Past LW Messages - February 2016

Longwave Antenna Tuner
Posted by Bill KB9IV on February 02, 2016 at 19:23:29.

Hi Group Slightly Off-Topic. I have a Fullwave 80 Meter square loop fed with 450 Ohm ladder line.
How can I resonate this antenna below 500 Khz?? You may respond off-line.

Thanks & 73

Bill KB9IV

Re: WM Lowfer Off the Air
Posted by Mike N8OOU on February 03, 2016 at 01:20:20.
In reply to WM Lowfer Off the Air posted by Mike N8OOU on January 27, 2016

Back on tonight (2/2) with updates to the graphic.

Mike.

Re: Any thoughts on autoconversion of live links?
Posted by Paul on February 03, 2016 at 06:20:40.
In reply to Re: Any thoughts on autoconversion of live links? posted by Ed Holland on January 21, 2016

Option 1, please.

Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner
Posted by John Davis on February 03, 2016 at 06:31:18.
In reply to Longwave Antenna Tuner posted by Bill KB9IV on February 02, 2016

Hi, Bill. If the object is to resonate the antenna below 500 kHz, that's certainly not off-topic and responses should be on-line.

One question to help clarify the topic, though: are you actually hoping to resonate the antenna at 500 kHz as a loop, or as a top-loaded vertical?

Thanks.

John

Re: WM Lowfer Off the Air
Posted by John Davis on February 03, 2016 at 06:33:24.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer Off the Air posted by Mike N8OOU on February 03, 2016

Thanks for the update, Mike. Good to have WM back.

Turned out to be too soggy here to get to the field today, but I'll look for it later in the week.

John

Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner
Posted by Bill KB9IV on February 03, 2016 at 18:00:48.
In reply to Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner posted by John Davis on February 03, 2016

Hi john It can be loaded as a loop or single wire not a vertical.
It's about 300' square with 450 Ohm ladder line.

Thanks

Bill KB9IV

MLS BEACON
Posted by Mark on February 03, 2016 at 19:05:58.

Hi all, sorry I haven't posted any comments about my beacon MLS so far this season. Thanks for all the signal reports! The reason I have been off line is I suffered a heart attack On January 8th. I made it to the hospital ok and the Doctors fixed me up. I'm well along the road to recovery but it will take several weeks.One of my Ham buddies has been keeping an eye on the beacon and the antenna. So far it's been working fine. I now have 13 States that have received my signal. Really neat..... I should be back up to sppeed by Spring and back working on my radio hobbies. Thanks again for the reports.... Mark AC8CL

477 transmit QSO PARTY
Posted by VE3OT on February 03, 2016 at 19:54:23.

M P has changed to 477 kHz. Set up for QSO weekend - Friday and Saturday evening 0000Z - 0400Z. ( 7 - 11 PM EST)
Listening 3563 kHz and 7058 kHz for crossband QSOs at that time.

Transmitting on 477 kHz now for testing - CW ID @ 12 WPM

73

Re: MLS BEACON
Posted by John Davis on February 03, 2016 at 20:42:10.
In reply to MLS BEACON posted by Mark on February 03, 2016

Wow, that's not much fun, but I'm glad to hear you're recovering OK!

Been meaning to post my LowFER results here but have been procrastinating too much. Had really good reception of MLS for a few ID cycles in early January (below), but this past week the frequency has been plagued by multiple PLC carriers and power supply wanderers.

Hang in there, Mark!

Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner
Posted by Ed WSlidell,LA on February 04, 2016 at 14:27:11.
In reply to Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner posted by Bill KB9IV on February 03, 2016

Hi Bill. About how high is the (horizontal?)loop mounted? Is it fed in the center of one side of the square or at one corner? Ed

Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner
Posted by John Davis on February 04, 2016 at 15:42:14.
In reply to Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner posted by Ed WSlidell,LA on February 04, 2016

Good questions, Ed. These will be important in order for someone to come up with a good answer.

Also, Bill, how long is the run of ladder line, and roughly at what average angle to the ground does it run? And, how high off the ground is the loop? Do you have an antenna analyzer, impedance bridge, or other method of determining the capacitance of the whole thing to ground in the single-wire connection?

Operation at wg2xsv fri/sat night
Posted by Neil Klagge on February 06, 2016 at 00:34:34.

WG2XSV, Vancouver WA, will be running a CW beacon on ~476.1 kHz until late saturday night PST except when engaging in cross band QSO's or listening for the ship and shore marine transmissions. At bedtime on saturday night I will probably switch back to wspr on 630m.

The CW beacon has an estimated ERP of about 1 watt (+/- 1 dB). The freq might be shifted if necessary +/- QRM or QRN

Reports appreciated to w0yse arrl net or w0yse msn com

Tnx, 73

Neil Klagge
w0yse, wg2xsv, Vancouver WA
CN85rq

At Last -- RQ !
Posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016 at 05:25:30.

Began HiFER monitoring this morning a little before 9:30 AM CST. No luck with SIW in WSPR-2 today, or any other opening to Illinois, but NC, USC, EH, and RY were visible at the watering hole. No WV today; a little MTI plus a continuous, slightly wandering carrier just above it; no GNK; and fair aural reception of FRC topped off the morning before I parked on the watering hole for several hours.

At mid afternoon I took another break for a band scan. Still no WV. MTI's wandering companion was almost right on the same frequency as MTI now; no GNK and only slight FRC. But...

Upon tuning to 13563.5 as I still do intermittently, I could hear the usual menagerie of carriers that beat together and thereby try to pass themselves off as high speed CW. A couple seconds past 2:26 PM, I heard a reasonably authentic sounding "R" but didn't put any faith in it at first. Then, a very convincing "Q" followed immediately! The next ID was a little weaker, so I couldn't be positive I heard what I thought I did, but then came a third ID and there was no doubt. Frequency turns out to be approximately 13,563.550 kHz, about 50 Hz higher than listed.

After that, the signal faded below audibility, but the keyed carrier remained visible on Argo at QRSS3 speed a little while longer. After all these months, it's a start!

John

Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner
Posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016 at 18:59:52.
In reply to Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner posted by John Davis on February 04, 2016

One other quetion, Bill: is this for receive or transmit use?

Saturday HiFERs
Posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016 at 19:14:41.

At 10:30 CST this morning, RY, EH, USC and (after retuning, as it was up out of my passband) NC were visible. WV was faintly visible and sometimes barely audible. MTI was quite loud, but no sign of PBJ. Nothing but noise lines around RQ. No GNK, whose continued absence is becoming a bit alarming. FRC was faintly visible and sometimes audible for a character or two. This was a "Tier 2" search, meaning that I was looking for all my regulars (Tier 1) plus extras that seem like I should hear them once in a while...such as Ed H., SZX, and RQ.

