Topics

1

The RF Workbench / Home-Brew, 20W, 5-Band HF Amp. Nice!!!!

« on: June 16, 2025, 1629 UTC »

https://www.qsl.net/on6mu/schemas/hf_5-band_mosfet_amplifier.htm     Hey, 20W on 20M and 15M can get you there, when the bands are wide-open. 40M, in the daytime isn't out of the question either. COOL!!!!

2

10/11 meters / 27.275 MHz AM late night Sporadic "E" path to S. MA 04:15 UTC 14 June 2025.

« on: June 14, 2025, 1625 UTC »

Coming back from work after 02:00UTC, (10PM EST), heard "E" skip pound in on several CB channels in the truck, all the LSB's CH's 34 - 40, and several AM CH's, 21, 23, 6, 18, and 31. No locals, since the local T-storm was still going, but centered maybe 10 miles away from me. After midnight, around 04:15 UTC, I was testing a 4-pin, newer, Cobra 25LTD Classic CB, that I actually found in the trash. The problem??? No power cord, from what I've found. (I've earlier ADJ AMC, SQ, RF OUT, etc.) Still on stock mic, and dated March 2021. (Why trashed??? Who knows...) Anyway, before bed, the T-storm was better than +50 miles away. So, safe to put that rig on the Starduster 1/4-Wave GND-Plane. Only activity heard was 27.275 MHz AM, (CB CH27.), with two dudes QSO'ing, and deep fades, from 1lbs to over 9lbs. (CB terms for S-Units here.) I heard a local WV station try to work them, but to no avail. By 12:30AM, they were coming in stronger. They skip-numbered ID'ed as 442 and 508 from SE MA, Boston Suburbs. I heard them picking stations from KY, TN, and VA. So, I tried working them on barefoot stock power, stock mic, and got them. Good, to only exchange skip #'s and state, since they were getting pile-ups. I didn't loose them by 1AM, they both called it a night. Neat, to hear a single "E" path stay open that late. 

3

Amateur Radio / ARRL VHF / UHF Contest 6/14-15/2025.

« on: June 11, 2025, 1847 UTC »

https://www.arrl.org/june-vhf    Despite all the craziness in the news, got this contest to try out. Huh... Now you can accept FM 1.2GHz and 902MHz contacts as a point? Really, you couldn't before? So, those of you with multi-band HT's, that include 902MHz and 1294.500MHz FM simplex, could now work and give points out to contestants. BTW, good practice warm-up for the ARRL Field Day,  https://www.arrl.org/field-day   

4

Propagation / How about FM Broadcast Double-Hop "E" catches? RW writes about it!

« on: June 11, 2025, 1809 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/double-hop-dreams-and-the-mystery-of-long-distance-fm  I still remember, a story from a dude, that invested into the then testing on a construction permit of Wellsville, NY's, WJQZ 93.5FM in Summer 1985, that they've received a QSL request from Egypt. And, not Egypt, NY. It was always neat to drive around, in what was usually a mundane FM reception area, and then hear like a Z-Rock affiliate out of Houston, TX into Western New York. I'll have to look to see how many FM stations I've heard via "E" skip over the years from USA, Canada, and even Mexico. I believe that Mr. FM, Bruce Elving, wrote a lot about this as well. Tis the season...   

5

Huh? / Real Time FM DX'ing Map from Rabbit Ears? Apparently, new.

« on: June 08, 2025, 1825 UTC »

https://rabbitears.info/tvdx/fm_all_tuners     Rabbit Ears is know for its Television OTA INFO, but here's FM DX INFO. Neat to have, with Sporadic E and Tropo Propagation ramping up for the Summer 2025 season.

6

Equipment / RW ENG suggested a DSP portable as a make-shift STL Receiver? Yeah, could....

