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

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

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

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

5. Tsys – the Fundamental Limit50
144
Pnoise = kTB 10
432
1.3
3.4

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

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

8. Typical Requirements, CW EME (BW = 50 Hz S/N = 3 dB)
Frequency Ant G HPBW TxPwr
(MHz) Type (dBi) (deg) (W)
×12 m
×6 m
×6 m m m m m m
 But: JT65 needs 10 – 15 dB less 

9. KL7UW – 4×6m yagis, 144 MHz

10. VA7MM – 3m dish, 1296 MHz

11. N4MW – 2.6m dish
10 GHz Xvrtr TWT PA

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

13. DL3OCH: MHz EME station

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

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