Cancelled SAQ Christmas Transmission
News from
Alexander Association
Grimeton SAQ Veteran Radio Friends
www.alexander.n.se
1 December 2020
As a result of the prevailing circumstances in our society, we unfortunately have to inform that the traditional Christmas Eve transmission with SAQ is cancelled.
We find it sad to have to make this decision, but see it as a necessary measure to protect everyone involved. While waiting for the next transmission with SAQ, there are several YouTube clips from previous transmissions that you can watch.
We truly regret this and hope for your understanding of the situation and continued support for the business. We hope that “our old lady” can soon be heard on the air again!
Grimeton World Heritage Foundation & Alexander GVV Friends Association Lowfer JH
Posted by John Hamer on December 01, 2020 at 16:03:52.
I went out to tune the antenna before work this morning and found the voltage was low. Went inside to the power supply and the linear regulators were hot, so I cut it off. Ill take a look at it tonight.
John Hamer ABBY on the Edge
Lowfer JH
Posted by John Davis on December 01, 2020 at 17:28:45.
Saw and just barely heard ABBY at 13566.997 shortly before 10 AM CST on this very frosty morning.
Others noted: WAS weak and KAH fair (no ODX or J1LPB again today); K6FRC weak to fair; TON weak and intermittenr; WV swinging from nil to very strong and back, sometimes within the span of a single second; NC up at 13555.560; faint traces of what might be PVC right at .500; 7P fair to variable; EH jumping around; RY fair; and ROM fair to good, but down at .318 today.
Re: ABBY on the Edge
Posted by Chris on December 01, 2020 at 19:22:10.
In reply to ABBY on the Edge posted by John Davis on December 01, 2020
I noticed this too John, temp down into 30s We for 4 in of snow over night. Frequency probably drifted due to temps. I need to adjust that today. A bit lower.
Thanks!
Medi1 171khz tonight
Posted by swlem3 on December 02, 2020 at 04:15:37.
Medi1 doing very well, easy copy into N Central Texas tonight 0410z 171Khz AM. Just a bit of T-storm qrn in with the audio. Station playing music at the time of writing.
Ray
Big Signal on 133.15 kHz
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 02, 2020 at 22:22:54.
While tuning for 136 kHz wspr/fst4w signals I see a strong MSK signal centered on about 133.15 kHz. In the past I've copied CKN from BC Canada there but it's still a bit daylight here and the signal is quite strong so that doesn't seem possible. Does anyone know who else might be sending on that frequency?
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
WM and SIW captures
Posted by John Hamer on December 02, 2020 at 23:59:53.
My first confirmed captures of WM and SIW using my homemade loop last night.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/WM_SIW_FULL_12_2_2020.PNG
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020 at 00:00:50.
In reply to Lowfer JH posted by John Hamer on December 01, 2020
JW is back up. It was a power supply issue. The transmitter was fine.
Re: WM and SIW captures
Posted by Mike N8OOU on December 03, 2020 at 00:21:14.
In reply to WM and SIW captures posted by John Hamer on December 02, 2020
John,
Great capture of WM. It looks like your loop antenna is doing the job. I have attempted using loops of various sizes here, but I find the Low Noise Vertical is the simpler and better design for my location.
Thanks for listening.
Mike 73
Re: WM and SIW captures
Posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020 at 01:57:03.
In reply to Re: WM and SIW captures posted by Mike N8OOU on December 03, 2020
Mike,
Until recently I thought a loop was the only way to go. But that thing has been a headache. I think I'm going to make a vertical and try it out.
I like to think it nulls out my transmitter some, but that's probably wishful thinking.
John Hamer
DIW on 198khz
Posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020 at 02:05:20.
DIW is my guaranteed reception, but seems to be missing tonight. I'm actuality receiving the BBC extremely clear. Is the BBC overpowering DIW or is DIW off?
Re: Big Signal on 133.15 kHz
Posted by David Wilson on December 03, 2020 at 06:44:53.
In reply to Big Signal on 133.15 kHz posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 02, 2020
CFH Halifax. Has used it off and on for decades and has returned.
Note that although CKN also uses the frequency simultaneously at times, if you had good signals in the past, it was CFH and not CKN as even with CFH off, CKN is weak in E US.
I have visited both locations. Note that CKN is actually at CFB Esquimalt-Matsqui and CFH at New Port Corner. Re: Big Signal on 133.15 kHz
--
David L. Wilson
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 03, 2020 at 12:45:29.
In reply to Re: Big Signal on 133.15 kHz posted by David Wilson (fwd) on December 03, 2020
Thanks David, mystery solved. I've copied CFH around 133 kHz before but entered it as frequency 133.2 kHz rather than 133.15 kHz to my WWSU log so didn't see it when I looked at the latter. Also, for some reason Google search results only mentioned CKN, not CFH.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: DIW on 198khz
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on December 03, 2020 at 15:16:59.
In reply to DIW on 198khz posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020
John, you are right....DIW is off. I just cked and no sig. I am abt 50-60 miles away and they are always strong here. Tnx for the info...73 de Bill K4JYS-NC
Re: DIW on 198khz
Posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020 at 16:08:21.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198khz posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on December 03, 2020
Bill,
I was starting to think I had an issue with my loop I just got working. Thank you for the response.
Is that normal to have an NDB down? Is there a public maintenance schedule? I did a quick google, but I don't think I'm searching with the correct keywords.
John Hamer
Re: DIW on 198 kHz
Posted by John Davis on December 03, 2020 at 18:24:12.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198khz posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020
John, if you have a loop that could null DIW, you've got something!
No, it's not normal for an NDB like Dixon to be down for any appreciable time. Neither William Hepburn's DX Info Centre nor airnav.com show DIW scheduled for decommissioning yet, either.
Since this one is owned and operated by the FAA, I checked their Notice to Airmen (NOTAMS) database for maintenance or operational changes. There is no notice shown for the Dixon location, so I also checked the control point location (Raleigh-Durham, aka RDU) which has numerous active navaid NOTAMS, but none concerning DIW.
However, the FAA website warns that the database may not be current! Brilliant! So, it may be that some "pilot" will need to call the FAA Flight Service Station at RDU and ask them about its status.
Meanwhile, enjoy BBC as best you can, I guess.
John D
Re: DIW on 198khz
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on December 03, 2020 at 18:34:17.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198khz posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020
I also posted your info on the NDB list and a couple replies indicated no NOTAMS had been issued for DIW. It may be a bit early to see one posted, but there are several keeping an eye out in case a NOTAM comes out. The last report I saw posted on the NDB list was on 12-01-20. So it has just recently gone QRT. As far as normal for it to be down, unfortunately there are/have been quite a number being decommissioned....hope it is just maint. for DIW. BTW, think they run 2000w so they should have a pretty good sig. Re: DIW on 198 kHz
73 de Bill K4JYS
Posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020 at 18:35:10.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198 kHz posted by John Davis on December 03, 2020
John,
Yea, That's more what I was worried about. The guy with the failed navaid equipment trying to find DIW. Probably not likely, but it seems like it's status would be easily searchable.
I know my loop can't null out DIW. I'm pretty sure my 250 foot coax would pick it up even with my common mode chokes on each end. I was afraid I had a bad connection or failed transistor after such a success the other night capturing WM and SIW.
BBC was coming in extremely well last night. I could understand everything they said in-between the lightning strikes. I have never heard a longwave station that clear.
John Hamer
Re: DIW on 198 kHz
Posted by John, W1TAG on December 03, 2020 at 21:17:30.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198 kHz posted by John Hamer on December 03, 2020
I believe I heard DIW this Monday evening.
John, W1TAG
Re: DIW on 198 kHz
Posted by John Hamer on December 04, 2020 at 02:09:12.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198 kHz posted by John, W1TAG on December 03, 2020
Yes, I think DIW was there Monday. I was looking over screenshots to see if I had any proof it was there Tuesday, but I didn't take any.
On a related note. I thought CLB used to come through on 216khz also. I haven't seen CLB this winter. Maybe that was my last house, but that would have been farther away.
John Hamer.
Re: DIW on 198 kHz
Posted by John Hamer on December 04, 2020 at 02:22:19.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198 kHz posted by John Hamer on December 04, 2020
I found one.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/DIW_12_1_2020.jpg
So it was yesterday after work I noticed it was off.
John Hamer
Re: DIW on 198 kHz
Posted by John Hamer on December 04, 2020 at 05:03:55.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198 kHz posted by John Hamer on December 04, 2020
Video of BBC
https://youtu.be/fZdisBsdqEg
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time
Posted by Jerry Parker on December 04, 2020 at 14:29:51.
Reminder: Lowfer net +/- 3927Khz Saturday morning 0800 California time Re: ABBY on the Edge
Or listen online at kfs:
http://69.27.184.62:8901/?tune=3927lsb
or
KPH Point Reyes:
http://198.40.45.23:8073/
or
Utah Web sdr:
http://www.sdrutah.org/websdr1.html If you cannot get into the net on 80 meters you can listen on KFS and participate by sending net control your thoughts to wa6owr@gmail.com
73
Jerry WA6OWR
Posted by Chris on December 04, 2020 at 15:21:45.
In reply to Re: ABBY on the Edge posted by Chris on December 01, 2020
I replaced some capacitors and did some tuning to ABBY. The frequency is lower now at 13566.60~. The current output power is 3.8 mw. Let’s see now if it will be a bit more stable with changing temps out doors.
WM and SIW captures
Posted by John Hamer on December 04, 2020 at 22:32:01.
Link to the best captures over the night
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/12_4_2020/
John Hamer
Re: DIW on 198 kHz
Posted by John Hamer on December 05, 2020 at 03:48:48.
In reply to Re: DIW on 198 kHz posted by John Hamer on December 04, 2020
Looks like DIW is back.
Monitoring FST4W 136 kHz. Saturday/Sunday
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 05, 2020 at 16:11:26.
The subject line pretty much says it all, save for one thing. Instead of using my PA0RDT like last week, I'm going to see what my 10 foot VE7SL style loop brings in. It's aligned 50/230 degrees true, hoping for EU and UK, along with any
North American stations that fall within its pattern. Wish me luck!
73, J.B., VE3EAR EAR capture
Posted by John Hamer on December 05, 2020 at 17:00:49.
The link below shows the best captures of EAR last night from Conway, SC. This is my first EAR capture.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/12_5_2020/
John Hamer EAR capture (SE Kansas)
Lowfer JH
Posted by John Davis on December 06, 2020 at 06:34:17.
