unorthadox relative field strength test
After some recent repairs to the loading coil and changes to the tophat skirt I now measure higher antenna current. Cool! I also note that the spouses "touch" switched lamp is now providing a light show by turning off and on and toggling thru its brightness settings. That has never happened. Kinda fun to watch for me but it is really annoying for the missus. I promised her that I would fix it.
73 Lee
Re: Watering hole
Posted by PAUL DAULTON on February 01, 2010 at 20:54:16.
In reply to Watering hole posted by Roger on January 31, 2010
That is me Roger. I moved to 185.302 (WMS). Hope I can make the trip this season.
Thanks for the report.
Paul k5wms
Re: New beacon IO on the air
Posted by Lee on February 01, 2010 at 21:02:46.
In reply to New beacon IO on the air posted by craig on January 31, 2010
There is this grabber in Lousiana wading in the watering hole. This is the only one I know of near the east coast.
http://w5jgv.com/argocaps/
Lee
Re: unorthodox relative field strength test
Posted by monte on February 01, 2010 at 21:58:50.
In reply to unorthadox relative field strength test posted by Lee on February 01, 2010
have been wondering what all could been done with the earth current? new to this sounds like fun
Re: New beacon IO on the air
Posted by PAUL DAULTON on February 02, 2010 at 11:32:06.
In reply to New beacon IO on the air posted by craig on January 31, 2010
185.321 khz is a bit out of the grabber range. Most are set at qrss 30 so 185.300 +/- 003 is the usual range. Dont Know any grabbers active today but they may come on line for short periods.
We have a forum on QTH.net that gives dial emails about lowfer activity. Go to qth.net and click on email lists and scroll down to LOWFER. Join us there and post your activity. The gang will look for you.
Welcome aboard. HiFER K6FRC Copied in SW Arizona
Paul k5wms beacon WMS 185.302 qrss 30 24/7
Posted by Jeff on February 02, 2010 at 17:32:43.
Nice copy on the K6FRC HiFer at 0130Z (02/03/10) on 13.565 MHz, RST 519.
Jeff K8NDB Re: New beacon IO on the air - correction
NDB HiFer 13.562020 MHz
ID: NDB 10 WPM, AZ QRSS-3
Posted by craig on February 02, 2010 at 23:40:37.
In reply to Re: New beacon IO on the air posted by PAUL DAULTON on February 02, 2010
I mis-spoke on my freq - it didn't seem right when I typed it. My beacon is somewhere near 185299 Hz. I have not calibrated my SDR-IQ since switching to VAC so it's not very accurate on speclab yet. I'm using an LF-90 beacon transmitter set to 185.300KHz and I'm sure it's running a little low in frequency.
That grabber is on tonight. I see signals at 185298.5, 185301.1 and 185301.7 but none were good enough to ID. It's possible the one at 185298.5 is mine (wishful thinking), but can't confirm it. I won't be home until Thursday to calibrate things accurately.
I looked at the list of beacons on the LWCA site but only MP seems to match what I'm seeing on the argo viewer. Is there a more complete list somewhere?
Thanks!
Craig - N6IO Re: New beacon IO on the air - correction
Posted by John Davis on February 03, 2010 at 16:55:02.
In reply to Re: New beacon IO on the air - correction posted by craig on February 02, 2010
There is no more complete list anywhere. There are a few outdated lists out there which derived nearly all their information from our list in the first place, then haven't been updated in years and/or never delete beacons that go off the air, even when their operators become silent keys. They may look impressive at first glance. But unless those old timers are able to somehow generate RF from the Great Beyond, you'll never hear or see the majority of stations in those pseudonymous "master" lists ever again. Not very useful.
Sometimes operators shift frequency or activate their stations temporarily for special projects. The e-mail reflector Paul mentioned will sometimes provide clues as to those.
To get your own station in our list a bit sooner, please provide the same sort of information other operators furnish, including the contact list. Either post it here, or e-mail mb at lwca. Nearest town to the actual transmitter location is always useful, as is a snail-mail address. Believe it or not, a lot of traditional LowFER folks still don't use the Internet a lot! (The e-mail reflector has a core of barely 20 really active members out of a total of 200 mostly-lurkers. Our print publication has a readership of twice that total!)
