bands, but I lost 14
hours of Moon time either not waking up on time, or falling asleep during
the lull between the Eur and Asian windows. I believe most NA do the same.
Things become very, very quiet. The 2nd half was rather different, on 15
Nov signals were very very good on 23 cm until snow started filling my
dish. Three times I had to point the dish at the ground and hammer the rim
of the dish to get the snow to fall out. Snow is a great attenuator on 23
cm. On 16 Nov snow was not a problem, but we had an AURORA lasted for
nearly the complete Eur window. I 1st noticed a significant buzz on the
signals on 23 cm, and the signals appeared quite broad. I then went to 70
cm as planned at 0100, and the AURORA effect was much more severe on that
band. All signal were very, very broad and appeared to be modulated at
120Hz. Signals were strong, but I just could not find a clean note on any
of them, my own echoes sounded terrible as well. I received a phone call
from Grant, Ve6TA, and he thought he had RX problems; the AURORA effect was
so bad at his QTH. My final score on 1296 was 54x34 with 5 initials: DC6UW,
G3LQR, W4RDI, DD0SB and 4X6UJ. I also had an initial with KD4LT on 12 Oct.
My totals on 23 cm are #90 initials, 24 DXCC, 18 States and 80 Grids. On
432 my score was 60x35 with 14 initials: UT5EC, F1CH, S52CW, OE5YM, K7XD
(sked), IK5WJD, DL4KG, K1OR, JO3RNL, JJ1NNJ, WB6IMC (sked), N9AB, KL7HFQ
and K5AZU. My total now on 70 cm is #140 initials, 29 States, 28 DXCC, and
101 grids. My whole system, dish tracking, DL9EBL 23 cm cavity and my HB
8938 K1FO/W6PO design cavity amps worked like a dream. I am now looking
forward to the next contest.
W1ZX
Willie has not been QRV the last 3 or 4 months, because he has been
building a new dish (32' with a F/D .55 and 24 ribs). The new 32’ dish is
up with the help of a sign crane, and is working on 432. Later this winter
Willie plans to add 1296. He has had some startup problems, like Moon
tracking, camera alignment, counter balance, high VSWR, etc. Willie was QRV
in the contest on 16 Nov for 1.5 hours and worked 7 stations. Willie is
looking for skeds and needs 3 more states for WAS - ARK, KY and NEB.
W5ZN
Joel after the contest completed a 5760 MHz EME contact with WB5LUA.
This was the 1st 6 cm EME contact from Arkansas! Joel was using a 10' dish,
18 w, and a homebrew WR-137 to 1.5" copper pipe feed with coffee can scalar
ring and LuaCom preamp. WB5LUA was running his normal station. Moon
conditions were not good. The moon was at apogee, but the contact was
completed after about 5 sequences.
W7GBI
Charlie bring us up to date on his doings -- During the contest I
was on 1296 on 15 Nov and worked 22 stations with 7 initials. I then
switched to 432, but I now have so much noise and intermod that I only
stayed long enough to work 2 stations. On 1296 I am running my new 3K2500lx
klystron, but temporarily at only 500 w due to the type N fittings. As soon
as I can get some bigger LC or EIA flange connectors, I will boost the
power up. On 16 Nov I was all set to come on 13 cm and was just waiting for
the Moon to come up out of the trees when the new motor on my elevation
quit. One coil just opened up. I was all done and just had to give up. I
now have another new motor and a spare. My tree problem continues to get
worse. The resort hotel to the east of me had planted new trees that have
grown like weeds. I am now blocked for the first hour after moonrise. I
hope to see everyone in Paris next year.
W7KK
Dave in (CM88vc) is new to EME -- I am now QRV on 432 with a TS-790,
LA-70B at 900 w and 4 x FO-22 (h). I have 4 more antennas almost ready to
go and other improvements planned. In the contest I worked on 18 Oct at
1126 N2IQU (O/439), 19 Oct at 0536 OH2PO (O/O), 0605 UR5LX (O/O), 0633
DL9KR (529/549), 0726 K1FO (559/439) and 0830 K5GW (O/O), on 15 Nov at 0959
JA5OVU (O/O), and 16 Nov at 0506 N4GJV (O/O), 0618 OZ4MM (549/539) and 0808
SM2CEW (559/549). All contest QSOs were random and my score was 10x10.
