Re: Icom R-75 Filters For NDB and General LW DXing
Al, I have used INRAD in the past and, IMO, they manufacture quality products.
As for SDRs, I use the Winradio G33DDC "Excalibur Pro". It is, IMO, a very high end receiver with exceptional performance down to below 10 kHz. I have logged many weak amateur VLF/LF/MF signals using this receiver. It is amazing....and it also has a high price tag for a "mere receiver".
Other than that, you might want to consider the Cross Country Wireless SDR4+. I haven't used this receiver, but it seems (by the specs) to be a good bet.
http://www.crosscountrywireless.net/sdr-4_lf.htm
There are a couple of other choices. Perhaps someone else can chime in.
Re: Antenna change on the WM Hifer beacon
Posted by John Davis on May 01, 2015 at 04:26:03.
In reply to Antenna change on the WM Hifer beacon posted by Mike - N8OOU on April 30, 2015
Cool. I'll see if I can copy it Friday.
I have to caution, though, 22 meters hasn't been the greatest lately. Also, Illinois is at a distance where the ionosphere likes to skip signals right over me for weeks or months at a time. For example: The SIW duo, which had become fairly regular the past couple of months, are once again a rarity.
John
Friday HiFERs in SE Kansas
Posted by John Davis on May 02, 2015 at 05:53:30.
Resumed looking for WM with its new antenna today around solar noon. No luck early on. Illinois was in its usual skip zone at first, though I was catching glimpses of MP for the first time in a good while. Later, there were snippets of SIW slant mode, and hints of RF from WM. I guess the Mother Ship was passing overhead about the time (in CDT) that both appeared on the screen so strong together. But the ionosphere giveth and the ionosphere taketh away! For instance:
SIW nearly disappeared in mid "I" and WM vanished, for all practical purposes, a minute later. Unlike EH and NC, which continually tooks turns strengthening and weakening, when WM was present, it was nice and steady for several cycles.
There's about 5-1/2 hours of captures to wade through, including intervals in which codar suddenly and totally dominated for a while, and then just as suddenly dropped back to a mild roar...and bizarre "codar creatures" appeared on screen, similar to what Mike showed us in the LOWDOWN a couple months back. I haven't had time to review them all because, at the time they were being taken, I was outside moving fallen tree limbs and trunks with the tractor. But I'll look some more over the weekend and see if any of them might be of general interest.
(BTW, none of the usual or even occasonal audible signals were heard today, either at mid-day or in late afternoon. It didn't help that there was quite a bit of ISM QRM today, all the way from 13,558 to just above 13,562 kHz.)
John
Re: Friday HiFERs in SE Kansas
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 02, 2015 at 20:08:59.
In reply to Friday HiFERs in SE Kansas posted by John Davis on May 02, 2015
John, that sure is strange, abrupt QSB!
73, Garry
Re: Friday HiFERs in SE Kansas
Posted by Mike - N8OOU on May 03, 2015 at 02:00:23.
In reply to Friday HiFERs in SE Kansas posted by John Davis on May 02, 2015
John; thanks for taking the time to capture and present your results on the board. It is interesting to learn how the signals fading in and out at the whim of mother nature.
73 M.Meek
Re: Friday HiFERs in SE Kansas
Posted by John Davis on May 03, 2015 at 04:41:43.
In reply to Re: Friday HiFERs in SE Kansas posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 02, 2015
>>> John, that sure is strange, abrupt QSB!
Yes, it surely is.
We'd expect sudden disturbances from solar activity sometimes, of course, but you kind of figure that should affect everyone on the band. This was as if someone had a big RF-proof door they could open or close on the path between Illinois and here.
Today I saw something of similar suddenness at LF that I can't account for from the SWPC charts, although in this case the only "control group" I have for comparison is the lightning static. After getting a nice capture of SIW and XNI at the watering hole (in another post here shortly), I tuned to 137.7805 during the second dash of the letter "P," strong enough to show up on both my 60 and 30 second Argo runs. Suddenly it dropped in level, barely visible for an hour and a half on 60-second and not recognizable at 30-second. Then it began coming back gradually.
I've noticed LF MP being in a premature "pre-sunset fade" a lot during the afternoons in recent months, but I never saw it go into one so quickly. After while I checked back at the 1750 m watering hole and couldn't see anyone there any more, either, although by then the static was beginning to pick up in that band.
Simultaneously today on HF, I could see NC, EH, MP, sometimes SIW slant, but no sign of WM this time. I also heard MTI, which was missing yesterday, and plenty of codar. All these were undergoing QSB at the usual relatively slow rates today.
John
Saturday 1750 Meters
Posted by John Davis on May 03, 2015 at 05:14:38.
