23cm EME Project - SUCCESS!

WHEEEEEE!  My efforts on building the 23cm EME station have been rewarded in a spectacular manner.  I am now active on 23cm EME for the VERY first time.  Over the last 37 years I have made EME QSO's on 6m, 2m, and 70cm but now with a 2.4m Sub-Lunar folding dish, I have managed my first EME contacts on this new (to me) band.  I was only able to be on for the 2nd night of the October ARRL contest weekend (2025-10-12) but managed 37 contacts, all new initials, in 17 DXCC's with OE9ERC, OK1DFC, RD4D, OK1UGA, K0PRT, G4YTL, N1AV, SP5GDM, HB9Q, OK1KIR, SM6CKU, ES3RF, OK2AQ, DF2VJ, KB2SA, YO2LAM, OK1USW, DK3WG, PA3FXB, GM0PJD, UA1ALD, WA3RGQ, DL0SHF, OH3LWP, SP3YDE, G4CCH, PA0TBR, AA6I, CT1FFU, KH6FA, W3TI, N0AKC, OH1LRY, AC2AC, K5N, W2ZQ, and JJ3JHP.  I had 7 decodes of PYØFBS as strong as -23 and 12 consecutive decodes of HL2/LY3UM (4 of those at -23) but no QSO's resulted with either of these fine DX'peditions. 

Operating Position on my Driveway

Because my QTH is blocked by trees to the East, my operating location is "portable" on my driveway.  The equipment is kept on a 3-shelf rolling cart which I wheel out of the garage to operate.  I am not able to see the moon until it clears my roof at about 22° elevation but I can see it almost down to the western horizon.  My QTH is EM98al in the state of West Virginia (WV).  

My equipment consists of: a 2,4m Sub-Lunar folding dish, OK1DFC Lightweight Septum Feed, Sub-Lunar SL-1 Az-El Rotors, N8CQ's WinTrack, IC-9700 w/Leo Bodnar GPSDO, AG6EE preamp, 200-watts from an AG6EE Power Amplifier, and 6,5m feed lines from Messi & Paoloni in Italy. However, since the station is "portable" there is the possibility that I can operate from other locations.  

I operated the next Saturday (2025-10-18) and made 16 QSO's including 13 more Initials: G0LBK, CX9BT, DL4DTU, PA0PLY, KA1GT, I2FAK, KB7Q, NY1V, OK1VUM, N5TM, F5KUG, VK2JDS, and XE1XA.  That brings me up to 53 QSO's, 50 Initials, and 22 DXCC's after only 2 days of operation on the moon.  Boy, am I fired up with those results!  I know I worked at least a couple of stations using 1,5m "Solar-Cooker" dishes and I worked KB2SA with his 1,0m dish, TWICE!  On the first KB2SA QSO reports were: Sent -21 / Rcvd -24. And, I easily completed a Q65-15A QSO with KA1GT, Sent -17 / Rcvd -15. 

With the overnight temperatures around 7°C both times, I have now ordered a portable hunting shelter to keep the operating position a bit more comfortable!  But, it has now occurred to me that I can actually operate the station remotely from INSIDE the house!  I will be working on that idea next.

Even though I have made hundreds of moonbounce QSO's over nearly 4 decades, the THRILL is still there!  Had any of my neighbors been awake at 12:45 a.m. when I made that first 23cm EME contact, I'm sure they would have heard my yell as I jumped up and down on the driveway!  WHOPEEE!