At 12:30 PM, I did a "Tier 3" search, which is everybody shown on the list as currently being operational, including AZ, TSN, and NDB. Results were similar to the earlier scan, except WV and FRC were a bit weaker, though still visible and only occasionally audible, and RY was very intermittent. No sign of anyone from IL yet on either QRSS or WSPR, which is the primary object of my monitoring today.

John

Re: At Last -- RQ !
Posted by Bill Hensel on February 06, 2016 at 20:04:43.
In reply to At Last -- RQ ! posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016

John,

Congrats on hearing RQ....a QSL card will be issued and I'll get it in the mail Monday. You can count on it.
73

Re: At Last -- RQ !
Posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016 at 20:52:28.
In reply to Re: At Last -- RQ ! posted by Bill Hensel on February 06, 2016

Thanks so much, Bill!

Re: Saturday HiFERs
Posted by k3etd on February 06, 2016 at 21:57:01.
In reply to Saturday HiFERs posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016

Hi John, just reading your posts and punched in 13564 khz I have GNK here but rather weak at this time. He's usually much stonger. I'm hearing RQ though.

Chuck

Re: Saturday HiFERs
Posted by Domenic on February 06, 2016 at 21:58:06.
In reply to Saturday HiFERs posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016

The GNK beacon has been up and running normal.

Domenic KC9GNK

Re: Saturday HiFERs
Posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016 at 22:06:49.
In reply to Re: Saturday HiFERs posted by Domenic on February 06, 2016

Thanks for the update, Domenic. Most likely the pesky first skip zone (the bane of my existence re: Illinois and Colorado) has widened a bit at 22 meters. It'll probably improve gradually as we get a little farther past solar max.

Re: Saturday HiFERs
Posted by Bill Hensel on February 06, 2016 at 22:34:03.
In reply to Re: Saturday HiFERs posted by k3etd on February 06, 2016

Chuck thanks for mentioning RQ...looks like a QSL coming to you also.

Re: Saturday HiFERs (WSPR Quest)
Posted by John Davis on February 07, 2016 at 07:06:37.
In reply to Re: Saturday HiFERs posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016

Three short openings in an hour and 50 minutes this afternoon yielded some WSPR decodes from SIW at 13,555.40 kHz each time.

2044 -19 -2.2  13.555405  0 K3SIW EN52 7
2048 -18 -1.9  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7
2052 -24 -1.6  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7

2144 -22 -1.4  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7
2148 -23 -1.8  13.555400  0 K3SIW EN52 7

2208 -23 -1.8  13.555400  0 K3SIW EN52 7
 2212 -22 -1.9  13.555400  0 K3SIW EN52 7

Meanwhile, the path from SIW slant mode (which uses the same antenna) suddenly switched on and just as abruptly switched off three times in the same hour and 50 minute span, as seen below. I have observed that the path turn-on most generally begins with the signal path splitting into two parts, one rising and one descending in frequency, then looping back together; or sometimes, it begins with the signal already split into two parts, with the difference widening between them. (Scroll right and left as needed.)

Meanwhile, here's a look at the WSPR signals themselves in Argo at QRSS3 Slow speed. This capture is from the first band opening, and shows the second and third visible WSPR transmission timeslots. The first one in the preceding frame (not shown) was of fair strength and looked complete, yet did not decode. The second (at the left of this frame) was strong and clean...but still did not decode. The first timeslot that DID decode was the third one, at right, a couple of Hz higher than its predecessor. I have no explanation for that.

Re: Saturday HiFERs (Other)
Posted by John Davis on February 07, 2016 at 07:32:27.
In reply to Re: Saturday HiFERs (WSPR Quest) posted by John Davis on February 07, 2016

Between 4:30 and 5:30 PM CST, there were quite a few very strong signals early on, once again dwindling away to leave only RY at the watering hole. Before that, RY, EH, USC, and NC were shining forth abundant signal levels. No WV, but MTI and PBJ were both prominently loud, albeit with considerable deep fades. No GNK, but FRC could be seen and sometimes heard for two or three characters in a row.

Re: Saturday HiFERs (WSPR Quest)
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on February 07, 2016 at 14:17:43.
In reply to Re: Saturday HiFERs (WSPR Quest) posted by John Davis on February 07, 2016

John, very interesting captures. For the time periods you mention my local monitoring produced the following:

160206 2044 41 8 -1.9 13.555405 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2048 41 8 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2052 41 8 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2056 41 8 -1.2 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2100 41 8 -1.1 13.555402 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2104 41 8 -1.1 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2108 41 8 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2112 41 8 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2116 41 8 -1.2 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2120 41 8 -1.1 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2124 41 9 -2.0 13.555402 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2128 40 8 -1.5 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2132 41 9 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2136 41 9 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2140 40 8 -1.1 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2144 41 8 -1.0 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2148 40 8 -1.5 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2152 41 8 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2156 41 8 -1.2 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2200 40 8 -1.2 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2204 40 8 -1.1 13.555402 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2208 41 8 -1.6 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7
160206 2212 41 8 -1.4 13.555401 K3SIW EN52 7

Of particular note is the higher frequency reported at 2044Z, just like you observed. The transmitter is an Ultimate3S with GPS-disciplined external 27 MHz clock. I have to use a GPS interface to keep the timing decent for WSPR operation. I thought I had disabled frequency netting but perhaps the uP is trying to shift the clock anyway.

As to why no decodes occurred when the signal was nicely visible on the waterfall, perhaps the severe multipath at the start was to blame.

That slash code/QRSS30 capture sure is weird. Sorry for the drift. I think it's because of the cheap op amps I'm using. The basic frequency is tied to GPS but over time and temperature the op amp offsets drift, and that in turn moves the OCXO frequency.

73, Garry, K3SIW

Re: Saturday HiFERs (WSPR Quest)
Posted by John Davis on February 07, 2016 at 15:15:02.
In reply to Re: Saturday HiFERs (WSPR Quest) posted by Garry, K3SIW on February 07, 2016

"As to why no decodes occurred when the signal was nicely visible on the waterfall, perhaps the severe multipath at the start was to blame."

That's probably the case. The WSPR signal looks no different to the eye, but if the same sort of signal splitting of up to 0.5 Hz is present (as it undoubtedly has to be) that would probably confuse the decoding algorithm. Too bad the ALL_WSPR.txt file logs only successful decodes. It would be interesting to see how long the program worked on trying to decode the ones that failed.

