61
Huh? / Re: I hate Whisper ham radio
« on: November 01, 2023, 0234 UTC »but the difference is that these are all "preemptable"
Oh, very nice. What did you have to do to make this work?
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.
Oh, very nice. What did you have to do to make this work?
OK. Sounding good on the Vermont SDR. Reception is actually better than 6880.
At some point I will put up my antenna in my yard and turn on the radio behind me. I'm still working this afternoon and sunset isn't for another hour or so.
OMG. Someone needs to tell me how it comes out. Does the earth survive? Does humanity survive?
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Oh, very nice. What did you have to do to make this work?
62
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: KIPM Flying Dutchman via Undercover Radio 6933 USB 0200 UTC 1 NOV 2023
« on: November 01, 2023, 0224 UTC »
Love Scratchmoney's SDR, except tonight because it's "off the air". 
Much bummers.
Cool quad loop antenna. I want to build one like that.
Much bummers.Cool quad loop antenna. I want to build one like that.
63
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925 USB 0219 UTC 1 NOV 2023
« on: November 01, 2023, 0221 UTC »
0215 (approximately) - caught the end of an Iron Maiden song.
0219 - WREC IDs. Into Van Halen.
0226 - P.J. Sparks (Sparx?) on the mic, inviting us to "stay tuned for the next 40 minutes or so."
0219 - WREC IDs. Into Van Halen.
0226 - P.J. Sparks (Sparx?) on the mic, inviting us to "stay tuned for the next 40 minutes or so."
64
The RF Workbench / Re: NCP driver sucks
« on: November 01, 2023, 0047 UTC »
Yes, the NCP81074 does indeed suck for our purposes. I'm not planning to use it ever again.
It is simply not suitable for use at >6 MHz on anything with a Qg >~8 nC; you will blow the NCP81074. The reasons are:
1) The NCP81074 runs a high supply current at these frequencies, which dramatically increases its power dissipation.
2) It does not have an exposed paddle (called an "EPAD" in industry lingo) under its "belly" to allow you solder it to the PCB and get the heat out, which is absolutely necessary. (Most heat will come out of the belly since that is where the silicon die is attached to the package leadframe. Adding a heatsink to the top is not going to help much.)
You can get it to work and stay alive at lower Vdd (< 9 V) depending upon the transistor but then you can't drive many LDMOS, GaN and especially SiC transistors) to full on (lowest Rds_on), because the Qg needed to get the gate up to ~12 V far exceeds what the driver can deliver and not burn up. The demands upon the gate driver to source current (and thus dissipate heat) are significantly higher at 12 V than 6 V for example. Then when modulation of the final FET is added to the mix, the current demands at the gate increase again too. The NCP81074 can drive 4-6 A but it can't dissipate the heat that this causes when trying to do this at 6+ MHz, 50% duty cycle, Vdd = 12 V.
Keep in mind that the NCP is not characterized to work beyond 2 MHz. Obviously you can try it - we all do this - but understand that you may suffer unpredictable performance. Every time I have blown one of these up and soldered a new one down, I get a somewhat different supply current than the previous during operation. This tells me everything I need to know. You don't know what you are going to get the next time and the next time, etc, because you are working in conditions that are marginal and unintended for the chip. You likely won't see this at < 2 MHz because that is where it is spec'ed and intended to operate.
Instead, I have been using the Renesas ISL89163 dual driver or the TI UCC27614. Both have EPADs, can drive 6+ A and are plenty fast. (The ISL89163 can be paralleled for ~12A, the UCC27614 can do 10 A.) I haven't explored the TI chip much but I had the ISL89163 running at 18 MHz on a 28 nC gate Transphorm Cascode FET the other day and it looked like I still had extra pulse width to spare, i.e., the edges weren't so rounded that the pulse was horribly distorted. No self-destruction so far. The ISL89163 has roughly half the supply current of the NCP81074 at the same frequency. Of course, these aren't spec'ed to operate at 6-7 MHz either, but so far I have not seen the same limitations as the NCP81074.
