Topics

31

North American Shortwave Pirate / The Crystal Ship Time Machine on Relay Network 6850 USB 23 Aug 2015 0345 UTC

« on: August 23, 2015, 0351 UTC »

TCS "Time Machine" on relay network
23 Aug 2015, 0345 UTC
6849.9 and some change...
0340z: Michael Jackson "Billie Jean", Dan Hartman "I Can Dream About You", Huey Lewis and the News "Power of Love".  Do you like Huey Lewis?  He's been compared to Patrick Bateman, but I find him much less bitter, cynical and likely to be an axe murderer.
0354z: Back to the Future clip.  Gotta get back to 1985.  I agree.
0356z: The Crystal Ship Relay Network ID.  And some Belinda for Fansome - Go Go's "Head Over Heels"
0400z: Kim Wilde "Kids in America"
0403z: Bangles "Walk Like an Egyptian"
0406z: Madonna "Like a Virgin".  Mr. Blonde insists it's about a girl who's very vulnerable and sensitive.
0410z: TCS email address, "Back to the Future" audio clip, Genesis - Phil Collins "Land of Confusion"
0415z: Bananarama "Cruel Summer"
0420z: Quarterflash "Harden My Heart".  Okay, just don't play Nickleback "Harden My Ears"
0423z: Naaay-nah, "99 Lust Balloons".
0429z: Sammy Hagar can't drive fitty-five.
0432z: Little Eddie Mahoney, shakin' his leprechaun feet.
0434z: Rick Springfield, the only man in rock and roll history to find a point moot.
0440z: Prince "Little Red Corvette".  Without Sandra Bernhard's dance interpretation, I'm nothing.
0443z: 1.21 giggle whats. You must have them or no time travel, mister.
0443z: C'mon, Eileen.
0447z: Duran Duran "Hungry Like the Wolf".  Thirsty like the fish.  Sweaty like Trump's toupee.
0451z: Jackson Browne "Lawyers in Love" with your money.
0455z: 'Til Tuesday.  In the dark I'd like to tickle Aimee Mann's feet, 'til Tuesday.
0500z: Ratt "Round & Round" pounding ground
0508z: Van Halen "Panama", Def Leppard "Photograph"
0516z: Signal fading a bit now, rebounding every few minutes.  Honeymoon Suite "I Got a New Grill Now.  It's a Lot Like a Weber"
0519z: Tommy Tutone "Jenny"
0524z: ID, Quint-essential shark serenade, Ramones.
0527z: Off.

Good show, thanky mysterious stranger, whomever you are.

32

Equipment / I've added a few equipment videos

« on: August 10, 2015, 2011 UTC »

Well, dang me.  After a couplafew years of just using portables, I dug my Palstar and tabletop gear out of the closet intending only to photograph it for selling.  Then I made the mistake of hooking everything up just onnne laaasssttt time... now I'm hooked again.

So I made a few videos for one of my YouTube channels.  Nothing is monetized, no ads, Paypal begging or spam links.  I'm putting these up out of appreciation for the many freebie YouTube videos I've enjoyed by other folks.

Here they are:

• Demo of a quick 'n' dirty passive outdoor stealth loop.  Works great in my noisy suburban area, and it's so cheap I won't mind if the apartment maintenance crew find it and tear it down.  Much better than the various random wire and low dipoles I've tried in this area.  I plan to do another illustrating the components and construction, but it's really simple stuff and you probably already have the bits lying around somewhere.
  
  Palstar SP30b speaker vs. Radio Shack Optimus XTS 3 cube speaker.  Both are good, much better than most built-in speakers, each has unique qualities.
  
  Radio Shack DSP 40 outboard digital signal processor/noise reduction unit.  This 1990s vintage doodad seems crude by today's standards, but is useful for CW and minimizing heterodynes with an auto notch filter, and a decent value if you can find one used for well under $50.  Don't pay more than that, tho', it ain't that great.

And an antenna demo I hope to improve on later as time permits.  I want to build a larger version, and do a video illustrating the construction (which is really easy anyway):

• The Villard noise cancelling loop.  A cheap, easy to make, crude but incredibly effective supplement to reduce manmade static with small portables.