In reply to EAR capture posted by John Hamer on December 05, 2020
I'm a little slow posting this, but on Tuesday evening, EAR began showing up here as early as 5 minutes past sunset. Both QSB and QRN affected it later in the night, but it certainly started out well. Tried for a repeat tonight, but just so-so at sunset this time.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 1decc.jpg
136 kHz. t/a FST4W-1800
I used my 10 foot, octagonal, VE7SL style loop to capture DL0HOT's transmission in FST4W-1800 mode overnight.
I'm pleased to know that even at 15 years old, it and the companion preamp are still working fine!
/Users/johnbrucemccreath/Desktop/DL0HOT06Dec2020.png
73, J.B., VE3EAR
Re: ABBY (no longer) on the Edge
Posted by John Davis on December 06, 2020 at 17:27:36.
In reply to Re: ABBY on the Edge posted by Chris on December 04, 2020
Saw and faintly heard ABBY this morning, for the first time since the mods. Looks to be around 13,566.582 as of 10:30 AM CST, slowly drifting upward.
Re: ABBY (no longer) on the Edge
Posted by Chris on December 06, 2020 at 17:55:03.
In reply to Re: ABBY (no longer) on the Edge posted by John Davis on December 06, 2020
Thanks John . 30f deg outside currently. Hope it hangs around 13566.00 + - . We shall see how it goes.
SJ back
Posted by Sal,K1RGO on December 06, 2020 at 21:13:16.
I tested SJ on 185.304 kHz , it appears to be ok for the watering hole with this old crystal for now. I'll be running QRSS30 as usual from 0200 to 1400 UTC each day. If the old crystal gets funky,I will QSY to 186.85 kHz. I am running my beacon K1RGO/B on 472.6 kHz at times CW and QRSS6 on 630 meters. Re: SJ back
later....Sal, K1RGO
Posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020 at 07:04:23.
In reply to SJ back posted by Sal,K1RGO on December 06, 2020
Attachment 6decc024.jpg is my first copy of SJ tonight as seen at QRSS30 Slow, seemingly with some temporary drift at startup.
File 6decd017.jpg includes the same time interval, plus more in front and after, at WRSS60, both normal sixe and enlarged ×2.
Note also the intriguing intruder right at 185,304.0 Hz. Anyone have any idea who or what it is?
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 6decc024.jpg
File Attachment 2: 6decd017.jpg
Re: SJ back
Sal and J.D., copied lowfer SJ here too. Early on the signal was drifting downward in frequency but it stabilized by 0530Z. Did not see any intruding signals here. Screen capture at http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/lowfer/2020-December/048336.html.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
SJ in PA
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 07, 2020 at 18:53:46.
As expected, SJ was copied all night here. This screenshot was taken well after sunrise. Daytime copy was possible in past seasons.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/riga2fat6gj9l2l/capt2012071343.jpg?dl=0
Re: SJ back
Posted by Ward K7PO on December 07, 2020 at 19:39:50.
In reply to Re: SJ back posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020
Intruder, eh? On .305? Interesting. . .
Ward K7PO
Re: SJ in PA
Posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020 at 21:59:40.
In reply to SJ in PA posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 07, 2020
Nice work, Rick.
You are also an official, genuine Authenticated Author now.
Re: SJ back
Posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020 at 22:27:36.
In reply to Re: SJ back posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020
As Garry noted, SJ settled down nicely later. In my first post, the mysterious invader's frequency of 185305.0 was a typo (since corrected). As seen in the initial capture, the base frequency was 185304.0, and later in the night the connection between it and the other question mark at 185307 became undeniable. I call it "Star Fleet Transporter Mode" because the space between the two is occupied a good deal of the time by swirly spectral lines that look like the famous visual effect. See below. Halfway between the two extremes is a broken line at 183505.5.
Meanwhile, SJ was percolating along nicely between 185303.2 and .25.
The night to day transition was of interest to me as well, and will appear in a later post.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 7dec30.jpg
Re: SJ back
"On .305? Interesting..."
Especially at 1900 UTC when .305 suddenly/oddly started looking like 22 m in slo-mo.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 7decc008.jpg
lowFER's 12-7-20 in TN.
Hi all
as usual, I tinker with my antenna configuration for fun. Last night, I saw SJ in the watering hole as most others did. WM and SIW were visible with all 3 showing what has become an almost nightly fade at 3 am EST (8 UTC). EAR also fades around the same time, and many times does not show back up until just before sunrise here, as was the case last night. I received a 1 line decode from TAG with many frequency locks. JH was interesting, I didn't pay particular attention to the times, but the signal disappeared for a while, to later return about 1 cycle higher in frequency around 181.819.5~, it has slowly lowered in frequency through the day, and as of this post, is at 181.819.28 KHz.
The most interesting occurrence today was seeing the 3 minute portions of JH signal through the afternoon, as well as WM... I have not been able to see JH during daytime this season. Not willing to accept that my antenna tinkering made that big a difference ( gee, what you can learn from experience ), I thought I would see what solar activity might be occurring. I found that a solar flare had indeed happened a bit earlier and I will attribute my afternoon reception to that event. A little stirring of the " sphere's " goes a long way. Things got back to " normal " for here around 3:30 pm (20:30 UTC) with all signals disappearing, and WM, and EAR just starting to show up a bit after sunset.
73 all: Re: SJ back
Andy, KU4XR EM75xr
Posted by K7PO on December 08, 2020 at 00:45:53.
In reply to Re: SJ back posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020
Thanks John, I never imagined anyone would hear it. I can only hear it out a couple miles here. I have to thank Ken Cornell and Dave Curry for sparking my 1750m interest 35 to 40 years ago. Yours is my first report ever on the band.
73,
Ward K7PO
Re: SJ back
Posted by Ward K7PO on December 08, 2020 at 01:17:20.
In reply to Re: SJ back posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020
In my excitement of a real 1750m report I forgot to mention between the qrss signals is a WSPR transmission and a 12 wpm cw transmission.
Ward K7PO
SJ in South Carolina
Posted by John Hamer on December 08, 2020 at 15:49:16.
Below is a link to the best captures of SJ overnight from Conway, SC. You can see WM starting to show through in the last picture. These were just before sunrise. I have a light daytime copy of SJ and possibly SIW right now. The squiggly lines are some type of image of my transmitter.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/12_8_2020/
John Hamer
Bedtime lowFER report 12-7-20
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 08, 2020 at 16:27:01.
In reply to lowFER's 12-7-20 in TN. posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 07, 2020
Nice to see a good run of TAG decodes already
02:58:38 f:-0.107 pm:58.14 jm:379 q: -1.8 -5.7 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:00:14 f:-0.107 pm:62.21 jm:379 q: -1.5 -6.0 HE3FJOB8NTNKTQ9 - 03:01:50 f:-0.107 pm:63.83 jm:379 q: -1.3 -5.3 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:03:26 f:-0.107 pm:67.92 jm:379 q: -1.1 -5.4 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:05:02 f:-0.107 pm:68.61 jm:379 q: -0.9 -5.5 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:06:38 f:-0.107 pm:70.86 jm:379 q: -0.9 -5.5 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:08:14 f:-0.107 pm:75.32 jm:379 q: -0.7 -5.2 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:09:50 f:-0.107 pm:77.55 jm:379 q: -0.5 -5.3 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:11:26 f:-0.107 pm:78.84 jm:379 q: -0.2 -5.1 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:13:02 f:-0.107 pm:80.93 jm:379 q: -0.1 -5.1 TAG RAYMOND ME - 03:14:38 f:-0.107 pm:81.82 jm:379 q: -0.2 -5.1 TAG RAYMOND ME -EAR fading in and out at the top of the band, and JH just fired back up and showing here.
In the watering hole; seeing WM and SJ very well, and climbing out on a limb here, I can't make a positive ID at this time, but, I believe I am seeing traces of " 7P " on 185.305 KHz. I started seeing the traces at 10 pm EST (3 UTC) and fading away at 10:47 pm. Assumption based on info from the LWCA message board. Here's hoping propagation cooperates, and the overnight captures will produce an ID.
A single decode of SIW in WSPR15 so far; ( expecting more by morning )
0300 -37 5.2 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
73 and GN Re: lowFER's 12-7-20 in TN.
Andy, KU4XR
Posted by John Davis on December 08, 2020 at 17:25:47.
In reply to lowFER's 12-7-20 in TN. posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 07, 2020
Interesting results, Andy! They were mirrored here as well yesterday afternoon.
For instance: I should not have been able to see 7P at all during the afternoon, let alone as well as I did, but it continued until a sudden decline around 4 PM CST, an hour before sunset, and did not return to identifiable visibility until well after dark. For comparison, WM took its usual half-hour or so dip right at sunset, then bounded back in skywave mode.
Alas, living so much farther from the Northeastern and Canadian LowFERs, I cannot afford to compromise my receiver's dynamic range by "going broadband" with the I.F., but have to confine myself to the watering hole or EAR or TAG or JH at a given time...but I sure wish I could've tuned to EAR at the same time 7P was so strong, just to see if that rarest of hens' teeth (daytime copy of EAR here) was present too.
I'm not sure if yesterday's C7 solar flare can account for it. The UV from that eruption densified the D-layer as it normally should, increasing attenuation of signals from 30 kHz up to at least 10 MHz. I haven't found anything in the literature about the D-layer collapsing on rebound from such an event. However, something out of the ordinary certainly took place "upstairs," and it seems to be related to whatever causes early-December to mid-January anomalies that make this such an interesting time of year at LF. (A G1 storm is expected in the next 24 hours from that flare, BTW.)
As of bedtime last night, I had only gotten one decode of SIW WSPR at 185.185 since noon, and that came at 10 PM CST/0400 UTC. There were a few more overnight, but after daybreak the PLC that usually sits just above .185 drifted down right on top of it and grew mighty strong! Now I'm not able to even discern SIW's presence, let alone decode it. WM has continued fairly well into the daylight in SE Kansas, although random PLCs and SMPS wander through it.
As for 7P overnight, it was nice and clear most of the time except for the usual 1750 meter fading, which is often around the same times you have observed. Last night I was able to see the WSPR2 signal 7P transmits between the QRSS IDs. It should have been strong enough to decode at least once, if I had been able to run another WSPR decoder.
However, I was already straining the notebook computer's resources with four Argo windows and the WSPR15 decoder all running at the same time. The four Argos were one each for QRSS 30, 60, and 10 centered on 185.300 and one QRSS30 centered on 185.185. I ran the extra 10-second instance to help "diagnose" any new mystery signals that might have appeared near the watering hole. ;)
Re: SJ in PA
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 08, 2020 at 19:31:43.
In reply to Re: SJ in PA posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020
Thanks John .
SIW hifer panoramic image
Posted by swlem3 on December 08, 2020 at 22:19:08.
