Messages

106

General Radio Discussion / Are Internet Radios Still a Thing? RW rip...

« on: November 08, 2024, 1851 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/are-internet-radios-still-a-thing     I still use it, and use that Grace Digital Mondo Elite as a stream link for programs. BTW, it does seem to work well with Starlink Internet. (Thanks for referring this Boomer!)

107

Huh? / Re: 35000 Watts, Download Available Now? (Movie documentary.) COOL!!!!

« on: November 06, 2024, 1800 UTC »

I haven't been to Lubbock, TX, but been to Amarillo, and remember just how flat the terrain was there. +30 miles of coverage? It wouldn't surprise me if KTXT was easily heard out to AR, OK, and even NM, borders. Even a few hundred watts on FM would reach a great distance there. But yeah, commercial stations would certainly envy that kind of coverage. As far as more material, that didn't get-in the 35,000 Watts movie, I hope that Michael Mallard can indeed do a follow-up to 35,000 Watts. Heck... Just the INFO that Jennifer Waits has, from her +100 college stations' visits, could easily fill a movie. Let's hope so...   Oh BTW... That 100kW college station mentioned in the movie is this one,  https://www.wheatstone.com/joomlatools-files/docman-files/downloadables//9_29_2022_WREK_Student_Radio_Gets_a_Much_Needed_Studio_Upgrade.pdf    and    https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=Wrek&nav=home   Gees... How much is their power bill?

108

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / Re: Is a TH essentially also CC? To a degree, yes...

« on: November 04, 2024, 1628 UTC »

Pretty much any Medium Wave transmitter, that uses power from the commercial power lines, will have some bit of coupling to the power lines, even the commercial sites. That said, the way to reduce that is to use actually isolation transformers in the power supplies. The Talking House, and even the Radio Systems version, I Am Radio, does come with a transformered wall wart, and not a switching supply. That helps. If you wanted to be 'Off-Grid', going solar and battery would isolate even more so, and I've heard of some stations doing so. Very long lines and low FREQ interacting with each other certainly isn't new, and will continue for as long as we have a MW Band. Steps can be done to reduce that coupling, but not totally eliminate it, unless you transmit out in the middle of nowhere, with no power lines around. BTW, not just power lines, but coupling has a tendency to occur with other utility lines as well, land-line phone, CATV, etc. That's, where fibre optics is good. Hopefully, I was able to answer that. BTW, using audio isolation transformers is good to do as well. I've had to do that here.

109

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Radio 48 via Mix Radio Int'l 6850 USB 2 NOV 2024, VSB?

« on: November 03, 2024, 1812 UTC »

Heard Radio 48 well, as well, but has anyone else noticed that it was like VSB, Vestigial Side Band? Why do I say that? On LSB, I heard clear, but very bassy audio, and full audio in USB. Huh... Wonder what transmitter they were using?

110

Huh? / Re: So, what's up with Archive .ORG? Seems back up now, 10/21/2024.

« on: October 21, 2024, 1809 UTC »

Good... Able to get back to   https://archive.org/details/@thadood     again, as well as other archives, like   https://archive.org/details/@splatterbox3200       YEA!!!!

111

Equipment / Re: I bought a shortwave and can't hear sh*t? Ya want good sh*t!

« on: October 21, 2024, 1802 UTC »

Near Pensacola, huh? Almost nightly, I can hear their 1620AM up here in SW West Virginia, usually battling with 1620kHz out of Cuba, and my own Part 15 AM1620 station. Anyway... Couple of things that you can try. Got any unused speaker wire, trashed telephone, or CAT 5, cables, or even an extra power extension cord?  Ideas, for longer Shortwave antennas to clip to that portable's telescopic whip. Are you close to a beach that you can take that portable to? Just be sure that you have some good distance away from the local AM stations, like that 1620AM. Looking at that portable's range, 4.5MHz - 22MHz, from 4.5MHz to like 10MHz, good for most nighttime listening, while 10MHz to 22MHz, mainly daytime. Albeit, about 10AM to mid-afternoon, EST, you could usually hear 40M AM HAM's from 7285kHz - 7295kHz. (That includes me on some Saturdays and Sundays, when I hear a friend calling CQ-CQ there.) After that time, 40M shortwave broadcasters dominate that portion of the HAM Band, like in the evening. Oh.. Got a close-by tree to string a wire up into for an antenna? Oh... In a pinch, even the Dollar Tree should have cheap runs of speaker wire, and a small-gauge spool of what they call 'hook-up' wire. That would work. Hey, I know what it's like to be super cheap. I still dumpster dive. 

112

SDR - Software Defined Radio / The Ultra-Portable ATS25 max-Decoder Receiver? Updated?

« on: October 19, 2024, 1720 UTC »

https://www.elektormagazine.com/review/ats25-max-decoder-receiver-review   Sound intriguing, but I understand that you'd have to pay for the software upgrades.  Anyone tried this SDR yet?

113

General Radio Discussion / Re: Rookie purchase help? I did it the portable way, back in the day.

« on: October 18, 2024, 1746 UTC »

I'll ring-in on this as the way I'd gotten into Shortwave listening was by a birthday gift at, 12-years-old, a new 1978, Radio Shack, Realistic DX-40 AM / FM / two-band, shortwave 3MHz - 22MHz, portable. https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=14678   At the time, I've really liked it for the decent AM / FM reception, which it did pretty well. However, I did check-out the Shortwave bands on it. Back then, there was a lot more to listen to, but even today it could still receive several shortwave stations still out there, as well as AM HAM's on 1885kHz, 3885kHz, and 7290kHz. It also easily picked-up the time stations of WWV's 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, and 20MHz, and CHU's 3330kHz, and 7850kHz. The thing about having your own radio is that you are so anonymous listening to it. Unlike, listening to on-line KIWI-SDR's. Even, with the telescopic whip antenna, if reception suck at one location, move to another, or go outside. Anyway, that's how I started out. Cheaper radios, with Shortwave, could be had used at junk stores, yard sales, Salvation Army, Good Will, etc. Or, looks for what's on sale for new at like Walmart, even some drug stores, and other local department stores. Ya never know...   

