File Attachment 1: 05aug-xjp.gif
Sunday HiFER
Not particularly good conditions. Got a few WSPR decodes, one in late morning (1608 UTC) and a couple more in late afternoon between 2300 and 2400 UTC. There should have been more during the afternoon according to Argo, but every time I turned my back on the computer, WSPR 2.12 crashed...once, so badly that it managed to get all the Argo instances out of sync with the computer time. I attribute the crashes to a lack of CPU speed on this machine (it's "only" 1 GHz), combined with a probable excess demand on other resources that has arisen since I had to activate Office 2010 Starter in the aftermath of the crash of my main computer at the end of June. It jes tain't been raht in the head never since! Gotta try to find a new notebook somewhere with Windows 7 still on it.
Aurally, the drought of WV continues. No sign of MTI or PBJ at any time yesterday. GNK and FRC were faintly audible in early afternoon, but codar had cranked up by then, rendering any real copy impossible. Later, some power line and/or diathermy noise joined in. They were gone by the time the QRM eased up in late evening.
Monday morning has gotten off to a little better start, as I'll report later.
John
Re: Sunday HiFER
Posted by John Davis on August 01, 2016 at 20:20:15.
In reply to Sunday HiFER posted by John Davis on August 01, 2016
Forgot to mention...WM was present much of the day as well, ranging from barely visible to fully audible CW ID a couple of times.
Re: Sunday HiFER
Posted by Ed Hollamd on August 01, 2016 at 22:28:05.
In reply to Sunday HiFER posted by John Davis on August 01, 2016
Several listening sessions here during the weekend turned up nothing but quiet, excepting the stronger, regular non-beacon signals around 13560-13562 kHz. Elsewhere on HF also seemed rather flat.
Re: BPSK on 55.500 kHz
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on August 03, 2016 at 04:56:49.
In reply to BPSK on 55.500 kHz posted by Jim Vander Maaten on July 22, 2016
Jim, I copied NPG on 55.5 kHz running tests in May, 2015. Haven't noticed it since but don't often tune that way. Since your report I have listened several nights but not copied anything here. I do notice tonight that tests are again underway on 100 kHz. They produce a nice Spec Lab time domain scope plot using the Great Lakes GRI of 8970 us.
73, Garry
Re: BPSK on 55.500 kHz
Posted by Jim Vander Maaten on August 03, 2016 at 19:21:08.
In reply to Re: BPSK on 55.500 kHz posted by Garry, K3SIW on August 03, 2016
Thanks Garry for your input. The signal is not there on some days, it was there yesterday (8/2/2016). NPG is Skaggs Island, not Dixon ?
73, Jim Re: BPSK on 55.500 kHz
Posted by Jim Vander Maaten on August 03, 2016 at 19:38:34.
In reply to Re: BPSK on 55.500 kHz posted by Garry, K3SIW on August 03, 2016
It must be Dixon site on 55.5 kHz. There a lot of antennas !
https://www.flickr.com/photos/coldwararchaeology/sets/72157626553383503/with/5701234030/
Re: Leo Bodnar GPSDO
Posted by John Davis on August 03, 2016 at 20:55:01.
In reply to Leo Bodnar GPSDO posted by Frank Lotito K3DZ / WH2XHA on July 17, 2016
K3DZ wrote:
What can be done if more than 3 meters of cable length is required to locate the "active antenna" for a clear view of the sky? If this unit is housed in a protective enclosure at or near mast head, do temperature swings cause a problem?
The US distributor for Bodnar, www.force12inc.com, sells a Tomtom GO active antenna with extra gain that allows it to drive the GPSDO through over 16 feet of cable. I should think that would be much preferable to subjecting the receiver itself to temperature swings, especially the non-TCXO version. I'm considering the Tomtom antenna myself for whatever GPS receiver I decide upon for a frequency reference.
Mine will probably not be a Bodnar, though. While their units do offer the convenience of USB setting of output frequencies, those appear to be the ONLY outputs it offers...no timing data is mentioned, which would be highly desirable for many digital modes. Neither version seems really ideal for weak-signal LF reception, either, based on their phase noise curves. The "low noise" version is marginally better than the TCXO version at 1 kHz, but at 10 kHz and beyond, both are just marginal compared to a conventional low-noise reference and well designed analog PLL. One could clean it up externally and use the result as a reference, I suppose, but it seems a high price to pay for a GPS source and still have to go through that effort.
John
Power line as antennas
Posted by Mark on August 03, 2016 at 22:33:21.
Out of curiosity....
Power companies have used LF for a long time. The power lines were antennas
and the signals sent were control signals.
Has anyone tried this with 160-190 kHz? While the 1watt limit would still apply,
you wouldn't think the 50 ft antenna restriction would.
Thanks
Mark
Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
Posted by Mike N8OOU on August 03, 2016 at 23:44:11.
In reply to WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by Mike N8OOU on July 07, 2016
I have moved the loop to the E-W direction suspended in fairly open space. I plan to run the beacon on this loop for the next few weeks. Again, reports are welcomed.
Thanks Mike
Not Exactly BetweenFER
Posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016 at 03:46:28.
In reply to Re: BetweenFER ! posted by Bill deCarle VE2IQ on July 18, 2016
If you happen to tune around this band and hear a rather loud signal, here's what it may be, from the qth.net reflector:
> WI2XJP is doing propagation/antenna tests on 6.8MHz CW (9WPM 22 Re: Power line as antennas
> seconds between IDs).
> Approx 80W into a dipole.
> Plan is for digital voice/image but just testing the equipment at the
> moment.
>
> Reception reports welcome!
>
> 73 Warren K2ORS
>
Posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016 at 06:21:02.
In reply to Power line as antennas posted by Mark on August 03, 2016
Sorry to dash cold water on your idea, Mark, but it doesn't work quite the way you're hoping. Still, it's an interesting question.
Power companies have used LF for a long time. The power lines were antennas and the signals sent were control signals.
Actually, in principle, the power utilities do not use the lines as antennas. They are supposed to act as transmission lines, conveying telemetry and/or control signals from one substation to the next. In practice, these power line carrier (PLC) signals often do radiate more than they should, and this has been one of the sticking points in acquiring an amateur radio allocation at LF. The utilities have long been exempt from conducted signal limits below 490 kHz on their high voltage transmission lines (§15.113), and use transmitters in the high tens of watts for this type of carrier current communication, but they are supposed to comply with all other provisions of Part 15. They are therefore afraid that amateurs could use the non-interference requirements of Part 15 to force them off "their" frequencies.
The conducted limit exemptions of 15.113 do not apply to distribution lines (those that deliver power to the end users), and even though the power industry has been eyeing those lines for "smart grid" communication with customers' devices, different rules on conducted voltages and incidental radiation apply to the distribution end of the system. It is these rules which will derail your idea. To point out why, I will address your question and subsequent comment in reverse order.
While the 1 watt limit would still apply, you wouldn't think the 50 ft antenna restriction would.
But it very much does. The one watt limit comes from an alternative provision for intentional radiation in the 160-190 kHz band, §15.217, and that's where the 15 meter total antenna length limit also comes from.
If one's operation does not comply with all the particulars of §15.217, then it has to be conducted under other provisions: either the power line conduction limits of §15.207 (injection of only a couple millivolts into the power line; not too useful) or else the radiated signal limits of §15.209. The latter limits vary inversely with frequency. At 175 kHz the allowable field intensity works out to be only 13.7 μV/m at a distance of 300 meters (roughly 1000 feet) from the power line. That is just a fraction of the field strength available from a decent LowFER installation operating under 15.217.
Has anyone tried this with 160-190 kHz?
Yes, actually, they have. Back in World War II when all amateur activity on HF was prohibited, many ham operators turned to various short-range communication techniques to maintain their code skills and fulfill a desire to build their own gear. One of these techniques was operation by power line conduction in the LF band, right around where our current LowFER band is. There were two fascinating articles in Radio News during the War years, which I need to look up again in the wake of my computer crash in June. One was a construction project for an LF carrier current transmitter, and the other described an LF field strength meter that could be built and calibrated to maintain radiated emissions within the legal limits. (Kind of important to document your compliance, because you could not only be fined by the FCC back then, you might also come under suspicion of espionage!)
Maximum range was described as a few miles, tops, which is not surprising since pole transformers do not pass RF very well at all. If there were several amateurs in the same community, though, they could have regular QSOs with each other without running afoul of the strict prohibitions against most amateur activity that existed at the time.
Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
Posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016 at 06:29:10.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by Mike N8OOU on August 03, 2016
Will look as soon as possible. Is QRSS30 a reasonable viewing speed for the current modulation method, Mike?
John
Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
Posted by Mike N8OOU on August 04, 2016 at 13:08:43.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016
The beacon is running FSKCW at the 30 second dit speed. I have not activated the graphics mode, just a string of WM's on 185300.5. Sorry, I should have stated that in the previous post.
