March 28, 2023

Portable EME

 I will be purchasing two Honda EU2200i generators to power the EME station when operating portable. They will be linked in parallel for powering the 1kW amplifier on 70cm. The generators will be purchased at the Home Depot in Guam and transported by cargo ship to Saipan because there are no quality inverter generators for sale here. It will take 1 - 4 weeks for the generators to arrive from Guam. 

KH0W EME from Saipan

 On the mainland you simply go to a Home Depot & one hour later a shiny new generator is running in your backyard. Procuring almost anything is a challenge when living on a small rock in the western Pacific.

The EU2200i is the industry standard generator for amateur radio applications. Go to any Field Day site and you are bound to see at least one. RF wise they are quiet but I've heard stories of some 'generating' (so to say) RF hash.

 Here's an interesting article on how to cure inverter generator RF hash. This study offers solutions which are more in depth than simply wrapping a few ferrites around an extension cord.       

 Why use generators to operate portable when I can just head out my back door & be on the moon in a few minutes?

 The Island of Saipan: 

KH0W EME Operating on Saipan

 The area above the red line has no homes, businesses or electricity. It's dead silent from the RF QRM of Saipan. The north end is cut off from the rest of the island by Mount Tapochau. At 1,555' (474m) Mt. Tapochau probably shields the north end from undesirable RF emitted from the rest of Saipan. Call it natures own Faraday cage. 

Let's take a closer look at this noise free area:


 No electricity, businesses or homes means no noisy wall warts, plasma TV's, solar panels, grow lights or other RF polluting garbage. It's paradise for operating HF & I occasionally operate KH0W/m from there. Nothing but ocean between Saipan and Japan or California.      

23cm EME KH0W

 The view looking down into the valley from the top of Suicide Cliff.

1296 MHz EME

 Moonrise at the portable EME operating location. The wind is usually mild to non-existent. This is important when using a 2.4 meter folding dish.

23cm EME 70cm EME KH0W Saipan KC0W

 Moonset is just as good. 

March 24, 2023

Journey to EME

 This blog chronicles construction of the KH0W 23cm & 70cm EME station on the island of Saipan. From conception to the first QSO, you can read about it here. Excuse the lack of interesting photos & limited information. Things will start ramping up over the next month.

 KHØW will be QRV by June 2023. I'm still waiting for the majority of the station to be shipped here. This will be a new entity for all moonbounce enthusiasts on both 23cm & 70cm. KHØ has never been activated on either band via EME.

 I will take a screen shot of every successful QSO & post the image on this blog. All QSOs will be searchable by callsign. Hopefully numerous stations can be worked on both Q65 & CW.    

 With 1kW on 70cm & 250 Watts on 23cm I should be workable by many. I will be operating from the beach in back of my house where the moon drops right into the ocean during moon set. The extra 6dB of gain when the moon dips below 15 degrees should assure YOU go into the log. This blogs background photo of the 3 palm trees at sunset is pretty much what I see looking out my backdoor. Nirvana for operating EME during moonset.     

 This is not a DXpedition, I've lived on Saipan for almost 5 years now. There are none of the usual time constraints associated with normal EME DXpeditions. If you don't work me today try again tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year.

 I plan on being QRV on 2 meter moonbounce in 2024 running 1kW. Let me make some QSOs on 23cm & 70cm before adding a 3rd band. 

 Both the 1296 MHz dish & the 70cm Yagis have full AZ/EL capability. Coax attenuation is extremely low because the operating position is right at the antennas. Total length of 1/2" Hardline is only 6 meters long. 

Here is the current list of gear. More items are being added monthly:                        

                                70cm - 1kW
                             Two M2 432-9WL
  
                                23cm - 250W
                           2.4 meter Folding Dish
 
                          IC-9700 w/Leo Bodnar  
                                           

KH0W EME Station Amplifier Saipan KC0W Moonbounce

250 Watt 23cm Amplifier (under construction)
 
 
Northern Marianna Islands EME Moon Bounce Moonbounce KH0W KC0W KH0/KC0W Saipan 23cm EME 70cm EME
Heat sink on the 23cm Amplifier


KC0W 70cm EME Moonbounce Minnesota EME

 Believe it or not I know a little about EME. Here's a photo of my former 432 MHz array in Minnesota back in 2003. Ah, the good old days of EME when CW & tube amplifiers ruled. Raise your hand if you ever owned a 1.5kW Lunar Link amplifier.......As for not wearing a climbing harness? Don't worry about it, the ground would have caught me.

 My biggest passion in amateur radio is CW. It would bring me great joy to work as many stations on CW as possible. It's unfortunate lot's of EME guys policy is, "CW after the Q65 pileup dies down". Morse code will always be #1 with me.      

 Finally, I would like to send a huge THANK YOU to Paul, W2HRO. None of this would have been possible without him.

 QRX, things are about to get interesting!!

                       Tom KHØW