Re: WG2XCT beacon QRV
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 26, 2012 at 00:39:59.
In reply to Re: WG2XCT beacon QRV posted by lloyd chastant on October 25, 2012
DAID
OK, I give up. What does DAID stand for and just what is it? I have searched to no avail.
Re: DAID
Posted by Paul KE7HR on October 01, 2012 at 19:07:41.
In reply to DAID posted by Neil on October 01, 2012
DAID = Dash After ID. A long dash fills in the time between normal CWID cycles.
See: http://www.w3eee.com/ndb_what.html Re: DAID
for an explaination of many NDB questions that might arise.
Posted by John Davis on October 01, 2012 at 19:59:01.
In reply to Re: DAID posted by Paul KE7HR on October 01, 2012
When I lived Down South, it was a two-syllable word pronounced "day-uhd" that meant bereft of life, either literally or in a figurative sense; as in: Re: DAID
"I took Old Blue out bird hunting all afternoon, and man, is that dog DAID tonight!"
:)
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 01, 2012 at 20:11:59.
In reply to Re: DAID posted by John Davis on October 01, 2012
' and we lowered him down with links of chain.
Every link would call his name...'
Actually, that is what occured to me when I see the abbreviation.
But, I'm guessing Dual Alternating ID?
Like QRSS and CW?
Or even--
DAID Delayed Aerial Ignition Device (pyrotechnics)
More in keeping with an eschatological theme.
Ed WSlidell,LA EM50cg
Re: DAID
Posted by John Davis on October 01, 2012 at 21:28:48.
In reply to Re: DAID posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 01, 2012
Good ones, Ed. :)
But for Neil's purposes and to avoid confusion among other newcomers, I must confess Paul is correct.
Modulated CW at 504 Khz
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 02, 2012 at 00:46:39.
I am hearing a broad AM carrier from approximately 504 to 508 Khz with a modulated CW message N E E D repeated continuously - Anyone have any idea? Sounds like a NDB but I can't find one listed at that frequency. May be N I D but the two didts sound like E E to me more than an I.
Re: Modulated CW at 504 Khz
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 02, 2012 at 01:37:37.
In reply to Modulated CW at 504 Khz posted by Pat Bunn on October 02, 2012
I think I found it -
2012 - Bearings taken have indicated in the past that it appears to be located in the Virginia Beach, VA area 2012-04-25 Update: has Re: Modulated CW at 504 Khz
been very recently positively DF'd to Ft. Eustis, VA --- 20071231 reported by Andy Robins to be a portable military NDB under test at Fort Rucker AL
Posted by John Davis on October 02, 2012 at 04:27:02.
In reply to Re: Modulated CW at 504 Khz posted by Pat Bunn on October 02, 2012
Yes, this is one of the "classic" mystery NDBs. It may be transportable, as many of the military ones are, but has apparently been in Virginia for quite some time now. It's one of the few near 600 meters that the experimental licensees have to be wary about with regard to interference potential. It shows up regularly in Dr Fritz Raab's quarterly reports on the WD2XSH experimental operation, for instance.
John
Re: Modulated CW at 504 Khz
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 02, 2012 at 14:52:09.
In reply to Re: Modulated CW at 504 Khz posted by John Davis on October 02, 2012
Thanks John
Been hearing it quite a lot lately. The carrier is easy to hear but it' tough getting the CW pulled out from all the noise.
Pat
Re: DAID
Posted by Paul on October 04, 2012 at 14:04:04.
In reply to Re: DAID posted by John Davis on October 01, 2012
I always thought it was the Brittish accent way of pronouncing the word - "dead".
BEACON MLS
Posted by Mark on October 07, 2012 at 18:10:56.
I'm testing a new Beacon on 186.200 KHz with the callsign MLS from EN90 which is located in NE Ohio. It will be running using CW mode on weekends. If anyone hears it, please post a message. TNX....
Hotel California
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 07, 2012 at 20:47:52.
Hi John.
Loved your review of the recent Joe Walsh album in the latest Lowdown. I'll have to buy that.
Thought I would share this.
I am a big fan of acoustic versions of famous "rock" ballads.
This is one of the best, IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EspIWxbVsw0
I used to have a link to a better version of this with the Eagles actually on stage playing this version....but it has been lost in the bowels of YouTube. :-(
-Doug KB4OER
NLPBA Membership
Posted by ----- on October 08, 2012 at 02:57:52.
This message has been deleted for a number of reasons: After various attempts to preserve at least some of it, I finally concluded that the message cannot be salvaged by editing, and have removed it entirely. Webmaster Re: Hotel California Joe Walsh reference
1.) It was a full-length quote of a text appearing elsewhere, without being identified as such. This is contrary to our posting guidelines.
