185.3 cont'd
Posted by lloyd chastant on October 01, 2003 at 07:22:09
Here is a cpture of thre of the 185.3 group last nite
www.geocities.com/lacwman/185sept30.jpg
XSR was also coming in with big signal..
de Lloyd W3NF FM19MH
185.3 band conditions
Posted by mitch ve3ot on October 02, 2003 at 14:25:11
Hello all:
Very nice band opening this morning.
Some traces seen last night ( Wednesday) but really came through after 3AM EDT.
Some of the better captures of TAG and VD,
even better than last season - is this a good indicator or what ? Using K9AY antenna - E-W -
Captures at http://technology.fanshawec.ca/eltn124/1853.htm
73 Mitch VE3OT
A very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz
Posted by Steinar Aanesland on October 02, 2003 at 15:48:27
Hi all
I am picking up a very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz. I have scanned the whole Internet, but I can`t find anything about this staton.
Anyone here who can help me?
Re: A very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz
Posted by John Andrews on October 02, 2003 at 20:13:18
Not visible here, Steinar.
John Andrews, W1TAG
Re: A very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz
Posted by Tim Brannon on October 03, 2003 at 00:32:04
I know its an odd frequency for it, but could this be an "image" signal from one of the time stations on 60 kHz? Do receivers using IF-DSP produce image signals?
Newbie here-Central Alaska
Posted by Dale Powell AL7Y on October 03, 2003 at 12:48:01
Greetings from Fairbanks, Alaska. I am a ham that has not been on the air in a few years, built a house and have just started getting some antennas (receive)ready before winter. I am an avid MW DX'er from way back, and I have just "discovered" longwave. I have heard the beacons before but ignored them, now I am finding that I am just as interested in chasing LW as MW. What sort of LW stations would I be likely to be able to pick up here? I have one Beverage now oriented toward Canada/USA, a random wire, with more planned, maybe a K9AY and ??? The Beverage is unbelievable, should have tried one long ago. It's 500' and laying on the ground. Looking forward to checking in regularly! AL7Y
Re: A very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz
Posted by Steinar Aanesland on October 03, 2003 at 12:56:22
Hi Tim
My IC-R75 has an UT-106 plug-in module. It is an AF DSP.
I have never experienced "image" signal with my IC-R75 before, and the time station on 60 kHz is very weak on my location.
Today the 69.81 KHz signal is completely gone..strange
S
This is what I am picking up
Posted by Steinar Aanesland on October 03, 2003 at 16:26:42
http://home.c2i.net/saa/time.jpg
It is to much interference on 75KHz to get a clear picture of this signal
WEB in Maryland
Posted by lloyd chastant on October 04, 2003 at 07:38:41
took a quick look this morning at 189.95 and there was WEB coming through..shows as 1269 miles from Maryland..
strangely I looked at the 185.3 and 137.7735 and saw pretty much nothing..only Bill coming through ..:-)
www.geocities.com/lacwman/189web.jpg
de Lloyd W3NF FM19MH
...and in MA
Posted by John Andrews on October 04, 2003 at 14:19:45
Copied Bill Bowers' WEB this morning (4 Oct)in Holden, MA. Best screen shot was at 0600 UTC:
http://webpages.charter.net/w1tag/files/WEB.jpg There was another peak around 0930 UTC, but more imagination is required for the call sign.
The distance appears to be 1599 miles.
John Andrews, W1TAG
Re: A very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz
Posted by Alan G3NYK on October 04, 2003 at 19:07:33
Hi Steiner, I have looked at your spectrogram, but I am not really sure what I am seeing. I am surprised to see the DCF-77 and MSF "ticks" differing by nearly 500msecs so I assume it is a "cut and paste" compilation. It seems to me as though you are showing some intermodulation even on those traces, so I wonder whether you have some non-linearity somewhere in your receiving system ? The frequency is totally strange for a standard time transmission. Maybe you have a bit local signal you are not seeing, giving IMD products with DCF-77?? I believe you said it disappeared later which would support that idea.
