13 Aug 2021

Arecibo Observatory and EME

Sadly this giant radio telescope in Puerto Rico was damaged beyond repair. 

In the mid 1960s it was used for some amateur moonbounce tests. Many amateurs made their first EME QSOs this way. The dish gain was very high with a 1000 foot dish! I have no idea what the ERP was.

This was 1964 (?), way before we had any weak signal modes that makes EME a little easier. EME still needs optimum equipment and is not for those not prepared to work hard.

I am not sure what is needed these days to work the better stations via EME, but I would guess at least 100W, mast head preamps and as big a yagi array as you can manage. This also requires accurate moon tracking, low cable losses and weak signal modes optimised for EME.

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