73 Mike.
Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
Posted by Johm Davis on August 04, 2016 at 14:59:55.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by Mike N8OOU on August 04, 2016
Good deal. I'll check on it this morning before the heat gets too excessive and/or the QRN levels pick up, and again on however many subsequent days mother nature is willing to cooperate..
edward.holland1@btinternet.com
Posted by ED Holland on August 04, 2016 at 16:47:26.
Although the Hifer bands have been especially flat lately during my listening sessions, I have heard an unusual signal around 13,559.9xx kHz. At first, it sounded like regular long dashes, approx 2 sec in duration. Listening this morning, I thought at first there were dashes and dots. Thinking slow Morse, I tried to find a pattern. However, as listening continued, the keying length of the signal seemed more random, with the longer and shorter "dashes", but also brief dots.
Has anyone else heard similar? I suspect it is something industrial, but it did seem rather random, and of decent strength.
Cheers,
Ed
DGPS stations off the air
Posted by Jim Vander Maaten on August 04, 2016 at 17:07:26.
On a good day I can copy 13 DGPS stations from my home in Northern California. Today only 3 are still on the air. They are 287.0 Pigeon Point, 292.0 Cape Mendocino and 314.0 Lincoln. Re: DGPS stations off the air
Posted by Jim Vander Maaten on August 04, 2016 at 17:38:12.
In reply to DGPS stations off the air posted by Jim Vander Maaten on August 04, 2016
List of DGPS stations going off today.
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=dgpsSiteInfo¤tOutages
Re: DGPS stations off the air
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on August 04, 2016 at 20:00:10.
In reply to DGPS stations off the air posted by Jim Vander Maaten on August 04, 2016
Guess the decommissioning originally reported for Jan 15, 2016 has really happened (http://www.dxinfocentre.com/dgps.htm). Not sure how many DGPS stations I would normally copy mid-day, but at night each kHz step between 285 and 325 kHz (except 308 kHz) was normally occupied by at least one station, often several. Despite being 1359 km away, the 307 kHz station in Colorado did normally decode even with the sun up.
A 2:30 pm local time a scan of the DGPS band only gave decodes from 9 stations: 286 kHz, ID 310, ONT, 661 km; 290 kHz, ID 168, KY, 517 km; 292 kHz, ID 112, MI, 512 km; 297 kHz, ID136,MS, 903 km; 304 kHz, ID218,WS,131 km; 311 kHz, ID 156, IL, 152 km; 317 kHz, ID 158, MN, 381 km; and 319 kHz, ID 116, MI, 437 km, all sending 200 baud; and 296 kHz, ID 100,WI, 595 km sending 100 baud.
Will miss all the activity but perhaps some new ones that used to be covered up will decode now.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
Posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016 at 21:08:17.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by Johm Davis on August 04, 2016
Had to abandon the listening post and relocate the equipment to a cooler spot in town after heat in the building rose to 115° earlier this afternoon. QRN was a bit on the high side by the time I started listening this morning, averaging S7 and ranging from S3 to S9+20. Not the worst it's ever been, but right in the range where it's hard even to copy SIW when it's on. It did look like a little excess of RF at the right spots for WM's FSK, but no way to really be sure what it is.
Will try again earlier tomorrow morning, or maybe even late tonight at some point.
John
Re: Power line as antennas
Posted by Mark on August 04, 2016 at 21:57:07.
In reply to Re: Power line as antennas posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016
Thanks for the reply. Its always fun to investigate other options.
Yes, I've read some of the WWII QST about rf power line communication.
I was surprised to see some of the Schumann resonances using power lines as antennas. Iron transformers usually go up if freq OK. But they don't go down in freq well ( I.e.don't use a 60hz xfmr on 50 hz). So trying to receive 7.8 hz on a power line transformer sounds like a bad idea. Then again, if power levels aren't high....
Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER
Posted by Chuck Sayers on August 05, 2016 at 01:06:19.
In reply to Not Exactly BetweenFER posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016
Just sitting here listening to the cw signal running over S9 here at the moment. I'm using an Afedri net sdr ver 3.0 right now; will have to email Warren to let him know that he is getting out
Chuck Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
K3ETD
Posted by John Davis on August 05, 2016 at 05:29:24.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by John Davis on August 04, 2016
Tried again late tonight...no go, the static was considerably worse. Not sure what to expect of the lines of storms currently in central Kansas by the time morning arrives, but we'll see.
John
Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER
Posted by John Davis on August 06, 2016 at 04:16:49.
In reply to Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER posted by Chuck Sayers on August 05, 2016
Had a receiver with me when I got done with brush cutting on the farm this evening, so I tuned to 6.800 MHz just before sunset (8:15 CDT, 0115 UTC) and there XJP was, big as life here in EM27kc. After sunset, there began to be more signal strength variation (swings from as high as S7 to below S1 from character to character) but it was still easy copy by ear.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 05aug-xjp.gif
Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER
Today's listening efforts were limited by rain this morning, then by my taking an unexpectedly long nap at mid-day. XJP was definitely present during the afternoon, though. Neither signal nor noise caused the S-meter to budge, but there was usable copy at least 50% of the time; would have been more but for the rapid, deep fades that took out part of a letter...sometimes just a single dit or a fraction of a dah. This persisted to about three hours before sunset, when copy slowly started to improve.
From then on, copy would have been around 60%, increasing to over 80% in the time span of 90 to 60 minutes before sunset. In the next 45 minutes it became nearly 100%, and there were times when signal rose to above S1 briefly.
Signal levels peaked right at sunset, with some characters reaching S9 (but others barely S1, yet still nicely copyable). After dark, signals settled down to the S5-S7 range for the most part. The other carrier a few Hz lower came up in level, too, but was never a problem. Packed up and headed back to town at 9 PM CDT.
(BTW, those S-meter readings may not sound too impressive for a decent receiver hooked to a 15 meter vertical, but that's with an antenna buffer in the path that deliberately attenuates everything from the low end of the AM band to about 13 MHz.)
John Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER
P.S. -- Warren has now gone QRT for the foreseeable future to plan antenna changes before switching to another mode.
Posted by Ed Holland on August 08, 2016 at 18:56:34.
In reply to Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER posted by John Davis on August 07, 2016
I tried a few times here in CA, but to no avail. Conditions here have been very flat during the last week.
P.S. What regulations cover Warren's operation at 6.800 MHz?
Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER
Posted by John Davis on August 08, 2016 at 19:18:40.
In reply to Re: Not Exactly BetweenFER posted by Ed Holland on August 08, 2016
Warren's activity is under a Part 5 license in the Experimental Radio Service. I'm not sure what the object of the experiment is, but apparently his target is more local than DX-oriented; seems odd for 44 meters. He shut down about 11 PM EDT on Saturday, and I don't know when he plans to resume.
John
Hifers at last
Posted by Ed Holland on August 09, 2016 at 03:04:23.
Some Dusk time listening here in California has at last brought in some 22m catches.
AZ was plain copy by ear between fades, As were GNK and AA0RQ.
A brief snapshot around the watering hole revealed a couple of weak signals, at 13,5543 and 13,5547 kHz (NC?) respectively.
All in all, a nice change to the radio drought we have been experiencing lately.
Ed
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: capt02-1.jpg
Re: Hifers at last
Congratulations, Ed! The Kp index never reached 5, apparently, which would have resulted in the predicted G1 minor storm level today. Kp did reach 4 right about the time you were listening, though, and solar flux was up to 96, which must have helped conditions.
The capture certainly looks like NC at 13,555.470. At .430, the upward sloping carrier is possibly SIW slant mode (it would be easier to tell with time ticks), and the signal just above .400 very much looks like SIW WSPR, possibly afflicted with a little multipath propagation.
Wish I could've been in the field myself today, even without a machine capable of running the WSPR decoder right now, but I had to do my homework for tonight's town council meeting.
John
Re: Hifers at last
Posted by Ed Holland on August 09, 2016 at 19:28:17.
In reply to Re: Hifers at last posted by John Davis on August 09, 2016
Thanks John :)
Actually, I was a bit hasty in setting up and turning on, so the slant (observable on both signal traces) is probably drift. Estimating from the diagram, its about 7.5 Hz across the capture. I'll add time ticks next, er, time.
I keep a watch for the TXCO option for this old JRC NRD535, but such things are rare now. I did get lucky and found the variable bandwidth control. Not cheap, I paid the same for the FRG 8800 I just acquired! However, I aspire to assemble a complete set, and now at least all the front panel knobs do something and the BWC is useful.
Actually, the set is pretty stable, but given the scrutiny we are able to apply with modern tools like Spectrum Lab, the drift can easily be revealed!