Here in SE Kansas, I had a very good signal from SIW from the noon hour into mid-afternoon. A few loud pops and crashes of static from storms in Iowa were few and far between for three or so hours, so even 30-second Argo was enough to render nice images. I was surprised and delighted to see XNI join in from Colorado for a few hours!
This was a single Argo screen. I'm putting together a composite of the entire time I was tuned to the watering hole, and will replace this picture with that one sometime Sunday.
John
AJO is dead-long live TON!
Posted by Ward K7PO on May 04, 2015 at 18:02:25.
After the 4th or 5th time finding my beacons either disconnected, turned off, or otherwise molested, I've moved them all to my qth in Tonopah, AZ (DM33). We now share the previous location with a new co-owner, so I don't think it will get better any time soon. 7P, on 49 mhz is up and running, as is TON, formerly AJO, on ~13.558.5 mhz. 7P QRSS will probably have to wait until my return from Dayton at the end of May. I'll let John know as soon as it's back on.
-73-
Ward K7PO Re: AJO is dead-long live TON!
heading for Dayton late this week!
Posted by John Davis on May 05, 2015 at 16:59:04.
In reply to AJO is dead-long live TON! posted by Ward K7PO on May 04, 2015
Thanks, Ward. I'd been wondering why I hadn't heard much of AJO or 7P QRSS in recent months, even before the sunspot numbers started going south. In the case of AJO, I halfway thought it might be the increased QRM from the center of the band that's been showing up more often down around 13,558. However, I can relate to the aggravation of having one's radio stuff meddled with!
Will you be doing a mobile DXpedition again on this trip to Dayton? If so, I know we'll all be looking forward to the results.
John
Re: AJO is dead-long live TON!
Posted by Ward K7PO on May 05, 2015 at 17:14:14.
In reply to Re: AJO is dead-long live TON! posted by John Davis on May 05, 2015
John,
Yes, I'll be doing the usual listening. It's become a big part of the annual trip to Hamvention. Hopefully I'll have some good reports for the board.
Ward
Playing TAG
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on May 06, 2015 at 18:02:05.
Lowfer TAG on 185.297 kHz in Raymond, Maine, will be shut down for the summer on May 8. It will return in late October.
Hifer TAG is now back on the air on 13,555.414 kHz, with QRSS3 from Holden, Massachusetts (FN42ch). It will run through the summer, with only occasional interruptions.
Reports are always welcome.
John, W1TAG
Re: Playing TAG
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 07, 2015 at 13:18:45.
In reply to Playing TAG posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on May 06, 2015
John, looked late last night and didn't see TAG. At that time even EH was weak. This morning EH is strong as usual and I see TAG in and out of the noise. Not bad given how early it is (1300Z).
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Lowfer SIW off the air for the summer
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 08, 2015 at 10:53:33.
Lowfer SIW was turned off yesterday afternoon. Plan to return it to service next Fall, probably in September. Thanks to all who reported reception.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN%2ta, Elgin, IL ZZZ Where and Who Art Thou?
Posted by Bill Hensel on May 08, 2015 at 22:02:29.
I logged ZZZ on May 3 Freq. 13559.90 khz time 0127 mode CW
copied this by ear, no computer.
Does anyone have a clue about where ZZZ is located?
DFCW3 SIW Hifer
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 10, 2015 at 00:28:40.
Just got a QRP-labs Ultimate3S working and have it summed to a quarter-wave vertical along with the slash coder. QRSS6 to a dipole is shut down at the moment. The DFCW3 frequency is 13555400 Hz with 5 Hz symbol offset and the power level is about 10 dB below the slash coder. Will power balance the two sources when time permits.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
MTI dxed today from Colorado
Posted by Bill Hensel on May 10, 2015 at 01:27:32.
Great Fade Ups on MTI at 0115utc...13557.519 khz Icom 756 85 ft end fed wire... Dayton Roadtrip 15 HIFERS
Used my "wet processor" you know just my brain and ears...
Posted by Ward K7PO on May 10, 2015 at 15:00:19.
Left Grants, NM yesterday around 1700Z. Heard GNK right away, and not much else. Later in the day, about 2000Z heard FRC ~449. GNK was in and out all day. We stayed in Amarillo last night to avoid all the storms, and will head out cautiously towards OKC today, depending on WX. Don't need to be in Dayton until wednesday morning, so we're not in a hurry.
Ward K7PO
HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on May 10, 2015 at 16:55:49.
