Mitsuo Kasai, JA1WQF, successfully decoded a 47 GHz signal bounced off the moon on February 10 by Al Ward, W5LUA. More tests are planned. Ward posted news of the achievement on the Moon-Net email reflector. “These were one-way tests, with only me transmitting,” he said in his post.

“I started out by sending single tones to Mitsuo, which he copied well, and then sent several sequences of calls and grid. Mitsuo was able to decode calls and my grid at 1146 UTC and 1234 UTC. Signal levels were –23 dB and –25 dB.” Ward noted that the first EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) contact on 47 GHz took place in early 2005.

“More 47 GHz tests are being run in the next few days with Manfred, DL7YC,” Ward said. “We hope for similar success.”