During the contest I used the call W7KK/6 to comply with the rules as I am
currently living in CA, but will be moving to Montana in a few years. I
also worked on 8 Nov at 0410 KA0RYT (O/O) on a sked. I am now up to initial
#11 and will be looking for more although things will be hectic for a while
at home as the XYL is expecting our 2nd harmonic any day now. My e-mail
address is:
Dave, W7KK
W8MQW
Chuck is now QRV on 1296, as well as 432 -- An S-9 corona noise
appeared the 1st night of the Oct weekend, never to return. After that the
contest was without incident. I worked on 432: the 1st weekend N2IQU
(569/559), K1FO (569/549), OE5JFL (569/559), OZ4MM (579,529), EA8FF
(449/549) for initial #48, K4QI (569/559), N9AB (559/559), OH2PO (559/569),
N4GJV (559/549), N0HJZ (549/559), UR5LX (569/539), K2UYH (449/559), DL9KR
(559/569), W9QX (O/O), W7CI (559/459), G3SEK (559/559), K5GW (569/559),
OE5EYM (partial), JA5OVU (559/549), K5AZU (569/569), KB8ZW (O/O), K0RZ
(549/449), KA0RYT (O/O), EA3UM (549/549) #49, I2COR (559/559), JL1ZCG
(569/539) #50, JA9BOH (O/O) and JA3SIM (O/O) #51, and on the 2nd EA8FF
(dup), K2OS (O/O) #52, SM2CEW (569/559), W5ZN (559/559) #53, WI7Z
(559/559), K5WXN (549/449), W0KJY (partial), G4ERG (partial), DL9NDD (O/O),
SM3AKW (O/O) #54, W7FN (559/559), JH0YSI (559/449) #55, WB6IMC (559/559)
#56, WA7BBM (O/O) #57, 7M2PDT (559/559) and KN6M (O/O) #58 for a single
band score of 39x20. I was also briefly on 1296 and worked KB2AH with my
12' TVRO dish and a 20 W brick.
WB2VVV
Chis regrets to report no activity during the 2nd contest weekend
due to icing of his antenna array and tower. The antenna system return
loss/VSWR was unacceptable and climbing the tower to attempt de-icing was
too dangerous.
WD5AGO
Tommy writes -- Our group had a good time in the contest. We
operated on 2, 70 and 23 cm. New ones the 1st weekend on 23 cm were S59DCD,
W4OP, OK1DFC, DC6UW, DD0SB and ON5RR. On 70 cm in Nov I used the 5.5 m dish
and 700 w the 1st night. New ones were UR5LX, EA8FF, G3SEK, UA6LGH, WB6IMC,
JA0OVU, JA2KRW, JL1ZCG, JS3SIM, WI7Z and JH4JLV. Just before the JA window
we modified the amp slightly to get 1,200 w out. On the next night we added
HA1YA, DL4MEA, DK3WG, UT5EC, KA0RYT, KB3PD, DL4KG, G4FUF and G4RGK. The amp
we used was a 4CX1600 from W7QX. Most stations worked were vert pol on both
TX and RX. Our final score was 42x22 on 70 cm and 43x23 on 23 cm. I will be
on 23 cm again for the Dec SW.
ZS6AXT
Ivo's report for the 2nd leg of the ARRL EME Contest -- I worked on
15 Nov, on 13 cm: OZ4MM, W4HHK, SM3AKW and F2TU for initial #21 - sorry
that I missed G3LTF on 23 cm: LA8LF, G3LQR, F5PL, SM4DHN, DF3RU, OE9ERC,
OK1KIR, GW3XYW, JH3EAO, F5AQC, 4X6UJ for initial #127 and CT1DMK, and on 16
Nov on 23 cm: VE1ALQ, WB5LUA, K4QI and N6BQ, and on the last pass only
SM2CEW. CWNR were DL0SHF, 9H1ES, PA0JCA, K9BCT and W0KJY, plus few others.
