"In this form of contact the signals are reflected from an ionised
area 90 to 120 kilometres above the surface of the earth. I have been
having contacts by this method for about 18 years now even before the
advent of SSB on two metres. I have had contacts with England and
with Moscow to the north-east of Athens. The phenomenon occurs for
three or four months during the summer, and never during the winter.
The ionisation moves very rapidly sometimes--you may be talking to a
station in Malta and he suddenly disappears and a station in
Yugoslavia comes up on the same frequency."
"Every summer" George continued, "we get Troposcatter which allows
communication on all frequencies from VHF to 10 GHz even. This type of
propagation occurs during certain special meteorological conditions,
like high barometric pressure and extreme heat. We sometimes hear
stations in Malta and Sicily with very loud signals."
"In 1966 I built an aerial array consisting of 8 nine-element
Yagis for 2 metres with the axis of rotation pointing to the North
Star enabling me to track the Moon automatically. I was hoping to
make some Moonbounce contacts, but at that time it was very difficult
to construct low noise preamplifiers. After many days and hours of
trying I managed a single brief contact with F8DO in France. Some
time later I heard that Mike Staal K6MYC had heard me in California.
"The funny thing about this aerial array was that it enabled me to
receive television signals from Nigeria on Channel 3 but only when I
raised it up to an elevation of nearly 90 degrees."
Norman: "I understand that Costas Georgiou SV1OE is the only Greek
amateur who has had successful QSOs via Moonbounce."
George: "Yes indeed. But it was many years later, using a low
noise GASFET preamplifier. K1WHS in the U.S.A. has an array
consisting of 48 Yagis which enable him to contact stations with more
modest installations.
"In 1970 a technician from Stanford University came to Athens
because the tracking station they had set up on Mount Pendeli could
not pick the University's satellite, whereas they were getting good
signals from it in Spain. One of the assistants at the station told
the American that he knew an amateur who could pick up signals from
satellites, meaning me. The American, who happened to be an amateur
himself, immediately asked to see me. When he saw my 8 antenna array
he suggested we should use it to try and pick up the University
satellite. I pointed out to him that my array was for 144 MHz whereas
the satellite beacon was transmitting on 136 MHz. He gave me the
coordinates for the next pass and I rotated and raised my array in
anticipation. When the exact time arrived my modest receiver picked
up the satellite beacon loud and clear. The American got so excited he
asked me if he could use my telephone to call the University in the
U.S.A. He told them the satellite had been heard at last in Athens,
and by an amateur no less. Later I received a letter from NASA
thanking me for the assistance I had given. When the American left he
gave me that 50 MHz converter you can see there on the shelf."
Norman: "Tell me about your contribution to the transequatorial
tests of 1979."
SV1AB: "I had been in regular contact with ZS6LN on ten metres
long before Costas SV1DH appeared on the scene. I remember asking
ZS6LN why we should not receive South African stations on 2 metres
when we could hear them so well on 50 MHz. He had replied that the
two frequencies behaved in a very different manner, but there was no
harm in trying. He got ZS6PW and ZS6DN interested in the idea,
particularly ZS6DN who had much better aerials and a very good QTH.
He was the one who stood the better chance of being heard in Greece.
We arranged a schedule of transmitting and listening every evening.
First they transmitted and we listened, and then we transmitted and
they listened, and contact was maintained on ten metres."
Norman: "You said 'every evening'--do you mean that the Sun has
something to do with this type of propagation?"
George: "Most certainly. All the contacts that were made
subsequently were at least one hour after the relevant part of the
ionosphere was in darkness."
George then described how the first signals were heard via
transequatorial propagation.
George: "First we heard the beacon on 144.160 MHz set up by Ray
Cracknell ZE2JV in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The date was
April 12th 1978 at 18.00 G.M.T. Ten months later I heard ZS6DN's
automatic beacon with a colossal signal, but he was not at home! I
went to 20 metres and put out a frantic CQ for any station in South
Africa but got no reply. I returned to the cross-band frequency on 10
metres which we used regularly for 28/50 MHz QSOs and managed to
contact a station in South Africa who was very far away from ZS6DN but
who kindly offered to QSP a message by telephone. He was told that
ZS6DN had gone out but would be back soon. I was terrified that the
opening would not last long enough. But in a few minutes I heard him
calling me slowly on CW and we exchanged reports at 17.20 G.M.T on
February 16th 1979. This was a new world record for the longest
distance on 2 metres.
"Three days earlier, however, when I was not at home, Costas SV1DH
had established the first TEP contact between Greece and South Africa
when he contacted ZS6DN. As you know, my location is a mere 10
kilometres north of SV1DH's. I have a tape recording of my QSO with
ZS6DN as well as with ZS6PW whose signals came through a few minutes
later at 17.34 G.M.T. on that historic evening.(The local time in
Athens was 7.34 p.m.).Of course the distance record was broken again
on September 17th 1981 when I contacted ZS4BU who is 110 kilometres
further south than ZS6DN."