9khz query.
Just looking into a possible LW project and wanting to know:
Is a licence needed in the UK to transmit below 9khz? I understand this part of the VLF band is licence free in other countries and I am interested in setting up a Lowfer style beacon for experiments. Any help gratefully recieved.
All the best, Rob. New Lowfer beacon S on 172 KHz
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 03, 2007 at 14:27:13.
"S" is now functional on 172.000 KHz and I will run it at 4wpm CW and QRSS10 by request and on weekends for now. Grid is FN31nh. Years back in the 1980's I used to run SD on 187KHz when activity was at a peak, I had a blast and had many QSO's. I'm back.... 160 M antenna question experts help desired..
Sal, K1RGO
Posted by rick on October 05, 2007 at 10:37:53.
hi;
I am just starting in Lo band work as a ham, with little antenna experience.
This question deals with the antenna design, practical placement(alignment) and feeding.
I have an unusual QTH with an old 200' tower & want to hang a 160M Slopping dipole off the tower, with the low end going to a dedicated 25' telephone pole in a farm field. The existing tower has non-segmented guys going to ground. Re: 160 M antenna question experts help desired..
I will feed it with RG-8u. Hope to use it on 80M also, without traps.
I am at 45 lat, 75 lon Ottawa, & wonder about directional placement{will necessarily be betetween a pair of the 3 existing guys. Best(easy) location for the telephone pole is Southerly direction.
Will that be good enough for DX E-W ?
Hight of upper-limb of dipole above ground ?
Have a Heath 2060A ant tuner(has a 160M band + built in balin).
Any advice or practical details appreciated.
73
rick
Posted by Warren K2ORS on October 06, 2007 at 06:55:14.
In reply to 160 M antenna question experts help desired.. posted by rick on October 05, 2007
Rick, Re: 9khz query.
You are fortunate to have a 200' tower! A couple of points - if you plan on feeding your antenna with coax you will need two antennas or traps - no way around that. The non-segmented guys will be a problem - the only way to predict the effect of the guys would be to model the tower, guys, and antenna with one of the NEC based programs. Really a lot of issues here, I strongly recommend that you get a copy of "Low Band DXing" by ON4UN. This forum (Longwave Club of America) is primarily for experimenters below 500kHz so 160 is slightly off topic here.
73 Warren K2ORS
WD2XGJ (136-140kHz)
WD2XSH/23(505-510kHz)
WE2XEB/2 (160-189kHz)
WE2XGR/1 (505-515kHz)
Posted by Warren K2ORS on October 06, 2007 at 07:09:48.
In reply to 9khz query. posted by Robert B. on October 03, 2007
Hi Bob,
There is no license required here in the U.S. below 9kHz and I doubt that you would need a license in the U.K. The real problem will be radiating a signal for any significant distance. At 9kHz a wavelength is 33kM, a 1/4 wavelength vertical would be 8.25kM high which is beyond the means of most experimenters (unless perhaps you use a balloon). A small antenna will be very inefficient. You might be able to rig something up like a resonant loop antenna fed by an audio amplifier and perhaps you can send morse code over a couple of kM distance. Have a look at how John Andrews built a loop which he feeds with an audio amp at 137kHz - might spark a few thoughts:
http://www.w1tag.com/info.htm
Feel free to contact me via e-mail if you have any questions - k2ors AT comcast . net
(remove spaces etc)
Best of luck, Warren
Re: 9khz query.
Posted by Warren K2ORS on October 06, 2007 at 07:43:15.
In reply to Re: 9khz query. posted by Warren K2ORS on October 06, 2007
See also Dk8KW's web page: TS440 LF/MF attenuation
http://www.qru.de/vlf.html
Warren
Posted by Mitch on October 06, 2007 at 19:47:02.
I would like to give JB a hand in doing the mod to the TS440 - apparently a bypass or removal of an MF/LF pad. He apparently has somewhere between 20 and 50 dB of attenuation on LF - which is his primarly listening interest, of course !