Ahh, council meetings. I'm on a local Town Committee, and we are due to report this week...
Ed
Re: Hifers at last
Posted by John Davis on August 10, 2016 at 06:48:53.
In reply to Re: Hifers at last posted by Ed Holland on August 09, 2016
Ed wrote:
Actually, I was a bit hasty in setting up and turning on, so the slant (observable on both signal traces) is probably drift. (snip) ...given the scrutiny we are able to apply with modern tools like Spectrum Lab, the drift can easily be revealed!
Very true. That tiny amount of drift would seem incredible to a ham operator transported here from 50 years ago, maybe even less.
I still believe you've captured three signals, though...the NC squarewave at the top of the collection, one minute and 53 seconds of SIW multitone WSPR mode at the bottom (the tones marked "header" are a solid indication, even despite the brief fade that followed), and the somewhat QSB-afflicted SIW slant signal in the middle. My eye is pretty sensitive to changes of slope, and I perceive a kink about a third of the way from left to right on that middle trace, in the upward direction, indicating the beginning of a "dot" in slant mode (aka slash mode). The frequency is consistent with SIW slant mode as well, and it would be nearly impossible to see one SIW without the other.
Moreover, when I magnified your capture, I could see that the middle trace rose in frequency about 1 Hz more than NC did over the same interval. I've added some lines in the attached graphic to highlight the difference. The horizontal lines in light turquoise represent the displayed signal frequency at the start of the traces, while the yellow lines overlay the same signal in roughly the final minute of the trace. Where the respective yellow and turquoise lines intersect the frequency scale, the difference indicates the amount of drift over the course of the capture. It looks to be 1 Hz more for the middle signal than for NC, which turns out to be the amount of shift Garry uses in both the + and - directions for the slash mode HiFER, over the roughly 5 minutes it takes him to send each "dot" or "dash" in that mode on the 22 m beacon.
Thus, I'm convinced you've got three actual signals there from two locations that amount to significant DX from your location.
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: capt02-1-01b.gif
Re: Hifers at last
Hi John,
I did notice the lowermost signal, but did not recognise it for what it is - thank you for the explanation.
Looking again at the centre trace, I do see what you are referring to in the change of slope. learning to appreciate the need for different time scales!
The reach of the signals is amazing. I think the placing of my receive antenna - obviously dictated somewhat by circumstance - was very fortunate, yet it is a simple random length dipole with the legs at ~100° angle relative to each other, each approximately 40 ft. long The centre is in a tree, about 20 feet high, the ends slope to the top of wooden fence posts 6 feet above ground. There is a balun at the feed point, about 4:1 in impedance. Although the hifer antenna atop the house is tuned to 22m its reception quality is far below the other installation.
Simply in the spirit of curiousity, I'm tempted to experiment with a single ended "long wire" - this could be placed in a suitably quiet area and would make for an interesting comparison to the dipole, and also an external loop tuned up for Lowfer work.
Cheers,
Ed
Beacon JAM 187.015khz plans
Posted by Lee on August 10, 2016 at 23:47:42.
The plans for Beacon JAM 187.015khz are as follows. Drop the antenna to the roof this coming weekend. Add 2 more radials for a total of 8 radials all connected by a skirt wire. Lash all radials to existing guy ropes with UV resistant tie wraps. Replace guy ropes as needed. Connect the new 6' by 6' by 4' steel wire Cat Condo to the existing ground radial system. ETA for work and tune up is mid September. I will notify the message board when I am back on the air. Thanks HiFERs, Thursday the 11th
Lee
KE6PCT
Posted by John Davis on August 12, 2016 at 05:24:39.
Since today looked like it would be drier around us than the past few have been, I took a radio and the notebook computer with me when I went to spray weeds on the farm this afternoon, thinking I might be able to give LowFER WM another try. No luck there...the sferics had already built to an alarming level for no apparent reason, though I later found out it was because several small but highly charged storms had popped up in SW Missouri and NW Arkansas. So, I switched to 22 m, but only NC seemed to be making it through at mid-afternoon.
When I looked again after 5 PM CDT, it was immediately apparent things had improved, with USC and the SIW duo now also present at the watering hole. Before cranking up WSPR 2.12, I made a band scan and quickly saw both MTI and PBJ--and heard both of them at various times quite clearly, too. There's one capture attached with the two of them.
Then I tuned back to the watering hole and decoded the following:
2252 -21 -1.5 13.555405 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2256 -24 -1.5 13.555407 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2300 -22 -1.4 13.555405 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2308 -20 -1.6 13.555405 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2312 -24 -1.5 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2316 -21 -1.4 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2320 -27 -2.2 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2332 -23 -1.4 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
2340 -22 -1.4 13.555405 0 K3SIW EN52 7
The 6:04 PM CDT/2304 UTC time slot was the best one of the day for SIW according to Argo, but it didn't decode because the machine-gun pulser signal cranked up right at 2304 and buried the WSPR header. A capture of the watering hole including that particular incident is also attached. (The 2236 slot also should have decoded, but I forgot to take the WSPR software out of idle in time! Putting it in idle manually is my workaround for the speed and resource issues affecting this computer when it runs the decoder. If I don't get "premature attempt to start decoder" messages while the program is wasting time trying to find signal in empty time slots, it doesn't crash nearly so often.)
And, even though I didn't get LowFER WM today, the HiFER version made it through intermittently, as shown in the other capture.
At the other end of the band, GNK and FRC were both visible, but only audible for about one character out of every two or three IDs. This seems to have more to do with the characteristics of the noise than the strength of the signal, because with other types of noise, I've been able to copy them by ear when the traces were far less clear.
John
John
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File Attachment 1: 11aug-mtipbj.gif
File Attachment 2: 11aug-wh.gif
File Attachment 3: 11aug-wm.gif
HIFER beacon 13555.35 kHz
I have started transmitting with a Hifer beacon on 13555.35 kHz. Modulation is FSK QRSS3, sending "END" once per minute. The beacon is an Arduino-controlled Si5351A output, with a low pass filter and an attenuator to bring it below the allowable limit. Antenna is an inverted vee dipole flung out a second story window. Transmitting from Belle Mead NJ USA, FN20qk. I would be very interested to find out if anyone receives it. Thanks!
Lou
N2END
lounux /at/ gmail /dot/ com
Re: HIFER beacon 13555.35 kHz
Posted by John Davis on August 14, 2016 at 17:00:10.
In reply to HIFER beacon 13555.35 kHz posted by Lou Crocker on August 14, 2016
Welcome, Lou! Depending how the dipole is oriented, I may or may not be in your coverage pattern, but that's a good frequency to fit in with my observations of the watering hole. I'll keep an eye out.
John
HiFERs, Sat. the 13th
Posted by John Davis on August 14, 2016 at 17:15:34.
Friday the 13th came a day late this month. When I got to the field at mid-afternoon, I intended to listen for LowFER WM. Even though static was an S-unit lower than the previous attempt, it was still too much to see anything through.
I then switched to the 22 m watering hole, where NC and another signal (I first assumed it to be USC because of its frequency) were just barely visible. After an unpromising screenful of that, I did a band scan with even less to show for it: no WV, no MTI or PBJ, no RQ, no GNK (I got my hopes up when I tuned there because I though I heard a keyed signal but never could resolve it; Argo eventually revealed it to be a random carrier undergoing rapid QSB), and no FRC. I switched back to the watering hole about 3:30 PM CDT, immediately hearing and receiving bright traces from NC and the pseudo-USC, which turned out to be EH. Both continued quite strong until I had to return to town about 5 PM, even joined by a little codar at times; but nobody else ever showed up.
Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
Posted by John Davis on August 14, 2016 at 17:35:05.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by John Davis on August 05, 2016
As reported ion my recent HiFER posts, I've been checking for LowFER WM each time I go to the field. When I went there at mid-morning today, static was 4 or 5 S-units lower than it has been running recently, so I got all excited--until I realized I'd forgotten and left the computer at the house.
After retrieving it, I found the noise level seemed a bit higher than before...not the static crashes themselves, but general background grunge like sferics from an active but distant storm. It was less than an S-unit, but still annoying, and maybe just enough to make a difference. A little investigation revealed that it was some sort of hash resulting from the computer's internal battery charging circuit when I have external battery power connected. The current version of my external supply shares a battery with the radio, which has never presented a problem at HF but may be forming a ground loop for the LF hash from the computer's charger. (In past LF seasons, I used separate but smaller batteries for the computer, with the result that it sometimes died just as reception was getting interesting.)
Therefore, I've got the computer running on internal power right now to give myself a fighting chance. Before I left, I seemed to be seeing an excess of RF at 185,300.5 and 185,301 Hz. When I return to the field in a moment, I hope it may show a recognizable ID. I'll also do further checking to see if the noise happens all the time on external power, or only while the Honda generator is recharging the marine battery.
