361
Huh? / More sunspots? Loks like it.
« on: August 04, 2020, 1840 UTC »
A friend of mine alerted to spot from this site, https://spaceweather.com/ I kind of dig-it. Almost, if not, layman's tern here.
Shortwave Pirate Radio In North America And Around The World, And Other Signals That Go Bump In The Night
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362
Huh? / The Final Countdown for Franken FM's? (TV6 audio.)
« on: August 03, 2020, 0037 UTC »
I miss listening to TV CH6 analog TV audio on FM stereos, especial in the vehicle. Radio Survivor covers this subject, again. http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2020/07/30/the-final-countdown-for-franken-fms/
Hey, ya know... There are a lot of those used analog Blonder Tong CATV VHF modulators still kickin' around. Hmmmm???A lot of them went into being used as LPTV exciters, since they are FCC certified. Just contemplating.
Hey, ya know... There are a lot of those used analog Blonder Tong CATV VHF modulators still kickin' around. Hmmmm???A lot of them went into being used as LPTV exciters, since they are FCC certified. Just contemplating.
363
MW Loggings / 1410WHLW AM???
« on: August 01, 2020, 2214 UTC »
Friday night, 01:30UTC, I listened to where 1410 WSCW would be. It's been off-air since the X3 thunder storms on Monday night, so a fairly free MW FREQ to DX. In between the Top 40 70's and 80's mono-toned tunage selection, I thought that I heard the promo of "1410WHLW". I even wrote that down. However, trying to look it up, it only comes up as a gospel FM station, 104.3FM in Luverne, AL. So, I either heard that wrong, or something isn't updated? Eh?
364
MW Loggings / The Reds loosing on 580WCHS radio.
« on: July 29, 2020, 2250 UTC »
I couldn't listen to Larry Elder where I was working Tuesday evening, (Since the usual 1410AM station local was off-air from that X3 T-storms the night before.), so I listened to 5kW 580WCHS when they switched to their directional array of beaming to the Atlantic Ocean. There, I listened to The Reds Baseball, and them loosing to the Cubs. Let me just say that listening to LIVE baseball, with no audience, just plain SUCKS! At least golfing has a clapping audience. Anyway, does everyone towards Roanoke and East RX 580WCHS well when they dump to the ocean at night? https://radio-locator.com/info/WCHS-AM?loc=38.48830%2C-81.80511&locn=25159%20%28Poca%2C%20WV%29
365
Equipment / The new Silphase R1 SDR receiver!
« on: July 28, 2020, 2043 UTC »
Huh... Just posting what I did just hours earlier about my $0.02 worth on the Icom IC-7300, then comes interesting news about this receiver, https://swling.com/blog/2020/07/the-new-silphase-r1-sdr-receiver/ Looks like some interesting rigs coming out of Eastern Europe.
366
Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / This Knight lit up a lot of potential broadcasters!
« on: July 24, 2020, 2039 UTC »
https://www.smecc.org/knight_kit_home_broadcasters_-_allied_electronics.htm
Ya know, of all the Part #15 kits that have been out there through the ages, none have been, or even still, talked about as much as this one. Folks are still kickin' themselves for getting rid of it, or when their parents did. People still want this today!
Heck... I'd still take one.
Ya know, of all the Part #15 kits that have been out there through the ages, none have been, or even still, talked about as much as this one. Folks are still kickin' themselves for getting rid of it, or when their parents did. People still want this today!
Heck... I'd still take one.
367
The RF Workbench / Build a simple AF Sine Wave Generator.
« on: July 23, 2020, 0620 UTC »
Simple, sweet, and useful. Boomer wanted to see it, especially after he helped me get the values of the RC Filter right. (Saved me a trip of digging through my college text books.) Go ahead and download and build with leftover parts. https://archive.org/details/555-timer-adj-af-generator-schematic
368
Huh? / As if, AM Radio can't sound bad enough, then there's this!