With the exception of Sunday evening, I had good WX and so my dish was spot
on the Moon, thanks to the CCTV camera! On 22 Nov I worked on 23 cm NP4B
#128 and country 29 and NU7Z #129. Both were quite weak, I had strong gusty
winds which didn’t help. My contest totals were 58x27 on 23 cm and 6x6 on
13 cm with 5 initials on 23 cm and 1 on 13 cm. Conditions were average to
good with occasional fade outs on 23 cm. I think it is high time for review
of the rules and scoring for this contest. I was disappointed by the very
poor participation on 13 cm. There must be higher points per QSO for the
bands from 23 cm up to attract reasonable activity. Alternatively a
separate microwave contest should be considered. Tom, WA8WZG is organizing
just such contest. Ideas and comments on rules etc, should be directed to
him.
ZS6PT
Peter is now QRV on 70 cm and was active during the contest -- Condx
seemed good during the 1st part of the contest, but during the 2nd half the
WX locally was very bad. I am now 150 w with a 5 m dish. I QSO'd during the
1st part DL9KR, OH2PO, OH1FL, K1FO, N2IQU and UR5LX. Heard were OZ4MM,
JL1ZCG, OE5JFL and a few weak stations for which I have only incomplete
calls. Sorry to DL9NDD for missing our sked due to bad lightening and rain.
I will QSL all contest QSOs via the bureau.
K2UYH
I must admit I was a little disappointed by our results this year.
Everything seemed to work fine, and I was assisted by 2 fine contest ops
K2TXB and KC2TA, both of whom have experience on EME. Yet our score was not
where I felt it should have been. I guess I should push for the Dec contest
dates proposed by K1FO - (see the final section of this NL), as tree
blockage is a problem and the leaves were not fully off the trees by the
2nd weekend. It also rained both days in Nov, but I do not think this
affected our score greatly. We operated exclusively on 432 the 1st night
QSO’ing at 0213 W5ZN (O/O) for initial #591, 0244 UT5EC (O/O), 0250 WD5AGO
(O/O), 0255 EA8FF (O/O), 0301 UR5LX (O/O), 0306 KB3PD (O/O), 0314 I5TDJ
(O/O), 0330 OE5EYM (O/559) #592, 0356 DL9NDD (O/559), 0402 DF3RU (559/449),
0413 F1CH (O/O), 0419 WB6IMC (O/O), 0423 W5ZN (549/549) dup, 0455 KN6M
(O/O) #593, 0507 W0KJY (O/O), 0515 SM3AKW (O/O), 0525 K2OS (O/O), 0550
S52CW (O/O), 0556 G3LTF (O/O), 0625 EA3DXU (O/O), 0653 K5GW (O/O), 0709
N4GJV, 0933 JA5OVU (559/559), 0954 JA2TY (O/O), 1002 JA2KRW (O/O), 1013
7M2PDT (O/O) and 1106 JS3SIM (O/O). We spent the 2nd night on 1296
contacting at 0152 EA3UM (559/559), 0201 CT1DMK (559/559), 0214 HB9BBD
(559/579), 0219 G3LQR (O/O), 0225 LA8LF (559/559), 0235 OK1DFC (O/559)
#153, 0313 4X6UJ (O/O), 0322 G3LTF (559/559), 0345 F5PAU (O/549) dup, 0355
K4QI (O/559), 0406 OE9ERC (569/569) dup, 0430 SM4DHN (569/559), 0455 DJ9YW
(559/559) dup, 0516 DL0SHF (55/55) on SSB, 0534 SM2CEW (559/559), 0613 NP4B
(O/O), 0627 OK1KIR (559/559), NU7Z (O/549), 0744 NL7F (549/549) dup, 1044
WA8ZWG (O/O) and JH3EAO (559/569) for a total on 70 cm of 61x28, and on 23
cm of 53x33.
NETNEWS
W7QX's score was 35x20 all on 432. He thought conditions were terrible on
16 Nov.
SM2CEW ended with 243x92 on 3 bands, 140x42 on 2 m, 75x31 on 70 cm and
28x19 on 23 cm.
K7XD is QRV from Vancouver, WA with 4 yagis and 600 w.
KN6M (EM13) is QRV on 432 with 4 x FO25s and 1.5 kw. He made a number of
QSOs, but could not dig out others that called. He plans to put up more
antennas for better hearing.
LU7DZ is the same as LU4HO. He needs SA for WAC and then will move up to 23
cm.
N6RMJ, Pat in DM14 is just getting started on EME with 4x13 lambda yagis
and 800w on 70 cm. His e-mail is:
Pat, N6RMJ
ON5OF scored 48x25. He had an SSB contact with OH2PO after the contest.