2.) It asked respondents to post their e-mail addresses within the body of their messages, which is discouraged here (and wouldn't be received by the original author, the pseudonymous "R. F. Burns", at his own forum anyway).
3.) It's principally about low power broadcasting, and advocacy for same, which is quite different from the technical or experimental use of Part 15 that this Board is mainly about. That would not automatically disqualify it from being posted here, but does reduce its relevance.
4.) When the original author talked about LPFM, it is not clear if he meant the actual licensed radio service, or the "other kind." He claims to operate a carrier-current station in Wyoming under Section 15.221, but the operation as he described it on his station's website does not appear to fall under that section! This may be because of his choice of wording, but it leaves a lot of uncertainty about his commitment to legal operation.
Posted by Lee on October 09, 2012 at 00:17:09.
In reply to Hotel California posted by Douglas Williams on October 07, 2012
With all the Joe Walsh connections/comments I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't point out my Joe Walsh reference on my YouTube video. In the opening comments of "Amateure Radio Beacon JAM 187khz" I say Greetings Thrill seekers or as "The Esteemed Mr Walsh" would say, how ya doin? Indeed the ID JAM stands for Joe AM. Big Fan. lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Lee
Posted by John Hamer on October 09, 2012 at 00:21:50.
I finished installing my transmitter and loading coil last weekend. The transmitter has been on since yesterday. Unfortunately my loading coil does not have quite enough inductance so it is not at full resonance but it is not far off. I am only transmitting around 250 mW until I increase the loading coil.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 09, 2012 at 03:34:20.
In reply to lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 09, 2012
Im at full power now.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Davis on October 09, 2012 at 03:56:01.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 09, 2012
Congratulations, John, and best wishes!
Is it indeed QRSS3, as originally planned? And by any chance, do you happen to know your grid square?
Thanks.
John D.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John hamer on October 09, 2012 at 11:04:00.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Davis on October 09, 2012
My grid square is FM04be and i am transmitting QRSS30 now.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Davis on October 09, 2012 at 16:37:20.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John hamer on October 09, 2012
Excellent. Thanks, John.
Re: Hotel California
Posted by John Davis on October 09, 2012 at 18:24:31.
In reply to Re: Hotel California Joe Walsh reference posted by Lee on October 09, 2012
For anyone interested in reading the review of Analog Man and mention of some other radio-related music (including Jeff Lynne's new album, Long Wave), that part of the LF Notebook column is now available online as a sample from this month's issue. It's a PDF file that opens in a new window or tab via this link.
John
Re: Music
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 09, 2012 at 23:46:56.
In reply to Re: Hotel California posted by John Davis on October 09, 2012
Good Times
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mIP7ySBXBg&feature=player_embedded#!
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 10, 2012 at 09:55:34.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John hamer on October 09, 2012
Hi John, we are just about 200 miles apart. Sorry I just now saw this post, or I would have been monitoring last night. I have to go to work now, but I'll start Argo up before I go. Still have an hour of so of darkness, and might even get daytime copy at that distance.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 10, 2012 at 22:01:30.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Douglas Williams on October 10, 2012
Thank you Douglas. Dex was running argo for me today also 80 miles away in NC. He linked it to a dropbox so I could check it. It seemed to be coming in but I could not really monitor it today from work so I'm looking foward to seeing what he found. When I got home I ran CW for a while and I could definently see it showing up. I still have some tuning to do.
LWCA web site difficulties?
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 11, 2012 at 11:38:39.
Hi John. Just wanted to let you know that I could not access the main LWCA page last night or this morning from my home computers. Both running Windows 7 with the latest version of IE.
I'm at work now and it seems to load up fine using Google Chrome. Not sure if the web site was actually down for a while or if something else is going on.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 11, 2012 at 11:41:36.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 10, 2012
John, I haven't managed to copy your signal yet. Keep us posted on any mode changes (CW VS QRSS) and I'll keep trying. Are you planning to leave it on 24/7?
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 11, 2012 at 12:03:28.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Douglas Williams on October 11, 2012
Yes, it will be on 24/7. I am leaving it qrss30. I am getting a pretty clean signal in Dex's argo this morining. I retuned the antenna last night.
Re: LWCA web site difficulties?
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 11, 2012 at 13:47:25.
In reply to LWCA web site difficulties? posted by Douglas Williams on October 11, 2012
Same here - but is now OK at work and I am running Win 7 at both places.
Pat Re: LWCA web site difficulties?
N4LTA
Posted by Webmaster on October 11, 2012 at 15:45:54.
In reply to Re: LWCA web site difficulties? posted by Pat Bunn on October 11, 2012
Yup, our hosting provider had a meltdown yesterday afternoon.
