Messages

166

Shortwave Broadcast / Things Picking Up a Bit ?

« on: October 06, 2021, 1337 UTC »

Hey All,

Not so much specific loggings, but a general comment  I have had some People's Rep of China  regionals  on  morning Gray line the last few days , especially in 31 M. One or two actually fair or better.

Supposedly gray line isn't cycle related , but it's SOMETHING  in what used to be  pretty quiet band. Other "non gray"  bits  and pieces rolling in as well. Things SEEM to be picking up , at least a BIT. Things were flat, dead buried here until  very recently.

Right now, I am just running a Trans Oceanic on the built in telescopic antenna  in a noisy apt.

So if I (!) am starting to copy stuff, I imagine those who actually have REAL antennas may also being hearing that much more now  (I would think).

How is everyone else doing on HF ?

de K

167

MW Loggings / Re: FSL Antennas/Ultralights/Alaska In Spectrum Monitor

« on: October 06, 2021, 1321 UTC »

Hey Paul,

Unfortunately, I do not subscribe to "Spectrum Monitor".

But I have gone  with the Ultra light "spirit" at times  by using pocket MW radios ( maybe "approved" types, maybe not) and something small , like a Select -A Tenna (or other air  coil) or an outboard   big single bar ferrite  antenna, etc .

I had read some years ago about FSL antennas. Some folks absolutely swear by them , others feel the cost / hassle ( even if they DO work well ) isn't worth it and that other approaches are "better".

 I have never built one ,so I can't comment one way or another.

The closest thing I  built  was a small sized "novelty" crystal radio  constructed on  a mouse  trap. #20 cotton was wound over the trap, but it just couldn't QUITE make the inductance needed.So a single ferrite rod was slipped in to make up the difference. Coil ended up sort of like a right triangle.

BUT- the all  mouse trap windings only encounter  the rod for maybe 1/4  turn or less.The FSL is similar because  each winding lays  "on" the rod for just a bit  ( nothing is wound  AROUND a rod).

The  RF / EM physics of a 360 degree  wound rod vs one that is just laid on a bit would be fascinating to hear about.

Alaska must be an awesome place to Dx when polar  conditions allow.


K

168

MW Loggings / New Transoceanic Shootout w/Sangean 803A

« on: September 06, 2021, 0126 UTC »

Hey All,

Compared my recently acquired T/O 3000-1 (please see HFU General Radio Discussion) with the venerable and sensitive Sangean 803A.

9/5/21 2330 UTC

560 WGAN weak.                   Tie T/O  vs 803.
570 WMCA fair/weak.            Tie T/O vs 803.
580 WTAG QRM from 590.      Advantage 803 in narrow mode.
610 WGIR fair.                        Advantage 803 in wide mode.
770 WABC strong.                 Tie. Good music on  Joe Piscopo show.
1610 CHHA weak.                   Advantage T/O

0100 UTC :
1020 KDKA fair in QSB.           Tie. NO QRM from 1010  and a tiny bit from  1030.

(FWIW, KDKA is often  a tough  catch at this QTH. If a rig here has good 1020 Kc separation from local flamethrower WBZ on 1030 and  night time biggie WINS on 1010, it's considered pretty good).

Overall : Fairly close in performance. The T/O has  bright and crisp audio, a real pleasure to listen to. Mechanically it has a rock solid  and bullet resistant feel to it. A really nice addition to the collection and a  great keep sake from Cuttyhunk  Island.

K
 

169

General Radio Discussion / DXpedition to Cuttyhunk Island, MA

« on: September 05, 2021, 0109 UTC »

Hey All,

I just returned  from a Dxpedtion  in the town of Gosonold on Cuttyhunk Island , Buzzard's Bay , MA.

Since Island life is really laid back , so was the  logging .  Highlights  from 9/1/21 through 9/3/21, no particular order.

Gear:  Sangean ATS 803 A ,  single tuned crystal set ( R.S. 28-177 coil  but  with air variable) , hand held scanners, home brew  ferrite tuner /coupler,  misc small  goodies, 400 ft "D.O.G" antenna ( "Dipole - On- Ground "), 40 ft HF end fed, , etc, etc.

640 CMLA /R. Progresso Cuba   copied   before full  darkness, but beat up by local /regional WPRO 630.
 
8503 NMG /New Orleans Wefax

6095 USB bootleg maritime net, OM swearing   like a sailor (hi).

10, 15  WWV

11780 R Amazonas/ R Nacional Brazil

5025 R. Rebelde Cuba
 
6000 R. Havana  (in  full daylight ! )

US MW kind of  a mess. Pile ups on  the long DX frequencies . Open to  Eastern  of US half (or a bit  less) ie only  GA to TN to IL arc.

Only one HF broadcast each  on 16, 19 or 22 M. Beyond dead any higher in frequency.

Ham :20 M.  40 M (even in daylight). Both   open to Eastern  1/2 half  of    US , especially on CW.