Cheers de Alan G3NYK
Re: A very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz
Posted by Alan G3NYK on October 04, 2003 at 19:08:58
Hi Steiner, I have looked at your spectrogram, but I am not really sure what I am seeing. I am surprised to see the DCF-77 and MSF "ticks" differing by nearly 500msecs so I assume it is a "cut and paste" compilation. It seems to me as though you are showing some intermodulation even on those traces, so I wonder whether you have some non-linearity somewhere in your receiving system ? The frequency is totally strange for a standard time transmission. Maybe you have a big local signal you are not seeing, giving IMD products with DCF-77?? I believe you said it disappeared later which would support that idea.
Cheers de Alan G3NYK
I think I have found the sinner
Posted by Steinar Aanesland on October 05, 2003 at 05:48:36
Hi Alan
Thanks for your answer. Yes I admit that I have be inexact with my "cut and paste"..clumsy ;). I think I have found the sinner. I have done some comparative studies of the time signals, and it seems to me that 77.5 kHz DCF77 give some sort off image signals on 69.81 kHz.
Is there some images of the VLF time signales any place on the internet? It would be interesting to see what is should look like. And if I have some non-linearity in my receiving system, where is the most obvious place look. I am using an 50 meter antenna with an coil and capacitor for tuning. See this picture: http://home.c2i.net/saa/ant.jpg. My receiver is an ICOM IC-R75 with a 250Khz filter and the DSP mention before.
XSR 166.5 kc at mid day in NC
Posted by Dexter, W4DEX on October 06, 2003 at 12:38:50
I ran overnight on XDW, moved to WEB just before sunrise. QRN was moderate. No signal detected on either freq. After sunrise I tuned in XSR. Great signal all morning and still pounding in at mid day. Argo level indicator shows XSR running 25 to 30 db above noise. Mid day capture can be seen at:
http://w4dex.com/argo/XSRmidday06oct03.jpg
Dex
LW transcribed hurricane reports
Posted by Mike Terry on October 07, 2003 at 02:11:45
From longwaveradiolistening@yahoogroups.com
There is a nice list of longwave transcribed weather boadcasts at:
http://www.iprimus.ca/~hepburnw/dx/twb.htm
I did see any listed in Virginia, the nearest to you would most likely be in South Carolina, I imagine that you would need a BIG (6ft +) outdoor loop or other antenna to pick them up. I have been listening to longwave for 20+ years and I don't think that there is any ssb below 500 kHz.
73 Warren K2ORS
Re: Newbie here-Central Alaska
Posted by Robert H on October 07, 2003 at 03:18:59
Greetings from Arizona! Please tell us what you are hearing. I just got back my IC-703 from the shop, but am working on my antenna system. Need to rearrange the furniture, and move the random wire to a less noisy spot. Let us know if you are hearing the nondirectional Alaska beacons in the 510-530 kHz range, as a start.
73 and gud dx!
kb7aqd
Re: Newbie here-Central Alaska
Posted by Robert H on October 07, 2003 at 11:02:19
will find non-directional airport beacons, and tell you details about the corresponding airport. Look forward to your reports!
Re: LW transcribed hurricane reports
Posted by Tim Brannon KF5CQ on October 07, 2003 at 22:39:09
Regarding your mention of SSB...
Back in the early 90s the Los Angeles-area LowFER group ran an SSB net on Saturday mornings in the 180 kHz range. Dave Curry used to market a LowFER transverter for use with amateur transcievers on 80 meters, and I think many in that group were using this rig. The transverter kit was once the subject of a 73 Magazine article. From what I've read this net is no longer active, and the transverter kit is no longer commercially-available.
In the late 70s Ken Cornell described a DSB transmitter in his Low Frequency Scrapbook series, and commented on some test contacts with local hams.
You can't receive any of this today, but it has been done before.
FOR SALE - Drake R8 receiver and MFJ 1024 active ant
Posted by Joe Casey on October 08, 2003 at 10:06:02
I am thinking about selling my gear. I have not touched it for a couple years, until recently. It is a R8 model. No box, no manual. Great condition and it already has the VHF converter installed and a MFJ 1024 active antennae. I am Located in New Castle County Delaware. Email at jcasey@comcast.net if your are interested.