Thanks for the comment on the slash code drift. There have been times that it was nice and level all the way through a capture, so I've never been sure whether the driftier days were the result of the transmitter wandering, or the ionosphere, or my radio's battery running down. (Some days it could be a combination of all three, I suppose.) The CODAR lines aren't much help in pinning it down, as those drift a lot more over the medium term than one would hope to see from such high-dollar GPS disciplined transmitters.

John

Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner
Posted by Bill KB9IV on February 07, 2016 at 20:20:37.
In reply to Re: Longwave Antenna Tuner posted by John Davis on February 06, 2016

John and Ed I've decided to use my new AL 1530 LNP loop as primary and the Pixel Pro1B Loop for phasing. I'll prepare the 80 Meter Fullwave Loop til next year.

Best Dx

Bill KB9IV

Re: 477 transmit QSO PARTY
Posted by Bob Griffin on February 6, 2016 at 03:54:52.

Re: US Experimental Licenses at 630 Meters
Posted by Webmaster on February 12, 2016 at 17:21:50.
In reply to Re: 477 transmit QSO PARTY posted by Bob Griffin on February 12, 2016

Bob, I'm sorry to report something unknown happened to your message before I had a backup copy of it. Could you post again, please?

Other members: if you kept a copy of Bob's message (I think it concerned his QSO with VE3OT), could you email it to me via mb at lwca dot org?

Thanks.

John

630 Meter US Experimental Licensees
Posted by John Davis on February 12, 2016 at 23:08:34.

To illustrate the high level of interest in the potential new amateur band at 472-479 kHz, here's a list of amateur-owned stations that currently are (or have recently been) licensed to operate in and near that band under Part 5, Experimental Radio Service. This list is from the January 1 quarterly report by Fritz Raab W1FR, Experiment Coordinator for the ARRL's WD2XSH license, with Rudy Severns and John Langridge.

(This is also partly a demonstration of new Message Board software features. It is now possible for everyone who uses this Board to do the same thing; namely, arrange lists of things in neat columns in their posts, which depends on letters being evenly spaced. See a later post for details.)

John

CALL   NUMBER QTH          f, kHz     ERP, W  DATES               NOTES

WA2XRM    1   CO           480         100    01/01/09 - 01/01/14
WD2XGI    1   MN           460 - 490     1    04/17/14 - 05/01/19
WD2XSH   43   USA          495 - 510    20    09/13/06 - 08/01/15
                           461 - 478
WE2XGR    8   New England  493 - 515  1000    09/05/07 - 04/15/15
                           460 - 480
WE2XFX    1   OK           505 - 510    20    07/27/07 - 07/26/12  Exp.
WE2XTT    1   PA           505 - 510  1500*   09/08/08 - 09/01/13
WE2XPQ    1   AK           505 - 510   200    06/05/08 - 06/01/18
                           460 - 480
WE2XVY    1   AZ           500 - 510   200    12/09/08 - 12/01/10  SK
WF2XAU    1   FL           505 - 510    10    06/23/09 - 01/01/10  Exp.

WF2XXQ    1   FL           495 - 505   500    10/14/11 - 10/01/16
WG2XCT    1   SC           465 - 510   500    03/14/12 - 03/01/14
WG2XFQ    1   VA           483 - 510    20    06/08/12 - 06/01/14
WG2XIQ    1   TX           465 - 478     1    09/12/12 - 09/01/16
WG2XJM    1   PA           460 - 480   100    10/24/12 - 11/01/16
                           495 - 515   100
WG2XKA    1   VT           460 - 490     1    10/24/12 - 11/01/14
WG2XPJ    1   VT           472 - 479     1    05/14/13 - 05/01/20
WG2XSV    1   WA           472 - 479     1    11/13/13 - 11/01/17
WG2XUX    1   KS           472 - 429     1    08/29/13 - 09/01/18
WG2XXM    1   OK           472 - 479     1    12/03/13 - 12/01/15

WH2XAR    1   AZ           472 - 479     1    04/01/14 - 04/01/16
WH2XCR    1   HI           465 - 490     1    04/09/14 - 04/01/16
WH2XES    1   TX           465 - 478     1    05/16/14 - 06/01/16
WH2XGP    1   WA           470 - 480    20    06/24/14 - 07/01/16
WH2XGZ    1   TX           472 - 479     1    07/03/14 - 07/01/16
WH2XHY    1   WI           472 - 479    20    08/01/14 - 08/01/16
WH2XIL    1   MA           460 - 488  1000    08/14/14 - 08/01/19
                           491 - 517  1000

WH2XND    1   AZ           470 - 495    10    12/03/14 - 12/01/16
WH2XNG    1   PA           465 - 478    20    12/02/14 - 12/04/19
WH2XNV    1   MT           472 - 479     5    12/16/14 - 01/01/17
WG2XNI    1   CO           465 - 480     5    12/31/14 - 04/01/16
WG2XXM    1   OK           471 - 479    10    10/15/15 - 12/01/17
WH2XPK    1   PA           460 - 480    20    02/26/15 - 03/01/17
WH2XQC    1   TX           465 - 480     5    03/04/15 - 03/01/17
WH2XRR    1   MD           472 - 479     1    04/14/15 - 04/01/17

WH2XTW    1   CA           465 - 478    20    05/28/15 - 06/01/17
WH2XUR    1   OH           460 - 480   100    06/25/15 - 07/01/17
WH2XXC    1   MD           472 - 479     5    07/30/15 - 08/01/17
WH2XXP    1   AZ           460 - 495    10    08/21/15 - 09/01/17
WH2XYA    1   VA           460 - 495    10    Dismissed
WH2XZM    1   OR           460 - 490    10    10/19/15 - 11/01/17
WH2XZO    1   SC           472 - 479    10    10/19/15 - 11/01/17
WI2XBQ    1   CA           472 - 429     5    12/07/15 - 12/01/17
WI2XBV    1   FL           465 - 480     5    Pending

* RF output to antenna

New Message Board Feature (& Progress Report)
Posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016 at 00:27:12.

Got a new feature to tell you about, and it's available to everyone--but first, this (non)commercial message.

Work on the Authenticated Authors plan is proceeding, albeit slightly slower than planned. The primary changes to the Message Board itself are already in place and waiting for users. The author registration page and software are working, but are still being debugged. The final step will be the moderator approval tool, once the signup requests work perfectly.

