EME Moonbounce Equipment: What You Actually Need to Hear Your Echo

The first time I heard my own signal come back from the moon — 2.5 seconds later, ghostly and weak, buried in noise — I understood why people spend $20,000 on antenna systems and stay up until 3 AM tracking the moon across the sky. EME is ham radio's most demanding mode. The path loss is staggering: approximately 252 dB on 2 meters. That's your signal traveling 500,000 miles round-trip, bouncing off a rock.

Street prices in this article were checked in August 2026 and move around; verify with a dealer such as HRO, DX Engineering, or GigaParts before you buy.

But here's the thing: in 2024, you don't need a contest-grade station to make EME contacts. WSJT-X modes (JT65, Q65) have lowered the threshold dramatically. Let me walk through what's actually required by band.

Understanding the EME Link Budget

Before buying anything, understand what you're fighting:

Path loss (approximate):

• 144 MHz: 252 dB
• 432 MHz: 261 dB
• 1296 MHz: 271 dB
• 2304 MHz: 276 dB
• 10 GHz: 289 dB

To close this link budget, you need gain on both ends (antenna), power (transmitter), and sensitivity (low-noise receiver). The three are interchangeable in the equation — double your antenna gain and you can cut power in half for the same result.

Minimum station for JT65/Q65 EME on 2 meters:

• ~18 dBd antenna gain (pair of long Yagis)
• 500W+ output power
• 0.5 dB or better noise figure preamp at the antenna
• Good receiver (IC-9700, IC-7300 with transverter, TS-2000)

Minimum for CW EME on 2 meters:

• ~22-24 dBd (four long Yagis or a large dish)
• 1500W
• 0.3 dB preamp
• Excellent receiver

Band-by-Band Requirements

144 MHz (2 Meters) — The Entry Point

Most EME activity happens here. Most beginners start here. The path loss is lowest and equipment is readily available.

Antenna options:

• 2 × M2 2M18XXX (~18 dBd): The classic minimum system. Two 18-element Yagis stacked vertically. Total boom length about 24 feet each. This works for JT65/Q65.
• 4 × long Yagis (~21 dBd): Serious capability. CW EME possible with good power. H-frame or X-configuration.
• Single long Yagi (14-15 dBd): Marginal for digital EME. You'll complete contacts with the biggest stations but not random CQ.

Power:

• Minimum: 300-500W for digital with 18 dBd antenna
• Competitive: 1-1.5 kW with 4-Yagi array
• Amplifiers: LDMOS solid-state (W6PQL design, 144 MHz, 1 kW) or older tube amps (8877, 3CX800A7)

Preamp: This is THE critical component. Your receiver's noise figure with the stock front end is maybe 3-5 dB. A mast-mounted preamp drops this to 0.3-0.5 dB. The difference is 3-5 dB of signal — the difference between decoding and not.

Recommended preamps:

• SSB Electronic SP-2000 (0.3 dB NF)
• Down East Microwave (DEM) 2MHNA (0.4 dB NF)
• Kuhne MKU LNA 144 (0.3 dB NF)
• W6PQL LNA kit (0.5 dB NF, affordable)

Mount it AT the antenna feedpoint. Every dB of coax loss between antenna and preamp adds directly to your system noise figure. A 50-foot run of LMR-400 at 144 MHz loses about 1 dB — that 1 dB destroys the benefit of your expensive preamp if it's in the shack.

Sequencing: You need a sequencer to protect the preamp during TX/RX switching:

1. Preamp power off
2. Coax relay switches to TX position
3. PA keyed
4. (On receive: reverse order)

Without sequencing, hot-switching the relay while the preamp is active will destroy FETs. The W6PQL sequencer board ($30) is standard.

432 MHz — More Gain Needed

9 dB more path loss than 2 meters means you need 9 dB more system gain somewhere — bigger antennas, more power, better preamp, or a combination.

Antennas:

• 4 × 28+ element Yagis (~24 dBd): Typical competitive station
• 2 × long Yagis (~20 dBd): Minimum for digital EME
• 8-foot dish with feed (~23 dBd): Growing in popularity, single-pointing mechanical simplicity

Power: 500W minimum for digital with good antenna. 1 kW preferred.

Preamp: 0.3-0.4 dB NF available. Same brands as above, 432 MHz versions.

1296 MHz — The Sweet Spot for Dishes

At 23cm, Yagi arrays become impractical (you'd need dozens). Dishes dominate.

Antenna:

• 10-foot dish (~28 dBd at 1296): Excellent performance
• 6-foot dish (~24 dBd): Minimum for digital EME
• AMSAT W2IMU-style feed or custom septum feeds for circular polarization

Circular polarization matters here because Faraday rotation (which scrambles linear polarization randomly) is less predictable. Circular loses 3 dB theoretically but eliminates the chance of total polarization null.

Power: 150-300W (GaAs FET or LDMOS amplifiers). Less power needed because dish gain is high.

