Ham Operator Shoots The Moon

Moonbounce: Ham operator from Pupukea shoots the moon.

PUPUKEA — Alex Benton aimed for the moon yesterday. His shot was heard around the world.

Benton — better known to friends as KH6YY — became the first Hawai'i amateur radio operator in more than 25 years to successfully bounce a signal off the moon and have it heard back on Earth.

After fiddling with rigged equipment that included an old 12-foot satellite television receiving dish and a World War II-era plane engine, Benton and visiting expert radio operator Bruce Clark successfully sent a signal from Benton's backyard tower in Pupukea to the moon, some 238,000 miles away.

Radio Ham in Hawaii