[DSP-10] EME2 at 70 watts (now QRPp, not QRPpp)

[Courtney Duncan]

I've added a 70 watt amplifier to my DSP-10 + Brickette setup.

After having done EME2 single antenna on Brickette power, around 7  
watts, and claiming a detection of 0.05 dB S+N / N on about 5500 or so  
points, I was expecting 70 watts to be a lot easier.  (Original report  
at http://cbduncan.110mb.com/HamRadio/Dsp10/PhaseFive/Eme2/Eme2.html .)

The rest of the station is exactly the same.  No change has been made  
except the insertion of the 70 watt amplifier.  I worked the VHF  
contest and FD last month and did a lot better on the higher power, as  
expected.  I've checked receiver sensitivity, I still hear the same  
stations and the same repeater at about the same signal levels as  
before.  I still get the same noise at the same noise levels from the  
same neighborhood sources.

But, after several sessions where I've taken 500 - 1000 EME2 points  
with the 70 watts "shoes," I'm not seeing anything I would call a  
return.  This being about 10 dB more power than I was running before,  
I was expecting a central peak maybe 0.5 dB such that when the "yellow  
line" averages down to .1 to . 2 dB (after 500 - 1000 points) the  
central peak would be clear.  I'm using the 2.3 Hz averaging mode  
(1200 Hz bandwidth) as before so I can use my post processing  
software, but I haven't yet.

All the yellow lines from eight different tries look like noise, at  
the central peak and everywhere else.  I'm not seeing anything.

Am I missing something here?

Next on the list:
- Try the post processing software.
- Check receiver noise figure with and without the amplifier inline.

73 all,

Courtney, n5bf/6