Fwd: [LW] Considerations about Jason and its new Turbo (?) mode
Greetings all,
after slowly recovering from the excess drinking of New Year Midnight, I have coded a new function in Jason, which was originated by a comment of Bill de Carle, who said that the duration of tones maybe could be shortened, at least when the SNR is good. The duration was not chosen randomly, it obeys to a physics law, which says that in order to nail down a signal frequency with an uncertainty of δf (delta f), you must observe it for a time not shorter that 1/δf.
But what Bill said made me think that in conditions of good SNR you could accept a reduced likelihood of a correct identification of the frequency, without increasing the error rate. So I have introduced the "Turbo" mode, which basically cuts in half the duration of each tone, leaving all of the other parameters unchanged. Some simple audio tests done here (laptop in one room squeaking Jason tones from the speakers, and PC with a microphone in a noisy environment in another room) gave positive results, at least above a given SNR level.
So now the possible speeds are :
Slow, Turbo OFF Throughput = 18.93 char/hour, 0.315 char/min
Slow, Turbo ON " = 37.86 " 0.631 "
Normal, Turbo OFF " = 151.4 " 2.523 "
Normal, Turbo ON " = 302.8 " 5.047 "
Fast, Turbo OFF " = 1214.2 " 20.24 "
Fast, Turbo ON " = 2422.5 " 40.37 "
The last row is interesting. There are many key-hunting "typists" that are slower than that, so may be the Fast/ON mode could be tried as some sort of RTTY on HF... what are the frequency stability requirements from the rig?
Due to the nature of IFK, a slow drift is of no consequences, provided that the frequency stays in the same FFT bin for the duration of the tone. At the fastest speed, with Turbo ON, the tone duration is abt. 0.743 sec, and the bin size is abt. 0.673 Hz. This implies that, e.g. at 14.1 MHz, the frequency must not change more than 38.5 ppm in a 10-minute interval. This does not look like as a difficult figure to achieve. Any takers ?
So, in the light of all the above, I have uploaded Jason V0.98, which you can normally download by visiting the Web page http://www.weaksignals.com
I have also implemented the function requested by Scott Tilley, i.e. the possibility to load the beacon text from a file. At each repetition of the beacon, the file is loaded again, in case it has changed.
Sorry for the long posting, and please send reports, TNX.
73 Alberto I2PHD New Year Report on the LWCA Site
P.S. When testing, the Rx station must set Turbo OFF or ON in accord with the Tx station, as this changes a parameter also in the decoder.
Posted by Webmaster on January 01, 2005 at 14:35:52.
Happy 2005 to everyone!
In light of comments received last month when we surveyed users of the Message Board, we implemented the change from clickable e-mail links in postings to copyable representations of e-mail addresses, in which the actual address is largely converted to HTML character entities in the individual message pages stored on the server but shows up normally on-screen. This reduces the risk of addresses being harvested by spammers. Thus far, no one has commented adversely on the change, so I am assuming for now that it has been satisfactory with everyone.
Many readers have not yet discovered the Chronological message board listing, but those who have say they find it very useful for finding new messages, even if they have been posted in older threads. The link is at the top of the regular LW Message Board page.
Because of the software changes, the monthly archiving process will be a little different too. Since the change was made in mid-month, I must put together the December '04 archive by hand. This will take a little extra time. However, future monthly archives will be much faster and easier to produce. I won't have to download a single file to my own computer for processing...it will all be done on the server from now on.
Elsewhere on the site, it has been an active year; not record-breaking, but in general, visits are up from 2003 levels. Counts in 2004 for some pages of interest:
| LW Home Page | 40 483 |
| LW Message Board | 27 442 |
| Longwave Lobby | 6 838 |
| Solar-Terrestrial | > 2 600 |
| Dues by PayPal | 298 Only since Sept 4, 2004. |
| Albums by Chimp | 1 002 Includes some 2003 visits. |
| List of Member Web Pages | 1 101 Some 2003 visits; only linked via 'What is Part 15.' |
| Web Browser Hints | 1 344 Not linked entire year. |
These and other data gleaned over past months will, we hope, help us to make the site more useful in the coming year. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
John KPH Reception Reports
Posted by John Davis on January 01, 2005 at 15:30:26.
Several reception reports were posted on the LWCA LowFER e-mail group regarding the New Year's Eve commemorative operation of coastal station KPH at Point Reyes, CA. You can view them at:
www.lwca.org/miscdocs/lf-KPH200501.txt
John Below 500 kc Band in UK?
Posted by Bill_Harris on January 01, 2005 at 15:40:21.
Some time back...approx. 2 years, I was informed that there was some effort in England to establish a new Amateur band just below 500 kc's (kHz). If this is correct,would someone please inform me where I can locate the information on this subject.
Carry on
Bill_Harris
Re: Urban DXr's?
Posted by Les Layton on January 01, 2005 at 16:28:33.
In Reply to Urban DXr's? posted by Al on December 27, 2004 at 20:40:22.