At first, it was merely a problem with file transfers. Then, our e-mail (LWCA's and my other clients' mail) stopped working, but people could still view the Web pages. Around 4:30 PM CDT they declared the problem "resolved"--which apparently means something different now from what I learned as a kid, because after they "resolved" it, nothing worked at all!
So, I opened a new ticket and they evidently worked through the night to get the Web pages back. LWCA e-mail is still intermittent, and I have no file transfer access at present.
John
Re: LWCA web site difficulties?
Posted by Webmaster on October 12, 2012 at 02:58:24.
In reply to Re: LWCA web site difficulties? posted by Webmaster on October 11, 2012
Looks like nearly everything is back to normal tonight. We hope that trend continues! Thanks for your patience.
John
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 12, 2012 at 04:08:23.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 11, 2012
My signal seemed to get weak around 5ish est today. I went through the transmitter a little while ago when i got home and it turns out my current meter had a bad connection internally. I set the power with my fluke and jumpered out the current sensor. Should be back to full power now.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Davis on October 12, 2012 at 05:19:03.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 12, 2012
It appears you have been getting out pretty well, John, considering what I've seen of Dexter McIntyre's captures. Congratulations! I'llbe looking out for your signal as well in a couple of weeks here in the center of the country, once the storm activity diminishes for winter.
John
Re: Late Night Message Board Tests Upcoming
Posted by Webmaster on October 12, 2012 at 05:54:29.
In reply to Late Night Message Board Tests Upcoming posted by Webmaster on September 06, 2012
Just a quick update...lots of interruptions this month have prevented much coding, but there has been progress. The best part of the progress is that it has occured without any crashes--thus far!
I will resume testing in a few days once I can be sure the server is nice and stable again after the recent glitch at our hosting provider. Most tests will continue to be late at night.
John
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by john Hamer on October 12, 2012 at 14:10:40.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Davis on October 12, 2012
Thank you john, I was worried I would not be able to get a good signal out. The antenna is about fifteen feet from my house and there are trees behind it but I seem to have plenty of signal.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 12, 2012 at 20:42:09.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by john Hamer on October 12, 2012
I will definitely be trying to receive your signal tonight, John.
Getting out the 80 miles to Dex is quite an accomplishment. When I had my Lowfer beacon on for several months, the best DX I got was a ham reception report about five miles away, lol. Of course, back then (early 1990s) it was CW only.
What is your antenna and transmitter setup?
Best 73, Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Doug - KB4OER
Posted by John Hamer on October 12, 2012 at 23:30:56.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Douglas Williams on October 12, 2012
My transmitter is microcontroller based. The final is basically a copy of the lowfer transmitter circuits online. I have a lm317 with an adjustable pot to set the power output. I built a loading coil out of a 1 foot diameter cardboard cement mold from lowes. It as about 2 feet long and has 170 turns of house wire with various taps and an adjustable coil in the middle like I have seen online. My antenna is 30 foot tall with a ten foot cross on top as the top hat. The antenna is tuned but I have not matched the filter on the board to the antenna's impedance. I registered a domain JWHamer.me. It is blank right now but I will make a page with some pictures soon. I have had some trouble with my current meter contact. Right now I have it bypassed. The transmitter should hopefully stay at full power now. I will solder the trouble spots tomorrow but I think its good tonight.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 13, 2012 at 11:30:08.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 12, 2012
Nice! That's a big coil. Have you measured the total inductance of the main coil + inner coil? 170 turns doesn't "seem" like enough to me at first guess, but I could be completely wrong.
What is the capacitance of your antenna to ground?
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 13, 2012 at 13:26:22.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Douglas Williams on October 13, 2012
I have not measures the antennas capacitance or the iductance of the coil. I think the coil's total inductance is between 4 and 5 mH. I have the antenna connected to the tap at 160 turns. the variable coil is about 35 degrees up from perpendicular. This is where the o-scope showed the most current to the antenna from the output from the filter on the transmitter board. My guess is my antenna is in the 170pf range and antenna's impedance is probable in the 200 to 250 ohms range. I need to change the filter on the board to match that but i need to verify some of those values first. Im going to hook the o-scope up today and see how my current to voltage waveforms compare. I hopefully will be able to determine the antenna's impedance and verify the antenna is in resonance.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 13, 2012 at 19:44:52.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 13, 2012
Douglas, have you had any success seeing my signal? It is coming in pretty weak on Dex's argo capture. It is there though. I am about 181.819khz last time I checked according to Dex's capture. I'm not sure how accurate his frequency is but I'm guessing he has it pretty close. I checked the tuning of the antenna/coil earlier and it was still good. I set the tx power to 1 watt again. It was a little low. It looks like it will be tomorrow before I determine the inpedance of the antenna.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 13, 2012 at 20:29:52.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 13, 2012
Hey John. No, not yet, but I plan to monitor 181.819 kHz tonight.