NO audio off any Transatlantic Broadcast Dx, but  copied a few aligned beat notes (FWIW) :

198 BBC, 639 Senegal, 837 Senegal, 954  Spain, 1044 Morocco,1107 Spain. Basically - LW b'cast was dead (or gone !) and MW b'cast was extremely poor (near dead)  to the Afroeuro .Also US MW opened up MUCH sooner than expected ,crushing what little Afro Euro action that could have been had . I have had trans Atlantic  MW and LW very good at times in years past, but not on this round .

Crystal set DX : the usual 50 Kw suspects from around the NE 1/3 or so of the U.S.

7 KC lightning / "Tweeks" / "Natural Radio" copied ( confirmed at 700 miles and maybe a out  LOT further to thousands of miles) by a pair of NICE  Hi Z "crystal " earphones in series ,shorted by 1 M bleed pot. RF input  by  one leg of D.O.G. antenna onto each side of pot .

Notice to Mariners  on VHF marine channel 22A. Not heard this one in 15 or 20 years !

Also the owner of the Bed and Breakfast were I stayed (who I've known for  many years ) gave me a Trans Oceanic Royal 300-1. It didn't work on the island , but  I cleaned up battery holder  at home  and VIOLA  -  a working T/O !  So I went down there with one HF rig and came home with TWO !

Very late Wednesday /  Thursday  ( 9/1, 9/2) impacts from Ida : TORRENTS of rain - around 5 " in 5 hours . Gusts 45 to 55 (estimated). Waterspout 3 miles to our East  over ocean  .2nd water spout 12 miles East over ocean. Tornado  at Falmouth , Cape Cod MA 6 or 10 mi  Northeast. Vicious  cloud to ground white lightning on Island and Northward  into Buzzard's Bay.Yet ALL three day light hours were nice -  cloudy/dry -or- sunny /dry.

Ate lots of  seafood , fairly warm water  ocean swimming , relaxing , long walks with wife, etc. Took night trip on boat  going back to New Bedford.

GREAT trip, REALLY needed it !

K

170

MW Loggings / Re: Another Espanol AM Music Station on 1050kHz. And, KDKA1020 bowled over?

« on: August 26, 2021, 1015 UTC »

Hey Dood,

KDKA puts in a “ moderate “ signal here , but not often great.I can RF null most 1010/1030 problems quite well or clean up audio in QRF -1 filter(s).  ( I have 106 KW effective WBZ in my “back yard “ at 8 miles).

The real issue is not QRM- it’s just that ‘DKA is not really big here that often.They use a 50 KW single tower at a good distance.Good, but not huge.

I use 1020 as a test frequency for home brew rigs etc. If it gets KDKA = a good rig.

K

171

Weather / Re: Nice smoky haze from Oregon and californian fires. Hmmmm...

« on: July 26, 2021, 2242 UTC »

Hey- vis 1.5 miles variable 3
Miles in smoke. Smell of burnt plastic.

Crazy storms and other wild stuff here lately.2 crazy lightning cells off just shore..

K

172

Equipment / Re: Dueling Selecta- A Tennas (NOT Banjos)

« on: July 26, 2021, 1100 UTC »

Hey 51,

Awesome list of articles !

LOTS of reading to do over there.

Thanks, K

173

Weather / Re: Nice smoky haze from Oregon and californian fires. Hmmmm...

« on: July 22, 2021, 1121 UTC »

Hey Dood,

Visibility definitely reduced  in smoke here recently,much worse toward NYC. I took a walk to a good sunset vantage point to take some pix.Sun was super deep/dull pink and disappeared WELL above the horizon. Moon was up at Zenith and was sort of pinked and kind of dimmed.

Cold frontal passage blew everything out  last night .Yesterday's Sun at rise was dim   reddish pink.

Today's rise was  full lumen /normal/ exceptionally bright white. Dry, almost chilly in a tee shirt this AM.

When I was a kid ( 250 years ago), it seemed fire smoke was a rare phenomena. Not so now.I had also heard mention a while back that not only would the western US be a source for New England smoke, but Southern Canada is now up and coming as a new potential "hot spot" for us as well. Nice.

There are a lot of man made factors that go into this type of disaster, I am sure you can think of a few of them . But they are also "political" in nature.  So I will just kind of "move on" past that aspect of this issue.

K

174

General Radio Discussion / Re: There's a Human-Made Barrier in Space, Surrounding The Entire Earth

« on: July 19, 2021, 1656 UTC »

Hey All,

Extremely interesting.

A couple of points of order:

“VLF is used MORE “ now.Not sure if low power devices count or are cumulative, but HIGH power VLF is much more rare now.Not sure how to interpret that.

VLF too “ weak” , do  they mean too narrow ?

Anyhoo, a good read.

K

175

MW Loggings / Re: Not hearing Hudson Valley TIS lately 1710kHz.

« on: July 19, 2021, 1403 UTC »

Hey All.

Yes ,1710 Kc is probably the “ best” place to “play” due to it using short antennas.

But at least here, the X band has enough
open frequencies close to 1710 that it doesn’t matter.So I can QSY without any noticeable issues.

