Messages

136

Utility / CWB - Central Weather Bureau, Taipei, Taiwan 8117 khz USB 14:50 UTC 22 Oct

« on: October 22, 2019, 1500 UTC »

Another morning another meteo. I never heard this one before today though I have listened for it based on what Josh said about how this is a kind of weird time of year for propagation. It is coming in at just above an S3 on my antenna and SDR.

137

Utility / Re: Bangkok Meteorological Radio 6765.1 & 8743 khz 15:30 UTC 20 Oct

« on: October 22, 2019, 1457 UTC »

Thanks for the heads-up that Bangkok was audible here near Seattle during the 1500 UTC hour. Somehow, I'd not tuned into this station since I resumed shortwave listening a year and a half ago.

I tuned in this morning at 1547 UTC, and both frequencies were audible, though 8743 was the better of the two by a little at the time and much better than the lower frequency by 1635 UTC. And you're right: Those musical tones cut through the noise floor way better than the rather monotone male and female voices.

Is this one really 1,000 watts? That's the only power I find listed.

yes, it's crazy isn't it? amazing the reception we're getting from Asia lately. i'm trying to log all the volmets and marine weather stations i've seen listed for asia, australia and new zealand because i feel there is a good chance of hearing them. i'm wondering if i should also try to pick up stuff from eastern russia? i have heard magadan's aeronautical station talking with planes.

138

Utility / Re: Bangkok Meteorological Radio 6765.1 & 8743 khz 15:30 UTC 20 Oct

« on: October 22, 2019, 1439 UTC »

On what apps to use with a RSP, I prefer HDSDR if only a single channel is so be monitored, with SDRuno following closely. Nothing beats HDSDR for simplicity as well as for low cpu usage, but I find SDRuno to have the best agc and audio at the cost of high cpu usage and utter complexity.

Thanks, I'm just getting into HDSDR and will reformat my frequency database from SDRUno for use in HDSDR. I agree about the audio of SDRPlay. As for CPU usage I'm using SDRUno on a pretty ancient laptop (HP Envy 15-4030nr) running Windows 7 and haven't had a problem unless I want to listen while looking at over 5 Mhz of spectrum. At 2 Mhz it's fine. Usually I am in 2Mhz with a Decimation of 8.

For multiple VRX work, SDR Console is my goto as it is very foolproof, very stable, great aduio and agc action, and much reduced cpu usage compared to the same number of VRX in SDRuno. SDRuno sure looks great tho.

I love the multiple VRX ability. It's great for monitoring something on USB and decoding digital stuff on another frequency, which I do sometimes with one or more other VRXs monitoring ALE channels.

On recording, any app should be able to make good audio frequency recordings. Considering a max bandwidth of say 3kHz for a single ssb channel, you only need an 8kHz recording rate, making for tiny files so you can pack more on a disk. For voice recording, audio freq is best, for digital modes, IQ recording would be better but take up a bit more disk space.

Thanks for the tip. The only thing I regret about SDRUno is that from what I can tell I can only do IQ recording. The workaround I found is just set up another VRX on the same frequency with its audio routed to an app like Audacity. Still more complicated than just hitting record in HDSDR though.

Some guys go hog wild like the NSA and record entire swaths of spectrum as IQ, saving it to disks, a few gb or more for a few hours recording is typical for a hobbyist.

Looks like I will have to keep an eye towards Frys black friday sale for an external.

I imagine the NSA and its counterparts worldwide go through a few hard drives. I prefer to have the audio recording always on, and have it on a loop so it overwrites as time goes on, this way I have a copy of what ever of interest pops up without running out of disk space. A dedicated drive is a plus, and I still prefer ludite spinning metal to the bleeding edge solid state (aka flash) drives for reliability.

I don't think SSD's are bleeding edge anymore, they might have been 6 years ago but nowthey're pretty common, especially on gaming PCs. That said for large amounts of data archiving a hard drive is still the better value in terms of capacity vs cost. I swear by SSDs for anything where I have to have data streamed on and off it quickly (like video editing) but for archival storage I prefer high capacity. So I'll probably get one of those 4TB external USB 3.0 hard drives if I start recording stuff regularly.

139

Utility / JIA Tokyo VOLMET 8828 khz 17:10 UTC / VRK Hong Kong VOLMET 8828 khz 17:15 UTC

« on: October 21, 2019, 1729 UTC »

I picked up these two VOLMETs for the first time this morning on 8828 khz with signals at S4 (Tokyo) and S3 (Hong Kong).

