61
Peskies / North American Fisherman 6960 USB 2250 UTC 07 APR 2023
« on: April 07, 2023, 2254 UTC »
Quick convo about the troubles of the day. Off at 2252.
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 permissable in your locale.
Not sure if they were permanently off or not. There is a USB station that has been on this frequency since at least ~2155 UTC
2250 - SSTV and "Cluck Cluck".
2255 - Our friend on the mic: "Having realized that I went about an hour early, I'm going to start this over." Into guitar music. Joe Satriani?
Colonel Mustard thinks that there might be a candlestick involved.
Thunder Chicken or should it be renamed Thunder Turkey?
2150 - Op notes that "Thunder Chicken" is a term for a turkey. OK, noted, but my counterpoint is that most of your SSTV images over the past months have been of chickens and the "cluck, cluck" that you drop in between songs occasionally would be quite an odd turkey sound.
OK.
Forgive me, I was wrong and it appears that Farnell does not carry them nor does AliExpress any longer ("no longer available"). Well that's a bummer. When I started this thing in 2021 they were quite available but of course 2 years is an eternity in this industry, especially with the disruption of COVID-19.
I have a DROK (or Bangood?) module or two and they are problematic in this application. The audio cuts out intermittently, especially at high output and I assume it to be the over-current protection circuitry doing this. The protection appears to be a bit more over-zealous than a real TPA3116-based module. (The U-LULU is something like a 3-4 Ohm load according to simulation.)
Whatever you end up going with, it needs to drive at least 5 Amps peak at 4 Ohms (100 Watts into 4 Ohms differential = ~5.3 Amps). Of course, we are using the amplifier single-ended with the U-LULU. Four Ohms differential (such as a loudspeaker) is equivalent to 2 x (2 Ohms single-ended to ground). If it can handle a 4-Ohm speaker then it should be good to go. Of course the Bangood and DROK are supposed to drive 3 or 4 Ohms too, so.....
For this weakness and a few other reasons (that I am too lazy to describe right now) I suspect Banggood and DROK modules are built around counterfeit TPA3116 chips that can't drive a 2-Ohm load like the real thing from TI. Caveat emptor.
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-23-16A1.pdf
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62
North American Shortwave Pirate / Yeah Man Radio 6925 USB 2238 UTC 07 APR 2023
« on: April 07, 2023, 2239 UTC »
2238 - "Million Dollar Weekend" Jingle. SINPO 55555 on a New England SDR.
It seems to be a Million Dollar Weekend every weekend. If that is so, why am I not wealthy?
2240 - ID, thanks me for the report.
2245 "Love Potion Number 9"
It seems to be a Million Dollar Weekend every weekend. If that is so, why am I not wealthy?
2240 - ID, thanks me for the report.
2245 "Love Potion Number 9"
63
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6935 USB 2209 UTC 07 APR 2023
« on: April 07, 2023, 2212 UTC »2125 UTC-OFF
Not sure if they were permanently off or not. There is a USB station that has been on this frequency since at least ~2155 UTC
2250 - SSTV and "Cluck Cluck".
2255 - Our friend on the mic: "Having realized that I went about an hour early, I'm going to start this over." Into guitar music. Joe Satriani?
64
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio New York International relay by WBOG 6875 AM 1742 UTC 7 APR 2023
« on: April 07, 2023, 1848 UTC »
1842 - S9-ish on an SDR in the mid-Atlantic US. A little bit of audio distortion on low frequencies.
2014 - Still on the air. I wasn't aware that RNYI had an internet stream and yes, Johnny Lightning does have "the gift of gab", doesn't he?
2039 - Tone sequence and "WBOG" jingle. Carrier off the air.
Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy. I'm right here reading this, for crying out loud.
2014 - Still on the air. I wasn't aware that RNYI had an internet stream and yes, Johnny Lightning does have "the gift of gab", doesn't he?
