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T h e
Spec t ru m Mon i tor® Amateur, Shortwave, AM/FM/TV, WiFi, Scanning, Satellites, Vintage Radio and More
Volume 2
Number 6 June 2015
Mo ni t or ing Ships on C a n a da’s
We ll a n d C a n a l
Plus:
The Challenge of OTA TV DX
An Outboard BFO for SW Radios
TSM Reviews: SDRplay SW Radio
T h e
Spec t ru m Mon i tor®
Amateur, Shortwave, AM/FM/TV, WiFi, Scanning, Satellites, Vintage Radio and More
Volume 2 Number 6
Table of Contents June 2015
Dear TSM4
RF Current6
Keeping the Ships Moving on the Welland Canal8
By Ron Walsh VE3GO
Radio communications plays a vital role as up to 32 vessels each day navigate Canada’s Welland Canal. And, with over
24 miles of locks, routing each one through in 11 hours is a study in efficiency. That is particularly important in December
when cold weather and the closing of navigation for the winter can make such transits urgent. TSM Maritime Monitoring
columnist, Ron Walsh, get a rare inside view.
The Challenge of Over-the-Air TV DX13
By Danny Oglethorpe
With the FCC’s spectrum auction and TV-band repacking looming, is Over-the-Air TV DX still possible? The answer is,
“Yes!” according to long-time TV and FM DXer, Danny Oglethorpe, who has logged more than 1,100 TV stations since the
1960s. Danny explains the differences between Tropospheric Bending and Sporadic E-skip; the two paths for TVDX to your
antenna.
Add CW and SSB to Your Portable SW Receiver the Easy Way
By Richard Fisher KI6SN
20
One of the serious shortcomings of a large portion of portable, multi-band shortwave receivers and many vintage
shortwave radios is their inability to decipher SSB or CW signals. For some SWLers it isn’t that big of a deal. For others, it
can put a real damper on the enjoyment of the full spectrum the radio covers. But, there’s a way to add an outboard BFO to
any radio on which you would like to copy CW or SSB signals. Richards shows us how.
Digitally Speaking: System Fusion – “The Roar of the Crowd”
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
26
After using digital voice for an extended period of time, most find analog FM to be “muddy,” “noisy,” and of a lower
quality than they previously thought. And, whether you find favor with DMR, D-STAR, NXDN, P25 or System Fusion, Cory
urges you to try digital voice for yourself and see what you think, after using it regularly for a few weeks. He believes you’ll
be amazed at how your perceptions change. Cory also takes a peek at Yaesu’s new digital 2-meter/70-cm 50-watt mobile
transceiver and scanning receiver.
SDRplay RSP Shortwave Receiver31
By Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL
He’s back! And, with yet another software defined shortwave receiver; this time it’s the UK-based SDRplay. But, at a
fraction of the price of his previously reviewed SDR, could the SDRplay come even close in operation? Find out why Thomas
is so impressed by this new SDR.
2 The Spectrum Monitor June 2015
Scanning America35
By Dan Veenaman
Scanner Update from Dayton
Amateur Radio Satellites72
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
From Famine to Feast
Federal Wavelengths39
By Chris Parris
Washington, DC—Scanner Dreamland or Nightmare?
The Longwave Zone77
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
An Easy-to-Build Natural Radio Receiver
Utility Planet44
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
US Coast Guard Plans Big HF Comm Changes
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
First Look at a Zenith 5K037 “Farm” Set
Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze
By Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU
Decoding the MIL-STD 188-110B 2400 bd HF Modem
48
Broadcast Tower85
By Doug Smith W9WI
FCC Fines, Interference and Pot-Talk Flop
HF Utility Logs52
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman
Antenna Connections88
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Round and Round: Loop Antennas
Amateur Radio Insights54
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Two Meters: The ‘No Magic’ Band?
Radio Horizons91
International Shortwave Broadcast Guide Summer 2015
Radio 10158
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Meet the New 20-Meter Band (Hint: it’s on VHF)
Radio Propagation61
By Tomas Hood NW7US
The 10.7-cm Radio Flux
The World of Shortwave Listening
By Andrew Yoder
Corsette-Building Project
65
81
TSM Bookshelf92
Recommended Reading
About Us94
TSM Writers’ Group
Cover Story:
Canadian ship “Algoma Enterprise” and lift bridge on the
Welland Canal. (Photo by Ron Walsh VE3GO)
The Shortwave Listener69
By Fred Waterer
Shortwave’s Continuing Impact
The Spectrum Monitor ® is published monthly by Ken Reitz KS4ZR at 1403 Holland Creek Road, Louisa, Virginia 23093.
The entire contents of The Spectrum Monitor are copyrighted 2015 by Ken Reitz, Publisher. All rights reserved. The Spectrum Monitor is a registered trademark of the publisher. Copying or distribution of any part of this publication in any manner,
electronic or paper, is prohibited without the express written permission of the publisher. Brief quotes used in reviews are
permitted, provided that attribution is given. All subscriptions to The Spectrum Monitor begin with the January issue and end
with the December issue (12 issues) and are $24 for one year, available from www.thespectrummonitor.com. If you are not
satisfied with your purchase, you may receive a refund for the remaining issues on your subscription by contacting the publisher: ks4zr1@gmail.com. Your refund will be made in the manner in which the purchase was made. If you would like to
write for The Spectrum Monitor please send an email to editor@thespectrummonitor.com and ask for our writer’s guidelines.
The Spectrum Monitor makes every effort to ensure that the information it publishes is accurate. It cannot be held liable for the
contents. The reader assumes all risk in performing modifications or construction projects published in The Spectrum Monitor.
Opinions and conclusions expressed in The Spectrum Monitor are not necessarily those of the publisher.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 3 Dear TSM:
Send your comments to editor@thespectrummonitor.com
The Spectrum Monitor reserves the right to edit comments
from readers for clarity and space availability.
Anonymous comments will not be published.
Comments, Advice, Kudos and Questions from Readers
Norfolk Southern train 21M, a westbound intermodal (container and/or truck trailer) train headed up by an EMD SD70M-2 locomotive, location is just west of Reading, Pennsylvania. (Photo courtesy of Wayne Wlocka)
More Rail Fan Info
“I read with interest Richard Fisher’s article, ‘Listening
to Trains,’ in the April TSM. As a railfan from the late 1990s
up until a few years ago, I found that a scanner is one of the
most important tools in the hobby, especially for photographers. I’d like to share a few tips below that helped me enjoy
this little known hobby:
“1. Get frequencies for the railroads in your area.
These can be gotten from an Internet search and also the
website www.railroadradio.com mentioned in the article
which shows frequencies for the roads in different areas.
Often you need multiple frequencies programmed into your
scanner for a given railroad if you travel to different ‘railfan
hotspots.’ For example, where I live, Norfolk Southern is
the only Class 1 railroad through town and I have to listen to
NS mainline dispatch and trains on one frequency, but a few
miles to the west I have to have a second frequency (NS Harrisburg east) because the trains pass into a different Division
or District and are handed off to other dispatchers.
“I like to program the banks in my scanner with
each dedicated to a road, so bank 1 might have NS, bank 2
maybe CSX etc. I can shut off banks for roads I can’t hear to
speed up scanning time (also lockout any unused channels).
“If you live far from the tracks you most likely may not
hear the trains but maybe just the dispatcher (railroads use
line-side repeaters for coverage). Also, Defect Detectors are
heard on the same frequencies as the trains and report defects, if any, such as hot bearing journals on cars or dragging
equipment. These Defect Detectors are also known as Hotbox detectors or D.E.D. (Dragging Equipment Detectors).
“2. Find local railfan hotspots. If you see people with
cameras along the tracks in parking lots in your area it may
be a railfan location, ask if it’s OK to stay and watch trains.
Many railfans like to catch special trains (like circus trains,
etc.) and foreign power (locomotives not usually seen on the
railroad there). But, do not trespass either on tracks or private
property. Do an Internet search for railfan hotspots in areas
you are interested in.
“3. Know your trains. Learn the train symbol system
used by railroads of interest. For example, NS uses a simple symbol system; if I hear train 18N call a ‘clear signal at
642 East,’ I know that 18N is a loaded automobile carrier
(Autorack) train, which is eastbound at milepost 64.2. Often
signals are marked with mile markers so you can be ready as
it nears your location (essential for photographers). Again,
doing an Internet search using the words ‘train symbols for’
and the name of the railroad, many results should come up on
railfan websites.
“Note that some railroads are more railfan friendly than
others and some embrace the hobby because most railfans are
keen to spot suspicious activity and will report this to railroad police or possible trouble with equipment. NS is said to
be railfan friendly because fans are an extra set of eyes that
can report trouble the crew of a passing train may not notice.
Get the phone number of the railroad police for the road of
interest.
“Generally, if you watch from public property (a park by
the tracks, for example) railroad employees cannot make you
leave, but local authorities may. It’s not worth the hassle, and
if asked to leave, just do so as you can always follow up on it
later.
“I also I wanted to add some references: Trains magazine
(www.TrainsMag.com) often has articles for train watching
in various areas of the U.S., Railpace Newsmagazine (www.
railpace.com) specializes in coverage of the Northeast U.S.,
and, finally, www.trainorders.com is a railfan website where
members post sightings of special interest trains and their
movements. Hope this helps readers enjoy a possible new
hobby.” – Wayne Wlocka
Completed 1957 McCoy transmitter. (Courtesy of Rich Post
KB8TAD)
Re-purposed vintage Ku-band dish. (Courtesy: Mario Filippi
N2HUN
TSM Writers Write
Putting Old Dishes to New Uses
“I enjoyed your article on the McCoy transmitter, and
especially the section on the possible link to the AT-1. I
recently acquired an AT-1 ‘project’ set at the AWA Spring
Meet and am trying to learn all I can about them. I also took
interest in the reference to the ARC-5 transmitters, as I have
one of these (3-6 MC) that I want to get on the air. I’d like to
learn more about how to power it and get a reasonably clean
CW signal from it. Keep up the great work on all of your
vintage articles; they are very much appreciated. – Kevin
Carey, columnist, “The Longwave Zone”
Regular TSM contributor and orphaned dish scavenger,
Mario Filippi N2HUN, found this vintage, early-1990s Kuband dish perfect for small-dish C-band experiments. Here
he has outfitted the dish with a C/Ku-band LNBF.
DTN was the Data Transmission Network, a company
that pioneered the use of digital data for business and agriculture from 1987 when it offered various business products
via FM subcarrier. Their slogan “News not History,” was
printed on the dish itself.
By 1989 the company offered data feeds via telephone
FAX, Ku-band and cable-TV through the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI) on TBS Superstation. At the time, data
distribution via VBI was very big in Europe. In the US, a
number of services were available on the TBS VBI, some for
free, but distribution through dedicated Ku-band feeds and
eventually the Internet brought an end to FM, FAX and VBI
distribution.
By the end of 1995, according to SEC filings from the
period, DTN had 2,500 VBI subscribers, 8,000 FAX subscribers, 19,000 subscribers via their FM subcarrier service
and more than 74,000 Ku-band service subscribers.
Cost of these services varied from $26/month for the
monochromatic FM subcarrier-based service; $33/month for
the monochromatic Ku-band service, and $46/month for the
full-color Ku-band service. In today’s money that would be
$71.41 for the Ku-band full-color service.
The non-steerable dish, measuring 40 x 44 inches, was
made by Channel Master, which made hundreds of thousands of similar dishes for various industry VSAT (Very
Small Aperture Terminal) services over the years. And, as
Mario shows, they are perfectly good for home FTA satellite
TV reception today. Outfitted with a modern LNBF, they will
perform as well as or better than most contemporary FTA
dishes, and they’re free! As Mario found out, all you have to
do is ask.
Rich Post Responds:
“And I am enjoying your Neophyte experiences! It
reminds me of the little homebrew regenerative set I made so
that I could experience the Heathkit EK-1 as written up in ‘A
Tale of Two Progressive Radios.’ (March 2014 TSM).
“I recently bought an AT-1 myself. However, it was
already beautifully restored! A bit less fun, but very nicely
done.
“Have tried for variety in the restoration columns thus
far. I think you will enjoy the June-July columns. I submitted the radio that will be covered in those columns to a local
recycle-reuse contest. It just won first place in the technology
category! When you read those columns, you’ll understand
why.
“I picked up a couple of interesting radios at the Kutztown, Pennsylvania, antique radio swap last weekend including a Hallicrafters SR-75. That is one unusual radio! Check
it out on the web and you’ll see why. Will need a lot of work.
We’ll add it to the project queue at some point.
“Kutztown is quickly becoming one of the premier
events in antique radio. I took a few pics. Maybe I’ll add
them to a column.” – Cheers, Rich Post KB8TAD
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 5 R F Cur r ent
RF Current is written and edited by Ken Reitz
KS4ZR from news links supplied by TSM readers. If
you find an interesting story pertaining to amateur,
shortwave, scanning, broadcasting or satellites,
send a link to editor@thespectrummonitor.com
News from the World of Communications
FCC and Facebook logos courtesy: FCC, Facebook
FCC’s Revolving Door
streaming radio station simulcasts “are proving to be even
less competitive with ‘pureplays’ such as Pandora, Spotify,
and others.” One reason, Rosin says, has to do with bad
streams. He notes, “It blows my mind when I listen to the
stream of a major-market radio station and hear 30 seconds
of silence, something that still regularly happens. And, mind
you, this isn’t buffering or a break in the stream; this is a
flaw in the ad-replacement technology that is leading to
nothing playing. As I wait through these breaks I often think
to myself that I must be the only person still tuned – and
that’s only out of morbid curiosity.” And, it’s not the only
problem he’s encountered. You can keep up with his radio
and Internet streaming comments and research by checking
out his blog: http://www.infinitedial.com.
It’s always good to know that top government officials
will have plenty of job opportunities in and out of the private
sector once their “public service” is over. According to numerous reports, former FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin, an appointee of George W. Bush, who served on the commission
from 2001 to 2009 and was chairman from 2005 to 2009, has
enjoyed several upscale jobs since leaving the FCC. For the
last two years he served as a consultant to Facebook and has
recently been hired full time as Facebook’s vice-president of
mobile and global access policy.
Younger Audience Gained When AM News Switches to
FM
An article published May 17 on the Radio Television
Digital News Association (RTDNA) website, titled, “AM
Radio News Migrating to FM,” notes that stations that make
the switch gain a younger audience that apparently prefers
the FM band to AM. The author, whose station, WDEL-AM
1150 in Wilmington, Delaware, switched on an FM simulcast
of existing programming on April 1, noted the change in a
younger audience immediately. Other big AM to FM conversions included WMAL 630 AM in Washington, DC, which
added an FM simulcast in 2011, as well as market leader
WTOP, considered one of the top billing stations in the US.
WTOP is also not taking any chances; operating broadcast
dial slots in the DC area at 103.5, 103.9 and 107.7 FM as
well as 1050 AM.
Why Streaming Radio Doesn’t Click
A post by Larry Rosin of Edison Research, a marketing
company that does research on various media, considers why
(Courtesy: DISH Network)
Lose Some, Win Lots
According to Variety, the movie-TV trade journal,
DISH Network lost some 134,000 subscribers in the first
quarter of 2015. The company blamed various disputes with
several programmers on the loss. But, don’t worry; the company reported revenue of $3.7 billion for the same period
with a net profit of $351 million, nearly double the same period of 2014. According to the report, profits stemmed from a
price hike that went into effect at the first of the year and saw
the average customer bill top $86 per month.
DISH rival, DirecTV, added 60,000 new subscribers
during the first quarter. Variety also reported that DISH is being probed by the FCC for possible infractions on claiming
several billion dollars worth of “small business discounts”
in its acquisition of wireless spectrum it purchased for more
than $13 billion. The article points out that DISH has not
said what it will do with the spectrum it has purchased.
FCC Proposes Cable-TV Fee Relief, at Satellite’s Expense
An article in Broadcasting & Cable magazine told of
plans by the FCC to charge satellite-TV providers a regulatory fee per subscriber as it does with cable-TV and MVPDs
(Multi-Programming Video Distributors). The FCC sought
comment on the subject in an Order and Memorandum released May 20. The FCC estimates that its proposed 12 cents
per subscriber per year would be levied against the industry’s estimated 34 million subscribers; bringing in an extra
$4 million to FCC coffers and, as proposed, would reduce
charges against cable and MVPDs from $1.01 currently to
$.95 per subscriber. While the proposal was applauded by the
cable-TV industry, DISH Network and DirecTV decried it as
unfair. If approved, expect the charge to be passed quickly
onto subscribers’ growing monthly bills.
Russian Proton-M rocket preparing for launch at the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Courtesy: RIA Novosti/Roskosmos)
Russian Satellite Launch Shambles (Again)
On May 16, a Russian Proton-M rocket, carrying a
$390 million Mexican communications satellite, exploded
soon after liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. According to Fox News Latino, over the past five years
there have been six launch failures of the Proton launch vehicle as well as the Zenit rocket in 2013 and the supply spacecraft known as Progress.
Niagara County Reporter Investigates Local Motorola
System
MTP8000eX series TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) ATEX
digital two-way radio. Designed for intuitive use in potentially
explosive environments - such as those found in the oil & gas
industry, fire and rescue, mining and airports - these intrinsically
safe, rugged radios deliver best in class transmit power, receiver
sensitivity, audio and connectivity for safer, smarter work anywhere. (Photo and text courtesy: Motorola Solutions)
tal communications system, in the first part of the series, the
article also detailed the issues Motorola Solutions has had in
many larger cities and counties noting that, “problems with
Motorola digital systems are so fully documented that some
readers may be surprised that Niagara County officials did
not address this publicly before buying a Motorola digital
system.” The report also referred to the much-publicized
series by McClatchy News Service, criticizing Motorola Systems’ methods of doing business.
In the second part of the series, the report detailed budget creep; how a county or municipality ends up paying considerably more than originally quoted in often no-bid contracts; Motorola’s public official/revolving door that includes
household public service names now fronting for Motorola,
and the dangers of sole-source vendors for high-ticket radios
that may not exactly work as promised. The report ends with
a nearly hilarious account of how Motorola Solutions’ $22
million no-bid estimate, when competition actually entered
the bidding, dwindled to just over $7 million only to balloon
to $10 million once the final contract was approved.
You can read the stories as they appeared in the Niagara Falls Reporter here:
http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/Stories/2015/
MAY12/Motorolai.html, and here:
http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/Stories/2015/
MAY19/Motorola.html.
A hard-hitting, multi-part report, which started May 12,
in which the New York state Niagara Falls Reporter investigated Niagara County’s emergency radio communications
system, found many of the same things that other counties
and cities in the US have experienced in dealing with Motorola Solutions, the number one provider of radio communications to such county and city agencies.
After explaining the need for interoperability and digi-
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 7 Algoma Enterprise coming through lock 8 at the lift bridge.
Keeping the Ships Moving on the Welland Canal
By Ron Walsh VE3GO
(Photos courtesy of the author)
“E
verlast, you can come in through the piers and tie
up on the east wall above lock 8.”
“The Algoma Enterprise is just entering the
lock now and you will take the lock from him. Seaway
Welland, the Algoma Enterprise.”
“Algoma Enterprise, you have the Everlast and barge
Norman McLeod on the east wall. Please call at the piers.
Everlast, once the Enterprise has passed you. You can enter
the lock.”
“Please be governed by the lights.”
I have listened to radio traffic, like the above, on the
Welland Canal for years. The calm well-paced, very direct
instructions not only guided the ships but also gave me the
time and location for many good photographs. The efficient
radio traffic not only requires several communication systems but also has a great deal of information hidden behind
it that determines just what instructions are given to the
vessels. Until recently, I just didn’t know how much data and
communication was required to produce a safe and efficient
transit of the canal.
As an analogy, I have listened to radio traffic at racetracks for many years. A scanner with a headset, due to
noise, is the best source of information at the event. To make
an event run you have a radio that talks between the driver
and his race engineer. You have a radio system that allows
race control to talk to the teams and cars.
They also direct the pace car, emergency medical people, track clean up crews, emergency vehicles, repair personnel as well as control the race itself. There is radio traffic
between officials so they can keep things straight. Each car
has an in-car camera, video of which is sent to the race control and the media. The media has their own system of radios
to direct the cameras and the commentators.
Each car has numerous sensors that relay digital information to the pit. Everything from tire pressure, fuel, RPM,
and gear used is watched on video screens. Then you have
the track personnel, police, security and people working at
the event who need communications. No wonder there are
Catherine Desgagnes raised in lock Five.
usually several thousand radios being used at a major race
event.
The Welland Canal is no different, except for the size
and speed of the moving objects. A 740-foot long, 78-foot
wide freighter, loaded to a depth of 26.5 feet can carry the
better part of 30 000 tons of cargo. Just as a race car wants
the fastest race, ships want to move through the canal as
quickly as possible. Ships cost several thousand dollars an
hour to operate and time lost can add up quickly. An extra
trip in a navigation season can bring big profits and bonuses.
My first introduction to canal traffic was in 1961 when
I was a high school student and got a trip as a guest on the
Coalfax. You then called VDX, the Guard Gate, for your
instructions. It was on HF and could be heard all over the
lakes.
In the early morning, we passed a car on the bank of the
canal. The doors and trunk were open and there was a person
lying on the ground beside the car. We reported it to the control. Later, another vessel reported the same thing and, when
checked, it was found the person was dead.
I finally had a chance to visit the control center in the
1990s, with my friend and pilot dispatcher Howard Whan. It
was great to see the faces behind the voices that I had heard
for years. Since then, the control center, Seaway Welland,
has moved to a new larger building and been completely
modernized.
In the spring of 2013 I received permission to visit the
new control center and see what was behind the canal operation. I had thought that I would just cover what radios they
use, frequencies used, tower locations and AIS. However, I
met Captain Anil Soni and after visiting him for a short time,
I became amazed at the amount of information and data
that must be considered in order to allow a ship to enter and
transit the canal.
Capt. Soni has 27 years experience working at the canal
on top of his experience at sea. I must say that his experience
is of great value as he carries out his duties. Ships have many
regulations they must follow in order to be allowed in the
canal. Of course, there are violations of these and Capt. Soni
must deal with them. He said he sometimes has to deal with
several situations a day.
He is on call so they can occur at any time; including
violations of regulations, breakdowns, accidents, dangerous
ship maneuvers, pollution control, and illness, among many
others. He must be sure the ship meets safety standards and
is properly crewed. He must be aware of many levels of regulations and act on behalf of the Seaway, Transport Canada
and even the federal government when something needs
enforcing. He can even give approval that radio equipment is
working properly.
While I was there it was determined that a ship was
using spliced wire cables on its winches. These lines are
used to pull the ship into a lock and hold it place while it is
raised or lowered. Spliced lines have less strength and can
also jam in fair-leads due to their extra thickness. Ships must
have lines or a certain diameter and uniform thickness. This
would have to be fixed before a ship did a return voyage or
canal passage would be denied. Fines can be levied and get
quite high if the case goes to court. I know that speeding in
the Seaway can get you a $3000 fine. I know because while
in charge of the Canadian Empress I was warned about being
0.5 knots over the limit. I also know the company does not
pay that fine; I would have to! Capt. Soni deserves his time
off when his on-call duty is finished!
