Re: Part 15 compliance to the FCC Rules
Frank, John:
Thanks for the comments to my out-of-band measurement question. John yes, as I understand, the U3S issues are most prevalent when the multi band filter option is used. That board is being revised. I have been using the U3S in single band mode for both of my beacons. I have always had stronger harmonic emission on the HiFer beacon than I am happy with. I didn't understand how it was escaping out of the box.
After making modifications to the HiFer machine, I am losing the harmonic signals at about the 30m distance. Both comments about the antenna factor helped me see that this could be a misleading conclusion and the real equipment could produce a higher reading. But on a relative scale to the "before" distance, the modifications have reduced strengths of the harmonics.
Now on to the LowFer which has harmonics, and 16 Mhz components from the Arduino system clock leaking out.
Mike
GNK Again, At Last!
Posted by John Davis on November 01, 2016 at 06:06:51.
Although listeners from Louisiana to California have reported it numerous times, the drought of GNK in SE Kansas continued until today! I finally concluded a 48-hour-plus monitoring marathon on 1750 meters about half an hour before sunset on Monday and tuned to the HiFER watering hole. Dead as the proverbial door nail! If it hadn't been for Codar, I would have thought the receiver died. After watching for several minutes, I tuned to regulars up the band, with no result.
On the high side of 13,560 I briefly thought I might be hearing a keyed signal that might be SZX, but couldn't make out any characters or even find a plausible keyed carrier on Argo, so it may have merely been beat notes between random carriers causing the rhythmic effect. But there was no mistaking GNK!
When I tuned 13,563.983, there it was. It faded below audibility for a little while, then came booming in long enough to set up an older version of Argo in its clunky NDB mode and get a capture of the Morse keying (above, and the corresponding attached file). There seemed to be about a 2 minute period to the QSB, as was also the case on K6FRC a few minutes later (see other attachment). FRC was not as loud and the keying was more disrupted by the Codar, but on the brightest patches, several characters and a couple of entire IDs could be copied. The remarkable thing to me was the same 2-minute periodicity for signals arriving from such different directions.
Back at the watering hole, EH was suddenly present at audible levels, but only for a little while. You may remember that EH's signal has been the most susceptible to multipath bifurcation at my receiving site over the years. Because EH is seldom stable enough to analyze in QRSS30, I can normally only see the multipath when the Doppler effect makes the frequency difference between the two paths at least 1 Hz, sometimes 2 Hz or more. It wasn't that much today; but in the attached EH capture, the fattest part of the trace consisted of two copies of very nearly equal strength, separated by 0.3 to 0.5 Hz. I could tell that by virtue of the very prominent beat note between them, which has a period that slowly varied from one null every two seconds to a null about every three seconds. It was quite something for a little while, then faded into oblivion.
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 31oct-EH.jpg
File Attachment 2: 31oct-GNK2.jpg
File Attachment 3: 31oct-FRC.jpg
Re: Part 15 compliance to the FCC Rules
Both comments about the antenna factor helped me see that this could be a misleading conclusion and the real equipment could produce a higher reading. But on a relative scale to the "before" distance, the modifications have reduced strengths of the harmonics.
That's very good news. The gist of my comments was that, while the whip is a largely unknown quantity re: antenna factor, even the worst-case combination of it and the receiver's sensitivity should be enough to assure that if the unwanted signals disappear at 30 meters distance, they are truly below 30 uV/m.
Good luck with the Arduino. I have no practical experience with it, having been a bit alarmed by the name. "Ardua" is Latin for "difficulty" or "strife," after all, and I have enough of that with regular computers. :)
Re: GNK Again, At Last!
Posted by Ed Holland on November 01, 2016 at 23:46:16.
In reply to GNK Again, At Last! posted by John Davis on November 01, 2016
Nice captures John
Time to start listening here again it seems. The weekend was quite uneventful when I could get to the listening desk. Even the closer, frequently received stations were absent.
Ed
New, Improved PBJ ?
Posted by John Davis on November 02, 2016 at 07:36:40.
Did some HiFER monitoring around 11 AM this morning (Tuesday) before beginning my 1750 meter watch. NC and USC were especially good, EH was only fair (and a bit wobbly), and WV was audible part of the time, as seen in one of the attached captures. FRC was barely visible and not audible, and nobody else showed up at all right then.
After wrapping up on LF around 5 PM CDT, I caught this intriguing sight:
Instead of being in near or actual collision with MTI, PBJ was safely well above in frequency. And, instead of having a bit of tilt within each dot or dash, all elements of the PBJ ident are now nice and steadily horizontal. Looks really great, Chris! What all did you do to it?
After that, I returned to the watering hole and caught these four later in the hour.
EH and RY were both not only strong, but were also exhibiting fat traces due to multipath Doppler. I think it would be safe to describe the combination of fast and slow beat notes as interesting. USC and EH were somewhat stronger than they look here, Earlier, they were mixing so badly with each other in the external audio processing that I had to shift the passband tuning to where they were slightly beyond the shoulder of the narrow IF filter response.
A little later, I scanned the band one more time. WV was visible and sometimes audible; MTI was sometimes audible but PBJ was gone; FRC was barely visible and not at all audible; and AZ was exhibiting its ocean wave frequency roll prominently just below 13,5554.100 kHz. Oddly, both WV and MTI showed some small tendency toward the same thing today, too; WV more so than MTI.
