| Historia komunikacji Zemia - Księżyć - Ziemia (EME) dyletantowi Czerepakowi Miszy dedykuję Wyśmiany system anten przez dyletanta Miszę Czerep |
| Current state Even though the professional use of lunar communication declined with the advent of man-made satellites, the practice increased and is still very popular among amateur radio enthusiasts around the world. The barrier– to–entry has furthermore been lowered during the years, not least with the introduction of advanced digital communication modes such as JT65 by Joe Taylor (K1JT). However, this does by no means imply that the level of ambition has declined among EME amateurs. On the contrary, limits are constantly being pushed as new technology emerges: Software defined radio (SDR) technology is in regular use and evolving, opening up a multitude of possibilities previously unseen, modern microwave technology is continuously being explored, gradually increasing transmitter as well as receiver performance, computer simulation software is employed, resulting in better antennas and circuit design, advanced digital communication modes keep appearing, mechanical construction capabilities are improving and so on. These advances have enabled radio amateurs to make EME contacts at frequencies ranging from 50 MHz up to no less than 47 GHz and echoes have been received as high up as 77 GHz. In March 2009 radio amateurs in Germany were even able to detect 2.4 GHz echoes from signals they bounced off Venus Due to the technical challenges involved in EME communication, it should come as no surprise that some radio amateurs take their hobby very seriously, spending an incredible amount of time and money on building and improving their systems. An example of this, though certainly not an isolated one, which shows a 144 MHz antenna array belonging to Alexander ‘Sam’ Dubovtsev (R7AB) in Krasnodar, Russia Regardless of where ones level of ambition lies, EME communication offers a great opportunity to develop a good understanding of complex communication systems, involving skills from fields such as electrical, mechanical and computer engineering. |