Hi,
Don't give up on longwave dx because of an urban location. I live in the Las Vegas, NV area and have logged 100's of NDB's and other LF and VLF stations from my location over the years.
I use a simple 18ft vertical antenna mounted about 15 ft up at one end of my roof, fed by about 50 ft of coax. For some reason this is a very quiet and sensitive antenna, even though I have power lines and other houses nearby.
My longwire antenna is almost useless on LF or SW because of the noise level, much of which comes from my own house from such items as computer monitors, TV sets, cell phone chargers, etc.
Les Layton
Re: Below 500 kc Band in UK?
Posted by John Andrews on January 01, 2005 at 16:37:25.
In Reply to Below 500 kc Band in UK? posted by Bill_Harris on January 01, 2005 at 15:40:21.
Bill:
On the ARRL site:
www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/10/20/1/
On the RSGB site:
www.rsgb-spectrumforum.org.uk/mf.htm
John Andrews, W1TAG
NDB EZ
Posted by Mike Roth on January 02, 2005 at 08:59:20.
Hi all.
For at least the past week I have been copying EZ on 372 KHz. I can copy it all day long so it's probably within ~200 miles of my QTH. Using a Kenwood TS440 and a 550' wire. I am located in NW CT, about 85 miles from the only listed EZ, Newark, NJ. All my sources say this beacon is on 204 KHz.
Can anyone in the NY/NJ/CT/EPA area confirm EZ is still on 204 KHz, and what you're hearing on 372 KHz during the day?
Thanks!
Mike
Bantam, CT
(Yes, it's EZ. I can copy CW at 20+WPM):)
Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver
Posted by Bruce Koehler on January 03, 2005 at 16:39:17.
I recently purchased a Kenwood THF6A triband handi-talkie which has a receiver that covers from 100KHz to 1.3GHz, and can receive AM, FM, CW and SSB. When using the receiver with its internal loopstick antenna, LF performance was very poor. I could only hear BK out to about 200 ft from the transmitting antenna! Then I connected the LEK Universal LF/MF Preamp with a 4 foot 20 turn Hula Hoop loop to the external antenna input. Results were much better! I could hear LEK and BRO from the BK location at Shell Lake, WI. Today at noon in the parking lot at work (near St.Paul, MN), I was able to easily copy LEK and BK in CW mode.
An article on how to build the Universal LF/MF Preamp can be found on the web site of K0LR.
73, Bruce BK W0BK
getting started in longwave
Posted by Kevin H. Phillips on January 03, 2005 at 18:54:54.
I'm a newly minted ham operator (Sept. '04 as KE5CQJ). I'm enjoying exploring as much of radio communications as I can and ran across the LWCA site and joined it. I was wondering if someone can give me some pointers on how I could set myself up with some longwave equipment both transmitting & receiving? I live in a typical urban subdivision so practical antennas might be a challenge. I'm learning Morse Code (in hopes of upgrading my license to General Class in the near future) and so the idea of getting some DX practice on Code sounds like fun. Are there any books or articles that would be helpful in showing me equipment, etc.?
Tnx & 73 Re: KPH Reception Reports
Kevin
Posted by Les Layton on January 03, 2005 at 21:07:55.
In Reply to KPH Reception Reports posted by John Davis on January 01, 2005 at 15:30:26.
On Jan 1, KPH was monitored from 0115z to 0530z at Las Vegas, NV with very strong signals on 426 and 500 khz using a 1945 vintage, US Navy RBL-5 receiver made by National.
It's amazing how well this old receiver performs on CW... virtually no drift! The CW tone held steady within a few cycles, according to CWget software, for hours on end.
Les Layton
Re: getting started in longwave
Posted by John Bogath on January 04, 2005 at 12:49:35.
In Reply to getting started in longwave posted by Kevin H. Phillips on January 03, 2005 at 18:54:54.
Hi Kevin, Re: getting started in longwave
Welcome to the fraternity ! Try looking at the links found at this LWCA website. Also, "must reading" can be found at Lyle Koehler's (K0LR) website and the "Noise Floor" website. Many receivers made in the last 20 years have general-coverage and usually go down to 100 or 150 KHz. Such a receiver/transceiver could do "double-duty" for you on LW and the ham bands. Another alternative is to build a LW converter for a ham-band-only receiver. You will most likely want to build your own LW transmitter, although there are commercial versions available (e.g., Dave Curry's). There are designs to be found at the websites mentioned above. If you run into a "snag", ask again; like you just did. Good Luck and I wish you many years of challenge and enjoyment in both ham radio and LW.
Posted by Bruce Koehler on January 04, 2005 at 12:58:58.
In Reply to getting started in longwave posted by Kevin H. Phillips on January 03, 2005 at 18:54:54.
