Itty Bitty Radio Telescope Moon Trial

I read online that some people were able to get returns from their Itty Bitty Radio Telescopes from the Moon. Since my "Itty Bitty" Radio Telescope is relatively large, I thought I would try and see if I could get a return from the Moon.

I had a couple of cables with bad ends on them, so after getting them repaired, I noticed that the almost full Moon had risen above the horizon. I pointed my telescope in the direction of the Moon, and panned it up and down.

Sure enough, I was able to detect a faint signal coming from the Moon. The telescope would show no return above and below the Moon, while giving a weak signal right at the Moon.

I was very pleased with the results. I really want to get the elevation sorted on my telescope so I know exactly how high it is pointing. Once that is done, I hope to make some measurements to find out the beam width of the scope. Judging from my initial experiments, I think it will be quite large.

I also hope to modify the satellite finder to make an audio output so I can interface it with my computer and do some datalogging.