The Relay Station 6880 AM 0022 UTC 21 Aug 2018

[PRO2006]

0022- Radio drama - heard off Warrenton, VA SDR - S5
0038- "search party on final approach"
0055- Its a Star Trek episode
0104- Talking about "crew of the Reliant"
0117- S7 now, same SDR
0137- I think they are getting chased into the Mutara Nebula

[KMD3HR]

I have them with lotta noise

[TheRelayStation]

that would be me, operating at somewhere between 100mW and 250mW but very likely less than 250mW.
im currently watching movies from premium cable-TV movie channels such as Cinemax, HBO, Starz, Showtime, Flix, TCM & TMC.
the current movie playing is "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" which is currently playing on "Starz Kids & Family", i love the Star Trek Movies (the ones with Leonard Nimoy are the best).
i am quite surprised that you are receiving this at all in Florida, KMD3HR, considering my approximate location is within the northeastern part of the US.
for the most part, i have been broadcasting 24/7 since sunday at this extreme low level of power.
this very low power constant broadcast can be a useful indicator of the current band conditions for other OP's and hobbyists.
the current content isnt very interesting as its just the center audio channel of 5.1 DTS movies being played (thats the way i watch movies, center screen dialog only, no BS extra music and sound effects).
when i am off to sleep, there will be a silent carrier.
i wonder if even a slight visible carrier can be seen on your waterfall PRO2006, that would be quite a shock indeed.

[MrMomB]

I heard the carrier on and off before the show.  Almost sounded like someone was tuning up. 02:40 I hear and see the het on the spectrum analyzer QSB in the noise to S-7. 02:50 Signal gone.

[ChrisSmolinski]

Some nice peaks peaks now and then on the SDR recording to SIO 333, along with drops down to completely gone.  Excellent for the low power.

Carrier fading in and out around 1441 UTC this morning.

[PRO2006]

0018- Seeing it on a western OH SDR. S3-S4, but can hear music. UTC 22 Aug 2018

[Markokpik]

8/22/18, 0124.  Hearing weak music in and out of the static floor.

[Josh]

A nice example of how even minuscule power can get out.

[ChrisSmolinski]

1224 Briefly faded in to an SIO 333 or even 444, then faded back out to not even a faint carrier.
1225 And now back again. I'll pipe this down to the kitchen to listen to while cooking breakfast.
1227 S9 signal. Amazing if still low power.
1339 Still an SIO 333 signal on peaks.
1535 Now an S8 signal.

[TheRelayStation]

1224 Briefly faded in to an SIO 333 or even 444, then faded back out to not even a faint carrier.
1225 And now back again. I'll pipe this down to the kitchen to listen to while cooking breakfast.
1227 S9 signal. Amazing if still low power.

i had it up to 50W briefly between those times to make some adjustments, its back down somewhere between 100mW & 200mW now, definitely less power than before.
i dont know if having this on 24/7 is providing some band condition info for anyone but thats really the purpose, to accumulate average time data that the band becomes favorable and for how long.
from the little data i have, it appears there is less than one hour from 0000UTC moving forward before the band kicks out besides the roller-coaster daytime NVIS propagation.
edit - 1522z - turning the power up to 50W for a little while
1534z - warming up the amp to run for about 1-2 minutes @ 500W (this is all testing stability of the gear)
1337z - amp off, everything working great as expected but the HV oil cap in the amp isnt too good when its cold
1340z - going back to 100mW-200mW

[R4002]

I like the idea of running 100-200mW power output 24/7, much like Old Time Radio / OTR on 6770 kHz (although we don't actually know how much power he's actually running but I imagine its something like 100mW or so...maybe a bit more?) - at that level, you're acting like a propagation beacon.  I know you do 50 watts and 500 watts...is there a way to do maybe 4-5 watts carrier power 24/7 or whenever you're transmitting? 

[TheRelayStation]

I like the idea of running 100-200mW power output 24/7, much like Old Time Radio / OTR on 6770 kHz (although we don't actually know how much power he's actually running but I imagine its something like 100mW or so...maybe a bit more?) - at that level, you're acting like a propagation beacon.  I know you do 50 watts and 500 watts...is there a way to do maybe 4-5 watts carrier power 24/7 or whenever you're transmitting?

i could vary the power level between 0-50W on the TX but i feel "comfortable" at power levels under 500mW.
i might consider 1W though.
4-5W would likely be too much based on my location and that im reaching Ohio/Michigan (when the band conditions open up) at the current 100-200mW which is actually, pretty amazing for AM at that level of power, i can imagine what 4-5W would do.

[KMD3HR]

Has OTR ever qsled anyone or has anyone ever seen one from them?

[TheRelayStation]

Has OTR ever qsled anyone or has anyone ever seen one from them?

not that i know of.
i think it is either a radio museum exhibit or an ARO with a collection of radios that is using 6770Khz to broadcast to them (K3FEF does this with a part 15 AM TX to his collection of old radios).
someone if the forums speculated that it might be someone sending old time programming to another individual who has one of those very old self-standing "cabinet" type tube radios.
whatever it is and whatever the reason, it has baffled me for years wondering about it.

[R4002]

Has OTR ever qsled anyone or has anyone ever seen one from them?

not that i know of.
i think it is either a radio museum exhibit or an ARO with a collection of radios that is using 6770Khz to broadcast to them (K3FEF does this with a part 15 AM TX to his collection of old radios).
someone if the forums speculated that it might be someone sending old time programming to another individual who has one of those very old self-standing "cabinet" type tube radios.
whatever it is and whatever the reason, it has baffled me for years wondering about it.

From what I've read, it is indeed a radio museum using homemade (very) low power transmitters on 770 kHz and 6770 kHz to pipe old time radio content to a collection of antique radios from a computer using Winamp (and a huge playlist) as the audio source.  No word on how much power is being transmitted, apparently the antenna is category 5 cable run behind the radios.  Considering how well you've done with 100-200 mW, I bet OTR on 6770 kHz is transmitting similar QRPP power levels. 

I like the idea of running 100-200mW power output 24/7, much like Old Time Radio / OTR on 6770 kHz (although we don't actually know how much power he's actually running but I imagine its something like 100mW or so...maybe a bit more?) - at that level, you're acting like a propagation beacon.  I know you do 50 watts and 500 watts...is there a way to do maybe 4-5 watts carrier power 24/7 or whenever you're transmitting?

i could vary the power level between 0-50W on the TX but i feel "comfortable" at power levels under 500mW.
i might consider 1W though.
4-5W would likely be too much based on my location and that im reaching Ohio/Michigan (when the band conditions open up) at the current 100-200mW which is actually, pretty amazing for AM at that level of power, i can imagine what 4-5W would do.

Good point.  1 watt would be good (I'm assuming you're talking about 1 watt carrier power, not 1 watt PEP) too I think.  Maybe 500mW?  That would give you 2 watts PEP at 100% modulation.

Regardless, you're doing very well.  Kudos to whatever you've got for an antenna setup.