Canal History
The present Welland Canal is the fourth in a series of
canals, which began in 1829. The Erie Canal allowed goods
to be brought from New York City all the way to Buffalo
and thus bypass Niagara Falls. Goods could then be carried
all over the western territories at one quarter on the overland
cost. Settlers could also travel great distances by water.
Many of the merchants on the British (now Canadian)
side decided they would lose out on the trade so they decided
to build a canal to overcome the height of Niagara Falls. Mr.
William Hamilton Merrit finally got the canal built in 1829.
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie were now joined and cargo no
longer had to be transshipped overland between the lakes.
The chain of canals from the St. Lawrence River provided an
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 9 even longer, better and cheaper route for cargo.
This canal had 40 wooden locks, 110 feet long, 25 feet
wide with a depth of 8 feet. Sailing vessels were pulled along
the canal by horses or oxen. Replacing the locks with stone
construction and changing some routes marked the second
canal. Large ships can carry cargo more cheaply, so in 1881
the third canal was opened. It had 26 locks 270 feet long, 45
feet wide and 14 feet in depth. Ships could carry about 3,009
tons on each trip. By the 1900s ships of over 600 feet in
length were traveling the upper great lakes. A new canal was
needed and work started in 1912. Delays for World War 1
caused the final construction of the present canal to finish in
1932. These locks can now handle the 740 foot ships mentioned before and allow them to overcome the 326.5 feet in
height of the falls.
The canal has eight locks. Only locks 4, 5 and 6 are
twinned. These are known as the flight locks as they are
together and look like three steps. Simultaneous up-bound
and down-bound traffic can be seen here. Locks 1, 2 3, 7 and
8 are single locks and carry traffic in both directions. Like
busy street corners, they need the traffic cop! The other fact
is that the first seven locks are packed into the first 7.2 miles
from Lake Ontario and they account for the vast majority of
the height change. Ships then travel 17.3 miles to lock 8 at
the Lake Erie end of the canal.
The object is to have a 10.5-hour transit time for each
vessel. Delays are inevitable and each one is recorded to
see if the operation of the canal can be sped up. A shortened
canal channel, which bypasses Welland Ontario and three
tunnels under the canal, can speed road traffic. However,
there are still several bridges for road traffic and as well as
railroad bridges to be considered when operating the canal.
On a busy day, as many as 32 vessels can transit the canal.
Efficiency is particularly important in December when cold
weather and the closing of navigation for the winter can
make transits urgent.
Control Center Operations
The control center is located at Thorold Ontario, near
the flight locks. Needless to say, this is a very secure area
and permission must be granted for someone to see it. Their
main radio tower can be seen just outside the building. The
center also uses remote towers at Selkirk, Port Colborne, and
Coburg Ontario, which are remotely operated by fiber optic
lines from the center. The new center is really amazing. On
the wall are 8, 60-inch LED screens that show an overview
of all canal operations and ship movements. There are four
controllers at stations and one shift supervisor on duty at all
times. They work 12-hour shifts and there are several teams.
Controllers are trained at all the control stations so they can
be interchanged if necessary. It takes a good year to train to
be a canal controller.
One station controls from mid-Lake Ontario to the
end of lock 5. All radio communication is now VHF. This
station uses Seaway Newcastle to see what traffic is coming
Close-up of radio antennas on top of bridge structure.
to the canal. Communication is on marine channel 11. Once
the ship enters the canal piers, the controller uses Seaway
Welland on channel 14 to direct traffic. Another station controls the ships from lock 6 until the middle of Lake Erie. He
also uses Seaway Welland and then uses Seaway Long Point
on channel 11 once the ship leaves the canal.
There are designated checkpoints where ships must
check in so traffic can be organized. All towers have backup
transmitters and are checked regularly. You can also hear
transmission from several towers of VBR Prescott Radio.
This is used for emergency traffic and information. They
monitor channel 16 and use channels 24, 26 and 85 for ship
traffic. Remember that channels 24, 26 and 85 are duplex
channels so program both frequencies in your scanner.
Channels 21B and 83B are for continuous marine
broadcasts of weather and navigation information (these are
also channels 8 and 9 on weather radios). At the locks themselves, the lock-master uses hand held radios to talk directly
to the bridge of the ship. Channel 17 is used for up-bound
traffic while channel 66A is used for down-bound traffic. The
ship’s crew use either 450 MHz radios or another marine
channel to talk to the captain on the bridge. There is always a
lot to monitor around the canal and my scanner is always in
use.
The remaining two controllers co-ordinate canal
operations with other services. Fire vehicles, ambulances,
school buses, police cars and even railroad trains must all be
communicated with so that bridges are not open and delaying vital assistance. There are even commuter trains (called
Go Trains) that further complicate traffic coordination. It
is not uncommon to tell a vessel they have to wait until a
train clears the bridge below lock 4. Monitoring these radio
frequencies can also be useful.
The shift supervisor has overall control and makes final
decisions when situations arise. He must take many things
into account including water management. When you empty
lock 2, the stretch of canal up to lock 1 can be raised by as
Inside the control center at the Welland Canal.
much as 9 inches and quite a current can be created, which
can affect ship movements. Also, the canal creates all its
own electricity using the canal water; even supplying some
power to the public grid. Conservation of water comes into
play because water cannot be wasted. So, raising and lowering ships must be done with the fewest possible filling and
emptying of locks. This is particularly tricky when most of
the traffic is in one direction. When you add pleasure craft to
the traffic pattern it can get really complicated.
AIS (Automatic Identification System) data is also
collected by the canal center. This uses a transponder on
two VHF frequencies to give the ship’s name, course, speed,
destination, nationality etc. Through a combination of
United States and Canadian sources, every ship on the great
lakes can be displayed so the canal knows what is coming
days ahead. Ships are passed through on a first come, first
served basis unless there are special circumstances.
Before a ship comes to the canal, blueprints of the ship,
her cargo manifest, and load plan must be received. Some
ships have to use ballast to lower them when not carrying
cargo so they do not exceed the height of bridges. Some
ships have to bring in their bridge wings can they do not
exceed width limits. All ships are affected by wind and a
formula is used to determine the maximum wind that a ship
can encounter before they are denied further progress in the
canal.
A ship’s handling characteristics, width, draft and
whether she is loaded or not, can determine the passing
sequence. There is a 6 mph speed limit in the canal and that
can affect steering. Ships may pass under way or one ship
may have to tie up until the other ship passes depending
on these details. Dangerous cargo requires special care in
transit. Foreign vessels and most domestic tankers also have
to have a canal pilot.
The center has to provide accurate times of arrival so
pilots are ready in order not to delay the ship. If the ship is
equipped with the new electronic depth monitoring system
she can come through the system loaded three inches deeper.
However, since the ship is closer to the bottom, she may
have to move more slowly as a ship squats when it moves.
This means the faster it goes, the deeper it gets into the water.
After all this and more data, the unexpected always occurs.
Ships can go aground, break down, need to stop for supplies
or repairs, and the canal can have equipment breakdowns as
well.
There are radio frequencies for the maintenance workers; you can hear calls for electricians, mechanics, divers and
other personnel on 165.69 MHz. Sometimes delays just can’t
be helped. On top of this, Mother Nature always throws a
monkey wrench into the works. Fog, high wind, and heavy
rain can affect the summer travel. However, cold temperatures, ice formation and heavy snow can really make winter
navigation a nightmare.
Emergency situations can also occur. While I was at the
canal, the Port Weller Coast Guard station had four emergency situations to handle. The CCG Cape Storm had to deal
with a dismasted sailboat near the canal entrance; a sailor on
a ship east of the canal accidentally drank a corrosive liquid; a sailboat wrecked on the rocks and there was a search
because of an empty kayak. Channels 16, 82A and 65A are
commonly used by the CCG. If there is an aircraft involved
they usually use 82A to talk to the boats.
The Seaway always looks for ways to save time and
increase safety. A bridge incident a few years ago has lead to
all bridges being remotely controlled from the center. There
are more than 40 remote television cameras that can be used
to observe every part of the canal. Radio is used to tell the
ship when a bridge is being raised or lowered. At each lock
you can now see a large screen that shows numbers. This
tells the results of a 3-laser beam system to accurately inform
the captain how far he has to move to be situated properly in
the lock. Radio is still used to relay the same information.
Green and red lights on the locks tell the captain if the
lock is ready or if it is being filled or emptied. A new mooring system has been tried in the Seaway. Basically, when
the ship is in the lock, large pads come out and squeeze the
sides of the ship. These are on floating bollards and move up
or down with the ship. The ship is held in place and can be
more quickly raised, lowered and untied. A new system with
bigger pads is being tried this year. This will probably be in
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 11 Frequency List for Marine Traffic in the Welland Canal Area
(Frequencies are in MHz and mode is FM)
Channel
8
10
11
12
13
14
16
17
21A
22A
21B
Frequency
156.4
156.5
156.55
156.6
156.65
156.7
156.8
156.85
157.05
157.1
161.65
Channel
23A
65
66
67
77
78
81A
82A
83A
83B
Frequency
157.15
156.275
156.325
156.375
156.875
156.925
157.075
157.125
157.175
161.775
Duplex Channels
Captain Anil Soni has 27 years experience working at the canal
on top of his experience at sea. (Photo by Ron Walsh VE3GO)
place in all locks in a few years. All locks gates are now
hydraulically controlled. This replaces the old winch and
wire systems. Across each lock there is a ship arrestor wire,
which can stop a ship before it hits the lock gate. It is like a
reverse catapult. This prevents damage to the lock gates and
severe delays in the canal.
Even with all this care, the unusual still happen.
Shipping has been stopped because a car was driven into
the canal. While I was in the center, a ship reported someone in a kayak in a narrow section of the canal. The center
used a camera and picked up the kayaker. When a big ship
passed through, he could have been crushed or sucked into
the propeller. People were dispatched to get him out of that
area. Needless to say that caused a short delay.
All video AIS and radio traffic is recorded. The time
it is kept for depends on the nature of the material. Tapes
are kept for a minimum of five days. If there is an incident
and there are a number during the year, then evidence can
be gained as to who was at fault or how to fix the problem.
All data is now being stored on computers; paper files are
shrinking rapidly.
Other Traffic
Ships must also talk between themselves. They have
to monitor channel 14 at all times in the canal and make
navigational queries on this channel. Channels 8 and 10 are
the common ship-to-ship channels for commercial vessels.
Many shipping lines have offices here and they have used
marine radio to talk to the ships. While cell phones and WiFi have reduced this traffic, channels 65, 66, 67, 77, 78 and
88 have been used. Traffic can also be delayed when a ship
is being moved in or out of the Port Weller Dry-dock.
Be sure to scan and see what channels the tugs are
24
26
85
157.2 / 161.9
157.3 / 161.9
157.275 / 181.875
using to talk between them. It is quite a maneuver and interesting to watch. 162.63 MHz has been used by the dry-dock for
internal communications. Channel 83A is often used for seaway
emergencies; channels 12 and 14 are used in the nearby harbors
of Toronto and Hamilton. The USCG is also active as you are
very near the United States border here. Channels 16, 21A,
22A, and 61A can often be heard with channel 22A as a USCG
broadcast channel as well. Outside the canal, remember that
channel 13 is reserved for bridge-to-bridge communications.
I have had the privilege of visiting this control center and
was amazed with the knowledge required to work there. The
Seaway is constantly upgrading the technology used. These
people have all the stress of air traffic controllers. And while
ships move slower, many thousands of tons cannot stop on a
dime! I could have watched all day and just appreciated the
calm way everything was handled. It is the side of the traffic in
the canal and the quiet controlled radio traffic that you do not
see. I am sure, like 911 operators they can handle emergencies
when they arise.
I must particularly thank Capt. Soni for giving me his time
and knowledge when I toured the center. I could have listened
to him forever. Here is a man who has developed tremendous
judgment and knowledge over 27 years. His plan was to retire
in October of 2014 and I wonder how they will replace his
experience. I also want to thank the Seaway authorities and the
controllers for allowing me to see this operation. Like a busy
airport, you have to see behind the scenes to appreciate what is
actually going on.
If you go around the Welland Canal or any busy port or
waterway, take your scanner and listen to the traffic. You can
get great information and also be right on the spot for particular
ships or events. Having been an officer on a small commercial
vessel that traveled the Seaway, I now appreciate more than
ever the work that goes on that people do not see.
T S M
From Mexico to Canada, North American Over-the-Air TV has been the passion of TV DXers since the medium began. (Left) DXers
often see “Info 7” news from Monterrey via E-skip during the morning and early afternoon on analog XHTAU-TV, channel 2 in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Fairly short E-skip for me at 745 miles. (Right) CIII-TV, channel 2, Bancroft, Ontario via E-skip. (Courtesy
of the author)
The Challenge of Over-the-Air TV DX
In a digital age, with the FCC’s spectrum auction and TV band
re-packing looming, is OTA-TV DX still possible?
By Danny Oglethorpe
M
uch of my spare time during the spring and summer is spent watching for over-the-air (OTA) television stations from faraway places. My TV set is
not connected to cable TV, satellite TV or the Internet. Instead, my TV is connected to an outdoor antenna, and I have
seen TV stations from Ontario, New Jersey, South Dakota,
Nevada, Mexico, Honduras and other distant locations this
past year at my home in northern Louisiana. My hobby is
TV DXing, and my goals are to identify, record, photograph
and keep a log of DX (distant) analog and digital TV stations
received at my QTH.
Receiving video from distant locations has fascinated
me since my childhood in the 1960s. As much as I enjoy
AM, FM and shortwave radio DXing, receiving video at a
very long distance is a truly unique experience. And, today,
you can even share your screen shots on Facebook and upload your video to YouTube.
If you think the TV DXing hobby passed away after
the 2009 digital TV transition, you might be surprised at
the interesting DX possibilities in the digital era. TV DXing
remains an exciting hobby for DXers who live in regions of
the United States and Canada where a number of TV channels remain unused by local TV stations and TV signals are
frequently enhanced during the spring-summer TV DX season. On the other hand, TV DXing is difficult in the largest
TV markets since there are few open channels where OTA
DX can be received. This is an introduction to the fundamen-
tals of TV DXing and an overview of the hobby as it stands
in 2015.
Spectrum Auctions and Channel Repacking
DXers are concerned about the impact channel repacking will have on TV DXing, so let us examine repacking at
this point. The U.S. federal government plans to auction off
another piece of TV spectrum, which will result in repacking
TV stations onto fewer channels. While definite plans and a
timeline are not yet certain, it appears that the repacking auction will take place in the first quarter of 2016.
Here’s what’s transpired so far. Channels 52-69 were
removed from TV spectrum during the DTV conversion of
2009, yet TV DXers in many regions between the Atlantic
coast and the Rocky Mountains continue to receive digital
and analog TV stations at very long distances.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
several proposed options from which to choose before the
next auction, after which, there will be major changes in TV
broadcasting. First, some stations will no longer have their
own transmitter and radio frequency channel. Henceforth,
those stations will become sub-channels on a transmitter
shared by multiple stations. Los Angeles TV stations KCET
and KLCS, for example, have already reached an agreement
to share a transmitter. In addition, it is possible that the U.S.
could switch to a new digital TV system which would not be
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 13 (Left) This is the manual tuning screen of a Zenith DTT-901. The “19” in the yellow box is the RF channel, while the “DTV 20-1” is
the virtual channel. “KTXHDT” is the station ID. Note the signal strength bar across the bottom. (Center) This channel list is from
a Zenith DTT-901. Those numbers are virtual channels. For example, XHMTA’s RF channel is actually 12. (Right) At a distance of
1,157 miles, digital WPVI-DT, channel 6 (virtual channel 6) in Philadelphia is a regular summertime catch for me. (Courtesy of the
author)
compatible with current DTV tuners and converters.
Of course, nobody can predict the final outcome. The
future of TV DXing will hinge on the number of channels
the FCC retains for TV use. Since TV DXing is already difficult in the largest TV markets, DXers in densely populated
locations will probably have a difficult time receiving DX or
not be able to receive DX at all.
It is also possible that DXers in rural areas, smaller TV
markets and sparsely populated regions will have open channels for DX reception. Another possibility is that the new
digital system will be more efficient than the current one,
which might actually make DTV DXing easier. This remains
to be seen. More about the auction and repacking can be
found in TV industry trade journals, including “TV Technology,” February 20, 2015.
The Digital TV Era
As part of the 2009 analog-to-digital TV conversion, every OTA, full power, analog TV station in the United States
was replaced by a digital TV (DTV) station. Furthermore,
most Canadian stations transitioned to DTV in 2011. Thus,
the majority of current TV DX targets in the U.S. and Canada are DTV stations.
One major difference between DTV and analog TV DX
is that digital signals must reach a certain quality threshold
in order to produce video and audio. As a result, DTV will
never display the weak, snowy, interference-ridden pictures
that DXers often receive with analog DX. The production
of video, audio and station data on a DTV tuner is known as
“decoding.”
Opportunities for TV DXers
In spite of the differences between digital and analog
TV technology, DTV signals can travel hundreds of miles
via the same propagation modes that affect analog TV. In addition, antennas and amplifiers that pull in analog TV signals
also work well for DTV.
The most-impressive aspect of DTV, however, is the
mind-boggling quick-identification feature of digital stations.
The same Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP)
that displays the identification and program data of your local stations on the screen will do the same for distant signals.
In fact, it is often possible for PSIP identification (ID) data to
be obtained with very brief video or no video decode at all.
Because the analog and digital TV formats are vastly
different TV transmission technologies, they are considered
different types of TV by DXers. Therefore, the old, defunct
analog WPVI-TV, channel 6, is counted as one station in my
log, while the modern digital WPVI-DT, channel 6, is counted as a separate station.
Consequently, DTV gives long-time TV DXers the
opportunity to log new stations. A veteran TV DXer in Kentucky, who has logged over 1,100 analog TV stations, began
DTV DXing in 2008. Using a digital converter connected to
an analog TV, he logged more than 700 digital TV stations in
five years! Although that is an extraordinary achievement, it
is evidence that DXers can be successful with DTV DXing.
Furthermore, a number of high-powered analog TV DX
targets remain on the air in North America. An updated list
of the remaining DX-possible Canadian analog stations,
along with network information, is on the Worldwide TVFM DX Association (WTFDA) site (http://www.wtfda.org/
canlbtv.html). In addition, logos and ID tips for analog TV
stations in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean are
on my tips site (www.tvdxtips.com).
Basics of the TV DX Hobby
As FM radio is spaced between TV channels 6 and 7,
on 88-108MHz, FM and TV share many of the same characteristics and as a natural result; many TV DXers are also FM
DXers.
Although TV DX can appear any time of the day and
any day of the year, spring through mid-summer is the best
Left: A common log for me, KSNV-DT, channel 2 (virtual channel 3) in Las Vegas is 1,238 miles from my QTH. Center: Digital WACPDT, channel 4 (virtual channel 4), Atlantic City, transmits from New Jersey. The bar through the picture is digital pixilation, probably
caused by the unstable E-skip signal. Right: This is the morning program logo of analog HRTG-TV, channel 5, in Honduras. Distance
is 1,330 miles via E-skip. (Courtesy of the author)
time of year for TV DX and autumn to January is the second
best. While AM radio DX is available every night after dark
and shortwave DX is nearly always available, TV and FM
DX cannot be received at a regular time on any given day.
Certain atmospheric or ionospheric activity must take place
first.
Generally, a station that is not receivable on a full-time
basis is considered DX. Even so, most TV DXers count their
local stations as logged stations. Most of all, DXers should
be confident that their logs have been positively identified.
Propagation
Propagation causes a TV signal to travel long distances
from the station’s local market. TV DX travels by several
distinct modes of propagation, and the most-common modes
are discussed here.
Regardless of mode, TV DX generally comes from one
direction (sporadic E-skip and tropospheric bending) or two
opposing directions (tropospheric bending), instead of all
directions. It is possible, however, for signals to slowly migrate from one direction to another. In fact, it is normal for
sporadic E-skip to move from one region to another.
Tropospheric Ducting and Sporadic E-skip
Sporadic E-skip begins on channel 2 and rarely rises
above channel 6 and FM, whereas Tropospheric Bending affects all channels. The differences between these two modes
of propagation are substantial. Therefore, a chart, found
at the end of this article, contrasts the two most-common
modes, Tropospheric Bending (known as “Tropo”) and Sporadic E-skip (known as Es).
A longtime DXer in south Florida has logged DTV stations at exceptionally long distances via tropo. Among his
outstanding logs is KENS-DT, channel 39, San Antonio at a
distance of 1,100 miles. The path from his QTH to Texas is
mostly over the Gulf of Mexico, which is an excellent path
for long distances via tropo. Such long distances by tropo are
not as common over all-land paths.
Meteorologist William Hepburn operates this useful
tropo forecast map page (http://dxinfocentre.com/tropo.
html). A real-time Es DX map is here (http://www.dxmaps.
com).
Here is an example of how tropo and Es differ, and what
it means to TV DXers. Prior to 2012, New Jersey did not
have a full-power low-band (channels 2-6) analog or digital
TV station with a transmitter located within the state. Since
tropo was the only way to log New Jersey, few DXers outside of the Northeastern U.S. ever logged the Garden State.
Then, three years after the New York City analogs vacated
the low-band as part of the DTV conversion, digital WACPDT put a transmitter on channel 4 in the Atlantic City area.
Many DXers in the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada now
have a New Jersey TV station in the log, thanks to WACP
and the magic of E-skip. New Jersey is my forty-second state
via TV.
Meteor Scatter
Although DTV decodes by meteor scatter are more
difficult than the reception of analog signals, a few DXers
have logged DTV signals by meteor scatter. In this mode,
TV signals reflect off the ionized trail of meteors entering the
earth’s atmosphere. Reception usually lasts from a fraction
of a second to a few seconds and is best found on channels 2
to 6, with the best time from late night until early morning.
Major meteor showers during the second half of 2015 will
peak on the evenings of August 12 (Perseid), October 21
(Orionid), November 17 (Leonid) and December 13 (Geminid). For more information about less-common modes, you
can read this thorough propagation article written by Glenn
Hauser (www.anarc.org/wtfda/propagation.htm).
Is Your Location Favorable for TV DX?
When asked about the key to success, many TV DXers
answer “location.” According to Pat Dyer (WA5IYX) in San
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 15 (Left) Low-power digital K04QP-LD, channel 4 (virtual channel 4), Casa Adobes, Arizona, relays KVOA-DT in Tucson, so the ID data
displays those calls instead of the proper call sign. Distance via E-skip is 1,003 miles. (Right) My TV antennas include a Winegard
CA-5254 for VHF and a Channel Master old-style 4228 eight-bay connected to a Winegard AP-4700 preamp for UHF, both on Antennacraft TDP-2 rotators. (Photos courtesy of the author)
Antonio, who has been observing and keeping records on
propagation for many years, the worst area in the U.S. for
TV and FM DX is the west coast.
