Messages

1

SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: KiwiSDR 2 Now Available for Pre-order.

« on: May 14, 2024, 2341 UTC »

There are decent deals out there on power supplies if patient. I picked up a new, though out-of-box Acopian 5v 32a linear highly-regulated supply with the overvoltage protection option on eBay. 0.005% load and line regulation with 0.25mV RMS ripple. Reputable dealer with a warrantied guarantee. MSRP as spec'd is $750+. I paid under $150 shipped.

32a is kind of ridiculous for a Kiwi, but the decent mid-range eBay and similar 5v audiophile supplies tend to be like $125 to $200 anyway, and most of those have little to no meaningful published specs.

2

Equipment / Re: Ionospheric storm disturbing the GPS referenced oscillators ?

« on: May 12, 2024, 2048 UTC »

Quite possible. NOAA SWPC reports a 24-hour peak in the R3 radio blackout range, though there were some instances of near R4 levels. ~R4 can affect GPS systems.

https://www.spaceweather.gov/communities/global-positioning-system-gps-community-dashboard

It would not be surprising if isolated areas on the sunlit side of Earth might have reached even R4 given the considerable power of the recent CMEs.

There is a 75% forecast chance of R3-R5 levels through May 13 UTC.

Farmers in online communities all over the internet have been discussing the GPS outages, with some saying that they’ve been running into “very weird issues.”

Souce: https://www.404media.co/solar-storm-knocks-out-tractor-gps-systems-during-peak-planting-season/

3

General Radio Discussion / Re: Me??? Several radios...

« on: May 09, 2024, 0127 UTC »

Various portables, desktops, SDRs, etc.

I generally preferred desktop receivers back when computers were my work. My Kenwood R-2000 was my primary "go to" HF receiver for many years.

The computer work is no longer a concern, thus my migration more to SDRs in recent years. Being able to remotely access them is a nice bonus IMO.

Conversely, my oldest receiver is a rather nice National NC-125 with matching speaker, though it is rarely powered anymore. I suppose it is more of a personal display piece now.

4

Equipment / Re: Best MWDX antenna?

« on: May 09, 2024, 0058 UTC »

Changed out the hybrid transformer on the 31' vertical for a LDG 1:1 balun. The RG-11 feedline was rerouted and dramatically shortened.

Once again put a KD9SV common-mode choke near the house entrance.

An eBay "SDR protector" and the earlier mentioned TDK N30/T65 series choke are close to the Airspy HF+D, though I need to get around to swapping that choke for a galvanically isolated one to better cleanup LW and lower.

Now to eventually get around to deploying more than the current four on-ground radials. I am thinking about acquiring some long ribbon cables. 10m 10-wire cables can be found for like a dollar or two shipped via welcome deals at AliExpress. Seems like they would be somewhat easier to deploy in greater quantities. Attach then separate as ya' go. On the downside I suppose they might even be CCS wire, but I have used CCS speaker wire for on-ground radials in the past with okay results if sealing the connectors and ends from water intrusion.

5

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: STERNRADIO 6956 AM 0320 8 MAY 2024

« on: May 08, 2024, 0413 UTC »

0411z - ID into music. SIO 444. ATS-20+ and ~15' loop-in-window.
0413z - "Transmitter is smoking..."
0422z - Music. Pretty good copy tonight here, especially for a portable and an indoor antenna.
0432z - Interference from whatever a KHz or few above. LSB ECSS helps a little.
0436z - Interference seems to be moving lower in frequency. Back to SIO 444 via AM.
0504z - ID into music.
0537z - Off air.

Thanks for the broadcast! :)

6

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Sternradio 6952.6 AM 0042 APRIL 28 2024

« on: April 29, 2024, 0125 UTC »

0121z - "Transmitter is smoking..." into music. SIO 333 via KiwiSDR 2 and 31' vertical.
0130z - Improving. SIO trending 434. AM sync tuning.

0210z - Music. SIO 334 via ATS-20+ and 15' loop in window. Intense static crashing on my Kiwi right now.


(click to enlarge)

0309z - Off air.

Thanks for the broadcast! :)

7

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio Static 6950 USB 0100 UTC 28 Apr 2024

« on: April 28, 2024, 0125 UTC »

0125z - SSTV. KiwiSDR 2 and 31' vertical.
0127z - Music. SIO 222. Tough copy at the moment.
0137z - Music. Improving. SIO trending 333.
0144z - Bark, bark, bark...
0209z - SSTV, UTE activity, SIO 222 trending 221.

