766
Huh? / Re: You Were In Radio, When!!!!!!!!
« on: July 13, 2020, 1824 UTC »
Ya know... It looks to me that this list could be extended now from Y2K and onward. Anyone care to add-in?
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.
Always consult with the appropriate authorities if you have questions concerning what is permissible in your locale.
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767
General Radio Discussion / Re: Antenna wire, get your cheap antenna wire
« on: July 11, 2020, 1817 UTC »
Back in 1992 I bought from an INDY electrical store a 500ft spool of solid copper #10 AWG insulated wire that lasted me for +20-some years. Made all sorts of antennas with that, and not just for me, but others as well. Heck... It's what my Windom consist of. I see wider bandwidths with it too. Today, when I see contractors rip that out of buildings and houses, I help myself to it, before they do it 1st.
768
Equipment / Re: Garbage Baluns
« on: July 09, 2020, 1812 UTC »
I have an old B&W RC-781 Balun given to me back in 1985. B&W no longer had any specs to it anymore. Anyone have any clue to the specs on that? It has an "N" connector for the input.
769
MW Loggings / Re: What's in there with 1100 WTAM in the evenings?
« on: July 09, 2020, 1804 UTC »
Hmmmmmm, maybe an interesting, but good, speculation there. Someone may not even know of a pattern change, unless a FS measurement is taken, or the FCC contacts the station to say, "We've noticed that you are out of compliance from a couple of monitoring stations." I don't remember what AM station it was, but in the 80's a station was contacted by the FCC for being noticed a few Hertz off FREQ measured at night. It's been a month that I've noticed that slightly off-FREQ station on WTAM's 1100kHz now. We'll see just how long that's in there. They are my fall-back for C2C AM on my drive home, when the local 1240kHz station, (Yeah... A Graveyard FREQ.), goes off-air, or just dead-air. That happens a lot, and their newer FM translator doesn't help when there's no audio to that either.
770
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.
>
771
Equipment / Re: Antenna projects that were not successful
« on: July 03, 2020, 1907 UTC »
For me??? I had to learn the hard, and fairly expensive, way that high gain GND-Plane antennas that kicked-ass in fairly flat terrain just did not work at all in hilly terrain and deep in a valley. Co-linear antennas for VHF / UHF are pretty much useless where I live today. Even a 5/8-Wave GND-Plane is too high gain for here. 1/4-Wave, maybe even 1/2-Wave, and that less than Unity Gain Discone, seem to work best here. Live, learn, develop buyer's remorse.
772
MW Loggings / Re: What's in there with 1100 WTAM in the evenings?
« on: July 01, 2020, 0649 UTC »
Actually, yes. I hear this on the C-Crane Plus at home, albeit not as pronounced. As far as this motor boating HET on other stations? No, not observed. One problem with a car stereo VERT antenna is that it is Omnidirectional.
773
MW Loggings / Re: What's in there with 1100 WTAM in the evenings?
« on: June 30, 2020, 1727 UTC »
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I must be in the 'Sweet Spot' where I can just hear this. I've always heard massive phasing and fading from 1100 WTAM, since I'm only just under 300 miles from them and I suspect a high angle off bounce to get to me. (Which makes me wish that car stereos had Sync AM in them. How come no one thought of that?) Well, during those fades is when I hear the few Hertz HET from whatever else that is on 1100kHz. I've ordered an RTL-SDR package, and this might be a neat thing to look at with it.
774
Software / Re: FM broadcast SCA audio from SDR software?
« on: June 29, 2020, 1759 UTC »
Ya know, with SCA MPX'ing around for decades, how come no one seemed to have the foresight to have those MPX'ed channels to broadcast various news, talk, NOAA WX, other MX formats, or even paid programming, to the SCA service, but to only have an incredibly myopic use of this service? The idea of extra channels, as with HD Radio today, could have been way more utilized years ago.
775
The RF Workbench / Re: Tecsun PL-880 external MW antenna idea
« on: June 29, 2020, 1751 UTC »
You can try what I did, make one of those godzeye AM antennas with a 20pF - 100pF tuning CAP. Here's a much smaller version of what I've built, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sDtmmRHzZc . Here's one from PVC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnkf_gQQwwg So, more than one way to make one. Unfortunately, being inside an aluminum sided house, this also brings in more noise that generated within this house. Outside, on the other hand, is a different story. Works super that way. You might have to experiment though which variable capacitor works for the widest part of the AM BC band. Oh... Pinterest has these, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/345158758913671908/ Anyone have more loop-like antennas to show? They do seem to make the AM band more listenable with area-wide T-storm crashes constantly. Oh yeah... Archive.org should have some ideas as well, https://archive.org/search.php?query=am%20loop%20antenna
776
MW Loggings / Re: What's in there with 1100 WTAM in the evenings?
« on: June 29, 2020, 1739 UTC »
I duh-know about Europe, but Mexico could indeed be a good possibility from where I am. Most of the 1100kHz stations that I've done a 1,500mi search on Radio Locator are either Daytime Only, or very Directional. The ones from Mexico do not appear to be. https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=25159&state=WV&band=AM&is_lic=Y&is_cp=Y&is_unl=Y&format=&dx=3&radius=1500&freq=1100&sort=freq Another reason to disregard European stations id that I don't hear a 2kHz HET, but that rumble of just a few Hertz off. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, the mystery thickens. And, why just within the last 3 weeks? Ehhhh???
777
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???
778
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?
779
General Radio Discussion / Re: Another letter to the Editor: AM Stereo Is Still an Option? More!!!!!!
« on: June 27, 2020, 1715 UTC »780
Propagation / Re: Will Sahara / Atlantic Dust Cloud affect propagation?
« on: June 25, 2020, 2100 UTC »
Well, I'm wondering if it could cause a reflective affect, like Tropo, on VHF and UHF? Hmmmmmmm???
