241
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 permissable in your locale.
http://ka7oei.blogspot.com/2019/11/homebrew-construction-of-2-and-4-port.html
I’ve become a fan of KA7OEI’s blog - excellent technical content, concise, and frequently on a topic of interest to me.
I attempted to hear the transmission from SAQ (Sweden) on 17.2 kHz on the 24th but heard nothing. I was watching the live stream on YouTube for the transmission, and I have started up enough large power plants to recognize that they were having problems. Sure enough, they posted the following on their web site shortly afterwards:
“....No transmission on UN-DAY
We are sorry to inform that the “Old lady” was not able to start for the scheduled UN-Day transmission on October 24th, and therefore we will not be able to do any transmission. The overload protection for the main motor was tripping and we will start to investigate what is causing this.
The SAQ team at the Grimeton Radio Station....”
It was neat to see how much effort was necessary to operate the station. If you like things like watching someone start up an old steam engine locomotive, you will find SAQ fascinating. I hope that whatever the problem is, it isn’t an “unobtainium” part.
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
242
SDR - Software Defined Radio / Re: Reprogramming a €15 USB Audio Dial to work as an SDR VFO Knob
« on: December 14, 2019, 1246 UTC »
I saw that. There are a number of similar controls on Amazon for about $25. I don’t know if they have the same board inside, so the code may require modification.
In the past people would modify an old mouse to provide this (I don’t think the current optical mouses will work). The no-detent EC16 encoder is a bit of a challenge to find - most of what you see will have detents.
http://www.qsl.net/z33t/sdr_frequency_controller_eng.html
It is not clear to me what the advantage is of the modified USB volume control over the modified mouse.
In the past people would modify an old mouse to provide this (I don’t think the current optical mouses will work). The no-detent EC16 encoder is a bit of a challenge to find - most of what you see will have detents.
http://www.qsl.net/z33t/sdr_frequency_controller_eng.html
It is not clear to me what the advantage is of the modified USB volume control over the modified mouse.
243
General Radio Discussion / Re: Experts address concerns over radio frequency exposure
« on: December 13, 2019, 1431 UTC »
My home power installation includes an automatic transfer switch for an outboard generator. The electric company replaced the meter assembly with a new one that sticks out an additional 6 inches and added another metal box for control circuitry and the plug for the generator to connect to. The 200 amp transfer relay is inside the new meter assembly. It is noticeably bigger than the old one and is hard to miss.
If they replaced the meter assembly with one to support remote monitoring, it is conceivable they could have included a 200 Amp relay in there. The relay wouldn’t need to be physically larger than your main power breaker, but I would expect to see the whole meter assembly be a bit bigger than your old one.
If they replaced the meter assembly with one to support remote monitoring, it is conceivable they could have included a 200 Amp relay in there. The relay wouldn’t need to be physically larger than your main power breaker, but I would expect to see the whole meter assembly be a bit bigger than your old one.
244
General Radio Discussion / Russian EW
« on: December 08, 2019, 1350 UTC »
The Russians use Icom and AOR receivers?
https://planesandstuff.wordpress.com/2019/09/09/murmansk-bn-hf-ew-complex/
https://planesandstuff.wordpress.com/2019/09/09/murmansk-bn-hf-ew-complex/
245
General Radio Discussion / Re: Experts address concerns over radio frequency exposure
« on: December 01, 2019, 1252 UTC »
The fallacy about the 5G story is that it is probably not practical the way it is described. The high data rates described require even higher amounts of eNB (the cell site xcvr) baseband connectivity. The short range of the RF transmissions means you need many more eNB sites than 4G...again requiring more baseband connectivity. The physical supporting infrastructure costs to fully provide 5G coverage are staggering. Most industry people think that 5G will only be fielded to urban areas where the density of the population can make the investment worthwhile. Suburban and rural locations will likely only get 4G coverage. 5G will be primarily for the cities. Even the CEOs of wireless providers have implied this.
Verizon has been bragging about how they have wired a dozen or so football stadiums for 5G. The trade publications say that they haven’t been able to provide full coverage, even at the football stadium level.
Keep in mind that the 5G spec includes multiple frequency bands and many data rates. Not all 5G systems are equal. Some 5G implementations are much less breathtaking than others. T-Mobile is looking at using 600 MHz for their system - their data rates will be lower than those in the high GHz range - but their equipment won’t be on the bleeding edge.
Verizon has been bragging about how they have wired a dozen or so football stadiums for 5G. The trade publications say that they haven’t been able to provide full coverage, even at the football stadium level.
Keep in mind that the 5G spec includes multiple frequency bands and many data rates. Not all 5G systems are equal. Some 5G implementations are much less breathtaking than others. T-Mobile is looking at using 600 MHz for their system - their data rates will be lower than those in the high GHz range - but their equipment won’t be on the bleeding edge.
