File Attachment 1: Ottawa-20220703_1710.jpg
MedFER PCO Coming into KPH SDR
Hearing PCO on 13563.50 with a decent signal, 2000Z. A beacon fading in underneath at about 15WPM (didn't catch call).
Band openings today seems pretty hot.
73's
Beacon RF
Posted by John K5MO on July 02, 2022 at 15:21:56.
Beacon RF is a good Q5 here on 13564.9 which is interesting prop as if it's indeed in Winston Salem, it's only about 90 miles away. NVIS?
RVA, ODX beacons
Posted by dagasque on July 02, 2022 at 17:27:53.
~13565khz @ 1720z Fair-Poor. Subject to much fading. Listening on W3HFU SDR in Westminster MD.
Re: RVA, ODX beacons
Posted by dagasque on July 02, 2022 at 17:43:58.
In reply to RVA, ODX beacons posted by dagasque on July 02, 2022
KAH (Georgian Bay, ON) also fading in at times @ 1743
22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by Andy G0FTD on July 03, 2022 at 15:06:48.
Started - 1500 utc.
https://qsl.net/g0ftd/grabber.htm
Can already see 6 signals.
73 de Andy
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by John Davis on July 03, 2022 at 17:50:24.
In reply to 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by Andy G0FTD on July 03, 2022
Very neat, Andy. At 1710, I can make out seven signals. From top to bottom: EH, NC, SIW slant, K3SIW WSPR & QRSS6, EDJ, VLF, and (probable) W8AC WSPR.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: Ottawa-20220703_1710.jpg
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Thanks John.
22m seems to be delivering the goods, whilst I'm finding the other
bands in an appalling state :-(
Keep on having fun guys !
74 de Andy
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by Gregg on July 04, 2022 at 17:16:21.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by Andy G0FTD on July 03, 2022
Hi Andy,
"I'm finding the other bands in an appalling state :-("
Fickle conditions for sure. No rhyme or reason.
The guys playing around 4096 are blasting in all over the north-western hemisphere day and night. 22M doing pretty good, CODAR willing. Have yet to log any BeFER or a 49'er this year. Even heard a wee LowFER up until last month, yet powerful LF aero NDB DX was terrible this past season.
73's
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by John K5MO on July 04, 2022 at 22:53:01.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by Gregg on July 04, 2022
It's really fun to see the micro beacon activity in the 4096 hot spot (I notice there's some others in various dark corners of the spectrum too).
They make great DX listening targets.
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by Andy G0FTD on July 05, 2022 at 08:51:22.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by John K5MO on July 04, 2022
Hi Greg / John
>Fickle conditions for sure. No rhyme or reason.
Seconded ! ;-)
4096.
Is there a narrow window like the other watering holes, or is it
more of a haphazard affair ?
If I knew where to look and have an approx *regional* location
I could always set up an occasional remote grabber.
73 de Andy
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by Gregg on July 05, 2022 at 18:12:02.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by Andy G0FTD on July 05, 2022
Hi Andy,
They range from 4095-dot-something up to 4102 is the highest I've caught.
Most are in the Cali desert parks as I understand.
Yesterday evening I caught an "octo-fer", eight beacons on one KPH screen (four of them could be heard from my home QTH loop, significantly farther north) :-D
73's!
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 05, 2022 at 18:42:52.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by Gregg on July 04, 2022
Gregg,
Interesting about the 4096 beacons. Just checked them out on HF Underground
for more info.
What is a BeFER? I know MedFER, HiFER, LowFER and 49er's, but not BeFER's?
Bob Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
EDJ
EM83du
Posted by Gregg on July 05, 2022 at 19:03:45.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 05, 2022
Hi Bob,
"Between FER" as describes on the MedFER beacon list page on this site, "44 Metres, authorized in Canada only".
There's only one listing, 2IQ on 6776.7 in Westmeath, ON. But from my experience that entire band and from the pirate radio playground just below 40M just don't poropagate all that well across the rockies into my QTH. Or even SanFran where KPH is, some of those blasting 2KW of rock barely tickle S3 on the meter.