John
Wolf copy
Posted by Lloyd Chastant on February 05, 2010 at 18:39:27.
Here in Maryland having a big snow storm 8-10in already(forecast >24in) but took a look at TAG wolf 185.8Khz..
de Lloyd W3NF
2010-02-06 02:19:01 >WOLF10 -r 7999.440 -f 800 -t 1.0 -d 31 -w 0.0000 New beacon IO on the air!
Wolf copy by W3NF FM19
t: 24 f: 0.691 a: 1.4 dp:109.0 ci:12 cj:426 TVDTRLGD/PB9CYO ?
t: 48 f: 0.690 a: 1.4 dp:106.8 ci: 5 cj:381 ???2U17.YM* U5A ?
t: 96 f:-0.796 a: 0.2 dp:104.2 ci: 7 cj:191 ???FTTWPLHE/587 ?
t: 192 f:-0.029 pm: 1507 jm: 38 q: -6.6 -6.8 YM1HS*???NMQXC5 ?
t: 288 f:-0.029 pm: 4037 jm: 38 q: -1.6 -2.6 TAG RAYMOND ME -
t: 384 f:-0.029 pm: 5786 jm: 38 q: -1.0 -1.9 TAG RAYMOND ME -
t: 480 f:-0.029 pm: 6062 jm: 38 q: -1.4 -1.9 TAG RAYMOND ME -
t: 576 f:-0.029 pm: 7024 jm: 38 q: -0.5 -0.7 TAG RAYMOND ME -
t: 672 f:-0.029 pm: 9625 jm: 38 q: 0.8 0.7 TAG RAYMOND ME -
t: 768 f:-0.029 pm:11395 jm: 38 q: 1.6 1.7 TAG RAYMOND ME -
t: 864 f:-0.029 pm:13157 jm: 38 q: 2.3 2.5 TAG RAYMOND ME -
Posted by Craig - N6IO on February 05, 2010 at 22:08:54.
In reply to Re: New beacon IO on the air posted by PAUL DAULTON on February 02, 2010
I calibrated my gear using the broadcaster at 183 KHz so I'm pretty sure my frequency is accurate to .01 Hz.
My beacon is on the air at:
Frequency: 185.3001 KHz
ID: IO
Location: Swanton, MD
Grid Square: FM09im
Mode: QRSS60
Antenna is about 20 ft vertical with a single wire top hat.
It should be on 24/7 unless I'm playing with the loading coils.
Craig Changes for lowfer SIW
Posted by Garry C Hess on February 06, 2010 at 00:04:08.
Bob, NK9M, and I braved the sleet/snow this afternoon and replaced the
original 185.185 kHz QRSS30 setup with new hardware programmed for
185.2993 kHz QRSS60. A larger deep discharge battery and larger solar
panel now power the beacon so it can run untethered. The antenna/ground
system are unchanged so it's still probably pretty anemic in ERP but
work on that will have to wait for better weather.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL Watering hole
(SIW, Oswego, IL EN51uq)
Posted by Roger on February 07, 2010 at 05:52:23.
Four lowfers seen in the watering hole over night. WMS I know its you Paul but I cannot quite see all three characters in the same capture. MP in most of the time with good signal. SIW Nice copy Garry. Easy to ID you, In and out but very good at times. COV You were in there too Charlie. Was a good night for LF reception, thanks all. "PBO" off the air
Roger, K0MVJ, lowfer RM
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on February 07, 2010 at 12:16:30.
I am shutting down for a few days to do some listening. Theres a few new beacons Id like to look for. Thanks to everyone who tried to find my signal. Current frequency
73
Rick KA2PBO
"PBO" 187.2 Khz QRSS60
Posted by Andy - Beacon XR on February 08, 2010 at 12:12:27.
Beacon " XR " is operating on the frequency of 185,298.75 Hz in QRSS-60 mode.
EH HiFer Heard
Posted by Rob Steiger on February 12, 2010 at 09:03:26.
I heard EH on 13.557 out of EastHaven, CT. This morning at 07:50 CST mobile.
589 copy, slight QSB,was able to copy it all the way into work.
Rx Ft100 and Atas 100 antenna
Beacon "JAM" on air
Posted by Lee on February 12, 2010 at 16:26:41.
