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Subj: New VLF loop working well
Date: 4/27/00 11:57:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: kovach voicenet (David Kovach)
From Ron Kovach, Langhorne Pennsylvania, April 27/00
Was checking out new,big vlf loop this evening and heard following with Anritsu ML422B and HP preamp in a noisy location
hint of NPM on 21.4
very loud NAA on 24.0
hint of NLK on 24.8
something on 25.4 (maybe LaMoure ND)
Keflavik on 37.5
NAU on 40.75
something around 45.8
Dixon CA on 55.5
very loud WWVB on 60.0 mixed in with UK station at times
very loud CFH on 73.6
DCF 77 at 77.5 good signal, but needed 20 Hz bandwidth
CFH ??? again at 122.5 133.15 and 137.0
plus lots of other unknowns
Does any one know if LaMoure is on the air at approximately 25,4 kHz????
Subj: New frequency and modulation for WA
Date: 4/18/00 2:37:05 AM EDT (Re-posted on 4/25/00 due to message board error.)
From: ashlockw hotmail (Bill Ashlock)
WA is currently conducting transmitting loop experiments on 185.200 using
loops oriented in the N/S and E/W directions. The modulation pattern is
three one second dashes in the E/W direction followed by a combined 2 second
dash phased in the NW/SE direction, and finally four one second dashes in
the N/S direction. After 5 cycles of this pattern "WA" is transmitted
sequentially in the three directions for 5 cycles. A future modification
will reverse the phase of one of the loops so a second combined signal will
be sent in the SW/NE direction.
Experiments will continue through the summer months. Signal reports will be
greatly appreciated.
Bill, WA
Andover, MA
Subj: LowFER Beacon RB off til fall
Date: 4/23/00 7:58:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: bicking mwci (Robert Bicking)
Due to the appearance of rainstorms and static, I will not operate RB until
fall unless I receive a request to put it on. If someone wants to listen for
it, send me an e-mail bicking mwci.net or a note to my callbook address.
P. S., I sure wish the FCC would move out on creating a low freq. ham band
as proposed by the ARRL a year and a half ago (of course, the license
structure change took quite a while too).
73,
Robert Bicking, W9RB.
Subj: New Utility Radio Column
Date: 4/16/00 6:47:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: joe provcomm (Joseph Cooper)
Recently Harold Ort, editor of Popular Communications Magazine, asked me to
edit a utility radio column for him. "Utility Radio Review" will appear in the magazine, beginning with the June issue.
The column will cover news, information and events
taking place in the utility radio services between 30 kHz-30
MHz.
The new column will be reader oriented, and written with the beginner and
intermediate radio monitor in mind. The primary aim of the column will be to
help people enjoy the hobby by assisting them in finding hot frequencies and
providing the background information they need in order to appreciate what
they hear when monitoring.
The secondary aim will be to guide the reader to groups, organizations and
resources that will help them improve their monitoring skills.
The advanced and master monitor of utility radio services will not be
forgotten, as their skills and knowledge will be welcome through their
contributions. I welcome logs, news, and other contributions about
utility radio. These contributions can be emailed to me at:
ur-review provcomm.net
I can also be contacted via my webpage
at:
http://www.provcomm.net/pages/joe
Please note that contributions on European, Asian and South American topics
are particularly welcome.
I have set up a dedicated area on my webpage for the Utility Radio Review
column. It includes an outline of the content of the column, as well as a
mission statement that defines the column's purpose and goal. You will also
find a list-serv discussion group there.
If you feel that you can provide a contribution to the column through logs,
information or news, I would be very grateful. If you have a webpage, I
would also welcome having my homepage linked to yours. Likewise, if you were
connected in anyway to a group or organization that monitors utility radio,
I would appreciate you forwarding this request to others in the hobby.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this message, and may all of
your future monitoring activity be successful and enjoyable.
Yours truly,
Joe Cooper, VE3FMQ
PS - I have been a member of the LWCA myself for many years now and have always
enjoyed The Lowdown and members' contributions to it.
Subj: Atlantic 252
Date: 4/16/00 5:24:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: aurel colba (Aurel Chiochiu)
Since a few weeks Atlantic 252 was re-launched as "Non-stop Rhythm & Dance
for UK and Ireland".
Can anyone send-me Atlantic 252 recordings since they
changed format from Hot CHR to Dance, because I don't have yet a
longwave receiver and I can't hear this
famous european station on 252 kHz...