WB5LUA scored 49x? and worked NP4B on 23 cm. On 6 cm Al worked JA7BMB for
his initial QSO. SM4DHA worked JA7BMB on 6 cm after Al.
DL9KR finished with 137x42 on 70 cm. Jan had 10 initials and now is up to
#680 in 80 countries and 50 states.
DF4UE (JN48) is a new station on 432 with 4 BV yagis and 800 w. He will be
QRV during the Dec SW.
AL7JM is now WL7U.
CT1DMK had 34x21 on 23 cm and 16x14 on 70 cm with no 10 GHz activity.
W7CNK is getting echoes on 5760 need, but has problems on 10 GHz. He is
also putting together a 70 cm station with 4 x FO33 yagis and 800 w.
WA8ZWG scraped the ice off his antennas and got on 23 cm to score 13x9.
N2IQU finished with 132x37 in the contest on 432.
W4HHK's contest total on 13 cm is 6x6.
W2UHI had 62x35 in the contest and is up to initial #101.
KA0RYT scored 43x19. He heard W1ZX and worked WD5AGO and UA6LGH on random.
AF1T will be on 23 cm in the future from NH.
HP3XUG will not be QRV for the Dec SW. Louis had poor results in the 2nd
part of the contest and ended with 15x11.
W4RDI is QRV on 23 cm and working on feed. He scored 43x26 on 23cm and had
a lot of fun in the contest.
NU7Z scored 21x18 with 10 initials on 1296 including ZS6AXT. He has also
finished a 903 feed and has 260 w out.
VE6TA finished with 20x16 on 70 cm and 6x5 on 23cm.
N2HLT, Leon ended with 15x13 on 70 cm. He is interested in skeds for the
Dec SW.
S52CW, Uros was QRV during the contest with 300 w and 8 yagis.
W4OP scored 43x26 on 1296.
N6BQ ended with initials and 39x? on 23 cm. He had only 200 w and preamp
problems.
DK3WG end with 40x21 on 70 cm.
W7FN finished with a 64x27 total.
KB0PYO has a new e-mail address:
KB0PYO
K5JL ended with 65x34 on 23 cm.
K9BCT/4 finally got everything working on 1296 and worked 12 stations. He
ended up running 250 w.
VE4MA made 10x8 in the contest on 1296 and had a partial with WB5LUA on 10
GHz.
F1CH is new operator on 432 EME with 4 x 26 el yagis. They were active in
contest on both the 1st and 2nd parts. Operators were F5IVP and F5SDD.
FOR SALE
W1ZX has for sale Dielectric-Coaxial Dynamics 1000A Wattmeter $US115 +
shipping, Bird 43 Wattmeters (1) $170.00, (2) $185, (3) $200 with a new
meter movement, (4) Bird 43 wattmeter, fair condition (broken meter face
meter glass) $US125 + shipping, AIL 75 Noise Figure Meter (good condition)
$US275 + shipping, $US250,
Noise Comm Noise Diodes NC305 $33 and an HP 415A SWR meter
$US30. Call Willie at 301 645 5584, 1930-2230 EST, FAX 301 645 6853, 24 hrs,
E-mail :
Willie, W1ZX
WB4BKC, Andrew, who is now QRV on 432 has for sale a 2 m EME array, four
17 el M2 yagis, 33' boom length, H-frame, 4 way power divider, all phasing
lines, M2 elevation system. I will sell as a complete package or
separately. 2 meter 8877 power amp with power supply with cabinet, 1500 w
output. One 8877 tube brand new in the box. Never opened. My home phone
number is 954-782-2894. E-mail is:
Andrew, WB4BKC
K9ZZH, Dick needs info on a Motorola ATV6060 RF Amplifier which uses 2
Motorola A 6060V surface mounted IC's.
W7CI is still looking for 3CX800.
WA8WZG has Microwave Update Proceedings available $US13 shipped.
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:
for more details and pricing info e-mail:
Tom, KB2AH
or phone 908-223-5067, FAX 908-223-0901 (24 hrs) or voice 908-223-8124.
