Category: DSES posts

ARRL 2024 EME Contest

The Deep Space Exploration Society participated in the 2024 ARRL EME contest using the K0PRT station operating on 23 cm (1296 MHz). This was the first major contest that was held at the new building, and it was a very successful operation with over 20 participants across the two weekends. Paul NO0T coordinated the activity with several out-of-town visitors in attendance.

The first weekend, October 19-20, was impacted by a severe storm that came through Haswell on Friday night and prevented operations for the first day. After the storm it was discovered that there was a failure in the dish movement mechanism. After climbing inside the pedestal, a broken chain was found on the azimuth drive. After two trips to the Eads NAPA auto parts store a replacement chain was put into operation. This allowed the station to participate in the contest on the second day.

The second weekend, November 16-17, had very good attendance with some local visitors, good food, and folks sleeping over in the new building. The heating, kitchen and restroom in the new building worked out great for those that attended. Thanks to Bill KC0FHN for insuring that the new building was operational. In addition to the operators on site, there was also a remote operation by Mark VK6PY. Mike K0FYR shot a great video covering the second weekend of the contest: ARRL EME 2024.

Alex K6VHF provided a detailed breakdown of the contacts made during the contest: Contest Results. Highlights include 163 contacts, of which 9 were CW, the rest were Q65 Digital. There were 31 countries worked, across 5 contents and 18 zones. This included an amazing contact with Martin PJ4MM in Bonaire who was running 10 watts into a 63-element antenna. We were the first US station to work him. See the photo below that shows an in-person exchange of QSL cards at Alex’s house.

Over 50% of the contacts were to Europe. With a score of 1,536,800 points, we likely finished in the top 5 worldwide. If we had been able to operate on the first night in October, we would have done even better!

Equipment used include the DSES 60-foot dish, Icom 705 and “Dianne” – a 1296 MHz transverter with 300 watts of power. Various software programs include WSJT-X, Win4Icom, N1MM+, Splashtop (for remote access) and the DSES custom built antenna tracking software.

Thanks to everyone who participated and cleaned up after the event.

PJ4MM QSL

Open House 2024 Report

Bill Miller, DSES VP, has written a great report on the DSES Open House that was held on October 5, 2024. It was a very successful event with over 100 attendees enjoying the new building and other activities.

Click here for the report: 2024 Open House.

There is also a video provided by Mike K0FYR: 2024 Open House

DSES SSTV EME Party Report

The first DSES SSTV EME Party was held on Saturday September 28, 2024. Successful image transmissions were made to several EME stations in Europe and the United States. See the report including screen shots of received images.

The activity was conducted from the new DSES operations building at our Haswell Colorado site. Here is what the Dish operations console looked like during the event:

NRAO’s Ham Radio-Related Online Courses

NRAO’s Ham Radio-Related Online Courses are Open for Enrollment.

National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)Funded by a grant from ARDC, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has developed two no-cost, self-paced online courses on the SuperKnova platform that introduce amateur radio-related fundamental concepts. These courses were created in an effort to not only get learners licensed, but to also grow the amateur radio community, contributing to the hobby’s longevity.

If you’re interested in becoming a ham, if you’re already a ham and need a refresher, or if you’re simply interested in the fundamentals of the electromagnetic spectrum as it applies to your career, check out the below links to enroll in one of these courses:

Technician Amateur Radio License and EMS Course https://superknova.org/technician-course/

General Amateur Radio License and EMS Course https://superknova.org/general-course/

You can also learn more by checking out their recent press release: https://public.nrao.edu/news/unlock-the-secrets-of-the-invisible-radio-universe-with-superknova/

EME Fall SSTV QSO Party

As mentioned at the recent EME Conference in NJ, K0PRT will be having the first Fall SSTV EME QSO Party on Saturday September 28th on 23cm. K0PRT will be in operation with the 60 foot dish and about 350 watts. Moonrise in Colorado will be at 3:00 AM (09:00 UTC) so we will be up very early to work EU. Moonset for us is 5:30PM or 23:30 UTC. We encourage as many stations as possible to get on SSTV that day. We will be using YONIQ Improved SSTV software – for those new to SSTV, YONIQ is not a new program, but a continuation and an update of the wonderful work done by JE3HHT called MMSSTV. So, it’s simply a version of the original software, which shares its GNU license as is the desire of its legitimate creator Makoto Mori.

