Messages

1051

General Radio Discussion / Re: Sad news; ART BELL has passed away... Art Of Talk TONIGHT 4/30/2018!

« on: April 30, 2018, 2013 UTC »

http://midnightinthedesert.com/the-art-of-talk-art-bell-reads-his-book/           Yep, all 4 1/2 hours of it. Anyone recording this one, since M.I.T.D. will not archive this?

1052

TV DX Loggings / Re: I miss analog TV! Is TV DX'ing dead? No, just modified.

« on: April 28, 2018, 1524 UTC »

Well, I certainly miss DX'ing TV stations. (And even working at one that has been DX'ed.) Doubt that Sporadic E leftover DTV VHF Low Band stations will be seen by anything, except as signal traces on a spectrum analyzer. However, VHF High Band and all those DTV UHF stations can, and are, being DX'ed via tropo and temperature inversions often. So, TV DX isn't dead, but it is somewhat modified. I understand that analog TV DX'ing can still be had from Mexico. (I believe that Canada has swapped over to all DTV at this point. Is there anyone up there to verify that?) I still watch analog TV. How? I still have a DVD-R burner that has an ATSC 1.0 tuner in it from 2006, and I run that to a UHF CATV transmitter and a custom UHF dipole and watch what I want off-air on leftover analog NTSC TV's, that look perfectly fine still. I still have a B&W 5" portable TV from 1979 that I've shown off to kids. I feel so old now! I still remember when having a color TV was a big deal, since the 1st color TV in our immediate family didn't come in until 1975. So, can I make it a big deal to have a B&W TV today. (Some kids think it's neat, while other ask how can I watch that.) Now, we are going into ATSC 3.0. (So, what happened to 2.0?)   https://nocable.org/news/atsc-3-0-the-next-generation-ota-tv-launches-in-late-2018    Now, just what kind of fuster cluck that will cause for broadcasters and the rest of us consumers is anyone's guess.

1053

Equipment / Radio Jay's AM Portable 2018 Shootout!

« on: April 27, 2018, 1719 UTC »

Busy AM radio Friday for me, then comes news that Radio Jay Allen updated his AM Radio Shootout,     https://radiojayallen.com/am-portables-mega-shootout-2016-update/      WARNING!!!!! The following maybe a fun read! Yeah, Radio Jay doesn't use measured spec's in his write-ups, but then again the average Joe / Jane may make more sense of these.

1054

General Radio Discussion / LPAM proposals, studies, and map.

« on: April 27, 2018, 1659 UTC »

Neat link to check out the somewhat growing interest in an expanded licensed LPAM movement. I say expanded, since we have a working (Watered down.), LPAM model in TIS stations. Then, you have Part #15 AM stations. All covered via this page and links,   http://recnet.com/?q=lpam    In my mind, LPAM could cover as well, if not better than LPFM in various areas, especially Geographically filtered areas, (a.k.a. hills and valleys.). What do ya think? I still believe that a 10W LPAM station would work in various areas. I still say, if the FCC wants AM Revitalization, let us have it! (Thank you Boomer for sharing this info!)

1055

Equipment / Re: Looking for suggestions for a directional antenna for circa 8 MHz

« on: April 16, 2018, 1632 UTC »

If you have the room on your property, you can't really go wrong with a bi-directional Delta Loop for HF,    http://w5sdc.net/delta_loop_for_hf.htm

Again, another passing thought.

1056

10/11 meters / Re: CH 6 superbowl channel received in Latin America. Try this LSB FREQ.

« on: April 15, 2018, 1721 UTC »

Another good one, when the 11M band opens up is CH 38 LSB (27.385MHz.) Locally, evenings where I am see LSB activity on CH 39 (27.395MHz.). QSO's there are not so much skip, but talking regionally to the near by counties and bordering states. However, when skip happens, LSB CH 38 seems to be the big goto channel now a days.

1057

General Radio Discussion / Re: Sad news; ART BELL has passed away...

« on: April 14, 2018, 1521 UTC »

I got the word around 3:15AM EST last night. As if Syria wasn't bad news enough, now this.     http://kfyo.com/breaking-former-coast-to-coast-am-host-art-bell-dead-at-age-72/

1058

General Radio Discussion / Re: Pirate Broadcast power output

« on: April 09, 2018, 1536 UTC »

That really varies with each stations. Solid state TX's typically are 25W carrier for AM and 100W PEP for SSB. Much of the tube gear can be from 40W to 150W carrier. Then, you have stations with either homebrew, or modified broadcasting gear, (Like Radio Metallica.), that claimed 10KW. And then, you also have small, homebrew, TX's like the famed Grenade that put out around a 10W carrier. So, it varies with every station.