Hello all. At the present time HiFer signals seem only to be in the weak/low level. MTI on ~13557KHz is running from 3-3/4-9 when maximum, but with QSB to below audibility. Quite a bit of atmospheric noise, perhaps from all the thunderstorms across the central part of the country. RQ on ~13563.5KHz at times is reaching 459, but is generally much weaker to inaudible. GNK slightly higher around 13564KHz is more consistently readable, but never more than 3-4-9. Not hearing TON or SZX at this time. Ed WSlidell, LA EM50cg
Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015
Posted by John Davis on May 10, 2015 at 17:39:21.
In reply to HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015 posted by EdWSlidell,LA on May 10, 2015
Congatulations, Ed. I think you are the first to report RQ here. Glad to see Bill's beacon is radiating OK. Haven't been able to hear it here with any certainty thus far, as he is about the same distance from me as the guys in Illinois are, which puts me in his first skip dead zone at HF under most ionospheric conditions.
It's been too stormy here in SE Kansas to go to the field since Friday evening. At that time, though, NC and EH were showing up through the CODAR pulses most of the time, and were taking turns being audible. WM came in for a while in late afternoon, sometimes quite strongly audible too. Farther up, MTI was visible on Argo, but mostly not audible, whereas PBJ was back again, both visually and aurally.
John
Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015
Posted by Bill Hensel on May 10, 2015 at 18:01:07.
In reply to HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015 posted by EdWSlidell,LA on May 10, 2015
Ed thanks for the report up here...your the second report, Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015
I'll get a qsl card out to you in couple of days...
RQ - Bill Pine, Co
Posted by John Davis on May 10, 2015 at 19:06:00.
In reply to Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015 posted by Bill Hensel on May 10, 2015
Hi Bill, who was the first report from?
Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015
Posted by Bill Hensel on May 10, 2015 at 19:57:53.
In reply to Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015 posted by John Davis on May 10, 2015
My good friend Frank in Tuscon, AZ Frank used to run lowfer H2 back in the day on the left coast, he has heard RQ often, everyday since it has been running. In fact Frank will be putting up a hifer later this week if all goes well.
Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015
Posted by John Davis on May 10, 2015 at 21:19:42.
In reply to Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015 posted by Bill Hensel on May 10, 2015
Sure, I remember Frank from the good old days. It'll be great to have him back with a signal to listen for.
Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer
Posted by John, W1TAG on May 11, 2015 at 00:04:50.
In reply to DFCW3 SIW Hifer posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 10, 2015
Garry,
The DFCW looked great here in Maine tonight. Seemed pretty close in level to the slashes.
John, W1TAG/1 Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 11, 2015 at 02:03:23.
In reply to Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer posted by John, W1TAG on May 11, 2015
John, thanks for the report. Like my other Hifers, the DFCW transmitter is locked to a good 10 MHz OCXO so it should stay clear of TAG on 13555414 Hz. I can easily change the frequency though if that's helpful. Will probably try a few other modes before settling on something permanent.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 11, 2015 at 13:28:58.
In reply to Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 11, 2015
This morning I shifted the mode from DFCW3 to regular WSPR with 50% duty cycle. Decode with receiver dial set to 13553900 Hz, USB. The clock has been set manually (no GPS connection yet) so it's not perfect and will gradually drift, but at the moment I'm seeing a time error around -0.6 seconds.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer
Posted by John, W1TAG on May 11, 2015 at 15:35:52.
In reply to Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 11, 2015
I'd suggest that anyone monitoring Part 15 WSPR transmissions not upload spots to the WSPR database. Some of the WSPR enthusiasts get very upset with unlicensed/non-Ham/out-of-band reports. There was a big kerfuffel about this years ago.
John, W1TAG
Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 11, 2015 at 16:15:25.
In reply to Re: DFCW3 SIW Hifer posted by John, W1TAG on May 11, 2015
John,
Good point. Pathetic, but true.
The Ultimate3S offers a number of Opera choices too. The frequency bands for Opera are coded into the software, as is automtic reporting, so will have to lie about the frequency to use it.
73, Garry
Hifers SIW
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 11, 2015 at 23:15:59.
Now running the Ultimate3S at 13555400 Hz altering between DFCW3 with 5 Hz shift and 3 wpm CW with the message "k3siw". This signal is summed with slash code sending "siw" at 13555440 Hz and goes to a quarter-wave vertical antenna. QRSS6 is back on sending "siw" and CW IDs at 13555430 Hz to a horizontal dipole.
WSPR timing drifted from -0.5 sec to +1.2 sec over about 9 hours in a fairly constant temperature environment. Obviously GPS 1 pps and NMEA packets are needed to make WSPR operation practical.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
New Hifer beacon from Tucson, AZ
Posted by Frank Cathell on May 13, 2015 at 21:57:26.