Just the band I guess.
73's
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by John Davis on July 05, 2022 at 20:58:17.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by Gregg on July 05, 2022
I can't think why 40± m would have any more trouble making it over the Rockies than 22 m. When Jason Goldring operated as J1LPB about 3½ years ago he was copied nearly as well across the continent on 44 m as he was on 22. His antenna on 44 was even shorter electrically at 44, but it had a decent ground system. No idea what became of him, though, and 2IQ has been only "by request" for ages.
If the pirates below 40 meters are really running an honest 2 kW (and of course we would expect nothing less than total honesty from a pirate, aye matey?) I seriously question what sort of an antenna most of them use. Hardly seems likely most of them are as conspicuous as a dipole or turnstile suspended half a wavelength up, or a vertical in an open field with a decent ground system under it. Most of them are probably working NVIS at best.
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by John K5MO on July 05, 2022 at 22:40:01.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by Gregg on July 05, 2022
http://69.27.184.58:8076/?f=4095.16cwnz13
The area just around 4096 always has some interesting signals.
Questionable 22 m WSPR SNR
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on July 07, 2022 at 14:08:51.
EA8BFK has been regularly monitoring 22m WSPR transmissions. Last night reports for my hifer showed a very suspicious jump in SNR. I've seen that a time or two before. Perhaps caused by a local short-lived glitch from interference?
2022-07-07 04:40 K3SIW 13.555401 -26 0 EN52ta +7 0.005 EA8BFK IL38bo 6710 4169 WSPR-2
2022-07-07 04:10 K3SIW 13.555400 +10 0 EN52ta +7 0.005 EA8BFK IL38bo 6710 4169 WSPR-2
2022-07-07 04:00 K3SIW 13.555401 -27 0 EN52ta +7 0.005 EA8BFK IL38bo 6710 4169 WSPR-2
Overnight I also got a couple decodes from Laurence, KL7L. Decodes at nearby W8AC weren't that much earlier. Interesting to see short and long skip so close together.
2022-07-07 08:20 K3SIW 13.555409 -25 0 EN52ta +7 0.005 KL7L BP51ip 4502 2797 WSPR-2
2022-07-07 08:00 K3SIW 13.555409 -28 0 EN52ta +7 0.005 KL7L BP51ip 4502 2797 WSPR-2
2022-07-07 06:40 K3SIW 13.555403 -26 0 EN52ta +7 0.005 W8AC EN91jm 597 371 WSPR-2
2022-07-07 06:30 K3SIW 13.555403 -26 0 EN52ta +7 0.005 W8AC EN91jm 597 371 WSPR-2
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land.
Posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 07, 2022 at 18:07:05.
In reply to Re: 22 m band grabber QRV for a few hours via VE3 land. posted by John K5MO on July 05, 2022
I just tried this again and got in. Yes, interesting indeed!
Thanks for the link!
Better than any RX I have!
Bob "RF" beacon
EDJ
Posted by Dave Gasque on July 07, 2022 at 20:37:30.
~13565 - Poor but readable @ 2031 via W3HFU Kiwi in MD.
hifer wspr2 short hop
Posted by swlem3 on July 08, 2022 at 17:57:31.
I'm getting some nice decodes from KG5ZDA today, short hop 104 mi. I'm using a vertical, I'd probably see even better results if I had a low dipole to switch to. Best so far has been -5db, but all decodes are solid.
just fyi...
Ray
Lowfer net power failure (fwd)
Posted by Jerry Parker on July 09, 2022 at 01:35:08.
Hi everyone,
My apologies to everyone.
We had a power failure here which took us down, and the backup system didn't keep us up like it was supposed to.
I am forwarding KD4PBJ's input for the week (MP3 conversion, temporarily attached here).
Thanks everyone for the effort.
See you next week.
Jerry WA6OWR
FL PIE/B
Posted by John K5MO on July 09, 2022 at 23:44:51.
https://i.imgur.com/E78kyHM.jpg
Nice sig with some QRM from T'storms here @23:40 utc 7-9-22
RTE R1 252 kHz LW off air for engineering work Wed 13 July
Posted by Mike Terry on July 10, 2022 at 10:54:33.