TI does make a FET driver that is intended to be used up to 50 MHz for LIDAR (LMG1025-Q1) but it can't go above 5 V.
It is simply not suitable for use at >6 MHz on anything with a Qg >~8 nC; you will blow the NCP81074. The reasons are:
1) The NCP81074 runs a high supply current at these frequencies, which dramatically increases its power dissipation.
2) It does not have an exposed paddle (called an "EPAD" in industry lingo) under its "belly" to allow you solder it to the PCB and get the heat out, which is absolutely necessary. (Most heat will come out of the belly since that is where the silicon die is attached to the package leadframe. Adding a heatsink to the top is not going to help much.)
You can get it to work and stay alive at lower Vdd (< 9 V) depending upon the transistor but then you can't drive many LDMOS, GaN and especially SiC transistors) to full on (lowest Rds_on), because the Qg needed to get the gate up to ~12 V far exceeds what the driver can deliver and not burn up. The demands upon the gate driver to source current (and thus dissipate heat) are significantly higher at 12 V than 6 V for example. Then when modulation of the final FET is added to the mix, the current demands at the gate increase again too. The NCP81074 can drive 4-6 A but it can't dissipate the heat that this causes when trying to do this at 6+ MHz, 50% duty cycle, Vdd = 12 V.
Keep in mind that the NCP is not characterized to work beyond 2 MHz. Obviously you can try it - we all do this - but understand that you may suffer unpredictable performance. Every time I have blown one of these up and soldered a new one down, I get a somewhat different supply current than the previous during operation. This tells me everything I need to know. You don't know what you are going to get the next time and the next time, etc, because you are working in conditions that are marginal and unintended for the chip. You likely won't see this at < 2 MHz because that is where it is spec'ed and intended to operate.
Instead, I have been using the Renesas ISL89163 dual driver or the TI UCC27614. Both have EPADs, can drive 6+ A and are plenty fast. (The ISL89163 can be paralleled for ~12A, the UCC27614 can do 10 A.) I haven't explored the TI chip much but I had the ISL89163 running at 18 MHz on a 28 nC gate Transphorm Cascode FET the other day and it looked like I still had extra pulse width to spare, i.e., the edges weren't so rounded that the pulse was horribly distorted. No self-destruction so far.
The ISL89163 has roughly half the supply current of the NCP81074 at the same frequency. Of course, these aren't spec'ed to operate at 6-7 MHz either, but so far I have not seen the same limitations as the NCP81074.TI does make a FET driver that is intended to be used up to 50 MHz for LIDAR (LMG1025-Q1) but it can't go above 5 V.
65
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: X-FM via Radio Illuminati 4195 AM was 6880 AM 2300 UTC 31 OCT 2023
« on: October 31, 2023, 2357 UTC »Had to move to 4195
OK. Sounding good on the Vermont SDR. Reception is actually better than 6880.
At some point I will put up my antenna in my yard and turn on the radio behind me. I'm still working this afternoon and sunset isn't for another hour or so.
66
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: X-FM via Radio Illuminati 4195 AM was 6880 AM 2300 UTC 31 OCT 2023
« on: October 31, 2023, 2336 UTC »
Carrier lost at 2335 UTC.
67
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: ION Radio 6950 AM 2054 UTC 31 OCT 2023
« on: October 31, 2023, 2119 UTC »
Signal is quite loud on the K1VL SDR in Vermont at the moment, S9+ / SINPO 53554 because someone is sending CW ("CQ de..", etc.) underneath with what sounds like an older TX and a bit of hum.
2159: TX off.
2159: TX off.
68
North American Shortwave Pirate / Witch City Radio 6935 AM 2113 UTC 31 OCT 2023
« on: October 31, 2023, 2114 UTC »
2113 - Open carrier at the moment. Might be a difficult place to be given the expected QRM on both sides, unless they are just "holding their spot" for future use.
2212 (approximately) - programming starts in earnest with some laughter, etc.
2233 - Wellsville address given, said to be broadcasting from Salem, MA. Announcer has a distinct Massachusetts accent, for authenticity.
