Reception of KP4AO - Arecibo Radio Observatory (Puerto Rico) by UHF Moon Bounce
 
March, 22; 2010 from 2119 to 2320 UTC
 
Sked by EME Planner:
 

 
 
It was used the same loc (PY2ZX, GG66nt) and config (coaxial -1dB + Yagi 15,9 dBi + IC-706MKIIG CW) of
March´s, 19 tests, but now with more stable pointing:
 
 
That time Arecibo used 500 Watts but It not promoted a big increase signal received, except for some stronger peaks. The first detection of the carriers was at 2106 Z. Here some recordings:
 
 

Curiously the signal fade out at 2204 Z (Faraday rotation?). Nonetheless the BATC webcast provided the real time status of the emisson using ES5PC (4 x 9 WL Yagi) as listening station, informing also the change of the modes CW to SSB and then to JT65. Only with that last one that I returned to receive Arecibo on their two first callings at 2303 Z and 432,04485 MHz.

 

Audio of the SSB QSOs shared on internet (ES5PC via BATC).
 
The strong left segments were Arecibo signals bounced by Moon and received at PY2ZX. The last was the JT65 call of KP4AO well decoded by WSJT:
 
 
 
 

An old 9 elements Quad Cubical (W6SAI model, photo on left) with long section of RG-58 was tested without success. Also an IC-R7000 was tested. . On the table the combinations and results:

Rig
Mode
Coax
Ant
EME Result
IC-706MKIIG
CW, no filter
RGC-213 (-1dB)
Yagi 15 ele K1FO
YES
IC-706MKIIG
CW, no filter
long RGC-58
Quad 9 ele W6SAI
NO
IC-R7000
SSB, no filter
RGC-213 (-1dB)
Yagi 15 ele K1FO
NO
IC-R7000
SSB, no filter
long RGC-58
Quad 9 ele W6SAI
NO

Meanwhile at VHF-DX some EME Arecibo reception´s report arose by PY2REK (heard in all modes) and PY5LF in JT65. More reports via SAT-FM came from PY4ZBZ (FT-100D + 6 ele.) and PY2RGR (FT817nd + 5 ele.). By VHF-DX-Sur the listening informations came from LU2DPW (10 ele. home made). Following the images taked at PY2REK (FT857D, Yagi 28 ele K1FO by PY2NI horizontal polarization, 12 m. of RGC213):
 
 
 
During PY2ZX reception strange carriers and moving lines appears on the FFT when the antenna were still elevated. Could be desaligment of the rig? PC noise? Aircraft Scatter? On the following big image one of the cases (the most left trace).
 
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Flávio Archangelo