646
QSLs Received / Re: X-FM QSL's
« on: September 01, 2012, 0538 UTC »
Also received here, thanks! I hadn't made the connection at the time for the June 29th show and Stonewall, but now I get it. Well done, good show.
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.
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647
Other / Re: 7000 LSB - possible Brazilian pescadore activity
« on: August 30, 2012, 2343 UTC »
I'm wondering whether we're hearing different regions on the same frequency, depending on our own locations? A fellow who speaks Portuguese listened to my recordings from 2008 or 2009 and confirmed those did sound like Brazilian radio operators. Here in Texas I can often pick up Central and South America very well but rarely hear any Asian stations. The last time I heard any 40m Asian amateur stations clearly was around 2007-2008 when propagation was still very good.
648
Equipment / Re: how can i in-hanse my long wire performance
« on: August 28, 2012, 0758 UTC »
I also tried various popular indoor wire-around-the-room loops. None of 'em fared any better than a hank of random wire strung along the ceiling.
The only homebrewed indoor loop that's been consistently better for me is a shielded coaxial cable loop based on a design from Joe Carr's 1990s receiving antenna handbook. It's pretty similar to the popular KR1ST loop, just using coax instead of copper tubing. I hang it near a window and twiddle the orientation just enough to null out the worst local RFI. It's directional on MW but not HF, although the directional characteristic does help null out some household RFI.
Sometimes I'll sneak 30' or so of magnet wire out a window and up a nearby tree, but usually one my apartment building's maintenance guys will spot it and tear it down. No great loss since magnet wire is cheap. I'm more concerned about safety - don't want anyone to get snagged on it while they're up a ladder doing their jobs.
I don't have access to a proper ground so I just use odd lengths of magnet wire as makeshift counterpoises. It works pretty well on some frequencies, not at all on others. I just experiment with the lengths until I get it right for the 6800-7000 kHz range.
The only homebrewed indoor loop that's been consistently better for me is a shielded coaxial cable loop based on a design from Joe Carr's 1990s receiving antenna handbook. It's pretty similar to the popular KR1ST loop, just using coax instead of copper tubing. I hang it near a window and twiddle the orientation just enough to null out the worst local RFI. It's directional on MW but not HF, although the directional characteristic does help null out some household RFI.
Sometimes I'll sneak 30' or so of magnet wire out a window and up a nearby tree, but usually one my apartment building's maintenance guys will spot it and tear it down. No great loss since magnet wire is cheap. I'm more concerned about safety - don't want anyone to get snagged on it while they're up a ladder doing their jobs.
I don't have access to a proper ground so I just use odd lengths of magnet wire as makeshift counterpoises. It works pretty well on some frequencies, not at all on others. I just experiment with the lengths until I get it right for the 6800-7000 kHz range.
649
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6950.7 AM UNID
« on: August 28, 2012, 0750 UTC »
6950.7 AM was jussst barely audible via three remote tuners I tried between the midwest and western N. America.
650
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6925
« on: August 27, 2012, 0346 UTC »
8/27/12, 6925, 0345z:
Heard "Orange Blossom Special" and Learned Skinflute "Gimme Back Ma Bullet"
0345z: "You are listening to The Machine" computer voice ID
0346z: More Limerick Skiprope "Gimme Three Steps"
0355z: ZZ Top "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide"
0400z: SSTV, good signal but don't have MMSSTV running
Via midwestern remote tuner, fair to good signal through heavy QRN.
Heard "Orange Blossom Special" and Learned Skinflute "Gimme Back Ma Bullet"
0345z: "You are listening to The Machine" computer voice ID
0346z: More Limerick Skiprope "Gimme Three Steps"
0355z: ZZ Top "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide"
0400z: SSTV, good signal but don't have MMSSTV running
Via midwestern remote tuner, fair to good signal through heavy QRN.
651
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Blue Ocean Radio 6935usb 5:25z
« on: August 26, 2012, 0716 UTC »
8/26/12, 6935 USB, 0715z: Stevie Ray Vaughn "Couldn't Stand the Weather", "Life Without You"
0719z: Blue Ocean Radio IDs
0727z: Live on mic chat from BOR op. Tough copy atm due to heavy RFI.
0719z: Blue Ocean Radio IDs
0727z: Live on mic chat from BOR op. Tough copy atm due to heavy RFI.
652
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6935 USB Red Mercury Labs
« on: August 26, 2012, 0243 UTC »
8/26/12, 6935 USB, 0240z: AC/DC "Shoot To Thrill", Red Mercury Labs ID, shout-outs to listeners, chatting about Neil Armstrong and Boy Scouts. Into more AC/DC.
0255z: Show dedication to Neil Armstrong, talking about Armstrong's career, X-15 flights.
0300z: AC/DC "Back in Black", RML ID and shout-outs to listeners (thanky kindly, sir).
