1
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: World Wide Basement Radio 6925 AM 2319 UTC
« on: October 30, 2024, 1349 UTC »UR mailbox is FULL.
Amazing how much spam was in there... all better now!
Shortwave Pirate Radio In North America And Around The World, And Other Signals That Go Bump In The Night
We seek to understand and document all radio transmissions, legal and otherwise, as part of the radio listening hobby. We do not encourage any radio operations contrary to regulations.
Always consult with the appropriate authorities if you have questions concerning what is permissible in your locale.
Amazing how much spam was in there... all better now!
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Amazing how much spam was in there... all better now!
2
North American Shortwave Pirate / ##A Note from World Wide Basement Radio##
« on: October 30, 2024, 0205 UTC »
First of all, thank you for tuning in. I appreciate it.
I have been trying to get back on the air since SPRING, when we had a lightning strike which fried nearly all of my gear. It made it's way in through the powerline neutral when a pole got struck a few houses down the street.
The few things left unscorched were the turntables, an '80's Radio Shaft mixer and the TFT modulation monitor. The computers, all my processing equipment and the TX all got hosed. I've literally spent the past 6 or so months up to my eyelids chasing down fuzzy internet schematics, rare unobtainium parts and breathing solder smoke. It's been like all the repairs of my 30+ year career as a radio engineer were dumped into the last 6 months.
Some items were too far gone to repair, or I just plain got sick of trying to fix... An Optimod HF, Gates console, 3 CBS Labs procs, a Urei Modulimiter and EQ. Add to that a lot of non-radio electronics.
So, this is what I have running now:
Said RS mixer
Symetrix 422 leveller
Harris MSP 90 3-band compressor
CRL SEP 400a multiband processor
Rane 27 band EQ
CRL PMC 300a limiter
Yaesu FT757gx
TFT 923a Modulation monitor
MFJ (933??) cross needle bridge
inverted V 15' above a chainlink fence.
Computers are curbside picks. Not all software installed yet and most of my old SSTV and QSL files were lost. I'll get it all back together eventually.
I was running 20w dead carrier with -98% and +125% on the monitor. At one point I tweaked the positives to 133% but distortion was bad so I tweaked it back down to +120% or so. I'm not convinced the old Yaesu can take much more than that. Frankly, I'm amazed it does that!
And then, there are issues with ME. Our year started with another round of COVID and went south from there. What used to take me 3 hours now takes 2 months! I think COVID ate half my brain. Add in a couple falls, a hyperextended elbow, "frozen shoulder" syndrome, a few dozen shocks and a couple cardiac events, and I'm stunned I'm still even alive. Wife has had 3 surgeries and countless health troubles as well.
Oh, and we had 3 floods downstairs this summer. It's been just crazy around here.
As soon as I can I will get QSL's out. My Protonmail is full, despite having deleted all the spam. I'll probably have to set up another account because I really do not care to pay for email.
I have been trying to get back on the air since SPRING, when we had a lightning strike which fried nearly all of my gear. It made it's way in through the powerline neutral when a pole got struck a few houses down the street.
The few things left unscorched were the turntables, an '80's Radio Shaft mixer and the TFT modulation monitor. The computers, all my processing equipment and the TX all got hosed. I've literally spent the past 6 or so months up to my eyelids chasing down fuzzy internet schematics, rare unobtainium parts and breathing solder smoke. It's been like all the repairs of my 30+ year career as a radio engineer were dumped into the last 6 months.
Some items were too far gone to repair, or I just plain got sick of trying to fix... An Optimod HF, Gates console, 3 CBS Labs procs, a Urei Modulimiter and EQ. Add to that a lot of non-radio electronics.
So, this is what I have running now:
Said RS mixer
Symetrix 422 leveller
Harris MSP 90 3-band compressor
CRL SEP 400a multiband processor
Rane 27 band EQ
CRL PMC 300a limiter
Yaesu FT757gx
TFT 923a Modulation monitor
MFJ (933??) cross needle bridge
inverted V 15' above a chainlink fence.
