Tag Archives: moonbounce

Visual Moonbounce

April 13th, 2014

The italian-dutch artist Daniela de Paulis is the inventor of visual moonbouce. Slow scan television is used to send pictures towards the moon. When the bounced signals will be received and visualized, the pictues are a kind of distorted and win a very special charm.

The pictures shown below are screenshots, I took during a performance on April 13th, 2014.

2014-04-13 visual Moonbounce 1 2014-04-13 visual Moonbounce 2I am very proud, that Daniela has choosen one of my pictures for her performance. It shows the moon resting on clouds and has been bounced at the moon.

Nando, I1NDP, transmitted a selection of pictures in SSTV, to be received by PI9CAM with the radiotelescope at Dwingeloo. Using a “GOOGLE Hangout”, an audience from all over the world watched live, how Daniela and her team (Nando, I1NDP, Jan, PA3FXB, and many more) were bouncing all the pictures at the moon.

A video recording of the session can be found here.

Reopening of Dwingeloo 25 m Radiotelescope

April 5th, 2014DSC_0383a After an extensive restoration by ASTRON and the CAMRAS foundation, the 25m dish of the radiotelescope in Dwingeloo has been reopened by astrononomer, radio amateur and Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Joseph Taylor, K1JT, on April 5th, 2014.

DSC_0258In future it will be used by radio amateurs, amateur astronomers and artists for certain projects.

Digital World – Digital Moon

March 11th, 2013

Despite all the discussions about using digital modes in moonbounce I want to gather own experiences. After installing WSJT last Xmas I could decode a couple of stations on EME without any problems. First TX tests resulted in an intolerable frequency drift, which could be limited with the installation of a crystal heater. Then I started with real tests, but in all skeds no one could decode me! I had no clue what went wrong. So I changed – quick and dirty – the PC producing the audio stream. Now OK1CS, HB9Q and G4CCH could be worked in JT65C. Last sunday morning I saw a big signal in the waterfall diagram of my SDR. It was JA6AHB and it was a question of a few minutes to put him to the log. All stations worked so far, have been audible in my headphones.

I think, in general it is nice to use digital modes to work others via EME. But there is much more skill in involving the ears to have success in completing an QSO. It´s always great to HEAR the final rogers. Despite that I will not deny the use of digital modes. Why not working someone digital and then, maybe after some improvements, top it in working him in CW again? As long as all information like callsigns, reports and rogers, necessary for a complete QSO, have passed the radio channel, it will be a valid QSO. This is my position.

I will continue to explore digital modes:

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The TX signal will be processed on my FT-987 with a seperate PC. RX is done with my SDR and another PC. By not typing in the other callsign or using call3.txt on the RX side I am quite sure in ‘really’ receiving the callsigns.

Ticket to the moon

June 26th, 2012

Tonight I had a sked with Howard, G4CCH. He was there on the tick. We met in the HB9Q chat to arrange the details. What shall I say: Within a few minutes he became my first initial on 23 cm EME! As he told me later in the chat, I have been his #365 on CW (wow). After the completion of our QSO Nando, I1NDP called me to be the #2 in my just created initial list.

I am very happy now. Tnx Howard and Nando!

And finally they were heard!

June 25th, 2012

The echoes in a waterfall diagram

Tonight I added about 3 dB of power and – of course – directed the antenna to the moon to perform an echotest. I did not really expect to hear something but – what a surprise – there seemed to be a sound in the noise. I continued and after a couple of “dah-dah-dahs” it was sure, that there were my first echoes on 23 cm!

Unfortunatly the moon is setting now and so it´s too late for a QSO. I will have a whiskey and go to bed, looking forward to tomorrow.

73s & gn

Moon II

May 26th, 2012

The DUBUS Contest was another opportunity to have a look at the moon. In the meantime I installed the preamplifier at the dish and the reading of PowerSDR showed me approx. 10 dB of sunnoise. I was surprised by seeing the tracks of not less than twenty stations in the waterfall diagram. After getting used to the special sound I could read the complete calls of OK2DL, SV1BTR, HB9SV, G4CCH, F2TU in CW.

How high the moon

May 3rd, 2012

Yesterday, as a matter of course, I had to direct the antenna to the moon after installing the software for controlling the rotator by my computer. I was lucky to hear the first signals off the moon: LX1DB was active and could be heard with 419 in CW. Today I tried again and heard HB9Q with S3 in JT65. Later DJ9YW was heard also with S2.