RTE transmitter network provider 2rn say 252 kHz will be off air next Wednesday 0830-1430 UTC:
2rn: - Summerhill, Co. Meath. Complete outage due to essential engineering work on Radio One Long Wave service between 09:30 and 15:30 on Wednesday 13th July 2022.
https://twitter.com/2rnNMC/status/1546061116291383298
(2rn on Twitter 10 July)
73 Alan Pennington Tonight is MRHS "Night of Nights"
British DX Club
Posted by John Davis on July 12, 2022 at 22:23:01.
A quick reminder that this evening (12 July, 5 PM Pacific) is the start of MRHS's annual "Night of Nights" event. KPH will operate on 426 and 500 kHz as well as their licensed HF frequencies. Read more about it at www.lwca.net now.
EH hifer today
Posted by swlem3 on July 16, 2022 at 23:25:34.
At least from the N. Texas perspective, hifer propagation has been way down the past few days. Besides decoding wspr2 hifers today, I had Argo running and saw EH doing well despite the downturn in prop.
www.dropbox.com/s/0w6af6gj5le9oau/eh.jpg?dl=0
Still managed to catch a couple decodes of KG7BZ. Others were KA9SZX and W8AC... none at good signal levels and not too many decodes either.
Ray... EladFDM-S2 w/ vertical wire
Sunday Jul 17th Hifers
Posted by ed holland on July 18, 2022 at 04:56:03.
Hi Folks,
Good conditions here, especially local evening (0400 UTC and beyond). In particular, Strong traces from EC, USC, SHO, possibles from LCSC and also a strange multi frequency repeating signal that could be the repurposed WM. TSSn was outside the Spectrum Lab capture band, but popped in to say hello, audible as I was monitoring.
Ed
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 17-Jul-22_x133.jpg
"D" beacon
1710 - Beacon (?) "D" in CW with a grating noise between letter transmissions @ 0601. First time I've heard ANYTHING on this frequency from this QTH. Fort Smith AR/RSPdx/MLA30+
Re: "D" beacon
Posted by John Davis on July 23, 2022 at 15:41:41.
In reply to "D" beacon posted by Dave Gasque on July 23, 2022
Probably not a beacon as such, but I have occasionally heard bursts of data signals in that general vicinity that sound like possible position reporting packets. The band is allocated for radiopositioning, but I don't know what specific services use it.
wm hifer
Posted by swlem3 on July 23, 2022 at 21:12:15.
WM hifer today. Propagation still not great in N. Texas. Have some wspr2 decodes of SZX, W8AC, one of KG7BZ so far... that's about it.
www.dropbox.com/s/r45iyuqq790luew/wm.jpg?dl=0
Ray ... N. Central Texas
Re: "D" beacon (Posts Being Rejected)
Posted by Webmaster on July 24, 2022 at 15:55:12.
In reply to Re: "D" beacon posted by John Davis on July 23, 2022
FYI, the board software rejects posts containing names of social media sites sometimes, based on how often those sites have appeared recently in attempted spam messages. Bearing in mind that our Posting Guidelines discourage referring readers to such sites in general, sometimes it may be legitimately necessary to mention them anyway. In such cases, I recommend treating them as mild swear words. Example: "f*cebook"
Re: "D" beacon (Posts Being Rejected)
Posted by Dave Gasque on July 24, 2022 at 20:23:43.
In reply to Re: "D" beacon (Posts Being Rejected) posted by Webmaster on July 24, 2022
Good to know...now!
"BB" 13564.5
Posted by Marcy on July 24, 2022 at 23:27:19.
I cpy a "BB" cw beacon hr at 2320 not sure qth sri Re: "BB" 13564.5
73,s Marcy
Posted by Marcy on July 24, 2022 at 23:30:05.