Let me know if the videos don't address something you're interested in, or if you have other suggestions.  I'll try to squeeze those in.

33

QSLs Received / TCS "Bubblegum Express" eQSL for 7 AUG 2015

« on: August 07, 2015, 2252 UTC »

Received confirmation for "Bubblegum Express" show, Aug 7, 2015, right after the broadcast. I checked the colorful package, no bubblegum inside.  Darned emailman stole my gum.

34

North American Shortwave Pirate / The Crystal Ship 6875 USB 7 AUG 2015 0205 UTC

« on: August 07, 2015, 0208 UTC »

Unid 6875 USB 7 AUG 2015 0205 UTC
TCS Shortwave Relay Network, "Bubblegum Express" show

Just barely audible, but improving.  Some version of Let the Sunshine In, Live for Today, San Francisco.  Groovy.
0214z: Turn on, tune in, drop out, TCS Shortwave Network ID.
0215z: Itchy Kitschy Poo Park, Small Faces.  Beautiful.
0217z: Along Comes Mary.  Looks like she found some hair gel.
0220z: 8 Miles Hiiiggghhh, maaannn.
0225z: Journey to the Center of Ted Nugnut's Mind
0227z: "You are listening to the Crystal Ship ... drop out", occasionally audible. Flute intro to Fifth Dimension, Age of Aquarius, then Jefferson Airplane White Rabbit.  No copy on next song.
0233z: Incense, Hippie Scents.
0236z: She's got it.  Venus.  At least I hope it's Venus and not something that rhymes with Venus.
0250z: Green Tambourine, Hair (sounds like Cowsills version)
0254z: What's your name?  Who's your pimp daddy?  Is he rich like me?
0257z: I can't see me lovin' nobody but you, until the next pretty little hippie comes along, for all my life.
0300z: Fur Ur Luv.
0304z: Off or sudden fade, after mention of JTA?
0305z: Nope, back, though still rough copy here.  Juliana Montana ID, Donner Pass Diner ad.
0310z: Beatlejuice, All U Needs Is Luv
0314z: Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me got a gravy kinda glove.
0315z: 5th Dim/Aquarius flute again, Van Morrison's frown-eyed gal.
0327z: TCS ID after PPM couldn't find any flowers.
0330z: Love.  Get in my belly.
0336z: Archies.  Aww, sugar.  Diabeetus.
0339z: Monkeys.  I'm a believer.  I couldn't leave her.  Even if I found anything else that rhymes with believer.
0345z: My baby loves love.  She's got what it takes and she knows how to use it.  Because she's a professional.
0349z: TCS ID.  Truth.  Justice.  Freedom of the hairwaves.  Damn hippies.
0353z: I woke up in love this morning.  Went to bed with you on my mind.  That explains the wet spot.
0358z: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or more.  The number of shills at The Bloody Red Trumpkin's hair worship sessions.
0400z: TCS bubblegum special ID
0409z: The morning sun is shining like rub redder balls.
0412z: My love rose like Rosemary's nose.  Because she's a liar.
0422z: Riding the TCS shortwave bubblegum express.  Archies heart went "Bang-Shang-A-Lang".
0428z: This morning, he woke up, and right in the middle of a wet dream, he committed the classic adolescent mistake of confusing hormones with love.
0430z: Quote from The Caine Mutiny.  The right way, the wrong way, and the cool way.  Bogie's way.
0440z: Julie, Julie, Julie would you mug me?
0441z: TCS ID
0443z: Simple Simon sez put your hands on your head.  Drop to the ground.  Assume the position.  Do it double time.  Choke hold or shot in the head.
0445z: Monkees.  Take the last train to the Clarksville FEMA camp.  One way.
0453z: Off after TCS IDs, Quint quote, Ramones.

Fun show, and this USB relay was a bit easier for me to copy, at least in summertime.

So far, SINPO=24332, just audible enough to copy familiar songs. Conditions not bad though. Takes about an overall signal of 3 for song recognition apps to work, while I can copy familiar tunes at a 2 level.
After 0245z, SINPO=23332, due to steady beeping QRM.  I hear that signal a lot near 6875.
After 0400z, SINPO=33423, slightly stronger, less QRN, clearer peaks, deeper fades to inaudible.