Thanks,
Joe
Isle of Man update
Posted by Mike Terry on October 08, 2003 at 10:19:33
FURTHER DELAYS DEPRIVES ISLAND OF RADIO VOICE
08 October 2003
Further delays in a legal row over plans for a long wave radio station have been blasted by the man behind the project.
Isle of Man International Broadcasting founder Paul Rusling said he is frustrated and the ongoing court battle is 'depriving the Island as a whole of a powerful radio voice'.
Bride resident Nick Cussons launched a petition of doleance against the Communications Commission and IMIB arguing the long wave licence should not have been issued.
Earlier this year he was given the go-ahead to proceed with his petition despite objections from IMIB and the commission.
It had been hoped the case would be heard before next month, but Mr Rusling said his company has been informed a request for an adjournment by Mr Cussons has been granted. A date for the hearing is yet to be set.
That means plans for the station - with offices in Ramsey and a transmitter in the sea off Ramsey - remain on hold.
Mr Rusling said: 'Eighteen months have been lost as a result of this petition costing not only our shareholders anxiety and delays, but also depriving the Island as a whole of a powerful radio voice which could be useful in boosting its exports and raising its profile.
'We are, however, very determined and this extra delay will not deter us from pressing on.
'We have now had thousands of messages of support and expressions of goodwill,' he added. 'The project has become much more than just a commercial project or yet another radio station, it has become a torch for many who believe in widening the choice of programme supplier and new,
innovative broadcasting techniques.
'It also offers a unique opportunity for the Isle of Man. Everything else is ready to run and we are determined to launch the station at the earliest opportunity.'
http://www.iomonline.co.im/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=870&ArticleID=671539
177 khz - Germany
Posted by Mike Terry on October 10, 2003 at 02:32:06
Thursday, October 09 2003
Heard Deutschlandradio last night from 0145 to 0215 (9 Oct) on 177 khz for my first LW log from Europe this season. Programming seemed to be a tribute to Johnny Cash, with all Johnny Cash music, interrupted only by the news at 0200. Also heard Iceland on 189 khz, but I don't really consider that DX as I can hear it most nights from October to March.
Nigel Pimblett Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/index.php?topic=HCDX
The low and medium frequency radio scrap book
Posted by Robert Costa on October 10, 2003 at 12:18:48
Hello all.
I am looking to obtain the 10th edition of the Low and Medium Frequency radio scrap book by Ken Cornell.
A sad loss to the lowfer community when Ken Cornell became a silent key in 1997. I would like to know if there is a source to obtain his latest edition. I only have the 6th edition.
Re: HiFER or LOWFER 2 way QSO?
Posted by paul daulton on October 10, 2003 at 23:51:44
you are correct in using your 10meter ssb rig on cw by injecting a tone in the mic input. the balanced mod produces two products with the freq +or- the modulating freq, the carrier is suppresed. the filter will strip off the unwanted sideband. on a spectrum analyser or scope it will look like an unmodulated carrier. dont confuse this with mcw the rec will still need a bfo to hear a tone.
ive used this method on a homebrew ssb xcvr. i think collins did the same.
hope this helps
k5wms paul
Re: HiFER or LOWFER 2 way QSO?
Posted by Thank You! on October 11, 2003 at 11:55:47
Thank you! One among many of my other radio pursuits.
LWBC listening from Rome
Posted by Ray, W2RS on October 11, 2003 at 17:31:57
I took my Sony ICF-SW100E along to Rome, and did a bit of LW broadcast listening with it around 1900 UTC (2100 local time) on 9 October.
Europe No. 1 from Germany on 183 was very strong, about as strong as I'm used to hearing in London, and the French station on 216 was good copy as well. Weak signals were heard from the following:
198 BBC4
225 Poland
234 Luxembourg
243 Denmark
252 Algeria (?)
261 Germany
270 Czech Republic
73,
Ray
Hifer RY off for the season
Posted by John Andrews on October 12, 2003 at 21:06:32
Hifer beacon RY in Raymond, ME is off until next May. I recently picked up an oven controlled 10 MHz oscillator, and will rebuild the xmtr over the winter. That should allow continuous operation starting in May.