The best locations for tropo are the southern states,
especially those near the Gulf of Mexico, and areas in the
Great Lakes region. Other good regions are the Midwest and
Great Plains states.
E-skip, on the other hand, is a little more plentiful in the
southern U.S. States, but it can be received throughout North
America during the spring and summer.
Digital TV Basics
Although decoded DTV video is snow-free, a DTV signal looks like bright, long-grained snow on some analog TV
sets, especially when the snow is mixed with an analog TV
video.
Decoded DTV video itself is snow-free, but it is not
always perfect. Due to unstable signals and/or interference,
digital video is sometimes pixilated, with missing and/
or mixed-up parts. In fact, strong electrical interference,
co-channel interference (stations mixing with each other on
the same channel), LTE (Long Term Evolution) telephone
service and other kinds of interference can totally prevent
DTV decoding. An informative thread on LTE interference is
on WTFDA Forums (http://forums.wtfda.org/showthread.
php?8240-Houston-we-have-a-problem).
The Manual Tuning Mode
The most efficient way to DX is in a “manual” tuning
mode (especially during Es reception), moving from RF
channel to RF channel by pressing channel-up and channel-down buttons on a remote control. The presence of a
weak, yet-to-be-decoded DTV signal will be indicated by the
signal strength bar, often long before it decodes. Therefore,
keep an eye on the signal strength bar while tuning manually
(see photo of a Zenith DTT-901 DTV converter’s manual
tuning screen)
During an Es event on a hot July day in 2011, the DTV
converter was sitting on channel 4 as I watched the signal
bar making erratic movements while it slowly nudged closer
to the “good” signal section of the bar. At the same time,
my analog TV told the story: The long-grained, bright snow
of the DTV station on channel 4 was mixed with an analog
channel 4 in Sonora, Mexico. In the end, the DTV prevailed.
That was my first log of a low-power DTV (LDTV) via Es. It
was 250-watt digital K04QP-LD, channel 4 in Casa Adobes,
Arizona, a relay of Tucson’s KVOA-DT.
RF Channels and Virtual Channels
DXers count Radio Frequency (RF) channels because
that is where digital transmitters are located. Unfortunately,
the virtual channel number displayed on the air by a TV station and placed on the screen by TV sets and converters is
often not the channel where the digital transmitter is located.
The virtual channel is where the station’s old analog
transmitter was located. For example, KSNV-DT uses virtual channel 3, while the current digital transmitter is on RF
channel 2.
Many DTV stations divide their bandwidth into
sub-channels. All of a station’s sub-channels are broadcast
over the same transmitter, so DXers count a station as only
one log.
Best DTV Tuners
According to a poll on the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association’s TV & FM DXing Facebook page in 2015, most TV
DXers use DTV converters that can be tuned manually. Very
few use DTV sets for DXing. The most popular converters
are the Zenith DTT-901, Zenith DTT-900 and Insignia NSDXA1 models, all of which feature a manual-tuning mode.
Unfortunately, those models are no longer manufactured, but
used ones are available sometimes on E-bay and other Internet sources.
Channel Master CM-7777 Titan 2 TV antenna pre-amplifer ($68)
comes with mast-mount pre-amp and power supply and offers
up to 30 dB gain from 54 - 1002 MHz. You’ll still need a run of
RG-6 coax from the pre-amp to the antenna. (Courtesy: Solid
Signal.com)
Status of the Analog-to-Digital TV Conversion in Latin
America
Mexico TV blogger and researcher, Raymie Humbert,
provided this list of analog TV shutdown dates for countries,
which are received by DXers in North America:
Colombia: December 31, 2019
Costa Rica: 2017(could be delayed)
Cuba: 2021
Dominican Republic: September 2015
El Salvador: 2018 (could be delayed)
Guatemala: 2018; Haiti: June 15, 2015
Honduras: 2018
Mexico: end of 2015
Nicaragua: date unsure
Panama: 2020
Venezuela: 2020
Recording and Photographing TV DX
It is no longer common for DXers to seek written verification for DX reception of TV stations. Instead, DXers generally record their TV DX and photograph the ID material as
it appears on the screen. Another reason for recording analog
DX is that it gives a DXer the opportunity to review questionable ID material. DX can be recorded on video cassette
recorders, digital video recorders and video cameras.
Some DXers photograph DX using a digital camera. While
the camera’s shutter speed does not matter with DTV
screens, shutter speed should be set at 1/15th to 1/30th of a
second when photographing an analog TV screen. Others
make video captures with their computer, using such
products as the Diamond VC500 ($40 plus $6 shipping,
Solid Signal.com).
South Louisiana TV DXer Mike Perron uses thoroughly
modern technology to record and photograph his TV DX. He
Channel Master CM9521A rotator ($120) has infrared remote
control and can store 69 station positions. You’ll need a run of
3-conductor control wire to complete installation. (Courtesy:
SolidState.com)
uses an iPhone 6, and the results are excellent. Some of his
highly impressive DX videos are on YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/chalemi).
Equipment for TV DXing
In the digital TV era, it is common for TV DXers to
have simple setups, consisting of an analog TV, DTV tuner,
TV antenna, preamplifier, antenna rotator, and a mast made
of steel tubes with guy wires and/or a tripod.
Old analog TV sets can sometimes be found at yard
sales and thrift shops. If you are interested in analog DX,
make sure the TV does not have a weak-signal mute that
shows only a blue or black screen when a less-than-local-quality analog signal is received.
Antenna System Basics
Although TV DXing can be relatively inexpensive
compared to some hobbies, an adequate antenna (preferably
outside, in the attic or on the second floor) is necessary for
satisfactory results. The laws of physics are stacked against
small antennas. Remember, the lower the frequency, the longer the wavelength. Thus, VHF antennas need long elements,
especially for reception on channels 2-6 (55-88MHz).
Here are some other antenna facts:
(1) Large antennas are more directional than smaller
ones. Antenna directivity is more important than ever due to
DTV’s difficulty in decoding when co-channel interference
or other interference is present.
(2) Antennas at higher elevations receive better signals
via tropo than lower ones, yet height makes little difference
with Es.
(3) Using RG-6 or RG-11 coaxial cable for antenna
lead-in will help keep signal loss at a minimum.
Due to the proliferation of cable and satellite TV during
the last twenty-five years, antenna manufacturers currently
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 17 Left: At 180 inches long (15 feet) this Antenna Craft VHF/UHF/FM antenna ($150) is one of the largest “deep fringe” TV antennas available. It claims features 69 elements and has a 300 ohm impedance. You’ll need a balun to attach to RG-6 coax. The longest
element is 112 inches. This antenna claims 6.2 dB gain on Low VHF; 9.4 dB gain on high VHF and 10.0 dB at UHF. Right: Channel
Master CM-4228 8-bay bow-tie VHF/UHF antenna ($110) that claims 12 dB gain (UHF) and a small turning radius. Don’t expect too
much in the way of VHF signals from this antenna. (Photos courtesy: SolidSignals.com)
make few deep-fringe TV antennas. Fortunately, some adequate, yet economical, antennas are still available. All of the
antenna system products below are available from Solid Signal (www.solidsignal.com or 1.877.312.4547), other online
retailers and some local hardware/building material stores.
A good all-channel VHF-UHF antenna for both tropo and Es is the Channel Master CM3020 /Advantage 100
($120 plus $9 shipping). A popular UHF-only antenna is the
Antennas Direct 91XG ($100 and free ground shipping).
A preamp (outside amplifier) mounted near the antenna
will improve weak signals, especially on UHF. However,
preamp overloading (from strong locals, including FM stations) can prevent DTV signals from decoding. Therefore,
high-gain pre-amps are best in areas away from strong local
signals, whereas lower-gain pre-amps are best in areas near
high-powered locals. Many DXers use the Channel Master
Titan-2 preamp CM7777 ($68 plus $6 shipping).
Directional antennas work best when aimed toward the
DX. Some successful TV DXers use what is referred to as
“Armstrong rotors;” an outdoor antenna mast that is turned
literally by the DXer’s hands. The Antennacraft TDP-2 is an
inexpensive, light-duty rotor that is capable of turning the
CM3020 ($73 plus $9 shipping).
Final Thoughts
The 2015 TV DX season is currently underway. On
March 25, I received my first new log of the year: XHMTADT, RF channel 12, Matamoros, at a distance of 505 miles.
Mexican analogs are scheduled to leave the air at the
end of this year, so I hope DXers within TV DX range of
Mexico will take advantage of the interesting analog DX opportunities from south of the border before it is too late .
About the Author
The author has been a DXer since the 1960s. In addition to TV DX, he is interested in MW, SW and FM. His log
contains more than 1,100 TV stations. He has been a member of the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association for 21 years.
He has previously written about TV DX for Monitoring
Times.
Dedication:
This article is dedicated to the memory of Jeff Kadet
(K1MOD), North America’s most-successful and bestknown TV DXer. Jeff passed on November 22, 2014 at the
age of 67. It is difficult for me to think about TV DXing
without thinking of Jeff. He is the leader in most TV DX categories, and he is very close to the top in the few categories
of which he is not number one.
Although I never met Jeff, we corresponded by e-mail
many times. Much of my success with TV DX can be attributed to Jeff’s advice about using a TV and videocassette
recorder for each low-band TV channel (2-6) during Sporadic E-skip reception. That setup brought me many logs, especially of difficult-to-identify Mexican TV stations. I still remember Jeff telling me to use two Channel Master four-output distribution amplifiers rather than one of the eight-output
models. The setup always worked perfectly.
We in the DX community deeply miss Jeff, and we appreciate his many great contributions to the TV DX hobby.
– Danny Oglethorpe
Tropo and E-skip Compared
Characteristics
Tropospheric Bending (Tropo) Sporadic E-skip (Es)
Channels affected All VHF and UHF TV channels; best on channels 7-51 TV channels 2-6; rarely above 6;
begins on channel 2 and rises
Path of DX to receiver
receiver and DX
Locations between receiver and
Skips over locations between most-distant DX are received
Causes
Weather related; fronts and high barometric pressure
Not known; spots in the “E” layer of
the ionosphere become ionized
Best time of year Spring and fall at most locations; Year-round in Gulf coast states Major season: May-August;
Minor season: December-January
Best time of day (Local time) 9 p.m. to 9 a.m.; especially early
morning and just after daybreak 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; especially 9 a.m. to
noon, late afternoon, evening
Normal distances
Under 600 miles
600-1,500 miles for single hop;
1,500-2,000+ miles for 2-hop
Extraordinary distances Over 600 miles
Under 600 miles
Most-common distances Under 400 miles 900-1,100 miles
Signal behavior Stable with slow fading; DTV
decodes can be long-lived Strong with rapid fades and jerks;
DTV decodes can be erratic
Signals pass over mountainous terrain
No
Yes
Early indicator
Weather reports and Hepburn’s
Activity on six meter ham band and
online tropo maps
online resources
TV DX Resources:
The Worldwide TV-FM DX Association operates an extensive Website, a Facebook page, a real-time bulletin board, a real-time email
reflector, a FM Database and WTFDA Forums. WTFDA also publishes the monthly e-zine VHF-UHF Digest. Membership fee of $10
annually is required in order to use and participate in some services. (WTFDA, P.O. Box 501, Somersville, CT 06072) http://www.wtfda.
org
The late Jeff Kadet’s extraordinary DX photographs, logs and more are here. http://www.oldtvguides.com/DXPhotos
TV and DTV station data (including coordinates) from WTFDA board member and columnist Doug Smith (W9WI). http://www.w9wi.
com
Detailed DTV station information. http://www.rabbitears.info
William Hepburn’s Latin America TV station data. http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tv.htm
Real time reports of TV and FM DX, with discussion of DX-related topics during low DX periods. http://www.dxworld.com/tvfmlog.
html
A simple distance calculator. http://www.indo.com/distance/
Propagation information, TV DX photographs, and logs from one of the most-successful FM DXers of all time, Pat Dyer (WA5YIX) in
San Antonio. http://www.qsl.net/wa5iyx/
Photographs and information about TV and FM DXing from WTFDA board member and highly successful FM DXer Mike Bugaj. http://
www.wtfda.org/mikestvfmdx/
This site displays hundreds of TV DX photographs from my personal collection and the collections of my friends. Also contains the DTV
DX Records/DTV DX Hall of Fame pages. http://www.tvdxexpo.com
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 19 With just a handful of parts and a few hours at the workbench, you can add SSB and CW capability to your shortwave portable—without a single modification to your radio!
Add CW and SSB to Your Portable
SW Receiver the Easy Way
(Photography and graphics by the author)
By Richard Fisher KI6SN
O
ne of the serious shortcomings of a large majority
of portable multi-band shortwave receivers is their
inability to decipher SSB or CW signals.
For some SWLers it isn’t that big of a deal. For others,
it can put a real damper on the enjoyment of the full spectrum the radio covers. On a recent SWL DX chasing mission
at the beach, conditions were superb: No lights buzzing or
power line arcing, and I had a clear view to the horizon over
the Pacific.
My Kaito Voyager KA500 AM-FM-shortwave-weather
radio was having a field day pulling in signals from around
the world. Broadcast AM and FM stations were booming in
from hundreds of miles away. NOAA weather radio stations
were copied from up and down the coast on each of the Voyager’s WX channels. Shortwave reception was remarkable.
Radio Australia was taking over the front end of the radio,
even when the Voyager’s telescoping antenna was fully
collapsed. Wow.
The Voyager has two shortwave bands covering 3.2 to
8 MHz and 9 to 22 MHz. Radio amateurs hang out at several
places across its dial:
80 / 75 meters, 3.5 to 4 MHz
60 meters in five channels, 5330.5, 5346.5, 5357.0, 5371.5
and 5403.5 kHz
40 meters, 7.0 to 7.3 MHz
30 meters, 10.1 to 10.15 MHz
20 meters, 14.0 to 14.35 MHz
17 meters, 18.068 to 18.168 MHz
15 meters, 21.0 to 21.45 MHz
An awful lot of fertile field lays fallow on the Voyager
SW1 and SW2 bands, because what it lacks—along with so
many portable shortwave radios—is a BFO, or beat-frequency oscillator. A sweep of the analog dial popped up tons of
unreadable muffled voices and intermittent sounds. Drats!
Our circuit is a slightly modified version of the old Ten-Tec Model 1050 Universal BFO kit, no longer in production. You can’t find an
oscillator simpler than the Hartley. Refer to the text for parts identification. Manhattan-style construction was used to build the KI6SN
Outboard BFO. Here is a topographic layout to consider for placement of the “island” pads, indicated by a red dot, and other parts.
The oblong pad in the graphic’s center is cut a bit larger than the others because of the multiple components connected to it. Visit
http://www.TheQRPer.blogspot.com for more construction details.
We wanted “in” on that fun and a BFO would have helped
reeled ’em in.
The voices coming through on SSB were very loud, but
impossible to copy. It was like listening to people talking
with a pillow covering their faces. We couldn’t understand a
word.
Morse code was somewhat readable when a station was
in the clear. But there were places in the CW band where
Morse operators were piled atop one another—just a bunch
of wild “pfffft-pfft pffft-pfft-pfft . . .”
These rugby scrums meant there was either a rare DX
station on the air or a CW contest; dozens of stations pounding brass. Unfortunately without hearing them as a tone,
copy was pretty much bupkis.
Understanding Beat Frequency Oscillation
The Cliffs Notes explanation of this cool receiver accessory is that a BFO introduces a beat frequency signal onto
the intermediate frequency (IF) circuitry of your SW radio.
Our BFO is a small outboard transmitter generating a continuous CW tone, albeit at very low power, into your radio.
Think of it as overlaying an RF CW note—a “heterodyne” or “carrier,” if you will—onto your receiver. This
added carrier “beats” against SSB and CW signals, making
them readable. For more details, visit http://bit.ly/1E0LoAz
and scroll down to Heterodyne Principles.
Righting a Portable SW Receiver Wrong
Most desktop receivers have a built-in BFO, but many
of the poor li’l portables don’t. It is easy, though, to inject a
BFO signal into your portable from outside of the radio.
While poking around the Internet to find an easyto-build circuit to accompany the Voyager, several pages
mentioned the Ten-Tec Model 1050 Universal BFO. It was
a beginning-builders’ kit from years ago, producing a 455
kHz signal. Lots of Web commenters lamented the ’1050’s
passing from the company’s kit line.
With a handful of parts, a battery and a short BFO
transmitting antenna, SWLers could copy CW and SSB to
their heart’s content with this Ten-Tec gem. It looked easy
enough to duplicate. Most shortwave portable receivers
today have a 455 kHz IF. So, why not give it a go?
If we can produce a signal to a receiver near that intermediate frequency, we will have the necessary “heterodyne”
or “carrier” to decipher SSB and CW. The Ten-Tec circuit is
a continuously running Hartley oscillator capable of producing a clean, stable signal. And, if you are a dial-twister like
me, get ready to have a ball. Here is a sneak preview of the
things you’ll be adjusting when this BFO is on the job:
•
Your portable radio’s tuning and volume controls and
telescoping whip antenna.
•
The BFO’s 455 kHz IF slug-tuned transformer and a
fine-tuning potentiometer.
•
The proximity of the BFO’s antenna to the SW receiver.
This is truly a fiddler’s delight. But before we get into
the intricacies of that jig, let’s look at the parts needed.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 21 The circuit—Prototype No. 1—was first put together on a RadioShack® experimenters board. It impressed me enough to take the next
step to a printed-circuit board layout and Prototype No. 2. Construction of Prototype No. 2 proved that the outboard BFO could easily
be constructed Manhattan-style on a single piece of PC board. Shown here is the backside of the front panel.
Let’s Gather-Up the Parts
The Hartley is a classic oscillator, http://bit.ly/
1JAar2A. Here’s what you will need to build the KI6SN
version of the BFO:
Resistors
(R1) 470 ohm (yellow-violet-brown)
(R2) 15K (brown-green-orange)
(R3) 22K (red-red-orange)
(R4) 100 ohm (brown-black-brown)
(R5) 330K (orange-orange-yellow)
(R6) 1K (brown-black-red)
(R7) 220 ohm (red-red-brown)
(R8) 10K potentiometer
Capacitors (all disc ceramic)
(C2) 47pF
(C1, 3) 100pF (often labeled “101”)
(C4) .1uF (“104”)
Inductor
(T1) 455 kHz IF transformer
Solid-state components
(Q1) 2N2222 NPN transistor (2N3904 is an equivalent)
(D1, 2) 1N4002 diodes
(D3) 6.8V Zener diode
LED (light-emitting diode)
Housing and Connectors
A metal box in which to mount the circuitry
RCA-style or other jacks for DC-in and antenna-out connections
KI6SN Research and Development
The accompanying schematic and topographic drawing
show a parts placement you might want to try. At KI6SN,
Manhattan-style construction techniques were used, http://
bit.ly/1hLWTUw. Small “islands” of printed circuit board
(PCB) material are glued to a larger PCB ground plane in a
pattern that “connects the dots” when the various parts are
soldered to them.
It is kind of like designing a picture puzzle, gathering
the pieces and then putting them together. There is nothing
that says you have to use the pattern shown here. It is just
the one that worked for me given the space allocated for the
BFO.
In the final version, the housing is a 1.5-inch deep by
2-inch wide by 4-inch long heavy-duty aluminum Handy
Box found at The Home Depot for $1.64.
The front panel and Manhattan parts placement surface
are on opposite sides of double-sided PCB that is three and
seven-eighths inches wide by two and one-eighth inches
long. This fits beautifully over the face of the Handy Box
and is held in place with bolts screwed into fastening tabs
inside the enclosure.
Improvement, Step-by-Step
First, the circuit—for our purposes, Prototype No. 1—
was put together on a RadioShack® electronics experimenter’s board. There was no provision for mounting the 455 kHz
IF transformer or the fine-tuning potentiometer, so they were
connected via alligator-clip jumpers.
With oscillator circuits there is always the risk of frequency shift due to hand capacitance. Just to be safe, a long
shaft for adjusting the slug-tuned transformer was fashioned
from a chopstick with a small, filed-off washer at its tip.
When I got it working, it was clear that hand capacitance
was not going to be a problem. The BFO was definitely
worth building and mounting in a permanent housing.
Next, I experimented with a Manhattan pattern that
would bring all the parts together on one PCB. The design
turned out to be a bit more complicated than it needed to be,
so it was back to the drawing board. One interesting thing
learned from Prototype No. 2 was just how sensitive the
The front of Prototype No. 2 shows the BFO controls layout. Clockwise from lower left are the BFO fine-tune control, power-on LED
indicator, tuning hole for the 455 kHz IF transformer and on-off switch. Right: The upgrade from No. 2 to No.3 turned out to be the
final version of the project, shown here. The PCB is readied to be bolted securely to the Handy Box. Note that the leads to the 12V DC
and antenna jacks are cut long enough to allow the PCB panel to be removed without having to unsolder connections.
circuit is to heat and airflow. Gently blow across the circuit
and the warmth of your breath sends the BFO drifting out of
sight. Testing it on the backyard patio proved that the hint of
a breeze affected the frequency, as well.
The third time was a charm. The Manhattan pattern was
slightly revised, and the final version, Prototype No. 3, was
buttoned down in the Handy Box with RCA-style phono
plugs for DC voltage input and antenna output.
If you use these jacks, be sure to mark which one is
which. It is never a good idea to send DC voltage to the
wrong end of a circuit. Label the jacks DC and ANT, respectively, and you won’t make that mistake.
Improving on the Ten-Tec design
One of the big complaints about the Ten-Tec No. 1050
Universal BFO is that if the operator is tuning across wide
swaths of a band, the beat frequency would need to be
adjusted via the BFO’s 455 kHz IF transformer. In the kit
version, the transformer was board-mounted. This meant
opening the enclosure, adjusting the slug-tuned IF coil and
closing it all back up again. This would never do for SWLs
who cruise up and down the dial and from one band to another.
The solution in the KI6SN outboard BFO was to put the
IF slug adjustment accessible from the front panel. In Prototype No. 2, it was soldered to the PCB on the Manhattan-pad
side of the board. A small adjustment hole was pre-drilled in
the PCB front panel to allow a screwdriver or non-metallic
tool to turn the slug. While this was fine, we found ourselves
struggling at times to find the screwdriver slot at the top of
the can. It would be easier to operate if the top of the slug
were fully visible to SWLer.
3, the finished version.
Making a square hole from a round one can be a bit
challenging, but fun. Draw an outline of the top of the 455
kHz transformer—essentially a square. Then find the largest
drill bit that will make a hole in the PCB that does not go beyond that outline. After it is drilled, use a small file to expand
the opening to the square outline of the top of the IF can.
