Why EME?

To paraphrase JFK, ‘We choose to bounce radio off the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard…’ It is as much for the challenge as it is for making the contacts. To make any EME contacts is non-trivial. To make many is a real challenge. To make many EME contacts, move the whole station, and do it again is a seemingly insurmountable set of challenges.

This entry is backdated to the date that the seeds of my EME yearning sprouted. I credit the Southeastern VHF Society 2001 Conference as that moment. I did not attend. I was driving to Chicago from Atlanta with my wonderful wife (N9KHC) and first child (KK4JJT). We stopped on the drive for a few minutes to say hello to friends at the conference. We couldn’t stay! I sorely wanted too, but we had many people traveling into the Chicago area to meet up with us for the baptism of Claire, our oldest daughter. I did manage to buy a copy of the proceedings.

Oh what wonders were in those proceedings! Some of the presentations that piqued my interest:

  • EME Basics, by Bob McGraw, K4TAX
  • 23cm EME, by Bruce Clark, K0YW & Jay Liebermann, K5JL
  • 50 MHz Eleceraft K2 with Internal DEMI (transverter), and VP2M DXpedition, by Dick Hansen, K5AND (When Dick decided to sell that K2 it became mine. Thank you Dick!)
  • 222 EME, by Ray Rector, WA4NJP

Oh my! 222 EME. That last one really clicked. But as time went on, I wanted to do it the hard way. I wanted to do 222 EME roving. I never did do it. Two more children, lots of work travel and the rest of a busy life got in the way. I did start collecting parts and equipment. I justified it by using much of the 222 gear to improve the station used for W4NH contest efforts. That was my start.