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

DSES at Recent Events

Bill WT0DX represented DSES at three recent ham radio events: The CSVHF Conference, the Rocky Mountain Division Convention and the Denver Radio Club Hamfest. In each case, a posterboard display was set up, site videos were displayed, and club brochures were handed out. The upcoming Open House was also promoted.

CSVHF Conference

The annual CSVHF conference was held July 27-30 in Little Rock, AR. There were about 150 participants. The posterboard display was set up in the main meeting room and the Friday night swap room. In addition to talking about the club, several folks said they were interested in attending the Open House.

Rocky Mountain Division Convention

The Rocky Mountain Division Convention was held August 11-13 in Albuquerque, NM. They provided a free table for clubs in the swap meet area. There were about 400 attendees, and many interesting conversations. Unfortunately, many of the folks thought that the DSES site was too far away for an Open House visit.


Bill also had an opportunity to discuss DSES with David Minster NA2AA the CEO of ARRL. He was unaware of the club but found it very interesting.

Denver Radio Club Hamfest

The Denver Radio Club Hamfest was held on Sunday August 27th at the Adams County Fairgrounds. This is a well-attended hamfest and we had many good conversations about the club, with quite a bit of interest in the Open House. Also, Paul NO0T managed to secure a great donation to the club of several HF Yagi antennas.

Changing the antenna feed for Moon Bounce

Photos courtesy of Glenn Davis. Text by Bill Miller.

On Friday afternoon October 14, 2022, we prepared the 60-foot dish antenna for the weekend’s Moonbounce communications operations in the ARRL EME contest.

Glen Davis updated the tracking software, checked the callibration of the mount and helped as ground crew and photographer. Meanwhile Ray Uberecken and Bill Miller climbed the scaffold and changed the feed from the 437 Mhz antenna to the 1296Mhz antenna.  They also installed Ray’s 180 watt amplifier at the antenna feed point and checked the system reception from Ray’s Calhan residence beacon.