2240 - An audio story about the The House of Usher.
2245 - TX off, after witch cackling.
2212 (approximately) - programming starts in earnest with some laughter, etc.
2233 - Wellsville address given, said to be broadcasting from Salem, MA. Announcer has a distinct Massachusetts accent, for authenticity.
2240 - An audio story about the The House of Usher.
2245 - TX off, after witch cackling.
69
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio Halloween 6934.98 AM 0106 UTC 29 Oct 2023
« on: October 29, 2023, 0138 UTC »
0130 - It's dusk and I can just barely detect a carrier out here at home. Listening on the Northern Utah SDR, SINPO 24222 / S7 with slight auroral flutter.
0134 - "Goodnight on behalf of Radio Halloween"
0136 - Ghostbusters
0139 - TX Off
0134 - "Goodnight on behalf of Radio Halloween"
0136 - Ghostbusters
0139 - TX Off
70
Huh? / Re: I hate Whisper ham radio
« on: October 28, 2023, 0101 UTC »
"Don't hate the mode; hate the software"
WSPR is useful for trying out antenna changes and for checking out propagation paths. Having said, I do find it to be a drag that so many kiwi SDR channels are taken up with daemons.
Maybe after Halloween we can chase all the demons (and daemons) away....
WSPR is useful for trying out antenna changes and for checking out propagation paths. Having said, I do find it to be a drag that so many kiwi SDR channels are taken up with daemons.
Maybe after Halloween we can chase all the demons (and daemons) away....
71
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Thunder Chicken Radio 6930 USB 2206 UTC 27 OCT 2023
« on: October 27, 2023, 2322 UTC »2238: Orson Welles' Mercury Theater - "War of the Worlds" (written by HG Wells) rebroadcast
OMG. Someone needs to tell me how it comes out. Does the earth survive? Does humanity survive?
72
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re:WENO 6935 USB 2322 UTC 26 Oct 2023
« on: October 26, 2023, 2326 UTC »
SINPO 55555 / S9+10 dB on the K1VL SDR in Vermont, USA.
Yes.
0021 - Howling dogs or wolves under/over the other spoken material
0022 -
0023 -
WENO?
Yes.
0021 - Howling dogs or wolves under/over the other spoken material
0022 -
0023 -
73
European Pirates and Private Stations / Re: UNID 6260 USB 2351 UTC 19 OCT 2023
« on: October 20, 2023, 0003 UTC »
I her some weak music via the K1VL SDR in Vermont, USA at 0002 UTC. I can't tell what type of music but there is something there.
74
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Hikari FM 6200 AM 0054 UTC 18 OCT 2023
« on: October 19, 2023, 2039 UTC »
I have only heard a dead carrier. Do you have an ID?
75
Other / Re: UNID 6945 USB 2257 UTC 17 Oct 2023
« on: October 18, 2023, 0116 UTC »
A little birdie told me that - whatever it is - seems to be coming from the southeast US or thereabouts.
It's interesting because this is approximately the same frequency as that Link-11 transmission that has been there for years, every night, but has been absent for the past few nights. That particular transmitter has been TDoA'ed to roughly the Florida east coast, just as the little birdie told me just now.
Hmmm... I bet this is a US military transmitter gone haywire, possibly the same one that transmits the Link-11, and it is creating IMD (intermodulation distortion) products at 6830 and 5714 Khz (and probably other places) too.
EDIT - Whoops, the Link-11 is on ~6943 now too. Oh well, there goes that theory.
It's interesting because this is approximately the same frequency as that Link-11 transmission that has been there for years, every night, but has been absent for the past few nights. That particular transmitter has been TDoA'ed to roughly the Florida east coast, just as the little birdie told me just now.
Hmmm... I bet this is a US military transmitter gone haywire, possibly the same one that transmits the Link-11, and it is creating IMD (intermodulation distortion) products at 6830 and 5714 Khz (and probably other places) too.
EDIT - Whoops, the Link-11 is on ~6943 now too. Oh well, there goes that theory.