246
General Radio Discussion / Re: FCC approves all digital AM
« on: November 28, 2019, 1351 UTC »
I spent a little time this week listening to WWFD while driving around. I am in the lower Southern edge of WWFD’s fringe area according to this:
https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WWFD&service=AM&h=D
My receiver was the factory radio in my 2017 pickup.
First of all, I was surprised at how well it worked. I expected dropouts (and there were plenty) but they were far fewer than I expected. As is normal with digital radio, everything was either perfect, or non existent. When the signal was there, sound quality was markedly better than the normal AM radio I listen to. In fact it sounded much better than our local 22kW station.
Looking at the spectrum on my SDR at home, I realized that this is a much better “neighbor” than stations running the hybrid analog/digital mode. WWFD’s entire carrier is contained +/- 5 kHz of their assigned frequency. The analog stations have their digital carriers on the adjacent channels. Granted, their digital carriers are 30 dB below their carrier power, but they do interfere with stations on those adjacent channels.
So I have mixed feelings about this. As a DXer, I abhor this as the digital carrier effectively wipes out a channel. You can’t hear anything through this. Last night I saw three strong hybrid stations that effectively wiped out the channels above and below them - and that was with them running the digital signal at -30 dBc. A digital carrier will lock up a channel for DXing purposes. You can’t hear anything thru it. It is a white noise jammer.
But as a consumer, I would listen to digital AM radio for local listening. The sound quality is significantly better. And whatever range problems the current hybrid system has will get much better if they can up the digital power by 30 dB! WWFD was “listenable” in my fringe area-I imagine it is very usable where Chris lives.
This could gain steam.
The bright side is that if you replaced a local hybrid station with a pure digital station, you will probably get the adjacent channels back for DXing.
https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WWFD&service=AM&h=D
My receiver was the factory radio in my 2017 pickup.
First of all, I was surprised at how well it worked. I expected dropouts (and there were plenty) but they were far fewer than I expected. As is normal with digital radio, everything was either perfect, or non existent. When the signal was there, sound quality was markedly better than the normal AM radio I listen to. In fact it sounded much better than our local 22kW station.
Looking at the spectrum on my SDR at home, I realized that this is a much better “neighbor” than stations running the hybrid analog/digital mode. WWFD’s entire carrier is contained +/- 5 kHz of their assigned frequency. The analog stations have their digital carriers on the adjacent channels. Granted, their digital carriers are 30 dB below their carrier power, but they do interfere with stations on those adjacent channels.
So I have mixed feelings about this. As a DXer, I abhor this as the digital carrier effectively wipes out a channel. You can’t hear anything through this. Last night I saw three strong hybrid stations that effectively wiped out the channels above and below them - and that was with them running the digital signal at -30 dBc. A digital carrier will lock up a channel for DXing purposes. You can’t hear anything thru it. It is a white noise jammer.
But as a consumer, I would listen to digital AM radio for local listening. The sound quality is significantly better. And whatever range problems the current hybrid system has will get much better if they can up the digital power by 30 dB! WWFD was “listenable” in my fringe area-I imagine it is very usable where Chris lives.
This could gain steam.
The bright side is that if you replaced a local hybrid station with a pure digital station, you will probably get the adjacent channels back for DXing.
247
Equipment / Re: How high is that antenna rope in the tree anyway?
« on: November 27, 2019, 1140 UTC »
I think the zip ties would get tangled in the branches, leaving me with a piece of line that I can’t get up or down anymore.
I have my wife stand at the base of a tree, holding a 10 foot piece of copper or PVC pipe vertically. When I back away far enough, the 10 ft piece of pipe is used to guesstimate how tall the tree is. This works reasonably well and is very quick. For better accuracy I take a picture and then take the ratio of the pipe length to the tree length in the picture to get a more accurate estimate.
For best accuracy, back as far away as you can, while still being able to visually make out the pipe length.
I have my wife stand at the base of a tree, holding a 10 foot piece of copper or PVC pipe vertically. When I back away far enough, the 10 ft piece of pipe is used to guesstimate how tall the tree is. This works reasonably well and is very quick. For better accuracy I take a picture and then take the ratio of the pipe length to the tree length in the picture to get a more accurate estimate.
For best accuracy, back as far away as you can, while still being able to visually make out the pipe length.
249
Equipment / LF - HF Splitters
« on: November 18, 2019, 1122 UTC »http://ka7oei.blogspot.com/2019/11/homebrew-construction-of-2-and-4-port.html
I’ve become a fan of KA7OEI’s blog - excellent technical content, concise, and frequently on a topic of interest to me.
