Messages

676

Equipment / Re: Best MWDX antenna?

« on: November 27, 2022, 0718 UTC »

Longwave reception tonight. Have a carrier on 153KHz, and actual modulation on 171KHz.

Noted around 0700z:

153KHz - carrier in waterfall | possibly Radio Antena Satelor
171KHz - Medi 1 at SINPO 15242 trending 15241 with moderate to frequent static crashing from regional storms

I might do better with Medi 1 assuming I understood the language. Anyway.

Interesting part (for me) is using my 31' vertical with 4:1 unun and moderate ground radial field. I usually have to use my 148' loop-on-ground for longwave BCB listening, and it is out of commission pending repair or replacement.

BTW, I pushed my luck with the vertical further down the spectrum. 24Khz NAA, 25.2Khz NML, and 40.7KHz NAU are present tonight. Not difficult catches, but nonetheless there.

677

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Black Swan International (Tent) 6925 USB 0415 UTC 27 November 2022

« on: November 27, 2022, 0458 UTC »

I know it is music, but the modulation is in my noise floor at ~0454z. Very faint and intermittent trace in the waterfall.

678

Equipment / Re: Best MWDX antenna?

« on: November 27, 2022, 0331 UTC »

I potted it once upon a time, so I probably damaged it. ;)

The enclosures are back together. Replaced the also damaged RG-402 loop coax with RG-6. A quick VNA sweep looks approximately like my previous Youloop measurement. I think the resonant frequency shifted somewhat, but again, a whatever given it is not a low SWR antenna anywhere in the HF and lower bands. I did not check VHF.

It is hanging in a window in one of the nosiest RFI locations inside the house. An elevated noise floor as expected, but it is generally working. I have already skimmed signals on 80m SSB, 11m AM locals, and a local MW BCB station.

I have interesting somewhat intermittent RFI on ~273KHz and upward harmonics. It is present on my 31' vertical as well, but it is 10s of dBs down there. Given the frequency I am inclined to think a switching DC voltage regulator somewhere in the house. Fun. Suppose I should now find my TinySA analyzer, but maybe later this weekend.

679

Equipment / Re: Best MWDX antenna?

« on: November 27, 2022, 0159 UTC »

My Youloop has been having issues. Popped it open, and looked like a broken transformer. Yeah, like I am repairing that *tiny* winding. I do good to barely solder through-hole parts anymore. Not worth trying to source a replacement from Coilcraft or wherever, either.

So I popped the transformer off the PCB. Wound an 1:1 on a mix 73 binocular core like often used use on homebrew mobius small loops, and mounted it outside the enclosure. "Whatever" to the aesthetics.

Waiting on the glue holding the ferrite to dry, then finish a couple of connections and (re-)pot the boards with hot glue. Suppose I need to go find my NanoVNA, too.

680

North American Shortwave Pirate / Your Thanks-for-Nothing Day Show 6925 USB 1656 UTC 24 NOV 2022

« on: November 24, 2022, 1656 UTC »

Rock music. Peaking ~S6. SINPO 35343. Local band conditions are not great at the moment, but nonetheless a decent copy.

1705z - "Your Thanks-for-Nothing Day Show" ID
1712z - ID again

681

Software / Re: Identify Garmin RINO data mode

« on: November 24, 2022, 1335 UTC »

I dropped a few searches and skimmed some pages. Apparently it is a MSK format with a 600 or maybe 1200 baud rate. Encoding seems proprietary, and that is about as far as I got down the rabbit hole.

http://www.radio-active.net.au/web3/APRS/Resources/RINO

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/interoperation-between-garmin-rino-650-and-yaesu-8dr.251836/

Xastir has a way to access RINO GPS data for for APRS use, but that means needing a serial connection to a receiving RINO radio.

https://github.com/Xastir/Xastir/blob/master/INSTALL#L1284

682

Software / Re: Any SDR# (SDRSharp) Users Out There?

« on: November 23, 2022, 0147 UTC »

Have you tried SDRangel? I reguarly use it with my Airspy HF+D on Linux. The various modes are represented as separate "channel" decoders, and you can use multiple channels simultaneously with whatever bandwidth is provided by the selected receiver.

I build my own architecture-specific optimized builds, but there are general release builds provided for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

https://github.com/f4exb/sdrangel

Quick start guide here:

https://github.com/f4exb/sdrangel/wiki/Quick-start

I sometimes use SDRSharp (under Wine) for its noise filtering options, but otherwise I often just pass the audio through a software DSP chain like EasyEffects.

If you are on Windows, I also suggest taking a look at SDR Console. Just be careful about the download links. Scroll down to the "Microsoft Dropbox Webhost" links versus the various ads.

https://www.sdr-radio.com/download

683

ID and Translation Requests / Re: Decode request 17129 NOV 23 2022 0030Z HLW?

« on: November 23, 2022, 0130 UTC »

I am horrid with CW, as morse code just does not work for me. YMMV as it took more than one try using....

https://databorder.com/transfer/morse-sound-receiver/

....but here ya' go:

CQ CQ CQ DE HLW HLW HLW QSX 16MHZ TT

684

General Radio Discussion / Re: Digital signal identification question

« on: November 23, 2022, 0059 UTC »

I do not get into digital signal monitoring much, but the Signal Identification Wiki has lots of info.

https://www.sigidwiki.com/

On the software side, there is the open-source ARTEMIS signal analysis software with over 400 signal types currently in its database.

https://aresvalley.com/Artemis/

I suspect there are more than a few around here that can probably ID dozens of digital signals by just listening.

