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Topics - Treehouse SWL

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1
MW Loggings / KYW 1060 AM 0734 UTC 7 March 2024
« on: March 07, 2024, 2014 UTC »
Based on a tip from a MW DXing page on Facebook that an SDR near me was picking up KYW, I tried a few times during the evening to hear it. Finally, after trying on a couple different radios and adjusting my indoor loop just right, I heard news mentioning a shooting at a SEPTA stop and more. The audio exactly matched KYW's as heard via a Delaware SDR. KYW's audio stayed solid for more than 10 minutes before fading back out. But it came back again a couple times after 0800 UTC.

This is a new logging for me, and my first from Pennsylvania. KYW's transmitters sit about 2,350 miles away from me, which makes this my second-best MW catch after Cuba.

2
North American Shortwave Pirate / WDOG 6925 USB 0109 UTC 21 Jan 2024
« on: January 21, 2024, 0109 UTC »
Listening via the Burke, Virginia, SDR ...

0109 UTC: Guitar rock music.
0114 UTC: "YYZ" by Rush.
0115 UTC: OM on the mic briefly, then "A Passage to Bangkok (live)" by Rush.
0118 UTC: Sounded like OM on the mic again, but this signal's losing out to the noise level on this SDR.
0119 UTC: Another Rush song.

3
Equipment / Best cheap loop or compact antenna?
« on: January 10, 2024, 2052 UTC »

So, in a case of "I haven't had enough coffee and my brain's not working," I recently reversed the receiver and antenna outputs on my MLA-30+'s bias tee, that little piece of electronics got REALLY hot before I finally noticed, and then it stopped working. It has since started lighting up again at times, but I'm not sure it'll still work in the long term.

I like the MLA-30+ as a low-cost secondary antenna to my end-fed longwire, and it works better in some conditions with my receivers than the longwire. Additionally, the MLA-30+ seems to work pretty well with the RTL-SDR I've started playing around with. So, here's my question:

Do I get another MLA-30+, or is there a better option for ~$50 out there, like the Youloop or some other compact design?

4
0134 UTC: Blasting nicely in here directly with "Feelings."
0135 UTC: "I'm Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" by Ralph Flanagan.
0139 UTC: "African Echoes" by Ferrante & Teicher.
0142 UTC: "Nathalie" by Gilbert Bécaud (in French/en francais)
0146 UTC: "Once Was" by Harry Belafonte.
0151 UTC: ID: "You're listening to B-Side Radio," followed by "My Melody of Love" by Rhinelanders International.
0155 UTC: ‎Mediterranean/Eastern European instrumental song.
0159 UTC: OM on the mic with ID and shout-outs to the HFU folks, including me.
0200 UTC: "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" by Leo Addeo and His Orchestra.

Thanks for the music and the nice AM signal out here on the West Coast!

5
North American Shortwave Pirate / WREC 6925 USB 2022 UTC 31 Oct. 2023
« on: October 31, 2023, 2028 UTC »
Listening via the NA5B SDR near Washington, D.C. Good signal, though a bit quiet at times/SINPO 35333.

2009 UTC: Right after Voice of Smoke ended on this frequency, there was an old radio skit playing.
2014 UTC: ID given amid the noise, then "Zombie Zoo" by Tom Petty.
2017 UTC: More noises, then female voice saying "Howdy, DXers, this is Pat ..." Then some noises and other talking I couldn't totally hear.
2023 UTC: I think the OM host said WREC; he was a little quiet on the mic. But he gave a shout-out by name to those posting on HFUnderground and said he was playing a repeat of a 1990s Halloween special broadcast.
2027 UTC: After long silence, a "Happy Halloween" song started playing.
2030 UTC: "This is Halloween" by Marilyn Manson.
2033 UTC: "She Was a Teenage Zombie" by Murderdolls.
2036 UTC: OM on mic mentioning the just-played songs, shouting out HFU posters, and mentioning again this is a 1995 Halloween broadcast he's repeating.
2038 UTC: "Bark at the Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne.
2042 UTC: "Die, Die My Darling" by The Misfits.
2045 UTC: "October 31st" by Acid Witch.
2047 UTC: "Night of the Vampire" by Roky Erickson.
2051 UTC: "Zombie" by The Cranberries.
2056 UTC: OM back on mic, saying there's more of the old broadcast to come, if it works. The start of the broadcast I heard ~40 minutes ago then repeated.

Thanks for the vintage Halloween broadcast, WREC!

6
Heard these very loud and clear via the NA5B SDR near Washington, D.C.

2016 UTC: Tones on, then silence.
2020 UTC: Two transmissions of tones with silence in between.
2022 UTC: Another transmission tone -- it's a very wide signal.


