After 27 years of Amateur Radio, I am finally coming close to acheiving a long time goal. To operate a trailer mounted 1296Mhz EME System in front of club groups to promote for what has become for me, many years of learning and enjoyment. Currently I am working on assembling all the needed electronics.

Construction started around October of 1998, when my friend, Tom Withers, N8HCC had some time to fabricate a trailer mounted dish mount. We started first with a frame from a portable sign trailer that I purchased for $25. To get it home, I employed "bungy cords" to affix it to the rear bumper of the car. Next Tom welded a section to the front, added a proper hitch, added a new suspension and axle, and most of all designed and fabricated what we call the missle. (The dish support mount) We call it the missle because the gussets near the bottom look like fins from a small rocket. We also needed to keep the trailer road legal, so the mount employs a small winch to raise and lower the dish from operating height to road riding height. Before we mounted the missle, we added a deck made from 2" x 8" TG x 14 foot long boards. Tom also is responsible for the feedhorn mounting ring. A precise 6.75" diameter ring to support the WD5AGO circular polarized feedhorn. Thanks again Tom, this project would not have happened without you! By the way, Tom does small fabrication projects, so you might want to email him at: Tom, N8HCC

Enjoy these pictures and my System Diagram. Further descriptions of key components follow below.

With the recent success of Bob Larkin W7PUA, Ernie W7LHL, and Larry W7SZ with low power EME contacts using the DSP-10 hardware and software, it is still TBD how many watt solid state amplifier I will be using. Below I have placed some helpfull links, as well as three very hard to find schematic & manual files.

Microwave Modules MMT 28 -144 Schematic
Microwave Modules MMT 28 - 432 Schematic & Manual
Microwave Modules MMT 144 - 1296 Schematic & Manual

Prinz RF Components, Including Low Cost Solid State Amplifier Kits
DSP-10 Digital Signal Processing Transceiver Homepage
EME, SETI, Radio Astronomy, DSP, & Radio Amateurs
KB2AH 1296MHz Equipment Homepage


LAST UPDATE December 12, 2002

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