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www.southgatearc.org
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Arecibo Coverage MapsRuss, K2TXB has made available coverage maps for the Arecibo 432.045 MHz EME transmissions from Puerto Rico on April 16-18. He writes: It seems to me that there are a lot of guys asking questions about the Arecibo operation, wanting to know if and when they can work them. So I have put up three pages on my web site that show the ground coverage that the Arecibo dish will have on each of the days of operation. The first three links will show you the times and coverage for each of the three days. Generally the moon will be high in the sky when you can work them, so you should expect to build up some sort of temporary support structure that will allow you to aim your antenna up and manually position it to point at the moon. Ideally the support structure should be as low to the ground as possible and still allow the back of the antenna to clear the earth when pointed up. If you can see the Moon, all it will take is a visual aiming. Lay on your back under the antenna and sight along the boom to verify that the boom is pointed straight at the Moon. For short antennas this is not very critical and generally within 10-20 degrees will work. If you cannot see the Moon (due to cloud cover) then you need a program to tell you where the Moon is, from your location at the current time. Then you will need a way to measure and set the elevation and the azimuth of the antenna. Elevation can be measured easily with a level and a protractor, or a simple gravity operated inclinometer such as sold for a few dollars in most any hardware store. Azimuth can be measured with a compass, but make sure you take into account the offset in your area between true north and magnetic north. An easy way to determine how much offset you need for your compass headings is to see how much difference there is between your compass heading and the location of the Sun. Any Moon program will also show Sun locations so this is easy. The web pages that I put up are Q&D (Quick and Dirty). Maybe I will enhance them with a little more information in the coming days.
Very 73, Moon-Net Email reflector Arecibo on 432 MHz Moon Bounce April 16-18
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