In reply to "BB" 13564.5 posted by Marcy on July 24, 2022
Just too add as most extremely weak and QSB so Re: "D" beacon (Posts Being Rejected)
I,m hoping I copied this two letter beacon correctly?
73,s Marcy
Posted by Webmaster on July 25, 2022 at 03:15:48.
In reply to Re: "D" beacon (Posts Being Rejected) posted by Dave Gasque on July 24, 2022
Sorry about that. I didn't see it happening until I looked at the log files Saturday night.
The spammer-scammers using Russian tools and Chinese internet providers have become very aggressive again lately, so I have to either let the spam trapper be equally aggressive or else shut down the board to all but registered users, which defeats the purpose of the board. That's why the error message the user receives (when something in the body of the post trigger the spam filter) suggests contacting us if you believe you got the message in error.
John Propagation uptick
Posted by swlem3 on July 25, 2022 at 16:26:25.
Today, July 25 2022, is starting out to have improved propagation here in N. Central Texas. I'm seeing WA1EDJ appearing in the wspr2 mode again after a long spell of no decodes. All the other usual stations are present, and with better decoding signal strengths.
just a "heads-up" and fyi.
Ray
Re: Propagation uptick
Posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 25, 2022 at 18:22:06.
In reply to Propagation uptick posted by swlem3 on July 25, 2022
Well, WA1EDJ WSPR has been QRT lately. Been trying to get some WSPR going on 6M
so took the TX that was on 22M. Sorta got it working but BS170's don't have much
left at 50 MHz.
So, I took another W3PM TX I had and put it on 22M. It was basically just a signal generator, not a real TX with finals. Running a barefoot Si5351a
(one of the popular breakout dev boards) into a LPF only.
Seems to be getting spots.
Bob Re: Propagation uptick
EDJ
EM83du
Posted by swlem3 on July 25, 2022 at 19:10:36.
In reply to Re: Propagation uptick posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 25, 2022
Well Bob, good to see you back on, and your doing fine here with the barefoot setup, as you can see on wsprnet. Too bad the BS170's run out of steam at 6m.
73,
Ray
Re: WH2XIL 188.2 6WPM & QRSS 12
Posted by Bruce WA1HGJ on July 26, 2022 at 23:44:18.
In reply to WH2XIL 188.2 6WPM & QRSS 12 posted by Warren K2ORS on June 29, 2022
Isn’t 45 W out far above the 1 W permitted for Part 15 160-190 kHz LOWFER band? Or did I miss a rule change?
Re: WH2XIL 188.2 6WPM & QRSS 12
Posted by John Davis on July 27, 2022 at 08:37:39.
In reply to Re: WH2XIL 188.2 6WPM & QRSS 12 posted by Bruce WA1HGJ on July 26, 2022
WH2XIL is a licensed statiom under Part 5, Experimental Radio Service.
The FCC Office of Engineering Technology experimental license search is at: Re: WH2XIL 188.2 6WPM & QRSS 12
apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/CallsignSearch.cfm
Posted by Bruce WA1HGJ on July 27, 2022 at 10:15:17.
In reply to Re: WH2XIL 188.2 6WPM & QRSS 12 posted by John Davis on July 27, 2022
Thanks for this information, John. Didn’t realize that was possible. BTW, I took a listen last night but didn’t hear it here, about 25 miles N of Boston.
WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 28, 2022 at 15:27:01.
John,
Saw your comments in the last 2 Lowdown's concerning ham calls on 22M WSPR.
You mentioned perhaps using the Q prefix to make it clearly a non amateur call.
I don't see how that works for WA1EDJ. The rules for WSPR call encoding are:
1. Optional letter or number
2. Letter
3. Number
4-6. Up to 3 letters
I have no problem changing my call for 22M WSPR, just to what?
QA1EDJ?
Just need some clarification.
TNX Ground-based loop
Bob
EDJ
Posted by Bruce WA1HGJ on July 28, 2022 at 23:54:28.
