1
22 Meter Band HiFER Beacons / Re: KE4TWI Beacon 13566.5 kHz
« on: March 28, 2024, 1323 UTC »
I hear him frequently in Northern VA.
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.
I don’t know the answer to your question. The posting to the IRCA mailing list was the first time I had heard about his passing. If this information was circulated earlier, I never saw it.
http://ka7oei.blogspot.com/2023/09/
KA7OEI’s conclusions:
“….The best HF weak-signal performance for the RX-888 (Mk2) will occur with the receiver configured for "High" gain mode, 0 dB attenuation and a gain setting of about 20dB. Having said this, you should always to the "antenna versus no antenna" test: If you see more than 6-10dB increase in the noise level at the quietest frequency, you probably have too much gain. Conversely, if you don't see/hear a difference, you probably need more gain - taking care in doing so.
For best HF performance of this - or any other wideband, direct-sampling HF SDR (RX-888, KiwiSDR, Red Pitaya, etc.) additional filtering is suggested - particularly the "shelving" filter described above.
In situations where the noise floor is very low (e.g. a nice, receive quiet location) many direct-sampling SDRs (RX-888, KiwiSDR, Red Pitaya) will likely need additional gain to "hear" the weaker signals - particularly on the higher HF bands. While some of these receivers offer onboard gain adjustment, the use of external high-performance amplification (along with filtering and careful adjustment of the devices' gain adjustments) will give improved absolute sensitivity while helping to preserve large-signal handling capability.
Because the RX-888 is a computer-connected device, there will be ingress of undesired signals from the computer and the '888's built-in circuitry. The use of external amplification - along with appropriate decoupling (e.g. common-mode chokes on the USB cable and connecting coaxial cables) can minimize the appearance of these signals…….”
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2
SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: KiwiSDR 2 Now Available for Pre-order.
« on: February 14, 2024, 1506 UTC »
Note this change for the KiwiSDR2:
“….Every KiwiSDR 2 has the proxy service enabled by default. So you can connect using the serial number, e.g. 21xxx.kiwisdr.com The serial number is found on the printed sheet inside the shipping box. Also written on the bottom of the metal case. On the admin page, connect tab, you may disable this and use whatever connection method you like (e.g. by domain name, IP address, DUC domain etc). You can also change the proxy name from the serial number to a name you choose (assuming it's not already taken)….”
http://kiwisdr.com/quickstart/index.html#id-new-k2-owners
If you don’t want your KiwiSDR2 accessible from the internet, you will need to disable this.
“….Every KiwiSDR 2 has the proxy service enabled by default. So you can connect using the serial number, e.g. 21xxx.kiwisdr.com The serial number is found on the printed sheet inside the shipping box. Also written on the bottom of the metal case. On the admin page, connect tab, you may disable this and use whatever connection method you like (e.g. by domain name, IP address, DUC domain etc). You can also change the proxy name from the serial number to a name you choose (assuming it's not already taken)….”
http://kiwisdr.com/quickstart/index.html#id-new-k2-owners
If you don’t want your KiwiSDR2 accessible from the internet, you will need to disable this.
3
Longwave Loggings / Re: eLORAN Tests 1250 UTC 9 FEB 2024
« on: February 11, 2024, 1414 UTC »
All the KiwiSDR receivers have a eLORAN decoder. You select it from the extensions drop down menu. It hasn’t been updated to include these new sites though.
You can also check here:
http://df6nm.bplaced.net/LoranView/LoranGrabber.htm
You can also check here:
http://df6nm.bplaced.net/LoranView/LoranGrabber.htm
4
SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: SDRPlay RSP1B
« on: February 01, 2024, 1452 UTC »
Now in stock at HRO. The difference in price between the RSP1A and RSP1B is $20. The steel case alone is worth that.
5
VHF/UHF Logs, including satellites and radiosondes / UHF Tacsat/LOS/DAMA pub
« on: January 21, 2024, 1342 UTC »6
Equipment / Re: Wellbrook Antennas closing
« on: January 06, 2024, 1353 UTC »Sorry, we may have missed this but was his death reported in the final months of 2023 or is this the
first this has been circulated?
I don’t know the answer to your question. The posting to the IRCA mailing list was the first time I had heard about his passing. If this information was circulated earlier, I never saw it.
7
Equipment / Re: Wellbrook Antennas closing
« on: January 05, 2024, 1429 UTC »
From the IRCA mailing list:
2a. Death of Andrew Ikin- Wellbrook Communications
From: Tracey Gardner <tracey.gardner@talktalk.net>
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2024 13:10:23 EST
I am the bearer of very sad news.
My good friend Andrew Ikin of Wellbrook Communications passed away on 25th October 2023 after a very short illness.
He was buried on 10th November, a day before his 79th birthday.
He is buried in the local churchyard in Beulah
Andrew was internationally known and respected, his products were second to none and his reputation for customer service renowned.
