1021
Other / Re: 6914 Oddity RTTY 0105 UTC 6 May 2016
« on: May 06, 2016, 1805 UTC »
Perhaps because it begs the question "why AM?". My money is on MARS as well.
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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.
Especially because the FCC does not assign SW licenses, the NTIA does.
Still about four years ago there was a station on 6885 that ran brokered programming. I wonder why they decided to move?
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Under ITU rules, 4.5 KHz is considered 'standard' audio bandwidth (but there is no license to appease so who cares
). At the end of the day, most guys are listening with receivers that, SDR's withstanding, have limited audio bandwidth. Wider audio also disperses transmitter power across a much large range of frequencies and will be perceived as 'more open' and 'less dense' than using narrower bandwidth audio, but there's no free lunch; coverage and listenability often suffers. Wider receive bandwidth also lets more noise in, hampering reception of wide, weak signals.
In short, if your running DX and lots of power (over 250W carrier power) the North American NRSC-1 10 KHz modulation with pre-emphasis is a good way to go. For lower powers, 3-5 KHz is usually best. These are judgements made based on the airchecks I've received over the years from listeners, noting that most guys, even if wider bandwidth is available, will usually settle on 3-5 KHz. So most of the time, that lovely twinkerbell percussion in your favourite disco number is most like going to be enjoyed only by yourself on your modulation monitor SDR's are changing this, and as they become more prevalent, I would guess more people will be enjoying better audio from our stations.
That's the jist of it.
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A new record for government efficiency!
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1022
SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: Excalibur Pro and Ultra Availability
« on: May 06, 2016, 0312 UTC »
Your also dealing with a company that has a lot of military and government contracts, they know where their breads' buttered.
...Just sayin'
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...Just sayin'
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1023
General Radio Discussion / Re: WRMI move from 6915 to 6855 due to complaints from MARS
« on: May 05, 2016, 0033 UTC »
This is unfortunate, I guess I'll have to cross 6875 off my op list too 
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1024
General Radio Discussion / Re: WRMI move from 6915 to 6855 due to complaints from MARS
« on: May 04, 2016, 1457 UTC »I recall when WRMI first appeared on 6915, someone asked Jeff White why they chose 6915, and his answer was that is the frequency the FCC assigned them. Very strange.
Especially because the FCC does not assign SW licenses, the NTIA does.
Still about four years ago there was a station on 6885 that ran brokered programming. I wonder why they decided to move?
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1025
General Radio Discussion / Re: Why 69xx kHz?
« on: May 04, 2016, 0715 UTC »After some research, it looks like the actual range is 6770-7000. It seems like this band aligns with the "land mobile" band right under 40 meters. Are there any specific stations to watch out for here (other than 6903, 6913 and 6915)?
How about the "land mobile" designations above and below the 20 meter band (13.87-14MHz and 14.35-14.99MHz)? Is there anything to watch for there? Apparently the 20m band is the most popular during the day?
I plan on operating AM. What is the normal audio bandwidth for AM on shortwave. Is it the same as the broadcast band (10khz)? Can I use whatever I want? My transmitter can go up to 50khz, so I'm deciding where to filter the audio.
I know these may seem like obvious questions to some of you, but I am not a ham, and I'm new to shortwave. (I do have all the equipment (spectrum analyzer) to make sure I'm not putting out any harmonics or spurs, though.)
Thanks for all the help!
Under ITU rules, 4.5 KHz is considered 'standard' audio bandwidth (but there is no license to appease so who cares
). At the end of the day, most guys are listening with receivers that, SDR's withstanding, have limited audio bandwidth. Wider audio also disperses transmitter power across a much large range of frequencies and will be perceived as 'more open' and 'less dense' than using narrower bandwidth audio, but there's no free lunch; coverage and listenability often suffers. Wider receive bandwidth also lets more noise in, hampering reception of wide, weak signals.In short, if your running DX and lots of power (over 250W carrier power) the North American NRSC-1 10 KHz modulation with pre-emphasis is a good way to go. For lower powers, 3-5 KHz is usually best. These are judgements made based on the airchecks I've received over the years from listeners, noting that most guys, even if wider bandwidth is available, will usually settle on 3-5 KHz. So most of the time, that lovely twinkerbell percussion in your favourite disco number is most like going to be enjoyed only by yourself on your modulation monitor
SDR's are changing this, and as they become more prevalent, I would guess more people will be enjoying better audio from our stations.