John
Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation
Posted by Mike N8OOU on August 15, 2016 at 04:34:59.
In reply to Re: WM Lowfer antenna relocation posted by John Davis on August 14, 2016
John,
Thanks for spending time looking for the WM Lowfer. I hope you get your power noise sorted out.
I checked the beacon this morning, to make sure it survived overnight storms which left 4 inches of water in my rain gauge. I found half of the loop on the ground. Something, wind or deer, took out the support ropes on that side.
It took a little while to get things adjusted back, but by noon CDST all was restored. I'm still working on the vertical to get it ready for winter. The heat and humidity slowed me down a bunch last week. LowFER WM !
Mike
Posted by John Davis on August 15, 2016 at 20:51:29.
Mike N8OOU wrote:
It took a little while to get things adjusted back, but by noon CDST all was restored.
In that case, my timing yesterday was impeccable (read: unusually lucky). Those first traces of RF I saw must have been while you were making adjustments after the repair. When I returned to the field after posting, the attached trace greeted me!
I apologize for the drift, but I was using trusty Kenwood #3, Old Drifty, which was responding to the interior of the building warming up. I set it up for this attempt because it was the last one on which I'd seen the LF version of WM previously. Not knowing how the R-75 compared in sensitivity at 1750 meters, I figured the Kenwood would give me the best comparison of performance of your antennas.
At the start of the trace, signal plus noise were averaging just under S1, with individual crashes jumping to S3 occasionally and S5 rarely. That's pretty close to other past times at which the LF WM was similarly visible.
You'll notice that there seems to be a faint stray carrier nearly on top of your lower frequency, so the upper (mark) frequency had to carry the load in deciphering the characters. By the end of the trace, noise had risen to where it averaged between S2 and S3, with regular peaks to S5, intermittent to S7, and only rarely just above S9. That was enough to impair copy just a little more than similar noise had in the past.
Thus, I'd estimate the results with the two antennas are similar, with this one possibly a dB or two lower in level. That's hard to say with any certainty, though, because I have lately been finding that Argo's visual AGC can make a signal appear a bit stronger or weaker simply because of the different energy distribution in different types of noise. Not bad for groundwave in August, either way!
I got a little earlier start this morning and found noise to be at least half an S-unit lower, so reception was a little clearer. I also did a quick sensitivity comparison between the R-5000 and the R75 before getting too far into captures, and found that the R75 with Preamp 1 on was very comparable to the R-5000, This will show up as much less drift when I post today's results tonight.
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 14aug-lfWM.jpg
Re: DGPS stations off the air
I've listened a few times since the big US DGPS decommissioning and decoded the following stations:
FREQ ID DGPS LOC PATH DATE
----------------------------------
286kHz ID310 #918 ON 661km 080416
ID008 #804 NJ 1183km 081416
287kHz ID272 #886 OR 2852km 080516
288kHz ID340 #942 NL 2367km 080516
289kHz ID018 #809 FL 1666km 080516
ID012 #806 VA 1160km 081416
290kHz ID168 #869 KY 517km 080416
ID044 #799 ME 1608km 080516
292kHz ID112 #836 MI 512km 080416
ID193 #778 SC 1237km 080516
293kHz ID028 #814 LA 1357km 080516
ID006 #803 NY 1310km 080516
294kHz ID197 #771 NC 1243km 080516
296kHz ID313 #929 QC 1264km 080516
ID100 #830 WI 595km 080516
297kHz ID136 #792 MS 903km 080416
298kHz ID102 #831 MI 579km 080516
299kHz ID162 #866 OK 925km 080516
300kHz ID319 #926 QC 1607km 080516
ID172 #871 WA 2604km 080516
301kHz ID058 #847 MD 1048km 080516
ID246 #828 TX 1549km 080516
302kHz ID263 #881 CA 2702km 080716
ID901 #972 PNR 3773km 080516
304kHz ID218 #777 WS 131km 080416
306kHz ID198 #772 MA 1447km 080516
ID309 #919 ON 1090km 081416
307kHz ID903 #971 PNR 3735km 080616
309kHz ID170 #870 DE 1112km 080516
ID316 #922 QC 1464km 080516
310kHz ID343 #944 NL 2668km 080516
311kHz ID156 #863 IL 152km 080416
312kHz ID244 #827 FL 1662km 080516
314kHz ID016 #808 FL 1983km 080516
317kHz ID158 #864 MN 381km 080416
319kHz ID116 #838 MI 437km 080416
320kHz ID160 #865 AL 1107km 080516
322kHz ID118 #839 NY 782km 080516
ID154 #862 MO 397km 081416
324kHz ID094 #844 NY 1221km 080516
A few more Canadian stations can probably be decoded here when good winter propagation arrives and perhaps even the Azores on 308 kHz. Both stations in Panama have already come through so if there are others in the Caribbean or the north coast of South American they're possibilities too.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
A Beginning for END
Posted by John Davis on August 16, 2016 at 05:33:25.
Or perhaps I should title it, "the end of a beginning for END." In the attached, only a "D" is really clear enough to call, but it's at the right frequency and in the right format, so I'm willing to say with some certainty Lou's signal made it to southeast Kansas. The attached file shows how it looked Sunday afternoon a little after 5 PM local, although there had also been faint but indefinite traces for several seconds at a time during the half hour centered around 3 PM. The frequency scale has 800 Hz representing 13,555.400 kHz, and times are Central Daylight. NC is included for reference, and there appear to be faint lingering traces of SIW WSPR at 4:56 and 5:00 PM.
Conditions in general were better Sunday than they had been the past few times I went to the field. I'll try to post additional captures later to show what I mean, but briefly speaking, the Illinois path was actually quite good earlier in the afternoon and NC was generally strong. A few beacons outside the watering hole turned up, but were too weak and/or surrounded by too much QRM for copy by ear. I was initially hoping to use EH as a bellwether for END, but apparently Sal wasn't on until just after 8:17 PM Central. It was then quite strong, but END was gone for the day along with most everyone else.
I'm reviewing my captures for Monday afternoon, but so far, it doesn't look like there has been a repeat appearance yet.
(Sorry to take so long getting my reports from Sunday posted, by the way. A combination of hardware, software, and wetware glitches have slowed down my ability to write anything over the past few days.)
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 14aug22m1.jpg
Re: DGPS stations off the air
Garry, how are you decoding the DGPS ? I am not sure of the proper setup to use. I have Fldigi to use with my Flex 6300 receiver and a Pixel Pro-1B loop antenna.
Do you do most of your listening at night ?
73, Jim, WB6QZL CM99fb, Olivehurst, CA HiFERs, Sun. the 14th
Posted by John Davis on August 16, 2016 at 19:08:34.
There was other reception Sunday, in addition to END. I switched from observing LowFER WM to watching the 22 m watering hole shortly after solar noon and immediately saw HiFER WM too, along with the SIW duo and NC. Neither USC nor EH were visible right then, and a quick band scan turned up nobody else except an inaudible keyed carrier near where WV should be (about 30 Hz low from where I last saw it back in the Spring). Returning to the watering hole, I started getting decodes of SIW WSPR, as pictured in the attached "14aug2." The path to IL remained stable through most of mid-afternoon, as evidenced by SIW slant mode in "14aug3."
In late afternoon, I did another band scan ("14aug-other") and didn't detect WV at first. MT I and PBJ were barely visible and not audible at all. GNK was audible but very hard to copy by ear, with two random carriers immediately above and one several Hz below, which is unusual for that frequency. No sign of FRC. Tuning back down, I stopped to check on the WV vicinity one more time and eventually started seeing its unusual keyed carrier pattern at its old nominal frequency, right on 13,555,800. It became sufficiently audible a few times that I was able to confirm it was WV.
I'll show the start-up of EH in a later post. Right now I need to go to the farm and set up in hopes of a G1 magnetic storm this afternoon (Tuesday).
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 14aug-other.gif
File Attachment 2: 14aug2.jpg
File Attachment 3: 14aug3.gif
Re: HiFERs, Sun. the 14th (late day)
As promised (for a change), here are a couple late-day captures from Sunday. In one, NC is shown having a last gasp a few minutes past sunset, then about three minutes go by, and EH switches on, rising about 50 Hz before settling down.
Elsewhere on the band, there was a hint of WV, a hint of FRC, and then the unknown fuzzy looking periodic signal right above 13,563.55 in the other attached capture. It sounded as if it were keyed, but it's very, very hard to be sure with the cacophony of other stray carriers so close by producing beat notes as well. It could be the sideband pattern of AAØRQ, but because I haven't been able to copy it by ear since the change of identifier, I haven't a clue whether that's what it looks like now, or whether this is something else. Bill, do you use a gap of several seconds in the identifier?
