Lance, W7GJ, made the trek to Tristan da Cunha Island, ZD9, for a 50 MHz activation. Lance worked a few Europeans on the 14^th via TEP prop and last night he fired up on 6-meter EME with a single 8 element yagi. I was fortunate to be one of the 23 stations worked last night for a new one on the band.

I had a bit of panic, though, as right in the middle of Lance’s window when I was still calling my preamp at the antenna failed. Not sure what caused the failure as that preamp has performed flawlessly for over a year and is sequenced and switched with a high power relay, but it did at a very inopportune time! Fortunately, my career in the nuclear power industry taught me you must always have spare parts/components on hand because the hard learned industry lesson is “One is NONE!”

So once I realized the preamp had failed I was out the door in the dark and misty rain to replace the preamp. Thankfully all of my EME array preamps and switching are located at ground level since the antennas are only 20 to 28 feet high. Preamp replaced, back on the air, and ZD9GJ is in the log (his and mine!)

Still trying to snag Eddy, XV9T. For those of you who attended the March meeting and saw my presentation on 6-meter EME, you will recall I displayed a screen shot where I decoded Eddy multiple times but we never completed. He was off the air through the summer, waiting for the rainy season to wash all the crap off the power lines and reduce his noise. He was back on in late August and early September. I was able to decode him several times, and he decoded me twice, but we never completed so he remains the one elusive station I’m chasing on 6-meters. He’ll be back on in October when the moon gets in a more favorable position so hopefully we can complete then. Like Lance, Eddy is running a single 8 element yagi but he can’t elevate the antenna so we have to schedule on his moonrise (MR) and moonset (MS).

If you have a very good, single, 6-meter yagi with a preamp (preferably at the antenna) and at least 750 plus watts you can work EME on 6 meters, catching the moon during your MR and MS. Before I built the EME array I worked Lance with a single 9 element yagi on my MR and MS at three of his previous DXpeditions. This one was MUCH easier, except for the excitement of the failed preamp!

73 Joel W5ZN