But as I mentioned, here's a new feature of the Board that you can use whether you're logged in as an Authenticated Author or not: pre-formatted text. Why? You've probably seen people post WOLF or WSPR decodes here as part of their posts, or try to post lists with neatly organized columns. Problem is, the normal fonts used in nearly all Web pages have letters that occupy different amounts of space. An "i" is much narrower than a "W" for instance. The width may even be different for the same letter between different fonts; for example- I I
or between bold, normal, and italic within the same font- I I I
And, of course, different fonts treat spaces between letters differently too...not to mention that browsers skip what they consider extraneous spaces in text. I wrote the word "spaces" in the previous sentence with three blank spaces in front and three behind it (you can use View Source to confirm it), but your browser only shows you one space on either side, because that's the rule for HTML display.

The result is that you can spend a lot of time writing something that looks like this in the composition window...

WA2XRM     1  CO           480         100    01/01/09 - 01/01/14
WD2XGI     1  MN           460 - 490     1    04/17/14 - 05/01/19
WD2XSH    43  USA          495 - 510    20    09/13/06 - 08/01/15
                           461 - 478
WE2XGR     8  New England  493 - 515  1000    09/05/07 - 04/15/15
                           460 - 480
WE2XFX     1  OK           505 - 510    20    07/27/07 - 07/26/12  Expired

WD2XGI 1 MN 460 - 490 1 04/17/14 - 05/01/19
WD2XSH 43 USA 495 - 510 20 09/13/06 - 08/01/15
461 - 478
WE2XGR 8 New England 493 - 515 1000 09/05/07 - 04/15/15
460 - 480
WE2XFX 1 OK 505 - 510 20 07/27/07 - 07/26/12 Expired

The solution? Use HTML <PRE> and </PRE> tags, then type your text between them with spaces and line breaks exactly as you want them to look. Like this:

<PRE>
WD2XGI     1  MN           460 - 490     1    04/17/14 - 05/01/19

WD2XSH    43  USA          495 - 510    20    09/13/06 - 08/01/15
                           461 - 478
WE2XGR     8  New England  493 - 515  1000    09/05/07 - 04/15/15
                           460 - 480
WE2XFX     1  OK           505 - 510    20    07/27/07 - 07/26/12  Expired
</PRE>

That'll do the trick. Or, in place of the <PRE> and </PRE> pair, you could use the BBCode equivalents, [code] and [/code], and the Board will perform the translation to HTML for you.

Just one note of caution, though. Be sure you remember to type both <PRE> and </PRE>, or both [code] and [/code]. If you type the opening tag but forget the closer, or if you try to mix-and-match between HTML and BBCode, it won't work!

This formatting feature is currently available to all users, right now, no registration or log-in required. The original plan was for it to be one of the features only available to Authenticated Authors, but for the time being, we'll keep it open to all and see how it works out.

John

A Quick Survey
Posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016 at 05:39:28.

I'd like your feedback on the splitting of the categories in the Message Board...specifically, whether the layout is OK. I made the two boxes, LF and HF, side by side more or less by default. Let me know if you'd prefer one above the other, or if you have some other suggestion for positioning them. Thanks.

Re: A Quick Survey
Posted by Domenic on February 13, 2016 at 13:16:55.
In reply to A Quick Survey posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016

I think it's a good idea and like it side by side.
Domenic, KC9GNK

Re: A Quick Survey
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on February 13, 2016 at 13:48:58.
In reply to A Quick Survey posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016

Looks good side by side and it makes it easy to see them both without having to scroll.

73, J.B., VE3EAR

Re: A Quick Survey
Posted by Sal,K1RGO on February 13, 2016 at 17:08:04.
In reply to A Quick Survey posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016

I like it.

Re: New Message Board Feature (& Progress Report)
Posted by Paul on February 13, 2016 at 19:12:32.
In reply to New Message Board Feature (& Progress Report) posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016

T H A N K     Y O U !

73, PS

Re: A Quick Survey
Posted by Paul on February 13, 2016 at 19:13:27.
In reply to A Quick Survey posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016

Neat!!!

Re: Saturday HiFERs (Other)
Posted by Paul on February 13, 2016 at 19:18:59.
In reply to Re: Saturday HiFERs (Other) posted by John Davis on February 07, 2016

PBJ looks like perfect copy! Nice work.

FL 13555.495 KHz
Posted by Dave on February 13, 2016 at 23:33:26.

FL is on with an improved signal in FSKCW8, then Slow Hell, followed finally by QRSS8.
I will be making more improvements to the antenna in the coming weeks.
Dave

Monday 2/15 HiFERs
Posted by John Davis on February 15, 2016 at 18:55:59.

Got back to the field today for the first time in over a week.

Conditions weren't ideal this morning. Most signals were weaker than average from mod-morning into the second half of the 11 o'clock hour (Central), and then things picked up a little. RY was visible at mid-morning but badly broken up, disappeared for a while, then began returning around 11:30. NC and EH were pretty consistently visible and EH was sometimes audible. No sign of WV today. MTI varied from good aural copy to quite loud, while PBJ was more variable, ranging from barely visible to nicely audible. None of the other CW beacons were audible, but I could see a bit of FRC's keying pattern. Some Spanish SSB from time to time. And, there was a fairly strong signal at 13562.5 that seemed to be random Morse sent with a very bad fist; no idea what that really was.

USC became very strong during the 11 AM hour...so much so that I had to shift down about 50 Hz to get it on the slope of the CW filter in order to have a shot with SIW in WSPR-2 mode. Nothing seen of anyone in IL by noon, but I'll keep looking.

John

Re: A Quick Survey
Posted by DaveC on February 15, 2016 at 18:59:38.
In reply to A Quick Survey posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016

I prefer LF & HF separated, too. Good idea!

Re: Monday 2/15 HiFERs--and GNK again!
Posted by John Davis on February 16, 2016 at 06:05:30.
In reply to Monday 2/15 HiFERs posted by John Davis on February 15, 2016

"Nothing seen of anyone in IL by noon..."

I was speaking a bit loosely there. In reality, I left the premises at 11:50 for a meeting, and before I even made it back to town, the path opened for about 22 minutes. During that time, these came through just fine:

1756 -21 -2.2  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7
1800 -23 -1.7  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7
1804 -21 -1.4  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7
1808 -24 -1.5  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7
1812 -25 -1.4  13.555401  0 K3SIW EN52 7

By late afternoon, band conditions in general seemed better. RY, EH, USC, and NC were all quite strong at times. Still no WV, but MTI and PBJ were both visible and audible most of the time. Between 4:40 and 4:45 PM CST, GNK was present with a very strong signal at times, although lots of QSB from one ID to the next. No copy or sighting of FRC this time.

I returned to the watering hole to watch some more for SIW, just in case, and at 4:50 PM the band opened again for 20 minutes. This time, something seemed to be complicating the decoding. Only one instance of the five-and-a-fraction that were visible on Argo actually decoded in WSPR, and it took a very long time.