Computers are curbside picks. Not all software installed yet and most of my old SSTV and QSL files were lost. I'll get it all back together eventually.
I was running 20w dead carrier with -98% and +125% on the monitor. At one point I tweaked the positives to 133% but distortion was bad so I tweaked it back down to +120% or so. I'm not convinced the old Yaesu can take much more than that. Frankly, I'm amazed it does that!
And then, there are issues with ME. Our year started with another round of COVID and went south from there. What used to take me 3 hours now takes 2 months! I think COVID ate half my brain. Add in a couple falls, a hyperextended elbow, "frozen shoulder" syndrome, a few dozen shocks and a couple cardiac events, and I'm stunned I'm still even alive. Wife has had 3 surgeries and countless health troubles as well.
Oh, and we had 3 floods downstairs this summer. It's been just crazy around here.
As soon as I can I will get QSL's out. My Protonmail is full, despite having deleted all the spam. I'll probably have to set up another account because I really do not care to pay for email.
3
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: World Wide Basement Radio 6935 AM 0025 UTC 12 PAL 2024
« on: May 13, 2024, 0258 UTC »
Thanks for the patience listening in this mess, peeps. Bands are *awful*. I'm surprised it got anywhere with the solar flare.
I was only doing about 45w at +120%, about 10w dead carrier, while I was bringing the CRL processing back online. I finally just plain gave up on the Optimod HF I had... I've spent literally months inside that thing replacing caps and stuff, but the 35+ years it spent in a musty old barn was just too much for it. Doesn't help that it was a prototype unit with hand-etched boards and many little "secret" potted circuits that even Orban/CRL couldn't describe!
It was actually a 9100 with major modifications and didn't have the "memory" circuits the retail 9105 units had. Frankly, the CRL units sound *way* better IMO. I gave the thing to my "radio museum curator" buddy.
I was only doing about 45w at +120%, about 10w dead carrier, while I was bringing the CRL processing back online. I finally just plain gave up on the Optimod HF I had... I've spent literally months inside that thing replacing caps and stuff, but the 35+ years it spent in a musty old barn was just too much for it. Doesn't help that it was a prototype unit with hand-etched boards and many little "secret" potted circuits that even Orban/CRL couldn't describe!
It was actually a 9100 with major modifications and didn't have the "memory" circuits the retail 9105 units had. Frankly, the CRL units sound *way* better IMO. I gave the thing to my "radio museum curator" buddy.
4
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Poop Deck Radio 6925 USB 0051 UTC 4 Jul 2021
« on: July 08, 2021, 1955 UTC »
My bad... I gave the wrong email addy out at the end of the broadcast... should be wildradio@protonmail.com. Par for the course, lol.
I have an eQSL made up, but no way to upload it or host the file. If you want one, just send me a note at the email above.
I have an eQSL made up, but no way to upload it or host the file. If you want one, just send me a note at the email above.
5
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Poop Deck Radio 6925 USB 0051 UTC 4 Jul 2021
« on: July 06, 2021, 0151 UTC »
I want to thank everyone for the loggings here. This was the first outdoor remote broadcast I've done since the mid 1980s, and first attempt at a pirate broadcast outdoors ever. Literally from the back deck, which I call our "poop deck".
It's the first broadcast from WILD/WWBR in six months or so. At the moment, my usual studio gear and processing are all in a big pile somewhere around here while I try to do some deep cleaning. Sadly, progress is very slow.
All my desktop computers had lost power supplies and C drives in a storm, so all I have to work with is two old laptops (OLD!!), an old 80's Radio Shack mixer (older still) and an old rusty Urei BL40 Modulimiter AM processor I had handy in the cabinet (freaking ancient!). I'm very surprised that no smoke escaped from anything, quite honestly.