Heard and saw NC's square wave this morning. UWL was good copy, as was PBJ.
John Andrews, W1TAG
Loggings from Fairbanks
Posted by Dale Powell AL7Y on October 13, 2003 at 02:20:15
Thanks for the replies, so far the Alaska NDB's that I have received are BCC 212, GAV 219, MHM 227, UTO 272, VIR 281, BVK 325, BZP 331, DJN 347, 356 FOX, ANV 365, 371 PDN, AES 390, OQK 414, Canadians are YDL 200, YWO 205, YD 230, YXQ 239, XY 302, YSY 321, I have logged one that seems like a mistake, VTR at 345 Brazil??? PJ at 327? One Australian GLA 246. Working on the antennas for some more improvement!
Dale AL7Y
Re: The low and medium frequency radio scrap book
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on October 13, 2003 at 07:49:36
Robert,
The last thing I heard on the subject was an email on the AMRAD LF mail list two years ago, from Frank Gentges:
"Ken Cornell passed away several years ago. I searched out his heirs hoping to obtain the rights to republish his book through AMRAD. Unfortunately, they wanted too much money to make it a viable project. They hold all the keys as he self published the book.
You will have to look for a copy in someone's junk box. Since his books were paperback, rare book dealers will probably not catalog and list them through the used book lists. I suspect many copies have been thrown out in the trash."
John Andrews, W1TAG
Cutler off the air any updates?
Posted by David Gray on October 14, 2003 at 10:06:41
Does anyone have any information on NAA at 24 KHz. It has been off the air for several months. I heard that the were completing mantiance on the towers.
www.vlf.it update
Posted by Renato Romero on October 14, 2003 at 16:55:06
The new upgrade of www.vlf.it is on line:
-UNKNOWN ELF-SIGNALS and GROUND CURRENTS by Kurt Diedrich
-SIMPLE EARTH-IONOSPHERE WAVEGUIDE CALCULATION By Thierry Alves
Thanks for the collaborations
73, Renato Romero
HOW TO JOIN
Posted by charles edwards on October 15, 2003 at 02:26:58
HOW DO I JOIN LWCA IAM KF6MJQ YOU HAVE MY E-MAIL BUT AGIN ITS cbedwards90277@yahoo.com
Re: HOW TO JOIN
Posted by John Davis on October 15, 2003 at 20:29:21
Hi Charles,
The link for membership information is found in the "The LOWDOWN This Month" box on our Home Page. That URL is:
http://www.anarc.org/lwca/
The page contains dues information and the address of our publisher.
(ANARC, the Association of North American Radio Clubs, is an umbrella organization to which we and several other radio clubs subscribe. They help represent the hobby in broader spheres than the individual clubs can reach alone.)
John
ferrite LF antenna
Posted by rinus nienhuis on October 17, 2003 at 16:17:34
Hello Everybody,
Is there somebody on this list that has experimented with ferrite bar antenna's/ferroceptors ,
when i search the net , i see all kind of scheme's but which is actually giving good results?
How long,how thick, how many windings , which amplifier which amplifier scheme i want to build a ferrite antenna that rocks!
is this possible ?
can somebody help ?
all the best rinus nienhuis/netherlands
Re: ferrite LF antenna
Posted by Steve Ratzlaff on October 18, 2003 at 14:13:36
My experience with a ferrite loop at LF is it is not even close in sensitivity to an active whip or other type of outdoor LF antenna. I have a homemade 24 inch ferrite loop with coils for LF and MW, using a bundle of rods. A far better indoor LF antenna, if you're limited to using an antenna indoors for LF reception, is the Wellbrook ALA1530, or their recent addition ALA1010 with increased VLF coverage. I've used that antenna with some success indoors. But if at all possible, get any antenna used for LF outdoors, as far from the AC power noise field as possible. Steve
Re: ferrite LF antenna
Posted by rinus nienhuis on October 18, 2003 at 23:39:57
Dear Steve many thanks for the reply the reason is i want to use ferrite bar is because i want to use it for RDF i already have a wellbrook antenne-ala 1530 and indeed performs great, also for RDF but i want to use a small !so i can easyly take it with me best rinus
How can I receive HAARP?
