Messages

16

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Basic Civil Defense Information 6925 USB 10/12/2013

« on: October 12, 2013, 0105 UTC »

The one good piece of advice is rely on radio and not tie up the phone lines as the authorities will need them.

For some of you, that's pre NSA wiretaps

Pre CALEA and pre DCS3000 and DCS5000 too ... per recent FOIA docs:

https://www.eff.org/issues/foia/061708CKK

17

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Unid 6925 AM 10/12/2013 0018z

« on: October 12, 2013, 0041 UTC »

LSB interference here too making rough copy but his signal is relatively strong - S9
He was on and then off again after every speech but I didn't hear anyone else responding.

0026 - "We The People..."
0027 - "We The People..."
0028 - "We the people have had enough - we will kill you"
0030 - "Who will stand and fight for true Liberty?"

Alex Jones ?

18

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Basic Civil Defense Information 6925 USB 10/12/2013

« on: October 12, 2013, 0037 UTC »

Beginning to sound that way here too ...

0038z peaks to S6 at times now and some distinguishable audio.

19

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio Casablanca 6940am 2307z 10Oct2013

« on: October 10, 2013, 2316 UTC »

2315z Carrier at S5 into Tejas, about same level as ambient noise

20

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNIDed, 6945 kHz USB, October 10, 2013, 0209 UTC

« on: October 10, 2013, 0233 UTC »

0233z Excellent signal at S7 with low QRN tonight.
0249z Picking up a carrier from somewhere centered on 6946

21

North American Shortwave Pirate / Liquid Radio, Pirates Week relay 6925.24 AM 0210z 10/10/2013

« on: October 10, 2013, 0220 UTC »

Tough one to ID for me, so we'll go with the consensus on this one.

0225z Playing Macarena  
0227z really a rough copy for me ...
0235z Hear voice, not music ATTM but still very weak here.
0245z Carrier still present but little else for me ...

22

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Chamberpot Radio

« on: October 09, 2013, 0349 UTC »

0348z Hmmm ... just in there with the noise ... too little sig for me to copy ATTM.
0350z Can hear op talking, can't make out the topic or subject tho.  
0359z not chamberpot on 30u I'm hearing ... it's not english nor spanish.

23

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6950.27 0030 UTC 9 Oct 2013

« on: October 09, 2013, 0334 UTC »

Think this may be the same station as earlier.
0320z Been copying for awhile ... since before 0320z actually, now with a carrier Freq of 6950.35 or so
0337z Signal was up,  ID copied: "Kracker Radio" and sign off.

24

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6925u 0317z 10/09/13

« on: October 09, 2013, 0320 UTC »

0320z Loud and proud into Tejas.
0325z still good. S6 signal up to S7 at times
0335z still good. S6 signal
0341z still good. S6 to S7 and sounding good RML! Tnx for the show!
0352z still good S7 sig!
0401z still good at S6 sig .. clear copy on the audio. Some selective fading.
0404z Still good at S6 sig, op ID'd and then back to music ...
0407z Still good at S6, some dips to S5 now ... and I need to sign off ... tnx for the show RML! SW-J

25

Utility / Re: Iranian Radar 11 meters 27 Sep 2013

« on: October 08, 2013, 0301 UTC »

This radar has been active for about a year that I know of.  I first saw it in January of 2013, but others had been hearing it for a while before that.  I very seldom hear it here at the house direct, I normally have to use a remote to see it.  Correspondingly I have yet to grab an I/Q recording to look at in detail.  If someone could eventually grab a 10 or so second I/Q recording 100+ kHz wide and make it available I would appreciate it.  Such a recording would let me look at the signal in greater detail.

This radar is suspected of being Iranian.  That is not confirmed but strongly supported by receive bearings including those taken by “official” ITU Monitors.  Also propagation conditions and reports support it being from the area of Iran.

The radar uses at least 4 different repetition rates.  I have seen it anyplace from 25000 kHz to 29000 kHz, including inside the 10 meter ham band.

Video of it inside 10 meters here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgfFKwQ5p9g


Not much is known about the radar for sure.  There are a couple of suspected locations.  Occasionally the radar appears to use active beam steering, and that means there must be a noticeable array someplace.

T!

Actually, sounds like one of the polar ionosphere 'radars' with an unusually high sweep rate. Normally, as you know, they sweep a LOT slower, but, I have seen them fairly fast before well below 10 meters ... a couple years back I noted the 'sweepers' active between 27.5 and below 28 MHz ...

As a practical matter, a bistatic CW RADAR can (and does) operate at a LOT lower RF power level and can do so on account of the BWs (bandwidths) involved, what with noise power being proportional to BW and all ... meaning short PW radars require a LOT more power on account of maybe a 1 MHz or 5 MHz occupied BW ... I would expect to see simple 'carriers' as opposed to sweeping for a simple Bi-static CW detection radar ... but then one enters into the area of FM or 'swept' radars and a two (or bistatic) site setup, where the range can now be calculated knowing when the sweep started ... unambiguous range being associated with the starts of successive sweeps ...

