🗓️ August 2025: ARRL EME Contest – 10 GHz Portable Weekend

During the weekend of 16–17 August I joined the ARRL EME Contest on 10 GHz, operating fully portable and battery powered. Despite the limitations of my small station, the results were very satisfying: 27 QSOs and 16 DXCC.

Below is a list of all QSOs completed during the first round of the contest:

The portable setup imposed some constraints. My battery capacity prevented me from staying on longer and working a few more stations. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the station performed. All contacts were completed with ease, and at times I even found myself in "mini-pileups", with three or four stations calling simultaneously.

I could not complete only with Petros SV3AAF, who had his equipment overheating in the hot weather. I also copied Ric CX2SC, but he was busy with the big guns, leaving me no window to call. Those will be challenges to revisit during the next leg of the contest.

All in all, it was an enjoyable and rewarding weekend, proving once again how much can be achieved on 10 GHz EME with a modest, battery-powered station.

🗓️ August 2025: 0.9m-1m dish balcony-moon-balcony 10 GHz EME QSO: SA5IKN - I6YPK

I am delighted to share a rather unusual 10 GHz EME QSO between Bruno, I6YPK (1 m dish / 25 W), and myself, SA5IKN (0.9 m dish / 27 W). What makes this contact special is not only the very small stations involved, but also the circumstances: both antennas were on balconies with restricted sky view. Bruno’s dish was mounted to balcony railings with a reasonably clear takeoff to the Moon, while my setup was completely indoors on a glazed balcony, beaming through an open window.

Attached is a collage showing photos of both stations and screenshots from the QSO. On my side, averaging was needed to complete the contact. I am fairly sure scattering and reflections shaved off a dB or two. Out portable I normally copy much better (as many of you saw during the contest), and I suspect I could have managed this one without averaging.

Bruno’s station is well optimised. He has also previously completed with Ivan, IZ0JNY, who uses a 1 m dish. Our contact was not scheduled and happened right after my random QSO with Hans, ON4CDU, who also runs a relatively small setup (1.2 m).

When I designed my 0.9 m / 27 W portable station, the goal was to build a station that could work its “twin” under normal conditions. This QSO confirms the design target has been met. The performance matches also theory very well (and I do love formulas and equations). If anyone out there is running an optimised station with a dish smaller than 90 cm, I am looking for you! My next challenge awaits.

🗓️ June 2025: IS0/HB9COG-SA5IKN: 10GHz EME portable-to-portable & 1st IS0-SM on 10GHz

I had a very memorable 10 GHz EME QSO with IS0/HB9COG - both of us operating fully portable setups. Portable-to-portable microwave moonbounce contacts are rare, and this one was particularly special: it was the first-ever 10 GHz QSO between Sweden (SM) and Sardinia (IS0).

My station was battery-powered, using a 90 cm dish and just 27 W at the feed. Automatic spatial polarisation offset tracking kept DPOL perfectly aligned throughout the QSO. Everything came together seamlessly. Huge thanks to the Q-Team and Dan HB9Q, for switching to Mode E for me.

On the same day, I also had the pleasure of working 18 other stations on 10 GHz EME. Not bad for a compact setup with a 90 cm dish, 0.6 dB NF LNA, and modest output power. See also the 432 and Above EME Newsletter.

🗓️ May 2025: ARRL Satellite DXCC update for SA5IKN: 184 SAT DXCC

A quick update on my Satellite DXCC progress: as of now, 184 entities have been awarded to SA5IKN. Over the past three years, I have worked a total of 201 SAT DXCC, though 5 or 6 of those are unlikely to QSL.

The remaining ones are confirmed with paper QSLs that still need to be double-checked and submitted to ARRL, so the chase is very much alive. Hitting the 200 confirmed mark feels both close and just out of reach.

That said, I am happy with the progress so far, especially as this is my second Satellite DXCC Award (I already hold one as M0SKN).

🗓️ May 2025: Easy and smooth 10GHz Moonbounce QSO with JA1WQF

On 3 March, I had a very enjoyable 10 GHz EME contact with Mitsuo JA1WQF, using split 10.368 GHz / 10.450 GHz. Mitsuo’s 2.4 m Cassegrain dish performs superbly. The spatial polarisation offset at the time was a convenient 90 degrees and the Doppler spread was at 108 Hz. Always a nice bonus to receive a custom q0 decode as the cherry on top. Also notable were the strong echoes from the Moon, especially considering I was using a compact, portable, battery-powered setup.