« on: July 21, 2020, 1802 UTC »
Ever listen to a station and wonder why it sounds like their audio is going through a vacuum cleaner hose? This maybe it, https://www.radioinsights.com/2016/04/nielsen-ppm-making-radio-unlistenable.html I asked Boomer if he heard 1100WTAM sound like this, and he, and others, certainly have. WTF???
369
Amateur Radio / ESE, Earth-Sun-Earth bounce? Possible? Maybe....
« on: July 18, 2020, 1923 UTC »
Ya know... If we have EME, (Earth-Moon-Earth.), bounce, could we possibly have Earth-Sun-Earth bounce? Possibly. I remember back in the 80's and 90's where ops would swear that they would hear their signal on a same FREQ that they've keyed up on 20min earlier. There was that subject with Art Bell on C2C AM over 20 years ago, where someone either called-in, or was the interviewed guest, where they talked about like a 20min delay signal coming back to them. Art then said, "That happened to me! I was on 15M, (21MHz), and about 20min later, I heard my voice key back to me from my last transmission!". Weird, but no one seemed to explore this subject after that. Now, doing the math, what's out in space that would take the time period of about 20min at the speed of light, about 10,000,000 meters per sec, to bounce an RF signal. Why not the Sun? You might argue, "That's too F'n far!", but consider just how much bigger of a reflector it could be than the Moon and Earth, or any of the planets in the known solar system. Could the Sun's atmosphere be attenuative? Maybe... But, just how reflective is the Sun's surface on various RF FREQ's? And, just where is the data that supports, or dispels, that? Passing though here... Ya think that this is a questions to pose to Dr. Tamitha Skov? She now has her amateur radio ticket. http://www.spaceweatherwoman.com/
370
Huh? / Radio Survivor discovering EXP AM Band DX'ing? GOOD!!!!!!!
« on: July 15, 2020, 1836 UTC »
Well, good for them, albeit that they are on the West Coast. http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2020/07/14/dx-adventures-at-1700/
Must be very different that what we hear on the East Coast.
Must be very different that what we hear on the East Coast.
371
Huh? / You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« on: July 07, 2020, 1833 UTC »
Yeah, been about 20 years since this was out, so here it is, again. Catch y'all in 2040!!!!
You were in radio before 1970 if you...
>
>Remember Joe Pyne and "Mooo-tual News!"
>
>Threw away the transcription disk players to put in Tapecaster cart
>machines.
>
>Can name the Conelrad frequencies...or even remember what Conelrad was.
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that used carrier current
>transmission...on AM.
>
>Managed to pass your "third phone" and took meter readings every thirty
>minutes during your on-air shift...or at least faked them.
>
>Think Wolfman Jack or Clint Eastwood in "Play Misty for Me" is the
>greatest jock of all time.
>
>Can name the first record you played by Elvis or The Beatles.
>
>Wouldn't put a song on the air if it had "damn" or "hell" in the lyrics.
>
>Got your start in the biz doing anything that had to be done at a
>daytime AM in Bum****, Egypt.
>
>Bleeped out spots for Martini and Rossi vermouth during network
>newscasts because the station was located in a "dry" county.
>
>Had an opening and closing theme song for your show.
>
>Know what Don Imus did before WFAN and CNBC.
>
>Carried a rate card with only two prices...one for thirties, one for
>sixties.
>
>Got your first real job in radio on a classical music FM with a total
>audience of six people.
>
>Know who Arthur Godfrey was...and probably ran board for his show
>somewhere.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody who got fired loosened the bolts on
>the tower guy wires.
>
>Scratched up tracks on an LP or a "B" side with a screwdriver so your
>jocks couldn't "accidentally" play them on the air.
>
>Quoted ratings from Pulse and Hooper.
>
>Stopped "spinnin' the hits" to join CBS News at the top of the hour.
>
>Worked at a station where the weekend guy was always named Johnny
>Holiday and the night jock was named Dan Dark so the jingles didn't have
>to be changed when they ultimately got canned.
>
>Got your on-air "chops" practicing in the production room after
>midnight.
