THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO
 
 ***MOONBOUNCE COMMUNICATION***
 
 
By: KK6FAH
Jimmy Blanchette
ve2bmc@me.com
 

 
  IMPORTANT UPDATE !!!
 
INTRODUCING
 
*** Triangular Array Rotatable Polarity ***
 
"TARP" 
 
- Combining the Power of Rotatable Polarity to a Revolutionary Array Design -  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FEATURING: 
 
==> Ultra-clean radiation pattern of exceptional purity
==> Extremely quiet, ideal solution for ultra-weak signal operation, even in very noisy environments
==> Full range polarity rotation flexibility from 0-360 degrees
==> Capable of defeating both Faraday Rotation and Non-Reciprocity
==> Maximum performance on TX and RX without any compromise
==> Every TX watt is utilized in the most effective way without being wasted due to polarity mismatch
==> Extremely portable design, antenna base can be setup at very low heights above the ground
==> Rear mounting favors clean radiation pattern as mounting material is behind the reflector element
==> Fully automated setup enabling a host of possibilities and direct interactions with WSJT 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Purchase your copy of DUBUS Q4-2016 today to find out everything
about TARP construction details and performance characteristics!
 

 
*** WATCH TARP IN ACTION ***
 
 
 
 
 
YouTube Link:
https://youtu.be/23srnJMwi-s
 
***WARNING: For Best Video Resolution, it is critical to select 1080p HD resolution in the youtube "settings".
 

 
 LATEST POSTINGS:
(Complete menu of sections available at the bottom of the page) 
 
December 18 - 2016: AUDIBLE MOON ECHOS USING TARP AND 250 WATTS AT ANTENNA FEED POINTS (SECTION 54) 
 
December 12 - 2016: TARP EXTREME MOON ECHO EXPERIMENT USING ONLY 25 WATTS AT ANTENNA FEED POINTS (SECTION 53) 
 
December 02 - 2016: INTRODUCING: TRIANGULAR ARRAY ROTATABLE POLARITY "TARP" (SECTION 52) 
 
 

 MY RADIO STATION:

- Radio: ICOM 746PRO with High Stability Crystal
- EME Array: 3X13 "TARP" (Triangular Array Rotatable Polarity)
- Power: 2X 2M-1K2 Spatially Combined 1500 watts in JT65
- Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP): ~150,000 watts
- Polarity Automation System PLC & Application: ND0B
- Preamp: SP144VDG Preamp (0.5 dB NF)
- 2 MHZ DCI Bandpass Filters
- FunCube Dongle Pro+
- MAP65 + WSJT V10
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today's Space Weather:

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
MENU OF THE SECTIONS:
(click on the section title link below to access the desired page)
 
 
Section 1: My First 2X8 RPOL Design
Section 2: Upgrade to 2X11 RPOL
Section 3: Faraday Polarity Rotation Experiment
Section 4: RX Polarization Optimization Experiment
Section 5: Echo Mode in WSJT
Section 6: Retrofit to 2X12 RPOL
Section 7: Extreme Case of Non-Reciprocity
Section 8: EME QSO with DL1VPL running a 12-element Single Yagi and 750 watts
Section 9: Decodes from an Ultra Low ERP Station 8-element Single Yagi and 500 watts
Section 10: Upgrade to 2X14 RPOL !
Section 11: Gallery of EME QSO with Low ERP Stations
Section 12: Impact of Polarization on Noise Level (part 1)
Section 13: High Noise Degrade Experiment
Section 14: Impact of Polarization on Noise Level (part 2)
Section 15: EME QSO with FW5JJ located in Wallis and Futuna Islands
Section 16: Impact of Polarization on Noise Level (part 3)
Section 17: EME Antenna Performance versus Resonant Frequency
Section 18: Eyeball QSO with my Friend Rick, WA6RAI
Section 19: KK6FAH Rotatable Polarity Design being Automated
Section 20: KK6FAH / ND0B Automated RPOL System Completed !
Section 21: Noise Polarity Diversity
Section 22: Non-Reciprocal QSO with ZL1HD using the "DPOL" feature
Section 23: Is "MNR" an Absolute and Accurate Measure of Maximum Non-Reciprocity?
Section 24: Non-Reciprocal QSO with ZF2EM
Section 25: Moon Echo Project (part 1): Objectives and Initial Results
Section 26: Moon Echo Project (part 2): Echo Experiment at High Degrade of -5.9 dB
Section 27: Moon Echo Project (part 3): Echo Experiment at Very High Degrade of -11.3 dB
Section 28: Moon Echo Project (part 4): Single Yagi to Single Yagi Moon Echo Experiment
Section 29: Single Yagi 13-Element RPOL LFA Optimized for RX Operation - Latest Performance Update
Section 30: Can EME QSO's still be made under Extremely High Degrade Conditions?
Section 31: Advantages of Rear Mounted Configuration and Low Antenna Height for EME Work
Section 32: How to Build your own Rear Mounted Rotatable Polarity Antenna in 2 Minutes
Section 33: The Creator of DDUtil goes RPOL
Section 34: Rotatable Polarity, a Powerful Capability to Greatly Minimize Unwanted Man-Made Noise
Section 35: The Ultimate Challenge, 16-Element RPOL!
Section 36: 16-Element RPOL retrofitted into a 17-Element
Section 37: Moon Echo Tests using the new 17-Element RPOL
Section 38: Using Moon Echos to Evaluate the Quality of the EME Conditions
Section 39: Supermoon Eclipse yields outstanding EME Conditions
Section 40: RX Antenna upgraded to a 2x13 RPOL LFA Array
Section 41: RX Antennas Performance Comparison: 1x13 vs. 2X13 RPOL LFA
Section 42: Beware of Potential Noise Routed through the Soundcard
Section 43: Moonbounce Conditions Modeling - Project Launch
Section 44: WSJT Decode Experiment - Part 1
Section 45: EME Station Update & RX Performance Evaluation 
Section 46: Galactic Noise Experiment - Part 1 
Section 47: Sun Noise Blues
Section 48: New RPOL Backyard Setup
Section 49: Galactic Noise Experiment - Part 2
Section 50: Station Update: 2X14 Array Decommissioned
Section 51: How Dynamic are the EME Conditions Year-Over-Year? What to expect in 2016-2017 and Beyond...
Section 52Introducing "TARP": Triangular Array Rotatable Polarity 
Section 53TARP Extreme Moon Echo Experiment using only 25 watts at the Antenna Feed Points\
Section 54Audible Moon Echos using TARP and 250 watts at Antenna Feed Points 
 
