Longwave Messages Oct. 1997

Subj: Longwave BBS
Date: 97-10-31
From: j_liddle
I was just browsing the LW home page for the first time, and I'm very impressed with how professional it looks. The people responsible have done an outstanding Job.
In browsing, I found several files I'd like to download from the BBS, but I couldn'd find the phone number for it.
Thank you
Jim Liddle
- Reply 1: Thanks for the kind words, Jim. The Longwave BBS was retired earlier this year for lack of use, but most of the longwave-related files are available for downloading through the file library section of the Web page. If some aren't there which you'd like to have, just drop us a note and we'll be glad to put them on the site, or get them to you otherwise. You may also want to check out Frank Carson's "Open Channel" BBS at (301) 203-8478. - JHD
Subj: MedFer Loggings
Date: 97-10-31 20:18:53 EST
From: daveaa1a
Gudday John,
The season is starting to take off here..
Last night I had nice copy on:
- MPK 1641.5 CW beacon
- RGQ 1703 CW beacon with qrm from CRJ in South America and NY state info radio..
Am planning MedFer Beacon and building a continuously loaded vertical with #8 copper on a 5" dia. and a 3' microwave dish as a top hat..
The new shorted turn 10' dia. loop seems to be hearing much better than the 250' wire or the full wave 160m loop..
Have been logging SOLAR on 1690.591 and MIN on 1648.33.. Shooting for STLMO next..
Hope you're feeling better John.. Good numbers to you..
73s from Dave Riley - AA1A - FN42pb
- Reply 1: Thanks Dave. Yes, back troubles have their ups and downs...especially downs...but I'm mostly getting better. Sounds like your MedFER antenna should be efficient; I've had pretty good results with continuously-loaded antennas on MF so far. Glad to hear the 10-ft. loop is working out so well, too. - JHD
Subj: WTB: 1750m transceiver
Date: 97-10-31 04:40:41 EST
From: (Webster D. Williams)
A couple of years ago, there was a company who made a solid-state kit for a transceiver for 160-190 KHz. If anyone has one of these, or remembers the company who sold them, please contact me. TNX, -Web
- Reply 1: Transceivers and transverters are still available from companies like Curry Communication and LF Engineering. Check their addresses in the "What Is Part 15?" document here at the Longwave site. - JHD
Subject: Updated Link
From: Nicholas Lock
Org.: Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
Date: Fri, 24 Oct 1997
Just a quick note to advise that the link to World Utility News needs updating. Your link on the LF Utility Stations page currently points to www.leonardo.net This has changed to
http://www.gem.net/~berri/wun/index.html
cheers
Nick
Subject: Re: MedFer Sigint
From: daveaa1a
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 21:48:51 -0400
Hi John,
Here is latest copy on Bill deCarle's MedFer beacon 'SOLAR
' on 1690.592, ET2, Sync 30, Grab 6:5
```
COHERENT log opened: Thu Oct 23 1997  at 21:35
21:41:53 {Gl(7oA[1C]w%{@b[1C]g[02]SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR So
21:43:06 Lu` rm99+ SoL>R SOLjR SOL$R SP7$R SiS/v t[0D]Ocz{^>dN[0F]S[13]
```
73s from Dave - AA1A
Subject: 2IQ changes again
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997
From: Bill de Carle
Hi everyone:
The 2IQ medfer beacon has a new IDENT. As of today it will send SOLAR over and over, so expect:
SOLAR SOLAR SOLAR ....
Still MS50 ET2. Suggested GRAB setting is GRAB 6:5
As of 6:50 pm EDT the frequency was 1690.591.5 and I expect it to slowly climb to 1690.592 over the course of the evening.
Good luck.
73 de Bill VE2IQ
Subj: US Aerobeacon Database
Date: 97-10-22
From: jack.sippel
Hello Longwave enthusiasts!
I've been doing a some searching for longwave data on the WWW and thought I would share what I found with you. The goal of my search was to find the NOAA/FAA database of aero beacons in machine readable format. I usually use www.airnav.com to locate beacon data, but that database contains very few of the low power outer marker beacons.
I found an FAA research site that has placed the data on the Web. I have discussed my hobby use of their data with one of the managers at the lab. He had no objections and even gave me some pointers.
The result is a fairly recent (August 97) picture of all US aero beacons and a few foreign ones.
Subj: Old Timer wants back in...
Date: 97-10-19
From: les (Les Rayburn)
Hello to everyone in the LWCA. My name is Les Rayburn, and I used to operate lowfer beacon, XMGR in Kittery, Maine in the mid 1980s. My claim to fame may be that you guys are still using the VHF/UHF grid system, which I suggested in a Lowdown article.
Working on 160-190 Khz in those days was a thrill. We all felt like pioneers. Currently, I'm living in Birmingham, Alabama. I'd like to try my hand at putting up a Medfer beacon. Any help would be appreciated.
I'm looking for a good kit transmitter or even to purchase a used Medfer transmitter from a member.
Les Rayburn, KT4OZ

