** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. HAARP Moonbounce experiment came thru well
here, rather to my surprise. Jan 19 at 0510 UT tune-in, 6792.5 had 2-second
carriers as promised from Gakona, but the echoes were almost as strong, making
me think at first that something went awry. Further monitoring showed that the
strength of the echoes varied greatly, sometimes not audible for several
minutes, usually quite a bit weaker than the originals, but still audible. This
was on the FRG-7 with usual mostly E-W longwire of 30 meters or so. S-meter was
pretty constant at S9+20 at the local noise level, with HAARP barely deflecting
it further.
At 0523 I went outside with the DX-398 portable with whip only to see if I
could at least get Gakona and confirm the frequency. Not only did I hear that,
but the echoes too --- standing there under the bright gibbous Moon. Hello,
Moon! I have rarely felt so close to you. The reduced noise level made up for
the reduced antenna. Yes, 6792.5 kHz.
Back inside, Gakona was not heard around 0528-0530, pause in transmission or
propagation? Again heard at 0530, but some other pulse QRM was especially bad
at 0531-0533. Thruout, there was occasional QRM from other utility noises, and
SSB on the low side.
At 0548 was hearing Gakona only, not the echoes; by 0552 the echoes again
became just barely audible. I wonder if the wide variation in echo strength was
solely a funxion of terrestrial ionospheric factors, or were the signals
focused tightly on the Lunar surface so that different parts of it reflected
differently. What is the Lunar albedo, anyway at 7 MHz? What was the ERP of
these transmissions? Did it vary during the hour?
Transmission ceased at 0559:30, no doubt to switch frequency to 7407.5. I
listened there for two minutes in the skirts of the Dentro Cuban Jamming
Command and Radio MartÃ, but did not hear Gakona or echoes. This was certainly
an enjoyable exercise; otherwise listening to beeps every 5 seconds would have
quickly become boring (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
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