Messages

466

General Radio Discussion / Re: Propagation Update

« on: August 18, 2015, 1647 UTC »

Yep. 

The last few days I've switched on the DX-394 just to hear what's happening on 20 meters during the late afternoons. Static, basically. Maybe a couple weak CW QSO's and one or two SSB QSO's, buried in the static. Yikes.

Just a few months ago there were plenty of signals during the same time period on that band.

467

General Radio Discussion / Re: Future of pirate radio

« on: August 18, 2015, 1631 UTC »

I'm curious how large the general SWL audience is, here in the USA. Any estimates out there?

Using Google, I couldn't find any U.S. figures, but according to this article printed by Radio Miami International, the international numbers are actually a bit staggering: at any moment, 200 million SW receivers worldwide are tuned to SW broadcasts.

The problem with the article isn't the source, or news sources -- it's not dated. Hard to tell how recent the article is. But it's post 2000, at the very least.

http://www.wrmi.net/pb/wp_4eba3427/wp_4eba3427.html

468

Equipment / Re: Radios for 1720 KHz

« on: August 18, 2015, 1620 UTC »

For whatever it's worth my Sangean PR-D5 tunes as high as 1710. Probably the other radios in that series (PR-D15, PR-D7, etc.) stop at 1710 also.

469

Equipment / Re: Collins to discontinue mechanical Filters

« on: August 18, 2015, 1615 UTC »

Sad to see some of the classic solid state technology go the way of the Dodo.

The only positive is that solid state parts (at least since the Germanium transistor days and paper capacitor days) usually have a long lifetime. I'm sure there will always be some of them socked away in a warehouse somewhere.

470

The RF Workbench / Re: Beacon Project #2 (on a Tower) - Introduction

« on: August 17, 2015, 1221 UTC »

^^^^^^^
I think I either put this reply into the wrong thread by accident, or it sort of was shifted.

It was intended for another thread about 10 meter propagation and 10 meter antennas.

Sorry for the confusion.
Boombox

471

General Radio Discussion / Re: Future of pirate radio

« on: August 16, 2015, 0622 UTC »

I wouldn't knock the US domestic broadcasters too harshly for what programs they play (Brother Stair, etc.). They have to pay their bills somehow just like anyone else with that kind of facility. If you don't like their programs that's what the tuning dial on the radio is for.

Global 24 didn't last very long with their attempt at having music programming, even though their programming was pretty good. The money just wasn't there.

It's not like electricity is free.

RE: Pirate radio: it will always be there, just as ham radio will always be there. As long as there are people with HF receivers and transmitters, people will try to get on the air, just to see if they can get out and be heard.

472

The RF Workbench / Re: Beacon Project #2 (on a Tower) - Introduction

« on: August 16, 2015, 0616 UTC »

The best reception I've had with 10 meters is late afternoons / early evenings, usually during fall and spring.

I also had good results with a single quad loop antenna on a short pole only ten-fifteen feet off the ground. It worked amazingly well on 11 meter SSB, also received 10 meters and VHF low band very well.

So don't rule that out as a backup for the antenna you're mounting on the pole.

Probably wouldn't work on a high tower because a quad loop is sort of like a kite when in the wind.

473

Equipment / Re: Cleaning circuit board in YB 400?

« on: July 26, 2015, 0617 UTC »

I've had good luck cleaning radio PCB's with tuner cleaner sprayed onto a Q-Tip.

Alcohol would probably work, too.

If your radio is turning off and on and such, it might be the battery terminals need to be cleaned, or hit with a bit of sandpaper or something similar to eliminate corrosion.

Also, sometimes the solder joint on the negative spring terminal can weaken. The spring can work the solder joint over time.

I had this happen on a DX398. The negative battery terminal's spring had weakened the solder point where the spring connects to the PCB. Easy fix. Just hit it with some solder, reheat the joint....

Good luck.

474

Equipment / Re: LW/MW antenna for Kenwood R-2000

« on: July 26, 2015, 0613 UTC »

100 ft longwire should work great on MW with a radio like the R2000.

I heard Japan on MW with an FRG7 through an 85 or so ft. wire a long time ago (I'm in the PNW -- but Japan's still a long ways away). I also had good luck with the FRG7 using a 150 folded low wire (about 4 ft off the ground).

Comm radios like the R2000 are RF sniffers.

If you really want to get into MW DXing, then a spiral or box loop would work (a loop would also work on LW if you put enough turns of wire on the frame), and you'd use a 'sense loop' wire that would be a single loop of wire in line with the other turns, and the ends would be wired to each side of the SO239.

You can find plans for such loops online. And most plans describe how to make and use the 'sense loop'.

But I'd just use the longwire until you decide if you want to go further.

The only thing a loop would give you is directionality on MW and LW. Important, yes, but you can still DX rather well with just a wire.

475

General Radio Discussion / Re: Radio Australia to cease Asia shortwave service this weekend

« on: February 27, 2015, 1507 UTC »

I've been hearing Triple J rebroadcast on Radio Australia a few mornings this week. Reminds me of when there were some budget cuts over there a few years ago and they rebroadcast Radio National every morning. Made for interesting listening, though.

476

General Radio Discussion / Re: FCC's Plan to regulate the Internet - Net Neutrality

« on: February 27, 2015, 1505 UTC »

I think there's little the FCC could do to limit what's actually broadcast on the internet, for First Amendment reasons.

Congress already has a law in place that protects ISP's from speech made by third parties. I think that would still hold.

Any attempt at limiting speech would undoubtedly end up at the Supreme Court.

477

General Radio Discussion / Re: Join the DPRK Radio Station Monitors

« on: February 17, 2015, 1042 UTC »

Got it. Thanks for posting the link.

478

General Radio Discussion / Re: North Korean pirate radio: homemade devices deliver banned broadcasts

« on: February 17, 2015, 1037 UTC »

I saw a pic of one of these 'plank' radios, on another forum.

It looked like the PCB of a clock radio, with three or four chips (FM front end, IF chip, Clock chip, AF chip) and maybe a few extra oscillator cans -- might have had a SW band as well as FM & MW.

It was enclosed in a flat box made of light wooden planks, with a couple knobs (a knob looked like it was directly attached to the tuner capacitor) for probably tuning and volume. No ferrite loopstick, which would explain why they needed an external wire antenna (or amplifier, as the article says).

479

General Radio Discussion / Re: With RadioShack kicking the bucket, who will fill its shoes?

« on: February 16, 2015, 1649 UTC »

There won't be any new radio stores, except possibly boutique online ventures tailored towards radio geeks.

Most people under age 20 have no (or little) idea what a radio is. They get all their entertainment via smartphone. Which makes it ironic that Sprint is reportedly buying many Radio Shacks.

You can still see radios for sale in a store here where I live. The local box stores have several -- usually several clock radios and a CD boombox or two, an FM radio with docking for your IPod or whatever, and 2-3 headset radios.

480

General Radio Discussion / Re: Join the DPRK Radio Station Monitors

« on: February 16, 2015, 1645 UTC »

"Page not found."