Does anyone have a link to; or a copy of the instructions for this mod ?
I have found one - described as an MF ( 500khz - 1600 kHz ) Broadcast band pad removal - Is this the guilty party ?
Thanks
Mitch VE3OT
Re: 9khz query.
Posted by Robert B. on October 07, 2007 at 11:37:04.
In reply to Re: 9khz query. posted by Warren K2ORS on October 06, 2007
At this stage distance isn't too much of an issue - although it might shortly become one!! I just want to experiment with VLF transmitters and be able to do it without breaking any laws. Ofcom can be very nasty when they need be. Am planning a straight and simple CW at the moment. Watch this space... Re: New Lowfer beacon S on 172 KHz
Posted by John Andrews on October 07, 2007 at 19:00:47.
In reply to New Lowfer beacon S on 172 KHz posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 03, 2007
Sal,
I tried to copy the beacon up in Maine this weekend, but I have a very loud PLC signal right on top of it. You can see a screen shot at http://www.w1tag.com/files/172.jpg .
I tried to see it at home in MA tonight, but my neighborhood noise level was through the roof. Will give a look next weekend.
Two things about the frequency... it's only 1 kHz above the big LF broadcast station in Tangiers, and those integral 1 kHz frequencies are very frequently occupied by PLC's. Even a 5 Hz offset would help with the latter problem.
John Andrews, W1TAG Beacon on 187.37 kHz
Posted by Joe VO1NA on October 08, 2007 at 06:24:29.
This beacon has resumed operation. QRSS60 night and 5 WPM day. It might be a bit drifty (0.2 Hz) but should be within 0.5 Hz of the posted frequency.
73 Re: New Lowfer beacon S on 172 KHz
Joe
Posted by Sal, k1RGO on October 08, 2007 at 14:49:35.
In reply to Re: New Lowfer beacon S on 172 KHz posted by John Andrews on October 07, 2007
OK John, I'll QSY up a bit, it is very stable < .1 Hz change in 48 hr test. I'll run QRSS10... Re: New Lowfer beacon S on 172 KHz
Sal...
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 09, 2007 at 14:04:19.
In reply to Re: New Lowfer beacon S on 172 KHz posted by John Andrews on October 07, 2007
Hi John, I QSYed to 172.0290, hope it helps. I can possibly go up a few more Hz ...not much though with all that dividing....I'll run it next weekend at QRSS10 best longwave radios??
Sal
Posted by john on October 10, 2007 at 07:05:05.
what are the best radios below 540 khz. i' am suprised that there is very limited info on receiver performance on this site and on the web. i'm wondering what the dx'ers are using. would love to hear what radios you guys are catching the dx on??
thx, john Re: best longwave radios??
Posted by John Andrews on October 10, 2007 at 08:23:27.
In reply to best longwave radios?? posted by john on October 10, 2007
John,
What sort of DX would you be chasing? Possibilities include aero beacons, Lowfers (160-190 kHz), longwave broadcast stations, time signals, government utility stations, etc. Give us some idea of what you're interested in. Do you presently have any receiver that tunes this range?
John Andrews Re: best longwave radios??
Posted by john on October 10, 2007 at 10:25:30.
In reply to Re: best longwave radios?? posted by John Andrews on October 10, 2007
john,
everything below 540 khz and even the broadcast band is what i am interested in. i am familiar with several radios on LW including the r75 (whice i still own), palstar r30 (thought this was the best until i tried an r75) r-1000, sony 2010 etc etc and a bunch of different transceivers. up until now it seems the best is my r75. is there anything besting the r75 that people are using out there - i would like to know???
thanks again, john Re: best longwave radios??
Posted by Warren K2ORS on October 10, 2007 at 11:37:21.