I was literally about 15' from the feedpoint of my dipole, with absolutely no ground system. Loops? Well, the string of RF burns on my wrists from the metal edge of the table pretty much confirm that. I could feel it in my dental fillings though. The fact it radiated at all was amazing, and the fact my voice lasted as long as it did post-COVID was literally incredible. Last time I was on, it was gone to a rough whisper in about an hour.
COVID has had me and wifey down for a year and a half and we only started to get better after our vaccine shots. We've never been "officially" positive on tests, and have struggled through this at home with no other treatment, and I wouldn't wish the last 14 months on anybody. It's only by some miracle that neither of us wound up in ICU. The only thing I can think is that the pneumonia boosters we had in the fall of 2019 kept us from having the severe respiratory symptoms, but we still get out of breath fairly easily and about once a week, I still feel like I have glass shards in my lungs. If only the severe muscle and joint pain and almost daily migraines would stop, I'd probably feel almost human again.
Wifey finally had the lumbar surgery she'd been waiting on for months, 10 days ago, and I'm doing my best to take care of her by myself. It's certainly not easy with the lingering fatigue, so as soon as I can get time to make an eQSL, I will post it on here. I hope you understand I simply cannot find the time to make individual ones at this point, as much as I'd like to.
Again, thank you all for listening and posting here. Take care, be safe and I'll try to pop up on 43 meters as I can.
Poop Deck Radio via WILD/WWBR
Oh, duh... I was peaking around 45w, just fyi.
It's the first broadcast from WILD/WWBR in six months or so. At the moment, my usual studio gear and processing are all in a big pile somewhere around here while I try to do some deep cleaning. Sadly, progress is very slow.
All my desktop computers had lost power supplies and C drives in a storm, so all I have to work with is two old laptops (OLD!!), an old 80's Radio Shack mixer (older still) and an old rusty Urei BL40 Modulimiter AM processor I had handy in the cabinet (freaking ancient!). I'm very surprised that no smoke escaped from anything, quite honestly.
I was literally about 15' from the feedpoint of my dipole, with absolutely no ground system. Loops? Well, the string of RF burns on my wrists from the metal edge of the table pretty much confirm that. I could feel it in my dental fillings though. The fact it radiated at all was amazing, and the fact my voice lasted as long as it did post-COVID was literally incredible. Last time I was on, it was gone to a rough whisper in about an hour.
COVID has had me and wifey down for a year and a half and we only started to get better after our vaccine shots. We've never been "officially" positive on tests, and have struggled through this at home with no other treatment, and I wouldn't wish the last 14 months on anybody. It's only by some miracle that neither of us wound up in ICU. The only thing I can think is that the pneumonia boosters we had in the fall of 2019 kept us from having the severe respiratory symptoms, but we still get out of breath fairly easily and about once a week, I still feel like I have glass shards in my lungs. If only the severe muscle and joint pain and almost daily migraines would stop, I'd probably feel almost human again.
Wifey finally had the lumbar surgery she'd been waiting on for months, 10 days ago, and I'm doing my best to take care of her by myself. It's certainly not easy with the lingering fatigue, so as soon as I can get time to make an eQSL, I will post it on here. I hope you understand I simply cannot find the time to make individual ones at this point, as much as I'd like to.
Again, thank you all for listening and posting here. Take care, be safe and I'll try to pop up on 43 meters as I can.
Poop Deck Radio via WILD/WWBR
Oh, duh... I was peaking around 45w, just fyi.
6
Huh? / Re: Here's my bitch. The broadcast industry wants HD Radio, but where's the push?
« on: September 24, 2020, 1955 UTC »
IBOC on AM is, sadly, mostly used to create intentional interference to competing, adjacent-channel, out-of-market stations. I've talked to more than a couple engineers who would just as soon shut it off, but management fights to keep it on, for the reason stated. Getting AM ratings is an all-out war nowdays. Perhaps if they offered something different and interesting to capture listeners, that would help, but that requires far more talent and money than typical penny-ante corporate types are willing to pony up.
