Moving on from 23cm EME

[VK2CBD]

G'day microwave and EME'ers,

I have been active on 23cm EME for about 2 years and am now thinking about moving on to another band.

I would like to have a go at 10GHz. Can anyone give me an idea of how much activity there is on 3cm EME? Is the activity mostly CW or JT or a mix? Any ideas on how to generate some power on 10GHz (say 20W or so) without breaking the bank? I have a 1.6m TVRO mesh dish which I think will be OK at 10GHz. I have no transverter or LNA for 10GHz yet. Has anyone built and used the VK3XDK transverter on 3cm EME?

I am using the VK5DJ tracking system. I can reliably point my 3.8 m mesh dish to within about 0.5 degrees, which may not be good enough for the 1.6m dish at 10GHz. It may mean that I would use the tracker to get me close and then manually peak for moon noise?

I'd appreciate your thoughts!

Cheers,
Brett, VK2CBD

[vk1da]

Brett

Are you a subscriber to moon-net? Lots of ops there on various bands. Also I suggest you contact Alan 3xpd.




Andrew Davis VK1DA & VK2UH
Sent using Tapatalk

[VK4CDI]

GD Brett,
Someone asked the same question a few days ago on the HB9Q logger...and the answer was after 23cm, 13cm is the next popular, followed by 3cm, 6cm, then 9cm....
I had the same thoughts a year ago, and decided to go 9cm, mainly because I could still use my C band dish, power is relatively easy to make, and you can still use cables!
As for tracking, I use a 5DJ controller with DF1SR absolute encoders, but on 9cm, its a bit touchy, probably more mechanical I think, but to make it easier,I am building a Moon noise meter, which I think will help.
I think my next band will be 3cm, although it's way down the list at the moment......

Cheers
Phil VK4CDI

[VK4UH]

I suggest contact Rex VK7MO and or Alan VK3XPD who are both active on 10 GHz digital (JT65c) EME

Kevin VK4UH Brisbane

[VK2CBD]

Thanks for the feedback so far on the forum, and on Email. I have been updating my webpage which is at http://www.qsl.net/vk2cbd/Index.html. This might give you a bit more of a clue about my setup.

Interesting to hear your experience with the 5DJ controller on 9cm Phil. What is your mechanical setup?

While I am interested in activity outside VK I really want to know what's happening within Australia. When I was getting setup on 23cm having people that I could regularly test with was invaluable (thanks VK2JDS et al). From what I have heard so far, there are about 4 or 5 people that are active or semi active and there are a few others that are thinking about doing something. If I have this right then the 3cm may not be that different to 23cm?