140

Utility / XSG Shanghai Coastal Marine Weather 8806khz 16:50 UTC - 21 Oct

« on: October 21, 2019, 1724 UTC »

XSG Shanghai with marine weather. Monitored at about an S3-S4 from my Seattle location this morning.

141

Utility / Re: ZLM Taupo, New Zealand Maritime Weather 6224 khz USB 12:50 UTC 20 Oct

« on: October 21, 2019, 0044 UTC »

Right now conditions are weird for many different bands because we're in a transition season from fall to winter and at this particular lowpoint of the solar cycle. Now is the time to look for stuff you might not hear the rest of the year, especially with respect towards greyline dxing.

Great to know! I've had more success with greyline in the morning local vs evening (when a neighbor presumably with a plasma usually switches it on where it stays until late evening though i've been somewhat successful nulling that with my loop).

142

Utility / Re: Bangkok Meteorological Radio 6765.1 & 8743 khz 15:30 UTC 20 Oct

« on: October 21, 2019, 0042 UTC »

That totally makes sense. If you'd like me to make a recording of the tones or anything else i come across let me know. i'm still trying to find the best way to make a simple audio (not IQ) recording from SDRUno. I may use a different SDR app like HDSDR or SDR Console to do so.

143

North American Shortwave Pirate / Re: UnId 6950 USB 2342 20 October 2019

« on: October 21, 2019, 0026 UTC »

I'm picking this up at about an S3 from my location in Seattle though i had to rotate my loop to null out some bad interference i think from someone's plasma TV.

144

Utility / HSW Bangkok Meteorological Radio 6765.1 & 8743 khz 15:30 UTC 20 Oct

« on: October 20, 2019, 1543 UTC »

Bangkok Meteo with musical interval tones & weather in English and Thai. I pick this up most mornings on 6765.1 but this is the first time I've picked it up on 8743 where it is booming in at an S6 (6765.1 is only at an S4). BTW: I can hear NOAA's weather broadcast via the US Coast Guard's Chesapeake (NMN) station on 8764 but it is weak by comparison, only an S3-S4.

I also have a question about the musical interval tones for Josh or anyone who knows. They seem much stronger than the USB voice, similar to the SELCAL tones on HF aero frequencies. Are Bangkok Meteo's music tones generated the same way as SELCAL tones, as a separate mode?

145

Utility / Re: Japanese Self Defense Forces 6727 USB 13:15 UTC 18 Oct

« on: October 20, 2019, 1307 UTC »

Thanks Josh! I'm downloading it now 

146

Utility / ZLM Taupo, New Zealand Maritime Weather 6224 khz USB 12:50 UTC 20 Oct

« on: October 20, 2019, 1304 UTC »

Heard ZLM with WX on USB at about an S2-S3 at my location. I've listened for this one before but never had any success picking it up until today. Great to have another propagation indicator from down under.

147

Utility / Singapore Air 502 w/ Singapore & Quantas 98 w/ Manila 8942 khz 15:20 UTC 19 Oct

« on: October 19, 2019, 1535 UTC »

Singapore Air 502 in contact with Singapore Radio a with a position report, Quantas 98 with a position report for Manila Radio. Also heard Philippine Airlines 529 and whole slew of airlines working these two ground stations, often on top of each other. Great signals (S4-S6) received here in Seattle from both the planes and ground stations. Amazing (to me) considering the distances of some of them. Propagation from that part of the world is great this morning!

148

Utility / Re: Japanese Self Defense Forces 6727 USB 13:15 UTC 18 Oct

« on: October 19, 2019, 0440 UTC »

Awesome, very nice catch! I was expecting to see you'd caught the Japanese slot machine but no you got ssb voice instead.

https://www.sigidwiki.com/wiki/Japanese_Slot_Machine_(XSL)

Oh! i've caught that one numerous times! it's one of the most unique digital signals i've ever heard.

149

Utility / Japanese Self Defense Forces 6727 USB 13:15 UTC 18 Oct

« on: October 18, 2019, 1324 UTC »

Heard at an S4 what sounded like military comms for some sort of exercise in English with thick Japanese accents. After some googling I found this is a Japanese Self Defense Force HF net.

150

Clandestine Stations / Re: Unidentified 3485 AM 12:50 UTC 18 October 2019

« on: October 18, 2019, 1310 UTC »

Thank you! It really baffled me because it sounded so strong it could have been local but now I'm hearing fading.