EME TRIAL 9 March 2012 0030z to 0300z!! We finally have enough pieces to try EME in a few hours. Operation will be on 144.141 Mhz using my callsign (ZP9EH) from the Encarnacion Radio CLub (GG22BQ). I will transmitting on the even minutes (I think). We are set up tonite with my Icom 910H driving a TEC solid state amp at 250 watts output to a pair of M2 9 element yagis horizontally polarized. Rotator is a Yaesu 5400B AZ-EL. We are all beginners down here although I have about 150 QSOs on JT65-HF. We will be trying especially hard to work the guys who have been helping us: Gary KB8RQ at 0030z, Dave W5UN at 0130z and Mike K6MYC of M2 Antennas at 0300z.

Greetings from Hohenau, Itapua, in southeast Paraguay. If you worked me, congratulations . . . you must have good ears and a good signal! You didn't get much help from my end.

The 2011 Dayton Hamvention and the Contest University were great! I enjoyed meeting many of you personally. Now back to the grind with hopes of improving my contest scores. My post-hamfest upgrades include a Yamaha CM500 headset, a CWTouchkeyer, and a new laptop to replacing my 10 year old Toshiba. I have begun JT65 operation at 20 watts.

What a birthday (in 2010)! My new rig (replacing my 20 year old FT-757) is an Elecraft K3! The antenna is a 20 meter vertical (just a wire taped to a fiberglass fishing pole). It worked so well I added a 15m wire to it, and now a 10 meter wire as well. With 5 radials I can load it on all bands from 30 meters up to 10 meters!

If you worked me prior to 2007 I was in Encarnacion. In 2007/2008 I was in Loma Plata in the Chaco region. My first day from Hohenau was February 18th, 2010, just in time for the ARRL CW contest.

My five months of operation in 2009 from the apartment in Asuncion resulted in 927 QSOs with 110 countries: 80 on CW, 60 on RTTY, and 52 on PSK. The 36 foot CF Zepp worked better than I expected!

I will confirm all QSOs by LoTW, eQSL, or with a card from my manager Gert K5WW. I upload my log about every two weeks. Please do not send anything to me direct. No QSLs to the ZP buro please . . . due to postage increases the ZP buro no longer sends cards out.

If you are visiting Paraguay please let me know and we can visit in person and drink terere! You are always welcome. In 2012 I am celebrating 52 years on the air! 73, de Steve ZP9EH/W9CPI