You want the opening to be just large enough to nudge
the metal transformer housing through it. It is not a job to
be done in a hurry. A few extra strokes of the file can result
in a hole that is too big. While you file, put on a good movie
or tune to a music or news station. It will not take as long to
make the perfect opening as you might think.
Mounting the 455 kHz IF Can
At KI6SN, a 40-watt heavy-duty pencil iron was used
to securely solder the transformer in place on the backside of
the front panel.
Now, with the Ten-Tec 1050’s PCB-board-mounted IF
can, you do not have to worry about screwing the slug out of
the can. The Ten-Tec PCB stops that from happening.
But such luxury is not applicable in our case—there is
no PCB at the base of our IF can in our version. The solution
is to put a couple of drops of super-style glue in the small
crevice between the can’s metal housing and inner inductor
at the base of the transformer.
By the way, at KI6SN, Loctite Super Glue Gel Control
is the adhesive of choice. As baseball Hall-of-Famer Johnny
Bench used to say, “No runs, no drips, no errors.” He was
referring to spray paint, but the adage applies to Loctite, as
well. This gel was used to glue the Manhattan pads in place
on the backside of the front panel, as well.
Pardon the Protrusion
Building a Solid Performer
Having the top of the 455 kHz IF transformer sticking
through the front panel was the solution adopted in Prototype
Along with the IF can, the front panel is home to the
shaft of a 10K fine-tune potentiometer, ON-OFF switch and
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 23 Left: Construction of Prototype No. 3, which turned out to be the finished version, began by placing the Manhattan pads, transformer,
on-off switch, LED and tuning control in position before drilling or gluing. Right: Round holes were drilled for mounting the LED,
potentiometer and on-off switch. A carefully cut square hole was drilled and filed for the BFO’s 455 kHz IF transformer.
a bright red LED. You will notice that the fine-tune pot shaft
is left at full length. In time we may cut that shorter so the
knob is closer to the front panel. Until we are sure there are
no hand-capacitance issues (and so far there appear to be
none), it will stay its original length.
The plastic tuning knob further insulates the operator
from the BFO. There is no oscillator-frequency drift when
putting your hand close to, or even on the chassis in our final
version.
To complete the chassis work, I mounted jacks for battery power and a short antenna. Looking at this hefty aluminum box, you might think you will need to go to a construction site to get help in drilling through it. Not so!
First drill a small hole in position as a guide for using
a larger drill bit to insert the jacks. And, do not be worried
about drilling into the round knockouts in this box. Apply
just enough drill pressure to keep the drill bit advancing and
those quarter-sized discs will stay in place just fine, thank
you.
Seeing Red, and Final Touches
This circuit draws just 12 milliamperes of current, but
why is it necessary to include a light-emitting diode? Well, it
is easy to forget to turn the BFO power off. Don’t learn this
the hard way, as I did. The LED is a bright reminder.
If you are in the mountains it may be a long hike down
to the camp store; probably not your idea of “fun.” Don’t
waste the battery—be fully prepared—carry an extra.
For the KI6SN outboard BFO, the antenna and power
jacks are positioned on opposite ends of the Handy box.
This way, if you would prefer to turn the unit upside-down,
to have a change in physically accessing the front-panel
controls, no antenna or power jack protrusions will be in the
way.
Let’s See if it Works!
So, you have all the parts in place and the box all buttoned up. How will you know the BFO is operating properly? If you have a receiver capable of tuning to 455 kHz, put
the BFO unit near it with the antenna from the box as close
to your test receiver’s antenna connection as you can.
Here, a Kenwood TS-140S transceiver in CW mode
was used to tune down to 455 kHz—right where the Voyager KA 500’s IF frequency is. If all is well, by gently and
carefully turning the IF can’s slug—in or out—you will hear
your BFO’s CW note swish into hearing range on your test
receiver.
Adjust the slug so the continuous BFO CW signal is
right on top of your receiver’s 455 kHz frequency setting.
Congratulations! You have the Hartley oscillator right on
target.
If you don’t have a test receiver, do this: with the BFO
turned off, tune across, say, 40 meters in the late afternoon
or evening or 20 meters during the day. When you hear that
muffled SSB talk, tune to where it is loudest. Then turn on
the BFO. By slowly adjusting the slug, you will eventually
move the Hartley’s oscillator’s beat frequency close to your
portable’s radio’s IF. Those muffled voices will start sounding like Donald Duck. Things are working! Way to go!
Mastering the BFO Variables
Remember those “moving parts” previously mentioned?
The portable receiver’s antenna, tuning and volume controls;
the BFO’s IF transformer slug and fine-tune control, its antenna’s positioning, and so on? With practice you will soon
master operating them almost simultaneously. Anyone with a
free tuning hand and a small screwdriver will get the technique down in no time. That is when the real fun begins.
Start by placing the BFO and its battery several inches from
Left: If you choose to use RCA-style phono jacks for the power and the BFO’s antenna, be sure to label each of them. Accidentally
attaching your battery to the antenna jack won’t make either the circuit’s components or you very happy. Right: An inexpensive metal
Handy Box was purchased at The Home Depot to serve as the shielded housing; an important element for BFO frequency stability.
your SW receiver. Lay the BFO’s antenna on the operating
surface along the backside of the receiver lengthwise.
With the BFO off, tune the portable radio to the high
end of 40 meters. Generally there is SSB activity there day
and night. Tune around for the strongest muffled voice transmission.
Now, turn on the BFO and center its fine-tuning knob
midway. Adjust the IF transformer slug until the SSB operator is intelligible. Adjust the fine-tune potentiometer or the
portable’s tuning dial, or both, until the voice sounds natural.
Strategies for Antenna Positioning
There is a delicate balance between the strength of
the incoming station’s signal and the strength of the BFO’s
output signal. Too much BFO and you overwhelm—desensitize—the SW receiver. Too little BFO and the incoming
stations overwhelm the BFO’s mini-signal. No CW. No SSB.
No joy.
Sometimes incoming signals are so strong it is necessary to coil the BFO antenna up the SW receiver’s telescoping antenna. And in extreme cases, it may be necessary to
electrically attach the two antennas.
With the KI6SN version, an alligator clip was permanently soldered to the far end of the BFO antenna. This
makes it easy to attach and detach the receiver and BFO
antennas. In the presence of super-strong SSB or CW signals
it may be necessary to lower the receiver’s whip and attach
the alligator clip to the nub left visible. Sounds crazy, but it
works.
If the SSB or CW conversation is between a strong
station and a weak one, you may have to move the BFO
antenna closer to the receiver during the strong station’s
transmission and farther away for the weaker one.
The goal is to provide the least amount of inductive
coupling necessary to copy these stations. That way you are
introducing just enough RF from the BFO needed for SSB /
CW while allowing your receiver to be as sensitive as possible with the overlaying BFO signal in play.
Video of the BFO in Action
All this is somewhat difficult to describe in narrative.
Perhaps it is even more difficult to envision. If you would
like to see and hear the KI6SN outboard BFO and Voyager
KA500 in tandem on 40-meter SSB and CW, link to http://
www.TheQRPer.blogspot.com. There are updates and more
details on construction there, as well.
How ’Bout a KI6SN Outboard BFO Parts Kit?
If there is enough reader interest, I will put together a
limited run of parts kits. They will include the BFO’s capacitors, resistors, diodes, transistor, potentiometer and 455 kHz
IF transformer. The builder would provide the PCB materials,
enclosure, DC and antenna jacks, battery, labeling and so on.
If you would be interested in a BFO parts kit, please drop an
email to: KI6SN@aol.com.
Finis . . .
If you want to get a whole lot more from your SW
portable receiver, think about adding a BFO. You’ll be able to
tune in a whole world of amateur radio—and in some cases
pirate shortwave radio—that you may never have experienced before.
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 25 (Left) Yaesu’s System Fusion FTM-400DR mobile VHF-UHF digital-analog rig. (Right) FT-2DR analog-digital HT also a System-Fusion rig. (Courtesy: Universal Radio)
Digitally Speaking:
System Fusion – “The Roar of the Crowd”
I
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
n the not-too-distant past, the mention of “digital voice”
or “digital radio” almost always meant D-STAR. Sure,
there were P25, NXDN and DMR enthusiasts out there,
but the overwhelming focus was on amateur radio’s own—
D-STAR. That has changed dramatically—especially in the
past year.
By the time you read this, the series “Mad Men” will
have come to a conclusion. There is nothing uniquely meaningful that I can say further about creator Matthew Weiner’s
vision or genius in storytelling that has not already been
said. The casting, acting, scenery, writing, and direction—
simply the “everything” of this series was the best it could
be. I looked forward to every Sunday night when it was on
and typically stayed up for another hour to watch it again,
as it was that layered and textured—deserving of a “second
helping.”
For those not familiar with the program, it is centered
about some flawed characters, extending out from a Madison Avenue advertising agency in the 60s and 70s. The most
flawed and central character is Don Draper (not his real
name)—a partner and deeply creative individual. One of the
series’ catchphrases to come from Don’s lips was “If you
don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”
This is exactly what Yaesu did when they introduced
the FT1DR portable digital/analog transceiver and let the
world know they were picking up the challenge to introduce
something new. When they did it, they did it a bit awkwardly; leaving the radio sort of “out there” with some marketing
materials that actually raised more questions than answers.
But they did succeed in changing the conversation.
By the time they introduced the FTM-400DR mobile (I
still don’t know why some models have a “-“ in the designator and some do not) the answers were becoming clearer and
the conversation(s) more focused. Most questions that people
had about just how serious Yaesu was about this new product
line had been answered by the time the DR-1 repeater was
announced.
They then announced a beta testing program for the
repeater. Eligible amateur radio clubs could participate by
implementing the new hardware as a replacement for an
aging analog FM machine. Regular reports had to be submitted detailing performance, rate of adoption and other data.
By the time the testing program ended, (a little over half a
year) I’m guessing that somewhere between 200-300 repeaters were in operation in North America alone. Yaesu then
opened up an opportunity for those clubs to purchase the
beta DR-1 repeaters for a ridiculously low price. They also
offered a production version DR-1X for another ridiculously low price. Seemingly overnight, the number of System
Fusion repeaters doubled.
When ICOM introduced their D-STAR product line, it
was limited in scope and expensive. Eventually, they rounded things out and made repeaters available to clubs that
purchased significant numbers of transceivers. The growth of
D-STAR has risen steadily over the years and—thanks to improved, feature-rich product offerings, plus much in the way
of third-party support—has become a mature and well-entrenched digital radio system with network capabilities.
Left: Yaesu’s FT1DR, the company’s first digital-capable HT. Right: Yaesu DR-1X repeater, offered to clubs at a bargain price. These
two products “changed the conversation” on VHF-UHF digital. (Courtesy: Yaesu)
Yaesu looked to improve upon that growth curve;
perhaps being a bit more impatient. Here, they took a lesson
from the “real-life” 1960s in the way that RCA pushed the
color TV market forward. When regular network broadcasts
of color television began (after RCA killed the CBS color
format) most people still had black and white sets at home.
Early color TVs were considered expensive and any color
broadcasts could still be viewed on monochrome sets.
RCA devised a plan to offer color televisions to bars,
lounges, restaurants and other public gathering places
for next to nothing. It was a win-win solution. The venues would have increased food and drink sales, plus RCA
would introduce more people to the visual wonders of color
broadcasts—especially live sports—further enticing them to
purchase a receiver for themselves.
I can personally attest to the efficacy of this plan in my
own family. My mother loved watching The Jackie Gleason
Show. When she discovered that the casual restaurant in the
White Swan Hotel had a color TV and that she could watch
Mr. Gleason, the June Taylor Dancers and the ensemble on
color TV – the White Swan Hotel saw us as regular customers each weekend.
We would show up a bit early (as to ensure getting a
table near the screen) for cocktails—a “Roy Rogers” for
me—and sit there from open to closing credits. I can still
remember hearing “Miami Beach audiences are the greatest
audiences in the world!” Eventually, we made a trip to Laurel Appliance—the hometown GE dealer (sorry RCA)—to
replace the old tube-based Philco mono set with a mostly
solid state (only 4 tubes) color console for the living room.
(I missed the Philco, as I had learned much about electronics
through impromptu “interviews” with the TV repairman, but
welcomed the NBC Peacock and other color transmissions.)
Perhaps with this lesson from 1960s America in mind
(or maybe not), Yaesu went a step further and offered the
$1900 MSRP DR-1X to additional clubs looking to replace
a well-used analog FM repeater for only $500. At that price,
who can say “no?” As with the beta testers, Yaesu enlightened an additional set of “cheerleaders” who extolled the
virtues of this new digital voice methodology and further
encouraged hams to invest in the new technology.
“Phase III” of this program has offered additional
opportunities for non-club repeater owners who serve the
amateur radio community to upgrade and further the reach of
System Fusion. Extended past the original dates, the program
is now scheduled to terminate at the end of June, but may be
“held over by popular demand” even further. If the ever-lingering ramifications of the California dockworkers’ strike
dissipate, the number of DR-1X repeaters in North America
could be well into the thousands. Compare this growth with
the rate of D-STAR’s expansion and you’ll see that in a
very short period, Yaesu changed the conversation and also
changed the digital voice landscape.
So much for getting repeaters into the amateur community; but what about the equipment that individual hams
are going to acquire to take advantage of these new digital
resources? In order to discuss that, we’re going to have to
circle back to a time before the repeaters and the beta testing
program. Back a few years, in fact.
As mentioned earlier, Yaesu’s first digital hardware was
the FT1DR portable. Packed in its diminutive black or silver
(no longer available) enclosure is a dual-band conventional
5W FM rig, with digital capabilities. Further, there’s a GPS
receiver and a well-defined APRS compliment that rounds
things out. The GPS information works in System Fusion
digital modes and lets you know the direction and distance
of the station you are receiving. APRS, of course, uses this
asset as well.
The FT1DR originally shipped with a 1100mAH battery, but was soon upgraded to one with 1800mAH capacity.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 27 Yaesu FT-991 HF/VHF/UHF transceiver another System-Fusion product with C4FM FDMA capabilities is packed with features that
allow it to float between today’s mostly analog world and tomorrow’s digital world. (Courtesy: Universal Radio)
(A pack for 3 AA disposables is available, too.) Still further,
a “rubber duckie” antenna, charger and programming cable
is included—something others leave as an additional-cost accessory. With a current street price of just under $300, there’s
a whole lot of value in that little package.
Long before the mobile was available, I used the
FT1DR in my car, courtesy of a speaker/mike with external
power cable and 45W amplifier. With 147.525MHz as the
simplex frequency of choice, I made an increasing number
of digital QSO’s with other like-minded hams. My “personal
best” with this setup was about 60 miles!
Later, the FTM-400DR mobile became available and
many gravitated toward its detached “sexy” color touch
screen. In fact, many have purchased the FTM-400DR because of the color screen—with digital as simply “icing on
the cake.” I think eventually, most if not all have embraced
the future.
Here too, the inherent value of the mobile stands out—
with the aforementioned Kodachrome control panel, 50W
dual-band power levels, built-in GPS and APRS feature set.
Factor in a data connector, SDRAM socket (also on the FT1DR) and you have quite a radio, plus one other interesting
feature.
When I first saw the optional camera microphone, I
thought of it as just a toy. But with further consideration,
I saw how it could be used as an important tool for EMCOMM activities and SKYWARN. While it can be used to
send pictures with the FT1DR, the limited display doesn’t
display them. On the FTM-400DR, they show up on the
screen quite nicely. Yes, the camera is relatively low-res, but
I think Yaesu designed it with a nice balance of clarity and
transmission speed.
One other feature I haven’t mentioned (common to both
radios) is the ability to create preset and ad-hoc text messages. This feature works well in both System Fusion and APRS
environments. Simply stated, you can send and receive messages without the need for any external terminal device. The
uses for such technologies become apparent once you have
them available.
My understanding is that sales of the portable and mobile have pleased the folks at Yaesu and they have been kept
busy with the overwhelming demand for equipment.
Networking is also something we like to have with
radios and repeaters; especially digital ones. The HRI-200
and WIRES-X networking application suite presently gives
System Fusion adopters the ability to set up POP’s (points of
presence) with the FTM-400DR and this interface attached
to a computer and the Infobahn. WIRES-X supports both
digital and analog, although the longer you are active with
digital, the less you tend to like the sound of analog and
accompanying noise.
The most recent timeline from Yaesu indicates that
networking via the DR-1X repeaters will become a reality
sometime in August of 2015. Not all that far away, actually.
Once that happens, I expect to see another wave of mobile
and portable sales, as well.
Since the original radios were put on the market, Yaesu
also introduced the FT-991 HF/VHF/UHF transceiver with
C4FM FDMA capabilities. Once again, the value of what’s
in the box makes the price seem like a bargain. The FT-991
was reviewed in the April 2015 issue of TSM, so I won’t
go into too much detail here. Suffice it to say my hands-on
experiences with this rig were quite enjoyable.
Also, the FT2DR was introduced as an upgrade to the
FT1DR, with many of the features suggested by owners of
the FT1DR. Among the improvements are a separate AF
gain control and larger screen—enabling one to see pictures.
Yaesu raised the bar further by making the display a touch
screen, thereby eliminating the need for many dedicated
buttons.
Given the resources that Yaesu has invested into this
product line and the successes they are enjoying with an
enthusiastic and rather vocal user base, I expect to see
continued expansion of the product line—with an increasing
number of third-party applications and accessories.
Amateur radio is headed in digital directions, as our
Yaesu HRI-200 WiRES-X Wide-Coverage Internet Repeater Enhancement System is the third generation WiRES-X technology introduced last year at Dayton, supports both Analog and the new C4FM Digital radio communications mode. (Courtesy: Universal Radio)
numbers continue to grow. Just as we went from spark to
CW and AM to SSB – we change. Yaesu changed the conversation about digital voice and our expectations. Some of
us immediately embraced System Fusion, others followed
and more are yet to follow. For those who resist change—it
allows us to hold onto the familiar—until we are ready to let
go. As Mad Men’s Don Draper has said, “Change is neither
good or bad, it simply is.”
Your Changing Ear
If you are of a certain age, you may remember the days
when activity on 2-meters was centered around AM. Radios
like the Heath Lunchbox series or Gonset Communicator
were quite common. Most communications were of the
short-distance simplex variety, although there were some
AM repeaters dotted about the landscape.
AM repeaters were often “awakened” by tone bursts in
the 1800~2300Hz range. Once brought to life, the tone was
no longer necessary, until a preset idle period had passed.
Static crashes, ignition noise, and other undesirable artifacts
were common, but accepted.
When FM came on the scene, hams discovered a quieter means of communicating, with better sounding audio.
In a fairly short number of years (which many erroneously
remember as “overnight”) FM took over 2-meters and above,
leaving those holding onto AM to eventually join everyone
else. Today, you can still find some nostalgic pockets of AM
activity on VHF and UHF, but it’s more for the love of glowing tubes, than anything else.
When I first proposed the idea of an FM repeater to local hams, some of them thought the idea was silly – as there
was “nothing wrong with AM” and wanted to “keep things
as they are.” More progressive minds won out, however,
with FM repeaters exploding across the land. Today, we see
much the same thing happening with digital.
D-STAR is the pioneer of digital voice to most. While
P25 came first, it is a borrowed LMR technology and only
has a relatively small number of enthusiasts. Most who hear
P25 audio remark how much more “natural sounding” it is
over D-STAR, but the lack of serious networking capabilities
isn’t enough to win over the masses.
System Fusion’s improved audio quality is probably the
first comment most D-STAR users make when they first hear
it. Still others find digital audio difficult to understand at first
– until they get used to it. The brain is a wonderfully elastic
computer. The more we are exposed to something, the better
we understand and accept it.
The interesting thing is that after using digital voice
for an extended period of time, most find analog FM to be
“muddy,” “noisy,” and of a lower quality than they previously thought. As digital filters out most background and other
ambient noise, it becomes a superior audio experience.
Whether you find favor with DMR, D-STAR, NXDN,
P25 or System Fusion – try digital voice for yourself and see
what you think, after using it regularly for a few weeks. I
think you’ll be amazed at how your perceptions change.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 29 Dayton Hamvention™ 2015 Digital Update
Two views of Yaesu’s new digital 2-meter/70-cm 50-watt VHF/UHF mobile transceiver and scanning receiver. No price or specs were
available at the time of this publication. (Courtesy: Yaesu and Cory Sickles)
O
f the many things the Dayton Hamvention has historically represented, being something of a “coming out
party” for new products is one of the most popular.
Reports from the Hamvention floor indicate that Yaesu
did not disappoint this year - with the FT2DR portable that
many could touch and get to know - but also with the surprise announcement of the FTM-100DR mobile As something of a younger sibling to the FTM-400DR, the new rig
offers many of the same features, with a lower height display
and control panel. Features such as simultaneous dual-VFO
color display and camera microphone port remain solely
with the FTM-400DR, but the FTM-100DR allows you to
have the control panel attached to the transceiver body opening up some new mounting possibilities for many.
The new dual-band radio sports a similar set of RF
specs as its older sibling and allows the same set of other
accessories to be used.
As a transceiver for a WIRES-X node, it has a data port
for connectivity. With the FTM-400DR’s rebate still in play,
the “out of the gate” price is close, but I expect the “delta
dollars” to increase in time - further distancing each radio in
it’s place in the market.
As the RF component of a node, second System Fusion
rig or attractive choice for a first radio, I think the FTM100DR will quickly become a popular option for many
hams. As a case in point - I have a friend who is studying
for her Tech license. We have had a few discussions about
what her first rig - for the car - will be. Now, the discussion
includes the FTM-100DR. If all goes well, the transceiver
should be shipping in quantity about the same time she passes the test. — Cory Sickles WA3UVV
T S M
SDRplay RSP screen displays reception of CHU time station from Canada using the HDSDR application. (Courtesy of the author)
TSM Reviews:
SDRplay RSP Shortwave Receiver
By Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL
G
ood things often come in small packages. But not all
of these things are...well, affordable.
Ironically, earlier this year, just after I began to
evaluate and review the superb TitanSDR Pro (see TSM May
2015), a robust military-grade SDR, I was approached by the
UK-based manufacturer of the SDRplay RSP software-defined radio and asked to review their receiver. I was instantly
intrigued––and, truth be told, just a bit amused, considering
the difference between these two receivers. And what, exactly, separates the SDRplay RSP from the TitanSDR? At least
$1350.
The SDRplay RSP is one of the recent generation of
economical wideband SDRs based upon innovative, inexpensive chipsets; in the RSP’s case, based upon the Mirics
MSI3101 SDR chip, and a MSI001 tuner. Priced at a mere
$149 US (plus shipping), the SDRplay RSP is one of the
least expensive, yet full-featured SDRs which actually
include the HF bands and below, and which require no extra
upconverter. Preliminary reviews of the SDRplay RSP were
quite positive, so when the folks at SDRplay requested that I
review an RSP on loan, I immediately seized the opportunity.