Beacon JAM 188khz plus or minus a couple of hz, will be on the air until the next weather event. CW at 5 WPM. Working on programing the keyer for 5 WPM and qrss 30. DM04uf about 1700 ft elevation. La Crescenta, LA County, CA. Now with copius amounts of antenna current. AM88 hardware. More skirt adjustments have been made. Thanks to all who give it a listen.
73 Lee
Hifers - EH - NDB and AZ heard today
Posted by Mark on February 13, 2010 at 11:44:55.
Caught EH on 13777.084 at 1632, on 13562.02 heard NDB on CW and then caught the QRSS signal sending AZ at 1714. ALso found AZ in CW down on 13554.5~ at 1732. Thought a couple of times I was hearing/seeing a signal at ~13560 a couple of times but have QRM there making it tough on that freq for me. Will have to try again there.
73, Mark in NUT Re: Hifers - EH - NDB and AZ heard today
DN41af
Posted by Jeff K8NDB on February 14, 2010 at 07:15:29.
In reply to Hifers - EH - NDB and AZ heard today posted by Mark on February 13, 2010
Mark,
Thank you for the signal report. It is always nice to know that the beacon is getting out. I am amazed that you were able to copy EH at your QTH. I will have to give a listen today for EH. Propagation conditions have been very good here in AZ the last few days.
Jeff K8NDB WEB temp off the air
NDB HiFer 13.562020 MHz
ID: NDB 10 WPM, AZ QRSS-3
Posted by Paul Daulton on February 14, 2010 at 07:24:45.
I got an email from Bill Bowers that WEB is temp off the air. His antenna was damaged in a storm . Bill says he will try to get it back up when the weather improves. WEB is on 189950 qrss 30.
Paul k5wms
EH HiFer Heard
Posted by Rob Steiger on February 14, 2010 at 08:44:27.
EH heard 09:55 CST 14 Feb 2010 Mobile 339 Cissna Park, IL.
EH copied at Home Qth 10:18 559 Paxton, IL.
QTK 235 khz
Posted by Rob Steiger on February 14, 2010 at 08:55:39.
Anyone know where QTK at 235 khz is located. I looked at the Station List Compiled by William Hepburn, LWCA and didn't see it there..
Copied at 10:45 CST 549 solid
Rob
DCF77 received aurally in TN.
Posted by Andy - KU4XR on February 14, 2010 at 11:14:58.
Greetings all; and best wishes::
I have beentrying for over 2 years, and 2-13-2010 the propagation was great,
and I was able to decode " DCF77 " with MultiPSK Clock. The signal peaked
at S-6, solid copy. I made a recording of the signal, but it had began to fade and was showing signs of multipath. I also have a screen shot of the decode. Both can be acessed at :::
http://webpages.charter.net/ku4xr/DCF77%20-%202-13-2010/
73 All:::
Re: QTK 235 khz
Andy - KU4XR - EM75xr - Friendsville, TN.
LOWfer Beacon " XR " @ 185.29866 KHz ( QRSS-60 )
Coordinates: N: 35º 43' 54" - W: 84º 3' 16"
Posted by Matt Burns on February 14, 2010 at 13:37:30.
In reply to QTK 235 khz posted by Rob Steiger on February 14, 2010
Maybe you heard CTK on 236? There's also an XQA on 236 or EQQ on 234 that could have donated a "Q".
CTK
CANTON NDB
CANTON, IL
Location
Lat/Long: 40-33-57.140N / 090-04-37.424W (40.5658722/-90.0770622)
Elevation: 715 ft.
Variation: 02E (1980)
Operational Characteristics
Type: NDB Re: QTK 235 khz
Class: MHW
Frequency: 236
TACAN channel:
Hours of operation: 24
Voice: no
Voice ID: yes
Morse ID: -.-. - -.-
NOTAM facility: IKK
FSS:
FSS hours of operation: 24
Posted by Rob Steiger on February 14, 2010 at 19:37:19.
In reply to Re: QTK 235 khz posted by Matt Burns on February 14, 2010
Yep CTK... Don't know why I put QTK in the log... Funny thing is when I first heard it, I thought it was a bad CQ (putting the T&K together) That is what caught my attention at first. Oh well a little Sunday Morning Dain Bramage..