Thinking about WH2XIL’s ground-based dipole for 188.2 kHz, I read with interest John Davis’ column On the Air in the latest issue of Lowdown, just received (via email) in the last day or so. In it, John states, regarding WH2XIL’s ground-based dipole: “because its antenna is a ground-based dipole, which at LF forms the equivalent of a loop antenna in the Earth itself, complete with high angle radiation comparable to an elevated physical loop.” I am (very slowly!) working on a beacon for 178 kHz and intend to use a 50’ loop (- short length of feedline) which I had planned for a horizontal orientation well above ground. But now considering John’s comment, I’m wondering if the same loop laid on the ground itself might work? Or would ground mounting only work with a dipole where the 2 “halves” were separated thus forcing the ground to become part of the loop circuit? Would appreciate any thoughts.
Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by John Davis on July 29, 2022 at 05:26:29.
In reply to WSPR Callsign encoding posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 28, 2022
Seeking clarification is exactly the reason for the question.
If the WSPR identifier limit is a strict maximum of 6 characters, one would indeed have to substitute the first character, but that has at least two drawbacks: it then becomes necessary to tease the real call out of the substitution somehow (if you're not already familiar with who it is, don't know about the LWCA operator list, and/or it doesn't appear there yet); and every monitor looking for you on WSPRnet needs to remember to disable the "ignore special characters' default before each search.
Those of us with 5-character calls might have an easier time if we can legitimately insert an extra zero before our radio district number ..."AEØØCQ" instead of AEØCQ, or "WØ8AC" instead of W8AC, just to pick arbitrary examples... because so far as I have been able to find at this point, the FCC does not currently issue any call signs with two numerals, the first one of which is a zero.
Just sort of thinking out loud here.
Re: Ground-based loop
Posted by John Davis on July 29, 2022 at 06:44:19.
In reply to Ground-based loop posted by Bruce WA1HGJ on July 28, 2022
Hi Bruce. If you have the means to suspend a wire well above ground level, unless it's unavoidably surrounded by a thick stand of tall trees, I'd recommend avoiding loop antennas altogether. It's generally more effective, foot for foot, to use a vertical monopole.
Even where a loop is the only alternative because of terrain, I would utterly avoid a horizontal loop in any case, regardless of elevation. At LF, groundwave propagation is effectively shorted out by horizontal polarization. Also, since soil is a better conductor at LF than at HF, the out-of-phase reflection from the earth beneath a horizontal antenna (dipole or loop) tends to cancel most of the skywave, too. Same basic reason HF loops-on-ground work better at higher frequencies than they do at, say, 160 meters. At 1750 m, performance would be a factor of 10 to 11× worse.
Your surmise about how Warren's dipole works is substantially correct, according to my understanding of the matter. The current down into and back up from the earth forms a broad approximation of a vertical loop. This accounts for why it is a better radiator off the ends of the dipole rather than broadside, among other things. The principle dates back to the work of Ferdinand Braun at the end of the 19th century.
But Warren is not using this type of antenna for radiation efficiency. That's definitely not one of its strong points. Braun was seeking ways to achieve short to medium range tactical communication over land for the German army, without the need to either extend (and maintain) fragile telegraph lines across no-man's-land, or to waste resources erecting substantial antennas that would immediately become bombing targets. I believe the greatest range Warren achieved before the SWR problem was 40 miles with 45 watts...many times the output of a Part 15 beacon.
Masts in Topolna -CZE- ex 270 kHz are no more
Posted by Mike Terry on July 29, 2022 at 12:03:07.
July 29, 2022
Masts in Topolna -CZE- ex 270kHz are no more.
Two masts of the former high power Czech Radio transmitter in Topolná, Czechia (270kHz) were demolished today.
Karel Honzik, Czechia to mwcircle iog (2022-07-28) via Mediumwave News
Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 29, 2022 at 13:41:16.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by John Davis on July 29, 2022
Thanks John,
For a x6 call the second position can be a letter OR number.
So maybe W11EDJ. Keeping the digit the same as the current radio district number might work. We'll just have to make "ignore special characters" a habit.
I might try it over the weekend. Takes a reprogram of the WSPR machine micro.
It does make it a problem for a WSPR TX that switches bands too.