250
VHF/UHF Logs, including satellites and radiosondes / Re: FRS/GMRS 463.725 MHz 2112 UTC 13 Nov 2019
« on: November 14, 2019, 1000 UTC »
Must be something different. That callsign is for a licensee in Quincy, MA.
https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp
https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchLicense.jsp
251
General Radio Discussion / Garage Door Opener Interference
« on: November 08, 2019, 1152 UTC »
Some residents of Warrenton, VA started to have problems with their garage door openers this month. The nearby government site denied having any new radio transmitters at first, but activities by the local amateur radio club showed there was a new P25 repeater operating near the frequency used by most of the openers. The government then issued a statement saying they would suspend operation of the repeater for 30 days in order to give nearby residents a chance to replace their openers (this repeater was in the 380-400 MHz band the DoD uses now for their LMR sysyems).
The residents were not happy but got a lesson in the difference between being a primary user of frequency spectrum and using equipment operating under Part 15 of the rules.
More here:
https://www.fauquiernow.com/fauquier_news/article/fauquier-feds-admit-radios-interfere-with-garage-door-openers-11-5-2019
https://www.fox5dc.com/video/623173
The residents were not happy but got a lesson in the difference between being a primary user of frequency spectrum and using equipment operating under Part 15 of the rules.
More here:
https://www.fauquiernow.com/fauquier_news/article/fauquier-feds-admit-radios-interfere-with-garage-door-openers-11-5-2019
https://www.fox5dc.com/video/623173
252
Equipment / Copper Clad Steel
« on: November 03, 2019, 1438 UTC »
Owen Duffy points out that Copper Clad Steel (CCS) or Copper Clad Aluminum (CCA) RG6, RG11, and CAT6 cable are becoming more prevalent. I’ve also noticed that the only 450 ohm ladder line I can find anywhere is CCS.
Owen says that there are no specs on the thickness of the copper layer, and there are increased losses on these cables at lower frequencies compared to pure copper conductors. He notes that losses of .03 dB/m at 1 MHz have been seen. If you have a 100 meter run, this could be significant.
Is this really a problem? The numbers seem to indicate it is something to pay attention to.
https://owenduffy.net/blog/?p=15974
Owen says that there are no specs on the thickness of the copper layer, and there are increased losses on these cables at lower frequencies compared to pure copper conductors. He notes that losses of .03 dB/m at 1 MHz have been seen. If you have a 100 meter run, this could be significant.
Is this really a problem? The numbers seem to indicate it is something to pay attention to.
https://owenduffy.net/blog/?p=15974
254
Equipment / Re: Example Icom 718 Vs Icom R75
« on: October 28, 2019, 0941 UTC »
While their outward appearance is similar, the R75 has a superior receiver. It has been a while since I compared the schematics, but I recall that they were significantly different.
The 718 is OK accept for one glaring fault: the receiver AGC is terrible. I have a 718 I use on MARS nets and it is literally exhausting to listen to SSB for extended periods of time. The hang time is far too short so the receiver just “pumps”. I have found it necessary to ride the RF gain control to make it tolerable to listen to.
I haven’t seen any mods to fix this. The nearest “fix” is one that turns on the AM mode AGC time constants while you are using SSB - this is supposedly better, but not perfect.
Other than the AGC, I’ve got no complaints about the 718. It is a good value for the money (though my advice for anyone considering purchasing one today is to save up a little bit more and buy a IC-7300 instead - you will be far happier with it.)
The 718 is OK accept for one glaring fault: the receiver AGC is terrible. I have a 718 I use on MARS nets and it is literally exhausting to listen to SSB for extended periods of time. The hang time is far too short so the receiver just “pumps”. I have found it necessary to ride the RF gain control to make it tolerable to listen to.
I haven’t seen any mods to fix this. The nearest “fix” is one that turns on the AM mode AGC time constants while you are using SSB - this is supposedly better, but not perfect.
Other than the AGC, I’ve got no complaints about the 718. It is a good value for the money (though my advice for anyone considering purchasing one today is to save up a little bit more and buy a IC-7300 instead - you will be far happier with it.)
255
Longwave Loggings / SAQ
« on: October 27, 2019, 1033 UTC »I attempted to hear the transmission from SAQ (Sweden) on 17.2 kHz on the 24th but heard nothing. I was watching the live stream on YouTube for the transmission, and I have started up enough large power plants to recognize that they were having problems. Sure enough, they posted the following on their web site shortly afterwards:
“....No transmission on UN-DAY
We are sorry to inform that the “Old lady” was not able to start for the scheduled UN-Day transmission on October 24th, and therefore we will not be able to do any transmission. The overload protection for the main motor was tripping and we will start to investigate what is causing this.
The SAQ team at the Grimeton Radio Station....”
It was neat to see how much effort was necessary to operate the station. If you like things like watching someone start up an old steam engine locomotive, you will find SAQ fascinating. I hope that whatever the problem is, it isn’t an “unobtainium” part.