Subj: LF Test in Germany
From: dj8wlw6vio (Peter)
Oct 18, 1997
Hello John,
Attached please find a memo which I distributed via the European DX-cluster network. Maybe some of the info is worth to be put on your web-pages... Unfortunately I do not have direct access to Internet yet. I am going through the Packet-net to send this e-mail to you from my host in Pasadena/Cal. (hi)

LF-beacon-transmissions on 137 kHz by DA0LF
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This is to notify all LF-interested YLs/OMs that DA0LF is
active on LF (longwave).
DA0LF is one of the two only licensed stations in Germany
allowed to use the frequency range 135.7 ... 137.8 kHz.
The other station's call is DA0VLF.

DA0LF - located 20 km south of Frankfurt in JN49JV - will
be on the air as indicated below:

        Date:       Oct.  27./28./29./30., 1997,
        Time:       18.15-19.00 UTC,
        Frequency:  137.100 kHz (+/- 2 Hz),
        Mode:       A1A (approx. speed 5 WpM),
        Power:      30 watts (transmitter out),
        Antenna:    toploaded 15m high vertical.
        Text:       "VVV TEST DE DA0LF DA0LF"

Reports may be sent either via packet to
           dj8wl @ db0gv.#hes.deu.eu

or via e-mail to
           dj8wl @ jpl-gw.w6vio.ampr.org

Any information about reception is highly appreciated!
Many thanks in advance.

Regards,
Peter/DJ8WL (DA0LF on 137 kHz)