In reply to Re: best longwave radios?? posted by john on October 10, 2007
John,
You could look at some of the high end receivers by Racal, Harris, etc. The main benefit to a commercial receiver will be increased immunity to overload cross-mod etc. You won't hear anything on a commercial receiver that you can't already hear on the R-75, its just that the R75 will overload more easily if you use an untuned antenna without a low-pass filter. You can get a really big bang for the buck by building a dedicated LF antenna such as an LF version of the K9AY or a large resonant loop antenna. Let me know if you are looking for antenna ideas.
73 Warren K2ORS & etc.
Re: best longwave radios??
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on October 10, 2007 at 13:02:30.
In reply to Re: best longwave radios?? posted by john on October 10, 2007
John,
I agree with Warren. I have two R75's, and use them for almost all of my receiving. My HP3586C SLM works well also, but I tend to treat it more as a lab instrument. The R75's dynamic range was sufficient with my tuned antennas until I started doing serious receiving near 500 kHz. A filter was then necessary to take a chunk out of a local AM station on 580 kHz which has a FS of 0.6 V/m at my QTH.
The R75 being as good as it is, your focus should probably be on antennas. There are also some fundamental limitations imposed by a QTH -- I believe you're in FL, and would have thunderstorm static for a much greater part of the year than we do in the northeast.
John Andrews, W1TAG IOMB project dead
Posted by miketerry73@btinternet.com on October 14, 2007 at 11:55:35.
The IOMIBC website will be closing down on Monday 15 October:
http://www.iomib.com/rss/iomibfeed.xml
It seems there will be no longwave station from the Isle of Man. S on 172
Posted by lloyd chastant on October 14, 2007 at 15:26:43.
Sal Re: 185301.1 activity
I think I had copy of S on 172.03Khz this afternoon hr in Maryland for several cycles..QRSS10
I can send you a jpg of my copy to see if it indeed is S.(pse yor email)
de Lloyd W3NF FM19MH
Posted by lloyd chastant on October 15, 2007 at 05:04:50.
In reply to 185301.1 activity posted by Mitch VE3OT on September 25, 2007
Mitch had copy on your MP this morning..185.300.9 don't think we can post jpg so will send it to you direct Re: IOMB project dead
de Lloyd W3NF
Posted by Tony on October 15, 2007 at 15:48:41.
In reply to IOMB project dead posted by miketerry73@btinternet.com on October 14, 2007
That's a shame; I had been reading about it for roughly 8 or 9 years & was hoping to try to catch some TransAtlantic Longwave.
:-( Re: S on 172
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 15, 2007 at 16:10:22.
In reply to S on 172 posted by lloyd chastant on October 14, 2007
Hi Lloyd , S was on all weekend, QRSS10 on 172.029, I think you heard it!...email: k1rgo@hotmail.com, W1TAG was listening also. S is 8 bits long ... ... ... 80 sec long total.... I'll check it out. Re: best longwave radios??
Sal
Posted by Jim on October 17, 2007 at 08:29:05.
In reply to Re: best longwave radios?? posted by Warren K2ORS on October 10, 2007
I have some large antenna's - 500' loops and 250' longwires - and only 1 out of 7 overloads my R75 below 500 khz. Re: best longwave radios??
Posted by Warren K2ORS on October 17, 2007 at 12:05:51.
In reply to Re: best longwave radios?? posted by Jim on October 17, 2007
Jim,
You are lucky that the big antennas don't overload your R75 - but I live close to a number of big AM BC stations and my R75 overloads with much smaller antennas.
73 Warren K2ORS
S on the air on 172.029 KHz
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 17, 2007 at 16:32:56.
Lowfer beacon S will be on 172.029KHz, my old xtal oven stopped working but stability is still good. If this freq. is plagued, i have other xtals/divide schemes. I will run at QRSS10 by default or 4wpm testing on weekends or what is specified by request. I may run 24/7 this winter in which I will post here. I am just getting things tweeked and enclosed. Re: S on the air on 172.029 KHz
Sal, K1RGO
Posted by John Andrews on October 20, 2007 at 16:50:42.