Thanks for the broadcast! :)

8

SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: SDRSharp v1.0.0.1920 Release (updated)

« on: April 28, 2024, 0123 UTC »

v1920 release build now available:

https://airspy.com/download/
https://airspy.com/downloads/changelog.txt

Probably the biggest change:

Getting rid of Telerik UI. Once for all.

Announcement and community feedback:

https://groups.io/g/airspy/topic/sdr_1920_release/105735345

9

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Ball Smacker 6960 AM 0056 UTC 26 APR 2024

« on: April 27, 2024, 0104 UTC »

Music at 0102z. SIO 322. KiwiSDR 2 and 31' vertical. Heavy UTE interference.

Thanks for the broadcast! :)

10

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 11727 FM 1951 UTC 25 APR 2024

« on: April 25, 2024, 1957 UTC »

Beeps at 1 sec intervals on the USB side at 1957z.

11

SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: Fobos SDR

« on: April 22, 2024, 1826 UTC »

The hardware device driver for Windows is via Zadig, similar to how the RTL-SDR driver is installed. Otherwise on the SDR software side....

SDR# via SDRSharp.FobosSDR.dll plugin.
HDSDR and other ExtIO_*.dll compatible software via ExtIO_FobosSDR.dll plugin.
uSDR via native Fobos SDR API

Source: https://rigexpert.com/files/product_documentation/Fobos%20SDR/Fobos-SDR-User-Guide.EN.pdf

The ADC is a 14-bit version of the LTC2143.

https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/21454314fa.pdf

It seems you can likely select spectrum in either 100kHz-25 MHz direct sampling or 25MHz–6GHz superhet modes, though I suspect perhaps not an overlap of those two ranges. Not sure here, so a big YMMV on my part.

https://rigexpert.com/files/product_documentation/Fobos%20SDR/FOBOS-SDR-Receiver-Datasheet.EN.pdf

Spotted a post on another site suggesting a $395 MSRP. Potentially an even bigger YMMV.

12

SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: KiwiSDR 2 Now Available for Pre-order.

« on: April 20, 2024, 2152 UTC »

There could still be supply available through retailers, as per jks....

"We have shipped hundreds now to ML&S (UK) hamradio.co.uk and WiMo (DE) wimo.com. So consider ordering from them. Check if they will ship to your region and the cost.

Source: https://forum.kiwisdr.com/index.php?p=/discussion/3051/kiwisdr-2-kiwisdr-nz-sold-out-please-order-via-hamradio-co-uk-and-wimo-com/p2

13

SDR - Software Defined Radio / Airspy HF+ Ranger | Next-Gen Model?

« on: April 15, 2024, 2222 UTC »

Skimming the Airspy HF library source code, a mention to an "AIRSPYHF_BOARD_ID_AIRSPYHF_RANGER_REV_A" was landed then removed on the same day in February.

https://github.com/airspy/airspyhf/commit/e1dcc17956157b15885a284d9c9b42ba5de7dc51
https://github.com/airspy/airspyhf/commit/39f06a4934a0707a35496cfabce45cfaf5c60d92

No more info found, though i did not dig much further than a couple of web searches.

There is at least one revision of the original Airspy HF+ Dual, plus there are at least two hardware revisions of the Airspy HF+ Discovery. The Airspy HF+ "Ranger" would appear to be something different.

enum airspyhf_board_id
{
   AIRSPYHF_BOARD_ID_UNKNOWN_AIRSPYHF = 0,
   AIRSPYHF_BOARD_ID_AIRSPYHF_REV_A = 1,
   AIRSPYHF_BOARD_ID_AIRSPYHF_DISCOVERY_REV_A = 2,
   AIRSPYHF_BOARD_ID_AIRSPYHF_RANGER_REV_A = 3,
   AIRSPYHF_BOARD_ID_INVALID = 0xFF,
};

14

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio Illuminati 6870 AM 2327 UTC 13 Apr 2024

« on: April 13, 2024, 2342 UTC »

Music at 2338z. OTA at 2341z. SIO 332 via Airspy HF+D and 31' vertical. Decent carrier but modulation is largely in the current noise floor here.

Thanke for the broadcast! :)

15

European Pirates and Private Stations / Re: Indy Radio 6931 AM 1643 UTC 12 APR 2024

« on: April 12, 2024, 2351 UTC »

Music at 2347z, along with the beeps. SIO 222 via Airspy HF+D and 31' vertical. Rough copy, but it is there. Some band noise and static crashing, plus pekies on 6930 LSB.

Thanks for the broadcast! :)