>
>Brought records from home to play on your show.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the owner...or the owner's wife.>
>Ever tried to hoist your station banner to the top of the competitor's
>tower.
>
>Sent an aircheck to a prospective employer on reel-to-reel tape.
>
>Had a show on the air that didn't fit the station's format at all...just
>because some sponsor had been buying that slot for years.
>
>Air-checked your show on the big Ampex in the production room.
>
>Tried to look up your old on-air staff and found some of them selling
>spots for the competition.
>
>
>
>You were in radio before 1980 if you...
>
>
>Ever had a client tell you that rock or country music would never make
>it on FM...and had an owner or GM who agreed.
>
>Did a promotion to give away FM car-radio converters.
>
>Put a quarter on a tone arm so it wouldn't jump off a warped demo 45 you
>just had to play...and it was the only copy the station got.
>
>Could remember the intro time and the color of the record label on every
>song you played...but couldn't recite any of the lyrics except the first
>and last lines.
>
>Know what PAMS were.
>
>Ever sped up the turntable to get more songs in during an hour and to
>make the competition sound "draggy."
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that was on FM but ran less than ten
>watts of power.
>
>Started a 45 at 33 1/3 or vice versa...and didn't notice because you
>were on the phone with a listener of the opposite sex.
>
>Air-checked your show on a boombox beneath the console.
>
>Ever interviewed an artist on the air who was too stoned to be coherent.
>
>Wouldn't put a song on the air that had any of George Carlin's famous
>words in it...but pretty much anything else went.
>
>Know what Erica Farber did before Radio & Records.
>
>Sent an aircheck to a prospective employer on a cassette swiped from the
>sales office or newsroom.
>
>Worked at a station that had a newsroom!
>
>Can remember the first record you played by The Doors or Janis Joplin or
>the Allman Brothers.
>
>Got your start in the biz running preacher tapes on Sunday morning.
>>Think either Scott Shannon or that guy in the movie "FM" is the greatest
>jock of all time.
>
>Accidentally let a listener say something obscene on the air because you
>didn't really have a delay.
>
>Got your on-air "chops" doing a 3 AM-to-5:30 AM shift for minimum wage.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody got fired and, on his way out, ran a
>magnet up and down the commercial-cart rack.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the PD.
>
>Had a customized jingle with your name in it.
>
>Once pretended to (or maybe really did) smoke a joint on the air.
>
>Got your first real job in radio...doing mid-days on an AM
>easy-listening station with a total audience of six folks.
>
>Took a trip to a "showcase" at record company expense and never actually
>got around to hearing the label's act perform.
>
>Worked the overnight shift and had to wake up the morning guy (who was
>sleeping off a bender on the lobby couch) so he could do his show.
>
>Arranged to meet people of the opposite sex that you talked to on the
>request line, but some place where you could see them before they could
>see you.
>
>Did a remote with a mic amp and a pair of alligator clips connected to
>the telephone mouthpiece.
>
>Included the words "FM Stereo" as part of your legal ID.
>
>Watched your music director put colored dots on each record shuck to
>tell you which category they belonged in.
>
>Never worked for a station that was not actually licensed to the city
>where the studio was located.
>
>Paid money for air checks of Don Imus, Don Steele, Cousin Brucie or
>other big market jocks so you could emulate their style.
>
>Assumed that syndication meant "King Biscuit Flower Hour" and "Earth
>News."
>
>Tried to look up your old on-air staff and found them working for an FM
>station somewhere.
>
>
>
>You were in radio before 1990 if you...
>
>
>Had to re-dub a seven-minute song to cart because you forgot to run it
>through the splice finder first.
>
>Recorded spots on half-inch multi-track.
>
>Ran an EBS test off cart and forgot to punch the tones button on the>unit in the rack.
>
>Could take a job at the big rival station across town without being
>afraid your old station would buy them next week.
>
>Had a "jock shout" jingle with your name.
>
>Quoted ratings from Birch.
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that played music nobody in the frat
>houses had ever heard of...but that was so-o-o-o cool to you and your
>friends.