Posted by Gaumaier on October 19, 2003 at 01:16:42
I want to receive HAARP with my radio in Stuttgart, Germany and I do not know how I should do it, so I ask you the following questions and I hope on an answer although I know, that HAARP is not a longwave but a shortwave transmitter:
when can I receive HAARP? On which frequency does it work at which time?
Does it work permanently?
How does HAARP sound in a radio
- with AM demodulator
- with SSB demodulator?
Swedish transmitters
Posted by Mike Terry on October 19, 2003 at 03:10:35
My site about old Swedish medium and longwave transmitters has been updated. New pictures on the mediumwave transmitter in Sölvesborg and Kvitsøy (Norway) can be seen. Click on the pictures to see theme larger.
http://hem.passagen.se/longwave/?noframe/
73's de Christian SM6VPU
(emwg)
Re: How can I receive HAARP?
Posted by Warren K2ORS on October 19, 2003 at 12:03:05
I toured the HAARP transmitter site and was briefed by the scientists and enineers there about 2 years ago. As far as I know HAARP doesn't publish either a schedule or frequencies in advance. Typlically HAARP transmits in the AM mode, usually modulated by low frequency audio tones. When I was there they were transmitting on 3.2 MHz carrier modulated with a constant tone of 8 Hz, over the course of a night they would change the tone to 12 Hz 16 Hz etc.
HAARP is frequency agile over the 2.8-10 MHZ range.
HAARP is careful not to cause interference to other services, they listen (on an ICOM R-72) before transmitting and they never operate in the ham bands.
For more info, see their web site:
www.haarp.alaska.edu
73 Warren K2ORS
Re: How can I receive HAARP?
Posted by Laurence KL1X on October 19, 2003 at 16:28:15
Background info - Have a look at http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/
Cheers - no QRM here from HAARP..just goed Geo/Iono info
Natural Radio and Crystal Sets?
Posted by Robert KC5JCT on October 20, 2003 at 12:10:20
I am a new member of the LWCA and enjoy building crystal set radios. I have recently had some success in building a long wave set and have tuned to a local beacon at 206 khz and Loral-c at about 100 khz. I think I can also hear the WWVB signal at 60 khz. I have thought about building a set to tune down in the VLF area for natural radio but am unsure what frequency range to design for. I would want to make the range as narrow as possible so the set is easier to build.
Has anyone tried to build a crystal set for VLF natural radio? What would be an interesting narrow frequency range to try for?
Re: Natural Radio and Crystal Sets?
Posted by Richard, VE7ZEP on October 20, 2003 at 14:48:10
I'm not very sure about xtal radios, but you could try "The Xtal Set Societ" message group like this one. Check out:
http://www.midnightscience.com/
Click on "On Line Discussion" on left side of page.
Re: Natural Radio and Crystal Sets?
Posted by John Davis on October 20, 2003 at 15:20:55
Hi Robert,
I don't think you'll find a crystal set too useful for natural radio. A crystal detector performs rectification of an RF signal so it can be detected by ear (or by meter, in some cases).
Natural radio phenomena are electromagnetic waves, like man-made signals, but they occur at such low frequencies that they are already in the audible spectrum. Whistler energy, for instance, becomes detectable when it is just above 10kHz, and is much more pronounced when it swoops downward through midrange audio frequencies.
All that's really necessary for natural radio is to amplify the signals that come straight from the antenna and couple them to a speaker or headphones (usually with some high-pass filtering to reject as much powerline hum as possible, and occasionally some low-pass filtering if there's interference from strong VLF and LF stations above the audio range).
Best of luck.