Unboxing and Connecting
My SDRplay RSP arrived in a modest well-padded box.
And what was inside? Only the SDRplay RSP and a small
F-to-BNC adapter. You’ll need to supply a USB cord, as it’s
not provided by SDRplay. If you’re like me, though, you
already have a number of these around; I prefer USB cables
with ferrite chokes (example: http://amzn.to/1zkgFTQ).
It’s important to note that shortly after I received my
review unit, SDRplay made two design changes to the RSP.
First, the F-style antenna jack has been replaced with the
more common SMA connector, and second, the chassis color
has been changed to black.
There are only two ports on the RSP: the antenna port,
and on the other side of the box, a USB B-Type port (see
photo, next page). Connecting it to your computer and antenna are a cinch.
The RSP’s chassis is made of a strong, lightweight
plastic. A very simple design, and one that, I expect, would
easily survive the rigors of my favorite brand of one-bag
air travel to international DX destinations (See “Traveling
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 31 The trouble with “black box” receivers: they’re not much to look at. The action is all on your computer screen. Antenna input is via an
SMA connector. Connection to your computer is via USB port. (Courtesy: SDRplay)
Light, SWLing Right,” TSM March 2014).
Software Installation
Unlike many of the other SDRs I’ve reviewed in the
past (see also, “Elad FDM-S2 Software Defined Shortwave
Radio,” November 2014 TSM), the SDRplay RSP does not
come with a proprietary (OEM) SDR application. Meaning, the SDRplay company does not make their own SDR
application that controls the RSP. Instead, SDRplay provides
an API to allow application and demodulator development.
There are already plug-ins for third-party SDR applications
(like SDR# and HDSDR, for example); once installed, these
plug-ins create an excellent compatibility bridge with the
RSP.
But note that since the SDRplay RSP relies on
third-party applications, the installation process isn’t exactly
plug-and-play; you must typically download USB drivers,
then the SDR application of your choice, and finally (typically) a dedicated plug-in for the software. Yet it’s not a
complicated process by any means; SDRplay’s website has
links to all of the necessary downloads (http://www.sdrplay.
com/downloads.html) and installation manuals (http://www.
sdrplay.com/documentation.html). No intimidation factor
here.
Advantages and disadvantages of third-party applications
I should also note that I’ve always been a fan of SDR
manufacturers offering open compatibility with third-party
applications; in fact, when hardware manufacturers have approached me in the development stages of product design, I
always suggest they leave room for third-party development.
Why? First, as free SDR apps are so widely used in amateur,
scanner, as well as shortwave radio circles, there is already
a very large user-base for support when you have compatibility issues. Additionally, third-party applications often
work on multiple platforms, like Windows, OSX, Linux and
even Android/iOS; OEM applications tend to work only on
Windows OS. Secondly, if you’re already using, for example, HDSRDR to control a radio, adding the SDRplay RSP is
very easy, and as a bonus, you’ll already be familiar with the
user interface––there’s hardly any learning curve involved.
Finally, I find I’m much less concerned about product
obsolescence when hardware is designed to work in such
an open-development environment, thus indicating greater
potential for forward-compatibility.
Of course, on the flip side, not having an OEM application means that troubleshooting is often more difficult. If
you encounter a problem you’ll have to determine whether
the problem lies with OS, computer/tablet, USB driver, SDR
application, or hardware––or whether the problem is in a
combination of two or more of these, or the communication
between them.
Fortunately, I’ve been very pleased with the SDRplay
support team; this group has promptly addressed any questions or concerns I’ve had. Moreover, the RSP also has an
active forum of users (http://www.sdrplay.com/community).
Scope of review
In most reviews, I focus the majority of my SDR review
upon the pros and cons of the application’s user interface. In
this case, since the SDRplay RSP is using widely distributed
third-party applications, I can focus primarily on the SDR’s
performance, instead.
The SDRplay RSP is currently compatible with the
following third-party SDR applications:
HDSDR (http://www.hdsdr.de)
SDR# (http://sdrsharp.com/#download)
SDR Console (http://v2.sdr-radio.com)
SDR-J (http://www.sdr-j.tk/index.html)
Indeed, when I asked the SDRplay support team about a
comprehensive list of supported SDR apps, they responded:
Left: SDRplay RSP screen displays reception of CHU time station from Canada using the HDSDR application. Right: SDRplay RSP
display of CHU signal using the SDR# application. (Courtesy of the author)
“We should be compatible with any SDR application
that supports the EXTIO library––this is what we are using
for SDR# and HDSDR. [We] should also be compatible
with any Linux application that uses the gr-osmosdr interface library (such as GQRX http://gqrx.dk) and Gnu-Radio
(http://gnuradio.org/redmine/projects/gnuradio/wiki). We
have just released it and I’m in the process of writing up the
installation instructions. We have also had this running on a
Raspberry Pi 2.”
A Raspberry Pi 2 application? I, for one, can’t wait to
try this in the near future––!
For this review, I used two favorite apps with which I’m
familiar: SDR# and HDSDR.
Wideband
I should note here that the SDRplay RSP also has an
exceptionally wide frequency range covering from 100 kHz
to 2 GHz, with only a narrow gap between 380 MHz and 430
MHz. With the appropriate software, you can use the RSP for
a number of applications, for example, scanning, FM DXing,
and possibly even radio astronomy.
Performance
So, how about receiver performance? I’ll going to cut to
the chase here: For the $149 price tag? I’m very impressed.
Keep in mind, this is the first SDR I’ve ever reviewed––or
even spent more than a few hours exploring––that costs
under $400. My only other experience with a low-cost SDR
was a few hours spent with the Funcube Dongle Pro+––a
popular wideband SDR dongle that also covers the HF spectrum. Frankly, I was disappointed with the Funcube Dongle
Pro+, which I found subject to unwanted noises and even
some imaging, which I assumed might be indicative of this
class of SDR. Fortunately, I’ve not experienced this sort of
thing with the SDRplay RSP.
In short: I fully expected $149 performance out of the
RSP, but was very surprised to find performance on par with
a receiver two or three times this cost.
So for comparison purposes, I chose the Elad FDM-S2
as the benchmark. I currently have three other SDRs in my
shack, but the FDM-S2 is the next lowest in price (currently
listed at $539). But to be quite clear: the FDM-S2 is a pretty
high benchmark, as I consider it a superb receiver for its
price class.
When I first turned on the RSP and tuned through the
HF bands, I was quite amazed at the relatively low noise
floor of this receiver. Stations seemed to “pop” out the static.
I had assumed that the SDR# application had some sort of
DSP noise reduction engaged, but this proved not to be the
case––I confirmed the same low noise floor level via the
HDSDR application.
SDRplay actually gave the RSP to me on an extended
loan, so I’ve had the opportunity to use it both in quiet winter
conditions and more unsettled, noisier conditions indicative
of spring and summer here in the US. I used the RSP almost
exclusively for two weeks in an effort to uncover its most
notable strengths and weaknesses. But by the end of the twoweek period, I began to suspect that the RSP might actually
have sensitivity on par with my other SDRs. To answer this
question, I turned to A/B comparisons with the FDM-S2.
Sample Audio
I believe the following is a good representative comparison between the SDRplay RSP and the Elad-FDM S2.
The following recordings are of Radio Riyadh on
15,225 kHz. Riyadh’s signal is quite weak and voice levels
are barely above the noise floor. Both the Elad FDM-S2 and
SDRplay RSP (via HDSDR) were set to a slow AGC, AM
sync, and 8.2 kHz bandwidth.
First, the Elad FDM-S2:
(Click radio speaker to activate; right click to turn off)
Now the SDRplay RSP:
In this representative sample––and pretty consistently
throughout all my comparisons––the FDM-S2 was able to
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 33 multi-channel audio recordings
Conclusion:
Above: Block diagram of SDRplay. (Courtesy: SDRplay)
pull voice and music out of the noise better than the RSP. In
weak signal DXing, this is important, especially when you’re
listening for a station ID.
So would I ever replace my FDM-S2 with the RSP? No.
Still, for a $149 receiver? This performance is most impressive! The RSP is only a little less sensitive than my much
pricier SDRs.
The Pros and Cons
Invariably, all radios have strengths and weaknesses;
here is a list of my notes from the moment I put the RSP on
the air:
Pros:
• Excellent performance for price
• Good sensitivity and selectivity
• Low noise floor
• Compatible with multiple open source SDR applications
Very wide frequency range (frequencies above 30 MHz not
tested in this review)
• Works with multiple operating systems
Selectable USB/LSB sync detection via supported third-party applications
• 8 built-in switched preselectors that cover various portions of the RSP’s entire bandwidth
• Compatible with a number of excellent third-party SDR
applications (see con)
• One of the few low-priced SDRs that doesn’t require a
converter for HF coverage
• Exceptional value
I walked into this product review expecting to be...well,
disappointed. As I have some benchmark SDRs on my desk
at all times, I hadn’t investigated inexpensive SDRs because
I felt they would simply be redundant.
Fortunately, the SDRplay RSP really impressed me
from the beginning with its low noise floor, variable IF
bandwidth options, and relative ease of installation. Since the
RSP only requires one USB cable for both data and power,
it’s also an ideal portable SDR.
Up to this point, I’ve always hesitated suggesting that
those interested in a beginner’s SDR invest in any sub-$200
SDR, unless they simply want to get their feet wet and aren’t
interested in performance. But at $149 US––the price of a
good shortwave portable radio––I can confidently recommend at least the SDRplay RSP to those readers who want to
start out with a good-quality rig. Indeed, for many, it might
out-perform other receivers in their shack.
I see the RSP having a place in my shack as well,
especially on my portable shortwave listening adventures.
If you’re looking for a quality first SDR, or, like me, are
interested in a supplemental or remote receiver that won’t
break the bank, the RSP is just the ticket. And at just $149,
you simply can’t lose.
Meanwhile, what’s next for me? I plan to try the RSP
via the Raspberry PI 2 and my newly acquired Dell Venue 8
tablet.
The SDRplay RSP can be purchased directly from
SDRplay via their online store: http://www.sdrplay.com/
purchase.php
Resources:
SDRplay website http://www.sdrplay.com
SDRplay Facebook Group http://www.facebook.com/
groups/sdrplay
SDRplay RSP downloads page http://www.sdrplay.com/
downloads.html
Cons:
•
•
•
No OEM SDR app (see “Pros”)
Some moderate overloading on very strong stations
(though a little tweaking of SDR applications settings
can largely remedy this)
Via the current offerings from third-party apps, no
T S M
S c a n n i ng A m e r i c a
By Dan Veeneman dan@signalharbor.com
Scanner Update from Dayton 2015
Front and back views of the AOR AR-DVI Digital Voice Receiver tunes from 100 kHz up to 1.3 GHz (minus cellular frequencies).
(Photo courtesy of theh author)
D
espite rumors to the contrary, the scanning hobby
is still alive and well, based on the number of new
products coming out. This month we take a look at a
few of the devices that add new capabilities for listeners.
AOR AR-DV1
The Japanese company AOR (Authority On Radio
Communications) announced the development of a new
product last summer, the AR-DV1 Digital Voice receiver.
The consumer version received certification from the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) last month and appeared at the Dayton Hamvention™ a couple of weeks later.
The stand-alone AR-DV1 is capable of receiving signals
from 100 kHz up to 1.3 GHz, with the usual cellular frequencies blocked on U.S. consumer models. The receiver is able
to demodulate a number of popular digital voice formats,
including:
Digital Mobile Radio (DMR)
Digital Private Mobile Radio (dPMR)
D-Star
APCO Project 25 (P25)
NXDN
Yaesu Digital System Fusion
Alinco Digital EJ-47U
Digital Convenience Radio (DCR)
AOR
Technically, most of these waveforms have a couple of
characteristics in common. All but one of the listed formats
uses one of two types of modulation, which is the fundamental method of encoding information in the radio signal. Most
of these formats employ C4FM (Continuous 4-Level Frequency Modulation), which uses a set of four frequencies to
convey raw information from the transmitter to the receiver.
Other formats use GMSK (Gaussian-filtered Minimum Shift
Keying), which carries information through changes in the
phase of the signal, rather than the frequency. It uses the
radio spectrum efficiently and is widely deployed in GSM
(Global System for Mobiles) cellular telephone networks.
The digital voice formats fall into one of three formats.
P25 Phase I uses Improved Multi-Band Excitation (IMBE)
vocoder (voice encoder/decoder), while all the others use
either Advanced Multi-Band Excitation (AMBE) or a newer
version called AMBE+2. All three of these formats are the
patented products of Digital Voice Systems, Inc. (DVSI), of
Massachusetts.
The AR-DV1 is also capable of receiving analog transmissions, including AM (standard, narrow and wide), FM
(standard, narrow, wide and stereo) as well as single sideband (SSB) and continuous wave (CW).
The front of the receiver has a rather traditional LCD
display and keypad, along with volume, squelch and tuning
knobs. There is also a slot for an SD card, through which
audio can be recorded, as well as uploading and downloading memory data and performing firmware updates. A clock
enables a sleep timer, an alarm, and timed recording. Firmware updates can be downloaded from the AOR website and
placed on the SD card, or the card can be mailed to AOR,
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 35 who will place the upgrade on the card and mail it back to
you.
There is also a micro-USB connector on the front of
the unit advertised as a computer interface; however there is
currently no computer software available to actually control
the radio.
The back of the radio has a BNC 50-Ohm antenna connector, an auxiliary output jack that provides discriminator
output when the radio is in FM mode, an external speaker
jack and a DC power input connector.
The AR-DV1 has a street price of about $1200. Initial
reports of audio quality in various modes are quite good.
The AR-DV1 is very similar in digital voice decoding
capability to an earlier AOR product called the ARD300
Multi-Mode Decoder, first announced in 2013. The ARD300
connects to the Intermediate Frequency (IF) output of a separate receiver and demodulates the IF signal to audio. It can
demodulate the same voice formats as the AR-DV1 and has
the same limitations. It is available for about $800.
Internally, the AR-DV1 uses a more sophisticated
method of signal detection than most scanners. The arriving
signal is captured by a pair of analog-to-digital converters
(ADCs), which produce a stream of digital values referred to
as I and Q (in-phase and quadrature). These I/Q values are
then processed digitally to generate the raw digital information used by the voice formats. This is how nearly all
software defined radios (SDRs) are designed today. Most
scanners use a simpler method involving analog filters and
an FM discriminator that is cheaper to manufacture but is not
as robust as the I/Q method.
Limitations
The first thing to keep in mind is that the AR-DV1 is a
wide-band receiver, not a scanner. It does not support most
of the features you’d expect from a modern scanner.
It supports only P25 Phase I signals, not the newer
Phase II transmissions. It does not support trunking or identification of individual talkgroups. For NXDN, only the 6.25
kHz mode is supported, not the 12.5 kHz mode more common with railroad operations in some areas. Yaesu System
Fusion is for Voice/Data model only and dPMR is dPMR446
mode only.
It has a limited number of memories, organized as 40
banks of 50 for a total of 2,000 channels. It has a single
priority channel.
The second thing to keep in mind is that this is an initial
release of a brand new product that relies on software to
function properly. There are bugs, certainly, in the current
firmware that will need to be fixed over time. Initial reports
have identified several oddities and features that do not
work. Because the primary development was done in Japan,
AOR has admitted that U.S. buyers are really the first users
to see it operate in the real world. Purchasers will have to
wait and hope that AOR addresses the shortcomings of the
current firmware in a timely manner.
Whisteler WS-1095, much anticipated base/mobile version of the
hand-held WS-1080. (Photo courtesy of the author)
In addition to fixing problems, there is always the hope
that future firmware upgrades will add features, however
AOR has not committed to any new capabilities.
At $1200, this is not a radio for the average consumer
to plug in and listen to the local police and fire departments.
The digital voice capabilities appeal to a specific type of
listener who wants to be able to monitor these new systems
from a single, potentially mobile receiver.
Listeners with an interest in these systems but on a
much tighter budget use a software program called Digital
Speech Decoder (DSD) that can decode several digital voice
formats. By running DSD and connecting the computer to
a scanner or receiver with a “discriminator” output, users
can monitor and analyze the details of these transmissions,
including talkgroups, squelch codes and other identifiers that
the AR-DV1 does not currently provide.
DSD operates in a gray area due to an open source decoder for IMBE and AMBE. The decoding software, called
mbelib, is available for downloading and is used in the DSD
application. It was developed by a group of software authors
who remain anonymous to avoid legal problems with DVSI.
The use of the AR-DV1 avoids all of those potential legal
issues.
Whistler WS-1095
In April, The Whistler Group announced the
long-awaited WS1095, the base/mobile version of the handheld WS1080, which itself is the successor to the popular
GRE PSR-800. When Whistler bought the rights to the GRE
scanner line in 2013, they announced a plan to produce
the existing GRE models and eventually come out with an
equivalent to the GRE PSR-900, a planned base/mobile
version of the PSR-800 that never reached production. At
the time, the PSR-800 was in high demand due to a firmware
upgrade that enabled it to monitor P25 Phase II systems,
making it the first consumer scanner to be able to do so.
The WS1095 can monitor analog and digital systems,
including APCO Project 25 Phase I and II, as well as the
interim X2-TDMA systems. It can also track analog trunked
systems, including Motorola Type I and II, EDACS (Enhanced Digital Access Communication Systems) and LTR
(Logic Trunked Radio).
The unit has a detachable front control panel and a 6.5foot remote cable kit, allowing easier mounting in automobiles and other confined spaces. A 4 GB SD card holds the
radioreference.com database for all of the U.S. and Canada,
eliminating the need to perform a lot of manual programming. The user interface is intended to be simple and easy to
learn, with most users being able to simply enter a ZIP code
or city and begin listening.
A USB interface provides a means to access the SD
card without removing it from the scanner, as well as streaming decoded control channel data and updating the device’s
firmware. Audio can be recorded to the SD card and transferred to an external computer.
The WS1095 also offers National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) localized weather warnings
via SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) decoding,
alerting you to severe weather even when scanning other
systems. Street price for the WS1095 is about $500.
Uniden BCD325P2 and BCD996P2
Uniden has updated the handheld BCD325 to support
APCO Project 25 Phase II monitoring. Frequency coverage
includes 25 MHz to 512 MHz and 758 to 960 MHz, less
the 800 MHz cellular telephone frequencies. It supports the
connection of an external GPS receiver to provide automatic
system selection. The scanner has a very small form factor
and is available for about $400.
Uniden has also updated the base/mobile BCD996XT
to support APCO Project 25 Phase II monitoring and added
a mini-USB jack to the front. The new model is BCD996P2
and is being sold for around $450.
A firmware update was made available on the Uniden
website that addresses a couple of bugs in the initial release
of each scanner:
http://info.uniden.com/UnidenMan4/BCD325P2FirmwareUpdate
http://info.uniden.com/UnidenMan4/BCD996P2FirmwareUpdate
APCO Project 25 Phase II
APCO Project 25 (P25) is a set of standards for fully
digital two-way radio systems and has become the most
common platform for public safety radio networks. The
first P25 air interface standards that specify how signals are
transmitted over the air (referred to as Phase I Common Air
Interface) specified the use of C4FM modulation and the
IMBE vocoder. The second set of air interface standards, referred to as Phase II and intended to make more efficient use
of the available radio spectrum, specified a more complex
modulation scheme called CQPSK (Compatible Quadrature
Phase Shift Keying) and the use of TDMA (Time Division
Multiple Access) to share the same channel with two users.
The AMBE+2 vocoder is used in Phase II to squeeze voice
Uniden BCD996P2 base PhaseII-capable scanner. (Courtesy:
Universal-Radio)
activity into a narrower channel. Phase II provides twice
as many talk paths as Phase I, doubling the capacity of the
system.
The following scanners are capable of monitoring P25
Phase II transmissions, as well as Phase I and the three most
common analog trunking systems (Motorola, EDACS and
LTR):
MakeModelType
GRE
PSR-800
Handheld
Radio Shack PRO-668
Handheld
Uniden
BCD325P2
Handheld
Uniden
BCD436HP Handheld
Uniden
BCD536HP Base/Mobile
Uniden
BCD996P2
Base/Mobile
Uniden
Homepatrol II Base/Mobile
Whistler
WS1080
Handheld
Whistler
WS1095
Base/Mobile
RF Explorer
As scanner users we access the radio spectrum on a regular basis. Although some scanners have a bandscope feature
that displays the presence of signals at various frequencies,
most radio frequency (RF) engineers use a device called
a spectrum analyzer to view the detailed characteristics of
various signals. Typically these devices cost thousands of
dollars, are large and heavy, and are intended for use on a
workbench.
As an alternative, the RF Explorer is a light, handheld
spectrum analyzer with an impressive number of features at
a cost (depending on the model) as low as $120. The intermediate model, identified as 3G, covers frequencies from
15 MHz up to 2.7 GHz, which includes the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth bands and the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and
Medical) unlicensed spectrum below 1 GHz. It is particularly
well suited for identifying sources of interference and gives a
great view into the local RF environment.
In Spectrum Analyzer mode, the device can perform
peak and max hold, along with normal and averaging modes.
Setting the frequency and span (low and high limits) are
relatively easy, and the arrow keys allow easy movement of
frequency and vertical range.
In Wi-Fi mode, the device provides a view of activity
and signal strength on each 802.11 channel and can be used
to quickly troubleshoot connectivity issues caused by inter-
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 37 RF Explorer, an inexpensive, portable spectrum analyzer shows signals and characteristics. (Courtesy of the author)
ference or weak signals.
For the hardware-inclined folks, schematics for the RF
Explorer are available for downloading. The base model uses
a 16-bit microcontroller connected to a Silicon Labs Si4432
transceiver, along with support chips that provide USB interfacing and battery charging control. An internal rechargeable
Lithium-ion battery provides 16 hours of continuous operation.
In addition to operation as a standalone unit, the RF
Explorer has a mini-USB port for battery charging and
connection to an external computer. The data protocol used
on the USB connection is fully documented, allowing you
to develop your own applications to collect, log and analyze
signal data. The source code to an existing Windows application is available for free, giving you a starting point to
customize for your own applications.
T S M
F e de r a l Wav e l e ng t h s
By Chris Parris
cparris@thefedfiles.com
Washington, DC – Scanner Dreamland or Nightmare?
I
n the world of federal frequency monitoring, the Washington, D.C., area is the equivalent of all of the Disney
parks rolled into one. There is literally too much to listen
to, even with multiple scanners. There are dozens of trunked
radio system sites scattered through out the VHF, 380 MHz
and UHF bands to tune in. And even though much of the federal traffic is encrypted, finding and identifying the various
radio systems is a big part of the excitement of scanning and
tuning in.
Although I get to make the occasional trip through
the D.C. area for work, I have yet been able to spend some
time and just concentrate on searching the federal frequency
bands to see what you can actually hear. There are more than
a few targets of interest I have for monitoring, and hope to
plan an extended stay with multiple radios sometime in the
future.