Just for fun, thought I'd make a panoramic jpg of the SIW hifer in slant mode. Image is over 2 hours taken today Dec 8, 2020.
drive.google.com/file/d/1v73kYsJ7OglwSgDS401sRoVdaCsoILgL/view?usp=sharing
Been copying both VA3ROM and K3SIW hifer wspr most of the day also, so ran Argo with wsjt-x.
"7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 09, 2020 at 04:18:52.
Hi all;
I put a couple of spliced SpecLab captures in dropbox of the lowFER Watering Hole.
Transmitting under lowFER rules, my seeing " 7P ' from Tonopah, Arizona at a distance of 1,641 miles from Friendsville, TN. EM75xr is remarkable.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gpbmtuljc7u9gsf/Watering_Hole_12-7-20_Overnight.bmp?dl=0
73 Re: "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20
Andy, KU4XR
Posted by swlem3 on December 09, 2020 at 05:06:48.
In reply to "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20 posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 09, 2020
That's a pretty good haul to TN Andy. Also caught 7P in N Texas tonight. Didn't know 7P was a lowfer station also.
drive.google.com/file/d/14AiOlWIHCQp_v9Ex3ucj1nXaaXK2Prky/view?usp=sharing
Ray
Re: "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20
Posted by Ward K7PO on December 09, 2020 at 05:30:26.
In reply to Re: "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20 posted by swlem3 on December 09, 2020
Thanks guys for the reports.I sure like living out in the desert with nothing around. I'm definitely in "vertical country".
I answered you on the Lowfer list Andy but my computer completely mangled the formatting, not sure what's up with that. The gist of it is 7P will be on for a week or so, then I will be lowering the antenna to get back on 630/2200m with the main antenna once work is finished on it.
Ward
Re: "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole (12-9-20)
Posted by John Davis on December 09, 2020 at 07:53:26.
In reply to Re: "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20 posted by swlem3 on December 09, 2020
The attachment shows the Big Four at the 1750 m watering hole about half an hour before midnight CST. The WSPR2 segment is clearly visible most times (the visual effect I referred to as Star Trek Transporter Mode the other night). At that point, there had been several decodes of the WSPR in SE Kansas:
0036 -30 0.3 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0056 -27 0.0 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0116 -26 1.2 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0136 -28 0.1 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0216 -31 0.1 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0256 -28 0.1 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0356 -27 0.1 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0416 -25 0.1 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0456 -30 0.0 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 0516 -25 0.0 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 9dec0528z.jpg
Re: SIW hifer panoramic image
That's a nice clean trace, Ray...some bifurcation from multipath Doppler at times, but clearly delineated and not fuzzy as sometimes happens when there's lots of turbulence up there.
Geomagnetic Storm Watches Predicted
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on December 09, 2020 at 11:43:30.
There are Geomagnetic storm watches predicted for the next few days. Info at links below.........73 de Bill K4JYS
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/geomagnetic-storm-watches-9-11-december-2020
https://www.solarham.net/geo_forecast.htm Re: SIW hifer panoramic image
Posted by swlem3 on December 09, 2020 at 15:08:44.
In reply to Re: SIW hifer panoramic image posted by John Davis on December 09, 2020
The last decoding I made of SIW had the fuzziness you're mentioning John. I guess conditions have changed dramatically since then. This decode is much sharper in appearance than the last one. Thanks for looking and commenting.
Re: SJ back
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 09, 2020 at 15:11:29.
In reply to Re: SJ back posted by John Davis on December 07, 2020
Thanks for pointing out that lowfer 7P was active at the watering hole. Copied traces here the first night but no clear Morse characters. Last night was better and with QRSS30, slow did copy "7P" with a little imagination. The distance of 1459 miles isn't nearly as far as Andy, KU4XR but is by far my best DX. Ward sure must have a super grounding system!
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
SIW, WM, SJ, and 7P?
Posted by John Hamer on December 09, 2020 at 15:42:15.
I built a quick bandpass filter last night to help block out some strong signal to my SDR play. It seems to make a difference. I still need to come up with a way to attenuate my Lowfer JH signal to reduce the images it produces.
Below is a link to the best captures of the watering hole last night from Conway, SC. As usual, the best reception was just before sunrise. SIW, WM, and SJ are very clear. SJ is so strong it has dog bones and some type of image around it. SJ was already coming through when I started the capture around 11:30 last night and was visible most of the night. 7P possibly started coming through right before sunrise, but my antenna is not pointed in that direction. I may adjust my antenna a little to the west tonight to see if I can get 7P a little clearer. I can't point it directly towards 7P or it will be in line with my station.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/12_9_2020/
John Hamer Re: SIW hifer panoramic image
Lowfer JH
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 09, 2020 at 16:46:52.
In reply to Re: SIW hifer panoramic image posted by swlem3 on December 09, 2020
Ray, thanks for the neat panoramic capture. Need a lot of patience to receive my slash code hifer and excellent frequency stability too.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20
Posted by swlem3 on December 10, 2020 at 03:42:25.
In reply to "7P" in lowFER Watering Hole 12-7-20 posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 09, 2020
Let wsjt-x run this evening for a few hours decoding 007P. Here's what it looked like from Texas:
0056 -26 0.1 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0116 -25 0.2 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0136 -24 0.2 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0156 -28 0.1 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0216 -29 0.2 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0236 -25 0.2 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0256 -22 0.0 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0316 -22 0.3 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
0336 -30 0.2 0.185307 0 007P DM33 30 833
Ray
Re: Geomagnetic Storm Watches Predicted
Posted by John Davis on December 10, 2020 at 15:04:31.
In reply to Geomagnetic Storm Watches Predicted posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on December 09, 2020
From NOAA this morning: "G3 (Strong) and G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storming is
possible 10 and 11 Dec respectively due to the possible still inbound
magnetic cloud from the 07 Dec CME." The three-day forecast shows the following:
NOAA Kp index breakdown Dec 10-Dec 12 2020
Dec 10 Dec 11 Dec 12 00-03UT 4 5 (G1) 2 03-06UT 3 6 (G2) 2 06-09UT 1 4 2 09-12UT 1 4 2 12-15UT 3 3 2 15-18UT 4 3 2 18-21UT 5 (G1) 3 2 21-00UT 7 (G3) 3 2The greatest storm chances are between noon and midnight Central Time today, so I will definitely be monitoring 22 meters for most or all of that time frame. That's the last listening I'll have a chance to do at the farm for the next few days, due to approaching earthly winter weather, so I'm glad to think it might at least be interesting.
Links to the three-day forecast and the SWPC Radio Dashboard are regularly available at our own solar page.
Re: Geomagnetic Storm Watches Predicted
Posted by John Davis on December 10, 2020 at 18:21:31.
In reply to Re: Geomagnetic Storm Watches Predicted posted by John Davis on December 10, 2020
Sigh. As of 1805, the forecast has been downgraded to G1.
SJ and WM
Posted by John Hamer on December 10, 2020 at 22:00:46.
Captured WM and SJ this morning. I turned the loop a little west, but no sign of 7P. My transmitter overpowered my receive setup and most of the captures just have JH all the way across them.
I'll rotate the antenna back north tonight.
Captures in link below.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/12_10_2020/
John Hamer Overnight lowfer reception in NE IL
Lowfer JH
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 11, 2020 at 13:26:19.
Excellent conditions here at the watering hole last night even relatively early in the evening. Copied a quartet of signals there with 7P particularly strong. Elsewhere lowfers JH and EAR came in well too. Disappointed that TAG couldn't be decoded, just locked onto the correct frequency. Wonder if my heading is in a bit of a null. Didn't used to have so much trouble decoding the Wolf-10 transmissions but did succeed a couple times when trying in November.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Beacon KAH
Posted by Kirk on December 11, 2020 at 17:04:55.
I decided to listed today having not scanned the 22 meter band for a while. I got very nice copy of the beacon KAH out of Ontario. That is 1000km from my QTM in MN.
I made a recording.
https://youtu.be/pOTyXzJ95OU
The beacon was on 13565.88 instead of the listed 13566.06
~Kirk Re: Beacon KAH
(KM0NAS)
Posted by Kirk on December 11, 2020 at 17:19:04.
In reply to Beacon KAH posted by Kirk on December 11, 2020
I took that first one down. I was able to get a better video.
https://youtu.be/uYb9cKWdytU
Frequency seemed to be better at 13566.22
I don't think it came though in this video but at times I was also able to hear WAS faintly in the background.
Re: 136 kHz. t/a FST4W-1800
Posted by swlem3 on December 11, 2020 at 19:00:41.
In reply to 136 kHz. t/a FST4W-1800 posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 06, 2020
Was fortunate to have some good propagation on 2200m into Texas last night. Caught a couple of DL0HOT's FST4W-1800 decodes.
2020-12-11 01:00 DL0HOT 0.137433 -40 0 JO60it 1 SWLEM3 EM03rf 8508 307 30
2020-12-11 00:00 DL0HOT 0.137433 -37 0 JO60it 1 SWLEM3 EM03rf 8508 307 30
Elad S2 sdr w/ active antenna
Ray ... N. Central Texas
EAR off tonight, looking for TAG
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 11, 2020 at 21:38:18.
The subject line tell the story! EAR will be back on the air
come Saturday morning, for those that like to look for it
during the daylight hours.
I’ve got my receiver parked on 185.000 kHz. dial USB, and
the centre frequency in WOLF at 1 kHz. Antenna is a 333
foot perimeter delta loop, apex up, bottom corner fed.
73, J.B., VE3EAR
LowFER Beacon "EAR" Re: Beacon KAH
188.835 kHz. QRSS30
EN93dr
Posted by John Davis on December 11, 2020 at 22:34:52.
In reply to Re: Beacon KAH posted by Kirk on December 11, 2020
Hi Kirk. Have you, by any chance, set your CW Pitch adjustment to something other than the Yaesu default of 700 Hz?
Re: EAR off tonight, looking for TAG
Posted by swlem3 on December 11, 2020 at 22:51:28.
In reply to EAR off tonight, looking for TAG posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 11, 2020
That's a good sized antenna you got there JB! Good luck with TAG, let's hope for low qrn during your rx session. Thnx for mentioning EAR was off now. On and off lately, I've had the rx on that freq copying you.
Re: Beacon KAH
Posted by Kirk on December 12, 2020 at 14:52:04.
In reply to Re: Beacon KAH posted by John Davis on December 11, 2020
You know, I was just thinking I need to check that. I bought this radio used and while I have used it a ton in SSB I really never use in in CW mode and I have no idea of the provided owner messed with those settings.
Re: EAR off tonight, looking for TAG
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 12, 2020 at 16:15:44.