I am now running a new 4.5 mW HIFER beacon IDing as "TSN" in CW on 13.555.98 MHz 24/7 from Tucson, AZ 85745. Speed is about 13 WPM. Reports can be sent to my Email address. Regards, Frank K3YAZ
Re: HiFers Heard 10 May (or earlier)
Posted by John Davis on May 13, 2015 at 22:19:03.
In reply to Re: HiFers Heard 10 May, 2015 posted by John Davis on May 10, 2015
I mentioned finally having copy again on PBJ last Friday evening, but I'm only now getting around to working with all the recent captures. Here's this one. PBJ was both visible and audible. In a reversal of the usual situation, MTI was the one that was only audible part of the time that day.
The SIW Trio on May 12
Posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015 at 04:44:42.
Finally getting a chance to work with yesterday's captures. Here's about 12 minutes of all three SIW modes coming in at the same time, with EH parked over the upper half of the slant mode (also obscuring MP, according to what I saw earlier in the afternoon). The DFCW version was a little hard to read at 3 seconds Slow mode, but was pretty distinct. The QRSS6 mode was more intermittent than the two sharing the vertical antenna.
Earlier in the day, there were traces of signal around 13555.415 kHz, but not enough to identify.
John
HiFER WM on May 12
Posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015 at 07:03:15.
This image is very large and will probably take a while to load, but it allows you to scroll through the entire two hours and 18 minutes that WM was visible here in SE Kansas on that day. It also shows something unusual...an actual long term frequency drift for WM, from as much as 22 Hz above its nominal frequency to about 5 or 6 Hz below, then back up to about 15 Hz above. This sequence was made with the CR-1a, not Old Drifty (Kenwood #3), and the beacons higher up at the watering hole at the same time did not show a corresponding shift. During WM's peak signal interval, from roughly 1:25 to 2:30 PM CDT, the repeated "WM" CW ID following the FSK sequence was often clearly audible--especially after the horrendous codar racket settled down for a while.
You may notice some gray vertical bars in the composite image. Argo did not capture closely enough to the scheduled times to provide the few seconds of overlap that I normally depend upon when stitching together the individual screens, but instead left gaps in the data. Since there has been no change to my version of Argo for a while, I have to suspect that some of Microsoft's recent "improvements" to Windows 7 have affected the machine's response times. Instead of allowing for a 3 second overlap, I'll begin making it 10 seconds or maybe even 30 for good measure. I hate to waste disk and screen space on redundant data, but that's better than having voids.
Something else noteworthy about the afternoon's reception was that the signal levels for WM and SIW DFCW varied almost exactly inversely. As WM began to fade out for the day in the 2:30 to 3:00 PM CDT time slot, that's when SIW in DFCW mode began to show up. One of the captures of that effect can be viewed in a new tab or window by clicking here.
John
Re: The SIW Trio on May 12
John, thanks for the multi-SIW capture. It confirms DFCW3 is a bit too "short". Your copy of WM shows nice dashes of length 9 seconds. I could change my format to DFCW9 and have both dots and dashes of that length. What do you think?
Sorry to see EH has drifted down on top of the slash code and MP. Sure helps to use OCXOs to set the frequency.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: HiFER WM on May 12
Posted by Mike - N8OOU on May 14, 2015 at 12:15:31.
In reply to HiFER WM on May 12 posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015
John;
Here is the cause, and what was happening during your capture. I upgraded the U3S firmware over the weekend of May 9/10, as I had the beacon off the air due to local lightning storms. The upgrade reset all the parameters in the U3S. I added the cw id at that time.
When I restarted the beacon Sunday, I missed changing a parameter which specifies the frequency correction factor. With that value left at the default value of 0, the transmission frequency was not being altered after the GPS calibration.
I discovered that error yesterday and corrected it to get the beacon back on 13.555300. What you captured is the natural frequency drift of the U3S / SI5351a as the ambient temperature changed from about 62F to 65F and back. (temps from the NWS records)
This is an example of how I all ways get caught when I make a mistake or mess something up. My luck never lets me "slide by under the radar" hi hi. Good Catch!
Mike Re: HiFER WM on May 12
Posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015 at 15:24:42.
In reply to Re: HiFER WM on May 12 posted by Mike - N8OOU on May 14, 2015
>>> My luck never lets me "slide by under the radar" hi hi.
That's what happens when one is "on the air" for all to hear; or in this case, to see. Fame has its down sides. :)
It has been 40 years since I was a radio announcer in this area, after which I lived halfway across the country for over 30 years...but on my return, some people still identified me as the voice of the Individual Mausoleum Company on one station or the Emergency Broadcast System test on another, although all those announcements have been off the air for at least 20 years. Even people who don't associate me with death and disaster recognize me by one or two spoken words alone, after they've once met or talked with me. Clearly, I couldn't get away with anything around here if I wanted to.