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 01nov-late.jpg
File Attachment 2: 01nov-mornHF.jpg
File Attachment 3: 01nov-PBJ.jpg
Beacon JAM 187.015khz Observations
My beacon JAM has been up since July 09. It has had 4 iterations if memory serves me. First all equipment on ground, 4 top hat radials and skirt wire. Second elevated coil, elevated equipment 6 top hat radials and skirt wire. Third elevated coil, elevated equipment, Ufer ground system and 6 top hat radials and skirt wire. Now finally elevated coil, elevated equipment, Ufer ground system, 6'x6'x4' steel cat condo connected to Ufer ground system, 8 top hat radials and skirt wire. The first 3 iterations I always had a dry tune and a wet tune. If it rained I changed a tap or two to get increase antenna current close to dry condition tuning. The fourth iteration does not have a dry or wet tuning. One tuning both wet or dry. Current is reduce when wet but no adjustments will increase antenna current. Good luck. Lee KE6PCT
Re: ELF Power Line "Harmonic" Noise
Posted by Mark on November 03, 2016 at 00:13:52.
In reply to ELF Power Line "Harmonic" Noise posted by Frank Lotito on October 29, 2016
Frank,
As a hunch only, check to see if any of these line up with the schumann resonance lines. The most common one is listed as 7.8 hz, but there are others in the 15 hz to 30 hz range.
Again, its a guess only.
Re: ELF Power Line "Harmonic" Noise
Posted by Frank Lotito on November 03, 2016 at 12:10:37.
In reply to ELF Power Line "Harmonic" Noise posted by Frank Lotito on October 29, 2016
Mark - Thanks for the suggestion! My first thought was "Schumann Resonance." However, on Spectrum Lab's waterfall display, the 60 Hz "sub-harmonics" are very-very sharply defined lines. As you know, Schumann Resonance bars are fuzzy w-i-d-e width bars on water fall displays. In addition, at my QTH, the sharply defined frequencies on a freq vs amplitude spectrum display are far to high in amplitude to be Schumann Resonance signals.
I originally saw these "sub-harmonics" using the IK1ODO amplifier in my attempts to dig out the Schumann Resonance bars. If I remove the amplifier and connect my antenna directly to the sound card input (with back-to-back 3.3 volt zener diode static voltage protection) I still see the sub-harmonics. These sub-harmonics are about 40 dB - 80 dB below the 60 Hz pickup signal. Putting a one meg-ohm resistor in series with the sound card input lowers the amplitudes, including the 60 Hz pickup. I'm sure I am not over driving the sound card.
73 Frank Lotito K3DZ / WH2XHA
K6FRC / B2 QRT ?
Posted by jim v m on November 03, 2016 at 19:29:00.
To Paul Shinn. Do you plan to reactivate your Sutter Buttes beacon?
I miss it!
73 jim vm Re: ELF Power Line "Harmonic" Noise
Posted by John Davis on November 03, 2016 at 19:54:36.
In reply to Re: ELF Power Line "Harmonic" Noise posted by Frank Lotito on November 03, 2016
Interesting, Frank. I'm assuming you're not in the immediate neighborhood of an old style trolley car system that uses frequencies below 60 Hz, nor located inside a telephone exchange office, where 20 Hz power is supplied as a ringer voltage.
Other sources could include switching power supplies that regularly draw more current on one cycle of the AC and then less on the next one, two, or three cycles in a row. I can't think of good examples at the moment, though. As for 30 Hz, there used to be some of that escaping CRT television sets, but I doubt that's very common any more.
Re: New, Improved PBJ ?
Posted by Chris Waldrup on November 05, 2016 at 20:42:06.
In reply to New, Improved PBJ ? posted by John Davis on November 02, 2016
Hi John,
Wow that's great! I'm happy to see that.
I can't think of anything I have done lately except now the cool weather has hit Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau so maybe in the summer months I need more insulation in the box. The unit is in a diecast Pomona box filled with John's Manville house insulation (Lowes sells small quantity bags) and that box plus the 7 Ah gel cell is in a steel ammo box filled with house insulation. Last week when I changed the battery I noticed the insulation is packing down in the ammo box so maybe I need to replenish it.
Chris LowFER and HiFER WM Upcoming 630m Crossband Night - Saturday, Nov 12th
I know there are several folks on this list that are interested in 630m band The next 'crossband evening' will be one week from tonight, on Saturday, As in previous events, the participating Canadian CW stations will be The popularity of this event has continued to increase each year as more and As in the past, numerous U.S. 'experimental' stations will be active on the The Maritime Radio Historical Society are also promising activity, as KSM / All told, there will be six different participating Canadian stations that More information as well as a detailed schedule of times and frequencies may http://ve7sl.blogspot.ca/2016/10/novembers-630m-activity-cw-crossband.html As well, if you have not participated previously, you will find some useful Details were previously released on both the ARRL and RAC 'news' pages, http://www.arrl.org/news/630-meter-special-event-set-for-mid-november and here: http://wp.rac.ca/ I will also post a reminder next Friday, one day before the event. I would 73, Steve / VE7SL VE7SL BLOG - "Homebrewing and Operating Adventures From 2200m to Nanowaves": HiFers 6 Nov., 2016
Hello All. Beginning to get some better propagation now that Fall is here. Last weekend (31 Oct.) and today(6 Nov.) hearing hearing WV on ~13556KHz, 3/4-3/4-9, as well as powerhouse GNK on 13564KHz, 4/5-4/7-9, and K6FRC on 13565KHz, 4-4-9. All of these in the AM locally, during the 1330-1430 UT time frame. GNK quite strong at times. Have not heard WV for quite some time. Its speed seems faster than it was previously, or maybe my CW is just slowing down. Ed W Slidell, LA EM50
Re: Upcoming 630m Crossband Night - Saturday, Nov 12th
Riding Steve's (VE7SL) coat tails on his announcement of the VE cross band activity during next weekend's special event, I want to report that I will be running CW, calling CQ on 474.5 kHz (CW-rev or 'USB' passband) through sunset on Saturday the 12th (13th UTC) and into the late evening. Calls and reports are welcome. All of this weather permitting, of course. I will have NTS-formatted traffic for stations interesting in receiving a message. Just answer my CQ and let me know that you are QRV. Most are intended to be comical with Maritime themes in addition to a few "Star Wars"-themed messages. There is something very elegant about asking permission to pull into a space port via CW in my opinion. The two main CW stations that I often find myself working on a regular basis and passing traffic to during this event will be unavailable so for this traffic to move, new blood will have to step up. There are few other guys that check in each year and hopefully they will do so this year as well. In lieu of only CQing I will also send "high seas" weather bulletins (and possible galactic asteroid alerts!) at times and will make announcements of those times accordingly. I will also tune around looking for VE stations on cross band during the late evening when their signals tend to do best down here. 73 and I look forward to working some of you and receiving reports from others. John KB5NJD / WG2XIQ..
Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov
Hi Folks, Reading Ed S's report, it seems that a general lift in conditions was apparent yesterday. listening around 23:30 UTC, although the watering hole was quiet, I was treated to audible copy of AA0RQ, GNK and AZ. It has been a while since any of these have been audible, even visible via Spectrum Lab, let alone during the same monitoring session and they were most welcome at my aerial. I've started trying to look at correlation/coincidence with other signals as I may have mentioned before. Last night, the 17 MHz transmission from Radio Australia was reaching CA relatively well, the 15 MHz weak but audible. Recently, just as 22m has been flat, these antipodean signals have been absent save perhaps the faintest hint of carrier if tuning in SSB mode. I plan to continue this pairing of observations and report here if there is interest. Regards, Ed
Re: Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov
Interesting Indeed I look forward to your study...thanks for the report...a friend of mine over heard a group of hams talking about the Hifer Beacons, they mentioned AA0RQ and questioned why the beacon had a ham call attached to it...LOL... It is so they can look me up on QRZ and send me a report...this strategy has been working nicely. I'm getting more reports these days
Re: RTÉ "reviews" 252 closure
There seems no doubt LW will close in the light of this report: Radio World Multiple Irish news outlets are reporting that Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the country’s state broadcaster, has restructured its commercial sales division amid “significant losses.” Independent.ie reports that RTE will consolidate its commercial divisions focused on television, radio, and digital sales into a single team. The teams used to operate separately and the move comes as a response to demands from advertisers, the report says. The report also cites RTE as saying its financial forecast is “without a doubt” being hampered by the effects of Brexit. http://www.radioworld.com/article/irelands-rte-restructures-sales-approach/279960
Re: Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov
I have noticed that as well. Makes it difficult to drop the "K6" from my HiFer's ID loop. Re: K6FRC / B2 QRT ?
Hi Jim. Sorry, no. I removed the beacon radio from the Buttes, and do not plan to reinstall it. The antenna and cable are still there. Trying to simplify my hobbies and life in general.
Re: Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov
Personally, I see no problem with using one's ham call as long as it's not mistaken by an FCC inspector as out-of-band amateur operation. That apparently hasn't been a problem thus far. (In writing, I often refer to stations by their shorthand form, like "MMI" or "RQ" or "FRC," but you'll notice that nowadays in the list, we use the full call if the operator uses it that way on-air.) Other hams have been very reluctant to use but a fraction of their call, for avoiding risk of confusion, and that's OK too. One thing I would request, though: when you QSL a direct report, please be sure to let the listeners know about this site so they can look up any other HiFERs they run across, and maybe also encourage them to report their reception here as well. Along with operator updates, that's the easiest way to keep the beacon lists up-to-date. John
Re: Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov
That's a GREAT idea, John. Next batch of QSLs I get, I will include the lwca.org URL on the card.
Out in Field this morning
With Fall and Winter I will be Hiking in the National Forest etc.. I especially like Re: Out in Field this morning
I hear that one sometimes too, Bill. Also, sometimes around 13562.5 kHz. Gets a person's hopes up, then dashes (no pun intended) them. Just as a wild guess, I'm supposing it's some sort of industrial heating device that cycles on and off at a rate that approximates Morse at first hearing, but sometimes lapses into non-standard dot-dash ratios and never makes any sense.
Re: Out in Field this morning
Bill; Thanks for the report on WM. It is still amazing to me that a minuscule signal like that can travel so far. That would seem to be a very special rock you found. It provided you with some good DX, I would visit it again! Thanks for listening. Mike 73
6R back on-the-air, 186.7000 kHz, El Dorado Hills, CA
I have the "6R" CW beacon back on-the-air from El Dorado county California, grid square CM98LS. It is on 186.7000 kHz exactly since the L.O. source is a 10 MHz TCXO clocked DDS VFO. The ERP looks fair since it is lighting up 5-6 neon bulbs on a voltage probe stick. My ground plane has been damaged and I will repair and improve it this weekend. I'll post an RF antenna current reading later when the ground plane has been repaired. The slow CW message being sent at this time is "6R 6R 6R 12-second dash" 73s, Ed, KI6R.
Re: 6R back on-the-air, 186.7000 kHz, El Dorado Hills, CA
Ed, I copied your beacon this morning, 1943Z, 11/12/2016. 73 jim vm wb6qzl
Re: 6R back on-the-air, 186.7000 kHz, El Dorado Hills, CA
Thanks for the report Jim, and establishing a baseline signal strength. I have the ground plane sorted out and repaired. It seems the RF current is still low for unknown reasons. KD6CQ in Shingle Springs can also copy 6R but it is weak. I do some more work on it and post updates to this list. 73s, Ed
Re: 6R back on-the-air, 186.7000 kHz, El Dorado Hills, CA
Hi Ed. Sorry, no copy in Calaveras County to your south. 73, Paul Sampling Oscillosocope Application
Some time ago on various bulletin boards I posted an inquiry on "how to properly use a sampling oscilloscope to view the rise and fall times of a CW keyed transmitter, or to monitor the envelope waveform of an amplitude modulated signal, e.g., PSK-31 or SSB." I was experiencing aliasing problems and did not know how to correct it. I lamented that my last "analog scope" had a CRT one its last leg. I never did get an answer to my problem. I found my answer, as simple as reading "the whole instruction manual!" The following applies to both my Tektronix TDS-120, and my B&K 2530 sampling scopes, and speculating other "modern sampling type" oscilloscopes. On the front panel, find and press the button that is titled ACQUIRE. Then find and select the options PEAK DETECT, and if available on your sampling scope, REAL TIME mode. Set up the scope for EXTERNAL TRIGGER and use the keying device or audio tone to key the transmitter. Voila! No more aliasing! Both my scope's manuals contain a chart on the relationship between sweep speed and the maximum input frequency to avoid aliasing in the normal sampling mode (non-Peak Detect mode.) No doubt the significance of this chart did not ring a bell when I first obtained these scopes. Shame on me.