🗓️ April 2025: Prototype Completed: Automatic Spatial Polarisation Offset Adjustment System for portable 10GHz EME

Polarisation mismatch caused by Earth–Moon–Earth geometry can be significant, especially between certain geographical regions. For small, portable EME setups like mine, compensating for spatial polarisation offset (DPOL, as shown in WSJT-X), particularly beyond ±20–30 degrees, often makes the difference between completing a contact or not. The video below offers a look at how spatial polarisation tracking works with my portable 90 cm dish on 10 GHz EME. This is the first prototype of the system, where polarisation is adjusted manually via button presses on the M5Stack Core. The demo shows both 90-degree H–V transitions and fine 5-degree step adjustments. The finalised version now supports full ±180° polarisation control and real-time automatic tracking with 1-degree precision, based on DPOL predictions.

🗓️ March 2025: A small pile-up and audible 10 GHz EME QSO between G4RFR and SA5IKN (90cm, 27W)

On 2 March, I unexpectedly found myself in the spotlight of a small pile-up on 10 GHz EME, with 5–6 stations calling at times. This came as quite a surprise, given that my setup consisted of a modest 90 cm dish placed indoors on a glazed balcony, with only limited visibility of the sky. In fact, my original plan was simply to fine-tune the feed position. Signals from OZ1LPR and G4RFR were particularly strong, clearly audible through the speaker. The video captures the booming signal from G4RFR, thanks to their large ERP, and shows several of the worked calls as well. Once again, this confirms that successful moonbounce on 10 GHz is achievable even with compact, indoor setups. Looks to me as a rewarding outcome from what was intended to be just a quick test.

🗓️ February 2024: The 10GHz EME project progresses well

The 10 GHz EME project is progressing well and right on schedule. The feed block is nearly complete, with power output and return loss measurements already done and the results are looking good. The 60 W output isolator is also ready for installation. The system monitoring unit is nearly complete: all sensors are installed, including four temperature sensors, humidity, pressure, six isolated voltage measurement inputs (including one negative), and current sensors. Only a few final adjustments remain on the software side. Output power detectors are also calibrated. On the mechanical side, the tripod and a custom head designed to accommodate the SVH3 slew drive are ready. Moon tracking has been tested extensively and has held rock solid for a full week. Everything is coming together just as planned. Special thanks to Jean-Marie F6ETU, Sylvain F6CIS, Marcel F1GE, Jac PA3DZL, and Rainer DF6NA for their valuable input and support.

🗓️ August 2024: GreenCube IO-117 goes QRT after almost two remarkable years

In August, the GreenCube (IO-117) satellite experienced a series of reboots before its digipeater finally went silent, most likely due to prolonged radiation exposure in the Van Allen belts.

Originally intended for a short mission of just a few months, GreenCube far exceeded expectations by remaining operational for nearly two years. During its extended lifetime, it enabled over 1,500 amateur radio operators worldwide to make long-distance QSOs thanks to its unique Medium Earth Orbit, the first of its kind used by the amateur radio community (though some Highly Elliptical Orbit satellites existed in the past).

Personally, I found GreenCube to be a fantastic satellite to operate. I made over a thousand QSOs via IO-117, including contacts with DXCCs that would have been out of reach via other orbits. Chasing rare DX at 4 a.m. became an oddly enjoyable ritual (hi hi). The photo shows my portable IO-117 setup during one of those early-morning sessions.

🗓️ May 2024: My new portable, battery-powered 144MHz EME system with 2x9el Yagi

Successfully completed testing of my portable, battery-powered EME system. The setup uses 2×9-element Yagis stacked for a maximum gain of 17.1 dBi while maintaining excellent G/T performance. Total deployment time is under one hour, and the entire system, including transceiver, batteries, antennas, and all accessories, weighs under 30 kg.

🗓️ May 2024: 1st tripple SAT WAZ in the World and 1st SAT WAZ in Ireland

Just received my third SAT WAZ Award — this time as EI6KC, marking the first SAT WAZ ever distributed in Ireland. I already hold a special WAZ plaque for being the first globally to earn two SAT WAZ Awards, as SA5IKN (#40) and M0SKN (#92). Should I order another plaque now? Hi-hi.

