Messages

61

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Liquid Radio 6850 AM 0106 UTC 19 Apr 2025

« on: April 19, 2025, 0248 UTC »

0245  with the usual music,  best reception for me on Lincoln Nebraska SDR, out of the ones that I use...
S-9 there with some fading of audio and storm noise.


0253  "Living on video" ~ Trans-X

0256 off the air

62

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Ballsmacker Radio 6960 AM 0058 UTC 19 Apr 2025

« on: April 19, 2025, 0207 UTC »

0204 "I get around" ~ Beach Boys
0206  'getting better' ~ The Beatles

S-9 plus on the Maryland SDR, strong  audio.

0212-- Some kind of vicious interference wiping out your audio!  Can't identify the type...
but seems more localized near the Maryland SDR.  Switched to Traverse City, station is 10/S-9 there with somewhat weaker audio, no interference heard.
(Maybe Chris is running his microwave oven!  hahaha)

0219 "Get offa my cloud" ~ Rolling Stones

63

QSLs Received / Re: The Cosmonaut System eQSL 6959.3 AM 0343 UTC 14 APR 2025

« on: April 18, 2025, 0637 UTC »

Also received here, thanks Cosmonaut!

64

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Mix Radio International 6930 USB/LSB 0228 UTC 18 APR 2025

« on: April 18, 2025, 0341 UTC »

0340 UTC-   S-7 to S-9 on the HFU skyloop SDR


Thanks for the late show!

65

Amateur Radio / Re: Ham Community Frets in “Delete, Delete” Comments? RW rip.

« on: April 18, 2025, 0337 UTC »

"we don't need no stinking licence"---

especially the guys on 7200LSB, wtf?  lol

66

General Radio Discussion / Re: Good old days

« on: April 18, 2025, 0318 UTC »

Are SDRs more susceptible to noise than the best analog receivers of yesteryear? I am always surprised at the bad s/n of the KiwiSDRs, not just posted numbers but actual listening experience. But I'm also comparing today's RF environment with long ago, and things may just be noisier now.

No, properly designed they're probably equal to those best/classic analog receivers.  And maybe better in some cases.

The vast majority of KiwiSDR installations are... sub optimal. That's probably causing the perception that the SDRs themselves are the issue, when in reality it's something else.

I'm 99% sure what you're seeing/experiencing with KiwiSDRs are situations with:
1. A lot of local RFI
2. Poor antennas
3. Common mode feedline issues

Also, SDRs let you "see" a lot of RFI/etc. that was always there in the past, but mostly hidden with old analog receivers, unless you happened to be tuned to the right (or is that wrong) frequency.

I have been pretty happy now with reception on SDRs--- being limited to those alone, ever since coming back to the shortwave scene around last Christmas....

They have sprung up like fleas.   If one doesn't work so well, you try another....
and it is somewhat sporting to follow a pirate station's propagation across the continent,
by switching to another SDR further west, usually, when your current signal degrades...

Using online SDRs is far superior to being limited to only your own receiver and location, with its own noise, with whatever antenna you have....!

I'd almost like to put up one myself...


Yeah, ten years ago a lot of SWLs or even 'pirate listeners' felt that using online SDR receivers was somehow "cheating"---
but pirate radio stations are by definition "low-power" and thus good DX targets---
and I'd just as soon hear what they have to say as well as I can, from whatever receiver location---
especially since I no longer own a decent receiver, at the moment!     LOL

Many worldwide SDR receivers:
http://rx.linkfanel.net/


(Chris, of course your 'skyloop' SDR receiver remains one of my favorites--
but sometimes I can't get on it, and sometimes it seems it is just too far east! LOL but thanks for those!)

67

General Radio Discussion / Re: Good old days

« on: April 18, 2025, 0306 UTC »

 "lone cries in the wilderness" type stations 

yeah... I resemble that remark!

68

General Radio Discussion / Re: Good old days

« on: April 18, 2025, 0258 UTC »

 it is too bad we didn't have today's technology back then when there was a ton of stations still on the air.

Simply having a receiver with a digital readout was my DREAM back then--

eventually I learned to more accurately identify my frequency on the analog receivers,
and calibrate the bandspread via the time stations and a 100 khz calibrator signal....

69

General Radio Discussion / Re: Good old days

« on: April 18, 2025, 0252 UTC »

Oh yeah... I too was a member of NASWA, reader of Frendx and sometimes SPEEDX in the latter 1970's while a young teenager, working with a Realistic DX-160 after the old Heathkit 4-tube receiver...  It was of course the FRENDX reporting on the Voice of the Voyageur pirate station which primarily influenced me and led to the creation of my pirate station 'The Crystal Ship' in 1982. 

(Also recall the controversy at the time, with FRENDX publishing "pirate" loggings while SPEEDX refused to do so, if memory serves...  This refusal by some DX clubs to publish pirate radio loggings led to the creation of the ACE, Association of Clandestine Enthusiasts, dedicated to pirate and spy loggings, in 1982-- just prior to The Crystal Ship hitting the airwaves.)

My favorite SWBC stations which were at least 'somewhat DXy' (by power level) were Radio Tahiti-- I have fond memories of listening to that on summer evenings around greyline time on 15 mhz, it actually came in pretty well, although I think the power level was only about 20kw--- and the Port Moresby PNG station on 4890  (had to get up early in the morning for that one, in the winter if I recall correctly... before dawn, when there was the largest path of darkness between our locations).