114

Huh? / So, what's up with Archive .ORG? Been down since the start of the month.

« on: October 16, 2024, 1751 UTC »

https://archive.org/details/@thadood      That sucks... Can't access my uploads. WBCQ must be in the same boat.  https://archive.org/details/@splatterbox3200   For now, I can kind of fall-back to my Brighteon.Social page,  https://brighteon.social/@RealFreeRadio   There, non-members can still view TEXT and PIC's, but not .PDF's, or A/V files. Huh...

115

Equipment / User Report: SEPsoniX Brings Big Sound to Small Station? RW rip.

« on: October 16, 2024, 1745 UTC »

https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/buyers-guide/user-report-sepsonix-brings-big-sound-to-small-station     COOL!!!! That would be neat for either LPFM, or Part 15, stations. Always good to know what's out there. (THANKS, Boomer!)

116

Part 15 AM and FM Station Operation / A look at an LPB, Inc., 25C Tube Transmitter and Coupler from 1975.

« on: October 14, 2024, 1848 UTC »

https://steampoweredradio.com/pdf/lpb/manuals/LPB%20Model%2025C%20AM%20Broadcast%20Transmitter%20Manual.pdf    COOL!!! I'd still would take both today.

117

Equipment / Anyone tried the Sirio re-issued Starduster 11M / 10M Antenna? Just ordered one.

« on: October 10, 2024, 1809 UTC »

I was trying to build a better, lower-gain, antenna for 11M CB and 10M local Chit-Chat, that goes on in my area on 28.415MHz USB. Being in this valley bottom, low-gain antennas seem to be the best way on VHF / UHF to talk out of here. Currently, I'm using a free Cushcraft AR-10 10M 1/2-Wave GND-Plane, which does pretty good, at +2dbd gain, but I believe that I could do better in my geographically challenged areas to my South and East. Anyway, by the time I get the parts together, and the time to do it, I might as well pay for an old tried & true antenna that the Italian company Sirio has re-issued, the old antenna design from Antenna Specialist, The Starduster.  https://www.sirioantenne.it/en/products/hf/starduster-m-400   I ordered mine from Copper Electronics.   https://www.copperelectronics.com/cart/M400-10-11-Meter Thus far, I've had good luck with them and they still have my INFO. So, an antenna that was all-the-rage in the late 70's and early 1980's with the CB'ers of the time. Quite a few friends of mine, back then, had one and loved them. So, a pretty Unity-Gain, 1/4-Wave, antenna for the upper HF band, with a higher angle of radiation, to take better advantage of Knife-Edge-Refraction and even Sporadic E propagation. The down-side that I've observed of this original antenna is that it may easily brake in wind storms. However, they seemed to be easily repairable and most were put back up. So, I have to ask, have any of you tried the 'ol Starduster, or even the newer Sirio version? What do you think? 

118

General Radio Discussion / Re: World Music Radio on 25.800MHz AM, in the 11M Int Band? Oooops!!!!!

« on: September 28, 2024, 1738 UTC »

Well, if there's anything that will teach me not to post anything, before coffee, then this does. Um, yeah... World Music Radio. I'm kind of surprised that they didn't correct me on that. I must have had that Irish station stuck in my head. So, oooooooooooooooooops...

119

General Radio Discussion / Weekend Music Radio on 25.800MHz AM, in the 11M Int Band?

« on: September 27, 2024, 1715 UTC »

Huh??? This is the 1st that I've heard about anyone, but CB Outbanders, using the 11M International Broadcast Band, from 25.670MHz - 26.100MHz, since for decades, that band has been pretty much abandoned. So, when I heard about Weekend Music Radio, (WMR), operating 24/7 on the FREQ of 25.800MHz AM, I had to inquire. So, here was their reply:

"Thanks for your e-mail.

What do you mean “Are you relay on the 11M band”?? Yes, of course we are. And have been there since June 2021 - running 24/7.

 

From the beginning the power was 60 Watts. Now it is 150 Watts (AM carrier). The transmitter is a Dutch built 300 Watts transmitter. We are using wide bandwidth – so excellent audio locally. We have a license for 25795, 25800, and 25805 kHz J

 

The antenna is a vertical half wave dipole on top of a 110 meter tall tower. On a hill top a bit south of the Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark. Giving a really good local coverage.

 

But the signal also propagates worldwide when conditions are good. Very often in No. Africa and So. Europe. Sometimes in the Americas (usually late afternoons UTC). Occasionally in New Zealand and Australia. And audible almost daily in Japan:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/fJKgWqKobNGBik3s/

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/vnZkDFvohzyKdZqG/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/EKDo7ZJ234G99VBq/

 

I am attaching two photos of the antenna tower.

Need any more infos – pse get in touch again.

 

Best regards
Stig

 

www.wmr.radio     "

 COOL!!!!!!! Anyone out there heard them?

120

Huh? / FCC approves order to fast-track George Soros' purchase of over 200 radio statio

« on: September 25, 2024, 1726 UTC »

Yeah, WTF there, huh??? Gee... No favoritism here, right?    Actually, I heard this Monday, but since no one else posted it, here it is.   https://thepostmillennial.com/fcc-approves-order-to-fast-track-george-soros-purchase-of-over-200-radio-stations-report   HAM's are certainly talking about it on 75M.