Maximum Doppler split of the SIW slash mode signal today was only about 0.3 Hz, during the noontime episode. There was only a fraction of that split for the evening opening, but there were other strong signals nearby at that time.

Attached is a capture of the end of that last opening, documented by the abrupt disappearance of the slant mode signal under EH. The WSPR-2 signal is faint but seems to be clean enough. Note, also, the presence of a split in RY's signal of roughly 1 Hz. Unless I'm forgetting some prior instance, this may be the first time I've witnessed bifurcation on that one.

John

File Attachment: Argo QRSS3 Capture

WM LowFer test
Posted by Mike N8OOU on February 16, 2016 at 20:53:55.

I am testing a modification to the WM LowFer exciter today, February 16. I am on the lookout for any frequency control issues or any transmission pattern blips. The beacon is running on it's own, without GPS support, in an un-heated metal shed. I plan to let it run for the next few days to observe the effects of the ambient temperature swings.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

CW QSO on 500 kHz
Posted by Jim VM on February 16, 2016 at 21:04:30.

Copied an amateur like QSO between stations KYVM and KXCH on or near 500 kHz CW.
2/16/16 20:55 Z.
Sounded like straight keys both sides.

jim vm

Re: CW QSO on 500 kHz
Posted by Paul on February 17, 2016 at 05:38:43.
In reply to CW QSO on 500 kHz posted by Jim VM on February 16, 2016

It WAS straight key on both sides. Good work, OM.

Re: Authenticated Author Progress Report
Posted by John Davis on February 18, 2016 at 11:15:22.
In reply to Authenticated Author Progress Report posted by John Davis on January 31, 2016

The word "progress" seems to be mocking me tonight.

On January 31, I reported to you that all the initial features for Authenticated Authors were ready in the main Message Board software, and all that was necessary was to get it where you could sign up. I had posted a few messages at that time using authentication, but it had been quite a chore to register my password. I wanted it to be where you could use a simple form, and either of us moderators could do approvals with a few mouse clicks.

Over the past 18 days, I wrote the sign-up software AND the moderator tools AND the feature that flags to us when there are requests awaiting approval. This turned out to be a bit trickier than I expected, as the signup software not only has to interact with the signup form but also the approval software, under all possible conditions of user input and/or error. I finally got all those interactions smooth and stable by yesterday afternoon. Then I figured to tidy things up a bit, test authenticated posting again, and quietly turn everything on for you tonight.

Well, I figured wrong.

Now the message board software itself pretends it's never heard of authenticated authors. If I try to do an authenticated sign-in, the board thinks I've put no name at all on the post! The test for missing names comes well before the one for authentication, and I can still do the sign-in as a moderator (a nearly identical process, as I've done here), so this makes no sense.

Bottom line: I'm already late getting started on the LOWDOWN for the coming month, so I must discontinue coding for the next few days. Sorry for the delay.

When I resume, there will once again be extended periods when the board will be read-only, rather like January. I haven't had to do that very often over the past few weeks, because tests of the sign-up process didn't involve any substantive changes to the regular board. (That's another thing that makes the current misbehavior so puzzling.) However, the next round of work will entail extensive insertion and removal of debugging code, so there will be several caution flags and/or read-only periods next week, mainly in mid-afternoon and late-night hours.

Thank you for your patience.

John

Re: Authenticated Author Progress Report
Posted by John Davis on February 18, 2016 at 20:31:26.
In reply to Re: Authenticated Author Progress Report posted by John Davis on February 18, 2016

Sometimes I'm stubborn. After a short nap and breakfast, I resumed work, writing lots of new debugging code until I finally found the error. An instruction that should have alerted us to a file opening problem inadvertently got copied into the afflicted routine from the wrong place, and therefore kicked up an error message that made no sense.

In the process of tracking it down, I uncovered a couple of other things that could keep authentication from working properly in certain situations, so we won't be rolling out the new features until that's all fixed next week. The good news is, I shouldn't have to make the board read-only as long the next time I work on it.

John

Re: Authenticated Author Progress Report
Posted by John Davis on February 19, 2016 at 00:37:01.
In reply to Re: Authenticated Author Progress Report posted by John Davis on February 18, 2016

A further apology for the lengthy read-only interval this afternoon. The last four hours of it were unnecessary, and resulted from an inopportune combination of power outage and UPS backup failure. I thought the change had gone through prior to the outage, so I wasn't too worried; but when I got back to town this time, I discovered it hadn't.

Thur. 2/18 HiFERs (including FL)
Posted by John Davis on February 19, 2016 at 06:21:26.

Made a few bandscans today between Illinois openings, which I am still monitoring for WSPR from SIW. I started listening before sunrise, in fact, and between 7 AM and 7:30 CST I had partial copy of a DFCW signal with the apparent right timing to be 8-second dots. One of the captures is attached. Two problems in trying to confirm that's really what I was seeing: the high shift of maybe-FL is in collision with the lower frequency of USC; and second, at that slow a speed, QSB interrupts individual letters.

Others seen in the early morning session were NC, USC, and EH, all fairly strong and relatively steady in level, plus RY, starting out weak and broken up. Loud MTI, but no sign of PBJ. No WV, and nobody audible in the top half of the band (faint traces of the FRC keying pattern on Argo). No codar, either.

Between 9 and 9:30, I checked again. By then, RY was stronger and more reliable, and NC, USC and EH were in a more typical cycle of roughly 2-minute daytime peaks and fades. MTI was not so loud, but PBJ was visible (and partially audible), with some minor fading. There were hints of GK. FRC was visible, and moderately audible.

There were a few openings to IL during the noon hour, and again a couple more times during the afternoon. That will be the subject of another post later.

Beteen 3:30 and 4PM I checked the band yet again. NC was not doing so well and there was quite a bit of level variation among residents of the watering hole. Wide level swings on RY, but on average it was growing stronger. GNK was really strong and clear by then.

I hope to get an even earlier start Friday morning.

File Attachment: Possible FL beneath USC.
(Apologies for any earlir trouble with this link. It took me a while to see I had typed a semicolon instead of a colon after the 'http'. Looks like I need a punctuation checker more than a spelling checker!)

John

Re: Fri. 2/19 HiFERs (including WV)
Posted by John Davis on February 19, 2016 at 17:10:38.
In reply to Thur. 2/18 HiFERs (including FL) posted by John Davis on February 19, 2016

The watering hole looked much the same this morning as yesterday, with NC, USC, and EH being the early risers, in that order, and RY gradually joining in more after sunrise. Today there was only about one or two minutes with a hint of FL. However, WV showed up again and was pretty strong after 8 AM CST (more on that below). This time, the pattern was six IDs followed by a pause. Had fair copy of FRC, too, a little later. No PBJ or MTI by 9:30 AM, though.