13-Nov-2016 Hifers
Hi folks, Good conditions here today, with time for some new modes. Firstly, on CW, listening around 2130Z turned up AZ, audible briefly between fades. Tuning to the other CW sweet spot above 13562 kHz revealed nothing at that time, but the watering hole was awash with signals on Spectrum Lab. Hopefully the attached files will show this but I saw, in order of increasing frequency: EH, USC and NC. Another signal was apparent below EH, which tallied in frequency with SIW. Referring to the HiFER List, and the instruction "Use QRSS30" I tried this for the first time and was rewarded with the attached capture of the sawtooth signal. That's a first. Lastly, a path opened up around 2340 z to my good friend Bill in Colorado. I heard AA0RQ in plain Morse for several idents over the course of 5 minutes. I note that the rate of sending was higher than usual.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers
Hi Ed, thanks for the nice slash code capture. Glad things were stable enough for QRSS30 to work on HF. What is your QTH? The hifer is in EN52ta, about 40 miles NW of Chicago, IL. 73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers
Hi Gary QTH here is CM87vi, Portola Valley, CA. It is astounding how far these signals can travel and remain intelligable. Thanks, Ed
6R Beacon now at improved.
I repaired some problems with the ground system. Signal strength should now be much improved, at least 6dB better as seen on an RF antenna current meter. I'm now lighting up about eight NE2 bulbs on a voltage stick, so it looks pretty good. I will be making further ground system improvements tomorrow to lower ground impedance. 73s, Ed, KI6R
Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers
I admit I sped up the ID...HI...even a little faster then FRC... Dutch Free Radio Station
Dutch Free Radio Station Radio Luxemburg has been reported by Achim Brueckner in BDXC "Communication" as broadcasting on LW several weekends since 20 August, first broadcasts were on 280 and 279 but since then they are using 261khz.
6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7.
I have most of the bugs worked out of the 6R beacon. It is on 186.7000 kHz from El Dorado county, Ca. It is currently sending about 3 WPM CW, four "6R" followed by a 4-second dash. It will be on-the-air 24/7 unless I am listening on VLF. I've improved my ground system some increasing RF current about 10%. 73s, Ed, KI6R
Re: 6R Beacon now at improved.
Ed - Can you give us an idea what you did to improve your antenna's ground system? I assume when you say there was a 6 dB signal strength as seen by the RF antenna ammeter, you mean the measured current doubled (dB=20*LOG(current ratio)) ? After the ground improvements did the antenna's (not the antenna plus base matching network) driven impedance remain constant? Please clarify. I'm desperately trying to understand how shortened antennas work, and what I can do to improve the performance of my very limited space backyard 630 meter antenna. 73 Frank
NE2 bulb voltage stick for tuning-up beacons.
It is an old trick from the 80s when there were a lot of beacons on-the-air out here on the west coast. It is a home-built tool for tuning-up a lowfer beacon transmitter. It indicates maximum RF voltage when touched to the base of the antenna, or top of the tuning coil. Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7.
jim vm Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers
HI HI Bill - I knew you were playing tricks on us! Extra points to you if you ever notice anything about PVC ;-)
Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7.
Thanks Jim. So perhaps about 9 dB of improvement. I think my ERP is about as good as it can get at this time without ground system additions. I'm going to test adding a few really long ground wires to see if I can measure the difference in RF antenna current. 73, Ed
Re: 6R Beacon now at improved.
Frank, Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers
I have not been able to hear PVC on my recent hikes...however, it is not because I haven't listened...just out on the trail at the wrong time...I'll home in on PVC sooner or later. MTI will show up like it did last winter right before sun down I would imagine...keep the faith and it sounds like your restoration project has been educational and a lot of fun...I found an HP LCR bridge up here in the mountains at a thrift store, $29.00 I had to give it a home...
Cross band QSO with VE3OT
On Nov 12 at 19:05 est local, I participated in the 630 meter to HF special event. Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers
Good catch with the equipment Bill. I am now almost set to rewind the interstage audio transformer. I've got the turns and layers worked out. Now I need to build a winding jig. Ed
SJ Wednesday morning
Although I shouldn't have done it during LWCA deadline week, I took advantage of a scheduled power substation outage in the wee hours of Wednesday morning to look at the watering hole. SIW was strong, but so was a PLC only a little over 10 millihertz away. In my QRSS30 capture (below) it wasn't possible to distinguish between them, although the difference can just barely be discerned in the QRSS60 capture (also attached). After I tuned away for a time to look for MLS and EAR (no luck on either that night), I returned and found SIW in the clear, as can also be seen in the QRSS60 attachment. The timing would make me suspect the PLC being at such an unusually high level may have had something to do with the substation work, except it does show diurnal variation, being more prominent after dark than during daylight. But it was the QRSS30 capture that really surprised me. I first tuned away from the watering hole at 4:05 AM CST, but then noticed that the weak, random line just above 185.303 had resolved itself into what looked like three clear dashes...so I hastilly returned just in time to get one slightly compressed looking (due to the 20 second speed) "SJ" before the signal diminished again...my first one of the season. (I also wonder whether I may have caught WM during at least part of a QRSS ID?) John
--------------------------------------------------------------- Thur AM: EAR, SIW WSPR (LF+HF)
I returned to the field at midnight Thursday morning, only intending to be there a few minutes. However, circumstances I won't bore you with at this time kept me there all night and also had me returning later in the morning. Right at midnight, I began with excellent copy of SIW in WSPR15 mode. Although noise was considerably higher than the night before, the signal was enhanced enough to yield respectable signal-to-noise ratio and good visibility on both Argo and the WSPR X waterfall display. Later, I tuned to EAR and got splendid captures the rest of the night, with signal maximum about 90 minutes before daybreak, then a sudden fade to nothing at 45 minutes before sunrise. I then retuned to SIW, and despite visibly lower signal levels, got continuous decodes all the way to the frequency/mode change at local noon. After capturing the SIW QRSS signals for a while, it occurred to me to try HF...and caught SIW there, too, along with WM, USC, NC and others. (I'll try to post the LF/HF WSPR and other HF captures sometime this weekend, but it's LOWDOWN deadline week and I'm already behind schedule.) This was the first 22m opening to Illinois in a couple of months, and the first time I've caught both SIW WSPR modes on the same day: John
--------------------------------------------------------------- Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7.