Preamp: 0.2-0.3 dB NF. Kuhne, DEM, or W6PQL designs.

10 GHz and Above — Microwave EME

Small dishes (2-4 feet) provide enormous gain at 10 GHz (>35 dBd for a 3-foot dish). Power is modest (10-50W). The challenge is pointing accuracy — your beamwidth is under 2°.

Antenna Tracking

The moon moves across the sky. Your antenna array needs to follow it. Manual pointing works for casual operating but computer tracking is standard.

Rotator system:

• Azimuth: standard TV/ham rotator (Yaesu G-800, G-1000, or the bigger G-2800 for heavy arrays)
• Elevation: second rotator or custom jack-screw actuator
• Controller: Green Heron RT-21 controls both from software

Tracking software:

• PstRotator — integrates with WSJT-X, points antenna at moon automatically
• SatPC32 — satellite/moon tracking
• VK3UM EME Calculator — essential for planning (tells you when the moon is in your window, predicted signal levels, degradation from ground noise)

Receiver Requirements

Key specs:

• Low noise figure (augmented by preamp)
• Good dynamic range (strong signals from big stations + your own noise)
• Accurate frequency stability (JT65 has 2.7 Hz tone spacing)
• Computer interface for WSJT-X

Common radios for EME:

• Icom IC-9700: All-mode VHF/UHF/SHF, direct digital receiver, built-in GPS for frequency stability. The modern standard.
• Elecraft K3 + transverter: Excellent receiver, paired with DEM or Kuhne transverter.
• Icom IC-7300 + transverter: Budget option, adequate stability.
• Kenwood TS-2000: Older but has 2m/70cm/23cm built in. Receiver is adequate.

Software

WSJT-X runs everything:

• JT65B (144 MHz): The original EME digital mode. 60-second sequences. Decodes at -24 dB SNR in 2500 Hz bandwidth.
• Q65 (all bands): Newer, better. Handles faster fading. Submodes run from Q65-15A to Q65-300E (15 to 300 second sequences, tone spacing A to E); EME mostly uses the 60-second submodes. More sensitive than JT65 under some conditions.
• MAP65: Multi-polarization wideband receive. Decodes dozens of signals simultaneously from a wideband recording.

Echo testing: Before trying QSOs, test your system by detecting your own echoes. WSJT-X has a built-in echo mode. Transmit, wait 2.5 seconds, average many pings. When you can detect your own echo, you're ready for QSOs.

Scheduling and Activity

Ping Jockey (ping-jockey.net): Real-time chat for arranging EME schedules. "I'm on 144.120, pointing moonrise your direction, ready for Q65-60A." Essential for making contacts outside contests.

EME contests: ARRL EME Contest (September/October), Dubus/REF EME contests. Activity peaks are when you'll make the most contacts.

Moon windows: You can't operate EME anytime — both stations need the moon above their horizon simultaneously. Tools like VK3UM Calculator show your mutual windows with target stations.

Realistic Budget

Entry-Level 144 MHz Digital EME

• 2 × used Yagis (homebrew or M2): $200-500
• H-frame/mounting hardware: $100-200
• Elevation rotator: $200-400
• Azimuth rotator (Yaesu G-800): $400
• Mast-mounted preamp (W6PQL kit): $80
• Sequencer: $40
• Coax relay: $50
• LDMOS amplifier (500W kit or used): $500-1,000
• Radio (IC-9700 or existing + transverter): $0-1,800
• Total: $1,500-4,500

Competitive 144 MHz Station

• 4× M2 2M18XXX Yagis: $1,600
• Stacking frame, phasing harness: $500
• Heavy-duty rotators (az + el): $1,200
• Tower section: $500-2,000
• 1.5 kW amplifier: $1,500-3,000
• Commercial preamp (SSB Electronic): $300
• Sequencer + relays: $150
• Cabling (LMR-600, control): $400
• Total: $6,000-10,000

Getting Started Without Breaking the Bank

1. Start receiving. Point any 2m Yagi at the moon during a contest weekend. Run WSJT-X in monitor mode. You'll decode the big stations (1 kW + 4 Yagis). This proves your receiver and software work.

2. Add a preamp. Even with a single Yagi, a mast-mounted preamp dramatically increases what you hear.

3. Try echo testing. If you have 100W and a single long Yagi with preamp, you probably won't detect your echo. But with 400W and a pair of Yagis, you might — especially when the moon is close (perigee) and in a quiet part of the sky (away from the galactic plane).

4. Schedule with big stations. The top EME operators (SM5BSZ, OK1DFC, DL7APV) can hear almost anything. Schedule with them first. They have enough antenna to make up for what you lack.

5. Build up gradually. Every 3 dB improvement (doubled antenna area, doubled power, halved preamp noise figure) expands your QSO possibilities significantly.

EME rewards persistence and patience. Some nights the propagation is unusually good (libration fading is minimal, sky temperature is low). Other nights, nothing decodes despite identical equipment. That variability is part of the magic — it's propagation, just via a different reflector.