Re: Datong VLF converter
I have used a Datong converter with a long (1000ft) wire while on DXpedition and the results were excellent. Matter of fact the only two lowfers I have heard was while I was using this converter.
Jacques
P.S. If you are interested in a copy of the spec sheet and instructions, send me your address via my e-mail address
Fwd: New Zealand LF QSO Attempts
Posted by Webmaster on March 03, 2005 at 16:42:39.
Hi all, R. France 162 Kc strong in Michigan @ 0550Z
For the next two ZL nights (4 and 5 March) ZM2E (at Quartz Hill, near Wellington) will be trying for QSOs with VA7LF and RU6LA.
There is about 7 hours 45 minutes of mutual dark path between ZL and VE7, and the distance is some 11,700 km. For listeners in The Americas the only reliable time I can advise that ZM2E will be transmitting is from 0715 UTC, when we make a call for VA7LF using FSK120 with frequencies 137.7890/137.7886 kHz (0.4 Hz shift) and content ZM2E ZM2E E, which will take 72 minutes. VA7LK will likely transmit from 0830 UTC using FSK120 with frequencies 137.7777/137.7771 kHz (0.4 Hz shift), and starting with their full call sign. Transmissions from either station after that will depend on whether we can copy each other and thus progress a QSO, or else there will be repeats of sending full call signs. There is about 12 Hz offset between respective transmit frequencies so anyone monitoring would need to run two Argo screens if they were to see both sides of events. The mutual dark path ends around 1440 UTC with VE7 sunrise.
There is about 3 hours of mutual dark path between ZL and RU6, and the distance is some 16,500 km. For listeners west of ZL the only reliable time I can advise that ZM2E will be transmitting is from 1515 UTC, when we make a call for RU6LA using FSK60 with frequencies 137.7890/137.7886 kHz (0.4 Hz shift) and content ZM2E ZM2E E, which will take 36 minutes. RU6LA will use the same frequencies and shift, and could reply using FSK120 from 1551 UTC. European listeners could monitor events with a single Argo screen. The mutual dark path ends around 1800 UTC with sunrise at Quartz Hill.
ZM2E operators are Andrew ZL2BBJ, Mike ZL4OL and myself. How we last for two loooong nights with no sleep will also be interesting, but with three on site we can tolerate some watching of eyelids.
There is no 'net access at Quartz Hill so this could be my last email session till 6 March.
73, Bob ZL2CA
Posted by Scott NM8R on March 04, 2005 at 01:01:24.
R. France on 162 Kc, is the strongest I have ever heard it, 0550Z. They are abt an hour from their sunrise per Sunclock. OM & YL in French, w/talk, Time pips.
West Coast LF'ers - warm up those LF rigs!
153 Kc (R. Alger) weak sigs right now. All other LW BC freq's nil.
Incidentally, at my local sunset 153 Kc was already coming in. Great night on LW. TH Heard 03:00Z 5 March
Scott
NM8R
Michigan
rig: TS940 antenna: AAS GMBH STA 10 w/100 cm rod
Posted by Warren WD2XGJ/K2ORS on March 04, 2005 at 23:31:58.
Copied Lowfer TH on 189.335 at 03:00Z on 5 March here in Wayland,MA Re: NDB ESS
Posted by Steve Ratzlaff on March 05, 2005 at 16:37:04.
In Reply to NDB ESS posted by Chris Waldrup on February 22, 2005 at 22:37:22.
Hi Chris, 21.4 NPM Hawaii off?
No doubt you're hearing 251 EUU, Smithfield, NC.
It's likely the U's are clipped and sounding like S's to you.
Steve AA7U
Posted by Steve Ratzlaff on March 05, 2005 at 16:41:31.
Anyone know when 21.4 kHz NPM Hawaii went off, and/or for what reason, and if it's coming back on again? I've checked several times the past couple weeks, and it's always been off. It used to be S9 level here in NE Oregon. I bet the SID monitors using it have had to scramble to retune their receivers. STARPLEX Modems- Manual Available
Steve AA7U
Posted by David Stinson on March 07, 2005 at 22:34:52.
Finally got the manual scanned:
http://home.mindspring.com/~arc5@ix.netcom.com/STARPLEX/
If any of these scans is bad or hard to read, Re: Datong VLF converter
let me know and I'll rescan.
Will get the strapping information for other freqs
as soon as I can get the table written.
73 Dave S. AB5S
Posted by Alan G3NYK on March 09, 2005 at 19:32:26.
In Reply to Datong VLF converter posted by Colin on February 28, 2005 at 18:18:55.
Hi Colin, and thanks for the "plug" Lloyd !!