« on: June 07, 2025, 1958 UTC »

Boomer thought I'd get a kick out of what this dude writes about.  https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/workbench/when-a-standard-isnt    That really wide-banded DSP portable? (Past the non-standard 3.5mm plugs.)    https://www.aliexpress.us/w/wholesale-HanRongDa-HRD%2525252d757-Multiband-Radio.html?spm=a2g0o.home.search.0  Now, what he's talking about is the 900MHz point-to-point STL links that many radio stations still use. As long as it's still analog FM, yeah, that could work in a pinch. BTW, my Kenwood TH-F6A Handy Talkie could do this as well, albeit, not broadcast quality audio, but just voice COMM quality. OH... About the covering of 3.5mm multi-conductor plugs? Many portable analog video units, like DVD players, camcorders, DV decks, 8mm decks, etc.,  used these for L/R stereo audio and video out. Different subject, from that DSP wide-band portable. However, looking at that portable, it's just AM / FM, and no SSB that I could see. Still, might be neat to have.

7

Weather / G4 (Severe) Geomagnetic Storm Watch in Effect for 2 June UTC-Day?

« on: May 31, 2025, 1801 UTC »

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ ,   https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g4-severe-geomagnetic-storm-watch-effect-2-june-utc-day       Hey Chris? Do you have anymore INFO about this?

8

Amateur Radio / Nelly Orr and her HAM communications back in the news, again.

« on: May 30, 2025, 1359 UTC »

A snibbit from Glen Beck, he's looking into Nelly Orr, again. Remember, when her, and her husban, Bruce Orr, were deeply involved in the so-called 'Russian Collusion' that almost got Pres. Trump impeached? Well... If you remember, Nelly Orr used Amateur Radio Communications to relay INFO for this, since it was believed that Amateur Radio COMM's would not be recorded, like TEXT and e-mails. Or, are they??? For at least the last 20-some years, the FCC, and other gov agencies, have had the capabilities to remotely receive and record spectrum-wide communications. So, somewhere out there, there's her, and others', communication this 'Russian Collusion' plan over HAM FREQ's on hard drives stored somewhere. If so, Nelly could be breaking all sorts of FCC rules, like secret and covert COMM's. And, planning what maybe illegal activities. If, all this is true, what's her call sign, when were these HAM COMM's, and what bands and FREQ's did she, and others, do these on? This much is known, it was before COVID-19. So, this maybe turning up to be something, or nothing. Hmmmm.... Most likely, it will get buried in obscurity, again, and disappear.

9

General Radio Discussion / RW rip: Armstrong Broadcast Returns to New Jersey in June, 42.800MHz FM.

« on: May 29, 2025, 1542 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/armstrong-broadcast-returns-to-new-jersey-in-june    I'm not likely to be able to hear that here in SW WV. Even with "E" skip, that FREQ will most likely skip over me. However, "E" skip to 600 - 1,000 miles could be the sweet-spot to hear this. Locally, NY, CT, NJ, and E. PA, could hear this with a scanner, or VHF TV, antenna, or even a 6M antenna, for like 100 miles out. With many companies and municipalities abandoning the VHF Low Band, you would be very likely to hear this station, even if it comes-in weak, where you are. What's nice about 42.800MHz is that it can penetrate into rough terrain and less affected by thick tree foliage. However, the reason it was abandoned for broadcasting in the first place was due to F2 and "E" skip. Those early broadcasts on 42MHz had reports from around the world. Anyway, sounds like fun. 

10

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / A free AM Carrier-Current Coupler Unit? You might already just have one.

« on: May 28, 2025, 1806 UTC »

Ya know... A friend of mine struck on a subject that I've wanted to explore for a while now, a free Carrier-Current Coupling Unit for the AM Broadcast Band. And, you might just have one already. When a DSL MODEM is done with use, don't trash it, but cob it for parts, like that built-in coupler for Carrier-Current to the phone lines. You'd think that would be good for a few watts. And, not HOT inject, but Neutral inject. Hey... The price is right, and everyone usually just trashes these. Certainly, worth looking into. I have yet to try this myself, but had contemplated on the idea for a while now. So, if y'all out there got the time to open one of these units up and cob the coupler units, I'd like to hear the results.