>
>Know what Lee Abrams did before satellite radio.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the consultant...from poolside at his place in
>Malibu.
>
>Had your girlfriends/boyfriends aircheck your show at their places so
>the processing would make your voice sound better.
>
>Can remember the first record you played by George Strait or Madonna.
>
>Never worked for a station that was actually licensed to the city where
>the main studio was located.
>
>Thought all records came from the label rep with cash or a small baggie
>of controlled substance shoved inside the sleeve.
>
>Think Tom Joyner, "The Greaseman," or Dr. Johnny Fever is the greatest
>jock of all time.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody who got fired put sugar in the gas
>tank of the station van.
>
>Made sure your music director did a music log on the computer every
>day...but he sometimes forgot to leave the print-out in the control room
>for the overnight guy.
>
>Ever worked for a station that proudly proclaimed its format to be
>"Soul," "Underground," "Countrypolitan," "Easy Listening," "Disco," or
>"Hot Hits."
>
>Got your on-air "chops" doing a weekend shift.
>
>Got your first real job in radio...as promotion assistant, washing the
>van, delivering registration boxes to sponsor locations, and sorting tee
>shirts by size.
>
>Ever had an FCC inspector walk in and tell you to turn the transmitter
>off and then back on using the remote control.
>
>Quoted ratings from Accuratings.
>
>Thought "Clear Channel" was an AM frequency that had only one station in
>the whole country licensed to it.
>
>Try to look up your old on-air staff and find them doing talk radio
>somewhere.
>
>>
>You were not in radio until AFTER 1990 if...
>
>
>
>The only kind of "vinyl" you know about is the material covering the
>walls in the sales lounge.
>
>You think a 45 is some kind of new spot length the corporate guys want
>you to start selling so they can get more units in a break.
>
>Tape, turntables and cart machines, so far as you know, are only to be
>found in the Museum of Broadcasting or non-rated Arbitron markets.
>
>You ever airchecked your show from the station's Internet stream.
>
>You tell people your morning show's live...and so what if it does come
>from Charlotte, Dallas or LA?
>
>You worked at a campus radio station that ran commercials and had a
>sales staff.
>
You were in radio before 1970 if you...
>
>Remember Joe Pyne and "Mooo-tual News!"
>
>Threw away the transcription disk players to put in Tapecaster cart
>machines.
>
>Can name the Conelrad frequencies...or even remember what Conelrad was.
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that used carrier current
>transmission...on AM.
>
>Managed to pass your "third phone" and took meter readings every thirty
>minutes during your on-air shift...or at least faked them.
>
>Think Wolfman Jack or Clint Eastwood in "Play Misty for Me" is the
>greatest jock of all time.
>
>Can name the first record you played by Elvis or The Beatles.
>
>Wouldn't put a song on the air if it had "damn" or "hell" in the lyrics.
>
>Got your start in the biz doing anything that had to be done at a
>daytime AM in Bum****, Egypt.
>
>Bleeped out spots for Martini and Rossi vermouth during network
>newscasts because the station was located in a "dry" county.
>
>Had an opening and closing theme song for your show.
>
>Know what Don Imus did before WFAN and CNBC.
>
>Carried a rate card with only two prices...one for thirties, one for
>sixties.
>
>Got your first real job in radio on a classical music FM with a total
>audience of six people.
>
>Know who Arthur Godfrey was...and probably ran board for his show
>somewhere.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody who got fired loosened the bolts on
>the tower guy wires.
>
>Scratched up tracks on an LP or a "B" side with a screwdriver so your
>jocks couldn't "accidentally" play them on the air.
>
>Quoted ratings from Pulse and Hooper.
>
>Stopped "spinnin' the hits" to join CBS News at the top of the hour.
>
>Worked at a station where the weekend guy was always named Johnny
>Holiday and the night jock was named Dan Dark so the jingles didn't have
>to be changed when they ultimately got canned.
>
>Got your on-air "chops" practicing in the production room after
>midnight.
