[Moon-net] CW vs. digital - a newbie's viewpoint

[Dennis Schaefer]

This story is not to advance any particular viewpoint, but  might be 
interesting to some, and aggravating to some!

This is long, but this is my first message and I am not active enough 
to fill a lot of space.

This background may or may not be pertinent.   I have enjoyed many 
ham radio activities  I like it all.   I've been on a Dxpedition, 
achieved DXCC Honor Roll, been president of several clubs, very 
active in public service and emergency work, taught licensing 
classes, been an active VE, built equipment and antennas, held ARRL 
offices, etc.    I've done some  contesting from various places, 
mainly on CW.   CW is my favorite mode and I can copy about 50 
WPM.      Nothing worth boasting about, just a well-rounded, 
enthusiastic ham operator.    Job and family keep me from having the 
big antenna hardware that many have.    The time for design and 
maintenance is just too much in my situation.

I have nothing but respect for those hams who have achieved 
world-class performance with big hardware.    Just designing and 
maintaining a big HF or VHF-up system is something to be proud of.

I  think of EME as the pinnacle of amateur radio achievement.   It is 
the most difficult way to make a contact.     I knew someday I'd 
build the "kw output, 4 antenna" station necessary to join 
in.     Some years ago, I occasionally  listened to the EME contests 
with a single antenna, and heard numerous big stations on CW.    I 
called VE3ONT when he was on the big dish  but couldn't break the pileup.

EME was always the elusive dream that would come "someday".    For 
Field Day in 2007, I told our club I would set up an EME 
"demonstration" to get some bonus points.    I thought with a single 
antenna and WSJT, we might actually decode some big stations and 
excite some local hams into trying something new.

We had high hopes as we set up the single 11 element yagi, FT-857, 
150 watt amp/preamp, and laptop.     Yes, I brought a key also!    It 
was all battery powered.   It rained the whole weekend, not just a 
gentle rain, but a downpour.    The wind blew down the antenna and 
broke it.    Repairs were made with ty-wraps and electrical tape and 
we still hung in there, setting azimuth by compass and elevation by 
plastic protractor.     However, it was not to be, as the weather was 
just too terrible.

I don't like to fail.   I told the club members we would really 
demonstrate that EME was possible during the ARRL EME contest.    We 
had no thoughts of "assisted" class, modes of operation, etc, we just 
wanted to hear someone!   We felt like hearing a signal off the moon 
would be something to be proud of,  and if we made a contact, even 
better.    The antenna system was two Cushcraft A-147-11 beams,  and 
two Hy-Gain 204 beams, all designed for FM.     Most people said 
these antennas wouldn't work together.   After all, two were 11 
element and two were 14 element.      They were old and  not of 
optimum design.

The first 11 elements were exactly in alignment on the two kinds of 
antennas and I decided to try it.   I made new driven elements  for 
all 4, using hairpin matches with identical values of 
inductance.     Then I cut a phasing harness and trimmed it using 
four 50 ohm resistors.    When I hooked it up, I had a good SWR and I 
thought a reasonable chance of everything being well enough in phase 
to produce some stacking gain.

The only station I had heard in recent attempts with the single 
antenna was K9DX.    With the 4 antennas I immediately started 
hearing stations.    K1JT, K9MRI, and others were heard 
easily.    However, my 150 watts didn't make an impression until I 
finally had contact no. 1 with W5UN.

When the EME contest started, there was a roomful of local club 
members at the house.   We  discussed what we were doing, and jumped 
in.    The sky was cloudy, but with our compass and a more 
sophisticated plastic protractor, we confidently aimed the 
antenna.      It stayed cloudy all that night and we heard 22 
different stations on JT65B, and N9JIM and RN6BN on CW, but didn't 
make a contact.     The lack of contacts didn't discourage us -  we 
were ecstatic.    Our research and efforts had paid off and we  were 
hearing signals OFF THE MOON!     We only planned one evening's 
operation as a club group so we discussed what to do better next 
time.    We decided the main problem was competition.    We would 
hear a station spot himself on the internet and when we called, we 
were beaten out by bigger stations.     The best strategy for our 
small station seemed to be to call CQ or  just tune slowly up the 
band, looking for random signals.     That way, we might find 
stations who weren't self-spotting and therefore had fewer callers.

The second evening, a couple of friends came over very late just to 
visit, and we were casually listening above 144.1.      We decided to 
try a  CQ and announce our frequency on the web page.      When we 
started the listening period, a trace started coming down the 
display.    No one breathed!    This was like making the first Novice 
contact!     We weren't using deep search and we had no idea who was 
calling.     When it was decoded as RU1AA, we yelled like little 
kids!     We made that contact and then  RN6BN called.     More pure 
joy and excitement!     Later in the evening, I called IK3MAC on CW 
for a long time while many other stations worked him.    This 
non-contact was also exciting, because I could see how many operators 
are active on CW EME.

K1JT's  software made an unforgettable experience possible for 
us.   It inspired us to go further, to build better antennas and 
equipment and do greater things on CW and digital EME.      Thanks 
Joe!    Thanks CW purists!    We can't always agree, but we should be 
smart enough to understand that we don't have all the answers.    It 
takes all kinds of hams to make a world, and I can appreciate and 
learn from them all.

Dennis  W5RZ