In reply to Re: EAR off tonight, looking for TAG posted by swlem3 on December 11, 2020
Thanks swlem3, but despite a good sized antenna, I wasn't successful in logging TAG's WOLF transmissions. I returned beacon EAR to the air this morning, at 10:00 am eastern standard time, so once again it's there to look for 24/7/52!
73, J.B., VE3EAR Re: Beacon KAH
Posted by Kirk on December 12, 2020 at 17:32:49.
In reply to Re: Beacon KAH posted by Kirk on December 12, 2020
I dug though the menus of the radio and it looks like the previous owner did indeed have the pitch shift turned on. It was up around 850 or.
Re: Beacon KAH
Posted by John Davis on December 12, 2020 at 19:19:58.
In reply to Re: Beacon KAH posted by Kirk on December 12, 2020
I was just curious because the Pitch setting can make a difference in the perceived signal frequency when tuning. I tuned KAH about 35 minutes after your reception on the morning of the 7th and found it to be at 13566.040, where it showed up again late that afternoon.
To measure frequency, I use a computer running Argo along with my radio. In fact, I usually run two instances of Argo in QRSS3 at the same time, one tuned so that the CW Pitch or BFO Offset frequency is near the low side of the display, and one where it is near the high side of the display. On my ICOM the default pitch at center of the CW passband is 700 Hz, like the Yaesu default, but I have set it for 800 because the arithmetic is easier for me with even-number multiples of 100 Hz.
(In the case of my ICOM, I also have to set the CW tuning direction to REV in order to have the sense of direction come out correctly; meaning, that if the actual frequency of the incoming signal shifts up a bit, the audio output also goes up in frequency. ICOM considers it NORmal to have it work in the opposite direction, for some reason. However, Kenwood takes a different approach, and I think Yaesu does too. You'll want to test this. Tune is a steady, clear CW signal, then lower the dial frequency a couple of steps and confirm that the audio pitch goes up. If so, frequency deviations on Argo will have the correct sign.)
To calibrate, I tune the radio to the carrier frequency of WWV in my narrowest CW mode and turn the volume down until I can just see a steady trace near 800 Hz on Argo. I prefer 10 MHz when available because determining receiver oscillator error in ppm is simply a matter of reading how far high or low the carrier is from exactly 800 Hz, then shifting the decimal point one place to the left. Multiply the error in ppm ×13.56 to get the expected error at 22 m. This is valid for any receiver that derives all its mixer frequencies from one master oscillator.
Alternately, if RY or 7P are available in the band, you can use them for a quick calibration. I've never seen RY more than about +0.5/-0 Hz from its published frequency, so if I'm tuned to 13555.400 kHz, I would hope to see RY's trace at or a hair's width above 790 on the Argo screen, or 7P very close to 872. That's sometimes actually true on a very cool morning with the batteries delivering between 12.2 and 12.6 volts.
But now let's say it's a hot afternoon and/or my batteries are undergoing heavy charging, and I see RY tracking along at 794 Hz and/or 7P at 876. That's enough for me to conclude that ALL the frequencies I measure in the 22 m band that session are going to be 4 Hz high, so I subtract that much before logging them.
With nothing more than mental arithmetic, this technique easily yields accuracies to better than 2 Hz with a casual glance. Much greater precision is possible if one first calibrates the sound card sampling rate (ie, using WWV's standard audio tones or a similar reference), then uses slower QRSS modes on WWV's carrier and also the frequency being measured, to achieve finer resolution. But this is serious overkill at 22 meters, where over half the beacons--even many of the fairly successful ones--practice the philosophy of NTSF*, and all are occasionally subject to short-term ionospheric Doppler effects.
(*Never Twice the Same Frequency; based on the semi-humorous/semi-factual notion of the US analog color TV standard, NTSC, standing for Never Twice the Same Color; which led to the more than half truthful definition of France's SECAM as System Essentially Contrary to American Methods.)
(*Alternate expansion: Not Tied to a Single Frequency; when I ran a spectral analysis on your capture of KAH, I verified something I had suspected but hadn't entirely confirmed from my own captures yet: namely, that even the Black Cat kits whose frequencies have been reasonably stabilized all seem to be splitting their energy between at least two... sometimes three... carriers, separated by only a few Hz. It doesn't seem to be causing them any obvious problems, but it's certainly a puzzle to me.)
Re: EAR off tonight, looking for TAG
Posted by swlem3 on December 12, 2020 at 23:35:08.
In reply to Re: EAR off tonight, looking for TAG posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 12, 2020
Sorry to hear that JB. TAG's wolf mode would have been a good catch for your log. Hopefully, he'll be on again before this fall/winter season is over. Roger on having EAR back up. As mentioned, I have some screenshots, but they aren't up to the quality that I'd like to post.
Ray
Short and mysterious re-appearance of RMC on 216 KHz
Posted by Mike Terry on December 13, 2020 at 18:57:19.
On the evening of November 24, around 17.30 UTC, the Milanese dx-er Mauro Giroletti reported the presence of the RMC info Talk Sport signal on the historic long wave frequency of 216 KHz which has now been closed for several months. It was not a continuous emission but a series of on-offs on this frequency. I tuned myself to 216 KHz and recorded this audio clip of the broadcast which finally ceased after about a minute. Quite robust signal with a 9 + 20 on the S-meter. Other reports have not arrived and this little mystery remains about the brief reappearance of RMC on long waves.
https://swli05639fr.blogspot.com/2020/12/short-and-mysterious-re-appearance-of.html
177 kHz
Posted by Mike Terry on December 14, 2020 at 07:30:21.
On the 22th December from 2 pm to 3 pm [13 UTC to 14 UTC] will be a transmission on 810
kHz from Königs-Wusterhausen in Germany.
As I know they will use a T-antenna from freestanding towers, not the big mast.
https://www.senderfotos.de/wp-content/gallery/koenigs_wusterhausen/20120317_koenigswusterhausen_07.jpg
The big mast contains a wire antenna for 177 kHz and was the backup of Zehlendorf.
https://www.senderfotos.de/senderfotos-national/brandenburg/konigs-wusterhausen/
It can also be heard on shortwave 5960 kHz.
I don’t know anything about the power.
Marco (2020-12-13)
via Ydun's Medium Wave Info
https://mediumwave.info/2020/12/
Re: 177 kHz
Posted by Mike Terry on December 14, 2020 at 09:42:00.
In reply to 177 kHz posted by Mike Terry on December 14, 2020
A historic place: "After WW1, the radio station was taken over by the German Imperial Post in 1919, for the transmission of commercial messages. On 22 December 1920 however, a Christmas concert of music was broadcast for the first time, the brainchild of Hans Bredow (who is considered the “Father of German Radio”). The broadcasts, on 2700 metres longwave, resulted in letters from listeners in England, Holland, Luxembourg and the Nordic countries, but none from Germany, where radio listening was forbidden. "
Re: 177 kHz
Posted by Mike Terry on December 14, 2020 at 09:43:20.
In reply to 177 kHz posted by Mike Terry on December 14, 2020
English page on website:
https://100jahrerundfunk.de/english/
Re: 177 kHz
Posted by John Davis on December 14, 2020 at 18:01:57.
In reply to Re: 177 kHz posted by Mike Terry on December 14, 2020
Great website, wish I'd known of it sooner. Here's my translation of the one paragraph that inadvertently remains in German on that page, for those who may be curious:
"In a small speech, the 'greatness' of the station was proclaimed. and a 'small, modest Christmas concert' was announced to the listeners. Afterwards, music was performed live and played by the gramophone. At the end, the broadcasters wished a Merry Christmas. This broadcast from Funkerberg in Königs Wusterhausen is considered to be the birth of radio broadcasting in Germany."
Frohe Weihnachten für Sie, Funkerberg.
Re: 177 kHz
Posted by John Davis on December 14, 2020 at 18:05:19.
In reply to Re: 177 kHz posted by Mike Terry on December 14, 2020
Fascinating glimpse of history, Mike. What is the source of that quote, please? I was unaware that private radio listening was still forbidden in Germany in 1920 and would like to learn more about it.
John
7P RY hifer
Posted by swlem3 on December 15, 2020 at 23:40:45.
Hifers 7P and RY qrss3 2330 UTC Dec 15 2020.
drive.google.com/file/d/1V6oiOShLsh1jEyLmxgY50IMlSZDFT1bp/view?usp=sharing
Ray ...swlem3 ... N Central Texas
FST4W t/r 1800?
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 16, 2020 at 02:22:18.
For FST4W on 630M, is the t/r 1800 seconds, as used on 2200M, or is it a shorter interval?
73, J.B., VE3EAR Beacon at 198khz Dixon, NC off the air.
Posted by John ferro on December 16, 2020 at 03:13:26.
FYI I haven’t heard this beacon for at least two weeks now. One positive is that I can now copy BBC at 200 kHz loud and clear with good propagation. Another NDB RIP! Hopefully it’s only down for maintenance.
Re: FST4W t/r 1800?
Posted by Eric NO3M on December 16, 2020 at 09:23:52.
In reply to FST4W t/r 1800? posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 16, 2020
On 630m try either 120 or 300. The bulk of activity is still on WSPR though
Re: FST4W t/r 1800?
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 16, 2020 at 16:47:51.
In reply to Re: FST4W t/r 1800? posted by Eric NO3M (fwd) on December 16, 2020
Thanks Eric....tried 120 seconds and it worked fine, decoding one US station.
I noticed that my query message was posted twice....strange!
73, J.B., VE3EAR Re: 630m ssb
Posted by swlem3 on December 17, 2020 at 04:17:25.
In reply to Re: 630m ssb posted by swlem3 on November 29, 2020
Another op heard on 630m ... K0KE. Had an excellent signal into N Texas tonight. Dec 17,2020 0358 UTC.
drive.google.com/file/d/1SHG1lVsheXAkRfrI_Q_i0prCnbzXqp_V/view?usp=sharing
Radio Monte-Carlo on 216 KHz - DRM
Posted by Mike Terry on December 17, 2020 at 13:04:02.
The highpower transmitter of Roumoules used until a few months ago by Radio Monte-Carlo on 216 KHz could have a future with the DRM transmission system. This, briefly, is what emerged after an exchange of emails between the French DXer Christian Ghibaudo and Mr. Pennella, one of the technical managers of the Monegasque broadcaster’s website.