2039 - Tone sequence and "WBOG" jingle. Carrier off the air.
Caught a mention of "Psychotic piece of S**t"
Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy. I'm right here reading this, for crying out loud.
65
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Re: Crapola Radio 6925 USB 2003 UTC 30 MAR 2023
« on: March 30, 2023, 2304 UTC »Professor Plum wouldn't be related to P.G. Wodehouse would he? Wodehouse was a man who made a living on stories about fools. He wasn't a professor but his friends called him "Plum". If you can find it, read his short story, "The Great Hat Mystery". It explains a lot about the British upper class.Professor Plum and Miss Scarlett are on the show together. I don't have a clue about the other one.
Colonel Mustard thinks that there might be a candlestick involved.
66
Broadcast Announcements / Re: Aprils Fools Day Show- CrapOla Pirate Radio
« on: March 30, 2023, 2216 UTC »67
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Thunder Chicken 12230 USB 1930 UTC 30 MAR 2023
« on: March 30, 2023, 2138 UTC »
Thunder Chicken or should it be renamed Thunder Turkey?
2150 - Op notes that "Thunder Chicken" is a term for a turkey. OK, noted, but my counterpoint is that most of your SSTV images over the past months have been of chickens and the "cluck, cluck" that you drop in between songs occasionally would be quite an odd turkey sound.
68
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Thunder Chicken 12230 USB 1930 UTC 30 MAR 2023
« on: March 30, 2023, 2136 UTC »
SINPO 35333 at home in California this afternoon. A little lighter than is acceptable to me for pleasurable listening. Much better on the big SDRs (KPH, KFS and Northern Utah) with much bigger and better antennas than little old me.
Grateful Dead tunes. (Spark one up, boys.) I'm something other than a Dead Head but I recognize "Terrapin Station" at 2135 UTC.
2150 - Remake of "Werewolves of London".
2200 - Off after ID.
Grateful Dead tunes. (Spark one up, boys.) I'm something other than a Dead Head but I recognize "Terrapin Station" at 2135 UTC.
2150 - Remake of "Werewolves of London".
2200 - Off after ID.
69
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: BallSmacker Radio 6960 AM 0056 UTC 25 MAR 2023
« on: March 25, 2023, 0108 UTC »
I'm calling it at 0107 - The theme is "Don't"
Conditions are poor, of course. Even when the signal is strong, the fading and the static make OTA listening very difficult.
Conditions are poor, of course. Even when the signal is strong, the fading and the static make OTA listening very difficult.
70
General Radio Discussion / Re: Balls
« on: March 24, 2023, 2139 UTC »
This is amusing. Maybe they have a half-hour in Mandarin on Sunday mornings?
Seriously though, I (we) don't know what their range is and I also don't know where the Ecuadorian diaspora has been displaced to. On the other hand, the tri-state area has likely one of the most saturated FM bands in the US and the capture effect* of receivers may limit their range.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_effect
Seriously though, I (we) don't know what their range is and I also don't know where the Ecuadorian diaspora has been displaced to. On the other hand, the tri-state area has likely one of the most saturated FM bands in the US and the capture effect* of receivers may limit their range.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_effect
71
General Radio Discussion / Re: Balls
« on: March 17, 2023, 0735 UTC »
There are people that have taken on the FCC and tied them up in knots for a while (read as "decades") but they typically had the tricks of the trade in their pocket. The case of the former W6WBJ, a retired lawyer, comes to mind. This guy Barnes shows no signs of of employing any delaying tactics (or any sort of tactics, for that matter, other than trying to BS them with a handwritten note) and I just don't think he has the smarts.
I agree that this won't end well.
I agree that this won't end well.
72
The RF Workbench / Re: U-LULU (Updated LULU) for 48 meters, 20 Watt Class-E AM Transmitter
« on: March 17, 2023, 0627 UTC »Yes, aiming for the 6.2 - 6.3 range. With 21 turns for L2 it was a little high, peaking in the 6.4 region so I tried 23 turns which brought it down to 5.8, so I've settled on 22 turns for the moment which seems about right with the ability to squeeze or open the coil a little.