Hi Ed, I'm in Florida would it be uncommon for me to hear it or am I too far away??
Coil winder
Hi folks, In pursuit of my 1934 Philco restoration, I find myself in transformer winding territory. In thinking how to approach this task, my thought fell upon a popular English construction system, of which I have a nice quantity of assorted parts thanks to a friend. That enabled me to piece together an experimental winder (which should be in the attached picture). It needs a little refinement to help control wire feed, but I have ideas for that.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Re: Coil winder
I built a winder roughly akin to yours to wind coils for a FET dip oscillator. Mine used a crank & mounted in a vise & I rigged up a turntable for the wire spool. It was a lot easier & quicker than trying to wind them "freehand".
Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7.
Hi John, Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7.
Hi John. When looking for 6R in Florida take a look for JAM in CA also. JAM 187.015 khz has made it to Denver and partial copies east of Denver. I believe us west coast stations are at a disadvantage going east. With the reception Grey Line moving west, the east to west direction is going to produce better results. Lee KE6PCT
Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7.
Good reminder about JAM, Lee. Based on near catches the past couple of years, I am hopeful that my new capability for longer-term overnight monitoring may be helpful in capturing at least the QRSS60 portion this year. For west to east, it seems the later in the night, the better, here in Kansas.
Re: Coil winder
You fellows should try winding the secondary for a Tesla coil....1800 turns of #22 on an 8 inch HDPE form! Re: Coil winder
Ha! I think I'll have to scale up for that job! Funny coincidence - this did put me in mind of building a small Tesla coil. That is something I have always wanted to tinker with. Cheers Ed
Hifer GNK
Hearing GNK weak but readable here at the work QTH DN10tx @ 8:22 PST
17 November
For reasons I outlined in my LowFER EAR post, this is a much delayed report, but one I thought interesting because it shows that occasionally there are still openings between Illinois and here, even without geomagnetic disruptions. SIW slant showed up fuzzy but distinct in QRSS30 and as a somewhat disrupted line at QRSS3; SIW WSPR2 decoded part of the time but was disrupted by fading other times (and occasionally ionosounder bursts); and WM was solidly visible, with the CW ID being audible frequently. As you see, RY, USC, and NC also came in nicely. Signals were also quite good from WV, and at times FRC, whereas GNK was barely visible and not audible. Nothing from PBJ or MTI that day, either. John
--------------------------------------------------------------- In the Field
Not much to report to day while out in the field with the KA 1103. I'll try and go out right before sun down today for another listen...
Re: Beacon JAM 187.015khz Observations
"The fourth iteration does not have a dry or wet tuning" Well not true. I finally got the energy to pull the 7th and 8th radials away from the mast and make the top hat more umbrella like. And just like that I found the wet/dry tuning again. Dry tuning is running 375ma to 400ma. Wet tuning 275ma to 300ma. Lee KE6PCT
Re: Dutch Free Radio Station
Just seen a posting on Facebook that its power is 2 watts! Seems a rather pointless effort! European stations closing in 2017
France Inter 162 kHz is to shut down on the 1st of January 2017. RTE is to close during 2017. There may be others - watch this thread!
Re: Dutch Free Radio Station
Why? Re: Dutch Free Radio Station
I just saw the frequency, derp!
This LW Season is Hopping!
After a month hiatus, popped on the UVic Kiwi SDR to do some NDB DX'ing - including a 1,900 Km haul from a little 17W ERP beacon on 201 KHz in Manitoba. Let the LowFER hunting begin!
HiFERs Monday and Tuesday
Had a couple of warm days and not overly cold nights here, simultaneously with enough time to go to the field to listen, on Monday and Tuesday. The result on HF was fairly remarkable Monday. The watering hole contained USC, EH, and RY quite strong until a little after 4:15 PM local time. There was also a sorta opening to Illinois, with SIW slant showing up for nearly a full ID, and SIW WSPR2 several times but only twice for long enough to get decodes: On Tuesday, there was no opening to IL but the other watering hole regulars were quite strong. I actually listened twice today...once before 10 AM, and again after 2:45 PM when I gave up on 1750 meters because of rapidly rising QRN there. Both morning and afternoon were pretty similar. Sometimes I could hear the RY carrier being keyed on and off, USC was downright loud, EH was strong, and so was NC...but with cooler weather, it has drifted up beyond 13,555.550 now. WV was strongly audible at times throughout the afternoon and was barely visible others, as was FRC. There might have been a trace of PBJ today, but it was so disrupted by QSB that I couldn't be sure. No MTI for the past several days, but there was a strong carrier that wandered around 13,557.54 for quite a while today. Everybody was gone from the band but FRC a little after 4:15 PM again today. John
LowFER SIW Sun.-Mon.-Tue.