FM... most are simply using HD subchannels as studio-transmitter links. A handful actively program them, but they all know market penetration is nil, and outside of major markets, will never garner any kind of meaningful ratings. The few that do, are basically broadcasting former popular programming from stations that were flipped to other formats.
A few companies simply cannot leave something that works well intact, whether it tanks the ratings or not. There are an incredible amount if idiots in radio management, working for companies who cannot afford to spend anything because all the money is flowing to stockholders, massive debt and operating costs. The fact so few HD radios are in the wild is compounded by the fact most people cannot be bothered to figure out how to use them if they *do* own one.
FM... most are simply using HD subchannels as studio-transmitter links. A handful actively program them, but they all know market penetration is nil, and outside of major markets, will never garner any kind of meaningful ratings. The few that do, are basically broadcasting former popular programming from stations that were flipped to other formats.
A few companies simply cannot leave something that works well intact, whether it tanks the ratings or not. There are an incredible amount if idiots in radio management, working for companies who cannot afford to spend anything because all the money is flowing to stockholders, massive debt and operating costs. The fact so few HD radios are in the wild is compounded by the fact most people cannot be bothered to figure out how to use them if they *do* own one.
7
Huh? / Re: Curious
« on: August 20, 2020, 2347 UTC »
Thank you, MDK2.
Today, I'm feeling the best I have in months, not as well as I'd like, but this day has brought the least of the fatigue and pain. I'm hoping it is finally getting better. The fatigue has been the worst part, literally many days where just sitting in here tinkering with radio stuff is "too much", days when I wondered why I even forced myself out of bed. Generally, every single day for months, sometime in late afternoon, the fatigue would hit, like having a 75 pound weighted blanket dropped on me out of nowhere. Today is the second day I haven't had that happen, and I *really* hope this is permanent. But you never know, because symptoms come in waves for a few days. Really screwy, just plain weird virus, I'll tell you. I can only hope I'm over it for good, fingers crossed.
Today, I'm feeling the best I have in months, not as well as I'd like, but this day has brought the least of the fatigue and pain. I'm hoping it is finally getting better. The fatigue has been the worst part, literally many days where just sitting in here tinkering with radio stuff is "too much", days when I wondered why I even forced myself out of bed. Generally, every single day for months, sometime in late afternoon, the fatigue would hit, like having a 75 pound weighted blanket dropped on me out of nowhere. Today is the second day I haven't had that happen, and I *really* hope this is permanent. But you never know, because symptoms come in waves for a few days. Really screwy, just plain weird virus, I'll tell you. I can only hope I'm over it for good, fingers crossed.
8
Huh? / Re: Curious
« on: August 19, 2020, 2204 UTC »
I figured I'd chime in here...
I have been doing a LOT of testing lately, mostly at low power <10w. All my gear is pretty ancient, takes a lot of tweaking. It's not uncommon for something to start smoking during a broadcast due to it's age. Then, it's down to the bench, repair the unit, and start over. And what sounds like good processing on AM can sound plain dreadful on SSB, and vice versa. If I'm not just doing a short test, such as after a repair job, I try to fire a liner off now and then.
As for live shows... I've done a few, but COVID has really messed up my voice. I'm really hoping it improves, because my voice sounds like it aged 25 years since getting sick in late Feb. The low registers are totally gone now, and it's just plain rough. I played back an SDR recording someone sent me, and I'm like, "do I *really* sound that awful now?" I think if my voice got any worse, I'd sound like Brother Stare.
So, if I'm on and just playing music, it's probably not that I don't *want* to do a live show, it's that I simply do not feel well enough. I can't believe this crap has been so rough for FIVE months, and I *still* have a good day for every 7 bad ones. Wifey has been through the same, although she is probably back to 90% now, I'm still around 60% because of liver and heart issues. Somehow, we both dodged the pneumonia bullet from this, maybe because we both had pneumonia boosters in November.
