The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter ©DF2ZC

The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter
©DF2ZC
…since 2003
www.df2zc.de
Issue 6/2014
1 Jun 2014
SV9 Crete QRV on EME
For many years SV9 land has not been seriously QRV on EME. Past activities by dxpeditions date
way back into the CW only time of last century. Therefore Frank DH7FB and Bernd DF2ZC had
decided to travel to Crete for their first flight operation after many EME activities by car within the
past years. The main objective was to keep all weight as low as possible to minimise if not to avoid
excess baggage charges. Instead of the two 2M9SSBs used so far Frank had built two light weight
versions of DK7ZB 8 elements, together with a sophisticated system to assemble booms and
elements: total assembly time of
both antennas was now down to
just 15 minutes. Boom parts were
made that short that everything
fitted inside a fishing rod bag, with
the elements stored safely inside
the booms so they could not be
damaged during transport.
A web search quickly showed some
possible locations in Crete where
the best suited seemed to be the
Pelamare Apartments, owned by
Manos, SV9ANJ. Some other HF
dxpeditions had already worked
from there so ham radio was not
that exotic at that place. Manos
quickly replied the email saying he
would be very happy to host the
dxpedition. At the planned dates in
October his apartments were
already closed for off-season but
he’d happily open one for the two
hams. (This in fact was very good
news as it meant no possible
trouble with other guests staying
there the same time.)
________________________________________________________________________________
On 24 October 2014 the tour started. Frank took a flight from Berlin to Düsseldorf where he met
Bernd at the airport. Then they continued together to Athens and further on to Iraclio, Crete.
Feeling a little uneasy about possible trouble with the equipment check-in was without reason.
Only excess charges could not be avoided, due to weight and dimensions of baggage. With 120 €
one-way for both travellers it was less than expected. In Athens Bernd had to show his antenna
preamp from his pilot case at security check to have it checked for explosives. That was all.
Manos SV9ANJ and Frank DH7FB with the famous antenna bag.
At 2030 local they left Iraclio
airport and 20 minutes taxi
drive later they arrived at
Pelamare
apartments
http://pelamare.webs.com/
in Kokkini Chani, some 15
km East of the airport, in
KM25PH.
Manos
was
already
waiting
and
welcomed
them.
Two
apartments were chosen,
one for sleeping and the
other one straight below
the roof as shack. Then
Frank and Bernd went for
dinner to a typical Greek
restaurant recommended
by Manos.
In bright daylight the next morning they could check the surroundings. The Pelamare apartments
are right at the beach, just a small road between the building complex and the water. Take-off
from moonrise to moonset was unblocked. To the South some buildings and hills could do harm
though – theoretically, but not for EME because the moon would be way up in the sky at those
directions.
Within less than 2 hours everything was set up around lunch time. The BEKO HLV-1000 was
already there, it had been shipped to Manos two weeks before dxpedition start. DH7FB and DF2ZC
are very grateful to BEKO owner Bernhard Korte for letting the amp to them for the dxpedition
period.
Once the work was done and everything checked for functionality Frank and Bernd did some walk
at the seaside and to the village. Nice to feel temperatures just like central European summer
again though it was close to the end of October. When they returned to the apartments late in the
afternoon they tried some meteor scatter CQ and completed few contacts.
Finally there was moon rise at 2345 hours local time. SV9ANJ – they used Manos’ callsign – started
to CQ on 144,114 MHz in JT65B. However, there was no reply the first 10 minutes or so though the
moon was clearly visible above the horizon. Nothing to get nervous about, this nearly happened all
EME dxpeditions they had conducted so far. And right, all of a sudden a clear sync appeared on
the FFT display: JE1TNL was the first station worked, followed by RU1AA. However, it soon became
The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter by DF2ZC
Issue 6/2014, Page 2 of 6
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Another view of the Pelamare Apartments and the DXpedition location (Photo SV9ANJ).
