Messages

1

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: An ID Radio 6920 USB 0117 UTC 13 APR 2024

« on: April 13, 2024, 0229 UTC »

Only a fair signal here near Seattle, but I'm hearing '70s rock music (Deep Purple, apparently) at 0227 UTC.
0229 UTC: YL voice, but I can't hear what she's saying through the noise. The owl hoots, however, cut through the noise quite nicely.
0231 UTC: "I Heard it Through the Grapevine." Some owl hoots were played during this extended cover of the song by CCR.
0241 UTC: YL voice speaking again; still can't quite make it out through the noise.
0243 UTC: The signal seemed to go off for a moment or two. Back at 0245 UTC with slow blues rock song, "Bridge of Sighs."

Thanks for the broadcast!

2

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Brain Brothers Radio 6905 USB 0000 UTC 13 APR 2024

« on: April 13, 2024, 0035 UTC »

Not audible here near Seattle, but good via the Northern Utah SDR ...

I tuned in at 0034 UTC, just in time to hear the end of the "Star-Spangled Banner" and the JFK quote to end the broadcast.

3

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6935 AM 0200 UTC 1 APR 2024

« on: April 01, 2024, 0220 UTC »

The carrier's audible directly here near Seattle, but the audio's very weak and fading out quite a bit as we near sunset.

4

MW Loggings / Re: KYW 1060 AM 0734 UTC 7 March 2024

« on: March 08, 2024, 1917 UTC »

Calgary's big station on 1060, CKMX, left the air last summer, which has left this frequency much more wide open.

KFOY, a Nevada station that goes to just 500 watts at night, is the station I hear most now on 1060. Also, KBGN in Idaho sometimes stays on after dark, even though it's not supposed to.

Whatever conditions made this possible on Wednesday night continue, as I heard KYW again for a few minutes around 0740 UTC last night as well.

5

MW Loggings / KYW 1060 AM 0734 UTC 7 March 2024

« on: March 07, 2024, 2014 UTC »

Based on a tip from a MW DXing page on Facebook that an SDR near me was picking up KYW, I tried a few times during the evening to hear it. Finally, after trying on a couple different radios and adjusting my indoor loop just right, I heard news mentioning a shooting at a SEPTA stop and more. The audio exactly matched KYW's as heard via a Delaware SDR. KYW's audio stayed solid for more than 10 minutes before fading back out. But it came back again a couple times after 0800 UTC.

This is a new logging for me, and my first from Pennsylvania. KYW's transmitters sit about 2,350 miles away from me, which makes this my second-best MW catch after Cuba.

6

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: Vanuatu!

« on: March 07, 2024, 1758 UTC »

They've been coming in with actual audio more often here lately as well. I like their choice of 7260 much better than 9960, though I still miss the great harmonic reception on 11835.

7

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Wolverine Radio 6965 USB 0058 UTC 25 FEB 2024

« on: February 25, 2024, 0129 UTC »

As of 0129 UTC, Wolverine's got a nice, fair signal coming in directly here near Seattle.

8

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Voice of Nelson 6955 USB 0049 UTC 25 FEB 2024

« on: February 25, 2024, 0101 UTC »

Tuned in via the Northern Utah SDR, as the station's not being heard directly here near Seattle ...

0058 UTC: Female synth voice with rather long rant against the "d*****bag jammer."
0101 UTC: "This message will be repeated ..." into snippet of "Self Esteem" by The Offspring, followed by a loud rap song about d-bags.
0105 UTC: "You are listening to the Voice of Nelson" ID in female synth voice, then back into the message to the jammer. The signal seems to have stepped up and notch or two in the past minute or so. It's just barely audible directly now here on the West Coast.
0110 UTC: Snippet of "Loser" by Beck played, then the female ID again, followed by the "open letter" to the jammer again.
0113 UTC: Still just barely audible here on the West Coast.
0115 UTC: ID and start of letter repeated over "Loser" by Beck. Then monkey sound effects, followed by a repeat of the letter at 0118 UTC.
0119 UTC: "Self Esteem" by The Offspring snippet again, followed by more of the letter.

Not sure who this jammer being mentioned is, but this has made for an entertaining program!