Kevin, congratulations on becoming a Ham! For LF transmitting and receiving, you can probably build some simple circuits. Most receivers I have tried do not have enough sensitivity to work well on weak LF signals. However, by using a simple preamplifier and loop antenna, you can make just about any receiver that tunes the LF range work reasonably well for LF reception. It helps to get away from power lines, TV sets, light dimmers, etc. to receive weak LF signals. A portable receiver, loop and preamp may work well to receive LF because you can move them to a quiet location. Most urban environments are too noisy, but sometimes you can find a quieter spot somewhere in your yard where you can install a remote tuned loop and preamp.
Check out the resources of the LWCA site for projects, and the web site of K0LR for LF preamplifier, LF transmitter and other LF projects. I built the simple LF transmitter and the Universal Preamp and they work well. You will also need to wind loading coils if you want to use a short (< 50 ft)vertical for transmitting on LF.
73, Re: getting started in longwave
Bruce LowFER BK, ARS W0BK
Posted by Kevin H. Phillips on January 05, 2005 at 15:16:40.
In Reply to getting started in longwave posted by Kevin H. Phillips on January 03, 2005 at 18:54:54.
Thanks for the tips. I see that K0LR's page contains a wealth of information so that should get me started.
Kevin
Re: NDB EZ
Posted by Michael Oexner on January 08, 2005 at 07:41:00.
In Reply to NDB EZ posted by Mike Roth on January 02, 2005 at 08:59:20.
Hello all,
EZ-373 is a move of ex EZ-204.
EZ-373 Newark/Lizah/Elizabeth NJ N40 36 26 W074 13 05
vy 73 + gd DX,
Michael Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver
Posted by Phil Collier on January 10, 2005 at 22:43:36.
In Reply to Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver posted by Bruce Koehler on January 03, 2005 at 16:39:17.
Bruce,
That is an upbeat report on the TH-F6A. How do you rate the stability? Might it be useful for QRSS and other really weak signal modes?
Regards, Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver
Phil AB9IL
Posted by John Davis on January 11, 2005 at 19:40:29.
In Reply to Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver posted by Phil Collier on January 10, 2005 at 22:43:36.
Also, just out of curiousity, what tuning steps does it have?
73 NAA receiving question
John
Posted by Chris Waldrup KD4PBJ on January 16, 2005 at 00:24:08.
I built the Full Gyrator circuit from the American Association of Variable Star Observers to receive NAA at 24 Khz. The signal comes in quite well from my location here in central NC using a loop antenna. I can hear a warbling raspy sounding signal. What type of information is this (just the callsign or something else)? I didn't know if Spectran or something similar would decode it. Thanks.
Chris
Re: NAA receiving question
Posted by Chris Waldrup KD4PBJ on January 16, 2005 at 00:46:51.
In Reply to NAA receiving question posted by Chris Waldrup KD4PBJ on January 16, 2005 at 00:24:08.
OK just realized NAA is a military station so anything would probably be in some form that non military couldn't decode.
The receiver was built to be able to look at NAA's signal strength over time to observe changing propagation conditions. But I have found that by removing the tuning capacitor from the loop and hooking up my capacitor decade box, I can change the tuning of the loop. I just got a laptop computer on Friday and downloaded Spectran so I can experiment with it.
The thought of "decoding" NAA came up when I wondered if I could hook the receiver to the laptop's sound card and be able to acknowledge the presence of some VLF stations that I could not hear. I am assuming that they transmit FSK, so I would need something that would give me a display when I tuned upon a frequency that had a signal present. Since I have never done computer assisted listening before, I would appreciate any help I could get. My elmer Paul has suggested Spectran, so I decided that I would start with that. Also what do you use for software for PSK31. Thanks again.
Chris
Re: NAA receiving question
Posted by John Andrews on January 16, 2005 at 21:33:28.
In Reply to Re: NAA receiving question posted by Chris Waldrup KD4PBJ on January 16, 2005 at 00:46:51.
Chris,
You're right -- you will never decode the NAA data. Or maybe you will, and we'll never hear from you again! The stuff is military, and intended for submarine reception. It's been a long time since they did that in CW with code groups, but I do remember copying it back in the '60s.
The keying is FSK, more precisely MSK (minimum shift keying), which uses a frequency shift of half the baud rate. I believe that their signal is keyed at 200 baud, but that may be old information.
You can certainly use Spectran to look at the signal, but I don't think you will see much more than a wide blur. You will be able to tell how much bandwidth they are occupying, and not much more.
There are dozens of programs that will allow you to copy PSK31. A very good reference on the subject is at:
http://www.aintel.bi.ehu.es/psk31.html
I have been using MultiPSK, as well as the old reliable Psk31sbw. You will find little or no PSK31 activity at LF, as it is primarily an HF mode, with a lot of the activity on 20 meters around 14.070 MHz.
John Andrews, W1TAG
Re: KPH Reception Reports
Posted by Ray W2RS on January 18, 2005 at 19:31:55.
In Reply to KPH Reception Reports posted by John Davis on January 01, 2005 at 15:30:26.
Sorry to report that I heard nothing at all from NJ (FN20) on 426 or 500 kHz.
73, Ray
Lowfer BK heard tonight...
Posted by Mike Reid on January 19, 2005 at 02:19:12.