Been experimenting with receive preamps etc. here today. Came to the conclusion that I don't need one (preamp, that is).
Keep on transmitting! Your signal will be received by myself or others (besides DEX).
80 miles is nothing to sneeze at, given the equivalent of a "stubby duck" antenna and one watt input!
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join the (mostly USA) LF e-mail reflector.
Navigate to mailman.qth.net and look for the Lowfer reflector. Follow the instructions and join. This reflector, in addition to this LWCA web page, will keep you informed on the latest "goings on" in the USA and Canada low frequency activity.
I'll be listening.
-Doug KB4OER
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 13, 2012 at 20:34:00.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Douglas Williams on October 13, 2012
Sounds good. I will take a look at that later tonight when I get home. Right now its time for some football!!! The transmitter is tuned up and will be on whenever you are ready. I will not be doing anything to it until tomorrow afternoon.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Roger Magnuson on October 13, 2012 at 20:51:45.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 13, 2012
John, I'll be looking for your JH beacon. Will let it run overnight and hope to see you. I have not been LFing in a long time so looking forward to seeing some LF signals again. RX setup is an Active differential antenna into a tunable bandpass filter into flex-1500. I used to be on 189.8 with Beacon RM. Good Luck with your Beacon.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Roger Magnuson on October 13, 2012 at 21:37:36.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Roger Magnuson on October 13, 2012
Silly me! forgot to say where I am located. 500 KHz antenna
Duluth, MN EN36
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 14, 2012 at 00:05:30.
I finally stood up my 500 KHz antenna this afternoon. Went up with no surprises. It was pretty easy to walk it up and down. It is about 50 feet tall and is amazingly stable un-guyed.
It has a cap hat of three 8 foot aluminum rods and a 15 foot umbrella that serves as somewhat of a top guy. These were not installed today when I erected it. I need to put in guy anchors and get it all ready to go.
I measured a capacitance of 220 pf with no hat - about - j1400 ohms at 500 KHz which is a little better than I expected. Hopefully, with the hat installed it will be better. I may raise it tomarrow with the 8 foot rod top hat installed and see what it looks like - maybe leaave off the umbrella if it looks OK.
The 150 watt transmitter and PIC QRSS3 Keyer is tested and working so I need to get to work with a Smith Chart and build a Variometer to match it.
Hopefully I can get WG2XCT on the air within the next week. Been a lot of work.
Pat Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
N4LTA
WG2XCT
Posted by John Hamer on October 14, 2012 at 01:41:07.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Roger Magnuson on October 13, 2012
cool deal Roger! Look foward to hearing from you.
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 14, 2012 at 02:14:34.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 14, 2012
Ben trying to copy you in Spartanburg - Are you on?
Pat Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
N4LTA
WG2XCT
Posted by John Hamer on October 14, 2012 at 06:37:46.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Pat Bunn on October 14, 2012
yup
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 14, 2012 at 14:08:11.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by John Hamer on October 14, 2012
24/7 QRSS30?
Pat
Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz
Posted by John Hamer on October 14, 2012 at 14:10:13.
In reply to Re: lowfer JH transmitter on 181.818khz posted by Pat Bunn on October 14, 2012
Yes, 24/7 qrss30.
Watering hole Hifers
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on October 14, 2012 at 15:30:14.
Haven't noticed much in the way of signals reaching the IK1WVQ grabber of late, but this morning 3 signals are coming in well to NE IL: USC, DFCW, 13555390 Hz (low tone); EH, DFCW, 13555475 Hz (low tone); and NC, sq wave, 13555556 Hz (low tone). Also note a CW signal on 13557440 Hz. Perhaps MTI, but not strong enough to decode in full SSB bandwidth.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: Watering hole Hifers
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 14, 2012 at 18:38:04.
In reply to Watering hole Hifers posted by Garry, K3SIW on October 14, 2012
MP was booming into EM94 this morning.
Pat Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs
N4LTA
Posted by Lee on October 14, 2012 at 22:52:55.
Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs. I noted from my over the air monitor [spouses nite stand touch lamp] that the field strength was low. Turns out that the 50 ohm lower coil tap had failed. Ratz. I can resolder that. Since I had the whole mess taken apart I thought It would be good to document the after upgrade statistics. My E-bay Chinnese L/C meter reports 2.350mh on the resonance tap and a varying antenna cap reading from 299pf to 350pf. My old Rat shack meter shows pretty much the same variable reading. 300pf to 325pf. I could do the math but I hate math. Thats why I'm not working at JPL. As soon as I get done with the hoony-doo's I will put JAM back on the air this evening. Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs
Lee
Posted by john hamer on October 15, 2012 at 00:32:19.