Original text from Radioascolto:
“Il trasmettitore superpower di Roumoules utilizzato fino ad alcuni mesi fa da Radio Monte Carlo sull’onda lunga dei 216 KHz potrebbe avere un futuro con il sistema di trasmissione DRM. Questo, sinteticamente, è ciò che è emerso dopo un scambio di emails tra il dx francese Christian Ghibaudo e il signor Pennella, uno dei responsabili tecnici del sito dell’emittente monegasca. Come i nostri lettori ricorderanno, un paio di giorni fa abbiamo parlato della strana ricomparsa delle trasmissioni di RMC-Info Talk sport sulle onde lunghe rilevate dal milanese Giroletti e dal sottoscritto lo scorso 24 novembre. L’amico Christian, profondo conoscitore della realtà monegasca si è immediatamente attivato presso i responsabili dell’emittente per scoprire l’origine di queste trasmissioni. Dal signor Pennella ha appreso che si trattava di test di trasmissione in simulcast della durata di 10 minuti con una potenza di “soli” 400 KW in vista di un utilizzo del sito col sistema DRM. Per questo motivo i responsabili tecnici dell’emittente sembrano intenzonati a coinvolgere gli appassionati di radioascolto in grado di ascoltare la radio con questo sistema.
Radioascolto blogpost via Ydun Ritz (2020-1215)
Re: Radio Monte-Carlo on 216 KHz - DRM
https://swli05639fr.blogspot.com/2020/12/rmc-on-long-waves-mystery-solved.html
Posted by Mike Terry on December 17, 2020 at 13:05:53.
In reply to Radio Monte-Carlo on 216 KHz - DRM posted by Mike Terry on December 17, 2020
(Original text on first posting is a Google translation)
Rycom 1307 A
Posted by Les on December 17, 2020 at 16:13:14.
I just got a Rycom 1307 A ,what can I hear on it? Never did VLF orvLF before
Lowfer KE
Posted by John Hamer on December 17, 2020 at 17:07:24.
I set the receiver to 187.305 last night. Below are 2 captures from early this am. No positive confirmation, but there are some light traces.
Distance apx 150 miles.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/12_17_2020/
John Hamer KE Lowfer
Lowfer JH
Posted by John Hamer on December 18, 2020 at 15:22:04.
Had the receiver set for KE again last night. Best captures in link below. You can see KE in the noise.
http://jwhamer.me/grabber/12_18_2020/
John Hamer FST4W-1800 136 kHz.
Lowfer JH
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 18, 2020 at 15:51:34.
I’ll be watching for activity on 136 kHz. over the weekend, using FST4W-1800. QTH is Saltford, ON, Canada, located on the east shore of Lake Huron.
Antenna is a PA0RDT at 7 meters AGL, receiver is a TS-440S with a Timewave DSP-59+ filter to WSJT-X 2.3.0 Win7 PC.
73, J.B., VE3EAR G0MRF on 630m
Posted by swlem3 on December 18, 2020 at 17:14:17.
Just a short note mentioning that G0MRF is operating from a remote site (io91fr) and is being heard in the evenings in NA on 630m. Last nights transmissions were made using mode FST4W-300. A check on wsprnet in the eve will show the mode he'll be using on any given night. Just fyi ...
Ray ... N Central Texas
Fessenden commemoration 486 khz
Posted by swlem3 on December 18, 2020 at 18:19:39.
Just fyi:
From ARRL Letter:
As he has done each December for the past few years, Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, of Forest, Virginia, will transmit a program on 486 kHz, under authority of his FCC Part 5 Experimental License WI2XLQ, to commemorate wireless pioneer Reginald Fessenden’s accomplishments. Justin will transmit for at least 24 hours starting at around 1800 UTC on December 24. Fessenden claimed to have made his first voice — and music — broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1906 from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, although his account is disputed.
Ray ... swlem3 Re: Beacon KAH
Posted by Ian Baines on December 18, 2020 at 19:06:33.
In reply to Beacon KAH posted by Kirk on December 11, 2020
Thank you for sharing the recording Kirk. Photos of the beacon can be seen on QRZ.com If you search for VA3KAH. I am pleased that it sounds so good in your location. What is the nearest town to you?
KAH is solar powered and is operating on an island in Georgian Bay that has no visitors from October until May. It is alone and lonely, relying on people like you to let the world know that it is there. I enjoyed seeing your post.
Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz
Posted by John Davis on December 18, 2020 at 21:33:57.
In reply to Fessenden commemoration 486 khz posted by swlem3 on December 18, 2020
Cool! I hope to be listening.
Fessenden was working with an Alexanderson alternator of early design. the output of which was modulated with a large carbon microphone, on about 75 or 80 kHz. His Brant Rock, Massachusetts station BO had already been copied in Scotland while conducting voice tests earlier in the month.
Unlike Lee de Forest's work a few years later, Fessenden's focus in 1906 was on ship-to-shore and transoceanic communication, which he held to be a more important use of wireless than broadcasting. The lack of contemporary documentation has led some to dispute his later recollections of the event, but Westinghouse VP Sam Kintner accepted the claim, as does modern radio scientist Jack Belrose.
EAR in PA
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 18, 2020 at 22:27:28.
Grabbed "EAR" an hour before sunrise this morning. No daytime grabs yet.
Rick
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3abqffivui2uhk/EAR%20DEC%2018%20.jpg?dl=0
WM in PA
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 18, 2020 at 22:40:54.
Light copy of "WM" here last night. Need to tweak the set up here. At least the LNV is hearing .
Rick
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3t2dg6sgy3ycfj6/WM%20DEC%2017%202.jpg?dl=0
Re: WM in PA
Posted by Mike N8OOU on December 19, 2020 at 02:03:20.
In reply to WM in PA posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 18, 2020
Rick;
Thanks for the report. I sent a qsl to your verizon email.
Mike 73
Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz
Posted by swlem3 on December 19, 2020 at 03:18:11.
In reply to Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz posted by John Davis on December 18, 2020
Interesting history John. I've found the alternator method of generating RF to be a fascinating subject. Spinning a rotor with many poles to generate higher frequencies than the standard commercial power of 50 or 60 hz. Then having to figure out how to vary the amplitude of the output waveform by impressing speech on it. Would have been great to have worked alongside these "pioneers" when they figured it out and powered it up!
I'm hoping for the qrn level to be low so I can get a decent recording out this way in Texas.
Ray
Re: EAR in PA
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 20, 2020 at 15:09:26.
In reply to EAR in PA posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 18, 2020
Thanks for the report and Argo screenshot on Dropbox, Rick. Sorry I was late getting back to you.
Merry Christmas & 73, J.B., VE3EAR RIP 7P
Posted by Ward K7PO on December 21, 2020 at 15:50:45.
The dust has settled on the antenna work at K7PO. All old and questionable metal near the main antenna is gone. The problem now is I don't have a Part 15 antenna to continue on 1750m, so it looks like Part 5 for the near future. Having made that decision, work began yesterday on a proper matching network for the main antenna. If you don't like antenna details, skip the next paragraph.
The LF antenna has a switching matrix of vac relays to allow one of four networks to be selected and one was empty. Measuring the antenna at 185 khz showed I needed just over 600 uh for resonance. Off to the shed ("Hoarder's Central" per the wife) looking for coil ideas and found a gorgeous ceramic form variometer I've been saving for years. Back to the antenna, and it tunes almost exactly in the center of it's range. It's not hoarding if you eventually use it. The AIM4300 shows just under 8 ohms at resonance. Hmmm, re-cal the 4300, still 8 ohms. I'll take it! Back to the shed for some shunt reactance. After an hour or so, looking through hundreds of mica caps (maybe the wife has a point) I found the Goldilocks capacitor. Now I have 50 ohms at resonance in the shack.
I'm realizing that running even a watt to this antenna is not very sporting on 1750m, so I'll start of at 50 mw to the coax (300' of buried 7/8 hardline) and see if anyone sees me. I dare you. Format will be WH2XXP QRSS30 with a 12 wpm CW ID. No WSPR this time. Will be on 24/7 starting tomorrow.
Ward K7PO
Re: RIP 7P
Posted by Jon WS1K on December 21, 2020 at 16:17:53.
In reply to RIP 7P posted by Ward K7PO on December 21, 2020
Thank you for the update and opportunity to copy your beacon, Ward. I'm happy that I was able to copy it in it's 1 watt config and I'm looking forward to catching it in it's new config. 7P was my best DX in the 1750 Meter band. Changes at JH
73,
Jon WS1K
FN41qw
Posted by John Davis on December 21, 2020 at 21:32:50.
Word has reached us that JH has added a Hellscreiber graphical ID to his transmission, as seen in this near-local daytime capture by W4DEX. It has been seen also by KU4XR in Tennessee, nearly by K3SIW in Illinois, and not yet in the Northeast or here in Kansas, where even the QRSS ID often remains incomplete. It'll be an interesting challenge.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: JH-1530ut_20dec20.jpg
Re: RIP 7P
Thanks for the extra signal to look for Ward. Last night ( 12-20-20 ) may have been the strongest propagation of the season so far, and 7P was rolling into TN. very. very good. Sadly, I forgot to start captures in SpecLab and now, the whole night is only in my memory... hi - hi. Thanks also for staying around on 1750 meters, It will be fun looking for your signal in the coming days. 73: Andy, KU4XR
19th & 20th Dec beacons
Posted by Ed Holland on December 22, 2020 at 20:00:28.
Hi Folks,
I managed a fairly full weekend of monitoring. Although I have yet to run through the captures, there seemed to be weak, but quite consistent periods of reception for NC, EH, and possibly JB. 7P was also in evidence, although not reaching the high signal strengths seen a month or so hence. Mornings a couple of hours after sunrise, and later afternoon before sunset seem to have been the best times, before the band shut down for the night.
Time is in short supply at the moment, so apologies for not providing more detail.
Cheers and happy holidays,
Ed
Dr. Strangelowfer
Posted by Ward K7PO on December 22, 2020 at 23:07:00.
Or how I learned to stop worrying and love Part 5. Sorry. Really.
WH2XXP is on now at 50 mw TPO on 185.305 khz QRSS30. 'XXP will be on 24/7 except when I'm operating 160/630/2200m.
I will be amazed if anyone copies this one . . .
Ward K7PO/WH2XXP/7P
SIW in TN.
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 23, 2020 at 03:51:26.
Propagation was not the best in the overnight of 11-21-20 but received several decodes from lowFER " SIW " in Friendsville, TN. EM75xr
OPERA - OP32
11:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 Deep Search -43 dB in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
10:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 Deep Search -43 dB in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
09:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 Deep Search -45 dB in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
08:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 Deep Search -44 dB in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
07:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 Deep Search -44 dB in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
06:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 -37 dB F:0% in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
05:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 -37 dB F:1% in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
03:48 136 K3SIW de KU4XR Op32 -39 dB F:3% in Friendsville,TN. EM75xr 1504.8 Hz
WSPR15 Re: SIW in TN.
0500 -35 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
0600 -36 -1.3 0.185185 -1 K3SIW EN51 0
0900 -34 -0.9 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
1000 -40 -0.2 0.185185 0 K3SIW EN51 0
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 23, 2020 at 03:52:34.