Thanks Rob
Re: EH HiFer Heard
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on February 15, 2010 at 07:11:33.
In reply to EH HiFer Heard posted by Rob Steiger on February 14, 2010
15 Feb. 2010, 1225-1235 UT. EH on 13557 KHz, heard while checking band, quite strong, 559 or so, but faded to noise level by 1300 UT. No other stations heard. R5000 rcvr and 20 ft. vertical. Ed EM50bk
Another nice copy on DCF77
Posted by Andy - KU4XR on February 18, 2010 at 07:12:45.
Propagation was very good again in the LF region on 2/17/2010 in the evening hours. I heard DCF77 by ear again, not quite as strong as on the 13th, but still very good until around 05:00 UTC ( mid-night EST ) when it started to EH HiFer Heard
fade out. I tried from about 7:30 pm, until around 11:30pm to get a Clock decode
on the Swiss time station " HBG " on 75 KHz, but never could. A nice carrier line was showing on ARGO, but there was just not enough signal level for a decode on MultiPSK Clock. Other notes; as would be expected; WWVB on 60 KHz was exceptionally strong, continuously peaking above S-9. And just for the fun of it, I tried on a longshot to see if I could see a carrier line from Japans time station " JJY " on 40 KHz. I set ARGO for QRSS-120, and let it run from 12:30pm EST until 7:15am. Plenty of visible static crashes, but no " JJY " carrier line was visible. Had fun with it anyway. 73 everyone; Andy - KU4XR - Beacon " XR "
Posted by Rob Steiger on February 20, 2010 at 06:49:08.
EH Heard the last 3 mornings 07:30 cst and again going to lunch 449, 349, 459.
Didn't get a chance to post til today. Since I'm mobile I'm only looking for cw, I'm sure there are some QRSS beacons I'm not catching.
Rob
HiFer's EH and WV
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on February 20, 2010 at 18:35:54.
2 Feb., 2010--Have been hearing EH and WV beacons on 13557 and 13556KHz, over the past few days. Both 449 at times, and even 549 when the local noise dies down, and the SWBC on 13570KHz isn't splattering. Propagation seems very good at this time on HF. None of the other beacons heard. EdWSlidell EM50bk
Beacon Status - Feb. 2010
Posted by J.B. Weazle McCreath on February 21, 2010 at 09:31:18.
The information regarding beacon EAR is accurate as of 21 Feb. 2010.
Cheers & 73, J.B. DCF77 QSL card
Posted by Andy - KU4XR on February 21, 2010 at 10:35:34.
Thank you to those who helped me get in touch with the correct person
to obtain the QSL from DCF77. They accepted my report as accurate.
I have posted the QSL, front and back sides at :
http://webpages.charter.net/ku4xr/DCF77%20-%202-13-2010/
73 to all :::
Re: Beacon Status - Feb. 2010
Andy - KU4XR - EM75xr - Friendsville, TN. USA
LOWfer Beacon " XR " @ 185.29875 KHz ( QRSS-60 )
Coordinates: N: 35º 43' 54" - W: 84º 3' 16"
Posted by John Davis on February 21, 2010 at 13:07:31.
In reply to Beacon Status - Feb. 2010 posted by J.B. Weazle McCreath on February 21, 2010
Thanks very much, J.B.
Beacon "JAM" 188khz On Air
Posted by Lee on February 22, 2010 at 14:13:08.
On air untill the next weather event. 188khz plus or minus a couple of hz. Now 2 messages. First message qrss30, second message 5 wpm.
73 HiFer heard in Hawaii
Lee
Posted by Paul on February 22, 2010 at 19:50:21.
Just got a QSL from KH7T who copied K6FRC HiFer in Hawaii on the 16th. Cool!! He used a stepper ant and a K3 for receiver.
Re: HiFer WV
Posted by michael tyler on February 22, 2010 at 20:25:45.
In reply to HiFer's EH and WV posted by EdWSlidell,LA on February 20, 2010
Thanks for the report on HiFer WV.....The snow is so deep here that the box containing the transmitter and power supply is half covered in snow with the vertical antenna base just a few inches above the snow level...thanks again..mike
Re: HiFer heard in Hawaii
Posted by Gregg on February 23, 2010 at 00:21:01.