1059

Equipment / Re: Best broadband receiving antenna below 500khz (longwave, NDB, DGPS)

« on: April 06, 2018, 1618 UTC »

         I've been wanting to try the WOG (Wire On the Ground.) A friend of mine swears by it, and having it on the ground reduces the QRM noise levels. just don't lay it out where you have buried power lines, or under the power lines above. Unfortunately, being April 2018, we are now getting into constant lightning static noise season, but this November I know that I'd like to give this a try and lay out about 200ft of EXT cord and use that as the WOG for the winter.

1060

10/11 meters / Re: CH 6 superbowl channel received in Latin America

« on: April 06, 2018, 1528 UTC »

Interesting prospective from down there, where I suspect that it is Transequatorial Propagation. That Superbowl CH 6 is a 24 hour pissing contest of 400% modulation and I understand that they MAX OUT those linear amps to thousands of watts, with AM splatter heard all the way to Trucker's CH 19 at times. Still, I use CH 6 as a tool. If there is any hint of F2, Transequatorial, or Sporadic E, propagations, CB CH 6 is the first hint of an opening. I actually had a CB friend tell us to follow him to CH 6 and he told us to just listen, this was back in the mid-1990's. At first, totally dead. Then the friend keyed up with 300W and about 200% MOD and yelled racial comments for a minute straight. The next thing was that the channel just exploded with pissed off Mudducks rebuking him. Wow!!!! This was done in the middle of rural nowhere of Western New York. Got to admit, that was a neat experiment.

1061

Equipment / Re: Loop balun ratio?

« on: March 29, 2018, 0233 UTC »

Gee, you are pretty ambitious for a Kidd. Um... I've always done well with 4:1 W2DU current baluns. When you do your windings, don't put them too close together, or else that antenna will just RX FREQ's 5MHz and below, and little above that. Use the FREQ's of WWV, CHU, and 6070kHz CFRX (Since it's on-air 24/7.), to test RX with. Try the 9:1 balun, then try again without it. Good luck and Happy DX'ing!!!!!

1062

FM DX Loggings / FM translators and tropo skip / temp inversions interference.

« on: March 26, 2018, 2028 UTC »

One big problem with these new AM stationed FM translators is that they've put them on FREQ's where out of town stations have come in just fine. Oh sure, on paper with the 1mV/M contours they may seem fine and clear, but most of us know that FM stations go well beyond that. This morning, while listening to the WCHS 580AM Charleston, WV FM translator, that country bumpkin blow torch station from Williamson, WV was popping through this morning. A station well over 100 miles south of me, in my very bad FM direction geographically. So, you can't stop tropo propagation, even with a well crowded FM dial. Just more RF crap to skip over when conditions have it. Damn, I miss FM DX'ing some 30 years ago.

1063

Huh? / Re: Elon Musk deletes Facebook

« on: March 26, 2018, 2015 UTC »

On purposely, I won't do facebook, I do     https://vk.com/    Much less censoring. I had myspace years ago, until Just-In Timberlake zeroed everyone's accounts. What a bag of douche. Thus far, VK has worked out quite well.

1064

For Sale / Wanted / Barter / Re: LuLu Style Tx's 10W carrier, 40W Peak, with Modulator, Mod Tranny + 6925 XTAL

« on: March 20, 2018, 1501 UTC »

When I noticed some FM on the Radio Systems, I Am Radio (a.k.a. updated Talking House), TX, I grounded the case of the main crystal to chassis ground and that reduced the FM to better than 1/2 of what it was. The 13.560MHz AM Pixie-like TX I have, the main crystal is 13.560MHz (Thank you Fearless Fred on that one!). That crystal is also tied to chassis ground. On FM listening, I really have to crank the volume all the way to just hear it. It's better than any commercial AM TX gear that I have. You might want to give that I try. Where did I get the idea from? Before ICF (International Crystal Manufacturer.), closed up, I asked their engineers if that was a good practice to ground crystal cases, and they recommend that indeed. 

1065

General Radio Discussion / Captain Eddy of Radio Airplane, aka John Cruzan, was seriously injured in crash!

« on: March 19, 2018, 1547 UTC »

Ripped from The FRN.net,       http://www.frn.net/vines/read.php?3,6295,6295   Hope he pulls through!