In reply to SIW in TN. posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 23, 2020
Forgot to add the frequency: 185.185 KHz
Andy
Re: Dr. Strangelowfer
Posted by swlem3 on December 23, 2020 at 14:27:22.
In reply to Dr. Strangelowfer posted by Ward K7PO on December 22, 2020
Hi Ward, this qth had a low qrn level last night so most Argo screenshots had your signal visible. This frame/timeslot appeared to be the best quality.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Jtfs2lhgORMB8xrdYYaBiG3wTVWeZH37/view?usp=sharing
I think I would have done better with the screenshot if I would have set Argo in the qrss30 slow mode instead of normal speed. Oh well, next time...
Ray ... N Central Texas.
Re: Dr. Strangelowfer
Posted by Ward K7PO on December 23, 2020 at 15:59:26.
In reply to Re: Dr. Strangelowfer posted by swlem3 on December 23, 2020
Ray,
Thanks for the screenshot. I guess I'll need to go lower power rather than higher, never would have thought that would be the case. My guess after frequenting the various calculators is I'm a couple db above what I can expect to see from a Part 15 setup now, so I'm encouraged by your reception report. The only thing I can't measure at present is antenna current, which would really help my calculations. That capability was lost in the Great 8 khz Fire of '18, where the current transformer started on fire after a night on 8 khz. Fun times..
I'm hoping to have a real Lowfer signal on in January.
73,
Ward
Re: Dr. Strangelowfer
Posted by swlem3 on December 23, 2020 at 16:25:15.
In reply to Re: Dr. Strangelowfer posted by Ward K7PO on December 23, 2020
Glad to provide the screenshot Ward. We'll see what others report from your beacon today or tomorrow, maybe you'll get a more "rounded" picture than just my single report. Sorry to hear about that CT. :-( Yes, antenna current measurement would be nice to have.
Oh, forgot to mention my rx working conditions... elad sdr w/ active antenna up about 15 ft.
Btw, have you considered using the new FST4W-300 mode instead of qrss30? I think that would be an interesting experiment.
Ray
WH2XXP at 50 mW TPO
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 23, 2020 at 17:13:37.
Identifiable only by the frequency, however no doubt it is XXP in Az. I saw several traces right at the noise floor overnight, the link is the best received signal here in Friendsville, TN. EM75xr .... Hello Dr Strangelowfer ... hi - hi. 73 all: Andy, KU4XR
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c44adlsp9hw8ao4/XXP%2012-23-20.jpg?dl=0
Re: Dr. Strangelowfer
Posted by John Davis on December 23, 2020 at 17:28:55.
In reply to Re: Dr. Strangelowfer posted by Ward K7PO on December 23, 2020
I see no problem with your current power level under Part 5. It's not causing QRM or even desensing of receivers, apparently.
When you're ready to do the "real LowFER," then I think it would be especially interesting to compare different power levels into the big antenna against the Part 15 setup.
Re: Beacon KAH
Posted by Kirk on December 23, 2020 at 21:23:01.
In reply to Re: Beacon KAH posted by Ian Baines on December 18, 2020
Closest big city would be Minneapolis. My QTH is just a few miles west of there.
22M opening early
Posted by John K5MO on December 24, 2020 at 00:52:35.
22M HiFer band has been really hopping the last couple evenings. Seems to be opening early tonight
These are as seen here on my grabber (qsl.net/k5mo). EH is really strong for this early.
https://imgur.com/VERmBbx
Re: 177 kHz
Posted by Mike Terry on December 24, 2020 at 11:51:44.
In reply to Re: 177 kHz posted by John Davis on December 14, 2020
Hi John
Only official agents of the German Reichspost could listen to this transmission since in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, private citizens in Germany were forbidden from listening to radio signals.
Here's an interesting article:
https://www.dw.com/en/how-radio-became-a-cult-in-its-early-years-in-germany/a-55976446
Re: Beacon KAH
Posted by John K5MO on December 24, 2020 at 19:28:06.
In reply to Re: Beacon KAH posted by Ian Baines on December 18, 2020
If you've not spent time looking through Ian's QRZ page, it's worth the time.
Truly a spectacular location. Sure hope I can copy KAH someday.
John K5MO
Beacon DIX on 198 kHz back up and running
Posted by John Ferro on December 25, 2020 at 04:35:25.
Must have been down for maintenance. Good to hear it back on this Christmas Eve in FLA.
John
Merry Christmas
Posted by John K5MO on December 25, 2020 at 13:43:39.
Great job on the intro page , John
Merry Christmas to all! Merry Christmas
John K5MO
Posted by John K5MO on December 25, 2020 at 13:48:00.
Great job on the intro page , John
Merry Christmas to all! FST4W-1800 630M
John K5MO
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 25, 2020 at 14:20:01.
The subject line tells the tale....I'll be watching for FST4W-1800 overnight 25th-26th. Here's hoping I log a few of you!
73, J.B., VE3EAR Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz
Posted by swlem3 on December 25, 2020 at 14:23:03.
In reply to Fessenden commemoration 486 khz posted by swlem3 on December 18, 2020
I had no copy on this station overnight. Set audio recorders for three different timeslots . There was a strong T-storm front near Virginia last night. I wonder if Brian didn't have the station transmitting for safety reasons. Or perhaps I just couldn't hear it. :-)
Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz
Posted by John Davis on December 25, 2020 at 16:24:57.
In reply to Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz posted by swlem3 on December 25, 2020
I expect it was the sheer QRN level. I couldn't copy audio either, but there was a carrier on 485.820 that's not usually present (courtesy of Argo in QRSS3 about 9:30 PM CST). The carrier was undergoing a few Hz of frequency modulation at a syllabic rate, consistent with the 1920s-era MOPA transmitter design that Brian ran in previous years.
Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz
Posted by swlem3 on December 25, 2020 at 17:58:37.
In reply to Re: Fessenden commemoration 486 khz posted by John Davis on December 25, 2020
John, I also saw carrier in the audio waterfall of hdsdr when I tuned 1 khz below his freq, but I wasn't sure if it was local (carrier) qrm or really his station. Your Argo method sounds like a better idea and that the results are consistent with his equipment. Oh well, maybe next year... hi.
p.s. maybe he'll try again tonight? Don't know.
It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas
Posted by John Davis on December 25, 2020 at 20:46:26.
Our mysterious ephemeral visitor PLM is back for now. Anyone else seeing him or her? It's QRSS3 with dash between IDs this time, and is close to 13557.725 kHz. Normally I would say DAID (dash after ID), except the dash is closer to the start of each new ID than it is to the end of the previous one. The signal was audible much of the time, but occasionally took brief dips below visibility.
Elsewhere during the noon hour, the traditional pipeline stations from east of the Mississippi were dominating the watering hole (NC up at 555.580 today, EH, RY and ROM) plus 7P from the West. WV was also fair to good, KAH was fair, WAS was weak to fair, VAN and ODX were absent, while K6FRC and ABBY were just barely visible. (The latter has been fairly consistently hovering around 13566.560 lately.)
No first skip zone inhabitants like T, SIW, PBJ, or WM today. No borderlanders like MTI yet either.
(As for the subject line, my midwinter beard makes me look a lot like a low-budget Burl Ives impersonator right now.)
John
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 25deca09.jpg
Daytime WM, Nature's ground screen
The snow cover has tremendously lowered the noise floor today, and made for wonderful daytime reception.
73, Andy, KU4XR
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: wm_12-25-20.jpg
Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas
John, here's what I see of PLM at 2300z 12/25/2020. Think I caught it past the "prime time".
drive.google.com/file/d/1s6A_sIXakTdCfjNw7_TL7LyF8pZM8HyO/view?usp=sharing
Ray ... swlem3 ... N Central Texas
Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas
Posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020 at 01:27:23.
In reply to Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas posted by swlem3 on December 25, 2020
Interesting! By that time, everybody had faded away for the day here except for a tiny residue of 7P and a smidgen of mid-band noise. Were you still receiving anyone else around that same time?
Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas
Posted by swlem3 on December 26, 2020 at 02:08:53.
In reply to Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020
Well, as soon as I saw your message, I set up Argo on that freq and saw PLM. I let it run a few minutes to get a good screenshot. Unfortunately, after that, I never went back to monitoring hifers so I can't say if there were stations still being received at this qth. Wish I had an answer for you John, sorry.
Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas
Posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020 at 09:35:11.
In reply to Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas posted by swlem3 on December 26, 2020
Well, at least you proved I'm not crazy...or not seeing things, anyway. ;-)
lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
Posted by swlem3 on December 26, 2020 at 14:51:02.
Came up with an idea last night to create a panoramic pic of the lowfer "water hole" as seen from this N Texas viewpoint. The jpg covers the waterhole from 0440 to 1555z this morning... 12/26/2020. It's a neat way of seeing the rise and fade of propagation on the stations copied at this qth. I see WH2XXP and WM in the pic. Are there other stations? I don't know. Feel free to comment on what you see as far as how well the band was "open" last night from here. Was this a poor or fair or good night from what you see?
drive.google.com/file/d/18gPwRO-xQ04rriJ2m71iyTcFT_7gZsE_/view?usp=sharing
Boxing Day HiFERs
Ray ... N Central Texas
Elad sdr w/active antenna @ 15ft.
Posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020 at 19:54:16.
In reply to Re: It's a HiFER Jolly Christmas posted by swlem3 on December 26, 2020
Seems a needlessly violent name to follow the Day of Peace--but anyway, PLM is back in a different form today: ≤5 wpm CW with a long dash between IDs. That makes for kind of rough copy because, in addition to losing the efficiency of QRSS, the signal level is averaging quite a bit lower today and there is more rapid QSB. Reception was no more than one letter per ID cycle...a P here, an M there, once in a while an L. It's also up a smidgen in frequency today, at 13557.740 kHz.
This morning started out a bit sparsely, with only NC, EH, and a bit of ragged RY at the watering hole at 9:30 AM CST. But when I returned shortly before noon, they had been joined by 7P and ROM, and WV finally turned up. Right after that was when I copied PLM. Farther up the band, I snagged a couple of the curved DA3ID dashes of VAN about 13563.170, plus faint visual and very faint aural copy of K6FRC.
I'll do a separate report on KAH, WAS, ODX and ABBY later.
Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
Posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020 at 21:26:48.
In reply to lowfer waterhole panoramic pic posted by swlem3 on December 26, 2020
Looks like you were seeing the same as I was: WM, XXP, but no SJ. It was a noisier evening than I hoped for, and cold, so I packed up and returned to town around 0400.
Nice work assembling the panorama!
Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
Posted by swlem3 on December 26, 2020 at 21:53:46.