I was lucky enough to count him as a friend and I will sorely miss him.
The amateur radio and radio listener fraternity have lost a true colossus.
73s Tracey G5VU
2a. Death of Andrew Ikin- Wellbrook Communications
From: Tracey Gardner <tracey.gardner@talktalk.net>
Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2024 13:10:23 EST
I am the bearer of very sad news.
My good friend Andrew Ikin of Wellbrook Communications passed away on 25th October 2023 after a very short illness.
He was buried on 10th November, a day before his 79th birthday.
He is buried in the local churchyard in Beulah
Andrew was internationally known and respected, his products were second to none and his reputation for customer service renowned.
I was lucky enough to count him as a friend and I will sorely miss him.
The amateur radio and radio listener fraternity have lost a true colossus.
73s Tracey G5VU
8
The RF Workbench / Re: Oscilloscope recommendation?
« on: December 12, 2023, 1632 UTC »
I ran across this site a little while ago. I wonder if it still works for the current Rigol scopes?
http://www.n5dux.com/ham/riglol/
http://www.n5dux.com/ham/riglol/
9
Equipment / Re: For those of whom need Ramsey Electronics manuals.
« on: November 17, 2023, 1410 UTC »
Thank you. This was very useful.
I would like to be able to get to a page view like the one you showed for Ramsey, for any of the manual collections. This is a much faster way of scanning a collection, but I can’t figure out how to replicate this.
I would like to be able to get to a page view like the one you showed for Ramsey, for any of the manual collections. This is a much faster way of scanning a collection, but I can’t figure out how to replicate this.
10
General Radio Discussion / WWFD stays full-time digital
« on: October 12, 2023, 2143 UTC »
I can occasionally hear WWFD on my truck radio. It sounds surprisingly good for an AM band broadcast station.
https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/from-the-editor/am-digital-wwfd-concludes-its-test-phase
https://www.radioworld.com/columns-and-views/from-the-editor/am-digital-wwfd-concludes-its-test-phase
11
General Radio Discussion / Larry Vanhorn SK
« on: October 12, 2023, 1227 UTC »
Larry Vanhorn, long time Military Comm DXer, writer for Monitoring Times, and author of “The Milcom Files” books passed away in August.
https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/announcement-passing-of-larry-van-horn-n5fpw.464071/
https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/announcement-passing-of-larry-van-horn-n5fpw.464071/
12
General Radio Discussion / Re: DK8OK?
« on: October 01, 2023, 1447 UTC »
Thank you for the info. I found his articles interesting to read. Too bad he decided to move on to other things.
13
General Radio Discussion / DK8OK?
« on: September 26, 2023, 1420 UTC »
What ever happened to DK8OK? For a while there were many papers and articles written by him but lately I haven’t seen anything. His web site (DK8OK.org) seems to have been captured by some bogus entity.
14
The RF Workbench / Re: All Electronics going out of business
« on: September 25, 2023, 1348 UTC »
All Electronics is now closed, but some of their employees have started their own business, selling many of the items All Electronics carried. Their URL:
https://aretronics.com/
Use coupon code “allcorp” for a 10% discount.
More products are supposed to be added in the days ahead.
https://aretronics.com/
Use coupon code “allcorp” for a 10% discount.
More products are supposed to be added in the days ahead.
15
SDR - Software Defined Radio / SDR front end filtering and preamps
« on: September 07, 2023, 1240 UTC »http://ka7oei.blogspot.com/2023/09/
KA7OEI’s conclusions:
“….The best HF weak-signal performance for the RX-888 (Mk2) will occur with the receiver configured for "High" gain mode, 0 dB attenuation and a gain setting of about 20dB. Having said this, you should always to the "antenna versus no antenna" test: If you see more than 6-10dB increase in the noise level at the quietest frequency, you probably have too much gain. Conversely, if you don't see/hear a difference, you probably need more gain - taking care in doing so.
For best HF performance of this - or any other wideband, direct-sampling HF SDR (RX-888, KiwiSDR, Red Pitaya, etc.) additional filtering is suggested - particularly the "shelving" filter described above.
In situations where the noise floor is very low (e.g. a nice, receive quiet location) many direct-sampling SDRs (RX-888, KiwiSDR, Red Pitaya) will likely need additional gain to "hear" the weaker signals - particularly on the higher HF bands. While some of these receivers offer onboard gain adjustment, the use of external high-performance amplification (along with filtering and careful adjustment of the devices' gain adjustments) will give improved absolute sensitivity while helping to preserve large-signal handling capability.
Because the RX-888 is a computer-connected device, there will be ingress of undesired signals from the computer and the '888's built-in circuitry. The use of external amplification - along with appropriate decoupling (e.g. common-mode chokes on the USB cable and connecting coaxial cables) can minimize the appearance of these signals…….”