I’ve put the Martlesham 13cm beacon GB3MHZ on test from my home QTH in JO02pa90 2320.830MHz Q65 30B Beaming mostly west, but can move the antenna (low gain yagi) on request

Haven’t posted for a while. The Martlesham 23 and 3cm beacons have been refurbished and re-installed. Both now run Q65 digital modulation. 30B on 23cm and 30D on 3cm. These different modes chosen to suit the dominant propagation on each band.

I have a Casio programmable that I bought off G4HUP in about 1978, when he was upgrading. I recall I paid him £25 for it. That was a lot in those days! We were both GPO/Post Office Telephones radio school instructors. Many ex radio staff benefitted from numbers on this calculator! Still my 'go to'.

This week’s project is working with my newly acquired RFZero to create a replacement 24GHz beacon for Martlesham (or Felixstowe).

Sat on Brighton sea front, drinking coffee and waiting for my daughter to complete the London to Brighton cycle ride ( For the British Heart Foundation).

Looks like I should keep the 23cm EME feed in the dish for several more days as G4RFR may be QRV on Wednesday.

Showing how marginal it was, it took three days to work HD8G on 23cm EME. As the moon moved closer, so degradation came down just enough to complete. My thanks to Bruce for persevering.

13cm EME QSO with DL3WDG today. Used Q65 60C initially, followed by 30B. The faster 30B was about 1dB worse on our QSO.

And a CW QSO today with G3LTF on 13cm EME. Last worked on 13cm EME in 2009!

Two new # on 13cm EME yesterday. Third failed half way through (report but no Rs or 73)due to QSO partner equipment fault. More tests today.

WSJT-X echo mode on 13cm quite good, but at -17dB (JT Echo) just audible on headphones.

Joined by the second one. More friendly but also still a bit nervous of humans. Bobby and Phylis, ‘The Railway Children’. They were rescued from near the main railway line!

One of our two rescue cats. This one still extremely nervous of human contact. Whatever happened to him?

My 13cm EME feed and VLNA back in the dish. Excellent echoes this morning. 250W (in shack) and 0.3dB nf. Looking to increase my 13cm # count next weekend.

200W to OK1DFC septum polariser feed and VLNA23 preamp. 2.3m dish.

Good 23cm EME echoes this evening. Trying 1298.100 MHz to see how well the system works at the higher frequency. I noticed a few more people on the HB9Q chat also mentioning doing test transmission/QSOs at what might become the new, preferred, 23cm EME allocation.

Getting ready for the Dutch Heelweg microwave meeting next Saturday. This annual meeting brings together microwavers from several European countries, for a day of measurements, trading and serious discussion on matters microwave!

lol

I’ve been playing low noise, low gain, very high dynamic range 23cm preamps today.

I have just spent some time with G4JMM, measuring his (new to him) 10GHz portable transverter. All working well. I really must get my own (replacement) 10GHz transverter working.