 


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  By: KK6FAH
Last update: May 16, 2021
 

?BIOGRAPHY 

 

I was raised on a farm land in Northern Quebec, Canada, where there was not much technology around. I naturally became interested in Amateur Radio at the very early age of 10-12 years old. That was a great way for me to "get out" of my small town and connect to the universe.

At 12 years old, I was having much fun bouncing 27MHZ radio waves off the "Aurora Curtains" (also called Northern Lights), which were extremely spectacular at times as I was located at high latitude in the Northern Hemisphere. It was amazing to me that by beaming my 3-element Yagi antenna towards the aurora I could realize 2-way communications. My interest quickly accelerated from there and I decided to study to obtain my Amateur Radio License. I enjoyed practicing morse code using a "stapler", which I had modified and turned into a CW keyer. I ended up passing my Advanced radio license in 1990, I was 15 years old at the time. From that point on, I remained active on HF for the most part of my Amateur Radio career. 

In the spring of 2013, there was a major turning point in my Amateur Radio journey after reading an article on the internet about "Moonbounce", also known as Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communication. I became immediately interested by the challenge. Moonbounce or EME is a radio communication technique which relies on bouncing massive beams of radio waves off the surface of the Moon in order to establish a 2-way communication with another station located somewhere else on the planet. In other words, the Moon is effectively used as a "passive reflector". Generally, the signals coming back from the moon are so weak that they are not even audible by the human ears, so highly effective digital modes of communication and sophisticated equipment are employed in order to detect these ultra weak signals that are buried in the background noise on the return path.

The concept behind this and the technical challenge involved was so astonishing to me that there was "no way" in the World that I would not try to meet this exciting challenge! As an example of the unique nature of this technique, more people have actually attempted to climb the Mount Everest than people have successfully made 2-way communication via Moonbounce, so the technical challenge cannot be understated. I quickly learned all the available theory about EME and started putting my setup together and got on the air. I ended up making my first Moonbounce contact on the 2m band in May of 2013. That was the beginning of an extraordinary and exciting journey. 

After a little while, I quickly realized that in order for my station to be most Efficient and Effective, I needed to find a way to mitigate against the negative impacts of Faraday Polarity Rotation and Non-Reciprocity. I started designing Rotatable POLarity (RPOL) systems, which completely transformed my experience with EME communication and made it even more enjoyable.

Further down below a few videos of my first RPOL systems. Over the following months, I kept improving my home made antennas and RPOL designs and decided to document every part of my experience on this website so the Amateur Radio community could benefit from my experiences and passion for the hobby. I hope that this website will be useful to the newbees and to the more experienced Moonbouncers who may become interested in exploring Rotatable Polarity capability.

As of today, I have completed over 650 two-way communications via Moonbounce and I am still having a blast every second I spend doing it. The satisfaction and excitement going into making a 2-way contact by bouncing digital codes off the surface of the Moon is hard to described but the experience is very intense. Of equal excitement to me is my own personal quest of trying to advance the science of the key phenomena behind Moonbounce communication and trying to find simple and elegant solutions to the technical challenges that are at play.  


 
VIDEO GALLERY OF SOME "KK6FAH" REAR MOUNTED ROTATABLE POLARITY ANTENNA SYSTEMS
 

My first prototypes which got me started with RPOL (1x8 and 2x8 array respectively):

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

 

 

 

More recent constructions (2X11 and 1X14 respectively):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Finally... TARP!

 

*** WATCH TARP IN ACTION ***
 
 
 
 
 
YouTube Link:
https://youtu.be/23srnJMwi-s
 
***WARNING: For Best Video Resolution, it is critical to select 720p HD resolution in the youtube "settings" at bottom right of the player. The 360p default setting won't yield good enough resolution to see the details. It will take several seconds before the High Resolution kicks in, so you will need to restart the video from the beginning when the High Resolution is active and select to view the video in "Full Screen Mode" for best experience...***