Around 1 year after I could work Bernd, DL7APV (sadly now SK) on 70cm EME, I was now able to work Frank, NC1I. Frank is in Massachusetts and has a 70cm EME array with 48 yagis with 15 elements each, so a total of 720 elements. His gain is around 31.5dBd and he is using this setup since 1994.
Like last time, the special situation was, that it was the brightest day, so the moon was not visible to the eye. So i took the position from WSJT-X and aligned it with the compass and my cell phone.
Frank changed his reception polarization several times over a longer period of time until he was able to receive me with weak -30db. Frank really has a lot of patience and I am very happy that it has now worked.
Here is my screenshot of the QSO. I decoded him best with -14db (left side) and from around -17db and better it was clearly audible on my speakers.
Power here was approx. 25W PEP from my ICOM IC-910 and Diamond 15 ele Yagi (14.8 dBi / 12.6 dBD) and 0.3db LF preamp. Cable 13mm and 10mm approx. 3.2m total.
My setup:
Icom IC-910, 25W PEP, LiFePo4 battery powered, Diamond A430S15 with 15 elements (14.8 dBi / 12,6 dBD). Preamp indicated 0,3db NF (italian made JG-ULNA70VOX-E). Cables 10 and 13mm, around 3,2m / 10 ft total.
Thanks again Max, SA5IKN for the idea to use portable SAT gear for EME and also Carsten, OZ9AAR for the help and support.
Update End of July, 2024:
Got Franks paper QSL in the mail. That's really cool.
After this initial QSO I worked Frank a few more times. Here is our 2nd QSO:
I worked him also with my 10 element Alaksan Arrow Antenna where I got -25db and sent -21db.