685

Equipment / Re: MLA-30 Loop antenna

« on: November 20, 2022, 0547 UTC »

On the potential local noise issues with the MLA-30 is the power supply being used. Many USB wall warts are quite noisy. True OEM Apple chargers tend to be the quietest consumer models I have tried. Otherwise a battery power bank might be a better option if intending to use the USB port.

A basic bias tee is easy to build or cheap enough to buy, and I recommend either a 9v-12v linear regulated power supply or battery power source.

The included bias tee can be modified as well. You can bypass the voltage converter by tracing the circuit back from the USB port, then breakout your new power feed to an external source. I popped out the now-unneeded USB port to run the new power supply wiring.

I have yet to actually use my original MLA-30 much, but what little testing I did was using a 9v battery.

Also I received a MLA-30+ awhile back. I might do some experimenting with it in the near future.

686

Peskies / Peskies 'Whistle Net' 8281.2 USB NOV-DEC 2022

« on: November 20, 2022, 0526 UTC »

Multiple operators at 0524z on 20 NOV 2022. Sounds like mostly Spanish language. Nearly non-stop chatting, whistling, QRM, etc.


Similar "traffic" at 2316z on 29 NOV 2022. At least one or more ops is probably the same, as some of the signals are once again about 200Hz above 8281KHz.


Back again, or still there, or whatever. o.0 At 0713z on 1 DEC 2022.


Back at it again tonight. At 2348z on 2 DEC 2022.


They are back at it again tonight. Pretty much the usual chatting, doubling, whistling, etc.

Shouting and whistling continuing at ~0920z on 2 DEC 2022.

Ongoing at 1147z. Multiple ops whistling now, too.


The raucous is still ongoing at 0022z on 6 DEC 2022.


Same at 1020z on 13 DEC 2022. Heard it earlier today as well. Do these ops sleep? o.0

I am calling it the "Whistle Net" for the lack of any better ID. Pretty much describes the content.


Ongoing at 1125z on 19 DEC 2022. Usual traffic and QRM.


Not as active at the moment, but chatter and occasional whistling at ~0330z on 23 DEC 2022.

687

Equipment / Re: MLA-30 Loop antenna

« on: November 17, 2022, 0713 UTC »

You ideally want substantial resistive choking across the desired frequency range(s). That typically means ferrites if being deployed for a wide swath of frequencies, like across multiple HF bands.

http://www.karinya.net/g3txq/chokes/

Your can obtain moderate resistivity with an air-core choke, but it is generally limited to a single HF band or so. The downside for muti-band usage is it can present a largely reactive profile on other bands, which can actually make common-mode worse.

The reality is if an air-core feedline choke seems to work across the whold HF spectrum, the antenna and feedline system probably does not present significant common-mode and/or much RFI/EMI ingress anyway.

688

General Radio Discussion / Re: KiwiSDR discontinued

« on: November 17, 2022, 0649 UTC »

Red Pitaya clones have arrived for under $350. The RP is small Linux system running on an ARM proc and FPGA. Right now software already exists to run up to eight concurrent HPSDR-compatible receiver feeds, though AFAIK each feed has a 192kSPS max data rate.

Perhaps the the most prevelant difference would be the need for another system if trying to setup a browser-based SDR receiver interface, along with the needed software for doing so. OpenWebRX apparently has RP support via the HPSDR 1.0 protocol, though it mentions needing to use the experimental repos or building the connector utility separetely. YMMV.

https://github.com/jketterl/openwebrx/wiki/HPSDR-(including-Hermes-Lite-2)-device-notes

Admittedly, I have no clue as to real-world RF performance other than the listed specs and a couple of quick video demos, as I have not used one.... yet?

689

Equipment / Re: MLA-30 Loop antenna

« on: November 16, 2022, 1112 UTC »

Definitely get the active loop outside away from residential RFI. Do not be too concerned about elevation for now, as vertical loops elevated by least a loop diameter or two tend to not be overly influenced by ground losses.

The MLA-30 is not too directive IIRC, so I would suggest turning it to null local noise if possible and leave it there. Set, forget, and enjoy.

About MW, you might try feeding the external antenna to a few turns of wire wrapped around the portable receiver, thus passively coupling to the portable's internal MW ferrite antenna. I have done similar with outdoor antennas feeding a tuned loop like the Tecsun AN-200 placed next to a portable, too.

690

Amateur Radio / Re: Common SSTV Freqs?

« on: November 16, 2022, 1049 UTC »

When 11m DX is hopping, particularly from Europe, you might also try 27700. It is a popular SSTV hangout for freebanders.

Chris has pages here for both frequencies:

https://www.hfunderground.com/sstv_pics/ (sometimes it serves 43m pirate decodes instead)
https://www.hfunderground.com/sstv_pics_11_meters/

About 11m, many freebanders use country code prefixes:

http://fldx.org/site/downloads/prefix-list-11m/Prefix-List-11m.pdf