In reply to Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020
Thanks for taking a look John. Too bad your trip ended with cold wx and noise. From what you're saying then, lack of propagation or noise level kept SJ from making an appearance. It's a bit of work to make the panorama, but when assembled, is a nice record of how propagation ebbed and flowed in the directions of the rx'ed stations.
Re: Boxing Day HiFERs
Posted by jim vm on December 26, 2020 at 22:00:46.
In reply to Boxing Day HiFERs posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020
Thanks for the report John.
For ur amusement...
jim vm, VAN
https://youtu.be/vSneGOI2Yo0 Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
Posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020 at 23:01:59.
In reply to Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic posted by swlem3 on December 26, 2020
From what you're saying then, lack of propagation or noise level kept SJ from making an appearance.
Seems a reasonable possibility. Tonight should be quieter, at least from the storminess, so we may get a better view.
Re: Boxing Day HiFERs
Posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020 at 23:05:44.
In reply to Re: Boxing Day HiFERs posted by jim vm on December 26, 2020
Fantastic! Made that a live link. It figures that Pete Smith would have something to say about ham radio...and we've certainly seen homebrew radio parts made from stranger objects in the LowFER aspect of the hobby!
Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
Posted by John Davis on December 27, 2020 at 07:02:46.
In reply to Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic posted by John Davis on December 26, 2020
Or SJ may not be on? Tonight is quieter, and I got a complete "WH2XXP" between the periodic fades, as well as some nice WMs and SIWs in the attached file, but still no SJ.
With less QRN, I decided to go ahead and look for JH during the rest of the overnight hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 26decc.jpg
DL0HOT on 136 kHz.
A check this morning showed that I had logged DL0HOT's FST4W transmission on 136 kHz. at 06:00 UTC overnight.
73, J.B., VE3EAR
/Users/johnbrucemccreath/Desktop/Screen Shot 2020-12-27 at 9.57.01 AM.png
Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
Posted by swlem3 on December 27, 2020 at 15:52:56.
In reply to Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic posted by John Davis on December 27, 2020
SJ may be off... would'nt think neither of us wouldn't have copy for a couple days. You seemed to have fared better overnight than I looking at your screenshot. I really didn't have good copy on SIW at all. This is the best shot I have that showed the three of them at the same time, and it's not that great.
drive.google.com/file/d/1s9lSuTPU06nuQH4VfdKdxgUanYYBkMIt/view?usp=sharing
Ray
Best WM yet; no SJ
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 27, 2020 at 15:57:36.
No SJ here in PA last night. When SJ is on I can usually copy him in the daytime. I did however copy the best WM so far this season and some unidentified sigs just below WM.
https://www.dropbox.com/preview/best%20wm%2012%2027.jpg?role=personal
73
Rick
Recuperation Day HiFERs
Posted by John Davis on December 27, 2020 at 21:28:35.
Mid-day signals were a little better on the day after Boxing Day. At 10:30 AM CST, when I switched to 22 m, it didn't look too promising...only 7P, EH, and RY in the entire lower half of the band, and the beginning of KAH in the upper half...but conditions improved significantly over the next half hour.
ROM began putting in a faint appearance by 10:38, TON was faintly visible by 10:44, and K6FRC was visible with some faint audibility (mainly on the 6 and the C for some odd reason) by 10:48. KAH ranged from good to poor and back from 10:50 AM at 13566.05 today, with slower QSB than Saturday. Meanwhile, WAS had drifted up to 566.240, barely fitting in my CW passband with KAH, and thus audible only part of the time. (No sign of J1LPB in weeks now.) From 10:55-11:00, I watched and listened to ODX, which started with fair audibility and faded very slowly (see attachment) while ABBY lurked just above, sometimes reaching the edge of audibility, but mainly just with the B's and once in a while also the A.
I returned to the watering hole at 11:00 and caught the usual suspects in their usual places (NC, 7P, EH, RY, ROM) and a few minutes later confirmed that WV had shown up too. By 11:07, PLM was present around 13,557,738 Hz, back in QRSS3 mode with DAID (see other attachment).
After that, ROM's WSPR2 began decoding nicely, and MTI eventually showed up, sometimes nicely audible.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 27decODXABBY.jpg
File Attachment 2: 27decPLM.jpg
WAS QRT For Listening
WAS will be off air for a period of listening as of 1430Z 12-28-20. Hearing K6FRC In NC
Will post when it is back on,
Happy New Year all...73 de Bill K4JYS
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on December 28, 2020 at 15:33:45.
Heard K6FRC this morning at 1457Z thru 1500Z RST 239 to peak of around 329, very weak, Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
but several ID completely readable...QSB. Still hearing it as I pass by.
73 de Bill K4JYS
Rcvr: Ten Tec RX-340 & PA0RDT Mini Whip
Posted by John Davis on December 28, 2020 at 18:11:20.
In reply to Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic posted by John Davis on December 27, 2020
With less QRN, I decided to go ahead and look for JH during the rest of the overnight (Saturday/Sunday) hours.
The JH attempt was less than successful, and when I looked for XXP again in the morning it was no longer visible. All I got from maybe-JH were a couple of possible dashes and a few dots, but no certainty that it really was John's beacon. (See attachment.)
The Sunday morning glimpse back at the watering hole (other attachment) yielded typical winter daytime groundwave traces for WM and SIW, but no one else.
Sunday night I decided to revisit EAR, and started seeing signal as soon as I tuned in, about 5 minutes after sunset. Noise was fairly decent throughout the evening, but the signal went into an extraordinarily long fade and didn't return until the wee hours. It peaked and then faded roughly an hour before sunrise today.
I was hoping to catch some rare daytime skywave from EAR through D-layer leakage since the QRN levels are low. But at mid-morning, the S-meter was showing strong static-like noise bursts. On speaker, these "lightning crashes" turned out to be intermittent bursts of powerline buzz, and they extend all the way up into HF. I've temporarily switched to capturing 22 meters, but will try LF again this afternoon in hopes the noise may be temporary. At the very least, I'd like to see when EAR first fades in, and maybe do a panoramic view of it.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 2627decb.jpg
File Attachment 2: 27decc01.jpg
Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
John, I also made an attempt to copy JH overnight to the exclusion of the waterhole. Like you, I had the same results of possible random dashes and dots of what could have been of JH, but nothing of certainty.
Not sure what I'm going to try for tonight. I think I'm going to have an increase in atmospheric noise coming as "wintery mix" wx will be arriving soon. That most likely will frustrate any weak signal attempts from this qth.
Good luck with the EAR panorama. Hope it works out for you.
Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic
Posted by John Hamer on December 28, 2020 at 21:35:52.
In reply to Re: lowfer waterhole panoramic pic posted by swlem3 on December 28, 2020
Jh has been running at reduced power the past few nights. I believe i have it sorted out now.
John Hamer
Lowfer JH
Posted by John Hamer on December 28, 2020 at 21:37:24.
I have lowfer JH running at a full watt again. Still the same mode. Qrss60 with a JH graphic. I may power it off and on a few times through the next few days. But it will never be off more than a minute.
I thought my transmitter or antenna had an issue because I could no longer get a full watt with my 24v, but I think it's just something to do with the weather? Like humidity with cooler weather maybe? I'm not really sure, but I bumped my power supply to 27v and it seems to be doing well. I think I remember running a higher voltage last winter. I connected the transmitter to a dummy load and the waveform and voltages are exactly what I would expect. The capacitance of the antenna measures the same. I checked and cleaned all ground connections. I suppose there could be a bad connection from the antenna to the top hat, but they are soldered connections with epoxy over them.
Last winter I was powering the transmitter from 2 12v lead acid batteries in series. I built a voltage booster that brought the voltage up to a stable 28v. That fed into an lm317 voltage regulator that controlled the final voltage. I removed the booster when I moved away from batteries.
John Hamer
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by John Davis on December 29, 2020 at 00:03:41.
In reply to Lowfer JH posted by John Hamer on December 28, 2020
I'll try for JH before shutting down tonight, but won't be able to spend the whole night out there with the next storm system enroute, unfortunately.
Out of curiosity, what capacitance value does the antenna have? Do you notice much change in that reading with temperature or moisture or vegetation?
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by John Hamer on December 29, 2020 at 02:24:18.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by John Davis on December 29, 2020
John,
I have only measured it a few times, but I always get around 140pf. My loading coil always tunes around the same spot. The only time it's noticeably different is when it's raining, but my guy wires are nylon, so my antenna droops a little when it rains. That may be the reason for that change. So, the capacitance didn't change from my last reading more than a pf. Only the resistance went up. I can't measure a change in anything except the voltage required to get a watt.
I didn't notice anything with the leaves falling. Until a few days ago it has been the same since I started transmitting this fall. I have made so many changes since last year, I just don't have anything to compare it to.
John Hamer
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by John Davis on December 29, 2020 at 12:42:14.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by John Hamer on December 29, 2020
Captures attached at QRSS60 and 30 of my first complete JH of the season.
While one has to strain one's eyes in the 30 second version to see the initial dot in the J and the final one in the H, I included it because it illustrates something about the graphical ID, the J of which is just discernible at 30 sec but is merely a tall smudge in the 60 sec capture.
Having seen what the Hellschreiber graphic is supposed to look like in shots from W4DEX and W1VD, I notice the characters seem better proportioned for decoding at QRSS30 than 60. Unfortunately, 30 second mode is inherently less sensitive. If the frequency deviation were halved, possibly sccompanied by the characters taking a little longer to send, they should display much better at QRSS60. Just a thought.
---------------------------------------------------------------
File Attachment 1: 28dec-JH60.jpg
File Attachment 2: 28dec-JH30.jpg
Re: Lowfer JH
I also copied lowfer JH beginning around 0330Z. Used QRSS60 so the visual "JH" only came through as a smudge too. Next time will try QRSS30 to see if the letters can be made out.
At the watering hole noticed lowfer SJ back on the air and coming in well with lowfer WM.
DX conditions were excellent on 136 kHz with DL0HOT decoding 6 times (twice even with the poorer of my 2 eprobes) and VK4YB decoding twice using FST4W-1800.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
WAS Back On
Posted by Bill Stewart, K4JYS on December 29, 2020 at 15:35:19.
1530Z - WAS back on air. Re: Lowfer JH
de K4JYS
Posted by John Hamer on December 29, 2020 at 16:22:21.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 29, 2020
Thanks guys, looks like it's working properly. I'm drawing the JH with a 4 bit d2a and only 8 of the values are usable. I am going to add a 7 bit d2a to the board which will give me many more dots to play with. I'll probably alternate qrss30 and qrss60 along with some other modes. I agree the hell doesn't look very good at qrss 60.