Subj: LowFER
Date: 4/10/00 11:12:43 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: mtyler accessk12wvus (michael tyler)
Thanks to all who have posted on the Longwave Message Board.I have been
reading THE LOWDOWN also for awhile now and really enjoy it.The Message
Board has been a big help in helping me understand LOWFER especially when
you include your web site that has even more information. I am presently
putting a LOWFER BEACON together and hope to have it on the air this
summer.I have had a QRP Beacon on the 10 meter Band now for about 5 years
and have received many interesting reports from it 100 milliwatt
signal.Thanks again and keep up the good work.
Michael Tyler
WA8YWO
Richwood, WV.
http://access.mountain.net/~mtyler/beacon.html
Subj: Thank you to Tim Brannon, KF5CQ
Date: 4/9/00 8:50:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: kctheyson mindspring
Could you pass this on to Tim Brannon, KF5CW (I can't find his email
address).
I built the High Performance LF Upconverter off the LWCA web file archive
and am very pleased with it! I entered it in the Raleigh Amateur Radio
Club/ ARRL NC State Convention Hamfest today and won second prize in the
homebrew contest. Thanks again.
Chris Waldrup
KD4PBJ
Raleigh, NC
Subj: Web Page Update
Date: 00-04-07 17:59:39 EDT
From: bicking mwci (Robert Bicking)
Greetings-- I've updated my webpage to include the LowFER antenna article
from the Oct. '99 Lowdown and also, a teaser on our planned operation from
Aruba in Nov. of this year, including the ARRL 160M contest. Hope to have a
call like P40R but we'll see.
The page is at www.qsl.net/w9rb/
73, Robert Bicking, W9RB.
Subj: TransAtlantic II, test notice - announcement
Date: 4/7/00 4:53:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: kayser sympaticoca (Larry Kayser)
Greetings All:
This is a preliminary notice to all LF amateurs in Europe and Canadian
amateurs interested in LF activities that the radio regulatory authority in
Newfoundland, VO1, has issued me, VA3LK, an experimental permit to operate
in the proposed LF amateur band of 135.7 kHz to 137.8 kHz. The project is
to be known as TransAtlantic II with a major test effort over the North
Atlantic to occur from November 10, to November 27th 2000. The attempt will
be made from the East Coast of Newfoundland with, I hope, two receiving
teams and one transmitting team. Each team will be independent and will
seek the best receiving sites and the best transmitting sites available
along the VO1 coast for the test.
This notice seeks to provide preliminary and planning information for our
peers in Europe of the goals for TransAtlantic II. European amateurs have
been operating regularly on the LF band for some years now. It is my hope
to have them make similar efforts to ours in the operation of portable LF
stations during the three weekends over a two-week period next fall.
Secondly this notice seeks to attract participants in Canada who will
develop the LF receiving skills and see how far west of Newfoundland that
TransAtlantic II signals might be received during the trial period. The
development of a receiving team in the Halifax area in conjunction with
Jack, VE1ZZ who has an excellent location and antennas is an initial
critical need.
Third this notice seeks participation of VO1 amateurs and others who might
assist this team in finding the best receiving and transmitting sites on the
east coast of Newfoundland that we might be able to use, or obtain
permission to use, during the fall period. We have to consider staying as
far as possible from the Loran-C stations at Cape Race and at Fox Harbour in
VO2. We must also provide as much signal discrimination as possible from a
high powered existing station on 137 kHz in the Halifax area.
The fourth, and at the end of the day a most important goal, is to
demonstrate to the regulatory authority that Canadian amateurs have the
skill and competence to operate in the LF part of the spectrum, and to share
with the existing users of this spectrum without interference. It is
important that amateurs are assigned opportunities in this part of the
spectrum so that we might make some contributions to radio science with our
work on these frequencies.
TransAtlantic II will transmit and receive regular CW, special slow speed CW
that is known in the LF community as QRS CW at about .4 WPM, that is point
four WPM. We will also be transmitting what is known as Coherent- BPSK,
C-BPSK using the work of Bill de Carle, VE2IQ who has been an active and
dedicated researcher in the LF region for many years. Bill is part of is
the LowFer community here in North America. He has heard the LowFer signal
TEXAS at his home north of Montreal. TransAtlantic II seeks to build on the
LowFer technology that has been demonstrated with excellent results over a
long distance at power levels far below that to be used in the 135.7 to
137.8 kHz band.
The TransAtlantic II project will be making a financial appeal to the
Canadian amateur community at a later date.
TransAtlantic II is also seeking the participation of a few more team
members who are prepared to put in long hours of preparation and then three
plus weeks of time on the east coast of Newfoundland in November. If you
can cope with cold coffee or even no coffee and a wet and cold work
environment and have some CW and computer skills and a passion for long
Beverage antennas you probably have the basics to be a team member! The
actual operating hours will only be from about 2000 utc each day until about
0700 utc, so one should expect to get some sleep each night.