Some sort of event occurred "upstairs" during the 8 o'clock hour. Codar got very loud all of a sudden at the watering hole at 8:13, nearly obliterating USC and EH. (RY was already in a fade at that time.) I had no idea whether it had just switched on or was experiencing enhancement, so I tuned upward for a little while to get out of the strongest codar. That's when I heard WV experience a sudden enhancement for a few IDs at 8:18, and FRC was quite loud for a couple of IDs just prior to 8:25.

Tuning back down to the watering hole, I saw that codar had diminished but USC and EH carriers had both gotten very "fat" ...nearly 2 Hz wide, but not bifurcated or trifurcated like the usual 22m multipath distortion. Using 10 and 20 second Fast windows on Argo showed them both to consist of numerous lines, all wriggling around in a bizarre close (dis)order drill. At the same time, the RY trace was only a little thicker than usual, but seemed to be slowly wobbling in frequency for a few minutes. By 8:30, USC had pretty much returned to normal, which EH did two minutes later, followed by a three or four minute enhancement of whichever Codar station I was hearing at that time.

Still watching for today's visit of SIW WSPR, and hoping to see WM at some point, too.

John

Re: A Quick Survey
Posted by Doug Williams on February 19, 2016 at 17:34:50.
In reply to A Quick Survey posted by Webmaster on February 13, 2016

Good job on separating them. Personally, I don't care about the Hifer stuff, so this makes it easier to separate the wheat from the chaff. ;-)

13558.4 To get ident
Posted by Ed Holland on February 19, 2016 at 19:14:18.

Hi Folks,

I'm finding some time to work on the beacon setup again. I have my keyer board almost built up - it just needs control switches and power ahead of connection to the transmitter. Hopefully the transition will happen this weekend, if I can master the programming steps, which must be done in Morse.

And with that, the family has agreed on a callsign: PVC which reflects the location of our station without being too specific.

If anyone has a problem with the use of this ident, please let me know.

Updates to follow as appropriate.

Cheers,

Ed

LowFER SIW
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on February 20, 2016 at 00:01:18.

Repaired a couple of damaged ICs and a dead 5 V regulator and returned the SIW lowfer to operation yesterday. Just in time for 50+ mph winds. Saw dropouts and glitches overnight in slash mode at 185.185 kHz but currently the QRSS30/60 at 185.2993 kHz looks fine. Tried aluminum foil inside the box lid in an attempt to reduce the bottoming out of dashes in slash mode. That didn't help and may well have been detuning the variometer as the winds howled and causing the glitches. So it's been removed.

73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL

Re: LowFER SIW
Posted by John Davis on February 20, 2016 at 02:09:10.
In reply to LowFER SIW posted by Garry, K3SIW on February 20, 2016

Went to look for WM around sunset this evening and got a nice bonus:

Re: Thur. 2/18 HiFERs (including FL)
Posted by Dave on February 20, 2016 at 13:02:42.
In reply to Thur. 2/18 HiFERs (including FL) posted by John Davis on February 19, 2016

I was happy to see that FL is actually being copied somewhere, but the collision with USC was not intended.

I've dropped the frequency 5 Hz so as to not impinge on another signal, altered the mode to FSKCW3 and QRSS3 so as to minimize waterfall break-up of the displayed trace, and eliminated Slow Hell.

At some point the FL transmitter will be in it's final fixed location in the shack with no more mode or frequency changes, but for now, it's still a work in progress.

As I type this, the A index is 15. EH is blastin' in. As usual.

Dave
Central Florida

WM Lowfer Mode change
Posted by Mike N8OOU on February 20, 2016 at 16:22:40.

The WM Lowfer beacon is now transmitting QRSS CW with a 30 second dit speed.

Re: Thur. 2/18 HiFERs (including FL)
Posted by John Davis on February 20, 2016 at 19:54:07.
In reply to Re: Thur. 2/18 HiFERs (including FL) posted by Dave on February 20, 2016

Hi Dave,

Doing a quick band scan late this morning, I saw a brief appearance of carrier at 13555.490 around 11:50 AM CST that looked as if it might have FSK elements, but it didn't last long enough to be sure. Nature was being stingy with all signals from the east here until about 1 PM, when things picked up a bit to the northeast, anyway.

I intended to be watching for FL from an hour or so before sunrise today, but in my sleep-deprived state I either set Argo to the wrong center frequency or else bumped the setting by accident when I minimized the window. Thus, when I returned after breakfast, I found I'd missed the most likely opportunity.

I'll continue watching in coming days, whenever weather permits. The prospects of catching an entire ID may be better at 3 seconds Slow mode.

John

Re: WM Lowfer Mode change
Posted by John Davis on February 20, 2016 at 19:56:19.
In reply to WM Lowfer Mode change posted by Mike N8OOU on February 20, 2016

Thanks for the update, Mike. I'll look for it today here in KS.

Re: Fri. 2/19 HiFERs (including WV)
Posted by John Davis on February 20, 2016 at 20:24:00.
In reply to Re: Fri. 2/19 HiFERs (including WV) posted by John Davis on February 19, 2016

>>> "Still watching for today's visit of SIW WSPR, and hoping to see WM at some point, too."

Well, I got my wish! The path from Illinois opened up for a fair amount of time Friday afternoon and let both of the SIW signals _and_ WM through quite nicely. Only problem...no WSPR decodes. As was foreshadowed by widening of other HiFER signals earlier, the multipath on SIW WSPR was extensive at times. There were no decodes at all! But, despite Windows 7's best efforts to prevent it, I did extract and save the .WAV files of the failed decodes for further analysis.

The Argo captures are fascinating, but I'm going to need some time to stitch them together in scrollable form before showing them to you.

John

Saturday HiFER Turn-ons
Posted by John Davis on February 20, 2016 at 21:18:28.

No, nothing kinky. It just seemed that everything in the HiFER band began rather abruptly today, as if switched on, rather than fading in gradually over 20 or 30 minutes as I was accustomed to seeing in the past.

I started way early today. The band was totally dead last night...so much of the ISM racket at 13560 was missing that I questioned whether my equipment was working. Then suddenly, along came the "machine gun" pulser that's been more active again recently, so I knew the setup wasn't deaf. (I nearly was afterward, though.)

RY materialized with dogbones about 6:25:30 AM CST.