Currently mine is 22M only.
Bob Re: Ground-based loop
EDJ
EM83du
Posted by Bruce WA1HGJ on July 29, 2022 at 21:01:42.
In reply to Re: Ground-based loop posted by John Davis on July 29, 2022
Hi John, VE on 630 m
Thanks for your reply and comments. Very interesting and informative. For a variety of reasons, not least being the space and location available (not to mention working within the aesthetic considerations of my wife), I’m committed to trying the loop setup out first, but I certainly appreciate your pointers about vertical versus horizontal orientation and will modify plans accordingly. And OK, the ground mounting idea is out the window for the reasons you state. I’ll keep you and this board updated on progress toward getting the beacon on the air, but have a ways to go.
Enjoying this forum and message board. Thanks.
Bruce
Posted by Joe VO1NA on July 30, 2022 at 01:38:02.
10-1/2 years after WRC 2012 approved a new 630m band, Canadians are now permitted to transmit on 472-479 kHz as of 28 July 2022.
73 Joe VO1NA
Re: VE on 630 m
Posted by John Davis on July 30, 2022 at 19:43:47.
In reply to VE on 630 m posted by Joe VO1NA on July 30, 2022
Hi Joe. Could you share the source of this announcement, please?
Given that the band first became part of the Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations in 2014, was used for an historic JT9 contact between VE7SL and VK4YB in 2016, and was again touted by RAC as open for amateur use in 2017, I'm afraid the significance of the 28 July date in this most recent announcement is kind of unclear to me.
I'm aware that an update to the RBR-4 regulations was released this week, but if the band had not been listed there before now, how was that prior activity accomplished?
FEAR NOT, CITIZENS...Yet Again.
Posted by Webmaster on July 30, 2022 at 19:58:34.
This morning KD4PBJ brought to my attention that lwca.net has resumed throwing out scary error messages about security certificates and such. It's safe to ignore the bogus message. The server is still operating in SSL mode, and no personal data about you is stored there anyway.
If you seem to remember something like this happening a few months ago, that's because it did. GoDaddy, our hosting provider, is pretty good about a lot of things, but lately their efforts as a Certifying Authority leave a lot to be desired.
Re: "BB" 13564.5
Posted by Marcy on July 30, 2022 at 21:58:29.
In reply to Re: "BB" 13564.5 posted by Marcy on July 24, 2022
Does anybody know the QTH of this beacon "BB" ?? Re: VE on 630 m
I post but never get any feedback on here ...ever??
thank you 73,s Marcy
Posted by Joe VO1NA on July 30, 2022 at 23:00:15.
In reply to Re: VE on 630 m posted by John Davis on July 30, 2022
Hi John,
In the past, IC/ISED Canada had issued temporary authorisations for 504-509 and 472-479 kHz. Until 28 July there was no other official authority for Canadian amateurs to transmit in the band. Some, including yours truly, were advised by ISED officials that with the publication of the table of frequency allocations in 2014 that the band had become available to Canadian amateurs ISED later clarified that this was not the case until the publication of RBR4. Sorry for the confusion and hope I haven't caused more!
RBR4 may be found at https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf10650.html. ISED announced the change on their web site.
73 Re: "BB" 13564.5
Joe
Posted by John Davis on July 31, 2022 at 07:28:03.
In reply to Re: "BB" 13564.5 posted by Marcy on July 30, 2022
Hi Marcy. Lack of feedback (particularly from beacon operators) is an unfortunate corollary to life in a highly specialized hobby such as this, but please know that your input is always appreciated by those of us who also monitor the band.
I've not yet heard a "BB" ID yet myself, but I'm wondering if it might be incomplete copy of "PIE/B FL" which is on that same frequency. With such a long call sent at such a rapid rate, combined with the rapid deep fades that happen on the band, it can often require a prolonged effort to get the whole ID. The "/B" in particular could conceivably be read as "BB" is certain elements of the characters were lost enroute.
Re: VE on 630 m
Posted by John Davis on July 31, 2022 at 07:30:05.