Heard BK tonight while tuning around. Solid signal into Saint Francis Minnesota. Used my Part-5 E/W loop & the HP3586C. I think this is a first reception of this beacon for me. No DX but it was nice to hear some CW on the band. Didn't find LEK, must have been off.
Mike Re: Lowfer BK heard tonight...
WE0H
WD2XGI
Posted by Bruce Koehler on January 19, 2005 at 15:01:31.
In Reply to Lowfer BK heard tonight... posted by Mike Reid on January 19, 2005 at 02:19:12.
Mike,
Thanks for the reception report! I put BK back on the air this season after being off for a couple of years due to lightning damage. Glad to hear someone was able to hear it. Sounds like you appreciate the CW mode. In my opinion, it's a lot more enjoyable to be able to tune around with your radio and listen for CW signals. So many of the LowFER signals now are in slow speed CW or digital modes, and unless you listen for a long time, you can't tell if it's a LowFER, a birdie, or a power line carrier. I like to listen with a radio. Doesn't seem like radio when you listen with a computer!
73, Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver
Bruce BK W0BK
Posted by Bruce Koehler on January 19, 2005 at 15:12:59.
In Reply to Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver posted by Phil Collier on January 10, 2005 at 22:43:36.
Hi Phil,
Most times I've tried listening to LF with the TH-F6, I was in my car with the loop outside the car. I turn the engine off and the temperature starts dropping in the car. Other times I have gone outside with the radio, loop and preamp, and have only listened for 5 min or so before my fingers freeze from adjusting the radio preamp tuning. When I first turn the radio on, I hear the CW pitch drift for the first few seconds, then it seems fairly stable, but I'm not sure if it's stable enough for SSCW listening or not. Anyway, it's neat that I can listen to LF, MF, HF, VHF and UHF with a little radio that was mainly designed as a VHF/UHF transceiver!
73, Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver
Bruce
Posted by Bruce Koehler on January 19, 2005 at 15:17:44.
In Reply to Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver posted by John Davis on January 11, 2005 at 19:40:29.
Hi John,
The default "fine" tuning step for the TH-F6A is 100Hz in CW mode. There are several tuning steps available, but I believe the smallest step is 33Hz. I usually leave it at the 100Hz step which is good enough for listening to LF CW signals by ear.
73, LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell.
Bruce
Posted by John Bogath on January 19, 2005 at 15:53:27.
I will be running "NWNJ" 24 hours per day for the duration of the current cold spell. Receive conditions are good, and beacon antenna current is way up due to the cold temperatures. Look for 10 wpm CW on 189.655 KHz. I will QSL all valid reception reports. Thanks.
SAQ Results 19 January
Posted by John Davis on January 19, 2005 at 18:16:23.
The special transmission of SAQ today marked the visit of some American guests to Grimeton and a birthday greeting was sent. Reports came in from the British Isles and continental Europe, as far south as Greece, and at several locations in North America.
Here are several of the heard and not-heard reports from the LWCA LowFER reflector, and two or three messages from the RSGB LF Group as well.
----------------------
From: Bill Ashlock
To: lowfer@lwca.org
Subject: [LW] SAQ success!
Date: Jan 19, 2005 12:11 PM
Just a quick break in the action to report SAQ reception is the best ever here in eastern MA with a 6db S/N showing on the SVM. Wish I could follow the code, but much too fast for me (except for the SAQs).
Later on I'll do some computations to determine the absolute signal strength. The loop and converter gains are unknowns at the moment.
Back to the action!
Bill
---------------------
From: Dexter McIntyre W4DEX
Subject: Re: [LW] SAQ success!
Date: Jan 19, 2005 12:22 PM
Bill Ashlock wrote:
> Just a quick break in the action to report SAQ reception is the best
> ever here in eastern MA with a 6db S/N showing on the SVM. Wish I could
> follow the code, but much too fast for me (except for the SAQs).
>
Pretty good signal here in NC also. May have been near Q5 copy with a good CW operator. I have recordings I will post later today. Late for a job now so gotta go!
Dex
- - - followup - - -
I have uploaded a 428k .wav file of part of the SAQ transmission. This was received with a 10 foot diameter untuned loop to a Wandel-Goltermann SPM-19 filtered with Spectran and slowed down a bit with Cool-Edit. My audio editing knowledge is very limited.
I also recorded the transmission with a vertical to a HP3586B SLM. Copy was close to the same but I think the loop/WG was a little better.
Dex
----------------------
From: Bill Ashlock
Subject: Re: [LW] SAQ success!
Date: Jan 19, 2005 12:31 PM
Update to previous report:
I walked deeper into the woods to get away from some power line buzz and
recorded a 9 db S/N on SAQ during a slow code segment of their transmission! Wish I had brought along the tape recorder.
Bill
----------------------
From: Steve Ratzlaff
Subject: [LW] No SAQ in NE Oregon
Date: Jan 19, 2005 1:03 PM
I've been listening an hour now; no sign of SAQ. 18.3 good copy though. Congrats to those who did hear SAQ. Guess it's east-coast only, darn.