That's fascinating about the U3S temperature effects and the correction parameter. It's quite a remarkable device!
John
Re: The SIW Trio on May 12
Posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015 at 15:58:25.
In reply to Re: The SIW Trio on May 12 posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 14, 2015
Hi Garry. Yes, based on how well WM's dashes show up, DFCW9 might be a better option. If the gap between elements tracks in proportion to speed, that would also help Argo to distinguish them from each other more clearly. (Perhaps even 6 seconds would be enough longer to make a difference, if that option is available to experiment with, although I suspect 9 might be more distinct.)
I forgot to mention earlier that the CW ID was sometimes audible, although I wasn't able to decode it. The beat notes from all the signals packed so close together sometimes had a rhythm of their own that I couldn't mentally separate from the Morse. Same problem I usually have with the CW part of the QRSS6 beacon.
Alas, it might be a few days before I can look/listen again, due to additional predicted rain. The antenna out on the farm is currently surrounded by Lake Inferior. I'm tempted to use my portable fiberglas flag pole to hoist an antenna in the city park in the meantime, assuming I can be sure of no lightning in the vicinity. It's kind of an exposed position out there on the bluff. A car makes a decent Faraday cage, but only when there's not a length of coax directing charge in through a window. :)
John
Re: New Hifer beacon from Tucson, AZ
Posted by Bill Hensel on May 14, 2015 at 16:43:29.
In reply to New Hifer beacon from Tucson, AZ posted by Frank Cathell on May 13, 2015
TSN came up three times at 1634 utc
Re: The SIW Trio on May 12
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 14, 2015 at 17:28:55.
In reply to Re: The SIW Trio on May 12 posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015
John, I've changed the symbol period to 9 seconds for DFCW. I can lower it to 6 seconds if 9 seems too long. Don't yet know how to independently program the CW speed so it's now 9 wpm, compared to the previous VERY slow 3 wpm.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: The SIW Trio on May 12
Posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015 at 18:45:42.
In reply to Re: The SIW Trio on May 12 posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 14, 2015
Might get a chance to check out the new format this afternoon, after all. The wind should dry out Lake Inferior before long, and they've taken our precipitation chance down to 10% or less for the rest of the daylight hours. Unless Mother Nature has a surprise up her sleeves, this could turn into a decent monitoring day.
John
Re: The SIW Trio on May 12
Posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015 at 23:45:04.
In reply to Re: The SIW Trio on May 12 posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015
Sure enough, Mother Nature IS playing tricks. The weather's nice enough and I was ablle to wade to the tower OK, but there's little propagation except for codar. NC and EH (up a few Hz from yesterday) were the only two signals clearly evident, and even at that, not all the time. I'm still capturing, though, in hopes of an early evening opening.
John
Re: The SIW Trio...absent on May 14
Posted by John Davis on May 15, 2015 at 03:40:10.
In reply to Re: The SIW Trio on May 12 posted by John Davis on May 14, 2015
No luck today. Late this afternoon, EH was off for a while, then came back on and eventually settled a bit higher than before, leaving MP nicely visible. There was a hint of something around 13555.415 and something a couple of Hz below .400, but nothing identifiable. No sign of SIW slant or QRSS6, either. Nobody but codar heard or seen above the watering hole today.
Today's appearance of WM was very short as well...less than 10 minutes between fade-in and fade-out. Nature was not being cooperative from Illinois at all. And, storms are due back tomorrow.
John
WM
Posted by Bill Hensel on May 16, 2015 at 03:55:54.
Can someone tell me how much power WM is running...this beacons ID is very strong at times and I hear it often when no other beacons are being heard. Re: WM
Posted by John Davis on May 16, 2015 at 07:24:49.
In reply to WM posted by Bill Hensel on May 16, 2015
I'm inclined to think conditions have simply been highly variable on the band of late.
In my captures Friday, there was a period when WM was very loud and causing intermod with codar in my audio clipper, resulting in a really messy cluster of sidebands at 0.5 Hz intervals on either side of WM's trace...but after 15 or 20 minutes, the level gradually dwindled to the usual barely perceptible level and eventually disappeared. I normally only get one appearance per day of WM, and some days it doesn't show up at all.
Also today, somewhere after the fade of WM, EH showed up super-strong for several minutes and displayed similar intermod effects. Going back earlier in the afternoon, I see NC did the same thing for a time. In the end, though, they all ended up at their usual levels, with intermittent total fades, sometimes staying absent for a very long while.