In reply to Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs posted by Lee on October 14, 2012
I just ordered one of those Chinese lc meters yesterday.
Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 18, 2012 at 01:45:04.
In reply to Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs posted by john hamer on October 15, 2012
Hi Lee and John. Do either of you(or anyone else) know if one of the older type bridges, such as a GR 1650, would experience the same type of variations when measuring capacitance of an antenna? I tried it last week with a Fluke 87 V DVM (not mine unfortunately), and got the same variations in capacitance Lee experienced. It was during cloudy, windy conditions, with a 10 m vertical antenna. On the 143 ft. long/wire here, my older ECG digital capacitance meter showed something like 500-550 pF, but in clear, less windy conditions. Not sure if it is just the time/discharge method used with the digital meters. I have a hard time keeping feet, furlongs, meters and yards separate, so math stuff is a little hard on me. Ed WSlidell,LA EM50cg
Re: 500 KHz antenna
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 18, 2012 at 23:15:57.
In reply to 500 KHz antenna posted by Pat Bunn on October 14, 2012
Got the whole antenna and mast up today and guyed. It's about 55 feet high with a 12' diameter top hat and three drooping guy/cap hats 20 feet long. The capacitance chage was a good surprise. Capacitance went from 220 pf to 330 pf with the cap hat additions. The get the reactance down to the -j950 ohm range. I'll start the matching exercise Saturday and see how long that takes.
Pat Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs
N4LTA
WG2XCT
Posted by John Hamer on October 19, 2012 at 04:29:27.
In reply to Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 18, 2012
I think the main problem with the small digital meters is the range they are trying to measure. I have a old bridge at work the does a much better job of measuring small capacitances but you can hear it go through relays to find the correct scaling circuit for the capacitor. I am sure new small digital meters rely on the speed of the microcontroller and just use a lc time constant to get the value. When you get to the low capacitances we are reading they have no chance of being acurate. I did measure a small antenna I taped to my wall at work with that bridge and got something like a 15pf swing. That was a pretty controlled environment though.
Ik1WVQ GRABBER OFF-LINE
Posted by Mauro IK1WVQ on October 19, 2012 at 08:38:12.
Hi,
my beacon is at the moment OFF-LINE for problems with antenna system..
(this problem was present in the last days, then please do not take into consideration the past dropbox archive)
Contact me VIA EMAIL ik1wvq(at)stmb.it if anyone want to made occasionally tests.
(I shall activate on request the grabber with my magloop antenna.
I apologize for this problem, I hope to solve it in a short time.
73 de Mauro Ik1wvq Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 19, 2012 at 14:02:30.
In reply to Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs posted by John Hamer on October 19, 2012
Hi John. Thanks for the info. I have used an older, manually selected range, capacitance meter, and it does give a less varying reading on my longwire. The vertical measured was just after a rain storm had passed, it was windy, and although I heard no thunder, etc., there was likely some charge building up on the antenna. I have seen the GR 1650 type bridges for reasonable prices, and,having used them,wondered if they would be more stable/accurate than even a higher end DVM such as the Fluke 87V. From what you said, it probably would be a better method of measuring the antenna capacitance, short of one of the more expensive RF bridges. Ed WSlidell,LA EM50cg
Re: Ik1WVQ GRABBER OFF-LINE
Posted by John Davis on October 19, 2012 at 16:13:43.
In reply to Ik1WVQ GRABBER OFF-LINE posted by Mauro IK1WVQ on October 19, 2012
Good luck with the repairs, Mauro, and thanks for your efforts! A grabber is a valuable resource for the radio community.
John
SAQ REMINDER FOR OCT 24, 2012
Posted by Todd WD4NGG on October 20, 2012 at 13:30:11.
Hi All, I received this reminder from Lars Kalland SM6NM at Grimeton Radio that SAQ will be running an extra transmission on Oct 24 at 10:30 UTC on 17.2kHz.
This will be 06:30 EDT local time Oct. 24 on USA East Coast. Startup/tune-up will probably be at least 20-30 minutes before 10:30 UTC so best to start listening about a half hour early to catch the full transmission.
73 - Todd WD4NGG
EXTRAGRIMETON RADIO/SAQ TRANSMISSION
There will be a transmission with the Alexanderson alternator on 17.2 kHz on "United Nations Day" October 24, 2012 at 10:30 UTC.
Start up and tuning from about 10:00 UTC.
We do not require any QSL-reports this time and will not verify.
Regards.
SM6NM/Lars
P.S. We still intend to continue with our annual transmissions on Christmas Eve (morning), Dec 24, at 08:00 UTC with tuning up from 07:30 UTC. D.S.
Re: SAQ REMINDER FOR OCT 24, 2012
Thanks for the reminder, Todd.
Would love to receive SAQ for the first time.