First we must hear/see signals from Europe then we need to have our signals
heard in Europe and then a two way QSO. Until this happens, and we expect
this to happen during the test, we should expect to possibly move sites
between evening test periods as needed to achieve the goals of TransAtlantic
II.
There is precious little time left to develop computer DSP skills, such as
expert use of the software Spectrogram and Gram, the LF listening and
antenna fabrication skills. If you want to participate the time to start is
now on an urgent basis. An LF beacon in eastern Ontario will be on the air
shortly, a LowFer beacon is on the air in Southern Ontario as well.
I am pleased to announce that Mitch Powell, VE3OT will focus on the
technology development for the receiver teams. Mitch has extensive LF
listening and computer skills and has been a member of the LowFer community
for some years now. Mitch and I have already both undertaken some portable
operations - we have begun to understand the issues involved in bringing
TransAtlantic II to an operational status.
What can you do? You can solicit your club for funds to support
TransAtlantic II. You can build and operate an LF receiving station and an
associated computer system to try and hear/see the LF signals in Ontario as
well as during TransAtlantic II with Europe next fall. You can become a
TransAtlantic II team member. You can learn about LF and become active in
the LF community.
If you can help or need additional information contact myself, Larry at
kayser sypatico.ca or Mitch at PowellM claven.fanshawec.on.ca for additional
information.
Work with BPSK requires a Sigma Delta demodulator, contact Bill de Carle at
bill ietc.ca. Bill has kits available and the software is available on the
Internet. Bill has an article on this unit, it is in QST for January 1992,
page 23.
We are off an running with a new challenge in LF. Firsts do not come often
in Amateur Radio, I have been lucky to be in a few of them, this one has
lots of room for many to achieve new Firsts in LF.
Let’s Go.
Larry
VA3LK
Subj: Re: observing sun
Date: 4/5/00 10:49:13 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: ollaneg zeta au (Steve Olney)
G'day Hannes,
Actually I was reading about low frequency astronomy off the 'net somewhere
and they said that 10MHz was the practical limit because of the blocking
effect of the ionosphere with the effect kicking in at about 30MHz.
Regards Steve Olney VK2ZTO
Subj: observing sun
Date: 4/4/00 5:54:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: captain wien-zentralkolpingat (Hannes Mayer)
Hi, this is Hannes from Austria!
What is a good frequency (<500kHz) to observe sun direct (not via the
ionosphere...) ???
I want to use a simple longwire antenna.
Thank you very much,
Hannes.
Reply 1: Hello Hannes, Maybe one of our readers will know otherwise, but I suspect it will not be possible to observe solar activity directly at longwave frequencies. It is my understanding that the ionosphere blocks all direct radio emissions from the sun below about 20 MHz. Most of the radio science done at longwave involves recording sudden changes in propagation caused by solar activity. -JHD
Subj: RI beacon off air for summer
Date: 4/4/00 9:41:16 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: pthomson bruderhof (Pierre Thomson)
Greetings,
Last Friday I took down the "RI" beacon antenna which had been running
on 184.320 KHz over the winter. The farmer informed me that he wanted
to start plowing the field next week. Thanks for the signal reports, those
of you who sent them.
For next season I am eyeing several possible metal-roofed buildings in the
vicinity. I think a metal ground plane would give me better results than
the dirt-and-wire-and-mesh combination that I used this season.
73,
Pierre Thomson KA2QPG
Subj: RE: charge mill
Date: 4/3/00 10:30:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: lyle mlecmn (Lyle Koehler)
To: LWCANews, james.e.allison lmco.com
I'm used to hearing this type of instrument called a field mill. A
search for "field mill" on www.go.com turned up, among many other hits,
a Scientific American article with construction details at
http://www.sciam.com/1999/0799issue/0799amsci.html
--
Lyle, K0LR
http://www.computerpro.com/~lyle
Subj: CHARGE MILL ??? Cloud Charge Monitor ???
Date: 00-04-03 14:31:47 EDT
From: jameseallison lmco (Jim Allison)
I'd like to build a "charge mill" ... to see / monitor cloud charges ..
and would appreciate any descriptions, pictures or schematics on how to
do so ...
I understand a "charge mill" uses two "bow-tie" type antennas ... one
fixed the other rotating ... to sense cloud charges ...
--
THANKS
Jim Allison
Lockheed Martin ASAS Program
james.e.allison lmco.com
(303) 977-1006
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