In reply to Re: VE on 630 m posted by Joe VO1NA on July 30, 2022
Thanks Joe. That really does clarify the matter quite a bit.
Re: "BB" 13564.5
Posted by Robert VA3ROM on July 31, 2022 at 12:52:06.
In reply to Re: "BB" 13564.5 posted by John Davis on July 31, 2022
Good morning Marcy,
The last list published in the "Lowdown" is dated Jan 2021 so it's a bit stale, but it shows: 13564.740 ABBY Gibsonia, PA FN00 CW (h,r, 2022/01), which is another possible source for "BB".
73.
Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by Robert, VA3ROM on July 31, 2022 at 14:11:54.
In reply to WSPR Callsign encoding posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 28, 2022
Morning Bob,
Both my ISED and your FCC are quite clear on the matter that Amateur Radio callsigns can't be used on non-Amateur Radio bands. Period. The problem arises because the WSPRnet is listing 22 m and making it seem that it's a new Amateur Radio WSPR sub-band when it should have an asterisk and then an explanation that it's not and has a different set of rules because "ignorance of the law" can't be used as a defense, at least not for Canadian Amateurs but perhaps your FCC is more lenient and forgiving about these matters?
Being an experimental band, I'm now using "1X" and "3ROM". "1X" being experimental and "3ROM" keeps my call area "3" and "ROM" moniker. It walks the fine line as appearing to be a valid Amateur Radio callsign but isn't once someone does a QRZ.com or other callsign search.
Pico ballooners who transmit WSPR telemetry use "0" and "Q" and now "1" as the first character in their telemetry beacons. Because "1" use is very new and is less commonly used, why not take and use it for the 22 m band? The "X" means "experimental" since that's what the 22 m band is in-so-far-as we are concerned.
It's not a bother to setup a WSPRnet search for 22 m, "1X3ROM" and unchecking the "Exclude special callsigns" box. Or using a wildcard search for "1X*" to find all 22 m experimental WSPR beacons, if we all agreed to start our 22 m WSPR beacons with "1X". Of just searching the 22 m in general for all WSPR beacons in the band.
I also transmit a telemetry-over-WSPR packet immediately following and those start with "1" but the next 5 characters are variable since they encode temperature, humidity, dewpoint, pressure and solar/battery voltage levels and it will change as the encoded values change. The grid and dBm remains the same but the dBm field is often used by Amateur Radio ballooners, which is why you sometimes see "wonky" dBm values. In this case, I use a WSPRnet wildcard search for "1*" and my "EN58" grid to pull out only those spotted 22 m WSPR packets starting with "1" transmitted from my grid. Decoding the packet requires using a custom Excel or other decoding spreadsheet. It's how I can monitor my remote RV trailer park site with minimal effort and battery drain. I'm using QRPLabs "Ultimate" Arduino shield and Si5351A DDS and added sensors since the U4B is unavailable due to the global chip crisis (mainly the onboard GPS module is hard to source).
Just my 2 Canuck cents worth about this matter but everyone is free to do whatever they want to do in this ISM sub-band, except for using your Amateur Radio callsign.
73, Robert
PS Hojo's Ham Blog has a great explanation of how to use telemetry-over-WSPR techniques then there's VE3KCL's QRPLab posts on the matter.
https://hojoham.blogspot.com/search?q=wspr+encoding
http://qrp-labs.com/ultimate3/ve3kcl-balloons/ve3kcl-s4.html#protocol
Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by Zeak on July 31, 2022 at 16:04:22.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by Robert, VA3ROM on July 31, 2022
Good points Robert!!
The fussing and worrying by folks on 22m about 5dBm or less EIRP with all the obsessive calculations there of and then turning around and using their Amateur Radio call sign which is *totally illegal* was always an amazement to me.
Arrrrrrr!! Matey, its still pirate radio albeit with an experimental twist !
But in the end, that’s what us humans do, worry about death and taxes and then forget about living life.
Zeak,
DXplorer adds 22 m ISM band support
Posted by Robert, VA3ROM on July 31, 2022 at 16:24:17.