Steve AA7U
NE Oregon
----------------------
From: Laurence KL1X
Subject: RE: [LW] No SAQ in NE Oregon
Date: Jan 19, 2005 1:32 PM
Same here - 18.3 was OK but nada on 17.2Khz - both visual or audible...
Laurence OK
----------------------
From: John Reed
Subject: [LW] No SAQ
Date: Jan 19, 2005 1:56 PM
Nothing from SAQ here in OK. Noise wasn't too bad, but there was no signal at 17.2. Guess it takes a path over water to do it.
John Reed
----------------------
From: n8tl
Subject: [LW] SAQ
Date: Jan 19, 2005 2:50 AM
Nothing of SAQ in NW Ohio......S5 noise floor here. 18.3, 19.6, and 20.9 khz TTY stations were copied however.
Tom N8TL
----------------------
From: Bill Ashlock
Subject: Re: [LW] SAQ success!
Date: Jan 19, 2005 3:09 PM
>What were you using for an antenna? preamp? receiver? Inquiring minds want
>to know. Warren
Antenna: 3' hand-held loop. Winding is a 30-wire ribbon cable (with center tap). Balanced FET pre-amp.
Up-converter: NE-602 with separate 153.6k xtal osc. Front end tuning supplied by loop. Power to loop pre-amp supplied via pull-up resistor at input connection.
Receiver: Home brewed LF SVM tuned to 170.8k (pcb blank soon to be available)
Bill
-----------------------
From: Pete Smith
Subject: [LW] SAQ
Date: Jan 19, 2005 3:18 PM
No copy on SAQ in Utah .. EKD-500 receiver , Dipole and Argo ..Congrats to the others who did copy the station .. 73 pete k7ztm
-----------------------
From: Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ
Subject: Re: [LW] SAQ success!
Date: Jan 19, 2005 5:01 PM
Bill,
Impresssive results and such a neat, portable setup!
--
73 Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ
-----------------------
Dear LF Group,
The broadcast from SAQ went like this:
1650utc – Tuning up
1700utc – Birthday greetings to Bob Nash - message repeated several times.
Followed by “Greetings from VT Communications”
1716utc – Shut down.
Conditions seemed quite noisy for the time of year, with significant QRN, but no problem with copy of the signal. Field strength was estimated at 130uV/m. I also got my electromechanical receiver out again, and was able to use that to copy the signal.
Cheers, Jim Moritz
73 de MØBMU
-----------------------
Received SAQ just at the noise level at my favorite quiet spot about 40 miles west of Washington, DC.
Sandy
WB5MMB
-----------------------
Regards, Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver
John
Posted by John Davis on January 19, 2005 at 18:44:44.
In Reply to Re: Kenwood TH-F6A as a LW receiver posted by Bruce Koehler on January 19, 2005 at 15:17:44.
Thanks, Bruce. That's a pretty remarkable tuning increment for a receiver that covers such a broad range of frequencies!
John
Re: SAQ Results 19 January
Posted by carl walde, sm5bf on January 20, 2005 at 10:51:52.
In Reply to SAQ Results 19 January posted by John Davis on January 19, 2005 at 18:16:23.
hi ,
i have been involved in the SAQ business for decades. i was manager of the navy telecom division and of the defence radio division in FMV, the swedish defence materiel administration.
cutting short the preludium, thanks a lot for your efforts to receive SAQ.
pse note that we will have a (professional) longwave seminar i varberg town, close to saq in june/july 2005. se summary below.
we are in the process of compiling a first formal invitation after having found that we can risk to sponsor a seminar, i. e. neither extras nor polished brass. please spread the news.
we will add a preceding tutorial and are in the process of finding literature and lecturers, from industry too. i would like to receive suitable names. however, we will not be able to pay those a formidable fee, but good company in good surroundings, and free registration. pse help.
the first invitation and call for papers will be issued in a few weeks. i do not think that we will decide on formatting - just give us the paper and we will copy. if VLF05 will turn our favourably, we will launch VLF08 as a full conference, HF04 style.
here some advance information:
Longwave seminar i Varberg 2005
No VLF meetings since 1992? (York and AGARD Paris)
Varberg campus in city center, close ro railway, ferry, parking lots, hotels, cafés, swimming facilities, fortress, SAQ and SA6Q
Two day seminar (lunch Thursday 30th - lunch Saturday 2nd)
One day tutorial preceding (lunch Wednesday 29th -)
Lodging not included; to be booked individually (corporate pricing)
Cosponsoring foundations:
Nordic Radio Society (NRS)
Grimeton World Heritage
---
Wed 29 lunch, tutorial, seminar registration, evening free
Thu 30 tutorial/registration, lunch, sessions, exhibitors’ party
Fri 1 sessions, Varberg town banquet
Sat 2 sessions, lunch, visit to SAQ [ITERNIA opening]
Sun 3 [Alexander day]
---
pse be in touch with the SAQ website www.alexander.n .se, Re: LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell.
rgds
carl
Posted by lloyd chastant on January 20, 2005 at 19:17:44.