9

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: Wolverine Radio 6935 USB 0056 UTC 11 FEB 2024

« on: February 11, 2024, 0104 UTC »

Listening directly with a fair signal as of 0100 UTC ...

0102 UTC: "Who" by Jack Fulton, Bob Rice, and Fran Frey.
0105 UTC: "Who Loves You?" by Billie Holiday.
0108 UTC: The usual, simple Wolverine Radio ID into more pre-WWII music.

10

Utility / Re: Trenton Military VOLMET on different frequency - 15031 USB, not 15034.

« on: February 06, 2024, 2111 UTC »

I heard a carrier when I tuned in at 2105 UTC, and the Trenton VOLMET info started back up at 2109 UTC on 15031 USB. Very odd; also, of course, most of the report is "no report received."

11

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UNID 6955 USB 2152 UTC 22 JAN 2024

« on: January 23, 2024, 0025 UTC »

Not loud out here near Seattle, but this is audible with music at 0024 UTC. To get reception of a pirate during West Coast daylight hours is a little unusual.

12

North American Shortwave Pirate / WDOG 6925 USB 0109 UTC 21 Jan 2024

« on: January 21, 2024, 0109 UTC »

Listening via the Burke, Virginia, SDR ...

0109 UTC: Guitar rock music.
0114 UTC: "YYZ" by Rush.
0115 UTC: OM on the mic briefly, then "A Passage to Bangkok (live)" by Rush.
0118 UTC: Sounded like OM on the mic again, but this signal's losing out to the noise level on this SDR.
0119 UTC: Another Rush song.

13

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: 7 Trees Radio 6919 USB 0041 UTC 16 JAN 24

« on: January 17, 2024, 0111 UTC »

Fair reception directly here near Seattle ...

0110 UTC: Owl hooting sounds into "Lithium" by Nirvana.
0114 UTC: Owl hooting sounds again, then female synth voice ID: "Good evening, this is Seven Trees Radio. The request lines are open; I will wait." Then more hooting into "Freestyle (featuring Angel Haze)" by Bassnectar (the song features a Kraftwerk sample).
0118 UTC: The owl hooting is back, then "She's in Parties" by Bauhaus (good classic song).
0124 UTC: The synth female-voiced ID was back, with the same words as before, followed by more hooting and then "The Changeling" by The Doors.
0130 UTC: Owl hooting again, then "I Got a Line on You" by Spirit.
0133 UTC: Same synth-voiced ID as before, more owl sounds, then "Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Then more hooting, a synth-voiced goodbye greeting that was played twice, then off at 0140 UTC.

Thanks for the music (and the owls)!

14

Equipment / Best cheap loop or compact antenna?

« on: January 10, 2024, 2052 UTC »

So, in a case of "I haven't had enough coffee and my brain's not working," I recently reversed the receiver and antenna outputs on my MLA-30+'s bias tee, that little piece of electronics got REALLY hot before I finally noticed, and then it stopped working. It has since started lighting up again at times, but I'm not sure it'll still work in the long term.

I like the MLA-30+ as a low-cost secondary antenna to my end-fed longwire, and it works better in some conditions with my receivers than the longwire. Additionally, the MLA-30+ seems to work pretty well with the RTL-SDR I've started playing around with. So, here's my question:

Do I get another MLA-30+, or is there a better option for ~$50 out there, like the Youloop or some other compact design?

15

North American Shortwave Pirate / B-Side Radio 6925 AM 0135 UTC 9 Jan 2024

« on: January 09, 2024, 0136 UTC »

0134 UTC: Blasting nicely in here directly with "Feelings."
0135 UTC: "I'm Dancing With Tears in My Eyes" by Ralph Flanagan.
0139 UTC: "African Echoes" by Ferrante & Teicher.
0142 UTC: "Nathalie" by Gilbert Bécaud (in French/en francais)
0146 UTC: "Once Was" by Harry Belafonte.
0151 UTC: ID: "You're listening to B-Side Radio," followed by "My Melody of Love" by Rhinelanders International.
0155 UTC: ‎Mediterranean/Eastern European instrumental song.
0159 UTC: OM on the mic with ID and shout-outs to the HFU folks, including me.
0200 UTC: "Man Smart (Woman Smarter)" by Leo Addeo and His Orchestra.

Thanks for the music and the nice AM signal out here on the West Coast!