Went to the field Sunday for a little while. Noise levels appeared reasonable, but despite that, neither the QRSS nor WSPR15 signal was particularly good on the waterfall. Only got a couple of decodes in the afternoon, and with a chance of thunderstorms that evening, I didn't listen very late. After the frontal passage early Monday, QRN levels were way down during the daytime to typical levels where I can normally see SIW pretty well, but the signal level seemed depressed too. The WSPR signal was barely visible on either the Argo or WSPR waterfalls, and did not decode at all during the afternoon. Conditions improved after dark Monday evening. Noise rose after sunset, but so did the signals, yielding anywhere from one to four decodes per hour: At midnight I switched over to watch for MLS (there'll be a later post on that topic), then returned to SIW at mid-morning Tuesday. This time, QRN was the lowest I've seen yet this season: median level around S0, recurrent peaks near S1, maximum peaks S2. That was two S-units better on the median value and four to five S-units better on the peaks than Monday. The WSPR signal was 100% decodable from the time I resumed watching it until the transition to QRSS at noon: The extraordinarily low noise continued until around 2 PM, giving me very good copy of the QRSS30 and 60 signal for a couple of hours (I'll do a follow-up post on Wednesday after I've stitched the Argo screens of the transition together). But then, static began increasing from the thunderstorms in the Southeast. Makes me suspect the skywave component of the QRN had been suppressed for a while by C-class solar flare activity that caused an absorption event up to 3 or 4 MHz over the US for a time today. The groundwave path from SIW would be unaffected by that, of course. Noise Tuesday night was near late-summer values (median value around S9, about 4 or 5 units above the point beyond which I've never been able to copy a LowFER). Around midnight I cancelled my further monitoring plans for the night. John Re: LowFER SIW Sun.-Mon.-Tue.
John, thanks for the detailed reports, on both hifers and lowfers. 73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: LowFER SIW Sun.-Mon.-Tue.
John, Thanks for the observations of the WM's. To add an observation of propagation conditions late Tuesday afternoon, I was trying to listen to my normal AMBC station and found very low signal strengths. My noise level was a constant S-4 across the band, but 720/780 Chicago, 840 Louisville, and 650 Nashville were barely detectable. Normal conditions place them at S-9 or over on the daytime ground wave range of 150-250 Mi. Mike Meek
Hifers today
While out in the field FRC was the lone beacon heard around 2030 utc... While home a few minutes ago, I decided to shut down AA0RQ and within 3 or 4 minutes of listening up on 13558.4 on the Icom 756 little PVC popped up for three fade ups beginning at 2254 utc and then nothing heard at all. So I moved up the band and there was FRC Q5 copy. I admit I did not spend much time listening...that's life in the fast lane . LOL
potrzebie
KD4PBJ
Posted by Mike N8OOU on November 06, 2016 at 00:01:05.
In reply to
Posted by Steve on November 06, 2016 at 04:14:47.
actvities. Some of you may even be planning to get on 630 when it becomes a
ham band in the U.S. Here in Canada, we've had the band for a couple of
years now and regular 'crossband' QSO events have allowed interested
amateurs in North America to explore the band's potential by working the
630m Canadians.
November 12th.
calling CQ on specific allocated frequencies and will be listening on their
announced HF (QSX) frequencies, within the 160, 80 and 40m bands.
In past crossband nights, transcontinental CW QSO's have been completed as
have
contacts between the west coast and Hawaii.
more amateurs become interested in this part of the spectrum (472 - 479
kHz). Hopefully this trend will continue next weekend and that you will
consider taking part in the one night event.
band, either running CW beacons or seeking two-way QSO's with other stations
in the experimental service. As well, some may be operating WSPR or JT9
modes. All are interested in your reception reports and most of the
experimental callsigns can be found via a QRZ.com lookup.
KPH in Bolinas, California will be activated for the night, sending weather
notices, press bulletins and possibly engaging in two-way work with
historical naval ships involved with the MHRS.
will cover most regions of the continent, should propagation co-operate!
be found here:
hints to help you out.
here:
also ask and encourage you to pass this information forward within your
blogs / Facebook / Twitter pages as well so that as many amateurs as
possible are aware of the activity. Please e-mail me if you have any
questions and we all hope to see as many participants as possible next
Saturday night!
WEB - "The VE7SL Radio Notebook": http://members.shaw.ca/ve7sl
http://ve7sl.blogspot.ca/
Posted by EdWSlidell,LA on November 06, 2016 at 14:38:10.
Posted by John Langridge KB5NJD on November 07, 2016 at 02:03:37.
In reply to Upcoming 630m Crossband Night - Saturday, Nov 12th posted by Steve on November 06, 2016
Posted by Ed Holland on November 07, 2016 at 22:30:50.
Posted by Bill Hensel on November 08, 2016 at 00:46:41.
In reply to Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov posted by Ed Holland on November 07, 2016
Posted by Mike Terry on November 08, 2016 at 10:02:49.
In reply to Re: RTÉ "reviews" 252 closure posted by Mike Terry on October 07, 2016
November 4, 2016
Posted by Paul on November 10, 2016 at 04:03:38.
In reply to Re: Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov posted by Bill Hensel on November 08, 2016
Posted by Paul on November 10, 2016 at 04:07:24.
In reply to K6FRC / B2 QRT ? posted by jim v m on November 03, 2016
Posted by John Davis on November 10, 2016 at 15:34:05.
In reply to Re: Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov posted by Paul on November 10, 2016
Posted by Paul on November 11, 2016 at 06:00:13.
In reply to Re: Sunday afternoon HiFERs 6th Nov posted by John Davis on November 10, 2016
Posted by Bill Hensel on November 11, 2016 at 16:06:46.
to listen for the Hifers at that time. This morning the temp was 18 dgs-20 dgs F, I found a Rock to sit on and have the Sun on me. Listening on the KA-1103 at 1502 utc
I heard WM ID in CW three times, around 1515 utc K6FRC was heard with a weak signal and at 1535 utc GNK had a nice signal coming in to the little receiver...while on 13558khz I heard some poorly sent CW that even I could not copy because every time it
faded up it seemed to send different letters. LOL So there is no need to mention what I heard. That's what was heard in Colorado.