In the past, when I have landed in Washington, I have
started with a few base files of frequencies I have collected
over my years of monitoring, but I’m always searching the
bands to see if there is something there I hadn’t heard before.
Many of the federal buildings and facilities in the D.C. area
have some low-power, simplex channels used for building
maintenance or security, and catching them is always a great
prize.
On one of my most recent visits, I noticed a big change
in one of the federal agencies that always had a familiar sound. The U.S. Capitol Police had moved from their
conventional, analog radio channels to a VHF P-25 digital
trunked radio system. As was predicted, when the system
came on line, the Capitol Police opted to keep all the user
radios in the secure mode, thus making it impossible to monitor. This was quite a shock to many of us who listened to the
USCP when in the DC area, but considering the number of
high-profile incidents that have occurred at the US Capitol
in the last few years, the move to encrypt their radios is not
surprising.
While not a federal agency, the Washington D.C. Metro
Fire Department had also gone the encrypted route when
they moved to a new APCO P-25 Phase II trunked system,
cutting off the media and fire department buffs from monitoring their channels. However, an incident at the L’Enfant
Metro station in January 2015, where fire communications
seemed to have broken down, led the D.C. Fire Chief to order that encryption on the fire department radios be dropped.
The Washington, D.C., Police Department has also been
nearly fully encrypted for some time now, once they moved
A Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) UH-90 helicopter flies over
the Washington, DC, area. (Courtesy of CBP)
to their current digital trunked system.
Despite the levels of encryption that are found in the
Washington area, there is still a lot to hear and log. Recently
I was only in town for a couple of days and was only able
to have the scanner running while at my hotel, but managed
to catch quite a bit of traffic. Here are the frequencies that I
found while searching:
162.0625
162.0750
162.3125
162.3125
162.3125
162.3250
163.3125
164.6500
164.8875
165.3750
165.6875
Office
165.7875
166.5125
(WHCA)
166.7250
166.9250
167.8875
168.1750
168.2875
168.3125
168.3250
168.4250
N00F
N201
N201
N202
N211
Secret Service, Uniformed Division
Secret Service, Uniformed Division
Secret Service
Secret Service
N202
N001
N001
N001
N001
Secret Service
Secret Service - TANGO
Secret Service - OSCAR
Secret Service - CHARLIE
Secret Service - Washington D.C. Field
N001 Secret Service - BAKER
N001 White House Communications Agency
127.3 PL U.S. Park Police
127.3 PL U.S. Park Police
N293
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 39 168.5875 N100
168.6875
168.9750
169.1875
169.4500
169.5750 N580 Capitol Police Trunked System
170.0000 N001 Secret Service
170.0000 N004 Secret Service
170.3875
170.6625 N167 Federal Bureau of Investigation
170.9875 N611
171.0000 N603
171.0125
171.4125 N010 Integrated Wireless Network (IWN) Trunked System
171.4125 N603
172.3875 N603
172.4000
172.4250
172.6125
173.0000 N293
172.0125 N650
173.5500 N71F
173.6000 N293
173.6375 N293
407.5500 N293
408.2000 N201 Federal Protective Service
I’m hopeful that sometime in the near future I can plan
a radio safari to the D.C. area for more than a day or two and
explore the lesser searched bands for activity, such as the
138-144, 148-150.7500 and 380 - 400 MHz Department of
Defense land mobile bands. And the VHF & UHF aircraft
bands also offer plenty to listen to, including military helicopter operations and Andrews AFB. As I said earlier, you
have to bring a full range of scanners to cover the National
Capitol Region!
Houston, Texas Federal Scanning
I had a chance to spend a few days working in my for40 The Spectrum Monitor June 2015
The US Coast Guard Cutter Aspen, with a Coast Guard helicopter in the foreground. (Courtesy of USCG)
mer home city of Houston, Texas, recently. While there I did
have some time to get the radios out and do a little listening.
I checked out several federal trunked radio systems in the
Houston area.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) operates a large, UHF Motorola P-16 trunked
system. It serves the Johnson Space Center and other related
NASA facilities in southeast Houston. Unfortunately, when
the system was deployed some years ago, the managers decided to force the encryption option for all users, so there has
never been any clear traffic on the system, as far as I know.
The Johnson Space Center used to have a number of
simplex frequencies for various operations in the facility, but
I haven’t heard them lately either. I suspect when the system was deployed everyone got new radios on the trunked
system. JSC also has access to the Texas Wide Area Radio
Network for interoperability with other agencies. TXWARN
is a very large P-25 system serving police, fire and public
safety for Houston and most of southeastern Texas.
Here are the technical details of the JSC radio system,
mostly for reference:
Johnson Space Center
System ID
B32C
Base
406.1000
Step
12.5 KHz
Offset
380
NAC
N2C0
406.2375
406.4375
406.8375
407.0375
407.2375
407.4375
407.6375
408.5500
409.5125
409.7125
409.9125
410.3875
Another trunked system you can actually monitor belongs to the Department of Justice and is used by the Federal
Detention Center in downtown Houston. This had been a
UHF analog system for many years, but a while back when
the Bureau of Prisons started upgrading most of their communications systems to digital, the FDC system in Houston
was changed to a new digital system with new frequencies.
Some Bureau of Prisons systems have since upgraded to
P-25 digital, but this system is still a Motorola system with
digital voice. Here is a rundown on the FDC trunked system:
Federal Detention Center Houston
System ID
E726
Base
407.0000
Step
12.5 KHz
Offset
380
NAC N265
407.0125
407.4125
408.4500
409.4125
410.2125
And in the last few years, the Department of Veterans
Affairs has installed a UHF P-25 trunked system to serve
the Michael DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The
system is utilized by many, various operations of the VAMC,
including security. Here is a rundown of this system information:
Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center
System ID
4FF
WACNBEE00
NAC
N4F1
407.8375
408.0000
408.2375
409.4375
Air Force 1 landing at Portland International Airport on May 7,
2015. (Courtesy of the Oregon Air National Guard)
165.3750
N001
CHARLIE
165.7250
N293
repeater
165.7875
N001
ER
166.2625
118.8
166.4375
100.0 PL
tion (CBP)
166.6750
167.2375
N167
167.7875
N167
168.8875
N167
170.6250
N167
170.6750
N051
Enforcement (ICE)
170.7500
N293
Court Security
170.9625
N650
Firearms & Explosives
171.4375
N653
PATCH”
171.6125
N167
171.6625
N301
tion
172.6875
D023
tery
407.1375
N482
407.7250
N482
409.5250
N293
410.4125
N156
tration
410.8000
N798
U.S. Secret Service Possible input to 170.7500
U.S. Secret Service – BAKCustoms and Border ProtecFBI Houston H-1
FBI Houston A-7
FBI Houston A-6
FBI Houston A-5
Immigration & Customs
U.S. Marshals – Federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Federal Interop “HOU
FBI
Customs and Border ProtecHouston National VA CemePostal Inspection Service
Postal Inspection Service
Department of State
Drug Enforcement Adminis-
There are also plenty of conventional federal frequencies that are active in the Houston area. The new DEA UHF
channels that have been mentioned in previous columns were
first noted in the Houston area, and there have been many
frequency changes to the Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) repeaters in the Houston area in recent years. Here is
a short list of what conventional frequencies I logged on my
most recent trip:
Federal Radio ID’s Continued
162.0250
163.1375
164.3500
164.4000
165.3125
In the last Federal Wavelengths column, I mentioned
that I have recently taken interest in the collection of P-25
radio ID’s that are transmitted by federal P-25 radios. In that
column, I also talked a bit about what you need to see and
save federal radio ID numbers. At the time I was using my
N293
Coast Guard NET 113
N001
N293
U.S. Secret Service - PAPA
Coast Guard NET 121
June 2015 Federal Protective Service
The Spectrum Monitor 41 Two P-25 Phase II capable scanners from Whistler. Left: WS-1080. Right: WS-1095 (Courtesy: Universal-Radio.com)
Uniden P-25 capable radios with the frequencies of interest programmed as “single frequency P25 trunked” mode.
In this mode the scanner will display any P-25 radio ID’s
that are received. One drawback is that it only displays this
information on clear, not encrypted, radio transmissions. The
Uniden radio firmware will skip any encrypted transmissions
on P-25 trunked radio systems by default and you cannot
change this.
Since then, I have acquired a new radio specifically for
the collection of radio ID’s. That radio is the recently released Whistler WS-1080 scanner, which is an updated and
rebranded GRE PSR-800 radio. The WS-1080 scanner offers
some nice options for the federal monitor, including the
ability to record transmissions with the frequency and tone/
NAC/Radio ID information.
Like the new Uniden HP radio series, the WS-1080
carries a nationwide frequency database on board on a
micro-SD card that can be updated weekly. It also offers an
option that I wish Uniden would offer, the ability to mute or
not mute encrypted P-25 transmissions. And unlike the Uniden radios, the WS-1080 will display the P-25 radio identification and talk group information on any P-25 transmission,
trunked or conventional.
Now that I have started to collect and catalog federal
radio ID’s, I have started listing them at the Fed Files Blog
page. If you have any federal radio ID’s or want to share
them, please feel free to email them to me at the email
address at the top of this column. You can find the list by
following this link: http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/p/federal-p-25-radio-identifications.html
Federal Wavelengths Reader Submissions
I have received some emails with some information that
I thought the readers of this column might find interesting.
First up is the information posted on a federal solicitation
web site looking for information on upgrading radios for the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This page has
no specific frequencies or bands listed. It appears that they
are upgrading their Tactical Communications System (TACCOM) from analog to P-25 digital radios. Here is a link to the
request for information:
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=9ef7b1260d9144b1ca4d80e8c613adfd&tab=core&_cview=0
I don’t have any currently confirmed information on the
SEC Office of Inspector General or law enforcement group
frequencies, but here are some good guesses to try:
163.1000
163.7125
166.4625
167.1375
168.3500
168.6125
173.6250
407.5250
408.4000
409.0500
409.0750
409.3375
412.8250
412.8375
412.8500
412.8625
412.8750
412.8875
412.9000
412.9125
416.5250
418.0500
418.0750
418.3375
418.5750
I also received some information on a request for
some UHF radios for use by the US Coast Guard Cutter
Aspen. The solicitation specifically requests a Motorola
HT-750 radio and includes a frequency list. Here is a link
to the solicitation request page: https://www.fbo.gov/
index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=42c23100145cc6b38bfb7de7fca1a132
Down near the bottom of the page are links to PDF files
of information. One of these pages has a specific list of UHF
frequencies that should be in the radio. Here is that list:
1 – 430.5250
2 – 431.5250
3 – 432.7350
4 – 434.5250
5 – 436.7650
6 – 437.6250
7 – 438.5750
8 – 440.5625
9 – 440.5850
10 – 449.7125
11 – 450.5250
12 – 451.7625
13 – 455.5150
14 – 460.7750
15 – 465.5250
16 – 461.5250
There is nothing specified for CTCSS or DCS squelch
tones. The frequencies listed are rather a strange mix. I have
seen some of these before in relation to Coast Guard radios,
but this is the first time I have had them confirmed by an
official document. One clue might be that the USCGC Aspen
is a buoy tender. These radios may be used for maintenance
of buoys and may even be used with buoys that have RF
emitters on these frequencies used by them. Perhaps the
radios will only be used offshore or at sea where interference
with licensed services would be minimal. The Coast Guard
has a history of using oddball UHF channels on board their
vessels.
And lastly, I received some confirmed frequencies from
a recent visit by President Obama to the Portland, Oregon
area. I was not there, but several listeners were able to catch
some activity from the visit and passed them along to me.
I am posting these to hopefully dissuade some folks
who think that the Secret Service and White House Communications Agency have moved to some super-secret, gigahertz, spread spectrum radio system because they didn’t hear
anything on a presidential visit. Most USSS communications
are simplex, not using repeaters, so you need to be near by
to be able to hear much activity, which will undoubtedly be
encrypted. But they are still using most of the same VHF
channels that we have come to associate with the Secret
Service for years.
Here is what was heard on the visit to the Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon on May 7 and 8, 2015:
Uniden HomePatrol II, a P-25 Phase I and II capable scanner.
(Courtesy: Universal-Radio.com)
164.4000
N001
164.8875
N001
165.3750
N001
land Field Office
166.5125
N001
USSS PAPA
USSS OSCAR
USSS CHARLIE and PortWHCA ALPHA
Also heard was P25 activity on 162.6125 MHz. This is
not a known US Secret Service allocation, but it is a channel used by the US Capitol Police. There might have been a
USCP contingent along with the Presidential Protection Detail, perhaps with a visiting member of Congress at the event.
Federal Wavelengths Frequency List Legend
Unless otherwise noted, frequencies listed are FM and frequencies are shown in Megahertz (MHz). Frequencies listed
will show additional information as follows:
PL
CTCSS Tone Squelch
D
DCS Digital Coded Squelch
CSQ Carrier Squelch, no squelch tone
N
APCO P25 digital Network Access Code (NAC)
DMR Digital Mobile Radio, a.k.a. MotoTRBO digital
WACNWide Area Communications Network, an APCO P25
trunked network Identifier
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 43 U t i l i t y P l a n e t
By Hugh Stegman mtutilityworld@gmail.com
U.S. Coast Guard Plans Big HF Comm Changes
T
he U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has plans to consolidate
operation of most of its high-frequency communication stations (COMMSTAs) into a single Communications Command (COMMCOM). The most visible change
will come at CAMSPAC (Communications Area Master
Station, PACific) in Pt. Reyes, CA. Basically, it will cease to
exist, except as a “lights out” automated station controlled
from a new master console in Virginia.
“MDMonitor,” a listener in Maryland, has already
heard a new Automatic Link Establishment (ALE) identifier.
This is “SSRPAC.” Will this be what’s left of CAMSPAC?
The fate of the other master station, CAMSLANT Chesapeake, is not known at this time. Obviously, they’ll change
the name. There’s been no mention of it closing, but it may
or may not be the new control point. That’s just not known.
The other Coast Guard COMMSTAs, except for Kodiak,
Alaska, will be integrated into the same control system. They
will also go lights-out, if they haven’t already. These include
NMF (Boston), NMA (Miami), NMG (New Orleans), and
NMO (Honolulu). NRV (Guam) was remoted to CAMSPAC
in 1993.
If there’s a target date for the big switch-pulling, it can’t
be found on the Internet. Occasional chatter comes from people affected by the changes. Otherwise, all news of this project comes buried in a number of complicated, acronym-ridden proposals, solicitations, and Power Point slides. Only the
government and military are capable of churning these out in
such awesome volume, with such profound opacity.
The only thing even close to an announcement that I
found appears in one of those government contract pre-solicitation things. This one is titled “Automated Security
and Environmental Monitoring.” It was issued by the Coast
Guard on February 11, 2015 and states the plan mentioned
above. Then it calls for “a Commercial-off-the Shelf (COTS)
system to provide continual intrusion detection surveillance,
environmental monitoring, and tower lighting monitoring at
each of the communications facilities.”
Further, there’s a vague description of the control
scheme. It will be “remote communicated over a contractor
provided commercial Internet to a system central control
console at the COMMCOM operation center for monitoring
of all facilities. The control console is required to provide
audio and visual alerts to the Coast Guard watch-stander. In
The Coast Guard’s C4ISR program is developing secure and
reliable computer systems for the national security cutter and the
offshore patrol cutter in a project with the C4&IT Directorate.
(USCG text)
addition, the system is required to simultaneously send alerts
to local police and fire departments and other Coast Guard
organizational elements as appropriate.”
I take this paragraph to mean that the USCG plans to
monitor and secure one of the country’s most critical communication networks over the same Internet used by hacking
groups, Russian gangsters, North Korean cyber-spooks, and
everyone else. I hope that I’m wrong.
USCG Secure Voice
Also flying through the governmental document
blizzard is a “Limited Sources Justification” announcing
a USCG agreement with Rockwell Collins to buy 1023 of
its latest DVP-200 AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
Digital Voice/Data Processors. DVP stands for “Digital Voice
Privacy.”
These are for use on ALE-linked HF frequencies,
including those on COTHEN (Customs Over-The-Horizon
Enforcement Network). Other U.S. government agencies are
also deploying them on various schedules.
These 128-bit units replace the more familiar Advanced
Narrowband Digital Voice Terminals (ANDVT) that everyone’s heard on the air. They produce a much different
sound on receivers using upper sideband (USB) mode. One
will still hear the same ALE linking, but after that there’s a
single 590-Hz beep followed by the distinct hiss of a MILSTD-188-110A type of waveform. Since it’s encrypted,
don’t bother trying to decode it.
Some USCG Frequencies
Most of the time, USCG assets are heard on the
aforementioned COTHEN network. They interoperate with
several other agencies, including CBP (Customs and Border
Protection), ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), and the
COTHEN infrastructure itself.
This infrastructure consists of 19 remote transmitters
controlled from a TSC (Technical Service Center) in Florida. There’s also a backup control point in Cedar Rapids, IA.
One will also occasionally see an ALE address of TISCOM,
the USCG’s Telecommunications and Information Systems
Command in Alexandria, VA.
Frequencies have been added to this net over the years.
To be safe, a full ALE scan should probably include 4614.5,
5250, 5732, 5909.5, 7527, 8912, 10242, 11494, 12222,
13312, 13907, 14582, 15867, 18594, 20890, 23214, and
24838.5 kilohertz (kHz) USB. A couple of these frequencies also have civil aviation HFDL (High-Frequency Data
Link) activity, though both systems seem able to coexist.
USCG’s older safety-of-flight frequencies are still around,
though they’re a lot less active than they used to be. The
best known one is 5696 kHz USB. This mission also uses
8983 and 11201 kHz USB.
Many tactical frequencies appear in old logs, but few
have shown much activity recently. There have been recent
hits on 6516, 10538.6, 12671.8, and 13221, all USB ALE.
International Call Sign Handbook
A decent call sign list is an indispensable reference for
any kind of military monitoring. It’s probably number two
in importance, right behind all the frequency lists.
Larry Van Horn’s Teak Publishing has always put out
the most comprehensive call sign list for the hundreds of
identifiers used by various military units. As a retired Navy
Chief Petty Officer himself, Larry has the experience and
insight to keep on top of it all. He’s been one of the go-to
guys for military information in this hobby since the early
days of print newsletters.
I would be utterly lost without a trusty, 2008 vintage,
CD-ROM containing version number two. It still lives in
this computer’s D: drive, ready for immediate action. Unfortunately, it’s finally getting old.
The solution came in early April, when Amazon listed
the latest version of Larry’s International Call Sign Handbook (Government/Military Edition). Like everything else,
this reference has kept up with information technology. It is
now a Kindle e-book. A clickable-tappable table of contents
(Courtesy: Teak Publishing)
replaces the previous huge PDF file, and the search is downright slick. New types of identifiers, such as Mode-S aircraft
calls, have been added.
The e-book format is really better suited to literary
works read from beginning to end, but it still has one big
advantage over the older CD-ROM. This is full portability
across devices. It’s hard to put a CD into a hand held tablet.
With Kindle’s free reader, however, it’s there in seconds,
without needing to buy something again.
The Handbook is available from Amazon, and a link appears at the end of this column. At U.S. $6.99, it’s a phenomenal deal in a hobby usually lacking in deals. It’ll save that
much worth of your time the first time you use it.
More ShipCom Details
The column about the new ShipCom/USHFCC emergency ALE system generated more e-mail than anything
in quite a while. This led to further digging through FCC
records, which produced a few more answers.
Yes, the “location one” on KNN’s license is at a yacht
club right on the water in Marina Del Rey, a yacht harbor
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 45 just north of the L.A. airport that everyone’s undoubtedly
seen on TV. It’s real Southern California Chamber of Commerce stuff, with boats and palm trees and lots of blue water.
However, the radio of interest here is located somewhere
else, a few blocks away. The FCC filing shows this as a
125-watt, omnidirectional station, with an “official” call sign
of WRN2. Its very small vertical antenna sits atop a low,
nondescript building in a far less photogenic business park.
It’s connected to one of several “ARINC Test Labs” shown
in FCC records.
It’s practically certain that this station is the source of
the “010MDR” call heard on ALE. The modest scale of the
facility makes it a good utility catch, but it’s still being heard
worldwide.
I have done some driving around, and no changes have
been found at the older KNN license address on Panay Way.
It still looks more like a small ham radio than what one
would expect from reading its FCC authorization for 40 kW
on medium wave. Since the marina is still there, and the land
hasn’t reverted to its former use as a Press Wireless transmitting farm, one can safely conclude that KNN is not operating
up to full authorization. Its only visible antennas at the yacht
club are two very small verticals and a satellite dish.
101BUR is another 125-watt, omnidirectional station,
WRN1, at or near Bob Hope/ Burbank Airport. This airport
is a relatively small, regional field at the east end of the San
Fernando Valley. It’s used by JetBlue, and it’s convenient
to the movie studios and all that famous stuff. 101BUR is
another little station, but it is also being heard worldwide.
It’s possible that the ALE address “WRN” is actually
one of these, not Richardson, TX. This cannot be said for
sure, however. In addition, KNN’s modified FCC license
shows yet another small station, KNN1, at another ARINC
office in Rancho Cucamonga, well east of L.A. Its ALE call,
if any, is unknown.
Other stations have been pretty much confirmed as well.
At least one “official” call assigned to the ARINC facility in
Annapolis is KLK1. Its license shows an operation that is
similar to the two stations mentioned above. This may be the
source of some or all of the various ANP identifiers on ALE.
More is known about the mysterious WQUW514. This a special temporary FCC authorization for stations transmitting
from tall towers at four locations. These might be some kind
of prototypes or proof-of-concept for the big base stations
mentioned in the various business proposals.
One is indeed at the Dixon, California, “supersite”
on Radio Station Road. This old VOA site is also used by
ARINC for the HFDL ground station known as “San Francisco.” Globe Wireless at least used to have stations there,
and in fact a former Globe employee signed the FCC application.
These are the other locations: Cedar Rapids, IA, a
Rockwell Collins facility, possible ALE call CID; the
ARINC HFDL site on Long Island known as “Riverhead,”
possible ALE call NYC; and finally an unknown “lattice
tower” outside of Richardson, TX. Google Earth shows the
Rockwell-Collins HSM-2050 HF/VHF/UHF High-Speed Modem
(Courtesy: Rockwell-Collins)
coordinates for this last one as a residential block with no
towers in sight. It can’t be said for sure whether this is the
ALE call DFW.
It’s worth clarifying the purpose of all this utility
strangeness. It’s a business venture in which several companies with competencies in various aspects of emergency
communication have partnered together to offer a nationwide
HF backup for municipal 911 systems. At least one county
in Texas has already subscribed. It proposes to use the latest
ALE techniques, sometimes called “HF Cellular,” to provide
a highly survivable fall-back. This would allow 911 dispatchers to contact mobile units after some catastrophe like a
huge hurricane takes out everything else.
All of this sounds pretty vague, but that’s all anyone
knows at present. Utility can be a vague pursuit at times.