To All Interested Parties,
Sent a message to SOTABEAMS UK about adding 22 m ISM band support to their DXplorer
website, which provides a great free tool (premium subscription service also available) to analyze WSPR data using various tools so I use it quite a bit for quick and dirty data analysis. Much to my surprise, Martin Jackson from SOTABEAMS made the programming change shortly after receiving my email, and on a Sunday, too!
Just ran a few tests and DXplorer had no problems using my "1X3ROM" 22 m ISM band WSPR identifier that I'm using and extracting data from the WSPRnet. Martin added an ISM tag to the frequency and it's listed as 13.55 MHz (ISM).
See http://dxplorer.net/
73,
Robert
Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on July 31, 2022 at 17:00:40.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by Robert, VA3ROM on July 31, 2022
Robert, if the FCC is "quite clear" on the illegality of license-free stations identifying with ham callsigns they certainly hide it in their part 15 regulations. And I see no mention of such a prohibition at https://www.lwca.net/sitepage/part15/index.htm.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 31, 2022 at 18:11:51.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by Garry, K3SIW on July 31, 2022
I just reprogrammed call sign on my WSPR TX.
Same freq, now W11EDJ. Gets through WSPRNet as a "non-unique" call just fine.
Bob Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
WA1EDJ
EM83du
Posted by swlem3 on July 31, 2022 at 18:35:19.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by Robert, VA3ROM on July 31, 2022
Just decoded VA3ROM with the new callsign...
220731 1820 -25 1.13 13.5554613 1X3ROM EN58 7
Ray ... N. Central Texas Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by John Davis on July 31, 2022 at 22:44:01.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 31, 2022
Good work, Bob. No reason WSPRnet should object. But (and doesn't one of those always come along?) it occurred to me this morning that my idea for an extra digit has one major flaw: in licensing TV translators, the FCC uses a W or K followed by the two-digit channel number, followed by three letters.
Channels below ten are designated as "02" through "09" so not all two-digit workarounds are truly legit in the strictest sense. I could conceivably be AEØØCQ and you could be WØ1EDJ (probably even WAØ1EDJ if your transmitter permits seven characters in that field, because WSPRnet appears to permit up to eight) without overlapping any potentially valid calls in any service. There never was a TV Channel 0, and Channel 1 went away with the creation of the first FM broadcast band in 1941. All two-digit numbers from 02 through 36 are right out the window; and channel 37 technically exists, but remains reserved for radio astronomy, so no translator has been or will be licensed there in the foreseeable future.
Bottom line: hams in zones 1, 2 and 3 are out of luck for simply duplicating the digit for purposes of this mental exercise.
Next question would be, does your rig allow you to program seven or eight characters in the call sign field?
Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
Posted by Ward K7PO on July 31, 2022 at 23:27:48.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by Garry, K3SIW on July 31, 2022
Over the years, I've always been a bit nervous when I saw amateur call signs used on other bands. My being uncomfortable with it is not based on anything other than a 'gut' feeling. I looked at Part 15 and can not see anything that prohibits the practice, and Part 97 isn't much better;
§ 97.119 Station identification.
(a) Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.
Where I think the problem arises is the FCC's statement "for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions". This leads me to believe that any transmission using an amateur call sign ("assigned call sign") is going to be considered by the FCC as coming from the amateur station assigned that call sign, and there are no amateur privileges on 22m. Just my thoughts on the matter, and don't get me started on Data modes having transmission times longer than 10 minutes!
Ward K7PO Re: WSPR Callsign encoding
/7 in the mountains of northern AZ
Posted by WA1EDJ Bob on July 31, 2022 at 23:56:07.
In reply to Re: WSPR Callsign encoding posted by John Davis on July 31, 2022
Thanks John.
After reading Roberts reasoning on using 1X, I like the idea.
Do you see a problem there? Does it conflict with anything you know of?
Would fit nicely with our experimental nature.
For now, I'm off the radar I think.
If you think 1X would fly, I'll go that way.
TNX!
Bob
EDJ
potrzebie