The Gloucester County Amateur Radio Club has established a capable 1296 MHz (23 cm) Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) station, enabling members to bounce signals off the moon for long-distance communications. This challenging mode requires precise equipment, careful setup, and favorable lunar conditions, but rewards operators with contacts spanning continents.

The project began with funding from an Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) grant, which allowed the club to acquire high-quality 1296 MHz transverters and associated radios. The club then purchased a 2.4-meter metal fabric folding dish antenna along with an azimuth-elevation rotator for accurate moon tracking.

Setup included installing a septum feed for circular polarization (essential for mitigating spatial offset and Faraday rotation effects on EME paths), along with sequencing relays for transmit/receive switching and a low-noise preamplifier at the feed to maximize weak-signal performance.

A key improvement was mounting a sturdy steel pipe cemented into the ground just outside the clubhouse VHF room window. This permanent mount greatly simplifies assembly and disassembly of the portable dish system, allowing quick deployment for contests or operating sessions.

The station saw initial operations in 2024, building experience with equipment tuning and moon tracking. Activity continued into 2025, including participation in ARRL EME contests. Across the 2025 contest periods, the club successfully completed 11 contacts, demonstrating the effectiveness of the setup and operator skill in this demanding mode.

Future plans include further refinements, more contest participation, and sharing the station with members for casual EME operating. This project exemplifies GCARC’s commitment to advanced VHF/UHF techniques and weak-signal work.