The Datong works quite well, but there are some things that you have to watch. They have quite a lot of gain when put in front of a sensitive modern SW receiver they may well create intermod products on a big wire antenna. They work very well directly on passive loop antennas. One trick with a long wire particularly if you have strong nearby BC stations or even a "local" Loran-C station is to connect the wire to a 1000ohms variable resistor (pot) with the other end of the track to ground and feed the Datong off the wiper. This will tell you quickly if anything you hear is "real" or a mixing product (the mixing products decrease much more quickly than the real signals when you turn the pot. down)
The crystal oscillator is such that you will not be able to get 28.100 equals 100kHz ....but you can check the "offset" with Loran (100kHz) and WWVB (60kHz) and maybe NAA on 24kHz, or maybe a known local MW BC station. the offset will be constant so if WWVB is 6kHz out then everything else will be 6khz off the same direction. Unfortunately although the instructions say the trimmer is to adjust this, I dont think that is correct. I have discussed this in my web page, quoted by Lloyd, at some length.
I hope that helps and you find some interesting things to listen to on LF ....as well as Low Frequency.....I reckon it also stands for Lotsa Fun !!
Best Wishes Alan G3NYK
QSL-ing NDB's
Posted by Chris Waldrup on March 11, 2005 at 06:37:55.
I have started listening for NDB's now less casually and more seriously but I have a few questions.
How do I get addresses to send cards to for the beacons. I have a North Carolina aeronautical map (free at any airport) that I have been using that shows the locations of all the beacons but as many aren't at an airport I am not sure who to send the reports to. The ones near an airport, are they just sent to the communications manager at the airport?
I have done a lot of AM DXing where I listen for half an hour or so and send a detailed report of all I hear. Since all I hear in this case is a morse identifier, is this, the signal strength, date, time and equipment used all I need to send? Thank you.
Chris
Re: QSL-ing NDB's
Posted by John Davis on March 11, 2005 at 11:46:52.
In Reply to QSL-ing NDB's posted by Chris Waldrup on March 11, 2005 at 06:37:55.
Hi Chris,
Maybe that's why the aeronautical chart was free... they forgot to include all the airports? :)
Seriously, though, nearly all aerobeacons nowadays are associated with a particular landing strip, even if they are not right at the edge of it. This is where the published lists come in handy, as they identify the facility to which each NDB belongs.
The matter of how to address reception reports is one of the ongoing issues of the hobby, so I hope some of the more current experts will chime in here. In general, what you mentioned seems the best way generically. I like to include some reference to the NDB in the address, such as: Communications Manager (Re: NDB "PIM")
Callaway-Harris County Airport
Pine Mountain, GA 31822
Just my impression, but it seems to improve the odds of the right person seeing it.
At smaller airports, the airport manager may be the only staff, but at least he or she will generally recognize what an NDB is, and will turn your letter over to the contractor who maintains the beacon(s) for that site.
At a completely unattended airport, it's a little harder, because there may not be a manager, only someone in city hall or the county manager's office who has been appointed to administer airport business affairs whenever any happen to crop up.
So far as what to include in your report, there's not much you can comment on. One thing that's always good to do is time the ident; that is, "ten repetitions of 'PIM' required 56 seconds." If you can determine whether the CW is being transmitted on a single sideband or whether it is double, that's a good thing to mention too. Also mention any keying irregularities you hear, such as "the second dash of the 'M' seems to last slightly longer than the first."
John
XGJ CW 137.9
Posted by lloyd chastant on March 11, 2005 at 17:36:30.
Took a listen this morning-~11AM for Warrens CW on 137.9Khz and was able to copy his cw message..Was a bit noisy/static crashes but pulled him out.. Cage Aerial - Whitehall London
de Lloyd W3NF FM19MH
Posted by Clive Carver on March 21, 2005 at 12:27:09.
About 10 years ago when visiting London, noticed a rather prominent horizontal cage aerial slung above a government building in Whitehall. Possibly the Old Admiralty Building, which may at that time have housed the Northern Ireland Office.
Does anyone know the purpose of this aerial, it looked too substantial for a receiving aerial. Obviously I don't know whether it was LF or not, but would certainly have been suitable for frequencies below, say 150 KHz.
Wanted! Pictures of longwave radio mast Gufuskálar, Iceland?
Posted by Harald on March 21, 2005 at 13:02:28.
Has someone pictures of the radio mast of the longwave transmitter Gufuskálar? Re: Cage Aerial - Whitehall London
This mast, built in 1959 is with a height of 412 metres still the tallest construction of Western Europe. See Structurae site.
Posted by John Davis on March 22, 2005 at 05:29:36.
In Reply to Cage Aerial - Whitehall London posted by Clive Carver on March 21, 2005 at 12:27:09.
My guess would be HF rather than LF, as a horizontal cage would not be an optimal radiator in the part of the spectrum where wavelengths range from a substantial fraction of a mile to several miles.
We may have a reader or who can speak more authoritatively about what aerials could be found in (above) Whitehall, however.
Re: Cage Aerial - Whitehall London
Posted by Jacques d'Avignon on March 22, 2005 at 08:20:01.
