[WSWSS] Fw: [Moon-net] JW/SM2BYA 432 MHz operation

[Bob Kocisko]

----- Original Message -----
From: "ugw" <ugw@eiscat.com>
To: <Moon-net@nlsa.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2003 12:36 AM
Subject: [Moon-net] JW/SM2BYA 432 MHz operation


Hello all,

Latest news re the JW/SM2BYA operation:

Status:

The receiver chain (antenna relay, preamp, six meters of RG-213,
postamp,
transverter) was put on a HP8970A / 346A NF system last Sunday,
measuring in at
Tsys=33 Kelvin (0.47 dB NF).

All heavy equipment has now been packed in three transport crates and
will be
handed over to a shipper in the next days for airfreighting to
Spitsbergen well
ahead of time.

We will leave Kiruna by car on Oct. 13, for Tromso, Norway, flying out
of there
to Spitsbergen on Oct. 14.


Operations:

It is still unclear by when we can start installing the 432 MHz gear. In
the
very best case, we may get access to the antenna already around noon on
Friday
the 17th, but there is no guarantee of that.

The time slot October 17, 18 - 24 UT (or as much of it as we can cover)
_will be
reserved for working QRP and/or not fully EME capable stations ONLY_.

JW/SM2BYA will call CQ on 432.073 and listen for replies over the whole
432.075
- 432.080 range.

If your station runs < 20 kW EIRP,

or if you can only work on a rising / setting moon,

or if you have never had a EME QSO before,

you are welcome to call us between 18-24 UT. Please try to spread out !

If signals are marginal, we will go into strict 1 minute sequencing and
expect
the other party to follow suit.

For this to work out, we need the full cooperation of the established
EME
community. You will all have plenty of time to work us later, so please,
please
give the first-timers and little pistols a chance by keeping your
fingers off
the paddles ! We were all newcomers once...

In the Americas the moon is still below the horizon during this time
interval.
So we won't be able to offer our American QRP friends the same
opportunity, but
you shouldn't give up !  There are some simple things you can do to
maximise
your chances of getting through even in the thick of the contest. Some
excellent
advice given by the VE3ONT crew back in 1994 bears repeating here:

If you do not have full elevation capability, fix your antenna about 2
degrees
below the maximum moon elevation at upper culmination at your location.
That
way, you can track the moon for at least two hours using azimuth
rotation only,
plus it minimises ground and man-made noise pickup on receive.

Avoid the European window if you can. Remember, we are so far north that
the
moon is above our horizon all the time.

Call us at the upper end of our receive band if your rig can work at a 7
kHz
split.


Assar/-LTA and I are now off on extended business travel and won't be
able to
access MoonNet for the next two weeks. We will post a status update on
or around
October 15 - by then we should already be up on Spitsbergen. Any
communication
in the meantime should go to my private email (which I can access while
travelling):

sm2bya@telia.com


73 and good luck to all

Gudmund SM2BYA


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