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SD USES MOON TO COMMUNICATE

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MHLAMBANYATSI – For the first time in the country, a group of men is conducting Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communication.


EME, also known as moon bounce, is a radio communication technique that relies on propagation of radio waves from an earth-based transmitter directed via reflection from the surface of the moon, back to an earth-based receiver.
In simple terms, moon bounce is a form of wireless communication in which the moon is used as a passive satellite.


John Sygo, a member of the expedition which set base at Mhlambanyatsi, said they were doing this purely as a hobby and they had set up a temporary radio station to communicate with others who have similar stations around the world. The expedition consists of eight men from Switzerland, South Africa and the Netherlands.


The team consists of Sygo, Chris Ploeger, Andrew Van Heerden, Bernie Van de Walt, Lins Berben, Alex Artiede, Dan Gaitschi and Sami Hediger.
Sygo said they had been in the country for four days, and they had communicated with about 500 stations in 50 countries. He said they were able to send and receive messages from people who had permanent set up around the world. He said among these countries were the United States of America (USA) and New Zealand.
“On certain frequencies, Swaziland was activated on the moon for the very first time,” he said.


He said they were able to send out coded messages through their computers, and they could also receive the same via the moon transmission.
Their gear includes satellites, transmitters and computers, which are all used for the communication.
“We are able to decode the messages that we receive from other people since it is a language we understand,” he said. He explained that the moon was approximately 350 000km away from the earth, and a signal sent to the moon did not return until 2.5 seconds have elapsed. This means that if two people are engaged in a conversation and one person asks a question, that person cannot expect a reply until at least five seconds later.
The team received a licence for their amateur station from the Swaziland Communications Commission, and this was displayed in their station.
Sygo said they had chosen Mhlambanyatsi as their station because the area already had someone dealing in radio. He said the place was also very quiet and was ideal for them since noise from cities was counterproductive to what they were doing.
He said it was not his first time to visit Swaziland, but it was the first time for other members of the team.

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