In Reply to LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell. posted by John Bogath on January 19, 2005 at 15:53:27.
John, I've taken a listen from time to time and haven't had any results...Last nite TH was coming in very nice (189.38), so I went up to your freq but didn't hear anything..with a BW of 400Hz I could even hear TH up on your freq..but can set 50Hz on the TS-870..well will keep a listening... Re: LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell.
de Lloyd W3NF FM19MH
Posted by John Bogath on January 20, 2005 at 19:28:53.
In Reply to Re: LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell. posted by lloyd chastant on January 20, 2005 at 19:17:44.
Thanks for the try Lloyd. I am further north than "TH" and a little to the west (at the NJ/PA/NY tri-state border); if that helps at all. John "NWNJ"
Re: LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell.
Posted by John Andrews on January 21, 2005 at 07:41:21.
In Reply to LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell. posted by John Bogath on January 19, 2005 at 15:53:27.
John,
Things are worse than last year, but it's not your fault! I can see your signal on Spectran, at about the same level as I remember from earlier tries. But this year I have a strange signal over the whole LF range that is being keyed at a 4 sec on/off rate, and has 60 Hz sidebands. It's not everywhere, but one of the stronger "birdies" is very close to your frequency. The end result is not pretty. It rules out any hope of aural reception, and even the Spectran display is going "deaf" at 4 second intervals. If you were sending with 3 second dots instead of regular speed CW, I would have a good chance at visual copy with Argo or Spectran.
Anyway, NWNJ's frequency appears to be 189.659 kHz, if that helps anyone else!
John Andrews
Car Radios With Long Wave Tuners
Posted by William C. Walker on January 21, 2005 at 12:07:42.
Can anyone tell me if there are any car radio manufacturers that provide car radios to the USA that include LW bands in their AM and FM tuners? If so, any make and model information is greatly appreciated.
Re: LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell.
Posted by John Bogath on January 21, 2005 at 15:50:37.
In Reply to Re: LowFER "NWNJ" on 24/7 during cold spell. posted by John Andrews on January 21, 2005 at 07:41:21.
Many thanks John for that info. My oscillator has aged a bit over the last 30 years, HA. I was going to build a 3 wpm I.D.er out of a $10, Radio Shack, pocket, digital recorder; but got side-tracked some time ago. In any event, I am more interested in the real-time QSO capabilities of my station. That means "normal" CW speeds. I hope that I will be able to start resonating my radials this Spring. Much work in this area has been pioneered by Ed Gelinas (KLFB/KHFB). Early tests of his methods here proved to be promising. It will be important to have a couple of reliable receiving stations around now to compare my "Before and After" with, later.
Re: Car Radios With Long Wave Tuners
Posted by Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ on January 21, 2005 at 17:09:59.
In Reply to Car Radios With Long Wave Tuners posted by William C. Walker on January 21, 2005 at 12:07:42.
William, Lowfer KLFB Antenna
I don't know of any sold in the U.S., but the LW band on car radios in Europe wouldn't be very useful here. The european lw car radios are only designed to pick up the high power broadcasters and would be virtually useless for NDB dxing or lowfer work.
That said, I did enjoy driving through France and litstening to the BBC on 198 kHz a few years ago!
Posted by Ed Gelinas on January 21, 2005 at 21:10:28.
New antenna installation @ KLFB A-M(164.9Khz) is complete as of today (1-21-05) Early tests indicate a possible 2x increase in effective field strength in all compass directions. Happy listening!!
Re: Car Radios With Long Wave Tuners
Posted by Laurence KL1x on January 21, 2005 at 23:04:08.
In Reply to Re: Car Radios With Long Wave Tuners posted by Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ on January 21, 2005 at 17:09:59.
LW car radio - if you want one let me know I have a 1970's model in my lock up garage doing nothing... Laurence KL1X/5 qthr on qrz.com - my thoughts were to tweek it for 137Khz but given the low field strengths even at qro powers you wouldnt hear signals that far...now if it had a bfo...
New to Longwave need help with software
Posted by Mark W3ILT on January 22, 2005 at 09:51:50.
Have recently purchased a Harmon 4200B. Using a 600 ft Beverage antenna and 160 meter dipole. I am listening to a signal on 166.5 khz right now, I assume this is Ralph. Have audio fed into soundcard of pc with XP. Need to know what is best program for rx. Also would like to be able to read BCD from WWVB on 60 khz. Any help is much appreciated, thx in advance, Mark W3ILT
Re: Car Radios With Long Wave Tuners
Posted by William C. Walker on January 22, 2005 at 12:41:40.
In Reply to Re: Car Radios With Long Wave Tuners posted by Laurence KL1x on January 21, 2005 at 23:04:08.
I thought it would be cool to have something that virtually no one else has. A LW car radio fits that bill.
How does the LW sensitivity compare to a Sangean portable radio?