I have been doing a LOT of testing lately, mostly at low power <10w. All my gear is pretty ancient, takes a lot of tweaking. It's not uncommon for something to start smoking during a broadcast due to it's age. Then, it's down to the bench, repair the unit, and start over. And what sounds like good processing on AM can sound plain dreadful on SSB, and vice versa. If I'm not just doing a short test, such as after a repair job, I try to fire a liner off now and then.
As for live shows... I've done a few, but COVID has really messed up my voice. I'm really hoping it improves, because my voice sounds like it aged 25 years since getting sick in late Feb. The low registers are totally gone now, and it's just plain rough. I played back an SDR recording someone sent me, and I'm like, "do I *really* sound that awful now?" I think if my voice got any worse, I'd sound like Brother Stare.
So, if I'm on and just playing music, it's probably not that I don't *want* to do a live show, it's that I simply do not feel well enough. I can't believe this crap has been so rough for FIVE months, and I *still* have a good day for every 7 bad ones. Wifey has been through the same, although she is probably back to 90% now, I'm still around 60% because of liver and heart issues. Somehow, we both dodged the pneumonia bullet from this, maybe because we both had pneumonia boosters in November.
9
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: WILD or WIND 6950 USB 0036 25 May 2020
« on: May 25, 2020, 1215 UTC »
Just to verify, I was testing USB mode... calls were
W I L D
W I L D
10
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6935.30 AM 0015 UTC 24 May 2020
« on: May 24, 2020, 0106 UTC »
My tweaking, continued from 6925.2. I shut it down when I heard a station sending CD ID in my lower sideband.
11
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925.2 AM & New World Radio 6925 AM 22:17 UTC 23 May 2020
« on: May 24, 2020, 0104 UTC »
To clear any confusion... I was tuning up my audio with 40w peak with the music on 6925.2AM, NWR was not anywhere to be heard when I started. I pushed it up to 100w peak just as Aldo Nova started playing, and BSOD'ed my music computer. 
So, he started right about that time I reckon. My audio line to the front panel audio jack was picking up RF like crazy. A couple clip-on ferrites seemed to do the trick.
So, anyways, that is what the deal is here. FWIW, I heard the NWR ID in my local monitor fairly clear when I shut down the carrier. So, if NWR was on when I first signed on, my apologies.
So, he started right about that time I reckon. My audio line to the front panel audio jack was picking up RF like crazy. A couple clip-on ferrites seemed to do the trick. So, anyways, that is what the deal is here. FWIW, I heard the NWR ID in my local monitor fairly clear when I shut down the carrier. So, if NWR was on when I first signed on, my apologies.
12
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6923 USB 0018 UTC 4 May 2020
« on: May 04, 2020, 0114 UTC »
Tick Tock has been making the trip to Michigan quite well. S9 and above on the 43m dipole, sat 800. Hardly any fading or noise here.
13
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Psycho Radio, 4015 usb, 0250 utc, 8 Mar 20
« on: March 08, 2020, 0341 UTC »
Nothing here, but I'm tuned to 4015 kilopsychos, sooo...
14
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID on 6925 USB @ 0100 07 March
« on: March 07, 2020, 0117 UTC »
I have it just above the noise here on my DX440. Playing Peter Schilling. A UTE on USB is giving you a lot of QRM. Now, playing Whip it by Devo.
Coming in pretty decent on Sigmacomm SDR on CT/MA border, about S6, UTE still working you over, and also sounds like some CW in the mix.
Coming in pretty decent on Sigmacomm SDR on CT/MA border, about S6, UTE still working you over, and also sounds like some CW in the mix.
15
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Ballsmacker Radio 6960 AM 0156 UTC 29 FEB 2020
« on: February 29, 2020, 0222 UTC »
I can just hear the music on my Grundig in AM Sync mode... a lot of local QRM, but I made out Love Shack and the Capt & Tennille tune.
I could hear parts of the 10CC tune, part of an ID... a really rough copy locally.
Been working in the shack here while I listen... definitely a "Love" theme..
I could hear parts of the 10CC tune, part of an ID... a really rough copy locally.
Been working in the shack here while I listen... definitely a "Love" theme..