At 6:32, EH was just a smear in the RF background, was just recognizable at 6:34, and was absolutely blasting in before 6:36. (That's the "machine gunner" making another appearance at the far right.)

Codar,if you'll notice, was entirely absent at that time. It showed up faintly on a few frequencies a few seconds before 8:01, however, and right after the top of the minute it was suddenly everywhere.

No sign of anyone in Illinois that whole time. Just as the noon hour was ending and I was debating going to lunch, though, the path to Illinois opened at almost exactly 12:59 PM with only a few seconds' warning. Six and a half minutes later, it closed just as swiftly, with a successful decode of the first WSPR time slot but an untimely interruption of the second one. (See file attachments for views of my whole screen.)

I'm really grateful that Garry has the ability to feed the same antenna with two transmitters at once. Being able to simultaneously monitor the continuous carrier of the slash-mode signal is of great benefit when making observations of this sort.

File Attachment 1: Sudden switch-on of the Illinois-Kansas path at 1859 UTC.

File Attachment 2: Sudden switch-off of the path 6½ minutes later; no decode of second timeslot.

KH Beacon
Posted by Ken Hude on February 20, 2016 at 22:54:19.

Running in slow CW 185.8 for a bit

Re: Saturday HiFER Turn-ons
Posted by John Davis on February 21, 2016 at 13:43:38.
In reply to Saturday HiFER Turn-ons posted by John Davis on February 20, 2016

On Sunday morning, EH and RY were already in view when I managed to get my sleepy self to the farm just before daybreak. Unfortunately, so was some really annoying broadband, raspy powerline buzz, but that seems to be diminishing now.

EH and RY were solid and steady at 7 AM CST, but apparently propagation is only from the northeast at the moment. A quick band scan turned up absolutely nobody else yet! Today I'll be concentrating on looking for FL during the morning,and secondarily SIW WSPR. Won't be spending the whole day there...gotta get back to work on the March LOWDOWN material.

John

Smart Meters
Posted by Ken hude WB8ZYZ on February 21, 2016 at 15:22:59.

I just received a letter from my power company informing me that they will be installing
a Smart Meter at my home.Anyone have any input regarding these and Lowfer Operations etc.

Re: Smart Meters
Posted by Dave on February 21, 2016 at 19:13:43.
In reply to Smart Meters posted by Ken hude WB8ZYZ on February 21, 2016

I've had a smart meter on my house for about 3 years with no ill effects on any frequency I've tried to receive.

I believe the smart meters transmit about a watt in the 950 MHz and 2.4 GHz regions, and only when called upon. I'd like to know more about them as well, so I defer to anyone with more detailed knowledge, but they've not affected my reception at all.
Dave

Re: Smart Meters
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on February 22, 2016 at 13:40:51.
In reply to Smart Meters posted by Ken hude WB8ZYZ on February 21, 2016

They installed one here several years ago and I noticed no change in noise level.
I have what is known as central metering, which uses a current transformer to
measure the amps. The service for my house and detached shop pass through
the hole of the current transformer. Unlike most domestic meters, I can unplug
mine from its base and still have power!

73, J.B., VE3EAR

9ZS Down for Tower Work
Posted by Joe K9ATG on February 22, 2016 at 19:59:40.

9ZS Down for a day or two for Tower Work

Re: Smart Meters
Posted by John Davis on February 22, 2016 at 23:51:42.
In reply to Smart Meters posted by Ken hude WB8ZYZ on February 21, 2016

It's encouraging to hear that some power companies are actually being smart about smart meters, and not trying to shove excessive levels of RF back through transformers at LF and MF, the way so many early ones did.

It's gotta make you wonder, then, why the utilities argued to the FCC that we shouldn't have the 630 meter ham band because THEY supposedly need it for their smart-grid monitoring!

9ZS Operating Again
Posted by Joe K9ATG on February 23, 2016 at 18:18:29.

9ZS back in operation using the same endfed...for now.

Re: 13558.4 To get ident
Posted by Ed Holland on February 23, 2016 at 20:48:46.
In reply to 13558.4 To get ident posted by Ed Holland on February 19, 2016

Well, I didn't quite get there. I'm starting to understand programming the keyer, but it needs to be programmed in Morse from a bug key. something I don't own. Well, trying to approximate this with flying leads didn't work, so I have made a very (very, very) crude two paddle key and will try again with my 5 thumbs ;-)

Recent Hifers
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on February 26, 2016 at 16:28:50.

Finally go my other Icom R75 back in service, and have been watching the SIW WSPR transmissions on 13555.400 kHz (13553.900 USB dial). I have been amazed that the signal is 100% there from about 90 minutes after local sunrise to 60 minutes after local sunset. While the SNR does of course vary, there is a "K3SIW" every 4 minutes. Watching the waterfall display, fading is synchronous between the "slant" and the WSPR SIW transmissions.

As expected, the waterfall shows NC, USC and WM as frequent companions. All of those show fading below visibility from time to time. With the speaker turned up, I hear high-pitched WV ID's occasionally.

John Andrews, W1TAG
Holden, MA

Re: Recent Hifers
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on February 26, 2016 at 21:48:21.
In reply to Recent Hifers posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on February 26, 2016

Thanks for the report John. Glad the WSPR2 mode is coming in so well for you. Might just add WSPR-15 as a new mode for the lowfer next year.

73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL

KH Beacon
Posted by Ken Hude WB8ZYZ on February 28, 2016 at 00:57:09.

Operating QRSS60 presently,no smoke observed from equipment housing located in pasture at this time.

Re: KH Beacon
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on February 28, 2016 at 15:23:58.
In reply to KH Beacon posted by Ken Hude WB8ZYZ on February 28, 2016

Nothing copied here. Path is only 209 miles according to the info at http://www.lwca.org/sitepage/part15/index.htm so QRSS60 should be visible in daylight. WM (228 mi), MLS (369 mi), and EAR (358 mi) are currently daylight visible even at QRSS30.

73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL

WM Hifer modification
Posted by Mike N8OOU on February 28, 2016 at 18:41:56.

I have replaced the crystal for the synthesizer with a TCXO Oscillator IC today. (2/28) My testing shows that addition provides a stable frequency without the need for GPS calibration. Also the small key down drift has been eliminated so that QRSS CW can be utilized.

Reports are welcome.

WOLF tonight
Posted by John Andrews W1TAG on February 28, 2016 at 20:41:58.

WD2XES will be running WOLF tonight on 137.630 kHz, from 2300 to 0330 UTC. G4JNT will be on that frequency with WOLF up to 2300. He's only running 10mw EIRP, so would probably not be copyable on this side of the pond.

Reports are welcome.