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: aug14unk.gif
File Attachment 2: aug14eh.jpg
Re: DGPS stations off the air
Jim, I generally use DSCdecoder v4.4. That's not a free program but works well for me. See https://www.coaa.co.uk/dscdecoder.htm. I also use MultiPSK. That decodes a very large number of formats but DGPS is one of the professional modes and it doesn't run for long unless you purchase an enabling key. Perhaps others know of freeware that works well.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
P.S. Last night I decoded 4 more stations: 302kHz ID276 #888 WA 2751km; 313kHz ID321 #925 QC 1932km; 315kHz ID338 #940 NL 2822km; and 320kHz ID305 #907 BC 2776km.
Re: HiFERs, Sun. the 14th (late day)
Posted by Bill Hensel on August 17, 2016 at 00:27:44.
In reply to Re: HiFERs, Sun. the 14th (late day) posted by John Davis on August 17, 2016
At the present time there is a 10 sec space between the ID of "AA0RQ" Re: HiFERs, Sun. the 14th (late day)
AA0RQ ten second space AA0RQ
Posted by John Davis on August 17, 2016 at 01:21:40.
In reply to Re: HiFERs, Sun. the 14th (late day) posted by Bill Hensel on August 17, 2016
Thanks very much, Bill. If I blow up the original capture and snip out the gaps between fuzzy patches, six of those snips fit nicely when pasted between the minute markers. Doesn't prove I'm seeing RQ, of course, but it gives me hope to keep trying for aural copy again one of these days. I think that signal Sunday night would have been readable were it not for all those other carriers being present at the same time.
No such luck today, unfortunately. The geomagnetic storm did not materialize in the forecast period, and other propagation was pretty lifeless. I did have some faint copy of END again, but I'll report on that later.
John
Re: LowFER WM !
Posted by Mike N8OOU on August 17, 2016 at 02:56:12.
In reply to LowFER WM ! posted by John Davis on August 15, 2016
John,
Thanks for the captures of both WM beacons. I am glad to see the Lowfer made it your way on the E-W loop. I am also concluding that my loop installation is a little less effective than my vertical antenna. At this time, I am not going to purchase the copper needed to improve the loop. Lowfer WM will be back on the vertical soon.
Mike 73
Re: LowFER WM !
Posted by John Davis on August 17, 2016 at 06:15:42.
In reply to Re: LowFER WM ! posted by Mike N8OOU on August 17, 2016
As I mentioned in my earlier post, Monday started out a few dB quieter, and the QRN did not pick up as early as it had done on Sunday, so I had somewhat better copy. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn on auto-capture before I came home to write that post, so when I returned to the field I discovered I had missed 40 minutes of potential capture. That's indicated by the "oops" in the attached view.
On Tuesday, nature was not nearly so cooperative. Early in the afternoon, QRN was already at the levels which had swamped the signal last week.
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: aug15-lfWM.jpg
HiFERs Mon. and Tue.
Finally getting around to finishing this report. Might not be any more listening sessions for the remainder of the week because we're coming up on deadline and I still have quite a bit of material to prepare for publication yet.
Monday: This was the best day in quite a while, although not all of the regulars necessarily showed up as strong or as long as they generally do. My first band scan above the watering hole was between 10:30 and 11 AM and yielded mediocre results:
I heard one ID from WV before it faded to only visible, and then was gone entirely. PBJ and MTI were inaudible and barely visible right then, but returned later in the day (below). Listened out for PVC again in hopes of getting my first copy of it, but one of the whistler signals started up and wiped out any chances there. Only a couple of faint traces of possible-RQ. GNK was barely visible, and only audible for two or three characters per minute. FRC was barely visible and not audible at all.
Low QRN enabled decent copy of LowFER WM from late morning to past solar noon, which occurs about 1:20 PM CDT here; see post on LF side. Then I switched back to HF and found there was a relatively stable opening to Illinois on 22m. Before settling there for the afternoon, I did another band scan, which resulted in the best copy of PBJ I've had in quite a while! PBJ was even audible about two-thirds of the time, whereas MTI was barely visible some of the time and marginally audible but not really copyable on the brighter traces:
Farther up the band, I watched GNK fade up from invisibility. The stray carriers around it were stronger than usual, though, so I didn't get actual aural copy until the very last three IDs.
Here's what I managed to decode from SIW WSPR upon returning to the watering hole:
160815 1856 14 -19 -1.6 13.555405 K3SIW EN52 7 0 1 0 160815 1904 4 -24 -2.3 13.555405 K3SIW EN52 7 0 7729 -4 160815 1908 11 -22 -1.7 13.555407 K3SIW EN52 7 0 1 0 160815 1912 12 -20 -1.5 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 1 0 160815 1916 13 -20 -1.3 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 1 0 160815 1920 11 -20 -2.2 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 1 0 160815 1924 7 -24 -1.8 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 32 0 160815 1928 14 -18 -1.6 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 1 0 160815 1932 12 -19 -1.5 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 7 0 160815 1936 11 -20 -1.5 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 1 0 160815 1940 8 -22 -2.3 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 10 0 160815 1944 12 -21 -1.9 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 3 0 160815 1948 11 -19 -1.8 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 3 0 160815 1952 9 -22 -1.6 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 2 0 160815 1956 11 -19 -1.5 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 5 0 160815 2008 11 -21 -1.7 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 76 0 160815 2012 11 -21 -1.6 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 4 0 160815 2016 10 -22 -1.5 13.555404 K3SIW EN52 7 0 2182 0About 3:30 PM CDT, somebody turned off the switch to Elgin, Illinois and left it off the rest of the day.
However, HiFER WM turned up from 4:39-5:02 PM, although the dot in the W tended to go missing a lot. (The strongest several minutes are included below.) Just as it was fading out, END put in a very faint appearance for several minutes. And earlier in the afternoon, there were a few brief, faint appearances of someone around 13,555.50 that might have been USC, but I could never be sure. Two such instances of that are included in the image, too. Excerpts from around the watering hole at four different times of the afternoon:
Between 6:30 and 7:00 PM, even EH and NC were on their way out for the evening.
Tuesday: Much less to report. NC was strong, but it was the only one I can say that about. The probable USC turned up faintly at 3:34 PM, the faded. There was a brief (8-10 second) enhancement of signal at the lower frequency of maybe-USC about halfway through the 4:02 minute, bringing it up to about the same level as NC, then it immediately went away again. Antenna or connector problems at USC, perhaps?
I did a quick band scan from a few minutes before 3 o'clock to a few minutes after. No WV, no PBJ, faint to moderate MTI (but with a very loud carrier 30 Hz higher that prevented aural copy), weak to fair aural copy of GNK, and no FRC.
There were faint traces of END between 3:30 and 4:00, 5:30 and 6:00, and 6:30 and 7:00 PM yesterday. I'll put those together in a separate END post later.
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 15aug-scan1.gif
File Attachment 2: 15aug-scan2.gif
File Attachment 3: 15aug-wh.jpg
Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m?
Hi, I am new to this band, but I have built several tube projects before. I would like a small tube TX and an antenna proposal for this band. I have found some tube designs at the "The low and medium frequency radio scrapbook" as well as an article on "popular electronics 2-1972" with a 12au7. 307 kHz
Any suggested tube circuits and antennas? I am confused on the coupling of the antenna (top hat) to the TX and what options do I have.
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on August 18, 2016 at 05:11:33.
I was going to inquire what was the source of strong 7-line spectra on 307 kHz, but after looking awhile the source suddenly began sending normal DGPS and decoded as station ID 903, Gatun, PNR. I've never seen a DGPS station send an idling pattern before, rather like the warmup Navtex stations routinely do when they first fire up. Interestingly, the other DGPS station in Panama, on 302 kHz, was barely visible.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Evening Hifers Wednesday 17th Aug
Posted by Ed Holland on August 18, 2016 at 17:35:35.
Hi Folks,
I managed a few minutes listening last evening, around 2130 PST (04:30 UTC). Literally threw the switches on a couple of receivers and hooked up the antenna whilst looking at something else in the "den".
Two signals were audible, AZ and GNK, on the FRG-8800. The NRD535 was hooked to Spectrum Lab and set for the watering hole. Only one signal was visible there (possibly just audible too), a square wave FSK recorded at 13,555.47. Was this NC drifted downward possibly? It was hard to read the copy, and I was distracted enough fiddling with telescopes to save a screenshot! Too many hobbies - I collect them you know...
No sign of other well known signals, or the new END, but I am keeping watch. At least conditions provided something.
Cheers,
Ed
Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m?
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on August 19, 2016 at 02:10:08.
In reply to Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m? posted by sv3ora on August 17, 2016
Operation in the 160-190 kHz band in the U.S. is governed by 15.217 of the FCC rules. It specifies a total antenna plus feed line length of 15 meters. There is no similar regulation in most other countries, and such operation is prohibited. It is difficult to give advice on this forum if it would encourage something not permitted by law. If you can provide more information, we may be able to help.