I am involved with part 15 AM broadcasting and I have an idea to expand this concept into LW. I would like to set up my own part 15 LW station, distribute portable radios like the Coby that have LW and then see how many people I can get to listen. The AM expanded band is getting noisy at night thanks to the new Canadian stations on 1610 and of course the rest of the licensed USA stations that have migrated up there. LW may be a perfect spot to find a quiet place on the dial. Multi band radios like the Coby can be found for a few bucks and it won't be difficult to buy 100 and use them as "seedlings" in the community.
We are in the process of petitioning the FCC for a new licensed LPAM service in the expanded band but that is going to be more difficult than LPAM especially since we want a commercial service to complement the non commercial LPFM service. LW may be a viable and easier alternative to licensed LPAM. Who knows, perhaps someday we can get LW on some of the American car radios.
Laurence, I'll take a look at your site.
Thanks,
William
Re: SAQ Results 19 January
Posted by Mike E Terry on January 22, 2005 at 15:55:21.
In Reply to SAQ Results 19 January posted by John Davis on January 19, 2005 at 18:16:23.
Any plans for a future broadcast?
Mike Programable LF SSB Exciter- $20
Posted by David Stinson on January 22, 2005 at 18:43:55.
A gentleman is offering Motorola Starpoint channel modems Re: New to Longwave need help with software
for $20 over on the 'Bay. These are dandy little progammable
SSB exciters for longwave work, and they have a receiver
half as well. They are jumper programmable in 4 KC channels
from 4 KC up to around the BCB and can be easily "rubbered."
I have all the manuals and data on them,
along with notes on how to get them up on LF.
They are item #5713577871.
I recommend picking up two or ten- he has 50 available.
You can fire them up with a few mils at 24 VDC.
If you want to get fancy, he has the termination cards
to make them 600 ohms in and out for audio.
If there is interest, I will post the information
on getting them running.
Posted by Lyle Koehler on January 22, 2005 at 19:09:06.
In Reply to New to Longwave need help with software posted by Mark W3ILT on January 22, 2005 at 09:51:50.
A PIC-based WWVB decoder can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/hagtronics/wwvb.html
If you prefer to use a BASIC Stamp, try:
http://www.parallaxinc.com/dl/docs/cols/nv/vol2/col/nv51.pdf
A program called "Radio Clock" will decode the audio output of your receiver and display the time. It has decoders for WWVB and other LF and HF time signals. You can download Radio Clock from Re: New to Longwave need help with software
http://sapp.telepac.pt/coaa/radioclock.htm
Posted by Mark W3ilt on January 22, 2005 at 23:03:38.
In Reply to New to Longwave need help with software posted by Mark W3ILT on January 22, 2005 at 09:51:50.
Thx, searched for wwvb software for days but could not find it. All links I have tried for ARGO were down today, tomorrow is another day.
Re: New to Longwave need help with software
Posted by John Andrews on January 23, 2005 at 08:53:14.
In Reply to Re: New to Longwave need help with software posted by Mark W3ilt on January 22, 2005 at 23:03:38.
Mark:
The official site for Argo, Spectran, Jason, etc., is:
http://www.weaksignals.com/
I tried it this morning, and it's working normally.
John Andrews, W1TAG/WD2XES
Re: SAQ Results 19 January
Posted by John Davis on January 23, 2005 at 08:59:32.
In Reply to Re: SAQ Results 19 January posted by Mike E Terry on January 22, 2005 at 15:55:21.
The next scheduled transmission is the first Sunday in July, marking the 80th anniversary of the station's formal dedication.
OOM heard on 166.5
Posted by Mark W3ilt on January 23, 2005 at 13:41:57.
Anyone else hearing OOM being broadcast on 166.5 khz ? Looked up calls but see none assigned for 166.5 by OOM. Could this be another beacon I am picking up harmonically on this frequency ? Re: New to Longwave need help with software
Posted by Mark W3ilt on January 23, 2005 at 14:21:38.
In Reply to Re: New to Longwave need help with software posted by John Andrews on January 23, 2005 at 08:53:14.
Ok thx, finally got argo and speclab. Radio Clock works really nicely. Used help file to set it up. In 5 minutes had my pc clock syncd to wwvb.
SAQ on 2 February?
Posted by Ray, W2RS on January 27, 2005 at 14:55:16.
I don't read Swedish, but the Swedish-language Web page of SAQ (www.alexander.n.se) seems to say something about 1800 Swedish time (1600 UTC) on 2 February. Will the station be on the air then?
73, Ray
Oops!
Posted by Ray, W2RS on January 27, 2005 at 15:00:42.
In Reply to SAQ on 2 February? posted by Ray, W2RS on January 27, 2005 at 14:55:16.
Hi,
Sitting here in Arizona, I forgot that it's winter in Sweden. This time of year, 1800 Swedish time is 1700 UTC, not 1600 as I said in my earlier message.
Sorry about that!
73, Ray
Good News on those $20 LF SSB Cards
Posted by David Stinson on January 29, 2005 at 03:48:10.