Re: Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs
Posted by Lee on October 21, 2012 at 01:46:49.
In reply to Beacon JAM 187.015 khz specs posted by Lee on October 14, 2012
Before I elevated the loading coil I noted that I would need to move to a different tap during wet conditions. Still need to do that. I am not using a variometer coil. I am using a simple high Q tapped coil. I have determined a dry conditions tap for max current and a wet conditions tap for max current. They are only one turn apart. So depending on the weather conditions I move the aligator clip up one turn or down one turn. 137.780
Lee
Posted by Fwd: Laurence KL1X on October 22, 2012 at 16:08:35.
WE2XPQ will be running a constant (hopefully) phase locked/stable carrier on 137.78000 kHz from 0200 to 1700Z tonight 23rd Oct (thats sundown till sunup Alaska) power will be around 500W into the loop firing towards Eu and Oceania.
Laurence KL1X Re: 500 KHz antenna
Alaska
Posted by John Davis on October 22, 2012 at 17:39:29.
In reply to Re: 500 KHz antenna posted by Pat Bunn on October 18, 2012
Any results to report from the weekend's work yet, Pat?
Would surely be glad for a description of an antenna that can be walked up and down easily, and is still stable even before guying.
73 Re: 500 KHz antenna
John
Posted by Pat Bunn on October 23, 2012 at 15:12:54.
In reply to Re: 500 KHz antenna posted by John Davis on October 22, 2012
The antenna is up. I walked it up myself and have now guyed it. It is stable and we had some 15-20 MPH winds that didn't bother it after I put it up. It is guyed at 26 feet and at the top and I may add another set at 38 feet or so. The top had is made of 3/16 Al rod and it may not last if we get ice. The other part of the hat is integral to the top guys - the first 20 feet of the top guys are #14 insulated wire - European style stranded - very flexible.
The botton of the mast is made of 1 1/4" rigid steel conduit - The first attempt was 1 1/4" rigid aluminum conduit (same physical size0 but it bent on the walk up.
I made a conduit to 2 1/4" aluminum tube coupler out of aluminum bar stock to couple the ten foot rigid steel conduit to the aluminum tube. The rest of the mast is DX Engineering tube tapering to the top.The top is aluminum bar stock machined to fit three 12' aluminum rods spaced as spokes and has three SS eyebolts for the top guy.
I all walked up pretty easy and I put the whole antenna up with no help. It is about 53 feet high. I taped the 1/4" black dacron guys to the mast with electrical tape and yanked them loose after the mast was up to keep from having a tangled mess and tripping me on the walk up.
The base is a poured concrete pad (twelve 80 pound Sackrete) with three anchor bolts. The ground plate is 3/8" aluminum plate bolted to the anchor bolts with four lugs for the ground rods and 18 SS 8-32 screws to attach radials all tapped into the plate.
Sitting on the plate is a 15 KV substation class insulator and on top of it is a pivot assemblly made from Stainless Angle and aluminum plate.
I am building a variometer right now and hope to energise a beacon later this week.
It took a lot of work.
Pat
Re: SAQ REMINDER FOR OCT 24, 2012
Posted by Douglas Williams on October 23, 2012 at 21:17:52.
In reply to Re: SAQ REMINDER FOR OCT 24, 2012 posted by Douglas Williams on October 20, 2012
Wall, here's hoping.
Set up my SDR for a recording (since I will be driving to work during this time) from 10:00 to 11:00 UTC.
I'm reading S9 static levels even right now (before sundown), so it's probably "pie in the sky"..... but there's always the Christmas Eve transmission.
I will take this opportunity to plug SDRs for the ability to set predetermined recording windows for such things as this for later decoding.
Removed Message
Posted by robert on October 23, 2012 at 21:47:43.
In Reply to: NLPBA Membership posted by ---- on October 07, 2012. (Removed by Webmaster)
i can't speak for others but me i spent 400 on a nems clarke 120e fim, and another 400 on a Tenna SA. mark has a motorola CSA and an HP SA to do harmonic and F/S measurements with.
neither of us is a pirate and runs strictly within part 15 rules on all the part 15 bands.
neither of us pushes the ground lead rule and measures f/s and harmonics on our carrier current stations mine is currently not running.
please dont paint all part 15 broadcasters with the same brush.
we are not all cut from the same cloth.
when talking about lpfm he meant licensed.
his carrier current was investigated and passed twice by john sprauge of the denver fcc field office.
he has been running for four years.
Re: Removed Message
Posted by Webmaster on October 24, 2012 at 00:32:48.
In reply to Removed Message posted by robert on October 23, 2012
"please dont paint all part 15 broadcasters with the same brush."
We don't.