>
>Brought records from home to play on your show.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the owner...or the owner's wife.>
>Ever tried to hoist your station banner to the top of the competitor's
>tower.
>
>Sent an aircheck to a prospective employer on reel-to-reel tape.
>
>Had a show on the air that didn't fit the station's format at all...just
>because some sponsor had been buying that slot for years.
>
>Air-checked your show on the big Ampex in the production room.
>
>Tried to look up your old on-air staff and found some of them selling
>spots for the competition.
>
>
>
>You were in radio before 1980 if you...
>
>
>Ever had a client tell you that rock or country music would never make
>it on FM...and had an owner or GM who agreed.
>
>Did a promotion to give away FM car-radio converters.
>
>Put a quarter on a tone arm so it wouldn't jump off a warped demo 45 you
>just had to play...and it was the only copy the station got.
>
>Could remember the intro time and the color of the record label on every
>song you played...but couldn't recite any of the lyrics except the first
>and last lines.
>
>Know what PAMS were.
>
>Ever sped up the turntable to get more songs in during an hour and to
>make the competition sound "draggy."
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that was on FM but ran less than ten
>watts of power.
>
>Started a 45 at 33 1/3 or vice versa...and didn't notice because you
>were on the phone with a listener of the opposite sex.
>
>Air-checked your show on a boombox beneath the console.
>
>Ever interviewed an artist on the air who was too stoned to be coherent.
>
>Wouldn't put a song on the air that had any of George Carlin's famous
>words in it...but pretty much anything else went.
>
>Know what Erica Farber did before Radio & Records.
>
>Sent an aircheck to a prospective employer on a cassette swiped from the
>sales office or newsroom.
>
>Worked at a station that had a newsroom!
>
>Can remember the first record you played by The Doors or Janis Joplin or
>the Allman Brothers.
>
>Got your start in the biz running preacher tapes on Sunday morning.
>>Think either Scott Shannon or that guy in the movie "FM" is the greatest
>jock of all time.
>
>Accidentally let a listener say something obscene on the air because you
>didn't really have a delay.
>
>Got your on-air "chops" doing a 3 AM-to-5:30 AM shift for minimum wage.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody got fired and, on his way out, ran a
>magnet up and down the commercial-cart rack.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the PD.
>
>Had a customized jingle with your name in it.
>
>Once pretended to (or maybe really did) smoke a joint on the air.
>
>Got your first real job in radio...doing mid-days on an AM
>easy-listening station with a total audience of six folks.
>
>Took a trip to a "showcase" at record company expense and never actually
>got around to hearing the label's act perform.
>
>Worked the overnight shift and had to wake up the morning guy (who was
>sleeping off a bender on the lobby couch) so he could do his show.
>
>Arranged to meet people of the opposite sex that you talked to on the
>request line, but some place where you could see them before they could
>see you.
>
>Did a remote with a mic amp and a pair of alligator clips connected to
>the telephone mouthpiece.
>
>Included the words "FM Stereo" as part of your legal ID.
>
>Watched your music director put colored dots on each record shuck to
>tell you which category they belonged in.
>
>Never worked for a station that was not actually licensed to the city
>where the studio was located.
>
>Paid money for air checks of Don Imus, Don Steele, Cousin Brucie or
>other big market jocks so you could emulate their style.
>
>Assumed that syndication meant "King Biscuit Flower Hour" and "Earth
>News."
>
>Tried to look up your old on-air staff and found them working for an FM
>station somewhere.
>
>
>
>You were in radio before 1990 if you...
>
>
>Had to re-dub a seven-minute song to cart because you forgot to run it
>through the splice finder first.
>
>Recorded spots on half-inch multi-track.
>
>Ran an EBS test off cart and forgot to punch the tones button on the>unit in the rack.
>
>Could take a job at the big rival station across town without being
>afraid your old station would buy them next week.
>
>Had a "jock shout" jingle with your name.
>
>Quoted ratings from Birch.
>
>Worked at a campus radio station that played music nobody in the frat
>houses had ever heard of...but that was so-o-o-o cool to you and your
>friends.