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by John Davis on December 29, 2020 at 21:44:27.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 29, 2020
News of SJ's return causes a weather-related quandary. I figured I was done with LF for 2020 after my copy of JH this morning, due to rain moving in within a matter of minutes, but then I got adventurous and thought I might have time for one final ID of EAR to close out the year for sentimental reasons that will become clear in a later post. I knew I didn't have time for another full cycle of JH, but figured I might have a shot at one EAR (see attachment) in the 15 minutes before the expected deluge.
Well, Mother Nature didn't wait. I ended up having my morning shower while retrieving the antenna buffer from the base of the mast, at a brisk water temperature of 35 °F instead of 60 degrees warmer as I normally prefer!
Then came the word about SJ. At noon, our local TV forecaster indicated I'd be OK if I wanted to go back out until maybe 11 o'clock tonight. But NOAA's hourly outlook did not agree, and as the afternoon progresses, it's becoming blustery and looks more like the Weather Service is right!
So, I've got to face the downside of having a quiet rural listening post and accept that I won't be out there again until 2021...which maybe will finally see completion of my radio shack in town after nearly a year of trying to get the contractor's attention, and will hopefully be a better year for all of us!
JB re-sited
Posted by John K5MO on December 29, 2020 at 23:07:44.
Hi and an early Happy New Year to you all.
I moved QRSS beacon JB today, as the fence rail the vertical was mounted on is now gone. Antenna is still a 1/4 wave vertical but now ground mounted. I moved it back in the woods where the solar cell gets good sun these days, and it's above a ground plane of aluminum radials I installed when I had a HF vertical back there.
Reception reports appreciated.
John
JH in PA
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 30, 2020 at 10:46:18.
I copied JH last night for the first time.I have tried several times this season with no luck. I guess conditions were good last night. I dont know what all the intruding signals are in that part of the band but JH is booming in in the middle of the them. I have several good captures.
https://www.dropbox.com/preview/JH%20DEC30%202020.jpg?role=personal
73
Rick
Re: JH in PA
Posted by John Hamer on December 30, 2020 at 16:57:56.
In reply to JH in PA posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 30, 2020
Thanks for the report Rick. The link is not working for me though. It opens my drop box when I paste it in the browser. I think you need to make a share link.
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by swlem3 on December 30, 2020 at 18:00:10.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 29, 2020
Garry, question on your comment of decoding VK4YB on mode 1800. How did you know he was transmitting on that mode to have your rx set up? What board/forum/list are you looking at? RSGB? I'd like to follow more of the 136 khz activity. Just curious.
Ray
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 30, 2020 at 20:00:13.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by swlem3 on December 30, 2020
Ray, the latest version of the wspr spot database (https://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/spots) includes a "mode" column indicating transmission length in minutes. It would be helpful if more reporters appended their callsigns with /X to indicate the fst4w rate they are using. This was suggested by N1BUG but hasn't been followed very well. I also look at https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html to see who is active and what's being received. NO3M seems to be the gold standard, able to decode DX like VK4YB almost always. Closer to me, K9AN does nearly as well and is active on most bands and modes all the time. My eprobe usually receives 4 dB or so worse in SNR so if K9AN isn't reporting at least -40 dB SNR I'm not likely to decode anything.
By the way, I have found some issues with the wspr spot database and the current wsprx code is a pre-release version so probably has bugs too. Something is amiss somewhere because my reception reports don't always appear in the wspr spot database, although as far as I know they do make it to pskreporter, albeit sometimes quite slowly.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by swlem3 on December 30, 2020 at 22:12:10.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 30, 2020
Garry, ok on you just refering to wsprnet for your info. I'll have to look closer at it then if that's all you're using, along with psk reporter. I had thought that perhaps there might be a 2200m version of the Slack chat but maybe there just isn't. You're not the only one noticing wsprnet issues. It routinely dumps 1/4 or so of the spots I upload. Thanks for your response Garry.
73, Ray
Re: Lowfer JH
Posted by John Hamer on December 30, 2020 at 22:34:33.
In reply to Re: Lowfer JH posted by John Hamer on December 29, 2020
Since the requirement for a few more volts to get a Watt from the transmitter, I have checked it daily and it has slowly crept towards where where it was before this recent storm. So, I now have a watt to the final with a little over 24v. I will start checking it more often to see if I can see what affects it the most. I'm guessing it was the ground moisture, since it has come back to normal. But, the weather has been warmer, so I suppose it could be humidity. I would think ground moisture would lower the resistance of the antenna, not increase it. So, by that thinking, humidity may be the answer. Has anyone noticed any patterns? The weather is all over the place here in the winter. I would assume things would be a little more consistent up north were it's basically cool to cold all winter.
John Hamer
Re: JH in PA
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 30, 2020 at 23:53:37.
In reply to Re: JH in PA posted by John Hamer on December 30, 2020
Same thing here. Create, and Copy the link will make it available to view.
Re: JH in PA
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 31, 2020 at 00:04:19.
In reply to Re: JH in PA posted by John Hamer on December 30, 2020
Hi John, Sorry but Dropbox is giving me fits! Need to find a new file sharing site soon. Here is a new link.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6j6elknk5ozmmml/JH%20DEC30%202020.jpg?dl=0
Rick
Re: Best WM yet; no SJ
Posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 31, 2020 at 00:06:39.
In reply to Best WM yet; no SJ posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 27, 2020
Sorry;
Link was a bust. Here is a good one.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6oq0of7ihdws3ay/best%20wm%2012%2027.jpg?dl=0
Rick
JH in Friendsville, TN.
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 31, 2020 at 01:41:49.
I spliced a couple of captures end to end of JH this evening. This is the best signal received from JH to date this season. Copy and Paste the dropbox link to view: lowFER Watering Hole on 12-29-20 in TN.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p57onvh4zf8dbya/JH_12-30-20.bmp?dl=0
73 all, and Best DX: Andy, KU4XR Friendsville, TN. EM75xr
Posted by Andy, KU4XR on December 31, 2020 at 02:00:48.
Hi all; a couple of captures of the watering hole. WH2XXP at 50mW TPO, a few characters are readable. Re: JH in PA
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gybffs9o8sknhzz/Watering%20Hole_12-29-20.bmp?dl=0
73: Andy, KU4XR
Posted by John Hamer on December 31, 2020 at 02:52:49.
In reply to Re: JH in PA posted by Rick KA2PBO on December 31, 2020
Great capture Rick, Thank you.
LF/MF EU on amateur bands
Posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020 at 15:40:03.
Noting the U.S. T-storm lightning map last night and also observing the noise floor bounce up and down in the HDSDR display, I had sort of lost hope for any dx yesterday evening. It was pleasantly surprising to see G0mrf decoded on 630m, as well as DL0HOT on 2200m. So I guess that propagation was better than average from the EU to make up for the increase in qrn.
drive.google.com/file/d/1CdQ1_0mgE-DQMww7Xbq7d9I1TyRB7HS7/view?usp=sharing
As usual, wsprnet dropped spots... showing 2 decodes on the DL station from swlem3 overnight when I actually decoded 4 times.
Ray ... swlem3 ... N Central Texas.
Re: LF/MF EU on amateur bands
Posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 31, 2020 at 16:22:11.
In reply to LF/MF EU on amateur bands posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020
Hi Ray....if you see any t/a activity using the WSJT-X modes, would you give me a heads up on here with the band, mode, and t/r time, please. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Tnx & 73, J.B., VE3EAR Re: LF/MF EU on amateur bands
Posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020 at 17:23:54.
In reply to Re: LF/MF EU on amateur bands posted by John Bruce McCreath on December 31, 2020
JB, I did give a heads up with G0MRF's remote operation on 630m previous to last night. I assume he'll continue there for awhile. You need to check wsprnet.org to see what mode he's on though. Usually he's wspr2 but occasionally switches to FST4W-300.
As far as 2200m, I just "lucked" into that when I was looking at K3RWR on 1800. If I notice T/A decodes, I'll try to remember to make a short post here.
73 es HNY to you also.
Re: LF/MF EU on amateur bands
Posted by Garry, K3SIW on December 31, 2020 at 18:27:52.
In reply to Re: LF/MF EU on amateur bands posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020
JB, that's right the wspr spot database (https://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/spotquery) now has a "mode" column, assuming the reports get through. Like Ray I've had reports successful, then failed, then back again successful. No idea why. PSKreporter seem to work reliably though.
Last night had 136kHz fst4w activity at rates 120, 300, and 1800. The long rate did very well to Europe (DL0HOT) for many listeners. Here, managed decodes every hour from 2200Z to 0600Z. Best SNR was -28 dB with just an eprobe for the antenna so it doesn't take much.
73, Garry, K3SIW, EN52ta, Elgin, IL
2200m WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test
Posted by Paul N1BUG on December 31, 2020 at 20:53:41.
I am now running a WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test on 137557. Starting at the top of the hour there will be 2 minutes with no transmission, then WSPR2, then FST4W-120. The cycle repeats every 6 minutes. WSPRnet is useless for such tests because it misses too many spots. SNR may be different between the modes. What matters is which mode decodes more often at those stations where my signal is near the threshold. I hope to collect numbers of decodes for each mode through the various forums or in direct email.
Trans-Atlantic propagation has been excellent for the past three nights. I hope it continues tonight.
Happy and Healthy New Year to all
Paul N1BUG
Re: LF/MF EU on amateur bands
Posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020 at 21:36:22.
In reply to LF/MF EU on amateur bands posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020
JB, as of the time of this writing, DL0HOT is on 2200m 1800. Is being heard by K3RWR.
Re: 2200m WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test
Posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020 at 21:38:00.
In reply to 2200m WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test posted by Paul N1BUG on December 31, 2020
Thanks for the heads-up Paul.
Happy New Year,
Ray
Re: 2200m WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test
Posted by John Davis on December 31, 2020 at 21:51:42.
In reply to 2200m WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test posted by Paul N1BUG on December 31, 2020
Hi Paul. I hope you will be continuing the test for a few days. The next big winter storm will be developing over us tonight and is expected to continue into Saturday morning, so no farm DX-peditions for me tonight or tomorrow.
Happy New Year!
John
Re: 2200m WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test
Posted by Paul N1BUG on December 31, 2020 at 22:08:05.
In reply to Re: 2200m WSPR2 vs FST4W-120 test posted by John Davis on December 31, 2020
Hi John. I am not sure how many days I can run right now. We have two winter storms in the forecast. Wet snow or ice on the antenna will shut me down. But regardless the duration of this test, I will most likely do it again before the winter is over.
Happy New Year!
Paul
Re: LF/MF EU on amateur bands
Posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020 at 23:34:28.
In reply to LF/MF EU on amateur bands posted by swlem3 on December 31, 2020
DL0HOT is already decoding into Texas at 2300z Dec 31, 2020. 2200m FST4W-1800.
Ray
potrzebie