John
Re: ferrite LF antenna
Posted by Alan G3NYK on October 20, 2003 at 15:25:31
Hi rinus, there was an article in Electronics World in August 2002 where Paolo Antonniatzi and Marco Arecco discussed loops and ferrites at 136kHz. They are both amateurs. Their article describes various assemblies of bundles of ferrite rods. They suggest that the sensitivity compared even with a small simply made loop is such as to only make a ferrite aerial worthwhile for portable work. You do not say what frequencies you are interested in because I believe the ferrite solution improves as you go down in frequency. I believe that there may be some data about VLF operation on Wolf's web site DL6YHF ( of SpectrumLab fame)
73 de Alan G3NYK
Re: Natural Radio and Crystal Sets?
Posted by Robert KC5JCT on October 20, 2003 at 23:46:35
Thanks for the info. I was thinking that theoretically you might be able to detect some natural signals with a crystal set. Signal strength is another matter though. I have no idea how strong the signals are and whether you might be able to detect some interesting ones without amplification.
Do alot of the various signals occur around 10,000 hz? If so, you would not need to rectify them to hear them?
LW Radio
Posted by Robert KC5JCT on October 20, 2003 at 23:54:44
Who makes the best portable long wave radio that would serve to hear local beacons and other fairly strong long wave signals? How low would a small long wave radio typically go?
Also, what type of antenna would one use for a portable LW radio. Do they use an internal ferite core antenna? If so, would this work for local and/or strong signals?
Re: ferrite LF antenna
Posted by rinus nienhuis on October 21, 2003 at 04:20:43
Alan and Steve many thanks for your help Alan, do you happen to have the article? because it's a hell of a job , to order that article for me , in the Netherlands Steve , thank you for passing my name to Roelof !
all the best rinus
Re: Natural Radio and Crystal Sets?
Posted by John Davis on October 21, 2003 at 11:36:34
>>> I have no idea how strong the signals are and whether you might be able to detect some interesting ones without amplification.
The signal strength depends quite a bit on the type of antenna you are using and the type of atmospheric (sferic) you are listening for. Tweaks are often strong enough that they can be heard with high-impedance headphones having one lead connected to a long wire and the other to a ground--or even just two ground rods, separated by a fair distance. A few whistlers can sometimes be heard this way also, but that's rather rare.
Most whistlers, dawn chorus, auroral hiss and similar effects are lower in level...sometimes only a fraction of a millivolt...and thus require amplification to be appreciated by the ear. (If you have visited some of the links on our Natural Radio & Propagation page, you may be aware of these different sounds that we lump together under the name Natural Radio.)
>>> Do a lot of the various signals occur around 10,000 hz? If so, you would not need to rectify them to hear them?
Unless one's hearing is impaired, 10 kHz is well within the audible range. However, there is very little to hear in the way of natural radio signals above that--just clicks and pops of lightning discharges.
Why not whistlers? The frequency dispersion process that produces whistlers doesn't result in enough spreading to be distinguishable until you get down into the audio range. If you were to use a radio tuned to 10 kHz and set for upper sideband detection, and if the Russian ALPHA navigational signals were off, the starting edge of a whistler would sound very similar to a conventional tweak as heard in the audio spectrum. On a rectifier detector, it would only result in a slightly prolonged click.
Are there any other natural radio sources above 10 kHz? Yes, but mainly they're located far enough out in the earth's magnetosphere that they don't penetrate the ionosphere. We only know about them because of satellites with broadband receivers on board.
The only natural radio signals that reach the ground are apparently those produced in ducts along the stronger lines of magnetic force: whistlers and tweaks, which have their origins in lightning, and dawn chorus; plus certain auroral signals which, because they originate from directly overhead, do not propagate over any appreciable distance via the earth-ionosphere waveguide.
The latter type of signal is an eery but delightful combination of hisses, chirps, warbles, reverse whistlers (rising in frequency rather than descending), etc. Aurural chorus could contain components above 10 kHz that have not yet been well researched. This would be an interesting field of inquiry if you were willing to spend some time in the far north.
For those of us at more temperate latitudes, though, natural radio signals pretty much exist only in audible frequency ranges.
John
Re: Natural Radio and Crystal Sets?
Posted by Robert KC5JCT on October 21, 2003 at 19:24:48
Thanks for the info John! This gives me some idea how to get started with natural radio.
