Topics

196

Equipment / Coaxial antenna connection question

« on: March 12, 2019, 1915 UTC »

Question, as the technical side of antennas and feed lines, etc., is just at the edge of my understanding ...

I currently have my antenna feedline strung through a window, which keeps the old window cracked open just a bit year-round, which is less than ideal.

But I've located an old hole in my exterior wall for a cable TV connection, and there's an installed coaxial outlet on the inside of the wall there. It's even in just the right place on my house for my listening spot!

So if I use this to attach my outdoor feedline to the antenna on one side and then screw in a coaxial cable on the other side, leading to my receiver (which will use a coaxial-to-3.5mm adapter), is that whole setup likely to cause any adverse noise effects or significant signal loss?

197

North American Shortwave Pirate / Mix Radio International 6948 USB 0020 UTC 5 Mar 2019

« on: March 05, 2019, 0021 UTC »

A big wide signal, but it seems to be centered around 6948 kHz, with Linda Ronstadt song.

0025 UTC: Another song started just as the signal took a dive with some deep fading.
0033 UTC: Signal's starting to build back up again here with a mellow '70s song.
0037 UTC: "Hey There, Lonely Girl" (can't tell if it's the Eddie Holman version or someone else)
0041 UTC: Maybe an ID? I couldn't hear it well enough, though. Then "Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp.
0047 UTC: SSTV
0050 UTC: Sounds like music again, but the signal's back to treading water with the noise here.

198

HF Mystery Signals / Mystery ute on 6135 kHz

« on: February 11, 2019, 0121 UTC »

I usually tune into 6135 kHz to see if I can hear Radio Santa Cruz before it's signoff after 0200 UTC, and in recent days, this https://youtu.be/ZiQLyAVGdFA has been sitting on that frequency, blocking out anything else in both SSB and AM modes.

Any idea what this might be?

199

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6935 USB 0013 UTC 9 Feb 2019

« on: February 09, 2019, 0015 UTC »

Hearing rock music weakly here, then uncopiable talking by OM as of 0015 UTC.

After not hearing anything for a moment, the rock music started again at about 0017 UTC. Distorted audio here, so I don't recognize the song.

Still audible with music as of 0035 UTC, though with some SSB distortion.

0043 UTC: "Mellow Yellow" played, though the signal or audio seemed to drop here for a moment.

Then "Fable" by Robert Miles, followed by a song that seemed to be mostly electric guitar jamming and then an SSTV transmission and off at 0055 UTC.

That was followed at 0100 UTC by another SSTV, though I'm not sure it's the same operator.

This might be Moose Radio back on the air, though the signal is stronger here than Moose Radio's was earlier this afternoon here in the Pacific time zone.

200

Equipment / Longwire SW antenna placement advice needed

« on: January 30, 2019, 2016 UTC »

Hoping to elicit some informed advice here:

Since I started listening to shortwave again last year, I've just had a longwire antenna strung out of my window, which means the window stays a tiny bit open, which is not ideal for heating bills, etc. I found a long-forgotten cable TV hookup in our room, so I'm in the process of rewiring my feed line through there, which led me to wonder if I should also relocate my antenna. My options:

1: Keep my existing longwire antenna, which is about 50 feet long, running west-east along a wood fence (5-6 feet off the ground) from the top of our backyard to the bottom of it.

2: Run the wire, 40-50 feet long, a few inches above the roofline on the back of our house. That would put it approx. 30 feet above the ground, though running north-south instead of east-west.

3: Do both.

201

Clandestine Stations / Eye Radio 15410 AM 1650 UTC 30 Jan 2019

« on: January 30, 2019, 1735 UTC »

Eye Radio via Issoudoun. Lots of African-style singing and music; this is listed as Sudanese Arabic for the language, but I mostly heard just music. A weak signal, but clear from interference with choppy distance fading and atmospheric noise but no static.

This is listed as on the air until 1800, but it was off or completely faded by 1700 UTC.

202

Clandestine Stations / National Unity Radio 6045 AM 1758 UTC 24 Jan 2019

« on: January 25, 2019, 2053 UTC »

National Unity Radio via Dushanbe-Yangiyul: I caught part of it on Jan. 23, so I tuned in early to hear the transmitter/carrier hum at 1758, followed by an opening theme and female announcement in Korean, then a male announcer started talking, followed by a female announcer. They seemed to be giving news. Similar programming the rest of the hour until 1858 UTC, when anthemic music played to close the program and the signal signed off right at 1900 UTC.