obvious that there were a lot of polarisation changes this day (and also the following days) which
could not be countered with an hpol only antenna: the sun was very active during the dxpedition
period. And to make things worse a heavy storm hit the British Isles, France, Netherlands, Belgium,
Germany and Southern Scandinavia. Both resulted in less than usual activity and in some 25% less
QSOs than normal. Karsten DL2LAH for instance really had bad luck. While he could still complete
a contact with SV9ANJ on 28 October in the morning, in the afternoon he lost two of his four yagis
to the storm. At moonset on 29 October, the final day of activity, 165 different call signs were in
the log. And quite a number of lessons learned and some to-dos were on the list:
(1)
(2)
(3)
The next activity they will have also the vertical component available, i.e. two 8/8 ele xpols
(DK7ZB). (done already)
A smaller dxpedition transceiver is necessary which unlike the TS2000 fits into carry on
baggage. (In the meantime a FT857 with TCXO option was bought.)
Some small improvements at antenna/mast setup were made.
Most importantly the HLV-1000 performed very well, sometimes running nearly 24 hours in a row:
meteor scatter, EME and meteor scatter combined. That was the only thing that concerned most
as they had no back-up for the amp.
Current plans are the new xpol setup is tested live on 23 August in JO63SC. And the next
dxpedition is being scheduled for week #42, 2014.
The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter by DF2ZC
Issue 6/2014, Page 3 of 6
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The dxpedition shack in the kitchen: from left: BEKO HLV-1000, TS2000, netbook
EME 2014 in France
Time is running up now to register for the 16th International EME Conference. It is only less than 4
months until congress date. Guy F2CT informs that there are around 100 delegates registered
already and partners from 20 different countries. Logistic and technical staff are still working hard
in order that this meeting be a success.
Bookings can be made via the official EME 2014 website http://www.eme2014.fr Please
remember the dead line is 15 June for those who wish to be lodged at the Belambra resort and 15
July for those who wish to take part only at the Conference and arrange for their own lodging.
Upcoming DXpeditions
For more information on current and upcoming DXpeditions please have a look at
www.mmmonvhf.de from where most of the information here was gathered.
ZA/PA2CHR: Albania
PA2CHR, PE1LWT and PA3FPQ are currently QRV until 5 June from Albania, using the call sign
ZA/PA2CHR, locator is JN91SW. Rig is FT847 with 2 x 20 ele xpol and BEKO-power, working
frequency 144,147 MHz. More info is available at http://www.pa2chr.nl/News.html
The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter by DF2ZC
Issue 6/2014, Page 4 of 6
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EME from Azerbaijan
UT5UAS and UT6UA will be active via EME as 4K/UT5UAS and 4K/UT6UA from Azerbaijan from 23
to 26 June 2014. Setup is 8 x 7H + GS35B + LNA SPF-5122 + TS2000, locator LN30GK, the mountain
village Russkiye Borisy.
Due to the last events in Ukraine, their principal sponsors refused to meet their obligations.
Therefore, the team will be grateful to all EME-fans for any donations. You can do it by PayPal to:
[email protected]
Other Activitites
South Dakota (SD) QRV on EME
Good news for the WAS chasers. After an ice storm had destroyed all his antennas early in 2013
now Arliss W7XU (EN13LM) is QRV again on EME. He began rebuilding in August last year and now
has 4xM2 18xxx yagis and 1 kW. After a successful sked with Gio IK1UWL who needed SD for his
WAS (congrats to you, Gio -ZC) Arliss stayed on air and so many other European stations could bag
the wanted US state for their WAS award. Skeds via [email protected]
Time Table
21 Jun 2014
7 Jul 2014
0100-0400
0900-1200
CW Activity Period
July Issue of the 144 MHz EME NewsLetter ready
for download at www.df2zc.de/newsletter
The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter
is produced monthly since 2003.
Copyright is by Bernd J. Mischlewski,
DF2ZC.
Permission to quote or reprint
material from the newsletter is
granted under the condition that it is
only for non-commercial, personal
use.
For a permission to make commercial
use send a written request to
[email protected]
The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter by DF2ZC
Issue 6/2014, Page 5 of 6
________________________________________________________________________________
Moon Graph June 2014:
Moon Graph July 2014:
(Courtesy of David GM4JJJ (www.gm4jjj.co.uk/MoonSked/moonsked.htm)
The 144 MHz EME NewsLetter by DF2ZC
Issue 6/2014, Page 6 of 6

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