(I had only about 15 minutes of SIW today. Would've probably been more, but not long after it first appeared, so did some super strong codar that hung around for the better/worse part of an hour! Couldn't really tell much about the new DFCW timing. There was also a faint trace for about two minutes of what may have been 9ZS, but it didn't last long enough to tell and never reappeared.)
John
Re: WM
Posted by Mike - N8OOU on May 17, 2015 at 04:19:55.
In reply to WM posted by Bill Hensel on May 16, 2015
I have information for both the WM Lowfer and Hifer transmitters on the web at wmbeacon.meekfarm.us. Both beacons operate under the FCC Part 15 rules. Reception reports are welcomed.
"Back in the day" Any Interest?
Posted by David Stinson on May 17, 2015 at 20:40:17.
Back in the mid-1980s, there were many of us working in the 160-190 KC band. We got a great deal done with just analog filters and the only computers being the ones between our ears. Broke 1000 miles and 2000 miles, then California to Hawaii with CW and ears. "Slow CW" and long integrations were very new. Sunday Hifers in ME
I still have many recordings of those beacons as heard in Nevada and many QSLs from LOWFER stations. Is there any interest in hearing short examples of beacons from that time? I have: WI BA Z2 EK MAX MUK QZL MSG FPV PLI RB JKS MEL NV NVA IZJ 8LXJ MRC 7FS R SM NX PRK SUK. May have others- still looking around. GL OM ES 73 DE Dave AB5S
Posted by John, W1TAG on May 17, 2015 at 22:28:42.
Late afternoon copy of WM, the three SIW's (fragments on the QRSS), EH colliding with the slant SIW, NC, MTI, PBJ and GNK.
John, W1TAG/1 Re: WM
Raymond, ME FN43sv
Posted by Bill Hensel on May 17, 2015 at 23:17:43.
In reply to Re: WM posted by Mike - N8OOU on May 17, 2015
Very nice web site, thanks Sir.
Ancient Longwave Broadcasters
Posted by David Stinson on May 17, 2015 at 23:49:19.
While going through my LOWFER tapes, I found this short bit of Longwave broadcasters I received 90 miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada in the spring of 1986. You can tell it was awhile because the LORAN-C splatter is present. Never did identify them. Sounds Russian. Anyone know? Re: Sunday Hifers in ME
http://home.netcom.com/~arc5/LWBC1986.mp3
Posted by John Davis on May 18, 2015 at 03:35:01.
In reply to Sunday Hifers in ME posted by John, W1TAG on May 17, 2015
Wow, John, that's my exact list as well here in SE Kansas! Witnessed more of the propagation peculiarity that brings in more of WM when SIW is in a fade, and vice-versa.
Got some captures to stitch together to illustrate the results, but I'll have to do that in a day or two...today was a carpentry day on the farm, and there are just too many aches and pains right now.
John D.
Hifer change
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 19, 2015 at 13:28:13.
The QRSS6 hifer to horizontal dipole antenna hasn't performed well compared to the slash code and DFCW9 with matched powers to a quarter-wave vertical. So decided to move it out of the hifer band and put it on a MEPT frequency (10,140,015 Hz) at higher power (1/2 W) and a different dipole antenna. The repeating message is now "K3SIW EN52". The new antenna is oriented the same as the old antenna (NW-SE) and just a bit lower. Nonetheless I do see it in the W4HBK grabber at http://www.qsl.net/w4hbk/W4HBKgrabber.html.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: "Back in the day" Any Interest?
Posted by Sal,K1RGO on May 20, 2015 at 15:27:55.
In reply to "Back in the day" Any Interest? posted by David Stinson on May 17, 2015
I used to run SD at ~ 7wpm on ~187 kHz, had a home brew synthesized scheme with 100Hz steps. It was lots of fun. I had skeds with WI and TH and had many 3 way CW QSOs with them. Also lots of other QSOs on CW with HRM,HB, maritime mobile AA1A, and many others from 1976 through 1986. It would be fun to do it again. Now SJ QRSS20 and 7wpm beacon and CW ready. We just need interest. Re: "Back in the day" Any Interest?
later....Sal
Posted by David Stinson on May 20, 2015 at 16:03:42.
In reply to Re: "Back in the day" Any Interest? posted by Sal,K1RGO on May 20, 2015
Thanks for writing, Sal! I have two of WI's QSLs here. I heard him once out in Nevada one evening before sunset, which was a nice surprise. Have some good recordings of his beacon as received north of Las Vegas. Carl, TH, was the first beacon copied at 2000+ miles. I hope to hear Carl is still on this side of the grass with us? Alas, I haven't been able to find the TH tapes. Perhaps they've been lost over the years, but I'll keep looking. Lots of old boxes left to search, LOL. Re: "Back in the day" Any Interest?