The latest version of YONIQ is 1.13.3 and can be downloaded from YONIQ v1.13.3 (Thanks to Grupo Radio Galena). There is an English language UI version option in the software dropdowns.

Stations that hear K0PRT – please send us the pictures that you copy (also, if you can capture the audio file, please send that as well) to Paul Sobon sobonpaul(at)gmail.com. We will post as many of these pictures received as we can on the DSES web site.

We will be coordinating on HB9Q Logger. Suggested frequencies between 1296.120 – 1296.140

Looking forward to seeing you all on 23 cm.

Paul NO0T

Save the 30 foot Dish Update

The 30 Foot Dish and Pedestal have been safely removed from Ignacio, CO.

Read the progress reports here: 30 Foot Dish Progress Report and Unloading the Dish. Thanks to Elaine K0ARR for the excellent writeup and photos.

Paul NO0T took this video of the dish being removed from the Pedestal: Dish Removal

For more information about the project, and to make a donation read this post: Save the 30 Foot Dish Project

Next, the Dish and Pedestal components will be unloaded at the DSES Haswell, CO site. Plans are to install the Dish in the Spring of 2025.

Save the 30 foot Dish Project

The Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES), a 501 C(3) non-profit (K0PRT) is working to save a 30-foot EME dish which was built and used by Bruce K0YW who passed away last year. The 30-foot Kennedy EME dish is located in a remote area of SW Colorado near Ignacio and is scheduled to be torn down for metal scrap this July so that the property can be sold by Bruce’s XYL.

DSES is trying to raise donations to help pay for a crane and then transport the antenna 330 miles to their location near Haswell Colorado in SE Colorado and reinstall the dish. All donations received will help fund this dish removal, which includes crane rental, transportation, lodging and any associated cost in the reassembly process and re-mounting this dish back on the 25-foot tower secured to a large concrete foundation at the DSES Plishner Site in Southeast Colorado.

No amount is too small and DSES really appreciates your support. The plan is to rebuild and reinstall the dish late this year or early in 2025.

Click here to donate

DBUS Contest 2024

We are thrilled to announce that, once again, the Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES) has been invited to participate in the 2024 European Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) Contest sponsored by DUBUS and REF, set to commence on May 10 at 0000 UTC. This prestigious European contest, focusing on Continuous Wave (CW)/Single Side Band (SSB) communication, presents an exciting opportunity for our members to engage in Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communication with the international community.

Date Begin:    Friday, May 10, 2024, at 6 PM MST

Date End:       Sunday, May 12, 2024, at 1 PM MST

Location:       Paul Plishner Radio Astronomy and Space Sciences Center
9301 County Rd 20, Haswell CO 81045

Last year, our participation in the contest yielded remarkable results, with our members successfully contacting over 80 stations off the moon using our formidable 60-foot dish. In fact, our collective efforts secured us a remarkable 2nd place in this esteemed worldwide contest. Building upon this success, our goal this year is to surpass the number of contacts made and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to excellence in deep-space communication.

It’s important to note that the contest primarily occurs during daytime hours, aligning with the moon’s morning rise and facilitating communication with many European stations. Additionally, we anticipate Pacific and Asian EME contacts during the late afternoon and early evening hours. Moonset times are scheduled for 10:20 PM MST on Friday and 11:20 PM MST on Saturday evening, providing ample opportunities for engagement.

For those planning to join us, rustic overnight accommodation will be available in the new unfinished building. Please remember to bring your own sleeping bags and cot/air mattress. Alternatively, the Cobblestone Inn in Eads, CO, is available for those seeking more comfortable lodging. Reservations are necessary for accommodation at either location.

To facilitate our planning efforts, we kindly request interested participants to contact:

Vice President Marketing 
Paul Sobon, NOØT
Email: sobonpaul@gmail.com