I had several other target stations which I aspired to, but could never quite pull off, all low-powered stations in the southwest Pacific:

The New Hebrides Broadcasting Service (now their country has another name which I can't recollect at the moment):
THINK I might have actually heard that one, broadcasting around 3945 khz, if memory serves---
broadcasting some kind of religious services--- but the static was so bad, I was unable to provide any solid details in my reception report, so my attempt at verification was rejected.

The Solomon Island Broadcasting Service, I think on 5020 kHz--- never had any luck with that one---

And the ultra-elusive Cook Islands Broadcasting Service--- also somewhere above 5 mHz, I think--- 5045 kHz??
never had any luck with that one, either.


On the other hand, I also submitted a reception report to the North Korean station,
and received a most awesome QSL package from them, complete with some kind of communist pin, in red--
(I still have that around here somewhere, guess I ought to dig it out again and photograph it)--

The thing about that one was, it too was very poor reception with no positive ID,
and I was not convinced myself that I had actually heard the station....
but they rewarded me most handsomely for my pitiful report!   LOL


(oh--- and THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting that FRENDX archive link---
I am going to spend some time there-- already have!!)

70

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6959.3 AM 0343 UTC 14 APR 2025

« on: April 14, 2025, 0350 UTC »

0349  Faint music on S-9 signal over Nebraska SDR.... and faint over Maryland SDR as well.


0403-- was playing a cover of one of my favorite old country songs, "El Paso?"

0413 Lengthy voice announcement, but I can copy none of it.

0430... possibly 'Uriah Heap' ?

Maryland SDR has seemed better than anything by 0430, so S-7 signal there...

0437 Heard the last half of an alien-sounding message with a proton email.... sorry, I was switching between SDRs,
into The Doors "Wild Child" at 0438, something Poet would recognize!   JAJAJA

0447 "I wanna be free" ~ Uriah Heap, via shazam.  Audio signal has been steadily improving via the HFU bigloop SDR--
still somewhat weak but much more listenable

0451 "July Morning" ~ Uriah Heap
0511 "Western Ways" ~  Coco and the Bean
0517  "Cracker Island" ~ Gorillaz

71

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UnId 6930 USB 0223 14 April 2025

« on: April 14, 2025, 0256 UTC »

0255 "Distress" by Delusion

S-9 on TC-MI SDR, pretty good audio. http://kiwi.k8bmz.net:8073/

0306 SSTV, into The Archies "Bang Shang a Lang"!  owned that 45 when I was about 6 years old...
freakin' GROOVY, whoever you are!   hahaha
0309 "One bad apple" by The Osmonds-- heard that about a million times from my older sister's record player...
0311 Partridge Family show theme song
0313 "Shambala" ~ Three Dog Night
0316 "Special Delivery" ~ 1910 Fruitgum Company
0318 "Mellow Yellow" ~ Donovan
0321 SSTV--- darnit, I am not set up to decode these, have to learn how....
0322  "Scooby-doo" show theme song
0325 Instantly recognizable to me "Chewy Chewy" by 1910 Fruitgum Company,
a portion of which was the ID background music for my old "Bubblegum Express" TCS show!


0330---   Outhouse?  is this really you?   LOL Didn't quite copy the ID,
but I know your voice....   into "Sugar Sugar" ~ The Archies
Sounding pretty good tonight!

0333-- OK, Positive "Outhouse Radio" ID, into "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" ~ Three Dog Night, ok, "Joy to the world" was the proper title--
recall listening to that one over my oatmeal at breakfast, on the way to elementary school...

0340 "I'm a believer" ~ The Monkees








Thanks for the show tonight, with that late-60s/early 70s playlist!  I have enjoyed it!

"who else would be playing music like this?"  LOL
Well, I can only think of one other guy, off the top of my head... ;-)

72

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6959 USB 0226 UTC 14 APR 2025

« on: April 14, 2025, 0234 UTC »

0232 "Last Resort" - Papa Roach
0235 "Californication" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
0240-- Sounds like a momentary technical difficulty--- audio track was changing speeds...
into "come my lady, come come my lady, you're my pretty baby" song which shazam should know, but doesn't. LOL maybe it's a cover.

0242 "Snakebite".   Audio sounded like the frequency had drifted, but I could not quite zero it any better on the SDR.
(started to have that old SSB "you're not tuned in quite right" sound...)




S-9 on Traverse City SDR, audio a little thin for the signal level,
but making it over most of the noise.

Signal lower on Maryland SDR at S-7 at 0240,
but audio sounds better and less noise, go figure--

73

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: WAVE Radio 6935 USB 0157 UTC 14 APR 2025

« on: April 14, 2025, 0208 UTC »

0205 UTC  "Blue Lights" ~  Jorja Smith



Averaging S-9 on Maryland skyloop SDR with very strong audio.

74

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Liquid Radio 6850 AM 0055 UTC 14 APR 2025

« on: April 14, 2025, 0203 UTC »

0200 UTC.   Nice signal peaking 10 over S-9 on Nebraska SDR  http://kiwi.k8bmz.net:8073/

75

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6950 AM 0106 UTC 14 APR 2025

« on: April 14, 2025, 0112 UTC »

This is the ongoing Sycko Radio broadcast begun on 6955, but went down to 6950 shortly before 'Aqualung'

Still peaking about 20 over S-9 at Traverse City SDR at 0115 UTC.