In reply to HiFer heard in Hawaii posted by Paul on February 22, 2010
Holy farnarckle! Congrats!!!
Re: HiFer heard in Hawaii
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on February 23, 2010 at 07:05:07.
In reply to Re: HiFer heard in Hawaii posted by Gregg on February 23, 2010
Really fine Paul. That's a lot of miles per watt. What's in that shipping container the antenna's mounted on? A big amp.? Heh, heh. EdWSldell,LA
Re: HiFer heard in Hawaii
Posted by Paul on February 23, 2010 at 07:49:48.
In reply to Re: HiFer heard in Hawaii posted by EdWSlidell,LA on February 23, 2010
An FM (broadcast) transmitter, a rack of gear, an air conditioner, paneling, linoleum, air, etc...
K6FRC HiFER
Posted by Jeff K8NDB on February 24, 2010 at 10:50:27.
Nice copy on the K6FRC HiFer at 1841Z on 13.565 MHz, RST 519. No other HiFers copied.
Jeff K8NDB Rycom 6040 schematic/service manual
NDB HiFer 13.562020 MHz
ID: "NDB" 10 WPM, "AZ" QRSS-3
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on February 25, 2010 at 06:39:35.
Hi guys,
I have this Rycom 6040 sitting here with a dead display and meter. I have a user manual but it doesnt have a schematic. It receives fine but I dont know what freq Im on! Does anyone have a schematic and or service manual?
Thanks ! Ant current dry conditions vs wet conditions
Rick KA2PBO
"PBO" 187.2 Khz QRSS/60
Posted by Lee on February 25, 2010 at 18:14:10.
I think it was Andy who posted his observations about the large differences in ant current under dry or icy conditions vs wet conditions. My recent observations tend to mirror his. Playing around with the coil tap I use to connect to the xmiter I see some improvement. I have noted that under dry conditions I can connect my xmiter to either one of 2 adjacent taps at the base of the coil and get virtually the same max antenna current reading. Under wet/misty conditions only one of those taps gives a usefull antenna current reading. The coil tap that gives the best ant current readings wet or dry conditions is the tap closer to the base/grd connections. About 1.5 turns up. The tap that gives good dry conditions ant current but lousy wet conditions ant current is about 2.5 turns from the base/grd. Just my 2 bits.
73 Lee
EH HiFer Heard
Posted by Rob Steiger on February 26, 2010 at 07:18:04.
EH again this morning, RST559 some QSB, lot of QRN. I suspect if I tuned in everyday at the morning greyline I'd hear EH.
I catch or think I catch parts of others, lots of stuff around 13.555
Thought I heard "L" at 13.559.5 RST129 QRN
To much noise at my QTH so I listen mobile on the way to work. I tune the ATAS 100 ant for resonance at 13.552.
73 Rob
Re: CORR Ant current dry conditions vs wet conditions
Posted by Lee on February 26, 2010 at 12:28:23.
In reply to Ant current dry conditions vs wet conditions posted by Lee on February 25, 2010
Correction on the coil taps. The tap that provides the best ant current wet or dry conditions is 3 turns from the bottom/grd. The tap that only provides good ant current dry conditions is 2 turns from the bottom/grd.
73 Lee
Re: EH HiFer Heard
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on February 26, 2010 at 13:23:31.
In reply to EH HiFer Heard posted by Rob Steiger on February 26, 2010
Happy to hear you are hearing EH, I nearly shut it off , but condx seem to be getting better. I heard "L" also at times plus alot of stuff around 13.555. SZX has been coming through at times wid QSB.A sweeping hash signal throughout the hifer band has hampered copy here. Re: CORR Ant current dry conditions vs wet conditions
later ....Sal
Posted by Andy - XR on February 28, 2010 at 11:03:42.
In reply to Re: CORR Ant current dry conditions vs wet conditions posted by Lee on February 26, 2010
Lee: That's the same here with my vertical antenna, only I am using a paint bucket variometer setup to tune my antenna with. When dry, I need more Inductance ( for you - more taps ), and when wet, less inductance ( less taps ) .However, when the ground is wet, the ground losses increase tremendously. That's just a fact that I found out you have to live with when using a vertical under part-15 specs.
73 OM; and good beaconing
Andy - KU4XR - Beacon " XR "
potrzebie