FINAL
There has already been much discussion of dates for the '98 ARRL EME
Contest. Both opportunities and complications exist this year. Some
stations have suggested moving the contest back to Oct and Sept to take
advantage of the better WX. Ian, G3SEK writes that 1998 looks like a good
year to try this. The only half-decent weekends are 12/13 Sept, 10/11 Oct
and 7/8 Nov. Background noise will be high on 144, but the weekend of each
month with lowest background noise is also quite close to new moon and
apogee, so there would be sun noise and also weaker signals. On the other 2
weekends of each month the Moon is too far south to give adequate operating
time in the Northern Hemisphere. (High declinations give more contest hours
to the greater number of people North of the Equator, but they do penalize
S Hemisphere stations. All I can think of is to award special certificates
to the leading southern hemisphere stations.) The bad news is that the 7/8
Nov weekend is also the IARU Region 1 VHF/UHF CW contest - the low end of 2
m fills up with non-EME CW contesters, so scheduling the contest to include
that weekend would be interpreted as a hostile act by ARRL! Therefore 1998
might be a good year to move forward a month to Sept and Oct.
Steve, K1FO has also put a lot of thinking into the question of
contests. Steve comes to some of the same conclusions as Ian, but from a
different point of view and recommends moving the contest a month later
rather than earlier. Even though Steve lost a day of operating due to the
WX this year, he does not feel that moving the contest to Sept is
necessarily a good idea. He notes that in NA and JA Sept is peak hurricane
season. In 1998 the Sept high dec Moon weekend will coincide with the ARRL
Sept VHF QSO Party. He feels this eliminates the possibility of using the
best Sept weekend. Steve also has heard many comments from 2 m operators
requesting the low sky noise weekend. This would be a bad choice in Steve's
opinion because the Moon will be near zero in dec, at apogee and also close
to new Moon. Around new Moon, the Moon is in the vicinity of the Sun. Sun
noise in side lobes and even the main lobe can be very degrading,
especially at 2 m with its wider beam widths. The low dec really causes
problems with common windows. For example on near zero dec weekends the
common window between the northeast US and JA is less than 2 hrs on any
given day. When you consider that most stations need at least 10 degs of
el, the common Moon window with greater than 10 degs el becomes less than
15 mins on the 1st day of the weekend, and non existent on the 2nd.
Similarly when comparing the windows from Eur to the west coast of the US,
the common window when the dec is 4 deg is only 3.5 hrs. The common window
when the Moon is above 10 degs on both ends is about 1.5 hrs! If the window
requirement is 20 degs on one end and 10 degs on the other end, the common
window is 30 mins. If 20 degs is required on both ends there is no common
window. I have also heard the argument that low dec contests would be
fairer to southern hemisphere stations. I hate to sound callous, but there
are less than 10 stations in the southern hemisphere that are QRV on 70 cm
and higher bands. In addition if you make common window calculations there
is little or no difference in common window times between northern and
southern hemisphere stations. For example when the dec is +3, my window
with VK5MC is 2 hrs 10 mins. If the dec is +17, my window with VK5MC is 2
hours 3 mins! Another example is the window between G3SEK and ZS6AXT, at
+19 dec it is 11 hrs, at 0 dec it is 10.2 hrs, and at -18 dec 8.4 hrs.
Steve encourages everyone, north and south, to spend some time with their
Moon tracking programs looking at common windows. It will be hard not to
conclude that high dec is best for all. A look at possible dates shows that
12/13 Sept conflicts with the ARRL Sept VHF QSO party. 19/20 Sept is not
acceptable as 20 Sept is new moon! 7/8 Nov is not acceptable because it
conflicts with IARU Region 1 VHF/UHF CW contest. 14/15 Nov is +2 to -4 dec,
apogee, low sky noise, with a 40 deg Sun offset. 5/6 Dec 5-6 is +19 dec,
perigee, 140 deg Sun offset and medium sky noise. Steve concludes that
10/11 Oct and 5/6 Dec would be the best compromise dates because: 1) The
dec is highest (>+17 degrees on all days), 2) The moon is near perigee (3 &
4 days after perigee both weekends), 3) There is good Sun separation (110 -
140 degs), and 4) Sky noise, although not great, is acceptably low. The
degradation on 2 m will be about 1 dB higher than the following weekend
which is at apogee, near new moon and at +5 to -2 dec.