Posted by John Davis on November 11, 2016 at 18:45:01.
In reply to Out in Field this morning posted by Bill Hensel on November 11, 2016
while on 13558khz I heard some poorly sent CW that even I could not copy because every time it faded up it seemed to send different letters. LOL So there is no need to mention what I heard.
Posted by Mike N8OOU on November 12, 2016 at 01:01:00.
In reply to Out in Field this morning posted by Bill Hensel on November 11, 2016
Posted by Ed on November 12, 2016 at 01:47:24.
Posted by Jim Vander Maaten on November 12, 2016 at 19:50:09.
In reply to 6R back on-the-air, 186.7000 kHz, El Dorado Hills, CA posted by Ed on November 12, 2016
You are 35 miles at 125.9 degrees from my QTH in Olivehurst, CA.
Signal is -117 dBm with a noise floor of -120 dBm.
Finally a lowfer I can copy!
Posted by Ed on November 12, 2016 at 21:09:52.
In reply to Re: 6R back on-the-air, 186.7000 kHz, El Dorado Hills, CA posted by Jim Vander Maaten on November 12, 2016
Posted by Paul on November 13, 2016 at 02:48:32.
In reply to 6R back on-the-air, 186.7000 kHz, El Dorado Hills, CA posted by Ed on November 12, 2016
Posted by Frank Lotito on November 13, 2016 at 16:55:00.
Posted by Ed Holland on November 13, 2016 at 23:50:43.
File Attachment 1: capt02-1-2.jpg
File Attachment 2: capt03-1.jpg
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on November 14, 2016 at 02:15:09.
In reply to 13-Nov-2016 Hifers posted by Ed Holland on November 13, 2016
Posted by Ed Holland on November 14, 2016 at 02:56:30.
In reply to Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers posted by Garry, K3SIW on November 14, 2016
Posted by Ed, KI6R on November 14, 2016 at 04:10:01.
Posted by Bill Hensel on November 14, 2016 at 15:37:12.
In reply to 13-Nov-2016 Hifers posted by Ed Holland on November 13, 2016
I will probably slow it down today for grins...Thanks for the report....
Posted by Mike Terry on November 14, 2016 at 16:39:16.
Posted by Ed, KI6R on November 15, 2016 at 02:03:39.
Posted by Frank K3DZ / WH2XHA on November 15, 2016 at 02:11:59.
In reply to 6R Beacon now at improved. posted by Ed, KI6R on November 14, 2016
Posted by Ed, KI6R on November 15, 2016 at 12:40:03.
Materials needed:
1. Wooden paint stick (or other thin, stiff insulating stick). I suggest sealing any wooden stick with varnish.
2. Qty-10 or so NE2 neon bulbs.
3. 2" piece of thick wire sharpened at one end. The wire should be solderable such as #10 AWG solid copper.
4. Glue, suggest using epoxy.
Solder the NE2 bulbs together, in series, end-to-end so they make a string about 6 inches long.
Solder the piece of wire to the lead of the last bulb.
Glue the entire string to the paint stick with the sharpened point of the wire protruding off of the end of the stick.
The voltage stick can be held at the insulted end and touched to the base of the antenna. The RF voltage will illuminate a number of the bulbs. The higher the voltage, more bulbs lit-up, means maximum RF voltage and RF current into the antenna. You will find that if your antenna Q is high that you may need to keep your body away from the base of the antenna and loading coil or you will de-tune it due to proximity.
73s, Ed, KI6R
Posted by Jim Vander Maaten on November 15, 2016 at 16:24:03.
In reply to 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7. posted by Ed, KI6R on November 15, 2016
Ed, copy now is -108 dBm above the noise floor of -120dBm.
Solid signal with a little bit of fading.
Posted by Ed Holland on November 15, 2016 at 17:30:18.
In reply to Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers posted by Bill Hensel on November 14, 2016
Posted by Ed, KI6R on November 15, 2016 at 20:13:12.
In reply to Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7. posted by Jim Vander Maaten on November 15, 2016
Posted by Ed, KI6R on November 15, 2016 at 20:24:22.
In reply to Re: 6R Beacon now at improved. posted by Frank K3DZ / WH2XHA on November 15, 2016
My ground system is about 60 radials roughly 45' long each. It was torn up by vehicles and required some repairs of the splice points. I can't measure my antenna impedance since it is so low, but I can measure antenna capacitance with respect to ground. The higher the capacitance then the less series match inductance required and thus lower losses. I've been measuring where the RF current is going in my ground system and have learned the currents always seem to take the shortest, least L, least R path, no matter how elaborate my ground wiring arrangement is. I've found #12 AWG solid copper ground wire with 40mA RF on it and 3" away another #12 AWG in parallel carrying 3mA. If I were to build another ground system everything within about 6' radius of the antenna base would be sheet copper or aluminum and I would bond all ground wires to the sheet. Send me an email and I can describe my antenna and ground installation. Ed, KI6R
Posted by Bill Hensel on November 16, 2016 at 01:12:51.
In reply to Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers posted by Ed Holland on November 15, 2016
Posted by Sal, K1RGO on November 17, 2016 at 15:47:39.
I copied Mitch Powell's 477 kHz cw 589 and used 80 meters, 3563 kHz cross band.He gave me a 579 report on my 80 m cw signal. I also tried for VO1NA on 477.7 kHz with no luck and the band was quite noisy at that time.
I am testing SJ and will resume operation on 185.304 kHz, QRSS20 this week end.
later.........Sal,K1RGO
Posted by Ed Holland on November 17, 2016 at 23:04:45.