How to get started with Long Wave
Posted by KI4BOO Dustin on October 22, 2003 at 23:20:21
Hello. I have recently started listening to some Long Wave code beacons and such, and I am interested in it.
What kind of licensing is involved with using Long Wave frequencies?
73
-Dustin KI4BOO
Re: How Low Can You Go?
Posted by Richard, VE7ZEP on October 23, 2003 at 03:42:07
According to the information I have, there are no allocations below 10 kHz. So I guess if you can generate and transmit a signal "down there", congrats!
Re: How to get started with Long Wave
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on October 23, 2003 at 07:12:30
Dustin,
At present, there is no regular licensed service available for hobby use at LF or VLF. The 160 to 190 kHz range is certainly useful in the U.S. under FCC Part 15, and there is plenty of information on this LWCA site about activity there. No license is required, but there are limits on power and antenna size.
The FCC denied a petition for a ham band at 136 kHz this year, so there is no amateur allocation.
The only other options would be an experimental license under Part 5 of the FCC rules, or to operate below 9 kHz, where there is no regulation at all.
John Andrews
Re: How Low Can You Go?
Posted by John Davis on October 23, 2003 at 11:20:40
>>> According to the information I have, there are no allocations below 10 kHz. So I guess if you can generate and transmit a signal "down there", congrats!
Actually, it's 9 kHz. Some years ago, the US brought the frequencies in its Table of Allocations into line with the rest of the world.
In some countries, allocated or not, the government still coordinates and licenses experimental efforts below 9 kHz. There are even a few footnotes in Part 2 of the FCC Rules. However, in the US, it's basically open so long as one keeps harmonics and spurs above 9 kHz within Part 15 limits. It turns out the big problem is radiating anything useful at such a low frequency, while still keeping those harmonics within limits.
John
Re: Swedish transmitters
Posted by John Hoopes on October 24, 2003 at 20:34:43
That was a nice collection of antennas. Thanks for posting.
John
Re: A very waek "time signal" on 69.81 KHz
Posted by Gene on October 24, 2003 at 22:10:17
I'm late on this, but this may help.
The People's Republic of China has been broadcasting a time signal on 68.5 kHz
http://www.c-max.com.hk/news_chinasig.html
Call letters are BPC
Part-5 beacon "XFX"
Posted by Eric Smith on October 25, 2003 at 21:30:15
Beacon "XFX" is on the air under Part-5 license WD2XFX.
Running 100mW ant current now, increasing power through the evening.
Will run QRP for approx 4 weeks then QRO.
137.7811 kHz, QRSS120, ID "XFX".
Status page will soon be posted at http://www.nutstreet.net/radio/beacons/
Eric, KD5UWL WD2XFX
Re: How to get started with Long Wave
Posted by Steve Hughes on October 27, 2003 at 12:45:10
Just started researching long wave--find the whole subject fascinating and looking forward to getting a Part 15 compliant beacon going at my hobby farm.
I'd like to experiment with sending some sort of telemetry, to see if I can receive say, a PIC-controlled CW transmission of the temperature. I'd like to see if I can receive the signal at my home about 76 miles away as the crow flies. Since, as I understand it, Part 15 regulates unlicensed transmission under 1 watt with a specific antenna length, is this a feasable project? Do I need some kind of call sign, or could I just transmit maybe my email address (to receive confirmation) and my little temperature signal?
I'm also looking for a simple transmitter schematic. I have a Radio Shack DX-398 SW receiver, and I do receive some navigation beacons on that. Would this a rig recieve the signal that I'm talking about with a long wire antenna?
Any advice most welcome. I can't believe that anything this cool exists!
Steve
FT-897 for LF?
Posted by Ray, W2RS on October 27, 2003 at 17:02:27
Hi,
Does anyone have experience with LF reception using an FT-897? I notice that the stability spec of the FT-897 with the optional TCXO is the same as that of the Icom R-75, but wonder if anyone has actually tried to receive QRSS with it.
73,
Ray
Re: How to get started with Long Wave
Posted by John Davis on October 27, 2003 at 17:17:57
>>> I can't believe that anything this cool exists!
It is pretty cool, isn't it?