11

Huh? / Can the NAB be DOGE'd of our tax $$$$$?

« on: May 28, 2025, 1500 UTC »

My dumb question of the week. Does the National Association of Broadcasters, (NAB), take in any funding from the federal government? And, if so, can that be DOGE'd out? If, they are a 501C6 non-profit organization, let them fund themselves. Hey, NPR and PBS are getting slashed of tax $$$$, so it would seem that the NAB should be looked at next. I understand that they have their offices right next to the FCC in Washington. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Broadcasters    Thought that this might give a clue, but not from what I see here.    https://nabpac.com/2023/default.asp    Anyway, the question is asked.

12

Huh? / The U.S. FM Landscape by the Numbers? For those of us that love 'useless INFO'.

« on: May 25, 2025, 1751 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/the-u-s-fm-landscape-by-the-numbers    Now, someone need to do this for AM Radio, then TV.

13

Huh? / A Belt From Gates Radio? RW rip of 'before Tapecaster Cart Machines'.

« on: May 25, 2025, 1741 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/roots-of-radio/a-belt-from-gates-radio   Anyone old-time radio buff remember this? I remember for years wanting a Tapecaster Cart Machine, that didn't look like it came from a war-zone. But, by September 1994, that wanting vanished with MiniDisc, to do the same thing as a cart machine. BTW, the bad thing about the Tapecasters is that it was a dirty format, where you had to clean the tape path's in the machines. That, was rarely, if ever, done at many stations. I've been asked by friends, in broadcasting, to visit them to use isopropanol and cotton swabs to do just that, especially college stations. That Gates Belt-Type spot Player sounded pretty reliable, but Tapecaster won-out for decades. (Boomer! Thanks, again...)   

14

Propagation / Summer Sporadic "E" is back? Sounded like it. And, pirate possibilities?

« on: May 25, 2025, 1600 UTC »

Around 03:00UTC, I had the 11M CB on, for the 1st time in weeks, only to find it jamming with activity. 10M??? Void of activity. 1st, were station heard around Baton Rouge, LA, then, several booming-in from E. TX at +S20/9, then going North to AR, OK, then ending in MO. By 04:00UTC, midnight my time, it was like someone flicked the "E" switch and shut the band off. I didn't make any contacts, but the Sporadic "E" Season is just getting started.
ADDITIONAL:  Back to 11M Sporadic "E" propagation? When it does come, you usually can't really predict when it is coming, but listening to the CB 11M band is the best indication for when it is wide-open to some where. Here's the thing, it's the perfect PROP for pirating on the INT 11M BC Band. Why??? Because, those Sporadic "E" clouds are just point to point, then moves around the point. So, not wide-area, like F2 PROP. The perfect Gorilla Warfare style of pirating. A 30min broadcast, with lots of ID's, could make it out with like 5W, and still be like S+10/9. And, chances are, only one FCC monitoring station will hear that at a time, not three, for triangulation. Let me just say, it has been done. Could be done easily via mobile operations as well. DX Maps, on 12M and 10M, would be the best to use as an indicator as well. https://www.dxmaps.com/spots/mapg.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&ML=M&Map=W2LN&HF=N&DXC=ING2&GL=S   (Hit the thumb nail for the band you wanna' look up.) Oh... Less lightning and other noisy crap there as well.

15

Huh? / Latest Radio World rips, 5/23/2025? Sure...

« on: May 23, 2025, 1708 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/business-and-law/sbe-proposes-easing-fccs-fm-interference-rules

and

https://www.radioworld.com/global/the-79th-wrth-is-the-bible-for-dx-listening

and then,

https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/delilahs-kdunam-signs-off

Well, that sucks... THANKS, Boomer!!!