I agree with Steve's arguments except with regard to 12/13 Sept. I do
not see why the ARRL's EME contest and Sept VHF QSO party can not be
scheduled for a common weekend. These contests are compatible. Scheduling
them together appears very desirable. Unlike Eur VHF contests, ARRL VHF/UHF
contests allow credit for EME contacts and encourage EME QSOs. Virtually
all the NA terrestrial activity occurs around .100, (on 2 m around .200 and
above .100). There should not be a serious problem with QRM from tropo
stations. Having the 2 contests on the same weekend will encourage EME
activity by major contest stations. This is already happening. The presence
of the EME contest will make EME even more attractive! Additional stations
will certainly enhance the EME contest. Some may argue that having both
contests on the same weekend will prevent EME operators from participating
in the tropo contest, and vice versa. In actuality contest operators can
"have their cake and eat it" by participating in both contests at the same
time... and they’re 2 weekends for the EME contest. Changes in the Moon's
orbit will make it undesirable to run these contests on simultaneous
weekends every year. The opportunity to add some new excitement to both
these contests this coming year, when the orbital mechanics are right,
should not be missed. Steve notes the ARRL determines the EME contest dates
by a popularity contest - the majority rules. Make sure that you send your
vote with your preferred dates to the ARRL.
The are a lot of other things to be discussed, but I have run out of
time for this month. CU you off the Moon during the Dec SW. Don’t forget to
get you info into the Paris EME Conference.
73, Al-K2UYH
Skeds for DEC 13
Time 432.040 432.070
0030z KB3PD -G4FUF
0100z KB3PD -S52CW K7XD -UR5LX
0130z KB3PD -KD4LT W7QX -DL9NDD
0300z W7QX -HP3XUG K7XD -DL9KR
0500z N9AB -DL3EAG K7XD -K1FO
0800z 7M2PDT-KB3PD
0830z JA9BOH-WD5AGO 7M2PDT-WA7BBM
0900z JA9BOH-K7XD 7M2PDT-K3HZO
0930z JA9BOH-HP3XUG 7M2PDT-K7XD
1030z JA9BOH-KL7HFQ
1100z 7M2PDT-KF0M
1630z DL3EAG-7M2PDT
1730z DL4XX -7M2PDT
1800z DK3BU -7M2PDT
Skeds for DEC 14
Time 432.040 432.070
0200z W0KJY -CT1DMK KL7HFQ-DK3WG
0230z W0KJY -S52CW W5ZN -W1ZX
0300z W0KJY -WB2VVV W5ZN -W7QX
0330z W0KJY -HP3XUG KF0M -KB3PD
0400z W0KJY -WA8WZG W5ZN -KL7HFQ
0430z W0KJY -W5ZN KB3PD -KL7HFQ
0500z W0KJY -KL7HFQ
0900z 7M2PDT-HP3XUG
1100z 7M2PDT-W5ZN
1130z JA9BOH-W5ZN
Skeds for DEC 12
Time 2304.050
030z LA8LF -OH2AXH
Skeds for DEC 13
Time 1296.040 2304.050
0030z DJ9YW -KD4LT
0130z WA8WZG-OH2AXH
1830z OH2AXH-JA7BMB
1900z OH2AXH-JH3EAO
2000z G3LTF -OH2AXH
2200z G3LTF -LA8LF
2230z G3LTF -ZS6AXT
2300z G3LTF -SM3AKW
Skeds for DEC 14
Time 1296.040 1296.050 1296.075 2304.050
0030z DJ9YW -KD4LT W3XS -ZS6AXT K2DH -OH2AXH
0100z KB0PYO-ZS6AXT
0130z K9BCT -ZS6AXT
0200z VE6TA -4X6UJ
0230z VE6TA -S59DCD W7GBI -ZS6AXT
0300z 9H1ES -K2UYH VE6TA -ON5RR
0330z VE6TA -WA8WZG
0400z VE6TA -KD4LT
0430z N6BQ -NP4B VE6TA -W4OP
0500z NP4B -G3LTF VE6TA -W4RDI
0530z NL7F -G3LTF
2100z 9H1ES -ZS6AXT
Skeds for DEC 15
Time 1296.040 1296.050
0100z DJ9YW -KD4LT
0330z KD4LT -W4RDI W0KJY -NU7Z
0400z KD4LT -NU7Z
This information was obtained from Scott, KD4LT
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For Comments or corrections: Rein, W6/PA0ZN