Russia Watch
Russian Naval Air Transport has been active on HF.
Kraket, the Western Sector in Kaliningrad, is being heard
working aircraft on 11354 kHz, USB voice, in Russian.
There’s also Priboj, the Central Sector control in Moscow.
Naval transports have also been heard using CW on 8816
kHz.
The Air Force is also busy. Along with the daily CW
activity in the Bear-H net, Russian language voice has really
lit up on 11360 USB. Aircraft are heard pretty much daily,
working such ground stations as Korsar (Pskov), and Klarnetist (Tver).
Several countries, including Russia and the U.S., use
the off-route aircraft USB frequency of 8992 kHz. One log
showed a place with several Latinization spellings, generally
known as Chklakovsky in English. It’s the Air Force in the
Moscow area, and it was working an aircraft.
I found nice loud signals on the Netherlands WebSDR
from Korsar on 11360, and also an interesting naval broadcast in CW Cyrillic Morse. This was RMP on 4079 kHz, at
the Navy’s Baltic Fleet headquarters in Kaliningrad. The
message was a long weather broadcast to the fleet’s collective call sign of REO.
There was also a weird station with a female voice in
Russian, loud, on 5680 kHz USB. This frequency is bet-
The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is located at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station (CMAFS), a short distance from NORAD and
USNORTHCOM headquarters at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station falls
under Air Force Space Command and hosts the activities of several tenant units. At the height of the Cold War in the late 1950s, the
idea of a hardened command and control center was conceptualized as a defense against long-range Soviet bombers. The Army Corps
of Engineers supervised the excavation of Cheyenne Mountain and the construction of an operational center within the granite mountain. The Cheyenne Mountain facility became fully operational as the NORAD Combat Operations Center on Feb. 6, 1967. (Text and
photo courtesy: North American Aerospace Defense Command)
ter known as Kinloss Rescue in the UK. It’s an important
emergency channel. The woman sounded kind of official, as
opposed to those Russian phone patches where couples fight.
However, a Russian speaker will be needed to translate the
recording.
Mike Chace-Ortiz, our knowledgeable digital column
editor, caught one of the “Russian Man” variants on 22892
kHz AM voice. Enigma has given this one the designation
“S06.” The S refers to Slavic languages, and this was indeed
in Russian, with a message in 5-figure groups. This broadcast
comes from somewhere in the Russian intelligence apparatus.
Polytone, using variants classified by Enigma as XPA
and XPA2, had a busy month. Reports show successful
“Rivet” decodes on 10243, 10943, 13538, 14828, and 16114.
There are undoubtedly others.
News reports from AFP describe the latest U.S. response to increased tension with Russia. This is the upgrade
of communication systems for NORAD and Northcom at
the famous Cheyenne Mountain bunker deep underground
in Colorado. The mountain never closed, but activity there
had been scaled way down. Now, though, this hardened Cold
War site is getting a lot of new attention. For example, the
U.S. Department of Defense has announced a $700 million
contract with Raytheon for new comm gear.
Someone mentioned a number of ALE frequencies that
might be associated with this activity at the mountain. No
confirmation is possible, and nothing has been heard on any
of these here.
Resources:
Interesting USCG “Request for Information” on HF radios:
https://www.fbo.gov/index?id=c4e7ed09b97c4fbd54399150ec1b2862
Mark Cleary’s great COTHEN list, updated by Larry Van
Horn:
http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/p/us-cbp-cothen-net-updated-9302012.html
International Call Sign Handbook:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VV7NR1U
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 47 D i g i t a l H F:
I n t e r c e p t a n d A n a l y z e
By Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU
L
mchaceortiz@gmail.com
Decoding the MIL-STD-188-110A/B
2400bd HF Modem
ong a mainstay of many organizations around the
world, from military to diplomatic, the MIL-STD188-110A/B 2400bd HF modem can still be heard
daily around the shortwave bands. It’s a worthwhile catch
too, since many networks using this equipment are now
transitioning to faster third- generation (3G) standards and
probably won’t be heard so regularly for much longer.
The MIL-STD-188-110A/B Standard
Developed and published by the US military in the early 1990s as MIL-STD-188-110A, and superseded by MILSTD-188-110B in 2000, this modem standard still provides
a principal means for moving data around HF at reasonably
high speeds. The standard is referred to as second-generation
(or 2G) to distinguish it from the more recent MIL-STD188-110C and 141C or 3G ALE and data modem protocols.
These 2400bd modems are frequently triggered by MILSTD-188-141A/B 2G ALE and the pair is a fixture in HF
radios produced by Harris, Rockwell Collins, Tadiran, and
many other manufacturers in the last two decades.
The modem waveform fits in a standard 3 kHz voice
channel and supports data rates of 75, 150, 300, 600, 1200,
2400 and 4800 bits per second. Three modulation schemes
using various types of PSK (Phase Shift Keying) are defined
and can employ 16 parallel tones with a Doppler correction tone at +605 Hz, 39 parallel tones with a pilot tone at
+393.75Hz, or a serial single tone version using a center
frequency of +1800 Hz. Figures 1 and 2 show the more
common serial tone and less common 39 tone modems as
they appear on “waterfall” display of the audio spectrum and
you can hear the sound of these modems in serial tone and
39 tone modes by following the links to the recordings in
Resources.
An appendix to the standard further defines 3200, 4800,
6400, 8000 and 9600 bps speeds achieved with the use of
8PSK and QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), however these are rarely heard on HF probably due to the quality
of link required to sustain these speeds.
Like the STANAG4285 standard (see DHFIA October 2014), these modems use short or long interleaving to
enhance robustness in the face of interference and noise and
the data being carried by the modem may also be coded.
Figure 1. Audio spectrum of MIL-STD-188-110A/B Serial Tone
HF modem (screenshot courtesy of the author)
Asynchronous data is usually coded as 7 or 8-bit ASCII or
5-bit ITA2 (Baudot) code. Synchronous data streams can
also be sent using 5, 7 or 8-bits and may be arranged with the
Most Significant Bit (MSB) or Least Significant Bit (LSB)
sent first.
While the interleaving and speed of the modem is sent
as part of the signal preamble (a so-called “autobaud” feature) and doesn’t require to be set by you, unfortunately the
same is not true of the coding, so some manual adjustment
with the decoder is required before sense can be made of the
message being sent.
How To Decode MIL-STD-110A/B
All the professional decoders from Hoka, WaveCom
and go2 will decode this modem. For those of us with more
modest means, Sorcerer, MultiPSK and MS-DMT produced
by N2CKH (see Resources) mainly for use by MARS (Military Affiliate Radio Service) stations in the US, all work
well.
Like most high-speed modem signals, you’ll need to
make sure that your receiver is stable and precisely on-fre-
quency. Errors of 100Hz or more are unlikely to produce a
decode even with most decoders using some form of automatic tuning control. Most signals are sent on a kilohertz
point when tuned in USB, less commonly on the half kilohertz, and some US agencies use 0.6 kHz. In terms of the
coding used, most signals use 8-bit synchronous with MSB
first, rarely LSB (sometimes called “Inverted”), and next
most common is 7-bit ASCII. Apart from this, there’s little
else to be done in terms of setup. Just tune around the channels below and you’ll soon hear this modem!
Finding MIL-STD-188-110A/B Around The HF Bands
Swiss Diplomatic Service
Some of the most active MIL-STD-188-110A/B signals
originate from the still very active Swiss diplomatic network. MFA Bern and its embassies use encrypted MIL-188141A/B 2G ALE to set up links, switching to the 2400 bd
modem for traffic. You can decode the traffic, which is sent
using the FS1052 DLP (Data Link Protocol) standard and
consists of emails with attached unencoded binary files that
do carry a header so that you can identify the sender and
recipient. Unencoding is an old method of sending binary
files over communications links only capable or supporting
ASCII, and developed in the 1970s when the Internet was in
its infancy. Here’s an example of the kind of messages you
can see, in this case, one from MFA Bern to its embassy in
Ankara, Turkey:
\\K:AA 80EMKNøF¦B?csbfradio%mail.bf.intra2.admin.
ch.is.bf.intra2.admin.ch@apbfamef1.is.bf.intra2.admin.
chANK6stub@bfmail.ank.rep.admin.ch@bfankf1.ank.rep.
admin.ch@WEmail ID=<F744D8501A69D54EB10D0CE6260A18094E59338A@BF-EX2.mail.bf.intra2.admin.ch>”
EncryptionMode= CFB64
IDEAKeyId= 20110403
InitialVector= 7A49896C79256B7B
begin 666 /tmp/CFB6401705154ABD7796EB7C069.dat
M5’2!DE$I!Y@+^4-R&#74PR95?6L<@&5PAKEAC6AYM.OAHS’+].TGA=mJKI@-1&
ME=?W59-B6MYJ(&0NK8QOTTE2QU0#”E3D;”=(_V3=,/
H1/!I#03A?48D11GYB3,
M&90-]?IUM1;O)]?7<&E.Q1><2R>O
KQZ:$NAL@*G0YhQ.MIV1TH]>:DHP@GJS9
M2R@^ TXUCNL”*”MP^:I8-)20!J?K(LY E66$ K+?HCBA\6_-LS.R]D6J>/]27Y
MA?1N2Y9-O%ZO6ZJ6R# QYB^FVUYOA?Y&OJ>[P]
IU__2Z54Z.?&0Z+8HP?H?]X@
M”(?”&5@=19M+?@R=_*F[. ]¯gZ0$3$$6B@)+%[P(“ISB^9[C”RKU@S<TZQ:”])
This network is busy all day and night including weekends, with channels extending from 5 up to 25 MHz when
conditions are good, and the same frequencies have been in
use for many years. Data, if any is to be sent on the channel,
Figure 2. Audio spectrum of MIL-STD-188-110A/B 39 Tone HF
modem (screenshot courtesy of the author)
is usually sent 15 or 20 seconds after the ALE, so if you
don’t hear any data within that time, move down to the next
channel and listen there since the system is seeking the best
channel to use for the modem transfer.
Frequencies: 5090, 5119, 5752, 5757, 5768, 7661, 7668,
7683, 7720, 7968, 9166, 10190, 10238, 10958, 13457,
13951, 13968, 16094, 16124, 16224, 16234, 16424, 16434,
18281, 18403, 20605, 20613, 20625, 20725, 22940 & 23005
kHz USB
US Air Force Secret Internet Protocol Router Networks
Another very active global system, operating throughout the night and day, is the US Air Force network, “SIPRNET” or Secret Internet Protocol Router Network. Like the
Swiss diplomatic network, ALE is used to keep the network
running smoothly except in this case, it’s in the clear. However, the MIL-STD-188-110A/B data is fully encrypted so is
not readable.
Identifiers:
ADWSPR
AEDSPR
CROSPR
HAWSPR
HIKSPR
ICZSPR
JDGSPR
JNRSPR
JTYSPR
OFFSPR
PLASPR
Andrews AFB, MD
Elmendorf AFB, AK
Croughton AFB, United Kingdom
Wideawake AFB, Ascension Island
Hickam AFB, HI
Sigonella NAS, Italy
Diego Garcia NAS, Indian Ocean
Salinas, PR
Yokota AFB, Japan
Offutt AFB, NE
Lajes AFB, Azores
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 49 DL0005DAT, MOBD08DAT, etc are aircraft, typically Boeing E3C AWACS of which the numeric portion of the ALE
identifier relates to the tail numbers of the aircraft.
Frequencies: 3113, 5702, 6715, 8968, 11181, 15091, 17967
& 27870 kHz USB
Mexican Navy
Less frequently heard users of MIL-STD-188-110A/B
are the ships and bases of the Mexican Navy. The Mexicans
are equipped with Israeli-made Tadiran radios and therefore
use their proprietary ALE system “Autocall” instead, a 125
bd 4FSK signal that’s a brief burst at +2900 Hz above the
carrier (USB) point. The Tadiran radios also take care of the
link management when sending data with a brief 1 kHz tone
at key up and a 125 bd 2FSK burst at key down.
Data is usually sent in the clear using 7 bit ASCII.
You’ll know when you have it set correct, as the data starts
with a “^^^^^^^^^&” preamble. You will usually see shipping reports, navigation information and weather information, like this example:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^&,@LLL{3S
A R M A D A DE M E X I C O
RADIOGRA
MA
===========================================
=======================
A BORDO EN LA MAR, A 26 DE ENERO DEL 2010
CK... 30 FHD... 270240UTC DAT. XCBU2615.TXT IM
@LLLG7$
INSTANTANEO
SINCLAS
ACCION
INFORMACION
EDOMAYGRALCUART.EDOMAYGRALTER, EDOMAYGRALSEX, FUERNAVGO, RN-1,
ZN-1, ZN-3, FLOAUXGO.
ARM PAPALOAPAN A-411.- 113 _/10.- 096
REF. SU SUP. RAD. EDOMAYGRAT. NUM. 123/10.EMG.- S4.4.- EMG. 293 DE
ESTA FECHA.- PERMITOME INFORMAR CITADA INFORMACION REQUIERESE, DIOSE CUM
PLIMIENTO EN MI DIV. RAD. ARM PAPALOAPAN
A-411 NUM. 107/10 DE HOY.- POSUCO.- 262030 S CAP.
FRAG.CG.DEM.E INFO.
Frequently, operators will complete the contact using
voice or even CW. Identifiers are usually four letters beginning with “XC”, for example “XCBF”, and “XCRH”. The
fleet training ship “Cuauhtemoc” is frequently heard using
call sign “BE01”.
Frequencies: 4125, 4515, 5290, 5400, 6650, 6740, 6830,
7745, 8030, 8230, 9127, 9135, 9180, 9181, 9185, 10305,
11485, 13500, 13505, 14720, 14860, 15047, 15045, 16045,
18300, 18305 & 19100 kHz USB
Colombian Navy
While now mainly using 3G modem standards, the
Colombian Navy can sometimes still be heard using 2G ALE
and the MIL-STD-188-110A/B modem. Data is encrypted
but the 2G ALE is sent in the clear, and you can frequently
see chatter in Spanish using the AMD “text message” feature
of ALE. Here’s a typical message using MIL-STD-188110A/B:
DATA RATE 300 SHORT INTERLEAVER
®æ€Û<¶œ•Ü`””XØZXà€ /QKÐG0°²³Ÿœ€²¡¤ä˜˜XXXØ˜8˜èT4”•Ü`””XØZXà€ /QKÐG0°²³Ÿœ€²¡¤ä˜˜XXXØ˜8˜èT4”¼i‰©®æýöÿÿÒ¦¥M(€9¿ 1 0
DATA RATE 300 SHORT INTERLEAVER
®æ€Û<¶œ•Ü`””XØZXà€ /QKÐG0°²³Ÿœ€²¡¤ä˜˜XXXØ˜8˜èT4”üd#l®æ€Ú<¶œ•Ü`””XØZXà€ /
QKÐG0°²³Ÿœ€²¡¤ä˜˜XXXØ˜8˜èT4”hTfv®æÛ<¶œ•Ü`””XØZXà€ /QKÐG0°²³Ÿœ€²¡¤ä˜˜XXXØ˜8˜èT4”¼i‰©®æÚ<¶œ•Ü`””XØZXà€ /
QKÐG0°²³Ÿœ€²¡¤ä˜˜XXXØ˜8˜èT4”(YÌ³ÿÿÒ¦¥MÒ/’8ˆh¤e.A
And here’s an example of the operator chatter between
stations DPA and KM3. The copious percent characters are
the operators pressing the backspace delete key to correct
errors!
[TO] KM3 [LQA] MULTIPATH - SINAD -- BER 00 [THIS
IS] DPA
[TO] DPA [AMD]
AMDCHAT [LQA] MULTIPATH - SINAD -- BER 10
[THIS IS] KM3
[TO] DPA [AMD]
BUENAS NOCHES#PS [LQA] MULTIPATH - SINAD -BER 10 [THIS IS] KM3
[THIS IS] KM3 [TO] DPA [AMD]
E QUIE%TE DE LA COLA LOS ARCHIVOS QU EESTAQBA %%%%%%%%%%E ES
[THIS IS] KM3
[TO] KM3 [LQA] MULTIPATH - SINAD -- BER 02
[THIS IS] DPA
[TO] DPA [LQA] MULTIPATH - SINAD -- BER 00 [THIS
IS] KM3
[TO] DPA [AMD]
TABA ENVIANDO#ASI MISMO CAMBIE EL NOMBRE
DEL ARCHIVO Y REINI [LQA] MULTIPATH - SINAD -BER 00 [THIS IS] KM3[TO] DPA [AMD]
CIE EL PC%%PROGRAMA DATRON LINK#Y ME
VUELVE A LLAMAR Y EN [LQA] MULTIPATH - SINAD
-- BER 00 [THIS IS] KM3
[TO] DPA [AMD]
VIA DE NUEVO EL ARCHIVO CON EL NPOMBRE
%%%%%%%OMBRE NUEVO#GR [LQA] MULTIPATH
- SINAD -- BER 00 [THIS IS] KM3[TO] KM3 [LQA]
MULTIPATH - SINAD -- BER 05 [THIS IS] DPA
Identifiers
Late dispatch:
My guess is that the main naval bases use the ALE
“5KM”, “KM2”, “KM3”, “KM5” and “KN2”. Vessels and
outstations use a variety of three letter calls like “BLR”,
“BOP”, “DPA”, “EPA”, “PFA” and “POH”.
Unfortunately and unexpectedly, MFA Bern appears to
have discontinued HF operations using the MIL-STD-188141A/B and 110A/B combination as of around May 20th.
The military part of the network continues as before. More
on this important development next month!
Frequencies: 5620, 5720, 5815.5, 7980, 8010, 8060, 8200,
8344, 9090, 11150, 11450, 12417, 14922 & 16554 kHz USB
Ecuadorean Navy
The ships and bases of the Ecuadorean Navy can also
sometimes be heard using MIL-STD-188-110A/B, though
PacTOR-III seems to be their preference for most communications needs more recently.
Data traffic is encrypted and sent in 7 bit ASCII, however there are message headers that can be read. Typical
stations heard, together with the routing indicators seen in
the headers, are:
CODESC
CORESM
CORGAL
CORIOS
CORLOJ
CORMAN
CORORO
COOPNA
FRAPAL
FRAMOR
LAMCUE
Naval Infantry School, Guayaquil
Corvette “Esmeraldas”
Corvette “Galapagos”
Corvette “Los Rios”
Corvette “Loja”
Corvette “Manabi”
Corvette “Oro”
HQ Guayaquil
Frigate “Presidente Eloy Alfaro”
Frigate “Moran”
Fast Attack Craft “Cuenca”
Frequencies: 7900, 8090, 8165, 8339, 8355, 8758, 8873,
8973, 9250, 9329, 10245, 12400 & 12622 kHz USB
That’s all for this month’s installment. Enjoy your
digital DX and please don’t hesitate to contact me if there’s a
topic you would like to see in a future column.
Resources
N2CKH’s MS-DMT
www.n2ckh.com/MARS_ALE_FORUM/MSDMT.html
MIL-188-110A/B Serial Audio
www.dropbox.com/s/ojz1z828phgt4lm/MIL-STD-188110AB%20Serial%20Tone%20HF%20modem.wav
MIL-188-110A/B 39 Tone Audio
www.dropbox.com/s/e48zzethkbsf69s/MIL-STD-188110A%2039%20Tone%20Modem%20Audio.wav
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 51 Shor t wave Ut i l i t y Log s
Recent Shortwave Utility Logs Compiled by Mike Chace-Ortiz
Frequency Call Sign
UTC
6317.00
6331.20
6335.20
6358.50
6368.50
6384.70
6403.20
6412.70
6423.20
6487.00
6491.60
6500.60
8190.00
8190.00
8190.00
10223.20
10329.00
10620.20
11120.00
11143.00
12396.20
13437.00
13437.60
13877.00
13880.00
14637.00
14835.00
14968.00
15621.00
15626.00
15880.00
15880.00
16066.00
16112.00
16112.00
16148.00
16222.00
16327.00
16348.00
16554.00
16554.00
16554.00
17180.00
17217.10
17430.00
17440.00
18500.00
18534.20
18633.00
19098.00
19119.00
20250.00
20450.00
22678.60
22941.20
22944.20
23100.00
23100.00
23496.00
23680.00
0130
0100
2250
0100
2100
0100
0055
0300
0100
0100
2100
2100
0630
0032
0630
0000
2311
0040
2155
1955
2121
0046
0050
0200
1055
1108
2343
2220
1200
2233
1950
1950
1145
1300
1300
1146
2000
1120
1125
1435
1435
1500
1350
1054
2055
1239
1537
1142
1350
1100
1535
1418
1400
1155
1430
1135
1129
1120
1954
1850
WLO
IDR
FUG
PBB
HEB26
CFH
FUF
???
CFH
NSS
EBA
DHM85
LETIZIA***
RHI***
VACCARO***
???
HPPM
???
???
???
???
MBZ7Y***
???
XSS***
IZDN***
???
???
XSS***
???
???
COF***
COF***
???
950101***
950101***
XSS***
2***
???
???
FIP***
KM5***
PAF***
FUG17
???
9VF235
???
???
MKD
???
???
???
???
???
FUF
MKD
MKD
33312***
99906***
???
???
52 The Spectrum Monitor User/Location
ShipCom, Mobile AL
Italian Navy, Rome
French Navy, La Regine
Dutch Navy, Den Helder
Global Link Network, Berne
Canadian Navy, Halifax
French Navy, Fort de France
UK MIL DHFCS, Crimond
Canadian Navy, Halifax
US Navy, Davidsonville MD
Spanish Navy, Madrid
German Navy, Marlow
Italian Finance Guard, Vessel “Letizia”
Saudi MIL, Riyahd
Italian Finance Guard, Vessel “Vaccaro”
NATO MIL, ???
SailMail, Chiriqui Panama
UK MIL DHFCS, ???
Russian MIL, Smolensk
Russian MIL, ???
NATO MIL, ???
US MIL, ???
???, ???
UK MIL TASCOMM, Ascension Island
Russian MIL, ???
Russian Intel, Moscow
NATO MIL, ???
UK DHFCS TASCOMM, Forest Moor
Russian MIL, ???
Algerian Air Force, Cheraga
Russian Navy, ???
Mauritanian Gendarmerie, ???
Mauritanian Gendarmerie, ???
UK MIL TASCOMM, Forest Moor
Egyptian Embassy, Khartoum
Russian MFA. Moscow
Colombian Navy, ???
Colombian Navy, ???
Colombian Navy, ???
French Navy, La Regine
NATO MIL, Europe
KYODO News, Singapore
Bulgarian MFA, Sofia
Egyptian Navy, ???
UK MIL DHFCS, Akrotiri
Russian MIL, ???