In reply to Re: 13-Nov-2016 Hifers posted by Bill Hensel on November 16, 2016
Posted by John Davis on November 18, 2016 at 10:17:41.
File Attachment 1: 16nova0004.jpg
File Attachment 2: 16nov-qrss60.jpg
Posted by John Davis on November 18, 2016 at 11:03:39.
0600 -31 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0615 -32 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0630 -32 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0645 -32 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0700 -32 -0.2 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1300 -37 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1315 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1330 -34 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1345 -36 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1400 -35 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1415 -34 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1430 -35 -1.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1445 -36 -1.3 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1500 -35 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1515 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1530 -35 -1.3 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1545 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1600 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1615 -35 -1.3 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1630 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1645 -34 -1.3 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1700 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1715 -34 -1.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1730 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1745 -35 -1.3 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
HiFER:
1936 -25 -2.3 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
1940 -30 -2.0 13.555406 0 K3SIW EN52 7
1956 -27 -2.3 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
There were several other time slots where the HiFER signal was visible on Argo without decodes while I was watching the watering hole. Some of those were due to ionosonde pulses, some due to fading, and others from causes not immediately apparent. I do note, however, that the DT values shown for the LF and HF receptions were as much as a second different, but have no idea whether that's relevant. I reset the computer clock, which had drifted about 0.25 second over 13 hours, but got no further decodes before the opening ended.
File Attachment 1: 17nov-EAR.jpg
Posted by JOHN FERRO on November 20, 2016 at 23:10:32.
In reply to Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7. posted by Ed, KI6R on November 15, 2016
Posted by Ed Holland on November 21, 2016 at 20:58:53.
File Attachment 1: 20161120_183402_resized.jpg
Posted by Dave Childs on November 22, 2016 at 06:51:16.
In reply to Coil winder posted by Ed Holland on November 21, 2016
Posted by Ed, KI6R on November 22, 2016 at 20:34:27.
In reply to Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7. posted by JOHN FERRO on November 20, 2016
I know that in the past California lowfer beacon (Z2) has been heard in Hawaii. Z2 is no longer on the air from California. Z2 was an optimized beacon on the California coast and the receive system in Hawaii was also optimum.
I don't think my beacon could be heard in Florida. Perhaps if it was running QRSS30 or 60 and you had an optimum receiver setup, it may be possible. I hope to enable QRSS or WSPR transmissions some time in the future.
Posted by Lee on November 23, 2016 at 00:42:21.
In reply to Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7. posted by JOHN FERRO on November 20, 2016
Posted by John Davis on November 23, 2016 at 01:01:04.
In reply to Re: 6R lowfer beacon is now on 24/7. posted by Lee on November 23, 2016
Posted by John Bruce McCreath VE3EAR on November 23, 2016 at 02:03:48.
In reply to Coil winder posted by Ed Holland on November 21, 2016
I made a jig with a hand crank and did about 6 inches at a time, then I rested for half an hour.
Posted by Ed Holland on November 23, 2016 at 06:03:32.
In reply to Re: Coil winder posted by John Bruce McCreath VE3EAR on November 23, 2016
Posted by Brian nb9e on November 23, 2016 at 16:23:24.
Posted by John Davis on November 27, 2016 at 07:26:22.
File Attachment 1: 17nov22m.jpg
Posted by Bill Hensel on November 27, 2016 at 20:15:48.
At 1730 Utc GNK was coming in very weak...
Posted by Lee on November 28, 2016 at 00:34:11.
In reply to Beacon JAM 187.015khz Observations posted by Lee on November 02, 2016
Posted by Mike Terry on November 28, 2016 at 16:35:44.
In reply to Dutch Free Radio Station posted by Mike Terry on November 14, 2016
Posted by Mike Terry on November 28, 2016 at 23:27:26.
Posted by Gregg on November 29, 2016 at 09:56:41.
In reply to Re: Dutch Free Radio Station posted by Mike Terry on November 28, 2016
I did 13,000Km hauls on CB from Vancouver to Melbourne with 4 watts.
Posted by Gregg on November 29, 2016 at 09:57:52.
In reply to Re: Dutch Free Radio Station posted by Gregg on November 29, 2016
Posted by Gregg on November 29, 2016 at 10:11:44.
Posted by John Davis on November 30, 2016 at 07:14:07.
1832 -23 -1.2 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
1836 -19 -1.6 13.555404 0 K3SIW EN52 7
WM was present for a few minutes when I tuned to HF around noon CST, but it did not hang around long. WV was visible when I checked it, and most of the time also audible. FRC was visible, and audible about half the time, even after sunset. There was a trace from AZ around 13,554.040, and a short spell of audible copy from 5:17-5:18 PM, down about 60 Hz from where I last saw and heard it.
Posted by John Davis on November 30, 2016 at 08:28:48.
0145 -37 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0230 -38 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0300 -33 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0315 -37 0.1 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0330 -37 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0345 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0415 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0430 -33 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0445 -35 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0500 -32 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0515 -36 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
In addition, there were a few short lines appearing intermittently at 185.3005 that might have been the dashes of WM's QRSS, and a recurring sequence of longer lines right at 185.297 that were possibly TAG, but which were too broken up by QSB and QRM to tell for sure.1600 -34 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1615 -34 -1.3 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1630 -34 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1645 -34 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1700 -35 0.1 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1715 -34 0.1 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1730 -34 -0.6 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1745 -34 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
This was with a fairly steady PLC line visible within the WSPR signal the whole time.
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on November 30, 2016 at 13:10:02.
In reply to LowFER SIW Sun.-Mon.-Tue. posted by John Davis on November 30, 2016
Posted by Mike N8OOU on November 30, 2016 at 15:01:25.
In reply to LowFER SIW Sun.-Mon.-Tue. posted by John Davis on November 30, 2016
Posted by Bill Hensel on November 30, 2016 at 23:10:56.