🗓️ April 2024: 1.5 years of IO-117 as captured by GreenCube Observer

🛰️ IO-117 #GreenCube digipeater's year-and-a-half activity, as captured by GreenCube Observer and SatNOGS: https://dxer.site/greencube-observer.html 📊 GreenCube Statistics is here: https://dxer.site/greencube-io117-statistics-dxcc.html

🗓️ November 2023: 432MHZ EME QSO with Toshio JA6AHB using a single yagi and battery power

Made a successful Earth-Moon-Earth contact last night on 432 MHz with Toshio, JA6AHB, portable and QRP, in -3°C and humid conditions. I was running a battery-powered Yaesu FT-818 at 90 W into a 23-element 8.3 WL Yagi. Thanks to great patience on both ends, we made it through.

Then, to my surprise, the next morning brought two beautiful QSL cards straight from the mailbox, confirming two other memorable QRP EME contacts: one with Allan, VK4EME, on 432 MHz, and the other with Bernie, ZS4TX, on 144 MHz. Both were made using the same FT-818, with single Yagis (8.3 WL & 2.3 WL), fully portable and battery-powered.

🗓️ October 2023: 1st Australia-Sweden satellite QSO since the AO-10, AO-13 & AO-40 era

The first Australia–Sweden satellite QSO since the days of AO-10, AO-13, and AO-40 took place tonight via IO-117 (GreenCube). Mark, VK6PY, overcame a series of technical challenges, including a damaged antenna that was run over by a truck, and still managed to complete the contact successfully. A great example of persistence and dedication in our hobby. It was a pleasure to work Mark.

🗓️ August 2023: 1st WAS Satellite in Sweden

The 1st WAS Satellite in Sweden looks like this. Thank you all who made it happen.

🗓️ July 2023: SA5IKN receives World's 1st double Satellite WAZ

Mail call - World #1 Double WAZ Satellite Award SA5IKN & M0SKN - Immensely grateful to the WAZ Manager Jose N4BAA and CQ Magazine for this unique award.

🗓️ June 2023: Hawaii are finally in my satellite log

Hawaii are finally in my satellite log. New State, DXCC and WAZ, all thanks to KH6WI operating from a scenic beach. And what a wonderful Swedish night for operating IO-117 portable - the sun doesn’t set.

🗓️ April 2023: LEO Satellite Observer is here

LEO Satellite Observer is here. It and can: - plot FM and Linear stations with different markers - plot your maximum range & CQ zones - predict passes in one click with SatMatch - display upcoming roves via HamsAt

🗓️ January 2023: Pushing to the limit: 2 70cm EME QSOs using 3el Yagi and 2 QSOs on a 15el Yagi

Pushing the limits on 70 cm EME: I first worked Bernd DL7APV using my regular GreenCube setup, which uses a short (2.3WL) 15-element Yagi and 30 W of power. On another day, feeling adventurous, I decided to challenge the system further by switching to my LEO setup. This normally uses a 7-element Arrow antenna on 70 cm, but for this test, I reduced it to just 3 elements. Despite the minimal configuration, I successfully completed a QSO with DL7APV on 60 and then 30W, and even managed to work UA3PTW using the same stripped-down setup. It is worth noting that while I am not the smallest station DL7APV has ever worked (he once completed a QSO with a dipole), I am the smallest station known to have worked UA3PTW.

🗓️ December 2022: 2nd Satellite DXCC received

Another milestone reached: I have just received my second Satellite DXCC Award — #421 as SA5IKN. This comes only nine months after earning Award #385 as M0SKN. Based on the ARRL DXCC Standings, I appear to be the second person (after OG7D/AD7D) to receive two separate Satellite DXCC Awards under different callsigns and from two different DXCC.

🗓️ November 2022: WAZ Satellite Award #40 - 1st in Sweden

I am delighted to have received the WAZ Satellite Award #40 — and especially proud to be the first to bring this prestigious and challenging satellite award to Sweden.

🗓️ May 2022: QO-100 setup without a dish. Yes, it is possible!

How portable can a QO-100 station be? In FT8 mode — extremely portable. This ultraportable setup runs under 100 mW (note the 3 dB attenuator) and is powered by a 5000 mAh battery that lasts an entire day. No dish is used, yet the system has already enabled 486 FT8 QSOs from JO89, Sweden.

🗓️ January 2022: M0SKN Satellite DXCC Award

Received my M0SKN Satellite DXCC Certificate. Achieved in 9.5 months from central London, Notting Hill, IO91VM. All portable via both LEO (10) sats and QO-100. Immensely grateful to the brilliant (and patient) amateur satellite community!