Thank you again for writing. I have the old "R" and "NTS" beacon transmitters still, but my lot is filled with RF-eating trees now. Maybe I'll try anyway. The work on transmitting loops, which aren't so bad about E-field obstructions, looks very promising. GL OM ES 73 DE Dave AB5S
Posted by Sal.K1RGO on May 21, 2015 at 14:16:38.
In reply to Re: "Back in the day" Any Interest? posted by David Stinson on May 20, 2015
Nice dxing, David, I have a few cassette tapes gathering dust with WI and TH 3 way and many others in the basement somewhere I should dig up. The cw activity is dead here, only QRSS or other activity ruling. If I can get some "locals" interested It may stir up some activity. Re: "Back in the day" Any Interest?
later....Sal
Posted by Doug Williams on May 21, 2015 at 22:13:35.
In reply to "Back in the day" Any Interest? posted by David Stinson on May 17, 2015
Plenty of interest, David. I would love to hear your old recordings of those Lowfers.
Here is a pic of some QSL cards I got from some of those in the 1980s and early 1990s:
I also remember copying 9HDQ and TH.
HiFers 24 May, 2015
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on May 24, 2015 at 14:08:49.
Hi All. Listening this morning in the 1200 to 1400 UT period was able to catch MTI fairly weak, 3-3-9, ~ 13557 KHz, V1RGO/B, very strong, 5-5-9, ~ 13562 KHz, and GNK, also very strong, 5-5-9, around 13564 KHz. While GNK continues to be very good copy, the others faded into the noise after 15 or 20 minutes of listening. Ed WSlidell, LA EM50cg
Addntl. HiFer 1520 UT, 24 May, 2015
Posted by EdWSlidell, LA on May 24, 2015 at 14:27:17.
Hi agn. Just noticed that GNK disappeared completely, and RQ slightly lower ~ 13563.5 KHz suddenly appeared, around 3-3-9 level, fairly steadily. Also noticed MTI and becoming audible again in the 2-3-9 signal range. Nothing from TON or K6FRC at this time. Ed WSlidell, LA EM50cg
Re: Addntl. HiFer 1520 UT, 24 May, 2015
Posted by Bill Hensel RQs DADDY on May 25, 2015 at 13:58:09.
In reply to Addntl. HiFer 1520 UT, 24 May, 2015 posted by EdWSlidell, LA on May 24, 2015
Ed shoot me an address on my e mail and I'll get you a QSL card for RQ.
Happy dxing
TSN. In DN10tx
Posted by Brian. nb9e on May 25, 2015 at 23:06:54.
Nice copy right now from the work QTH in Carlin.NV.
Dayton Roadtrip wrap-up
Posted by Ward K7PO on May 26, 2015 at 01:35:46.
Sorry so late with this, but life has been making demands on my time lately. After my initial report on the way out to Dayton, nothing much was heard. GNK and MTI sporadically, but not much else. Then, Monday 18 May, just after 1900Z, things got interesting. We were east of Amarillo on I-40 when I tuned for TON. I was hearing a few bits and pieces of the call and long dash, when MTI came up to about 559. I decided to look around and found TSN, and got several strong ID's on it. Next was SZX, loud and clear for 20-30 seconds and gone. Moving around again found GNK, about 539. MTI, GNK, SZX, and TSN continued 'trading places' for the next 25 minutes or so, and then they were all gone. Generally, no two of them were strong at the same time. It did make for interesting listening on the way to the Big Texan for lunch.
Ward K7PO Re: Hifer change
back in AZ for a while. . .
Posted by John Davis on May 27, 2015 at 04:09:42.
In reply to Hifer change posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 19, 2015
And now the late monitoring news....
Sorry to be so late with it, but the June issue of The LOWDOWN pretty much monopolized my keyboard time for the past 10 days. I've been wanting to show how SIW looked here after the DFCW timing change, and while the QRSS6 beacon was still on too.
John
Re: Dayton Roadtrip wrap-up
Posted by John Davis on May 27, 2015 at 04:14:40.
In reply to Dayton Roadtrip wrap-up posted by Ward K7PO on May 26, 2015
Most interesting results, Ward. Thanks for posting, and glad to hear you've made it back home OK despite all the rough weather you may have had to dodge enroute, here on the Plains.
John
Re: Hifer change
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 27, 2015 at 11:05:02.
In reply to Re: Hifer change posted by John Davis on May 27, 2015
Thanks for the triple capture John. The QRSS6 dipole source is doing well now on 10,140,015 Hz. See it regularly on the KL7L and VK2DDI grabbers. Of course with much more power than what's allowed on 13.555 MHz, DX isn't hard to come by.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: Hifer change
Posted by John Davis on May 28, 2015 at 07:16:18.