Off-air recording from final hour and 15 minutes of broadcast.

35

North American Shortwave Pirate / XLR8 6925 USB 0240-0525 UTC 6 Aug 2015

« on: August 06, 2015, 0248 UTC »

Some instrumental jazz fusion stuff, followed by salsa.  Signal getting a bit stronger.  No ID yet.
0251z: Fred Astaire "The Carioca"
0300z: Don't need Shazam for this one, Curtis Mayfield "Freddy's Dead" from SUPERFLY!
0314z: Sonic Youth "Kool Thing".
0315z: Cream "Politician"
0319z: Had to Shazam this one, sez Dokkebi Q "Black Vomit"?  Then X "Inner Terrestrials"
0321z: XLR8 sorta whispered ID
0321z: Talking Heads "This Must Be the Place".  Don your big suits and grab your lamps, kids.
0412z: Firefly sez: Radio Birdman "Non-Stop Girls"
0414z: The Who "Naked Eye", didn't need Shazam or Firefly for this one.  The guitar riffs in Naked Eye first appeared in Live at Leeds, one of the great live rock concert albums and featured Townsend's best guitar work.
0419z: XLR8 ID, Alice Donut "Hang the Dog"
0422z: Stevie Wonder "Black Man"
0428z: Missing Persons "Destination Unknown".  Luv dat hiccuppy Dale Bozzio.
0432z: "Low Rider" version by Jodie Foster's Army
0435z: Hugh Cornwell "Totem and Taboo"
0438z: ODB "Brooklyn Zoo"
0443z: Legal Weapon "Don't Pretend"
0447z: XLR8 ID w/ echo fx.  Wishbone Ash "The King Will Come", some galloping QRM data noise.
0454z: Cabaret Voltaire "Why Kill Time"
0505z: Die Antwoord "Wat Pomp".  Dat Yolandi alien gal.
0509z: Peter Tosh "Crystal Ball".  Downpresser man, you are duppy and all that stuff.
0513z: SSTV, fingers crossed, just got MMSSTV hooked up again, see if it works.
0516z: Liliput "Die Matrosen"
0520z: Y Pants "Favorite Sweater"
0522z: Green Day sitting around, jerking around, etc. song
0525z: Off after XLR8

Signal up and down throughout broadcast, S1-S5, over moderate QRN.  Stronger peaks and milder QRN crashes after 0400z.
Fun show, and the signal got better as it went along. Thanky kindly, XLR8!

Off-air recording from 0414z-0525z.

36

North American Shortwave Pirate / OTR "Escape" 6770 AM 0428 UTC 4 Aug 2015

« on: August 04, 2015, 0431 UTC »

OTR "Escape" 6770 AM 0428 UTC 4 Aug 2015

Clearest peaks I've heard so far for Old Time Radio, with the familiar intro for one of my favorite classic radio anthologies, "Escape": "...want to get away from it all... we offer you ESCAPE!  Designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure."

Alas, faded almost immediately after that peak, so I couldn't identify the specific episode.

Only pirate signal I've heard since Friday, including this weekend when I took a portable out to a rural area free of RFI.  Conditions pretty poor recently, something I've heard the 40m hamsters complain about too.

Palstar R30C via homebrewed passive loop mounted on wooden fence outside apartment window.

37

Utility / 8992 "Rarebird" 0002 UTC 31 July 2015

« on: July 31, 2015, 0919 UTC »

8992 "Rarebird" 0002 UTC 31 July 2015 (7:02 pm Texas time, 30 July 2015)

Haven't listened to 8992 for awhile so this was new to me.  Usual phonetics but new-to-me call:

"Whiskey... Echo... November.  This is Rarebird, out."

16 second recording available on YouTube.

38

Shortwave Broadcast / VOA Africa 6080 AM 0330 UTC 31 July 2015

« on: July 31, 2015, 0343 UTC »

VOA Africa 6080 AM 0330 UTC 31 July 2015

Bit of a surprise - for some reason I'd thought VOA had ceased most broadcasting.  Long segment on recent discovery of aircraft debris believed to possibly be from missing Malaysian flight MH370.