The signal started out as fair to good, but faded to no better than fair by 1830 UTC. SINPO at 1848 UTC: 24222. No sign of Voice of Freedom, which also is on this frequency at times.

203

Clandestine Stations / Radio Ndarason 12050 AM 2036 UTC 16 Jan 2019

« on: January 17, 2019, 2153 UTC »

I heard Radio Ndarason via Ascension with African music after talking by a female announcer in presumed Kanuri. The announcer talked briefly between songs until 2047 UTC, when a male announcer gave what sounded like the news until signoff at 2059 UTC. Unlike the earlier part of the broadcast, the news seemed to be in French?

The signal was unusually good, with some fading but not much noise.

The big mystery, though, is this: Has WEWN/ETWN stopped using this frequency for its daily Spanish broadcast? That signal is nowhere to be found in recent days, including again today (the 17th) when I checked.

204

Shortwave Broadcast / PBS Qinghai 9850 AM 0025 UTC 16 Jan. 2019

« on: January 16, 2019, 1917 UTC »

Listened to PBS Qinghai between 0025 and 0045 UTC in presumed Tibetan. A fair to poor but completely audible signal, with talking by a female announcer periodically interrupted by musical interludes. Toward the end of my listening time, fading was making the program inaudible at times amid the hiss.

While I can hear scads of Asian stations during local morning time here on the West Coast, that part of the world seemed to be coming in better than usual during the afternoon yesterday.

205

HF Mystery Signals / Constant tones on 6925 USB

« on: January 07, 2019, 0714 UTC »

Around the clock in recent weeks on 6925 kHz USB, I'm getting a long tone that lasts for 20-30 seconds, ends for a second or two, and then resumes.

Anybody know what that might be? It's made hearing weak pirate signals really difficult here.

206

North American Shortwave Pirate / CarpetShark 6925 USB 0053 UTC 7 Jan 2019

« on: January 07, 2019, 0054 UTC »

0053 UTC: Hearing bluesy rock music above a noisy floor here.

0059 UTC: Now a different bluesy song, and a OTHR "woodpecker" is now bothering this frequency in the background.
0101 UTC: SSTV transmission noises.
0103 UTC: Back to music, this time with a more jazzy blues tune.
0110 UTC: Another SSTV, then off the air.

Thanks for the music, CarpetShark!

207

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6950 USB 2345 UTC 3 January 2019

« on: January 03, 2019, 2347 UTC »

Not sure if this is the same one from earlier in the hour back on the air on this frequency, but definitely hearing faint rock or blues music right now.

23:55 UTC: Sounds like OM talking, but can't copy it above the noise.

208

Shortwave Broadcast / Deutsche Welle testing?

« on: December 17, 2018, 0403 UTC »

This is from a couple days ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting it ...

After Deutsche Welle's scheduled 1800-1900 UTC Hausa language broadcast on 15200 kHz via Issoudun, France, on Friday (Dec. 14), there were several minutes of uninterrupted music, with no announcement, on that frequency. Wondering if it was some sort of testing or just a mistake. The music ended and the signal signed off before 1930 UTC.

Here's the refrain of music ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aXMQQff-oI

209

North American Shortwave Pirate / UNID 6925 USB 2348 UTC 14 Dec 2018

« on: December 14, 2018, 2349 UTC »

Somebody's playing guitar-jamming rock. Well above the noise, but not a great signal here.

A long silent pause of several minutes, but the music's starting up again -- more guitar -- as of 0000 UTC.

And back to silence around 0006 UTC ...

Around 0011 UTC, Christmas music and then various songs played through about 0027 UTC. Now, the guitar solo music seems to be back. "Silent Night" on guitar played, then at least one or two different vocal versions of "Silent Night" followed.

210

Shortwave Broadcast / CFVP 6030 AM 1725 UTC 14 Dec 2018

« on: December 14, 2018, 2317 UTC »

Yes, CFVP lives!

During the past several weeks, I couldn't catch this station through the daytime noise and before Radio Marti dominates the frequency after 0000 UTC. But today, I tuned in and heard a Jerry Seinfeld standup clip, followed by the station’s usual female announcer naming him at the end, then into another comedian. At 1727 UTC, in between standups, the same female announcer’s voice gave the recorded “Funny 1060 AM” ID. Then another comedian or two, into a commercial break at about 1731 UTC.

I checked in throughout the rest of today. Reception was never above fair at best, but it was audible here each time I checked, most recently at 2316 UTC, when a live announcer was giving Calgary traffic and weather reports. If anything, the signal improved from this morning through the afternoon.