In Reply to Re: Cage Aerial - Whitehall London posted by John Davis on March 22, 2005 at 05:29:36.
I think that John is right. From your description I would say that it was a broadband HF dipole. Matter of fact these dipoles are still available today for specialised installations.
Re: Cage Aerial - Whitehall London
Posted by Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ on March 22, 2005 at 22:59:18.
In Reply to Cage Aerial - Whitehall London posted by Clive Carver on March 21, 2005 at 12:27:09.
The cage dipoles look about the right dimension for the 2 MHz marine band. They were still in place last time I was in London, about 18 months ago. NDB Questions
73 Warren K2ORS/WD2XGJ
Posted by Frank Lotito on March 23, 2005 at 19:36:32.
A few questions regarding North American LF and MF NDBs:
(1) Some directories list beacon power. Is that carrier power, or fully modulated power? Is the power RMS or PEP?
(2) What is the modulation index?
(3) Do any beacons transmit the carrier and only one of the two sidebands?
(4) Who officially coordinates beacons (those owned by some government agency, and those privately held) in the US and Canada?
(5) Is there a government mandated set of technical requirements for NDBs, i.e., for the US, in the Code Of Federal Regulations? If so, where do you find these requirements?
Thank you, Re: NDB Questions
Frank J. Lotito, Pittsburgh PA
Posted by John Davis on March 23, 2005 at 19:51:25.
In Reply to NDB Questions posted by Frank Lotito on March 23, 2005 at 19:36:32.
> (1) Some directories list beacon power. Is that carrier power, or fully modulated power? Is the power RMS or PEP?
Carrier power, therefore RMS.
> (2) What is the modulation index?
Nominally around 0.8, if I recall, but there's a fairly wide range in practice.
> (3) Do any beacons transmit the carrier and only one of the two sidebands?
Yes, this is rather common. The "sideband" is actually a separate carrier, keyed on and off, and mixed with the carrier in a combiner.
Perhaps someone here will be able to answer your last two questions better than I can, but for now, my understanding is that non-FAA-owned beacons are coordinated by the FAA and NTIA, and to a lesser extent the FCC.
John
Re: NDB Questions
Posted by John Andrews on March 24, 2005 at 06:58:30.
In Reply to Re: NDB Questions posted by John Davis on March 23, 2005 at 19:51:25.
Frank,
The FCC regulations on aero beacons are in Part 87. See:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_04/47cfr87_04.html
I believe that the subsection on beacons starts at 87.471.
John Andrews
Eighty Years Ago This Week
Posted by Mike Terry on March 24, 2005 at 15:37:40.
(March 24): This column first appeared in the March 16, 2005 edition of the VillageSoup Citizen.
Jay Davis: Listening to history speak
http://waldo.villagesoup.com/opinions/GuestCols.cfm?StoryID=2839 What new in LOWfer land?
Posted by Mike A3O on March 24, 2005 at 16:14:50.
Hey Guys:
Some of you rember me as A3O from Monroeville,Pa. I lost interest in lowfer about3-4 years ago and I have lost touch with what is new. At the time I had a beacon on there where a few guys around Pittsburgh doing SSB with converters (wich i still have) and Also made a Curry Tranciever. Is there a "experamental" ticken given out now for 136 khz? if so how do you go about getting one?
thanks for the info
Re: Eighty Years Ago This Week
Mike A3O
Posted by Bill Ashlock on March 25, 2005 at 00:09:01.
In Reply to Eighty Years Ago This Week posted by Mike Terry on March 24, 2005 at 15:37:40.
Very interesting story BUT it took me 10 frustrating minutes to figure out where the heck Belfast is located, even in what state it is!. The person in charge of that Web site must not realize that people from all over the country, even world, look in.
Bill
Re: What new in LOWfer land?
Posted by John Andrews on March 25, 2005 at 09:07:44.
In Reply to What new in LOWfer land? posted by Mike A3O on March 24, 2005 at 16:14:50.
Mike:
Good to hear from you. I think it's fair to say the level of interest in 160-190 kHz activities has dropped a bit. There are still plenty of beacons on the air, and the list here on the LWCA site is the best source of who's where. The LWCA now runs a Lowfer mailing list; you can sign up at http://lwca.org/groups.htm. Note that the QTH.NET Lowfer list still exists, but has almost no activity, having been abandoned for reliability problems.
Regarding the 136 kHz band, the FCC has been willing to grant experimental licenses under Part 5 of their rules. The applications are done on-line, and the cost is $50.00. Waiting time could easily be 9 months to a year. I suggest that you go to the FCC's Experimental Licensing site, https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/els/index.cfm and do a generic search on 135-138 kHz applications received over the last few years. You will be able to browse through the applications and supporting documents to get an idea of what has been requested and granted. The FCC Part 5 rules are available at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_04/47cfr5_04.html .
John Andrews, W1TAG/WD2XES
potrzebie