Unfortunately, some of the sites you've mentioned in the past, which claim to serve legitimate Part 15 broadcasters, do also cater to pirates by advertising gear that is blatently illegal under Part 15. Even operators who supposedly obey the rules have an alarming tendency to go by clever pirate-like pseudonyms such as "RF Burns."
The so-called Part 15 broadcast community thereby paints itself with that brush, and has no one else to blame if people eye them with suspicion.
If you and Mark (RF Burns, I presume?) feel you run "strictly within part 15 rules," then I wish he would explain in some detail just what his measurement procedure is. Give others who want to be legal a better idea how to go about it, in other words, so they'll know the whole truth about the challenges they face before they go spending money on gear...or worse, getting in trouble with the FCC out of ignorance. Field strength measurements are not a trivial task--there are plenty of ways to do them wrong. (*See P.S. below.)
The simplified interpretation he offers of carrier current legality on his station's Web site does not fit the wording of the Rules themselves, and he even mis-identifies some of the section numbers. Lots of cheerleading for the technique, nothing at all about compliance! Perhaps he has a better understanding of 15.221(a) than is expressed in his writing, but what's currently on his site does not remove doubts. (As for electrical and fire safety...whoa Nellie!) If he ever posts a better explanation of his technical compliance viewpoint, I'll be glad to keep an open mind. You never know, I might even cheer along.
In the meantime, the problem remains that the removed message was a word-for-word quote of a post on a different site, without either being identified as a quote or citing the source. It also called upon readers to reply in a manner that is discouraged at this site. The first point alone was sufficient for the message to be removed.
John
- - - - -
P.S. - Regarding the fine points of determining compliance via field strength readings: It is not enough, for instance, to find one measurement point where the signal is in compliance, and ignore nearby locations where it may be over limits. As another practical example, do you realize your Nems-Clarke meter does not strictly meet the requirements for determining radiated signal? (Neither does the Potomac FIM-41, despite erroneous assumptions on another site.) In Part 15, MF frequencies above 490 kHz are supposed to be measured with a quasi-peak reading instrument. Yours is an averaging type, which measures carrier accurately but not peaks. Do you understand the ramifications for your own measured values, and your modulation levels? Then there's the likelihood of wave tilt, which has to be taken into account to ensure your readings are correct. And, both manmade and natural noise often exceed the 15 microvolts (peak!) that you're trying to measure... assuming you can even find a location at the specified distance from a power line. Do you know the technique for coping with that problem? Field strength studies are no stroll in the park. They require considerable experience to do correctly.
- - - - -
P.P.S. - I see you also scattergun posted the NLPBA announcement, word for word, in other not-always-appropriate venues, with the same "post your e-mail address here" request.
I further note with some amusement what the board administrator said at the broadcastengineering.info site: "As far as the FCC is concerned you aren't a radio station, you're acceptable RF noise." That's very true. It's what all our hobby uses are under Part 15. At LWCA we try to remember that. Doc Tarr permitted you guys to keep the discussion going at their site, observing it was both "interesting and politically charged." That's his prerogative. And he's right...it is interesting. He's also right about the second part, which is of significant concern to us. We don't do politics here in this message board. Fighting city hall needs to be done elsewhere.
If you wish to push the discussion envelope, at least try a little harder to be factually accurate. It is not entirely true that the hundreds of unlicensed stations you mentioned in that forum all caused no interference (irrelevant to the law anyway), and it is an exceeding exaggeration to claim that "most countries have some form of a realistically usable low power license free (or very easy to obtain licensed) broadcast service." Who is "most?" I'm aware of some, such as the UK, which permit community special events stations, but generally on an intermittent basis. I'm aware of several in the third world that simply don't enforce their own laws or treaty obligations, and/or whose agents can be bought off easily...but such laxity is not as prevalent in "most" of the developed nations. Please fact-check a little, and don't just take some other site's word for something because it's what you want to believe. If you choose to post assertions here that came from someone else...name them, please, and specify the URL. Give us all a chance to consider the source without having to hunt those claims down through endless search engine queries.
You can always discuss (legal) technology at this site. You can even raise issues that touch on regulatory philosophy. But if you do, at least play fair--don't just say something and then declare others mustn't debate it! Otherwise, that becomes one-sided political advocacy, which will make the topic unwelcome here.
Update: I have somewhat refined both the content and phrasing of this post as I research the subject further. I'm trying to be as clear as possible that I don't oppose true Part 15 broadcasting, I'm just against gung-ho advocacy in the message board. I think it is an interesting topic in its own right, and maybe an important one as well. I want to keep an open mind whether perhaps a serious discussion of the subject might warrant a separate message board of its own...one where hard technical facts will be valued more than boosterism or glittering generalities. Comments about that possibility are welcome. - JHD (2012/10/24, 2012/11/02)
WG2XCT beacon QRV
I have a beacon running QRSS3 on 497.00 Khz. Was QRV about 5pm EDT today running 75 watts from EM94bw to a top loaded vertical.
