[KYHAM] Cheap EME experiment

[Bill Fuqua]

	The previous email on KYHAMS reminded me of a relatively  inexpensive EME 
experiment. There seems to be a number of 5 Megawatt transmitters that can 
easily be detected with a UHF TV yagi and a ALL mode UHF receiver and a 
computer with a sound card. There are a lot of UHF TV transmitters with ERP 
levels of 5 MW.  Naturally you don't want to pick one near your location or 
a frequency that is near a local TV station.  I have suggested that the 
Astronomers get with the UKARS members to do an experiment.
	Ham EME signals are frequently received and observed as slow CW using 
special software, Fast Fourier Transform, and a sound card. But in many 
cases the signal from a UHF TV station is strong enough to hear the carrier 
when in CW mode. And you can tell that it is the right signal due to the 
Doppler shift.
	The trick is to catch the moon when it is near the horizon. The TV 
stations have high gain antennas that radiate at a low angle and very 
little goes up.  The distance to the moon from your antenna is very much 
the same when observed near the horizon or if it is above you anyway. That 
is because it is so far away.
        Here are some useful links:

http://www.geocities.com/toddemslie/moonbounce_DXTV.html

This like will provide a list of stations and their frequencies. Remember, 
you are going to be listening for the video carrier in SSB or CW mode.

http://home.earthlink.net/~w9wi/tvdb/index.htm


73
Bill wa4lav