If you visit our home page and click the LowFER/MedFER button at the top, then select About Part 15, the resulting page includes a link to Lyle Koehler's Web site. That's probably the best place to start hunting practical LowFER transmitter designs, antenna advice, etc.
>>> I'd like to experiment with sending some sort of telemetry, to see if I can receive say, a PIC-controlled CW transmission of the temperature. I'd like to see if I can receive the signal at my home about 76 miles away as the crow flies.
This should be feasible. In fact, Lyle's son does this sort of thing from his cabin in Wisconsin.
To get good groundwave coverage over this sort of distance consistently, the transmit antenna system needs to be as efficient as you can make it (shouldn't be a problem at a farm to find room to run ground radials and/or lay out a chicken wire ground screen).
Then you would want to pick a frequency that is very quiet at your intended receiving location, especially if you plan to run Morse code at conventional speeds. The receive antenna also needs to be in an electrically quiet location, or as close as you can manage. Some folks use longwires successfully for LowFER reception, but many prefer active whips (which can be situated wherever noise is quietest on the property) or loop antennas (which can be aimed to null sources of interference).
The receiver itself will be fairly critical to achieving success. I believe you will want one that is both more sensitive than the DX-398 and more selective (IF filters of narrow enough bandwidth to differentiate weak CW signals from each other), with the ability to tune in much narrower steps.
I would recommend a good desktop SWL model or a ham transceiver with a receiver that tunes down to LF (sometimes a preamp will be needed with some of these); or such a receiver that doesn't tune below the AM broadcast band, but add an LF-to-shortwave upconverter such as sold by LF Engineering (linked in the About Part 15 page).
In fact, I'd concentrate on the receiver and receive antenna first, before even trying to pick a transmit frequency. There's much more noise on LF than you'll realize without an adequate receive setup. More than one LowFER has gone on the air, then had to pick a new frequency because he didn't realize there was a powerline carrier or some other signal on top of him once the signal gets outside his immediate neighborhood.
>>> Do I need some kind of call sign, or could I just transmit maybe my email address (to receive confirmation) and my little temperature signal?
Most people use a call sign of their own choosing. This can be anything from an arbitrary one to three letter group, or ne part of their ham call sign, or their initials, or whatever. The only restriction the FCC has ever put on these identifiers is that they not be easily confused with a licensed station, nor obscene. I'd make sure there wasn't an aeronautical beacon nearby with that identifier I chose, and I wouldn't use my entire ham call, for instance. (Personally, I avoid W- or K-prefixed calls as well, but there is no explicit requirement against it...only that it not be easily confused with the genuine article.)
For a distant listener, a brief handful of letters repeated regularly is much easier to copy reliably than an entire email address.
If you are interested in receiving reception reports, let us list you in the online and print versions of our LowFER/MedFER/HiFER lists. In addition to the list by frequency, we have an operator contact list where we include your email address and any other contact information you'd linke us to post. Folks who hear you can then look you up quite easily that way.
John
LowFer gear...
Posted by Dave Riley on October 27, 2003 at 19:14:50
It looks as if I have permission to install a beacon at the original tower base used in 1906 for the world's first radio voice broadcast...
See www.radiocom.net/Fessenden I am looking for what have you for transmitting equipment...
Think it will be with ident. of 'BO', as used in those days...
It is right on the salt water in Brant Rock, Mass.. Sure to get out good... This was also the sight of the first trans-Atlantic 2 way wireless and the point where the first voice was heard across the Atlantic to Macrihanish, Scotland...
The 100th anniversary will be 24-DEC-06...
73s to all my long lost LowFer friends...
Dave Riley - AA1A - 1A
Re: How to get started with Long Wave
Posted by Steve Hughes on October 29, 2003 at 12:55:43
Thanks John! Great info! I hope to be on the air by the new year!
Steve
Re: How to get started with Long Wave
Posted by John Davis on October 29, 2003 at 14:07:02
>>> Thanks John! Great info! I hope to be on the air by the new year!
Good luck. Be sure to let us know when you're on, and we'll ask folks to look and listen for you.
John
www.lwca.org
potrzebie