Subj: PX back on!
Date: 97-10-18 19:43:11 EDT
From: dav3yay (dave holland)
PX (1639 kHz) is back on for the season. I've added more top loading to the beacon antenna, so we'll see how it works out. Had a good summer here, with lots of sunny and low noise weather. Did a lot of BC dxing on the beach, enjoying the sun and sea. Frank Cathell, (K3YAZ, TSN) from Tucson AZ., was here for a few days, of course we talked radio. He and I grow up together, our calls are only one letter different.
That should do it for now. Thanks John for the fine job you're doing.
Dave K3YAY, PX
Subj: Loop antenna design
From: Shawn Axelrod
Date: 97-10-17
ftp://bbs.ks-huseby.no/html/loopant.zip.html
This is the site for a four foot box loop that i have designed. Although it is made for MW DX'ing by adding a couple of turns to the outside loop it will work very well on Longwave. I hope it can be of use to somebody out there.
-Shawn
Subject: Spectrogram latest version
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 97
From: jack.sippel
Spectrogram (ver 4.1.2) for Windows 95 is now available at:
http://www.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/win95/sound/gram412.zip
ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/win95/sound/gram412.zip
Subject: Change of address
From: Jacques d'Avignon
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997
Hi everybody:
Please amend your address list to reflect my new address:
Jacques d'Avignon
278 Towerhill Road
Peterborough, ON K9H 7N1
CANADA
Voice: +1 705 750 1636
Fax: +1 705 750 1637
E-mail: monitor@rac.ca
This change is effective immediately.
Thank you.
Subject: Medfer 2IQ is on 1690.590
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 1997
From: Bill de Carle
Hi Everyone!
Just got in from installing (with a flashlight in the bush, hi!) a new Medfer beacon, callsign 2IQ.
The new frequency is nominally 1690.590, but I'm monitoring it now and it reads 1690.591.
The format is continuous BPSK, MS50 ET1 - and the run length is 4 chars. The ident 2IQ is sent repeatedly, no CW. So you can use a long GRAB sequence if you need it.
I will be moving this one up onto the mountain (probably tomorrow during the day) - but it will be on TEST mode for sure all this evening.
If anybody manages to copy it, it will make my week!
Once again, the new format:
Continuous: BPSK MS50 ET1 - run length of 4 chars (no CW idents).
Maybe Lyle will be able to return the quick QSL?
73 de Bill VE2IQ
Subj: submarine rx
Date: 97-10-12
From: (patrick scott)
I have a receiver from a submarine, I think it's a marconi but I'm not sure as it has no idents, coverage is from 10 - 200 khz and it has a wide range of IF bandwidths and a tunable sythesiser, can anyone help me with info on this beast, I think it runs on 28 volts, it must be all of 50kg !!
Subject: DSP Blaster demo
Date: Sun, 12 Oct 1997 16:00:02 -0500
From: Lyle Koehler
Brian Beezley's "DSP Blaster" software offers some features that may enhance reception of LowFER CW signals. See "Improved CW Reception Using "Stereo"" in the Digital Dimension column of the October, 1997 QST, page 97. There is a coherent CW processing feature that can present the audio in such a way that the signal and noise appear to be spatially separated when heard in a pair of stereo headphones.
To run DSP Blaster (DB), you need a 486 or better PC with math coprocessor, a 16-bit Creative Labs Sound Blaster card and mouse. The software isn't cheap ($125) but there's a demo version available at http://www.megalink.net/~n1rct/db/dbindex.html The demo is fully functional except that you can't save the settings, and it has a limited run time of about five minutes -- long enough to get a good feel for how it performs. I had trouble running it on my 486 computer. It kept giving me a "not enough memory" message even though the software only requires 50 KBytes. An e-mail inquiry to the author got me a response telling me I apparently had a system software problem. Not very helpful. Finally I tried all the possible command-line parameters and found that it worked if I started the DB.EXE program by typing "DB R", which has something to do with VGA screen-restore techniques. Whatever works, as they say.
I ran some limited tests of DB while receiving LowFER beacon "SAM" with the loop oriented for a null so the signal was right at the noise level. I also repeatedly played back (on another computer) Steve McGreevy's Z2-IN-HI.WAV file containing the all-time LowFER DX receiving record of California beacon Z2 in Hawaii (with a Realistic DX-200 receiver and no audio filter!). Did DSP Blaster help? Maybe, maybe not. In both cases, I could detect the beacon ID with or without the "enhancement". However, I already knew exactly what the identifiers sounded like, and might have been able to hear them in a pan of frying bacon. If you have a "real" Sound Blaster 16 card, the DB demo is definitely worth a try.
Lyle, K0LR
Subject: Signals and noise
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 1997
From: Lyle Koehler
At 1050Z today, the noise level here in central Minnesota was averaging about S6 (100 Hz bandwidth), with static crashes peaking to 30 dB over S9. LowFERs TEXAS (950 miles) and OK (750 miles) were both at S7; SAM (100 miles) was S9. By 1110Z, OK had come up to S9 and TEXAS was beginning to fade into the noise.
The LW broadcast station from Iceland on 189.0 kHz still had an S9 carrier at 1100Z, even though much of the path was in daylight. In the evenings, the carrier has been running at 20 dB over S9. With the loop oriented northeast-southwest (which is what I'd use to listen for Europe), there was a 40 DB over S9 RTTY signal centered at 135.9 kHz. By mid-morning, (1600Z) the RTTY signal's strength had dropped to about S8.
My receiving antenna is an 8-foot, 10-turn loop, parallel tuned into a FET preamp. Remote tuning is accomplished with three MVAM109s in parallel. The loop sits about 6 feet off the ground and is about 70 feet from the shack. Most of my LF listening is done with an IC-751A receiver using cascaded 500 Hz and 250 Hz IF filters.
The Iceland station will make it difficult to hear LowFERs that are too close to 189.0 kHz, but the sideband energy drops off very quickly and there seems to be no interference with SAM on 189.18 or OK on 189.95 when I orient the loop north-south. It looks like the RTTY station on 135.9 will make it very difficult to hear European LowFERs at this location. However, reception may be possible during the early evening hours if I can come up with a unidirectional antenna. Any information on beacons or schedules for European LF activities will be very helpful.
Lyle, K0LR
Subj: Lowfer beacon RI on the air
Date: 97-10-01 14:41:26 EDT
From: pthomson
It's October 1, and the RI beacon is running again. The frequency is 184.320 KHz and the CCW speed is 6 wpm (100 ms), though that is subject to change.
I am getting about 6 dB improvement over last year's radiated signal, due to a better loading coil and reduced near-field foliage. I still hope to squeeze a few more dB out by increasing the ground system and further cutting back the vegetation close to the tower.
Thanks to Bill Bowers (OK) for the coil materials and the neat little antenna current sampling circuit. It sure makes tuning easier if you know what the current is doing!
I drove about 10 miles out this afternoon, and still heard the beacon clearly on a Zenith Trans-Oceanic, using the built-in rod antenna. With a good LF receiving setup, it should be audible much farther away. Maybe this season I'll get a reception report ?!?!
73 & good listening,
Pierre Thomson KA2QPG/RI - Rifton, NY - grid FN21
Subj:Goodbye Omega, hello Alpha
Date: 97-10-01 21:49:21 EDT
From: vlfradio (Stephen P. McGreevy)
Well, I got a nice recording of Omega's last beeps and also two nights of nice whistlers too, especially this morning, 01 October, between 1100-1330 UT. There was also some intermittent dawn chorus starting at about 1230 UT and going until after 1500 UT - I had not yet caught chorus this summer or full until now, so I was really glad to hear some chorus even though it was not very strong, and overall a really nice 2 days of whistler listening. Many whistlers this morning (October 01) had echoes too! The whistlers seemed to be generated by fairly nearby lightning - not too local but within 1000 miles.
Subj: WWW site
Date: 97-10-01
From: KCarey (Carey, Kevin)
Many of you know that I put together a cassette tape of Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio signals earlier this year. Here's a web site that discusses the tape and includes some RealAudio sound samples. Feel free to visit the site when you have a chance.
Cheers,
--Kevin
http://www.hamradio-online.com/1997/oct/vlf.html

www.lwca.org

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