0348z: RML ID, Audioslave "Cochise"(?)
SINPO=33343 via the home receiver and indoor antenna, pretty good signal through pesky local RFI.
44444 via far northwestern N. America web tuner. Only 34433 via far midwestern tuner.
0255z: Show dedication to Neil Armstrong, talking about Armstrong's career, X-15 flights.
0300z: AC/DC "Back in Black", RML ID and shout-outs to listeners (thanky kindly, sir).
0348z: RML ID, Audioslave "Cochise"(?)
SINPO=33343 via the home receiver and indoor antenna, pretty good signal through pesky local RFI.
44444 via far northwestern N. America web tuner. Only 34433 via far midwestern tuner.
653
General Radio Discussion / Re: Beware the crapware
« on: August 26, 2012, 0231 UTC »
I've had good luck with the stand-alone version of Winamp for several years. Never tried to uninstall it so I haven't experienced that particular problem. It seems to play well with other audio players/recorders, as long as the file associations are set the way I want. The Winamp toolbar didn't quite work the way I wanted and uninstalling it was easy.
The worst audio player I can recall was Real Player.
The worst audio player I can recall was Real Player.
654
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Wolverine Radio 6950usb 1:30z
« on: August 26, 2012, 0138 UTC »
8/26/12, 6950 USB, 0130z: Wolverine with booming signal, seems to be a summer theme. "Heat Wave", Eddie Cochran "Summertime Blues", Wolverine Radio ID, "One Summer Night", "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" - sounds like Martha & The Vandellas version, "In the Heat of the Night" Ray Charles, "Summer in the City" sounds like Lovin' Spoonful version, "Summertime" Janis Joplin w/ Big Bro & Holding Co, Sly and The Family Stone "Hot Fun in the Summertime", It's a Beautiful Day "Hot Summer Day", The Who version of Cochran's "Summertime Blues", Linda Ronstadt version of "Heat Wave", Joni Mitchell "Hissing of Summer Lawns", Martha! The Motels "Suddenly Last Summer" - great band and song, Bananarama "Cruel Summer", Glen Frey "The Heat Is On", The Alarm "Rain In Summertime"
SINPO=44344 via the home receiver, 35443 via a western remote tuner still in daylight, 23442 via a far northeastern remote that rarely gets good reception, 44444 via far upper midwestern remote receiver.
SINPO=44344 via the home receiver, 35443 via a western remote tuner still in daylight, 23442 via a far northeastern remote that rarely gets good reception, 44444 via far upper midwestern remote receiver.
655
General Radio Discussion / Re: Beware the crapware
« on: August 25, 2012, 0709 UTC »
Add another to the "not recommended" list:
AVG Secure Search and Toolbar.
These are being bundled with downloads from trustworthy sites. It is necessary to volunteer to install these AVG utilities so these are not sneaky malware.
However I regret to say that AVG has sunk pretty low in value. I was very satisfied with AVG on my older PCs. AVG anti-malware worked and uninstalled cleanly.
Unfortunately AVG Toolbar offers little or nothing of value - typical of most toolbars which seldom deliver much of use and tend to just create browser clutter. I had the same problem with Winamp toolbar - it didn't seem to work well with the web streams I wanted to hear, so it was just clutter. But at least the Winamp toolbar uninstalled cleanly, no tricks.
AVG Secure Search is basically a net-nanny wrapper around Google. It duplicates the site ratings of stuff like WOT, McAfee and others. Annoyingly, Secure Search disables useful features such as auto-complete and preview. While disabling those might help keep web rookies safe, it's mostly annoying. And it cannot be customized to minimize intrusiveness.
Note that the best Firefox add-ons like NoScript and Ad Block Plus offer plenty of customization to suit the user while not completely disabling useful web features. AVG Secure Search is far from competitive with those add-ons.
Worse, the uninstall process for AVG Secure Search is a mess. Unlike every trustworthy Firefox add-on, using the standard disable/uninstall process will not clear out AVG Secure Search. Every time I'd restart the browser, it would ignore my default preferences (Google or other) and reset the home page to AVG Secure Search.
The Windows uninstall process was only partially effective. I had to use extra steps provided by AVG to completely remove AVG Secure Search.
AVG used to offer great value in anti-malware software but they're mostly an aggravation now. Malwarebytes and others offer much better value and standard clean uninstalls.
AVG Secure Search and Toolbar.
These are being bundled with downloads from trustworthy sites. It is necessary to volunteer to install these AVG utilities so these are not sneaky malware.
However I regret to say that AVG has sunk pretty low in value. I was very satisfied with AVG on my older PCs. AVG anti-malware worked and uninstalled cleanly.
Unfortunately AVG Toolbar offers little or nothing of value - typical of most toolbars which seldom deliver much of use and tend to just create browser clutter. I had the same problem with Winamp toolbar - it didn't seem to work well with the web streams I wanted to hear, so it was just clutter. But at least the Winamp toolbar uninstalled cleanly, no tricks.