Good news- After hearing from us, the gentleman has decided to shortly relist the cards at a very reasonable shipping cost.
Firing-up Your LF SSB Modem Card
Posted by David Stinson AB5S on January 29, 2005 at 03:55:30.
Well, a few people braved the shipping costs and purchased some of the Motorola Starplex channel modems. Frankly, even $30-35 for the heart and soul of a programmable SSB transceiver isn't bad.
Now that the fellow has gotten reasonable on his shipping, these are an even better deal.
Here is some preliminary information to get you started.
Most important note:
The modems operate on 24 VDC POSiTIVE GROUND.
The audio connections for input and output are
transformer-isolated from ground, but the
transmitter and receiver RF connections are NOT.
Those connections are 75 ohm. A simple 1:1 broadband
balun will interface the card to any negative-ground
equipment you might want to use. The first time
I built a transmitter out of one of these (1986),
I just built a positive-ground final ;-).
The card is programmable in 4 KC steps from 4 KC all
the way up to 2540 KC. It does this by mixing
the programmable oscillator against a 5.2 MC master
crystal oscillator. You can "rubber" that crystal
to get some room around those channels or replace
it entirely to get a different channelization.
The programmable oscillator is set with a simple
jumper plug and two "band switches".
Sidebands are not selectable as furnished,
but if desired this
should not be hard for the average LF experimenter.
My LOWFER rig was USB on 184KC and I had lots of
positive reception reports about it.
With the card set for channel frequencies
in the ranges 4KC - 52KC and 312KC - 552KC,
a 1KC tone at the transmitter audio input
will come out an RF carrier 1KC higher in freq.
(i.e., 1KC tone into a card set for 500KC
will come out as an RF carrier at 501 KC).
All other channels will come out 1KC lower
in few (i.e. a 1KC tone into a 184KC card
will produce a carrier at 183KC).
The ability to add an adjustable amount of carrier
to the output is jumper selectable and/or
can be used as a "signalling tone" (M-Lead).
Should a group decide to "net" cards,
the carrier (20 DB below the SSB) can be used
to operate "E&M" switching, giving you a notice
should anyone come on the air.
As it comes, the card is "4-Wire," meaning there
are separate inputs/outputs for TX/RX.
If you have a VF Termination card, you can
access the card via a single pair, or "2-Wire."
Specs:
Recommended audio input level to TX: -16 dBm 600 ohms
Transmitter output at
recommended input: adjustable -50 to -15 dBm 75 ohms
Receiver input level: -65 to -5 dBm 75 ohms
Receiver output at
recom'ed input: Adjustable up to at least +7 dBm 600 ohms.
Card connections:
From the component side, top to bottom,
the connector pins on the right are labeled 1-24.
1: Transmit out (no internal DC blocking cap).
2: Transmit ground (positive ground for DC!)
3 and 4: TX audio in (transformer isolated).
5: Negative 24 VDC primary power.
6: DC power ground (positive).
7: (bridging connection- not used)
8: NC
9: (E-lead relay- not used)
10: (E-lead IC output- not used)
11: (Alarm output- not used)
12 & 13: NC
14: Transmitter Audio Mute: Ground to mute TX output.
15: (M-lead control- not used)
16: E-lead relay- not used)
17 to 20: NC
21 & 22: RX audio out, 600 ohms transformer isolated.
23: NC
24: Receiver RF input (DC blocking cap internal).
Selecting a frequency:
On the rear third of the card, near a trio of ICs
is a plug-in strip for the "Code Plug."
Yours may or may not come with one plugged in.
There is a group of nine contacts, a spacer
and three more contacts. These are numbered
1 to 13 (counting the space) from top to bottom.
Pin #1 provides the -15 VDC programming voltage.
Further back is a box with two rocker switches
marked "1" and "2". These are the band switches.
To put the unit on 184KC (chosen for sentimental sake :),
set the switches #1 Off and #2 On.
Jumper the following contacts of the Code Plug connector:
Jumper together pins 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12.
This will put the card on 184KC.
The closest pre-programable channel to the "600 meter"
group's 166.5KC is 168KC. If you program for this and insert
a 1.5KC audio tone, you will get a carrier on 166.5KC.
If you use the onboard "rubbering" cap to tweak the
5.2MC reference oscillator, you can move the card down
enough to place the center of SSB intelligence on 166.5.
Program jumpers for 168KC:
Wire together pins 1, 3, 8, 9, and 12.
More later, including complete manual and diagrams.
73 DE Dave Stinson AB5S
Re: Programable LF SSB Exciter- $20
Posted by Dave Brown on January 30, 2005 at 15:00:31.
In Reply to Programable LF SSB Exciter- $20 posted by David Stinson on January 22, 2005 at 18:43:55.
Lenkurt made a similar product-no doubt there were others. The Lenkurt DTL (Direct-to-Line) multiplex unit covered up to around 4.5 MHz-otherwise probably identical.
Where have they all gone??
73
Dave, ZL3FJ
potrzebie