John, W1TAG
Re: Evening Hifers Wednesday 17th Aug
Posted by John Davis on August 19, 2016 at 05:17:35.
In reply to Evening Hifers Wednesday 17th Aug posted by Ed Holland on August 18, 2016
Ed wrote:
...a square wave FSK recorded at 13,555.47. Was this NC drifted downward possibly?
Very likely. His rig is exposed to outdoor temperature swings. I have seen it as low as just below .430 on hot summer afternoons, rising to near .500 in the cool of morning. In winter, I've seen it above .650. Like gold, I guess, NC is "where you find it." :)
John
Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m?
Posted by sv3ora on August 21, 2016 at 12:22:53.
In reply to Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m? posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on August 19, 2016
Experimenting, has nothing to do with law. Experimenting is the heart of radio amateur. An antenna may actually not be connected at all. But why is it assumed that a foreign ham is always out of US? As I said, I would like a proposal, I did not mention using this for actual transmitting. Sunday Evening Hifers 21 August
Such responses discourage people from experimenting, essentially driving them away from the hobby. And it is too bad that these come from a band where experimenting is all about, more than any other band...
But anyway thanks for the response, I appreciate.
73's
Kostas sv3ora
Posted by Ed Holland on August 22, 2016 at 00:06:53.
I'm at the listening desk, and superb copy at the watering hole is coming in. At least 2 of the signals are audible, and I can hear the frequency shifts. I think there are visual reads on NC, SC and EH. Screen captures attached.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: capt05.jpg
File Attachment 2: capt06.jpg
Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m?
Kostas,
Sorry to cause offense! We do get some very unusual requests on this site, some of which we discourage because we don't want to be seen as providing "ways to beat the system" information. But in your case, I misjudged your inquiry, and I do apologize.
You originally asked about tube circuits and antennas for 1750 meters. There's not much on-line info for 1 watt 160-190 kHz tube transmitters, as most of us went to solid-state in that range years ago. The FCC regulation basically mandates that the transmitter be right at the antenna feedpoint, and it's an additional complication to provide filament power at some outside location. Efficiency is another issue, as solid-state designs can easily run in Class D or Class E mode. That's important because the U.S. regulation is based on PA input power. Also, controlling VFO stability in an outdoors transmitter can be quite a challenge. So most 160-190 kHz transmitters in the last 30 years or more have been solid-state, and crystal controlled. Your only recourse for published tube circuits would be old books or magazines, such as you mentioned.
Regarding antennas, again the U.S. "15 meter" regulation is the limiting factor. Many have used something like a 12 meter vertical wire, with top loading not more than 3 meters in any direction. With a good loading coil to tune out the capacitive reactance, a practical ground system on a typical residential lot, and reasonable freedom from trees, buildings and shrubbery, you should get a feedpoint resistance under 50 ohms. The best setups are typically in the 10-20 ohm range.
But for the bench work you describe, I would focus on making the transmitter work into a 50 ohm non-reactive load. You could then transform any real-world antenna impedance to that.
John, W1TAG
Re: Sunday Evening Hifers 21 August
Posted by John Davis on August 22, 2016 at 05:54:03.
In reply to Sunday Evening Hifers 21 August posted by Ed Holland on August 22, 2016
Congratulations on the coast to coast copy, Ed.
The first capture contains very recognizable copy of NC, the second definitely confirms EH, and together the two contain enough pieces of USC to say that's what you've captured in between NC and EH. I had to blow up the image a bit to see both dits in some of the U's and C's, but they are surely there, and the S is quite clear at times. Some days I don't get results that good on all three of them at only half the distance!
John
Re: Sunday Evening Hifers 21 August
Posted by Ed Holland on August 22, 2016 at 17:23:29.
In reply to Re: Sunday Evening Hifers 21 August posted by John Davis on August 22, 2016
Hi John,
In fact there were moments where all three signals showed plain and clear. Unfortunately I couldn't get a screen shot, as the aged lap-top I use sometimes seizes up...
The signal strength at times was astonishing, NC in particular was romping in. My choice of listening time (4:00-4:30pm PST +DST in the afternoon) was quite accidental, and I didn't attempt any later listening to compare the conditions. However, I wonder if that had anything to do with it? I still need to read and learn more about propagation trends.
Ed
Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m?
Posted by sv3ora on August 22, 2016 at 19:05:41.
In reply to Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m? posted by John, W1TAG on August 22, 2016
Thanks John for your reply.
I suspected this about the antenna design you refer to, it seems to be one of the very few choices if one wants to obey the rules. Any idea of how many 3-meter top loading wires are needed? The more the better?
Also the ground system needs buried radials better?
Anyway, back in the lab, I would like to build a tube prototype, to see if I could make it oscillate at all as a first step. And yes AM is an old mode where tx stability does not need to be extreme, but I know old "pirate" veterans still use it on 160m in my country and in neighbor countries. CW is a better choice, but one needs more than two stages for frequency stability. And do not forget Feld Hell!
Since the same principles apply to 160-190KHz and 135-137KHz, I may build an antenna for this latter band, which is legal to transmit in Europe. Although this can only be done if this tx is proven very frequency stable like you said. That is why I am asking about the antenna system.
I am confused about the way the antenna and tuner work on LF, all I know is that a big inductance is required at the antenna base to counter for the capacitance. Any info on the antenna and loading coil would be useful. Can I make the coil lightweight or even ferrite core based, if my input power to it is limited to 1W? I read somewhere that even at these low powers high voltage presents at the antenna.
Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m?
Posted by Mike N8OOU on August 22, 2016 at 21:01:56.
In reply to Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m? posted by sv3ora on August 22, 2016
Kostas,
I don't remember now where I got this but somehow I acquired a pfd file which contained information about 1750M antenna systems. I placed that file on dropbox, you can retrieve it at this url;
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a6ea18pzj7cz4tv/1750meter_antennas.pdf?dl=0
There should be no need to login, or create an account, there is a download option somewhere on the screen. If you have seen it already, I apologize for giving you a duplicate, but I believe the information is valid and pertinent to both 1750, and 2200 meters.
Mike 73
Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m?
Posted by Kostas on August 22, 2016 at 22:58:42.
In reply to Re: Antenna and tube transmitter to choose for the 1750m? posted by Mike N8OOU on August 22, 2016
Thank you very much I will study this extensively! Re: Sunday Evening Hifers 21 August
I have also found this page with quite few examples. http://www.strobbe.eu/on7yd/136ant/
Posted by John Davis on August 23, 2016 at 01:04:42.
In reply to Re: Sunday Evening Hifers 21 August posted by Ed Holland on August 22, 2016
Ed wrote:
My choice of listening time (4:00-4:30pm PST +DST in the afternoon) was quite accidental, and I didn't attempt any later listening to compare the conditions. However, I wonder if that had anything to do with it? I still need to read and learn more about propagation trends.
To me, that's the fascinating thing about 22m. Every time I think I might be bored from understanding the patterns of its propagation, it throws me a curve.
At one point, I thought I had a handle on the relationship of solar flux to what I'd be able to hear. The pattern worked pretty consistently for a few years. But, the down side of solar maximum has behaved nothing like the upside, even on days with similar SFU numbers...it's a new pattern now, and nothing I'd read really prepared me for that realization. The seasonal variations, and the optimal times of day, seem different from before. And, I formerly had no idea a geomagnetic disturbance that makes long DX impractical might be exactly what I need to make shorter paths work. Lots to observe on this band!
John
Spectrum Lab software
Posted by Frank Lotito on August 23, 2016 at 13:44:43.
ref: DL4YHF's Spectrum Lab, HELP tab, CHECK FOR UPDATE (via browser)
Three questions:
(1) What is the "official" version of Spectrum Lab? I recently down loaded Spectrum Lab from QSL.net. The version is 2.90 b18, compiled on 7/26/2016. When I use the HELP tab path to check for updates I get a message to the effect "your version is newer than the official version....which was compiled on 2/23/2015." That message appears to have been authored by DL4YHF.
(2) If indeed I am using a non-official version of Spectrum Lab, is there a problem w.r.t. its proper functioning?
(3) My operating system is Windows 10 (as a freebie upgrade from Windows 7.) I also have Norton 360 running. Any issues I should know about regarding Spectrum Lab running in this environment?
Thank you -
73 Frank Lotito K3DZ / WH2XHA
New HiFer heard??
Posted by michael tyler on August 23, 2016 at 14:02:11.
Monday the 22nd at 3pm local I was at the airport and was listening to my hifer WV that is about 7 air miles away and I began to heard a morse signal sending CA over and over at about 5wpm...is this a new HiFer??
