[Moon-net] KH6 EME operation on 23 cm and 13 cm

[WARD,AL]

Hello EMEers

 

This announcement was first made in the January 432 MHz and Up K2UYH newsletter and also in K1RQG's 20 M EME NET notes and is being repeated here on the reflector to make sure that all interested parties have a chance of working this expedition.

 

Bruce Clark, K0YW, with the support of the OAHU Contest Club, K5GW with Texas Towers, W5LUA, K5JL, WD5AGO, WA5WCP, K1RQG, and many others will be putting KH6 on Microwave EME for the first time. The Expedition Dates are: 19 April thru 28 April, 2007. The location is the contest station of Alex Benton, KH6YY, near Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii. Grid: BL11CG. The operation will commence on April 19, 2007 at local Moonrise on 23 cm (1296 MHz). The Call will be KH7X. Operation will be CW, with a few shifts to SSB when signal strengths warrant. No digital operation will be done. Operation will also take place on 13 cm.

 

Skeds are being accepted and coordinated via Joe Demaso, K1RQG. K1rqg at aol.com

QSL's will be handled by N2PF ( Thanks to the Oahu Contest Club). The tentative operating plan for 23 cm will initially be a series of ½ hour duration CW skeds. Special efforts will be made to arrange skeds to allow for the short EU window time to KH6. When a sked is successfully completed before the end of a ½ hour sked time block, we will call CQ. We will be transmitting on 1296.020 MHz and be listening plus or minus several kHz from where we hear our echoes. We will be tuning for stations on a separate VFO, so please spread out. When the next sked time block begins, we will revert to calling the scheduled station. On 13 cm we will primarily use skeds for all three Rx frequencies, with some random calling after a sked block. The operating pattern will be similar to that used on 23 cm. We will transmit on 2304.050 MHz. In addition to always receiving on 2304.050 MHz plus or minus Doppler we will also be listening on 2320.050 MHz for Europe and 2424.050 MHz for JAs plus or minus Doppler.

 

Our 23 cm equipment will consist of a TS-2000  with INRAD RX filter for the 144 MHz IF, driving an SSB engineering LT-230S  23 cm Transverter ( Thanks Les Cockram, KU4F), this drives a KD5FZX  GS-15B tetrode power amplifier at 400 watts, neatly packaged into a Dentron MLA-2500 case. Thanks K5GW and K5JL!). The 23 cm rf passes thru a short run of Andrew 7/8" Heliax with LDF 600 jumpers to the antenna, which is a full auto tracking AZ -EL 12 foot ( 3.67 meter) dish. Its F/d is 0.37. The feed is a Round waveguide Septum feed with VE4MA design scalar ring. The RX preamp is a WD5AGO unit with .28 db NF, protected by an RLC Y relay ( thanks K1RQG).

 

Thanks to Al Ward, W5LUA, Gerald K5GW, Tommy WD5AGO and Steve Hicks N5AC the expedition will operate on 13 cm as well. The equipment consists of a DEM 2304 Transverter, interfaced on 144 to the TS-2000. The RX preamp is a WD5AGO unit with a 0.4 db nf. The feed is also a WD5AGO, VE4MA design, cleverly adapted for easy replacement into the 23 cm feed support. The power amplifier is a Spectrian amp at 150W loaned to us by N5AC.

 

The 23 cm system has been tested and hears its own echoes reliably in a 10 foot dish. We think that we will be able to QSO a 10 ft dish station if they have their system well optimized. We will certainly try! See you off the Moon, Aloha, 73 K0YW k0yw at frontier.net and the KH6 Gang ( KH6ND, KH7U and KH6YY)

 

Posted by W5LUA

April 7, 2007