[Moon] DL4MEA DUBUS report 13cm/9cm - first 9cm VK-DL

[Koellner, Guenter (NSN - DE/Muenich)]

Hello all,

13cm (Saturday):
Friday before the contest I tested a G4DDK 2stage preamp at the NF meter, it showed 0.5dB NF. This is an improvement of 0.1dB against the one that I had used before and so I installed it. I did not have time to optimize it, which will be done later, on lower frequencies it showed 0.4dB NF. Sam has made a really nice set of preamps, not at least the first ones with reproducible noise figure. Curiously, the sun noise did not change, but the impression in real RX was that it gives recognizable benefit on RX. None of the stations that I worked was a problem to read.

2424MHz was not possilbe, because my 2424->2324MHz mixer did not work as expected. This mixer originates from a GSM transmitter local loop. First, the 100MHz LO did not start properly, then it did somehow not convert as expected. Well, one piece to have a look after. Sorry for the JA, else it would have been some more stations.

So I worked: G3LTF, ES5PC, VK4AFL, OZ4MM, F5WJF, F2TU, OK1KIR, IW2FZR, OK1CA, HB9SV, G3LQR, HB9Q, SD3F, PA0BAT, VE6TA, NA4N and K2UYH
CWNR: VK3NX due to frequency confusion, I was not aware that both are listening around .100, the center of activity, and so I called on 050 unanswered for a long time

G8ACE oven, DB6NT Rev. 2 transverer, MRF21120 driver, 2xMRF21120 final, about 150W at the feed
Round septum polarizer feed with chapperal ring in 4.5m f/D=0.32 dish
G4DDK 2stage preamp, 0.5dB NF, not optimized


9cm (Sunday):
9cm worked quite fine, I got echos quite early. Heard VK3NX on CQ, answered, and then the door bell rang. Unfortunatly due to this I missed the sked time, too, but I was able to call in late when PA0BAT did not show up, and so I came to the first VK-DL contact on 9cm.
Originally I had planned to move back to 13cm after this contact, but I stayed on 9cm and spent some time with the family because they already complained. In some breaks I worked other stations, to a total of

VK3NX, OK1CA, G3LTF, OK1KIR, W5LUA

I closed the station 2100UT since I have to get up 0300UT for work, probably due to this I missed some other stations. I can be QRV on 9cm in about 10min, since the whole transverter is set up on a single rail.

Station on 9cm is "Low Budget", I think did not spend more than €250 for it:
G8ACE oven, G4DDK multiplier, DB6NT Rev. 1 transverter, Toshiba Amp. to 50W
Round septum polarizer feed with chaperal ring (taken from a C-Band LNB) in my 4.5m f/D=0.32 dish
DJ9BV preamp with FHX35 (unknown NF, not optimized, 7.7dB CS/Sun, should be >10dB)
May call it "attenuator grave": TX power from transverter to PA needs 10+6dB attenuation, RX from preamp to transverter another 10dB.

Thanks a lot for the nice weekend and CUL!

73, Günter, DL4MEA