In reply to S on the air on 172.029 KHz posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 17, 2007
Sal,
Sorry, there's no sign of it either day or night here near Worcester, MA. It should easily be visible in the daytime.
John Andrews, W1TAG Re: S on the air on 172.029 KHz
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 22, 2007 at 18:58:43.
In reply to Re: S on the air on 172.029 KHz posted by John Andrews on October 20, 2007
Beats me John, MedFER Beacon JWS
In the past I had a hard time getting out in that direction. I have big time ground losses now but in winter, when the ground is frozen should help. better luck next time...Sal
Posted by J. William Snyder, Jr. on October 25, 2007 at 18:54:41.
Message board mates: I have put my homebrew Class-E 100mW AM transmitter on which have previously been playing podcasts into service as beacon JWS on 1610 kHz. The transmission mode is AM-modulated Hellschreiber with the modulating audio signal at about 1530 Hz timed to be viewable with a spectrum analyzer (I use Spectran) set to copy QRSS3 signals. The antenna is a T-wire that has a run length of a little less than 10 feet that is tuned to resonance with a coil wound on an old AM receiver ferrite rod (I do have an air coil, but I have not been able to tell much performance difference vs. the ferrite rod coil.). With my ICOM IC-706MkIIG in the car tuned to 1610 kHz USB, I was able to pick up the signal at around 1610 Hz with my laptop running Spectran. The location of the beacon is at grid EM96wc in Kernersville, North Carolina. The installation had a good 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile footprint when I was running voice modulated AM, so I believe that the beacon puts out a pretty good signal for a Part 15 installation. The beacon is running 24/7 right now. Signal reports are welcome, and I will QSL successful reception reports.
73 de Will Snyder/KB4LFD "JWS" SJ on 186.85KHz
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 26, 2007 at 14:32:48.
S on 172.029 is NOW SJ on 186.850 KHz. I found that the new frequency is more in the clear and my field strength also is a bit better. I added SJ as the ID for a few more bits to be grabbed ( I was bored with just S). So if the antenna holds up, we can have a nice winter on 1750m. Same sked, I'm running slow CW tests and QRSS10 weekends later to be 24/7, keep you posted.
I guess I'm ready to be lowfer listed.
Sal, K1RGO
SAC 214kHz - gone now
Posted by Cliff on October 27, 2007 at 05:02:17.
Heard at the Shack on the Bayou in southeast Texas:
SAC
approx. 214 kHz
1218 UTC October 20, 2007
It was strong that morning, but I haven't heard it since.
TKL 385 kHz
Posted by Cliff on October 27, 2007 at 05:08:24.
Heard at the Shack on the Bayou in southeast Texas:
TKL
385 kHz
0023 UTC October 27, 2007
Flores, Guatemala
The info at World Aero Data:
www.worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?nav=TIKAL&nav_id=TKL&nav_type=5
=====
www.ghg.net/cliffwatts/ XYW copied in N UT
Posted by Mark on October 27, 2007 at 05:10:51.
This morning about 1127 utc I finally got all 3 letters of XYW's beacon together. Have had bits and pieces before. Should only get better as we get into the season.
73, Mark, Ku7z
DN41af
Northern UT (NUT)
Re: SAC 214kHz - gone now
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 27, 2007 at 19:47:26.
In reply to SAC 214kHz - gone now posted by Cliff on October 27, 2007
Cliff, being so strong in your SE TX location, and with that SAC ID, I'd suspect a beacon being operated from the Beaumont home of Southern Avionics Corporation, the big manufacturer of NDB's. Ed Re: SJ on 186.85KHz
Posted by lloyd chastant on October 28, 2007 at 10:43:44.