Reports are welcome.
Pat Re: WG2XCT beacon QRV
N4LTA
Posted by lloyd chastant on October 25, 2012 at 00:52:26.
In reply to WG2XCT beacon QRV posted by Pat Bunn on October 24, 2012
really nice copy hr FM19Mh tonite
Lloyd W3NF
Re: WG2XCT beacon QRV
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on October 26, 2012 at 00:39:59.
In reply to Re: WG2XCT beacon QRV posted by lloyd chastant on October 25, 2012
Hi Pat. Unlike Lloyd, I have not been able to copy the "XCT" beacon yesterday(24 Oct.) or today(25/26 Oct.UT) on 497 KHz. Tonight the atmospheric noise in getting stronger, so not likely to be able to hear it until the hurricane has moved-on. Did hear a couple of the stronger, locals down around ~470 KHz or so. Ed WSlidell,LA EM50cg
part 15 refresher
Posted by robert on October 27, 2012 at 12:20:25.
i hope this isn't objectionable to admins but i thought this may be of interest to the masses here. a refresher of part 15 rules with highlights of main bands of interest.
main page
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/
highlighted rules of interest ....
15.217 Operation in the band 160-190 kHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/217/
15.219 Operation in the band 510-1705 kHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/219/
15.221 Operation in the band 525-1705 kHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/221/
15.225 Operation within the band 13.110-14.010 MHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/225/
15.227 Operation within the band 26.96-27.28 MHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/227/
15.235 Operation within the band 49.82-49.90 MHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/235/
15.239 Operation in the band 88-108 MHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/239/
15.247 Operation within the bands 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz, and
5725-5850 MHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/247/
15.249 Operation within the bands 902-928 MHz, 2400-2483.5 MHz, Re: part 15 refresher
5725-5875 MHZ, and 24.0-24.25 GHz
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2011/15/249/
Posted by Webmaster on October 27, 2012 at 20:45:59.
In reply to part 15 refresher posted by robert on October 27, 2012
Thanks, Robert, although I need to caution you again about posting items here which are word for word the same as what you have posted elsewhere. I removed a reference specific to that other site from your post.
At LWCA, we actively encourage people to keep up with Part 15 Rules and Regulations, and have always maintained a copy of them in one or more forms in the LWCA Library at this site; such as the most recently available full version of Part 15 in PDF, for instance. That's the FCC's own 2006 version with annotations and corrections that were not in the printed Code of Federal Regulations. Although the print version always has a new edition each year, there have been no changes in the hobby-related sections.*
In addition to those sections you mentioned, incidentally, we strongly encourage users to familiarize themselves with Sections 15.5, 15.9, 15.15, 15.19, 15.23, 15.29, 15.201, 15.204, 15.207, and 15.209 before they start a new project. Certain provisions of these sections apply to most hobby type uses of Part 15 in one way or another.
(*For those interested in seeing the very latest official annual version of Part 15 with all the non-hobby uses updated, too, we retrieved the October 2012 edition from the government's electronic Code of Federal Regulations site earlier this month. You can view it here now, and we will also be adding some helpful navigation features very soon.)
John
WD2XSH special event
Posted by Frederick Raab on October 28, 2012 at 16:24:32.
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights (November 2, 3, and 4), WD2XSH stations will commemorate the anniversary of the Berlin treaty that made 500 kHz the international distress/calling frequency. Stations will operate in both the upper and lower bands. Some will seek contacts while others will run beacons with special messages. Most stations will QSL. Reports are welcome via the 500kc.com web site.
Fritz Raab, W1FR, Experiment coordinator SINGER EMPIRE LG-105 LOOP ANTENNA
Posted by Jim Allen on October 30, 2012 at 22:22:04.
Does anyone have specifications or other information regarding the Singer LG-105 Loop Antenna. The one I have has two BNC connectors. I assume one is for the connection to the receiver, but I don't know what the other one is supposed to be connected too. Does this antenna contain a built in amplifier and the power for the amplifier is supposed to be connected to the second connection?
Re: SINGER EMPIRE LG-105 LOOP ANTENNA
Posted by John Davis on October 31, 2012 at 04:22:54.
In reply to SINGER EMPIRE LG-105 LOOP ANTENNA posted by Jim Allen on October 30, 2012
That's a tough one to find! At least, it is for me. I spent all evening on search engines looking for Singer Instrumentation because I'm trying to find a good used field intensity meter, and I suspect one of the Singer/Ailtech/Carnel versions of a Stoddart meter would be a good choice. I kept an eye out for LG-105 manuals in the process, but to no avail.
John
potrzebie