In reply to Re: Hifer change posted by Garry, K3SIW on May 27, 2015
Will try to remember to look for the 30 m signal too, next time I'm out in the field.
I was out there working on my building from just past mid-afternoon to sunset this afternoon, and had captures going. Not good conditions today, but I did see NC, EH (with its space frequency resting firmly on 13555.440), and sometimes SIW slant. Thankfully, the slant mode showed up nicely through the FSK, when it was visible at all. Had a very faint band of RF energy roughly where the DFCW should have been, but actually a few Hz low in frequency and a couple Hz wider than it should be. Don't know what that actually was.
Heard MTI about an hour before sunset; nothing from it earlier in the afternoon. Copied GNK a few times, both when I first listened and later, but no more than two letters in a row before quick fading took it back out.
Early in my session, I was tuning up toward SZK and heard definite CW, but by the time I got to the nominal frequency, it was gone and never returned. Nobody else heard today, even partially.
John
grid?
Posted by Ward K7PO on May 29, 2015 at 01:17:40.
Hey John,
Looks like you moved me! I'm in Tonopah, AZ DM33.
The listing has me in DN40.
Re: grid?
Ward K7PO
Posted by John Davis on May 29, 2015 at 04:29:03.
In reply to grid? posted by Ward K7PO on May 29, 2015
Actually, it was HamCall.net that moved you. And, it's the second time this year they've done that to us when an operator moved his beacon from a different site to the same QTH showing on his ham license.
Will gladly change it, but are you sure you wouldn't rather just move to DN42if, wherever that may be? We're all supposed to believe the Internet knows everything, now, right. :)
Re: grid?
Posted by Mike - N8OOU on May 29, 2015 at 11:50:30.
In reply to Re: grid? posted by John Davis on May 29, 2015
John;
I updated my grid square on the HamCall database a month or so ago. After reading this thread, I looked myself up again and find that it is now incorrect again.
I found this explanation in the database section of their FAQ;
HamCall Database Back to top
Q:How do you get the latitude and longitude for my station?
A: When your callsign or address first enters our database your lat/long is automatically calculated on-the-fly from your 5-digit ZIP code. Grid squares are calculated directly from lat/long. A couple times a year we do special database processing that calculates a very precise lat/long/grid square from your actual street address. Assuming your FCC address is where you operate from, these values are usually within a few hundred feet of your actual location. Some other databases seem to use the center of your 5-digit ZIP code to calculate your lat/long/grid, so don't assume other databases are more accurate just because they show a consistently different set of coordinates than HamCall.
Q:My latitude/longitude and map location is wrong, can it be corrected?
A: Usually if your FCC address exactly matches the address your post office has for you, and you haven't moved recently, we'll have a very accurate lat/long for you. However, addresses with PO boxes or "rural routes" often can't yield an accurate lat/long. Other than your published street address we don't have any special way to know where you live, but if you wish to obtain a more accurate lat/long with a GPS receiver, Google Maps, or other means, feel free to enter it into our updater form at http://hamcall.net/updates
Hifer USC in ME
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on May 29, 2015 at 22:54:10.
It's been a while since I have seen Hifer USC here in Maine, but it has been very good copy late this afternoon. Propagation is pretty strange, right now, with EH clobbering NC and the slant version of SIW, all of which are on the same frequency. The DFCW version of SIW and WM were not visible a few minutes ago, though WM seems to be coming back.
Here's a shot of USC showing the odd propagation-related behavior that John Davis has sometimes noted on Hifer signals:
http://www.w1tag.com/files/USC.jpg
The USC signal was clean before and after this period.
John, W1TAG
Re: Hifer USC in ME
Posted by Pat Bunn on May 30, 2015 at 13:03:27.
In reply to Hifer USC in ME posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on May 29, 2015
I noticed no reports and replaced the chip and still no report so I finally dropped the dipole yesterday and found the feed wire broken.
Pat
Re: Hifer USC in ME
Posted by John Davis on May 30, 2015 at 17:08:34.
In reply to Re: Hifer USC in ME posted by Pat Bunn on May 30, 2015
That would explain it! I've been wondering where USC had gone, since it used to be such a regular here. Still too much standing water to get to my antenna today, but maybe I'll be able to get out there tomorrow.
John
Re: Hifer USC in ME
Posted by John, W1TAG on May 30, 2015 at 18:35:12.
In reply to Re: Hifer USC in ME posted by John Davis on May 30, 2015
Pat,
Coming in like a ton of bricks again today. Beating NC, which is no small thing. Conditions appear to be so-so.
John, W1TAG
potrzebie