In reply to SJ on 186.85KHz posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 26, 2007
Getting fairly nice copy on SJ at mid afternoon hr in Maryland..QRSS10 slow HIFERS IN DM04 10/28
Lloyd W3NF
Posted by Ed Phillips on October 28, 2007 at 14:37:58.
Took a listen for hifers today - first in many weeks. In spite of the low solar activity NC was coming through nicely at 2130Z and, of course, HI is chirping away.
Ed Re: SAC 214kHz - it's back
Posted by Cliff on October 28, 2007 at 14:38:47.
In reply to Re: SAC 214kHz - gone now posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 27, 2007
I forgot to mention in my first post that SAC isn't in the usual references.
I'm hearing it weakly in the local afternoon (2104 UTC) on October 28.
The frequency is more like 215 kHz.
That sounds pretty reasonable that it's Southern Avionics.
They're about 66 miles from me.
I sent them an email to find out. Does anyone know what happened to NWC 19.8KHz?
Posted by Todd - WD4NGG on October 28, 2007 at 17:05:59.
I haven't heard NWC (North West Cape, Australia) 19.8KHz since sometime this past summer 2007 when it seemed to go off the air abruptly. I wonder if anyone knows if they are refurbishing it or perhaps it was decommissioned? It was a flagship NATO VLF station running 1000KW and I wouldn't think it would be scrapped as it probably provided wide coverage throughout the Pacific and Far East to our submarine fleet.
I also heard what sounded like an unusually strong wideband signal around the Russian frequency 18.1KHz Sunday night one time 10/28/07 from 23:00 - 23:15 UTC. It was broad enough to be heard from 17.2KHz - 18.6KHz with a 250Hz cw filter and almost sounded like it could have been a multi-channel transmission. From time to time I hear the usual Russian short RTTY transmissions on 18.1KHz but this one sounded unusually strong and wideband. I don't think it was some kind of local digital noise I was hearing but strange things can happen sometimes.
73 Todd - WD4NGG
Re: SJ on 186.85KHz
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on October 29, 2007 at 11:11:50.
In reply to Re: SJ on 186.85KHz posted by lloyd chastant on October 28, 2007
Hi Lloyd,
I think all is set now for 1750m, if there are no big winds, the antenna should hold (tophat is on swaying trees, hi). My field strength is better at this freq. and it seems to have less plc activity. I didn't get the jpg on your last copy, I dont know whats with my email, John, w1tag had the same problem...beats me ...
later, Sal
Re: MedFER Beacon JWS - matching
Posted by Robert B. on October 30, 2007 at 05:49:15.
In reply to MedFER Beacon JWS posted by J. William Snyder, Jr. on October 25, 2007
Any chance of some details for the ferrite core matcher? Am planning to put on air MedFER ¡¥MHZ¡¦ at 1000KHZ, am and QRSS modes. The transmitter is built but I now need to sort out m,atching. Any help appreciated.
Cheers, Rob.
"NWNJ" is "CL"
Posted by John Bogath on October 31, 2007 at 09:02:32.
Due to lack of interest, and other needs for the LowFER beacon "NWNJ" facilities, I have finally decided to shut it down. This shut-down will be permanent and effective after the October 26-29,2007 weekend run. Re: "NWNJ" is "CL"
- 73 - John
Posted by John Andrews, W1TAG on October 31, 2007 at 09:50:53.
In reply to posted by John Bogath on October 31, 2007
John,
Sorry to hear it! I had some good wintertime fun trying to copy NWNJ, and was pleased to have finally succeeded last winter. But it does appear that a dwindling number of people are interested in such challenges.
I've heard from Carl that "TH" is also gone, at least from the Colts Neck site. His antenna was hit hard during the February storms, and it would have been a major project to rebuild it. He may reactivate the beacon from a retirement QTH in SC, though, so there is some hope.
Anyway, thanks very much for having kept NWNJ on the air, and best wishes.
John Andrews, W1TAG
potrzebie
