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Messages - buzzy buzzard

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1
Shortwave Broadcast / Re: CFVP Calgary
« on: June 17, 2023, 1147 UTC »
CFVP shortwave dark?

Bell Canada who owns CFVP, has cut many positions in its Media division, stations shuttered, foreign news bureaus closed, the CTV television network continues its downward slide.  So I assume the shortwave outlet CFVP is dark as well.  it seems Wikipedia has been updated and refers to a June 14th final transmission  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CKMX

Here in Winnipeg, a Sister station Funny 1290 AM (CFRW) is also dark. Formerly this was a TSN sports format, previous to that an oldies format, and many years 1989-ish ago 1290 FOX, a light music for the dentist's office type of station. 

The station reportedly went into a loop at 10am local time, with an announcement claiming bad days for AM radio, and a few minutes of elevator music.  The carrier was off the next day.

2
Shortwave Broadcast / CFVP
« on: May 26, 2022, 1831 UTC »
Just a little mention that CFVP 6.03 MHz is still transmitting these days.

I caught them during a bandscan of 49 metres a few days back but I wasn't fastidious enough to note the time and date.  This was my first catch of CFVP, largely because I never actively seeked out the station.  I more often heard the MW main CKMX 1060 KHz (Calgary's Funny 1060) many evenings of AM DX.  Now that CFRW 1290 Winnipeg was reformatted from a TSN sports station to Funny 1290, I thought for a minute that the local AM 1290 station was bleeding through onto the shortwave dial.  I listened for the commercial break and heard the Calgary branding. 

There you are, CFVP I had left for dead is still on the air.  I haven't read any post on the subject for quite some time.

Used a Marconi 138 console radio with an MLA-30 loop.

3
Propagation / Map or chart grouping pirate reception by area?
« on: February 22, 2020, 0420 UTC »
Hi,

Has there ever been on this board or in the wiki section any general geographical Map or table showing loggings of various hf pirate broadcasts? I am interested in knowing what pirates would be easier catches based on what quadrant or area of North America one is listening in. East Coast, Pacific North West, Midwest etc.   

I can sort of figure some of it out based on looking at loggings and the location of the poster, but sometimes I wonder what the farthest regular reception logs are for a given pirate. 

4
I have some horrible interference* from leaky DSL phone lines on the pole or something close by, the AM DX is for the most part down in the raised noise floor.  But I really love listening in on AM rag chewing, easy on the ears and easy on my BFO wrist. 

The Rally gives me an excuse to use my Zenith T-O 3000.

*I even shut the main house breaker off and the QRM was still as strong as ever.

5
General Radio Discussion / Re: A couple of newbie questions
« on: February 02, 2019, 2356 UTC »
If you (or anybody who reads this that are newbies) are able to watch YouTube I'd recommend a channel called Official SWL Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialSWLchannel tons of videos mostly of various SW catches.

But if you look deep in that channels's videos you'll find a set of beginners tutorials that might answer many questions in an actual demonstrated way I could not explain very well just using the written word.  He also has live shows where one can ask questions live and direct.  It's pretty cool if I happen to be near a computer.  I'm usually parked in front of a radio lately though.

6
7370 khz AM mode

Links to off-air audio below.  Please note that cassette playback machine on fritz so a clicking was unavoidably introduced during digitizing at second location.  Also I had the BFO on for a good portion before I realized this was AM and switched off.


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f1bhkahrc4p58ot/AABv-0bJKT_nSm6rSE_1M4Yoa?dl=0



7
Did anyone catch an UNID with OM "testing testing 12345" etc? Sounds like he was conversing on the phone with someone taking field readings "this is broadcast station..."  and State Anthem of the Soviet Union on repeat, played Elvis on repeat a bit, then Bo Diddly, before transmitting in earnest with more 1950s and early 60s tunes before signing off at 06:00 UTC.  I have a recording on cassette I need to digitize. I can't give an exact frequency as my radio has a crude (but pretty) analogue dial.  The aircheck had a freq announced so will update.

8
Shortwave BC bands are hard enough in North America to find suitable content to fit my mood.  Now what?  It's 1984 and Big Brother Scare is watching you on 11 frequencies.  What business model works for SW?  If Over Done-r Ministry can make a go of it, by having enough listeners to convince to pony up to buy airtime and then some, they must surely be life left in the medium.

When I was still on the farm in the 1990s and had to repair a tractor out in the field shortwave made the time fly by.  My wi-fi reception is obviously non-existent out in the middle of nowhere.  If I had brought some podcasts, most likely they would be poor substitutes to a live shortwave "stream" with news bulletins and happy surprises. 

The internet is a whole other kind of cumbersome hunting, powering up the computer logging in, clicking a mad trail to your content.  I'm not in the habit.  The medium is the message after all.  Media types seem to have forgotten that.

Well I'll enjoy what little Radio Australia that remains until the 31st.

9
I suppose a Fed official had a second job as a Wall-Mart greeter, they might smile.

Nice to see somethings built not destroyed.  HAARP ready to go back into action, I'm surprised it didn't get dismantled like CBC-RCI Sackville.

Space plasma bombs seem to be on the military's mind these days.  A bit of a hollywood re-make of something they did in the 1960s  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_West_Ford

"So, a ring of 480,000,000 copper dipole antennas (1.78 cm long needles, 25.4μm [1961] / 17.8μm [1963] in diameter) was placed in orbit to facilitate global radio communication"

"As of 2013, 46 clumps of needles are still in orbit, and occasionally re-enter."

10
I can pull WSM 75% of the nights here in Winnipeg, WGN, and WLS, WJR among other clear channels.  I listen because they often have unique shows (local talk, OTR on weekends, different regional sport events).  They should be protected, with the caveat that they must not air syndicated programming. If you want night time protection show that you give a damn buy having programming unique to those hours. When you have multiple spots on the nighttime dial with coast to coast or red eye radio what's the point?  network programming should go to smaller stations so less over lap at night.  Maybe do another NARBA type overhaul if things get that messed up, so you have the local graveyard channels, and a chunk for AM micro-broadcasters, and then clear channels, and throw a couple of 500, 000 watt blasters (who could afford them though?) in for good measure (that'll cut through the wall wart noise!) Perhaps those few blasters could be set up as terrestrial music streams much like on satellite radio but live hosted.  That way you'd be guaranteed a large enough audience (remember it's free on any old AM radio over a wide geographic area to compensate for a niche format).

In the end the AM dial needs a little more variety esp. at night. Wouldn't it be great to hear different music or spoken word programming on AM? Stations are becoming advertising beacons and programming is getting too cheaply produced with shock jocks shouting indignant about some guaranteed hot button issue to rile people and get ratings.  Syndication is only good if you're the only station in a given area broadcasting it, and automation works only if your playlist is unique.  When it comes to music programming it's hardy a Laissez-faire situation with all the "market" research and centralized consultants results in similar playlists in a given sure-fire format. Either buck the trend and invest some cash to add value and make it a good station to listen to. or let it go and let NPR or Public access stations crop up in place.  Religious stations may well fill the band like on shortwave. Reminds me of urban decay.

I am in receiving distance of a couple interesting local AM stations, one is CBC (NPR-ish programs) documentaries, comedy,  science magazine programs, by day and BBC, Deutsche Welle etc. segments by night.  Another is a full service rural country music station that switches format to classical music at night.

Shortwave broadcasting is not like it was in the 1990s, but I can still DX many interesting stations that are very different than the MW and FM stations. 



 

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