Unless this radar is used constantly, it's pretty useless as a detection radar as well (right?). The angular resolution would be poor at 27 MHz ... multiple receivers could yield position much as a GPS receiver computes a position looking at the Doppler shift from GPS several birds and working the 'math' for a fix. What does not figure is the sweep, unless it is a simple two-site only bi-static detection FM (swept freq) radar which then gives range resolution with some sacrifice of Doppler speed determination (really useful only for known "to or from" radial courses anyway).

26

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: The Crystal Ship 6950.67 AM 00:55 Oct 8 2013

« on: October 08, 2013, 0116 UTC »

Audio peaks receivable above the local noise sources here in Tejas ....

27

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Wolverine Radio 6935 USB 0026 Oct 8

« on: October 08, 2013, 0110 UTC »

Yes ... VG audio ... best on the band tonite ...

28

MW Loggings / Re: The Big Q 1710 kHz May 17, 2013 0454Z

« on: March 17, 2013, 1523 UTC »

0454Z 35433 S7 ID "The Big Q" Playing Rock, Roll, and Remember from 1970.
0508Z 35433 S7 Bobby Darin "Dream Lover"
 

"May"? Certainly forward-looking!

29

Equipment / Re: Looking To Buy - 30-60 watt AM transmitter

« on: March 17, 2013, 1455 UTC »

Just get an HF amateur transceiver with MARS modification.  Make sure it has AM mode (Most do).

The problem with that, Blakkzakk, is twofold:

1) The output power is only 25 to maybe 40W carrier (the ALC will be kicking in, limiting the AM peak envelope to 100W and even though the 'carrier' may measure 40W you're being fooled on actual 'talk' power vis-a-vis energy appearing in the sidebands once ALC begins to operate) with a nominally rated "100W SSB" radio. The PAs in these are rated for 100W peak (70.7 V RMS) into 50 Ohms so the power is 'allocated' one might say between carrier and sidebands in AM mode (it is 'allocated', but I want to avoid using vector math to describe and explain what is actually taking place at the moment for brevity's sake).

2) The audio passband *WILL* be limited without substantial modification, i.e. removal and replacement of components on several stages and on a last 10 years vintage radio this will be no small task!

Some of the older, tube-based xmitters were simple and mods are easily made ... making them easy choices for someone not put-off by tube-level voltages.

Even the venerable old Yaesu FT-101E (mostly discrete parts with leaded resistors and caps; no SMT!) has limited audio BW without making changes!

Yaesu FT-101E high-frequency Audio Frequency response test,
AM-mode High Frequency Transmit response at -3, -6, -10 dB points:

. . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQdc2ai6Fqk


The vid above shows the -3, -6 and -10 dB high frequency cutoff points in AM mode in transmit due to the audio response characteristics in a Yaesu FT-101E series transceiver's PB-1315 "AF UNIT" plug-in circuit board. The audio signal generator signal is input via the 'Patch' input in the rear, which is in parallel with the front panel mic input.

The modulation is adjusted for 100% then the HP Modulation monitor is put in the dB relative-mode .. this aids in finding the -3 dB (70.7 % modulation), -6 dB (50% modulation) and -10 dB (10% modulation) frequency response points as the audio signal generator is brought higher in frequency.


Yaesu FT-101E, low-frequency Audio Frequency response test,
AM-mode Low Frequency Transmit response -3 and -6 dB points

. . . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgy8bJzqCgI

Tabulated Results:

. . . . . . . . . . . Spice . . . . . Actual
. . . . . . . . . . . Modeled. . . .Measured
 Point . . . . . . . Hz . . . . . . .Hz
--------- . . . ----------     -----------
Peak . . . . . . .  881 . . . . . . . 1000

-3 dB . . . . . . 279 . . . . . . . 363 Hz
-3 dB . . . . .  2730 . .  . . . . 2637 Hz

-6 dB . . . . . . .192 . . . . . . . 261
-6 dB . . . . . . 3950 . . .  . . . 3781

-10 dB . . . . . . 136 . . . not measured
-10 dB . . . . . 5710 . . . . . . . 5538


As one can see from the results, the measured upper and lower 3 dB points are 363 and 2637 Hz respectively.

Nominal voice BW is usually spec'd to be 300 - 3000 Hz, and this particular FT-101E doesn't even meet that! Not very wide and certainly not 'music' quality ...

30

Utility / Aviation wx bcst, NY Radio, 2000 kHz USB, 0330z 3-17-2013

« on: March 17, 2013, 0340 UTC »

Hearing New York Radio giving aviation wx observations on 2.000 MHz USB ... since when did this become standard? Have never heard them before down this low ...

I should also note, since being active with 'operations' at the high end of the 160m band since about November of last year (and the same the year before, but commencing about June 2011) this is the first time I have seen any activity *just* above 2 MHz aside from some Mexican 'traffic' that straddled across 2 MHz around this last Christmas ...

Doh! I see where someone else has observed them as well:

http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,10267.0.html

And off-air at 0350z

Back on at 0400z.

NYRadio has definitely taken up residence at 2 MHz for these aviation wx broadcasts!

(About those 'ops' I was referring to above: I was running a 100W test beacon at 2.0 MHz LSB for a few months from November into January. I would have observed them had they been there at 2.0 MHz USB as a 'trace' would have been left in the bandscope of the receiver I was using.)