Zoltán Bay Moon Radar 80th Anniversary Activity
Zoltán Bay Moon Radar 80th Anniversary Activity
Radiaoamateurs all around the globe link Zoltán Bay's (1900-1992) name with succesfull Hungarian Moon radar experiment. On the 6th of February in 1946 Bay and his colleagues in Tungsram Lighting radiated radio signal towards the moon then succesfully detected their own extremely weak reflected signal. In fact they detected the Earth Moon Earth echo. The main challenege of the experiment was to extract the 120mHz reflected signal from the noise. They solved it by applying signal repetation and signal addition.
80 years ago the Moon became our reflector.
The Hungarian Radio Amateur Society (MRASZ) is organizing a radio activity by operating special event callsigns to honor the 80th anniversary of Zoltán Bay and his team’s Moon Radar experiment.
Participants can collect points by confirming QSOs with designated special callsigns. Those who meet the requirements will receive a commemorative award.
- Activity Period: February 6, 2026 – February 28, 2026.
- EME Confirmation Period: Confirmations for EME contacts are accepted between February 28, 2026, and December 31, 2026 (EME contacts made and verified during this window qualify for the special EME endorsement).
Award Requirements (EU / DX)
The award is available in two categories based on the participant's location: EU or DX. Fellow hams to qualify, must reach the required point total while meeting the minimum requirements for unique callsigns and modes.
Requirement EU Stations DX Stations
Total Points Required 18 points 12 points
Min. Unique Special Callsigns 5 4
Min. Unique Modes 2 2
Scoring per Contact
- CW: 3 points/QSO
- SSB: 2 points/QSO
- DIGI: 1 point/QSO
Special Endorsements
Participants can earn extra recognition on their certificates:
- Endorsement I – "All Callsigns": Awarded if the participant contacts every special callsign included in the program and reaches the required point total.
- Endorsement II – "EME-QSO": Awarded if the participant has at least one confirmed EME (Earth-Moon-Earth) contact.
To check your scores and download your award visit the website of the activity:
The LOGS will be uploaded every day. So give us few hours until your latest achieved points will be indicated.
QSL: Do not send us QSL. The logs will be uploaded to LOTW furthermore you can request card via Clublog. The requested paper cards will be sent via buro.