John, W1TAG/WD2XES

Any recent LWBC, and particularly Iceland?
Posted by John Davis on February 28, 2016 at 21:05:53.

Just wondering is there's been much LW broadcast activity in the past month or so, and in particular, how ha Iceland been doing this winter?

Thanks.

John

Re: WOLF tonight
Posted by John Davis on February 28, 2016 at 23:45:28.
In reply to WOLF tonight posted by (Fwd) John Andrews W1TAG on February 28, 2016

Good copy in about 6 minutes after starting up. (Was delayed by a blown fuse in a 12 volt power cord. No good reason that I can see for it, but I had to return to town to get another cord.) First copy was about an hour before local sunset.

2016-02-28 23:05:24 >WOLF10  -r 11024.559 -f 800 -t 1.0 -w 0.0000 -ut
23:05:48 f: 0.415 a: 1.1 dp: 49.6 ci:12 cj: 68 GSQ74E3FO T2OW. ?
23:06:12 f:-0.797 a:-0.6 dp: 48.3 ci: 0 cj:134 6CJXPV**W0K0RA8 ?
23:07:00 f:-0.730 a:-0.2 dp: 49.1 ci:13 cj:233 6E799L91PC 90*H ?
23:08:36 f: 0.068 pm:0.350 jm:843 q: -8.2 -8.8 /B58TGF7PCDRB1X ?
23:10:12 f:-0.322 pm:0.618 jm:875 q:-10.9 -8.3 6U2CSBQCX*ETSC* ?
23:11:48 f: 0.068 pm:2.435 jm:843 q: -6.0 -5.0 WD2XES WOLFING  -
23:13:24 f: 0.068 pm:3.358 jm:843 q: -3.4 -4.3 WD2XES WOLFING  -
23:15:00 f: 0.068 pm:5.047 jm:844 q: -2.6 -3.7 WD2XES WOLFING  -
23:16:36 f: 0.068 pm:5.224 jm:844 q: -1.9 -2.6 WD2XES WOLFING  -
23:18:12 f: 0.068 pm:6.466 jm:844 q: -0.8 -1.9 WD2XES WOLFING  -
23:19:48 f: 0.068 pm:8.007 jm:844 q: -0.1 -1.3 WD2XES WOLFING  -
23:21:24 f: 0.068 pm:8.726 jm:844 q:  0.6 -0.6 WD2XES WOLFING  -

2/11/2016 5:00 PM

Hi All: 2245 UTC  LW BCs French language audio heard on 162  kHz (Radio France Intl) Q5 and 183 kHz (Euro 1) Q4.

BBC R4 heard on 198 kHz English language audio Q3 with QRM...  Sunset here with some recent C class X-ray flares reported...

2/11/2016 9:19 PM

Euro 1 on 183  was full quieting about 0230 UTC and Iceland 
Broadcasting was audible Q4 on 189.  Also heard Medi 1 on 171 kHz...

Short spike power line noise is bad here (S7 w/o blanker S3 with it) on 475 kHz but the lower frequencies are quiet. 

02:35:35 f: 0.039 pm:13190 jm:498 q: 17.6 17.3 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:37:11 f: 0.039 pm:13406 jm:498 q: 17.8 17.4 WD2XES WOLFING  -
2016-02-29 02:37:22 >WOLF10  -r 11024.559 -f 800 -t 1.0 -w 0.0000 -ut
02:37:46 f: 0.037 a:-0.5 dp: 62.6 ci: 0 cj:  0 6LQ0FRHPMMY.K2Z ?
02:38:10 f: 0.037 a:-0.5 dp: 65.7 ci: 0 cj:  0  ZEE8*7UCRE2AAJ ?
02:38:58 f: 0.037 a:-0.6 dp: 79.9 ci: 9 cj:289 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:40:34 f: 0.039 pm:170.3 jm:382 q:  2.2  2.7 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:42:10 f: 0.039 pm:430.4 jm:382 q:  6.9  7.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:43:46 f: 0.039 pm: 1088 jm:382 q:  8.8  9.1 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:45:22 f: 0.039 pm: 1542 jm:382 q: 10.0 10.2 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:46:58 f: 0.039 pm: 1580 jm:382 q: 10.7 11.0 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:48:34 f: 0.039 pm: 1623 jm:382 q: 11.2 11.4 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:50:10 f: 0.039 pm: 1691 jm:382 q: 12.3 12.3 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:51:46 f: 0.039 pm: 1744 jm:382 q: 12.7 12.6 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:53:22 f: 0.039 pm: 1784 jm:382 q: 13.2 13.0 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:54:58 f: 0.039 pm: 1824 jm:382 q: 13.7 13.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:56:34 f: 0.039 pm: 1973 jm:382 q: 14.1 13.9 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:58:10 f: 0.039 pm: 2126 jm:382 q: 14.8 14.4 WD2XES WOLFING  -
02:59:46 f: 0.039 pm: 2214 jm:382 q: 14.8 14.8 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:01:22 f: 0.039 pm: 2255 jm:382 q: 14.8 14.6 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:02:58 f: 0.039 pm: 2263 jm:382 q: 15.0 14.9 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:04:34 f: 0.039 pm: 2264 jm:382 q: 15.1 15.0 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:06:10 f: 0.039 pm: 2274 jm:382 q: 15.3 15.1 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:07:46 f: 0.039 pm: 2292 jm:382 q: 15.5 15.4 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:09:22 f: 0.039 pm: 2331 jm:382 q: 15.8 15.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:10:58 f: 0.039 pm: 2331 jm:382 q: 15.9 15.6 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:12:34 f: 0.039 pm: 2335 jm:382 q: 16.0 15.8 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:14:10 f: 0.039 pm: 2340 jm:382 q: 16.2 16.0 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:15:46 f: 0.039 pm: 2342 jm:382 q: 16.2 15.9 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:17:22 f: 0.039 pm: 2343 jm:382 q: 16.3 16.1 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:18:58 f: 0.039 pm: 2343 jm:382 q: 16.4 16.2 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:20:34 f: 0.039 pm: 2344 jm:382 q: 16.5 16.3 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:22:10 f: 0.039 pm: 2344 jm:382 q: 16.6 16.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:23:46 f: 0.039 pm: 2345 jm:382 q: 16.6 16.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:25:22 f: 0.039 pm: 2345 jm:382 q: 16.6 16.6 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:26:58 f: 0.039 pm: 2345 jm:382 q: 16.6 16.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:28:34 f: 0.039 pm: 2345 jm:382 q: 16.7 16.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -
03:30:10 f: 0.039 pm: 2345 jm:382 q: 16.7 16.5 WD2XES WOLFING  -