1026
General Radio Discussion / Re: Why 69xx kHz?
« on: May 03, 2016, 0519 UTC »
It depends of who you ask, but the general consensus (in my view anyway) is that it provides a good balance of day and night propagation, particularly at shorter distances. This allows ops to reach audiences close by during daylight hours via NVIS propagation, and longer distances at night via skywave. It also has the added benefit of being close enough to the 40 meter ham band to allow commercially produced equipment to be used there. Although antennas for this area are larger than those used at higher frequencies, propagation via NVIS during daylight hours is more reliable than the higher frequencies. Higher frequencies also pose difficulties at night for DX, as just about anywhere on the continent would be in the skip zone, and very good propagation conditions are required to reach distant audiences at the power level most pirates have at their disposal.
In all fairness, there have been a few ops running just under the 20 meter ham bands, but usually during daylight hours, which is risky in my judgement.
Location plays into this alot as well. East coasters rely on NVIS to reach close in targets, and a dipole or inverted V are good antennas for this application.
As always, YMMV...
+-RH
In all fairness, there have been a few ops running just under the 20 meter ham bands, but usually during daylight hours, which is risky in my judgement.
Location plays into this alot as well. East coasters rely on NVIS to reach close in targets, and a dipole or inverted V are good antennas for this application.
As always, YMMV...
+-RH
1027
General Radio Discussion / Re: Server Updates
« on: April 28, 2016, 2237 UTC »
Thank You for your hard work, Sir!
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1028
General Radio Discussion / Re: The Russian Woodpecker
« on: April 27, 2016, 1347 UTC »The taper looks like it may be used for matching impedance and the large diameter should contribute to increasing bandwidth. Hope someone more knowledgeable can comment.
That's the jist of it.
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1029
General Radio Discussion / Re: Signal on 6947.45 or so
« on: April 21, 2016, 1605 UTC »
Yup that UTE has been there on and off for the last several years, destroying what used to be a good AM frequency of 6950KHz.
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1030
General Radio Discussion / Re: Signal on 6947.45 or so
« on: April 20, 2016, 1411 UTC »
Is it not the UTE that likes to hang out there, usually in slow speed FSK?
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1031
QSLs Received / Re: United States Coast Guard - QSL
« on: April 15, 2016, 1733 UTC »Quote
Confirm with QSL in 202 days!
A new record for government efficiency!
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1032
General Radio Discussion / Re: Updates to the HFU Propagation Tools page
« on: April 15, 2016, 0100 UTC »
That works for me, Thanks 
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1033
General Radio Discussion / Re: Updates to the HFU Propagation Tools page
« on: April 14, 2016, 2139 UTC »
Any chance you could add sunspot info somewhere too?
Thank You for all the hard work around here!
+-RH
Thank You for all the hard work around here!
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1034
General Radio Discussion / Re: Expletives Abundant After Mountain Radio Station Signal Apparently Hacked
« on: April 08, 2016, 0539 UTC »
Yup, and the ENG crew went out and searched for hours looking for the only three people in Chicago that were offended by it. LOL
With the increasing tendency for stations to link to their transmitters over IP, due largely to the scarcity of microwave spectrum in most markets (large and small believe it or not) they have left the door open for intrusion. At least in the old days you had to build gear, now you can sit at home with some clever software (and probably some inside knowledge about the target station) and cause chaos.
It is a new age. I will be over here, under my rock
+-RH
With the increasing tendency for stations to link to their transmitters over IP, due largely to the scarcity of microwave spectrum in most markets (large and small believe it or not) they have left the door open for intrusion. At least in the old days you had to build gear, now you can sit at home with some clever software (and probably some inside knowledge about the target station) and cause chaos.
It is a new age. I will be over here, under my rock
+-RH
1035
General Radio Discussion / Re: Dropbox
« on: April 08, 2016, 0533 UTC »
For the record, Google drive has many of the same features, and is included with any gmail address. I've been using it lately to send large files and works well.
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