I DO have a 1 MC crystal  that is almost the size of a pack of Marlboros .It’s another story completely.

But frankly , now my AM tx “goals “are to only cover maybe 200 ft East and also from my basement shop to the 2nd floor shack.Should be “ easy “ ( when I get to it - LOTS on the bench right now and only limited time to work on stuff.).

K

176

Weather / Re: rain

« on: July 09, 2021, 1018 UTC »

Hey Pinto and All,

Before dawn we started get into Elsa’s
rain shield.Only light rain so far.

Expecting 2-3 “ rain ,” some” wind here at Boston.

Isolated tornadoes seem to have already occurred in  NJ- gust 78 -from “nearby”twister ? Possibility  of tornadoes  Long Island, CT, RI and into SE MA later today.

No severe issues for Boston yet. We may be too far NW of track , but I will keep checking NWS web site during AM for updates.

K
K

177

Weather / Re: rain

« on: July 07, 2021, 1927 UTC »

Hey Pinto, All.

More rounds of heavy Thunderstorms yesterday.1000+ bolts / hr in area.

Heavy rain , 3/4” w/ some very small very close but not very loud strikes.

3 strikes within 500 ft or less to East.

Could see pale Peach Orange bolt, not overly bright.
Low amperage /“sort of high” voltage ?

Instant high pitch crack of respectable but not overly loud thunder. Like fireworks ,not thunder explosions.

This happened 3 times close to me and a few more maybe 1/3 to 1/2 mile.

Fast moving, edge of severe cell , but only weak strikes, moderate to heavy rain and maybe gust 40.Biblical looking though.

I have seen ultra weak in cloud lightning strikes during snow.Each next one failed worse, last one was just   light ,no thunder

Snow lightning is like no other.

Add : 7/7/21  2100 UTC .This time they used the "real" stuff. A number of local strikes, LOUD, but nothing like the "artillery barrage" in the heavier part of the cell. They were getting popped every 15 or 20 seconds.Fairly loud, but  low frequency  sounding , most seemed   powerful and  mean  ground  strikes 4 Miles south.Close miss. Yesterday the sky turned  green for the second time this year.We only got "some"  lightning (1 per minute ?). But kind of intense , with some strikes within 500 ft.Heavy rain also.

This morning 7/8/21 0800 UTC. More  storms at predawn  . A few strikes  not super close.With a  lot of  Cloud to Cloud lightning.Noted best was bright white horizontal bolt 10 Miles long?). Also had other spectacular in cloud strikes.

We got heavy rain , some lightning here.Most action 4 or 6 miles to North. Again ,like yesterday, close enough to really   see it well , but not on top of me  either.I'm OK with that.

Now close pass by Elsa.

More rain . FILL that reservoir .



K

178

Longwave Loggings / VLF Lighting Direction Finding

« on: July 07, 2021, 1916 UTC »

Hey All,

DF of Dx storms 90 to 120 Mi to my West yesterday PM.

150 Kc somewhat weaker than higher up checks.Kind of a surprise.

Best was around 230 or 250 Kc , also ripping loud  at 520 Kc.

Things seemed to have rolled up or down in signal strength as one rolled 250 to 520 Kc.

Nice to near zero nulls on S  803a rig, gave a decent bearing to storm cluster.

I am working on other LF projects too.

de K

179

General Radio Discussion / Re: Brasil extends FM band down to 76 MHz

« on: July 04, 2021, 0156 UTC »

Hey Rob. 

Brazil allows some crazy power, one  station at  250 kw , a good number at 100 kw.

FWIW, Years  ago  I  BRIEFLY copied  a very probable Brazilian on AM b'cast   (up- for only 30  seconds good , then down and  gone for good  )   in MO on a  8 ft    loop crystal set.

SOME REAL JUICE  !

Not sure what the Brazilian flame throwers  will do during all this,

K

180

Weather / Re: rain

« on: July 04, 2021, 0056 UTC »

Hey Pinto.

Rounds  of  thunderstorms lately , some severe .

6-30-21 : PM   100 degrees, then absolute monster Cumulonimbus w/huge vicious  anvils and  high winds. Sky turned green just to our South.Outflow winds higher than seen  here in quite a while. 
Up to 300 + flashes every 10 minutes in area .  Thunderstorm outflow   downdraft wind   boundary, well outside /ahead from precip area  was  visible on Radar,  length 25 + mi long .

Second 6-30-21 round of thunderstorms after dark, much lightning,  and much more rain than earlier severe event. I caught some nice high altitude lighting on video.

Copious rains lately- cumulative,since Wed,  3 " + in gauge . Some "training" /"conveyor belt"  precip events  lasting all night.

7/3/21: PM was VERY heavy , almost torrential ,  rain with occasional lightning,  then an hour or so  break of only light  rain , then  just "heavy" rain  with  a  few more bolts. Yet the closest SURFACE feature was  150 + miles to South. Stuff apparently happening upstairs. Cool (to almost   COLD)  for July.

Wild , you gotta love New England

I am still welcoming  ALL the water we get though. Still a blessing, No "excess" yet.
 
 

K