7
MW Loggings / New loggings: KMZQ, KOAL, and KATL
« on: September 09, 2023, 2312 UTC »
This past summer, I acquired a CCRadio 2 and inherited a GE Superadio 3, so I've been trying them out to get used to their reception quirks, etc. Last night/early this morning, I used the CCRadio 2 with my AN-100 indoor loop and ended up logging three new ones from my location north of Seattle:

    KMZQ 670 in Las Vegas (870 miles). I matched its talk programming with the station's online stream. This was the first time I was able to clearly hear something behind KBOI, which dominates. This supposedly runs just 600 watts at night, but I suspect it was using its daytime power.
    KOAL 750 in Price, Utah (806 miles). This was lurking behind Portland's KXTG with "Coast to Coast AM"; it runs at 6.8 kW at night.
    KATL 770 in Miles City, Montana (768 miles). I could hear this one mixing with Saskatchewan's CKJH behind Seattle's KTTH with adult contemporary songs (including Taylor Swift) that matched the station's online stream. It runs 1 kW at night.

8
Shortwave Broadcast / LRA36 15475 USB 2035 UTC 15 March 2023
« on: March 15, 2023, 2057 UTC »
The Antarctica station noted they'd be testing this week on 15475, and at 2035 UTC, I found LRA36 on 15475 USB (at least it was heard best in USB) with a rock ballad, then an ID, into a rock instrumental with a male voice speaking during the song, another ID, then into a slow rock song with a singer who sounded at times like Tom Waits.

The signal heard via the Montevideo, Uruguay, SDR suddenly went off the air around 2047 UTC. Here near Seattle, I could faintly hear the music directly, especially during the guitar peaks, but it was overall much worse than last Saturday's reception of LRA-36.

9
Good signal here near Seattle, though I'm getting some SSB distortion on the audio ...

0258 UTC: YL ID, then a male-voiced ID into "China Grove" by The Doobie Brothers.
0302 UTC: YL ID: "You are listening to Mix Radio International on Shortwave" into "Dixie Chicken" by Little Feat.
0306 UTC: ID: "All you listeners are now in the Mix ...", followed by "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads. Interference from utility station on about 12203 kHz is mixing with the beat of this song!
0309 UTC: Interference noise has now swallowed most of the audio.
* * * *
0311 UTC: "Tangerine" by Led Zeppelin on 12225 USB. Then, suddenly the signal moved to 12230 USB, again with "Tangerine."
0313 UTC: IDs again into "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie.
0317 UTC: Several IDs again, a male announcer with a little chatter, another female-voiced ID.
0319 UTC: After another ID, "The Zoo" by Scorpions.
0324 UTC: "Solid Rock" by Dire Straits (sounded like an SSTV-type signal over the song as it started).

Thanks for the music, MRI!

10
Not many signals in the 15 MHz band at 0218 UTC here on the U.S. West Coast, but I caught All India Radio broadcasting in Nepali on 15210 this evening. They started talking about historical events on this date, and  that section started with a man speaking in English, with translation in presumed Nepali right after.

The transmitter went off the air for a moment around 0224 UTC, then came back on air with English again, this time talking about the birthday anniversary of Bollywood actress Helen Ann Richardson Khan. After a short medley of  her singing in her films, the program went back to Nepali again, and the signal faded out to barely audible by 0235 UTC. Poor to fair reception before that point.

11
Equipment / Best type of coax for an antenna feed line?
« on: September 21, 2022, 0536 UTC »
Question from an antenna novice: My long-wire antenna previously was simply connected through a feedline wire that my dog chewed through. So, now, as I resurrect my use of that antenna, I'm using coaxial cable (out of the dog's reach) and proper connectors.

One question: What's the best coaxial type to use for an antenna feed line: plain-old RG6 or something else?

12
Equipment / SWL antenna: Higher but shorter or longer but lower?
« on: September 13, 2022, 0016 UTC »
Question: I've had pretty good reception the past three or so years using a 50-foot wire antenna on top of my backyard fence (about 6-7 feet from the ground) along the edge of our sloped backyard. I also have an MLA-30+, but the long-wire antenna is still better.

The feed line to this antenna broke (actually, our puppy chewed through it), and as I get ready to fix it, it made me wonder about the one other option I have for antenna placement: We have a deck 15-20 feet off the ground, and I could either string a 25-foot-long wire along the long side railing of that, or string about 40 feet of wire along the three sides of the deck.

On the one hand, that antenna would be much higher off the ground than my fence antenna. However, it wouldn't be as long, and it would be closer to potential RFI sources in the house.

Should I stick with my proven antenna placement, or use the higher-up but shorter location?

13
This signal faded up out of the noise this evening here near Seattle. Usual programming with Josiah speaking.

14
Just checked on this frequency after being surprised to hear YHWH with Josiah's preaching here the other day, and he's back. Lots of fading and noise, but the signal heard here near Seattle is slowing getting a little better at the peaks.

The "Days of Hard Life" song cut through the noise around 2200 UTC, a bit more talking by Josiah, then gone by 2205 UTC.

15
Sure sounds like Josiah preaching on a decent signal in between deep fades and with considerable noise here near Seattle.

1819 UTC: Still going. The signal's good enough, though, that it's peaking at a nice level in between the fades, even though I've got just my MLA-30+ antenna connected rather than my better long-wire antenna (that one's waiting for parts).

1820 UTC: "Days of Hard Life" song.
1823 UTC: Still preaching, but being overtaken quickly by noise.
1825 UTC: Think he signed off, as the carrier's even gone now.

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