>
>Know what Lee Abrams did before satellite radio.
>
>Got "hot-lined" by the consultant...from poolside at his place in
>Malibu.
>
>Had your girlfriends/boyfriends aircheck your show at their places so
>the processing would make your voice sound better.
>
>Can remember the first record you played by George Strait or Madonna.
>
>Never worked for a station that was actually licensed to the city where
>the main studio was located.
>
>Thought all records came from the label rep with cash or a small baggie
>of controlled substance shoved inside the sleeve.
>
>Think Tom Joyner, "The Greaseman," or Dr. Johnny Fever is the greatest
>jock of all time.
>
>Worked at a station where somebody who got fired put sugar in the gas
>tank of the station van.
>
>Made sure your music director did a music log on the computer every
>day...but he sometimes forgot to leave the print-out in the control room
>for the overnight guy.
>
>Ever worked for a station that proudly proclaimed its format to be
>"Soul," "Underground," "Countrypolitan," "Easy Listening," "Disco," or
>"Hot Hits."
>
>Got your on-air "chops" doing a weekend shift.
>
>Got your first real job in radio...as promotion assistant, washing the
>van, delivering registration boxes to sponsor locations, and sorting tee
>shirts by size.
>
>Ever had an FCC inspector walk in and tell you to turn the transmitter
>off and then back on using the remote control.
>
>Quoted ratings from Accuratings.
>
>Thought "Clear Channel" was an AM frequency that had only one station in
>the whole country licensed to it.
>
>Try to look up your old on-air staff and find them doing talk radio
>somewhere.
>
>>
>You were not in radio until AFTER 1990 if...
>
>
>
>The only kind of "vinyl" you know about is the material covering the
>walls in the sales lounge.
>
>You think a 45 is some kind of new spot length the corporate guys want
>you to start selling so they can get more units in a break.
>
>Tape, turntables and cart machines, so far as you know, are only to be
>found in the Museum of Broadcasting or non-rated Arbitron markets.
>
>You ever airchecked your show from the station's Internet stream.
>
>You tell people your morning show's live...and so what if it does come
>from Charlotte, Dallas or LA?
>
>You worked at a campus radio station that ran commercials and had a
>sales staff.
>
372
MW Loggings / What's in there with 1100 WTAM in the evenings?
« on: June 28, 2020, 0440 UTC »
For better than two weeks now, I've noticed something about +/-10Hz off FREQ battling it out with Cleveland's 1100 WTAM on a job site to site drive at 10:06PM EST, (When I want to catch the opening of Ground Zero Radio with Clyde Lewis.), and also still there on the drive home, like after 2AM, when I want to see what's on C2C AM. So, what is that? You'd think that 1100kHz would have Clear Channel to WV, but I'm now nightly hearing something in there with it. That being only a few Hertz off is like a motor boating sound. Any ideas???
373
Software / FM broadcast SCA audio from SDR software?
« on: June 27, 2020, 1909 UTC »
Ya know... I've been reminded of a kit that ya add to the IF of an FM broadcast RX to decode the SCA audio. I've thought for years of doing this, but in our ever encroaching digital age, I'm wondering if any major FM stations from major metro areas are doing it anymore. But, if any still are, can SDR software decode that? Am I wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy to late to even ask this?
374
Amateur Radio / For those that want to get away from Field Day madness...
« on: June 23, 2020, 2104 UTC »
Don't forget... If you want to get away from this weekend's Field Day craziness, the WARC 12M band, 24.890MHz - 24.990MHz, also does nice Sporadic "E" hops as well, yet I hear very few ops using it for that. The "E" skip maybe a bit shorter than 10M and 11M hops. HAPPY DX!!!!!
375
Propagation / Will Sahara / Atlantic Dust Cloud affect propagation?
« on: June 23, 2020, 2046 UTC »
What is this dust cloud going to do to affect RF on various FREQ's? https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/abnormally-large-dust-cloud-making-5000-mile-trek-across-atlantic/761708
This does not answer that.
This does not answer that.