518 kHz. carrier
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on August 24, 2016 at 13:00:12.
For the last 72 hours I've not been able to receive even my "local" Navtex station due to a carrier which is 10 over S9 on my PA0RDT and S6 on my north-south aligned delta loop. Is anyone else being bothered by this? I notified our local Canadian Coast Guard base about it, and they said they would look into it.
73, Bruce, VE3EAR Re: 518 kHz. carrier
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on August 24, 2016 at 13:51:46.
In reply to 518 kHz. carrier posted by John Bruce McCreath on August 24, 2016
Bruce, I noticed the continuous space tone the last few days too. This has happened many times before and I've given up complaining to the USCG. They have an incredibly incompetent TX arrangement that often fails to turn the TX off and they don't bother to monitor it themselves. The culprit in the past was the New Orleans station G but the current problem may well be from some other east coast TX (probably N).
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
A clue about the Navtex jammer
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on August 25, 2016 at 13:06:43.
Here is some text that I decoded from an UNID station overnight. Could it possibly have been from the Jammer?
2016-08-25 04:55:32> {}A~AVCOD TO NANTUCKET SHOALS AND GEORGES BANK
2016-08-25 04:56:16> TONIGHT..~S TO SW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. SEAS ~~T~~~~{}M
2016-08-25 04:56:24> FRI NIGHT...SW WINDS 5 TO 1~ KT. ~EA~ ~~~
2016-08-25 04:59:16> ~{}TOVSJK
2016-08-25 05:19:20> IMDD~WTXB~O~~~~~{}~~~~~~~{} 1~0YD IS ESTAB AROUND
2016-08-25 05:19:24> THE M/T
2016-08-25 05:19:34> BW GDF SUEZ BOSTON CARRYING LNG INBOU~D GUAYANILLA PUERTO
2016-08-25 05:19:36> R~CO ON 26
2016-08-25 05:22:13> AUG 16 AT 0900Q. THE SAFETY ZONE~~~ WIL ~~~{}
2016-08-25 05:22:21> 36 MILES E OF PT PLEASANT NJ IN POSN 40-04.171N
2016-08-25 06:26:42> 07~-1~.774/2~~=.~~~~{} 35-09.00N 074-~8.00W ~O ~5-33.00N 075-00.00W
2016-08-25 06:27:40> THEN TO ~T O~ ~EGINNING~~~~~~{}
2016-08-25 06:27:41>
2016-08-25 06:49:44> .9~ -~~~ ~~{}
2016-08-25 06:49:47> NOTICE.
2016-08-25 06:49:48>
2016-08-25 06:49:50> NNNN
73, J.B., VE3EAR Re: New HiFer heard??
Posted by John Davis on August 25, 2016 at 19:57:14.
In reply to New HiFer heard?? posted by michael tyler on August 23, 2016
Hi, Michael. Could you tell whether the CA signal was above or below WV in frequency? Did it fade in and out over time, or was it already there when you started listening, or did it just suddenly show up?
The reason I ask is because nobody has informed us of plans for a new HiFER with that call or near that frequency. I went out to the field to listen at mid-day to check it out (my first chance in days because of working on The LOWDOWN) but only saw and heard WV in that vicinity.
Signals weren't too good elsewhere on the band at the time. (And it was 115° in the building!) NC was strongest, EH was fair to good (some QSB), USC was barely visible, and so was MTI and maybe RQ. Only NC and WV reached audibility. I'm hoping to check again about two hours before sunset, but it may be stormy by then, based on the way the sky looks now.
John
AC... Who and Where Art Thou
Posted by Bill Hensel on August 26, 2016 at 01:36:34.
While on my little walk up in Pine Valley Open Space Park tonight I took along my trusty KA1103 portable... down on 13554 khz AC was loud and clear...the ID is absolutely AC not CA as reported , unless that was another beacon etc., the ID AC is sent four times and then quite a long time before it is sent again...
I hope this helps with the unknown quantity that AC is providing listeners...
It was copied from 0100 - 0120 utc...
MTI faded up a hand full of times...of course AA0RQ was loud, because I was only a mile or more away from RQs location.
With Fall approaching and then winter I will be back in the field once again with my KA 1103...always fun to copy a cw signal on such a little radio with hardly an antenna. 73 to all
Re: AC... Who and Where Art Thou
Posted by Ed Holland on August 26, 2016 at 16:50:34.
In reply to AC... Who and Where Art Thou posted by Bill Hensel on August 26, 2016
Bill,
That's interesting. I will have to keep an ear open on that frequency.
Based on your experiences I'm tempted to buy a KA1103 for hiking & listening. The Grundig Portable I have is a bit deaf for beacon work. It may also have problems caused by a previous careless owner...
A little listening yesterday morning ~1500UTC returned very little. A brief powerful hit of NC which faded before I could set Spectrum Lab to work. 10 more minutes listening resulted only in noise, then I had to leave for work.
Ed
HiFERS Sat 27 Aug
Posted by John Davis on August 27, 2016 at 18:11:28.
Started listening this morning at 11 AM CDT and found conditions distinctly more promising than the past two days (yesterday, for instance, there was only NC and Codar early in the afternoon, and only EH and Codar by evening; nobody else visual or aural).
This morning had EH and NC competing to deafen me, with WM faintly visible every so often. A band scan turned up WV faintly at first, more audible later; then MTI visible and occasionally audible (no PBJ); and the fuzzy patches that I have hypothesized to be AAØRQ surrounded by random carriers. This time, though, I have been able to hear one or two recognizable characters per ID--it does seem to be RQ! GNK and FRC were faintly visible but not audible.
And shortly before noon, there was a brief trace of an FSK signal with 7.5 or 6 Hz shift straddling the SIW slant. No clue what that is, except the frequencies weren't right for it to be IM products from EH & NC. Maybe FL? There was also about a 10 second appearance from what seems to be USC. Pictures of these tonight.
John
Re: New HiFer heard??
Posted by michael tyler on August 28, 2016 at 20:00:05.
In reply to New HiFer heard?? posted by michael tyler on August 23, 2016
I went back to the airport and checked my notes....the signal was AC not CA...sorry about that...I think my short term memory is going.....mike
Re: HiFERS Sat 27 Aug
Posted by Dave N4EF on August 28, 2016 at 22:18:20.
In reply to HiFERS Sat 27 Aug posted by John Davis on August 27, 2016
I'd be real excited if FL was copied! IF!
I made a small electromechanical improvement to the RF OUT-to-Antenna connection a few days ago. From that "fix", I see a small increase in the signal strength on a local receiver amounting perhaps to a fraction of a milliwat which in terms of per cent increase, might be significant.
Dave
New receiving aerial
Posted by Ed Holland on August 29, 2016 at 15:15:35.
I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon getting a new aerial rigged. This takes the form of 100 ft of wire elevated about 20ft between the available trees. Listening and comparison to the dipole will commence as soon as I construct a balun for the feedpoint.
It is also to be hoped that this setup will afford improved LF reception, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating... whatever happens it will be interesting.
Re: New HiFer heard??
Posted by jOHN dAVIS on August 29, 2016 at 15:53:37.
In reply to Re: New HiFer heard?? posted by michael tyler on August 28, 2016
Thanks for the clarification, Michael. I'm still curious about one thing, though. Bill reported AC at 13,554. Am I correct in assuming you heard it somehow around 13,554.8 where WV is?
What frequency for a new LF beacon?
Posted by Ed, KI6R on August 29, 2016 at 20:32:33.
I will soon place my old lowfer beacon back on the air from El Dorado Hills California. I will be using a 10 MHz TCXO clocked DDS VFO as the frequency source and can dial-up any frequency in the lowfer band. I'd like to stay near the top of the band in the 187-190 kHz range. I will scan the band tonight looking for "clear" frequencies. Please let me know if there are frequencies or areas of the 187-190 kHz range that should be avoided. I'm suggesting one of these frequencies: 187.187 kHz, 188.188, or 189.189 Re: What frequency for a new LF beacon?
73s, Ed, KI6R
ki6rcm98@gmail.com
Posted by John Davis on August 29, 2016 at 21:05:57.
In reply to What frequency for a new LF beacon? posted by Ed, KI6R on August 29, 2016
The only one of the three I'd definitely recommend against is 189.189 if you have hopes of being copied east of the Rockies, Ed. Iceland's LWBC station on 189.0 kHz can sometimes be quite strong here in the winter.
John
Re: New receiving aerial
Posted by Ed Holland on August 29, 2016 at 23:54:44.
In reply to New receiving aerial posted by Ed Holland on August 29, 2016
...Of course I dont mean balun, I mean matching transformer. I know my ununs really;-)
AZ Again at Last!
Posted by John Davis on August 30, 2016 at 03:46:36.
I thought of subtitling this one "Riding the Waves in Arizona," but I'm just too delighted to have finally heard AZ again myself after all these months!
