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Showing posts from March, 2022
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 Summer 2022 Roving Trip Update - March 24, 2022 I do not have a firm itinerary yet for the trip.  Because of weather conditions and propagation conditions I can’t provide  specific dates long in advance. Normally I can provide a rolling detailed one week schedule. Last Summer I activated 31 states and made about 2000 QSOs, mostly using EME. This Summer I plan to activate 43 states, complete 3000+ QSOs. Estimated driving distance is 7000 miles. I will post detailed information on upcoming operations on these sites: FFMA activity group 222 activity group https://www.mmmonvhf.de/index.php https://ka6u.blogspot.com/ Here is my plan as it currently stands: Operations Plan Activate 43 states on 222 and 23cm EME Activate selected rare grids on 2M EME Activate selected rare grids on 6M MS/Es (focus on FFMA most wanted) Activate selected states on 70cm EME Run 1 or 2 EME bands simultaneously Running 700W on 6M – 70c
23cm EL88 Activation March 6, 2022 I am planning to be QRV from EL88 in Florida tomorrow March 6 starting at about 1500UTC.  I will be testing my 23cm roving station and also helping N1AV test prior to Hawaii expedition. Is there general interest in collecting grids on 23cm as there is on 2M? If so please comment and let me know. Thanks 
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 23cm EME Roving Station Checkout Complete March 5, 2022 I drove an hour away from my base location in EL87 to the Eastern edge of EL87 in a nature preserve.  As expected this was a very quiet RF location.  I was able to complete final testing of my 23cm EME roving station and it is ready for the road. Today I made 20 Q65 contacts on 23cm.  Thank-you everyone who took the time to call.  I was able to complete QSOs with several stations I could not hear at my base location.  Today's location did not have any man-made noise visible when I scanned the path of the Moon.  In my home location I see up to 17db of man-made noise above the noise floor.  I will not set up my station at home in the future :-) From parking the truck to the station on the air took 15 minutes this morning.  Packing the station back into the truck also took only 15 minutes.  So I guess I don't have any excuse to not use the station. The key components include: ICOM 9700 (running on 144mhz using transverter) Q
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 Selecting Roving Activation Sites for EME Here are some sample activation locations from my trip in the Summer of 2021 when I traveled 8000 miles, activated 31 states and more than 40 grids.  Each of these locations was in a remote area and very RF quiet.  The locations were selected using the strategy described below. Deserted lake in Northern Maine Hay field in Central New York State Beach on Northern Shore of Lake Michigan Outer Banks in North Carolina National Forest in Central Mississippi WB9UWA asked me to comment on how I select sites for EME activations. The criteria for site selection include: Clear (as possible) view in the Moonrise direction enabling access to the Moon with 5 degrees or less elevation Clear Moon visibility for at least 5 hours after Moonrise (often 2M EME Grid activation sessions take 5 hours to complete) 24 hour access to the activation site Activation site suitable for running two Honda 2200 generators (each generator produces noise equivalent to my F250
 Possible Activation Trip to New Mexico in April 2022 I may be going to New Mexico toward the middle or end of April. I will update plans here and on MMMonVHF. When I go on this first trip I am planning the following: Activate New Mexico (state) on 23cm, 70cm, and 222Mhz Multiple 2M grid activations in New Mexico and West Texas (grids to be announced after arrival in NM)