OK.
I did see that you had used the Wondom board, they seem to be pure unobtainium in the UK, I have accounts with Farnell and their sibling CPC and they don't have them.
Forgive me, I was wrong and it appears that Farnell does not carry them nor does AliExpress any longer ("no longer available"). Well that's a bummer. When I started this thing in 2021 they were quite available but of course 2 years is an eternity in this industry, especially with the disruption of COVID-19.
- The price from Audiophonics in France is great and is ~$10US lower than parts-express.com in the US charges. That would pay for the (surely) additional shipping cost from France to me.
- It appears that Sure (Wondom is Sure Electronics) has a "marketplace" store on Digikey (akin to Amazon Marketplace, it appears) and their price is not too bad: https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sure-electronics/MPAB1X100-TPA3116/13982205
- It appears you can also buy direct from Sure but the shipping is probably from Taiwan: https://store.sure-electronics.com/product/AA-AB31184
I'll trawl AliExpress and Banggood to see what they have.
I have tried a clone 100w mono board from eBay also based on the TPA3116 but no joy at all. I'll give it another go this weekend when I have some more time.
I have a DROK (or Bangood?) module or two and they are problematic in this application. The audio cuts out intermittently, especially at high output and I assume it to be the over-current protection circuitry doing this. The protection appears to be a bit more over-zealous than a real TPA3116-based module. (The U-LULU is something like a 3-4 Ohm load according to simulation.)
Whatever you end up going with, it needs to drive at least 5 Amps peak at 4 Ohms (100 Watts into 4 Ohms differential = ~5.3 Amps). Of course, we are using the amplifier single-ended with the U-LULU. Four Ohms differential (such as a loudspeaker) is equivalent to 2 x (2 Ohms single-ended to ground). If it can handle a 4-Ohm speaker then it should be good to go. Of course the Bangood and DROK are supposed to drive 3 or 4 Ohms too, so.....
For this weakness and a few other reasons (that I am too lazy to describe right now) I suspect Banggood and DROK modules are built around counterfeit TPA3116 chips that can't drive a 2-Ohm load like the real thing from TI. Caveat emptor.
73
General Radio Discussion / Re: Balls
« on: March 15, 2023, 2213 UTC »
There is zero probability that they were in La Grande, Oregon on a lark.
The NALF indicates they first gave him the knock in 2018 after "complaints". They did not mention Facebook posts in association with the first or second times they visited him.
The NALF indicates they first gave him the knock in 2018 after "complaints". They did not mention Facebook posts in association with the first or second times they visited him.
74
FM Free Radio / Re: Not so doing at home sweet home
« on: March 15, 2023, 1932 UTC »
Related: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-391761A1.pdf
Quote
FCC PROPOSES FIRST PIRATE ACT FINES TOTALING MORE
THAN $2 MILLION FOR ILLEGAL RADIO BROADCASTING
75
General Radio Discussion / Balls
« on: March 15, 2023, 1930 UTC »Quote
7. On April 8, 2022, just over two weeks after the Agent issued the third NOUO, Barnes
uploaded a video to his public Facebook account stating that he was again operating his pirate station.22
Barnes stated in this video that he did not think the Commission could stop his unauthorized broadcasts
unless it “locked him up.” On April 14, 2022, Barnes posted yet another video stating that he was
“getting ready to go live on 100.5 FM.”23 After conducting additional research, the Agent also discovered
that, in the year prior to the start of the 2022 investigation, Barnes had uploaded over 30 videos to his
public Facebook account in which he stated that he was the “Eastern Oregon Pirate of Pirate Radio
Eastern Oregon” and that he was broadcasting live or was planning to broadcast live on 100.5 FM in La
Grande, Oregon.24
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-23-16A1.pdf