The band had been pretty unproductive all day. Before noon, I saw NC and EH, and for a few minutes had brief hints of USC. MTI was visible and once in a while audible. But that was it! During the afternoon, the gang was down to only NC...no opening to IL today, either. I was holding out hope for a predicted G1 magnetic disturbance, but as of 5:40 PM it hadn't materialized.
Then I decided to do a Level 2.5 band scan*, and was tuning down around 13,554 in hopes of maybe running across the mysterious "AC" when I heard distinct CW among all the Codar racket. Couldn't really tell who it was at first, but in a couple minutes there were a few nice, clear aural idents! Really made my day.
John
(*My band scan strategies:
Level 1 = Watering Hole + MTI/PBJ, GNK, FRC (all the most easily audible and/or visible here)
Level 1.5 = Same as above, plus WV, PVC, AAØRQ (the targets I most often seek these days)
Level 2 = All the above, plus SPT, SZX, and sometimes AZ & TSN
Level 3 = Everybody on the list. And finally, the most recently added strategy:
Level 2.5 = Everybody on the list whose frequencies I can remember when I don't actually have the printed list with me. :)
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: AZ29aug.gif
Re: What frequency for a new LF beacon?
It is going to be a couple more weeks before the beacon is on. I've tried to run the RF source through one pair of 100' or rotor cable and the loss is too high resulting is low amp drive. I also need to reduce the inductance of my antenna matching coil. It was tuned for 180.8 kHz and 187-188 range is too far for the variometer to tune so I need to remove some turns from the coil. I'll post again later when I get everything sorted out. Best WV Ever
73s, Ed, KI6R
Posted by John Davis on August 30, 2016 at 17:11:55.
Got an early start this morning. Only NC was present at the watering hole, but just above was this sometimes-powerhouse signal from WV. Nobody else at all was visible or audible yet!
WV went away entirely several minutes later, but returned almost this strong again for a while about 45 minutes later. By then, USC was also showing up faintly.
John
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File Attachment 1: WV30aug.jpg
Mystery Signal
Shortly after the first capture of WV this morning, I tuned up to look for MTI & PBJ but didn't find them At first, I thought I had weak copy of MTI, but it turned out to be on 13,557.51 kHz (10 Hz lower than I've ever seen MTI), had somewhat faster CW keying, a longer message, and LOTS of rapid fading. I never could be sure what it was about. If anyone else hears something unusual in this part of the band, please let us know.
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 30aug-mystery.jpg
Re: Mystery Signal
By the way, if anyone is curious why there's a capture in the post and the same image appears as an attachment, it's because I've learned a handy little workaround for embedding pictures without having to log in as staff. This will eventually be a feature in and of itself, but for now this trick will let any Authenticated Author embed his attachment(s) visually as well as displaying clickable links.
What I do is check to make sure I'm giving the picture a filename based on the date of the capture, and that no other file for the same date uses the same name. I also know where the file uploads go, so all I had to do was use my author tripcode, then write the following BBCode into the message where I wanted the picture to appear:
[IMG]http://lwca.org/mbarchiv/pix/2016/30aug-mystery.jpg[/IMG]
(Of course, I also had to remember to actually upload the file attachment via the confirmation message once the message was sent. And it was essential to be 100% sure the filename in the BBCode was exactly the same as the file to be uploaded.)
That's why my last couple of messages contained both a picture and a link to the same thing. This approach is currently available to all Authenticated Authors. The "2016" will need to be changed once the New Year arrives, naturally.
John
Re: AC... Who and Where Art Thou
Posted by Gregg on August 30, 2016 at 20:29:53.
In reply to AC... Who and Where Art Thou posted by Bill Hensel on August 26, 2016
Hearing AC now, 13553.1 on the Atlantic SDR run by K2SDR.
Re: Best WV Ever
Posted by Johm Davis on August 30, 2016 at 23:02:51.
In reply to Best WV Ever posted by John Davis on August 30, 2016
Second best WV ever this afternoon at 3:30 PM CDT band scan. Didn't try for an Argo CW (NDB) mode this time, though, as more rapid fading this time would have made it hard to find the right settings. The nulls were sometimes so deeps and rapid as to turn "WV" into "WI" or "A U".
(For all its wondrous benefits in pulling slow modes out of the noise with QRSS modes, Argo is not nearly as handy for CW. The ear-brain system adapts a lot faster to changing signals at CW speeds. All my monitoring of plain Morse beacons is by ear, with QRSS3 to help me look for weak keyed carriers before they become audible. The only normal speed CW captures I do, in fact, are of exceptionally strong and/or steady signals.)
John
Re: AC... Who and Where Art Thou
Posted by John Davis on August 30, 2016 at 23:10:08.
In reply to Re: AC... Who and Where Art Thou posted by Gregg on August 30, 2016
Thanks for that information, Gregg. It helps to have some idea where to look. If it weren't for some of the building clouds around here showing signs of electrical activity now, I'd be tempted to return to the field and listen some more. As is, I may have to wait until Thursday when NOAA indicates a spell of clearer skies ahead.
That's barely within the band. I wonder if he's been there all along, or whether he's been roaming around the band, based on a certain amount of ambiguity re: frequency in reports prior to this.
Re: Mystery Signal
Posted by Ed Holland on August 31, 2016 at 00:46:24.
In reply to Mystery Signal posted by John Davis on August 30, 2016
Speaking of mystery signals, I was fooled last week by an apparent HiFEr. Seemingly slow keyed, but not in any convention I could recognise, it was just in the noise. I will have to look at my notes at home to report the frequency. Anyhow, something made me throw the grounding switch before I switched in one of the other receivers. On this, the signal jumped up in strength! Obviously it is reaching me via an earth loop and is nearer to home. Power system perhaps? Something on the DSL line?
This reminds me that whilst monitoring PVC recently to explore the effect of hills and terrain in our neighborhood, I happened upon a similar 13.55xxx MHz blip, localised to one area over perhaps 1/3 mile. It has not been present on subsequent occasions. Of course the frequency is available for use by all sorts of services but it pays to be aware of oddities, even if the nearest industry/medical usage is a good 5 miles away from the listening post.
Re: AC... Who and Where Art Thou
Posted by Gregg on August 31, 2016 at 06:11:58.
In reply to Re: AC... Who and Where Art Thou posted by John Davis on August 30, 2016
Heard it again earlier today, ~100Hz higher. Must be drift on his side because using WWV and CHU as reference, K2SDR is bang-on. More Tues. HiFERs
Didn't make it as far as U of Victoria (BC) Kiwi SDR.
Cheers!
Posted by John Davis on August 31, 2016 at 06:27:38.
No sign of the hoped-for G1 event today, either, and only a 20 minute "regular" opening to IL beginning at 11:50 AM CDT. The QRSS30 trace of the slant mode was clearly identifiable, but the QRSS3 traces were weak and broken. The opening produced one WSPR decode, the worst SNRr I've ever seen successfully yield anything:
1604 -32 -2.3 13.555405 0 K3SIW EN52 7
No sign of HiFER WM this time. Had a few signs of USC in the afternoon, but it was mostly EH and NC today, along with the WV receptions I mentioned earlier. A tiny hint of AZ manifested in mid afternoon, and MTI showed up in late afternoon for two faint IDs, but no HiFers were heard or seen above the center of the band all day. Just before 4:30 PM, I got excited when I returned to the computer after being outside for a while and saw what looked like more WSPR...but then I saw that it was 10 or 15 Hz above SIW, and was sufficiently incomplete that I'm not sure what it was.
One other oddity: Earlier in the afternoon, a band scan turned up CW around 13,558.200 that was a tad chirpy and followed an ocean wave drift pattern rather like AZ did on Sunday. It never got quite strong enough to copy the message, though.
John
Temporary MM Lowfer 185304
Posted by Mike N8OOU on August 31, 2016 at 22:31:17.
All Lowfer listeners;
I am testing my revamped Lowfer vertical antenna. I have a temporary exciter directly attached to the antenna so the output power is well below the 1 watt limit, but sufficient to allow fine tuning of the loading coil. It may be radiating some amount of signal.
Specifics of this transmitter are an ID of MM in QRSS 60 mode on the desired frequency of 185304 Hz. I am using just crystal frequency control for the moment, so I expect some drift away from that frequency. I will make adjustments as necessary. I measured an antenna current of 15 mA so it is very low power at the moment.
The WM Lowfer is still running on the E-W loop antenna. I have received requests for both E-W signals and N-S signals. I plan to run the loop for a few more weeks, and put the PA inline on the MM transmitter after a little more tuning.
After this playtime is over I will shut MM down and move WM back to the vertical for the winter.
Thanks for listening 73 Walter Michael Meek (WM---MM)
potrzebie