AVG Secure Search is basically a net-nanny wrapper around Google. It duplicates the site ratings of stuff like WOT, McAfee and others. Annoyingly, Secure Search disables useful features such as auto-complete and preview. While disabling those might help keep web rookies safe, it's mostly annoying. And it cannot be customized to minimize intrusiveness.
Note that the best Firefox add-ons like NoScript and Ad Block Plus offer plenty of customization to suit the user while not completely disabling useful web features. AVG Secure Search is far from competitive with those add-ons.
Worse, the uninstall process for AVG Secure Search is a mess. Unlike every trustworthy Firefox add-on, using the standard disable/uninstall process will not clear out AVG Secure Search. Every time I'd restart the browser, it would ignore my default preferences (Google or other) and reset the home page to AVG Secure Search.
The Windows uninstall process was only partially effective. I had to use extra steps provided by AVG to completely remove AVG Secure Search.
AVG used to offer great value in anti-malware software but they're mostly an aggravation now. Malwarebytes and others offer much better value and standard clean uninstalls.
656
North American Shortwave Pirate / Weather Control Radio 6925USB
« on: August 25, 2012, 0158 UTC »
8/25/12, 6925 USB, 0125z-0155z: CCR tunes "Who'll Stop the Rain", "Have You Ever Seen Rain", Eddie Rabbit "I Love A Rainy Night", SRV "Texas Flood", unid gal singing "Keep on the Sunny Side".
0150z: Extended male computer voice ID for Weather Control Radio.
Very good signal to east coast web tuner. Some audio dropouts and choppiness, occasionally overdriven audio, but overall okay.
0150z: Extended male computer voice ID for Weather Control Radio.
Very good signal to east coast web tuner. Some audio dropouts and choppiness, occasionally overdriven audio, but overall okay.
657
North American Shortwave Pirate / Unid FM station web stream relay 6925
« on: August 19, 2012, 0530 UTC »
8/19/12, 6925 USB, 0515z: Unid station relaying what sounds like live/realtime web feed for a Fargo, ND, FM station. Mention of Bob Dylan and some Dylan music, current time of 12:27 AM at 0527z.
0531z: Announcer talking about in-studio recording of song just played? Difficult copy due to fluttery peaks/fades.
Fair to good via midwest tuner, not much QRN, some fades to barely audible with strong peaks.
0531z: Announcer talking about in-studio recording of song just played? Difficult copy due to fluttery peaks/fades.
Fair to good via midwest tuner, not much QRN, some fades to barely audible with strong peaks.
658
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6925u Radio Ga-Ga
« on: August 19, 2012, 0457 UTC »
8/19/12, 6925, 0454z: Terry Jacks "Seasons In The Sun", Elvis "In The Ghetto"
0458z: "This has been Radio Ga-Ga, broadcasting where the (trees?) are just the right height." Partially obscured by OTHR.
0500z: Shout out from Blue Ocean Radio to Radio Ga-Ga, listeners
Fair to good via midwest tuner, not much QRN but some occasional strong OTHR bursts.
0458z: "This has been Radio Ga-Ga, broadcasting where the (trees?) are just the right height." Partially obscured by OTHR.
0500z: Shout out from Blue Ocean Radio to Radio Ga-Ga, listeners
Fair to good via midwest tuner, not much QRN but some occasional strong OTHR bursts.
659
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6925u WPOD 0229 UTC 8/19/2012
« on: August 19, 2012, 0314 UTC »
8/19/12, 6925 USB, 0308z: WPOD back on, Job rolling papers ad, spoof version of "Devil Went Down to Georgia" with weed theme.
0318z: "I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again", off without ID - not sure if tech problems.
0318z: "I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again", off without ID - not sure if tech problems.
660
North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 6925u WPOD "School theme"
« on: August 19, 2012, 0235 UTC »
8/19/12, 6925, 0134z: Van Halen "Hot For Teacher"
0139z: Mr. Microphone sketch, WPOD ID, Chuck Berry "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll"
0142z: WPOD "White Punks On Dope" ID, "Hillbilly Hooker" movie trailer
0143z: Ramones "Rock 'n' Roll High School"
0147z: Alice Cooper "School's Out"
0150z: Off after WPOD ID.
Good to VG via midwest tuner, stronger as broadcast progressed. Good audio too.
0139z: Mr. Microphone sketch, WPOD ID, Chuck Berry "Hail Hail Rock 'n' Roll"
0142z: WPOD "White Punks On Dope" ID, "Hillbilly Hooker" movie trailer
0143z: Ramones "Rock 'n' Roll High School"
0147z: Alice Cooper "School's Out"
0150z: Off after WPOD ID.
Good to VG via midwest tuner, stronger as broadcast progressed. Good audio too.