Good signal, S3-S8 with some rapid fluttering fades, not too much QRN.  Some odd continuous 3-tone in background - strongest on LSB - sounds more like QRM than part of VOA background music or sound fx.

Two minute video demonstrating QRM.

39

Software / Android app for quick and simple recording *and* basic editing?

« on: July 29, 2015, 0655 UTC »

Any recommendations for an Android app that can handle both recording and basic editing?  Doesn't need to be fancy, just something to trim out dead air or maybe paste together a few short clips from a long recording.

Ideally something comparable to the old Windows PC standby freebie mp3DirectCut would be good.

I see zillions of audio apps online and none of the programmer blurbs or reviews address my specific questions.  Easy Voice Recorder handles recording well enough, but has no basic editing tools.

40

Other / Unid 6909.4 AM 0035z-0130z UTC 29 July 2015

« on: July 29, 2015, 0131 UTC »

Unid 6909.4 AM 0035z-0130z UTC 29 July 2015

Not much to log, just hearing a weak but steady carrier around 6909.4 for over an hour, nothing else audible.  I see some logs for a Euro pirate on this freq, but it would be very unusual for me to hear a Euro in Texas before dark on this freq.

0440z: Stronger carrier, closer to 6909.2, still nothing audible underneath.

41

Other / Unid 6990 AM and scrambled voice, data 0100 UTC 28 July 2015

« on: July 28, 2015, 0103 UTC »

Not much to log here.  Hearing weak but steady carrier around 6990.1, nothing audible in that signal.  Occasionally interrupted by scrambled voice and data bursts.

42

North American Shortwave Pirate / Unid 6925 AM 0459 UTC 26 July 2015

« on: July 26, 2015, 0516 UTC »

Unid 6925 AM 0459 UTC 26 July 2015

Lionel Richie "Three Times a Lady", others.  Very peaky/fadey, no IDs heard yet.  Another AMer on 6925.2 presumably Liquid Radio already in progress.
Remixed version of "Killing Me Softly", countrified version of "Highway to Hell".
0634z: Stones "Beast of Burden", still just occasionally audible here.

43

North American Shortwave Pirate / Radio Ga Ga 6925 USB 1300 UTC 25 July 2015

« on: July 25, 2015, 1325 UTC »

Unid 6925 USB 1300 UTC 25 July 2015

Wish I could offer something specific but after 20 minutes I'm only hearing occasional very faint music, sounds like guitar rock/blues when it peaks above the mud.  It's 1323z now and probably will fade completely soon here.
1341z: Possible ID, sounded like "Radio Gagggaaaaa" sorta growled-drawled out.

44

Spy Numbers / Russian numbers 6917 USB 15 July 2015 0449 UTC

« on: July 16, 2015, 0346 UTC »

(Copying log from Utility forum, since it may be more appropriate here.  Thanks to Oliver and Chris for helping to verify this.)

Unidentified male voice communication, counting in Russian, on 6917 kHz USB, 0449 UTC, 15 July 2015.  Repeated phrases, one word sounded similar to "Shatili" (Georgia?), which Oliver corrected as the number 4 or "chyetyrye" in Russian.  Recorded via web SDR based in University of Twente, NL.

I don't often chase numbers stations and just happened to notice this on the waterfall while monitoring the 6700-7000 kHz zone via the Twente, NL web SDR, which also features a quick and easy way to record catches.

Approx. 90 second off-air recording.

45

Utility / Unid OM voice (Russian?) 6917 USB 0449 UTC 15 July 2015 via Twente NL

« on: July 15, 2015, 0655 UTC »

Unidentified male voice communication, possibly Russian, on 6917 kHz USB, 0449 UTC, 15 July 2015.  Repeated phrases, one word sounded similar to "Shatili" (Georgia?).  Recorded via web SDR based in University of Twente, NL.

I Googled the heck out of this, came up empty.  Any ideas?

Approx. 90 second off-air recording.