Russian MFA, Moscow
North Korean Embassy, Havana
North Korean Embassy, Europe
French Forces, Fort de France
Egyptian Embassy, Accra
Egyptian MFA, Cairo
UK MIL DHFCS, Ascension Island
UK MIL DHFCS, Europe
June 2015
System Details
100bd/170/E SITOR-‐A, phasing signal plus CWID “WLO”
600bps/L STANAG4285 HF Modem, ITA2 CARB “IDR02I(0) ..” (on USB)
600bps/L STANAG4285 HF modem, crypto tfc (on USB)
75bd/850 Baudot, CARB "02a 04b 06a 08a 12b 16x 22c pbb"
100bd/200 PacTOR, channel free marker with CWID “CQ DE HEB26”
600bps/L STANAG4285 HF Modem, crypto tfc (on USB)
75bd/850 STANAG4481 FSK, sync, cont, ACF=0
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE calling “CAGLIARI” (on USB)
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE LQA with "AAI" (on USB)
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE calling “CORTILE” (on USB)
PacTOR-‐III HF modem, tfc to yacht EB8223
75bd/250 FSK UNID System, sync, cont, ACF=0
AT3004D 12 tone HF modem, tfc (on USB)
600bps/L STANAG4285 HF modem, tfc (on USB)
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE sounding (on USB)
250bd/170 CHP200, ALE
CW, “VVVVVVVVVKVVVVVVVV DE IZDN”
50bd/500 FSK UNID System, sync, cont, ACF=64/128 tfc
Link-‐11 CLEW, tfc (on USB)
50bd/500 FSK UNID System, sync, cont, ACF=64/128
1200bd BPSK UNID HF modem, tfc (+1700Hz on USB)
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE & digital voice with "CM2" (on USB)
2400bd MIL-‐188-‐110A/B HF modem, digital voice tfc to "CM2" (on USB)
50bd/200 BEE, tfc
100bd/170 CCIR493-‐4 Selcall, calls “902001” (+1785Hz on USB)
USB, OM/AA calls other party after CCIR493-‐4 selcall
Codan 9001/3012 16 tone HF modem, tfc to Cairo “99903” (on USB)
50bd/500 FSK UNID System, sync, cont, ACF=64/128 tfc
66 tone MFSK HF modem, tfc (on USB)
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE LQA with “KM5” (on USB)
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE LQA with “FIP” (on USB)
125bd/1750 MIL-‐188-‐141A, ALE LQA with “KM5” (on USB)
600bps/L STANAG4285 HF modem, “de fug17 " in ITA2 mode (on USB)
60lpm/576/800 FAX, news in Japanese
2400bd RFSM8000 HF modem, tfc (on USB)
2400bd MIL-‐188-‐110A/B HF modem variant, tfc (on USB)
75bd/250 FSK UNID System, sync, cont, ACF=0
50bd/500 FSK UNID System, ACF=64/128
600bd/600 FSK UNID ARQ System, tfc (QSX 20450LSB) (on LSB)
600bd/600 FSK UNID ARQ System, tfc (QSX 23960LSB) (on LSB)
Codan 9001/3012 16 tone HF modem, tfc (on USB)
Codan 9001/3012 16 tone HF modem, tfc to Accra “33312” (on USB)
1200bps/L STANAG4285 HF Modem, crypto tfc (+1800Hz offset)
Shor t wave Ut i l i t y Log s
Recent Shortwave Utility Logs Compiled by Hugh Stegman
Frequency
Callsign
60.00
77.50
518.00
518.00
2187.50
3819.00
4000.00
4207.50
4209.50
4553.50
4618.00
5153.70
5153.90
5637.00
6312.00
6622.00
6676.00
6685.00
6887.00
6887.00
6910.00
6910.00
7348.00
8083.00
8115.00
8253.00
8682.00
8743.00
8776.00
8819.00
8829.00
8992.00
9213.00
9295.00
10075.00
10100.80
11039.00
11181.00
11184.00
11300.00
11354.00
11360.00
12182.00
12577.00
12579.00
12579.00
12786.00
13297.00
13321.00
13386.00
13927.00
14396.50
14631.00
14812.00
15632.00
15880.00
16804.50
16809.90
16898.50
17462.00
MSF
DCF77
TAF
5BA
002275000
Unid
AAZ
003669997
XVN
ZLST
BPLEZS
"D"
"S"
Unid
304010914
Gander Radio
Bangkok Volmet
Korsar
SANNWC
842
NCS027
R26172
FC4FEM
244
BZ30
CODRU27AS
NMC
HSW
SVO
Tashkent
Unid
McClellan
Unid
HRF
"15"
DDK9
DDH9
Bisonte
"03"
UR-‐CIV
Priboj
Proselok
101
7251860
NMF
UAT
NMC
New York Oceanic
"14"
725
AFA2CM
KNY78
CTA14
845
874
COF
006010001
LSD836
XSG
Unid (XPA2)
User, Location
UK NPL, Anthorn
German PTB, Mainflingen
Cyprus Turkish Radio, Turkey
Cyprus Radio, Cyprus
CROSS Etel, France
Russian Military
U.S. Army MARS, AZ
USCG, Miami, FL
Nha Trang Radio, Vietnam
German Customs, Cuxhaven
German Federal Police, Cuxhaven
Russian Navy (MX)
Russian Navy (MX)
Cuban Babbler (V21)
M/V Mare Suculum
NAT-‐F air control
Pacific Meteo, Thailand
Russian Air Force, Pskov
Australian Military
Russian Intelligence
Unknown U.S. Government
U.S. Air National Guard
U.S. FEMA, GA
Georgian Border Guards
Algerian Military
Romania Net
USCG Camspac, CA
Bangkok Meteo, Thailand
Olympia Radio, Greece
Tashkent Volmet, Russia
Turkish Airlines, Istanbul
USAF HFGCS, CA
French Military, Vernon
UT National Guard, Draper
HFDL, Al Muharraq, Bahrain
German Weather Office, Pinneberg
German Weather Office, Pinneberg
Portuguese Military
HFDL, Reykjavik, Iceland
ZetAvia (Ukraine) IL-‐76
Russian Navy, Moscow
Russian Air Force, Bryansk
Valparaiso Radio, Chile
U.S. Coast Guard, Boston
Moscow Radio, Russia
USCG Camspac, CA
Caribbean air control, NY
HFDL, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
USAF MARS, NY
U.S. Government, FL
Portuguese Navy, Lisbon
Polish Intelligence
Cape Town Radio, S. Africa
Argentine Navy
Shanghai Radio, China
Time
0408
0428
2115
2202
0025
1823
0123
0149
2020
1747
1730
1911
1912
0039
1120
0236
2015
1951
1836
1829
1614
1623
0525
1932
1741
0752
2143
2116
2024
2126
2129
1723
2032
1444
0353
0344
0300
1359
0318
2249
1058
1510
1510
0146
0218
0715
2100
1405
0050
1700
2245
1630
2027
1900
1420
1955
1806
2110
0000
1900
System Details
CW (not Morse!), standard time/frequency signals
Custom mode, with standard time/frequency signals
Sitor-‐B, Navtex "E" slot, weather bulletin
Sitor-‐B, Navtex "M" slot, navigation warning
DSC, calling 235073404, M/V Liv Knutsen
Outstation, CW to control on 3348 (not heard)
ALE, Ft. Huachuca; also 5385.5, 7357, 14846, 18272, 20940, 24858.5
DSC, calling 003669998, USCG New Orleans
Sitor-‐B, Navtex "C" slot, in Vietnamese
ALE and secure data with ZKNI, Customs Boat Kniepsand
ALE and secure data with BP21, Police Boat Bredstedt
CW single-‐letter propagation beacon, Ukraine
CW single-‐letter propagation beacon, Severomorsk
USB, Spanish male sing-‐song voice with numbers, good audio
DSC call to 373465000, M/V Skala
USB, working flight Air Berlin 7451
USB, sign off after aviation weather broadcast
USB, working 76649, an IL-‐76MD departing from Drakon
North West Cape MHFCS node, ALE sounding
G06, USB callup "842 830 00 00" in German
USB, working KHA946, NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, LA
Helicopter calling ANG01, in ALE
Region 4, sounding in ALE
ALE, calling 334
ALE, calling PY30
ALE, calling VOLUNTAAS
Noisy FAX Pacific Surface Analysis, with Typhoon Dolphin (120/576)
USB, male with weather in Thai, then music
USB, ending weather broadcast in Greek
USB, Russian female voice with aviation weather info
USB, company LDOC; selcal HP-‐DG to B737 reg TC-‐JYD, then Turkish
USB, identifying after 30-‐character EAM "MWX7FK"
M51, many CW messages in 5-‐letter groups
ALE with 128, 128th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, UT
Ground station working TC-‐JAI, a Turkish Airlines A320
RTTY (450/50), weather forecasts in English
RTTY test loop (450/50), then weather warnings in German
USB, working unknown aircraft in Portuguese
Uplinking ATIS for BIKF, Keflavik IAP, to Air Canada B777 reg C-‐FNNW
USB, said aircraft type and reg to unheard AFI-‐3/ MID-‐2 station
USB, Central Naval Air Transport, working 54492, an AN-‐26
USB, working 78784, an IL-‐76MD enroute to Kvartet
E07a, USB null-‐message English callup, repeated on 11082 at 1530
DSC call to 235050734, M/V Tortugas
Sitor-‐B Navtex #FA52, concerning missing refugee vessel
Sitor-‐B all-‐stations callup for navigation warning broadcast
Very clear FAX 96-‐hr wave forecast (120/576)
USB, clearing USAF Reserve KC-‐135 BOLT 11 to MacDill AFB
Ground station working 78067A, a Sichuan Airlines A320, reg B-‐6700
M12, CW numbers callup, repeated on 12189 at 1720, and 11491 1740
USB, patch to Offutt AFB from TACAMO aircraft "FLIT GUN" (spelled c/s)
USB, Kennedy Space Center, SHARES check-‐in with NCS012
STANAG 4285 channel bulletin in lower sideband
E07, AM numbers callup "845 000" in English
M03, CW numbers callup "874/37"
ALE and MIL-‐188-‐110A/B digital voice with CM2
DSC call to 538004588, M/V Halsted Bay
Sitor-‐B Atlantic navigation warnings in Spanish
Sitor-‐B, English and Chinese (coded), not a scheduled time
Tone-‐coded numbers in MFSK-‐16/20, "05572 00001 00000 10140"
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 53 A m a t e u r R a d i o I n s ig h t s
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z nt0z@stealthamateur.com
Two Meters: The ‘No Magic’ Band?
S
ometimes, a guy just has to laugh. Especially if it’s at
himself!
In last month’s column, as you’ll recall, I was furiously building antennas for 2-meters and 70-centimeters in a
mad rush to get some directional antennas into my small attic
space in preparation for the glorious exploration of all things
“VHF weak-signal.”
The VHF season would soon be upon us and, having
experienced the fun and frolic of 6-meters for the past decade or so, I was eager to finally—after 38 years as a ham—
add new bands and new capabilities to my station and to my
pool of experiences as a ham and DIY experimenter.
I had a few obstacles to overcome, but that’s what ham
radio is all about, right? In a nutshell, the story—with soaring triumphs, crushing tragedies, and twisted ironies—went
something like this:
No Radio
As this idea hatched and became firmly implanted in
my psyche, I didn’t have a radio that worked above 6-meters.
Elecraft makes a 2-meter transverter for my KX3 transceiver
(the KX3-2M), but although it’s the size of a credit card and
is an engineering marvel, it costs about $250 and only puts
out 3 watts. Plus, to use it on SSB and CW, I’d have to run
an extended DDS calibration procedure on the KX3. Yuck.
Unless you have rather unlimited funds, the radio you
want almost always costs too much. In my case, I thought
that an IC-9100 would be fantastic, but at $2500, it’s too
expensive for simply testing the waters. A stack of transverters, preferably DIY, is the manliest possible route short of
actually building a set of radios, but I didn’t have a couple of
years to spare while I learned enough to actually build and
test a set of transverters.
An older single-band SSB/CW rig such as the venerable
Kenwood TS-700A or TS-711 2-meter multimode rigs had
been on my wish list for years. They are sometimes available
on eBay for $150 in working condition but, alas, not when I
was looking. A friend has one in his basement stash, but we
couldn’t work out “an arrangement.”
ICOM’s IC-706-series mobile transceivers would work,
and I’d had the benefit of using a couple at Field Day a time
or two. ICOM pretty much invented the DC-to-daylight,
mini-mobile rig category back in the day, so I knew that the
My 432-MHz DIY Cheap Yagi mounted on a fiberglass pole prior
to initial testing. The wood boom is 2 feet long (3/4-inch by 3/4inch) and the elements are about a foot from tip to tip and made
from 8-gauge copper ground wire. From the fertile imagination
of antenna designer Kent Britain, WA5VJB, the proper name
for the Cheap Yagi is the Controlled Impedance Cheap Antenna.
The design sprang from a conversation with Arnie Coro CO2KK,
about building inexpensive, effective antennas from scrounged
parts in Third World environments. (All photos by the author.)
706-series rigs would get the job done on 144 and 432 MHz
(plus 160-6 as necessary). But like the TS-700, none were
available at the right price.
Too make a long story even longer, what was available at the right price was a buddy’s Yaesu FT-897, a 1.8through 440-MHz compact, multimode transceiver. From
my perspective, there are only a couple positives with this
rig. It puts out 100 watts on 6 (my other radio only goes to
10 watts), 50 watts on 2-meters, and 30 watts on 70-cm. All
good. Plus, I could buy the radio for less than $500, and I
knew that it had been trouble-free, well cared for, etc. Definite pluses.
The bad stuff, which I admit is entirely of my own
opinion, could fill this column and then some. Because this
is my perspective and mine alone—no hate mail, please—I
will simply say that I can’t read the screen and the control
labels without a magnifying glass, and that the menu structure and design ergonomics are diametrically—and diabolically—opposed to the way my brain works. If you like your
Because the driven element is half of a folded dipole (that’s the
“controlled impedance” part of the design), you can directly
solder 50-ohm coax to the feed point without the need for baluns,
gamma matches, etc (shield braid to the top, center conductor
to the bottom). To perfect the antenna’s final impedance match,
slightly distort (re-shape) the loopy portion of the driven element. Note that I need to touch up the top-most solder joint. I’m
waiting for my big 175-W soldering iron to come home, as my
low-wattage iron doesn’t supply enough heat to easily solder to
8-gauge copper wire!
Once you’ve centered an element in the boom, a couple blobs of
hot glue will fix the element in place. If you later need to disassemble the antenna you can simply cut off the blob on one side
of the boom and pull the element out the other side. On future
builds I will use 1/8-inch hobby brass tubing or bronze welding
rods for everything except the driven element. Straightening
the heavy copper wire, which comes in tight rolls, took most
(too much) of the effort. Some ops who use Cheap Yagis in the
field simply fold the elements back along the boom to fit them in
trunks and back seats, straightening them by hand when
FT-8xx series radio, more power to you. Enjoy. Some radios
ya like, some ya don’t. At this stage in my exploration of 144
and 432 MHz, it will suffice. It’s a radio. I didn’t have one
before. Now I do!
nearby ladder, but I can’t easily get into the attic proper.
Plus, I didn’t want to accidentally “step through” the guest
bedroom ceiling if I did manage to get up there. When I installed my horizontal loop up there I bribed a compact, wiry,
teenage ham to run the perimeter wires and bring the openwire feed line back to the access hatch!
Because the 2-meter Cheap Yagi cleared the rafters by
only three inches or so on each side of the attic space, the antenna and rotator had to be deployed in the very center of the
space or the antenna would crash into the rafters. To make
the whole works adjustable, I mounted the rotator assembly
to a “sled” that slides forward and backward on a heavy shelf
with sidewalls. That way I can access it, adjust it, etc, from
the relative comfort of the attic access hatch and slide it into
its centered position for operation.
No Antenna
With an attic-mounted autotuner, my attic-mounted
40-meter horizontal loop works great on HF through 6-meters, but I didn’t expect it to work well on 2-meters (although
it might have surprised me). Because I had to mount my
2-meter antenna in the attic, I didn’t want to buy a commercial antenna that I might have to mangle in the process of
getting it through the attic access hatch and into the attic.
Plus, having just spent most of my VHF play money on the
radio, I was looking for a cheap solution (pun intended).
As shown last month, I built a 4-element, 2-meter
Cheap Yagi, as designed by antenna guru Kent Britain
WA5VJB. With a boom made out of wood and elements
made from copper ground wire, a Yagi doesn’t get any
cheaper. I knew from the experience of thousands of other
builders that if I simply measured well and cut accurately,
the Cheap Yagi would work right from the get-go. Of course,
I wanted to know—in the measurement sense—that the antenna was tuned and working before I started using it.
A Rotator in the Attic
My only practical access to the attic is through a ceiling
hatch on the second floor. I can get into the hatch with a
Test Equipment and Knowledge Needed
To verify that the antenna was properly tuned, I needed
to learn how to use a bunch of test equipment, some my own,
some borrowed from friends. Anything above 6-meters was
virgin territory for me, so in addition to simply installing
and using the radio and the antenna, I used the exercise as an
“excuse” to learn how to use (or better use in my admittedly
limited way) my antenna analyzer, network analyzer and
spectrum analyzer.
So far, this has turned out to be the real learning experience of the overall process. I did learn how to make many
useful and repeatable measurements with these tools, and
although I have a long way to go to master them, this “learn-
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 55 In ham gear, computers and consumer electronics, detecting
defective capacitors can be a real challenge. When restoring
vintage gear, choosing to replace all capacitors can be a good
choice, but when fixing modern gear, having a way to quickly
and easily test caps—preferably while still soldered onto the
PCB—is a real leg up. The bulged electrolytic at the upper right
(PC video card) is obviously defective, but what about the others?
ing” is exactly why I acquired them.
So, using these tools, it turned out that the Cheap Yagi
was right on the money, and I could have simply thrown it
together and installed it without even a passing attempt to
measure its characteristics! The analyzers said it was good,
and the rig’s internal SWR meter said everything was good.
And everything was good—with the antenna anyway!
Nobody to Talk To!
With mic in hand and antenna in attic, I dialed the
radio to 144.2 MHz, the 2-meter SSB calling frequency, and
listened—for half a day. My antenna was pointed right at
Rochester, Minnesota, a mere eight miles to the Northwest
and, by virtue of an identical beam heading, the Twin Cities
of Minneapolis and St. Paul, some 90 miles away as the RF
files.
I didn’t hear a thing except an occasional compact
fluorescent light bulb in the kitchen that was having trouble
starting and staying illuminated. Nothing even remotely
RF-like was heard. After half a day I called CQ—about 500
times! No need to ask whether the frequency was in use, as it
clearly wasn’t!
I had just put forth Herculean effort to buy the radio,
build the antenna, test the antenna, install the antenna and
a rotator in the attic on a nifty “deployment” sled, and I
couldn’t make even a single QSO! A condition that still persists today, as I write this!
I increased power from 20 watts to 40 watts. I wasn’t
completely keen about that, considering that the antenna
What’s purple but a lot more lovable than Barney? The ESR70,
made by Peak Electronics in the UK, of course! Shown here
measuring the capacitance and the equivalent series resistance
of the bulged cap in the photo, the handy purple meter, about the
size of a deck of cards, clearly shows that the cap is bad (leaky).
Somewhat surprisingly, the cap’s ESR, is just fine! One of the
other caps, which is flat-topped and looking good, also tests as
leaky and should be replaced (after being tested out of circuit).
Equivalent series resistance, and Peak’s ESR70, will be part of
a future column focusing on new, innovative, affordable test
equipment and ways to measure stuff you might not even know
you could—or should—measure! See www.peakelec.co.uk for
more information.
was in the attic, but I did it anyway as a test. Still nothing. I
dragged out the spectrum analyzer so I could use its tracking
generator as a signal generator. Yep, the receiver was working! I dug out my SDR dongle to verify that the FT-897 was
transmitting an intelligible USB signal. It was!
Everything was working and nobody was hearing me
or choosing to reply, despite the fact that there are hundreds
of hams in Rochester and thousands in the Twin Cities. What
the heck!
I called my buddy with the TS-700A in his basement
to see what could be wrong. He wasn’t currently active on
2-meter SSB, but he had been for years and had regaled me
with tales of daily chats with hams in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
And his QTH was almost exactly the same distance from the
metro as mine.
As we spoke, I went down a mental checklist. Radio?
His TS-700A. Check. Power? He was running 10 to 100
W, but mostly less than 50 W. Check. Feed lines? His was
longer but mine was shorter and better. Check. Antennas? I
had a 4-element Yagi while he had an 8-element Yagi. His
was better, but not “fall off a cliff” better. Antenna height?
Although my condo is nicely elevated for Flat Country,
mine was 26 feet above ground and indoors. His was atop a
70-foot tower! Oops! He had previously failed to mention
that little tidbit, and I had conveniently forgotten why public
service VHF stations and FM broadcasters use tall towers!
See www.dxfm.com/Content/propagation.htm. I was starting to get a bad feeling about what I was going to discover
(or rediscover) about how 2-meters works when “enhanced
propagation” isn’t present.
Table 1:
Line of Sight Radio Horizon
Height Above Ground (feet) / Radio Horizon (miles)
15
4.7
25
6.1
35
7.2
45
8.2
75
10.6
Some guys on a Yahoo Group gave me the bad news. At
26 feet, my line of sight radio horizon was damn small—just
a few miles. See above Table 1. This was corroborated by the
online radio horizon calculator at www.hamuniverse.com/
lineofsightcalculator.html and elsewhere.
Despite the line-of-sight horizon, I knew that I should
be able to work other stations directly (without satellites,
repeaters, aurora, tropo, etc) at distances a lot farther than
six miles. An excellent article, “How Far Can I Talk on 2
Meters?” by Paul H. Bock Jr. K4MSG, provides much more
soothing and hopeful information at www.hamuniverse.
com/k4msghowfar2meters.html.
According to K4MSG’s experience-based data, with a
25-W signal, no mast-mounted preamp, and 6 dB of antenna
gain, with an antenna height of 30 feet, I should have highly
reliable communications on 2-meters out to 63 miles, and
regular communication out to 123 miles! My antenna is only
26 feet up, but my house is at the top of a nice “bulge” in the
landscape, so I’m hoping those figures are somewhat offsetting. Paul’s article is quite interesting, as are the full charts
for FM and SSB. For my sake, I hope they’re right!
2-meter setup). Yet when the band is open thanks to E-skip
or whatever, my 10-W signal and indoor antenna is coast-tocoast, as it should be.
Enhanced propagation is probably less frequent on
2-meters and may require more antenna and more RF, as a
rule. So I look forward to this summer’s tropo season, and to
actually hearing—and working—other stations on 2-meter
SSB/CW!
Considering those two factors (enhanced propagation
and contests), it may turn out that the only practical, accessible activity for me (and others with similarly compromised
2-meter stations) is to operate feverishly during the June
VHF Contest and Field Day. And if that’s the case, instead
of spending all of that time and energy building my attic
antenna setup, I should have been building a portable station
for hill-topping during the above-mentioned activities. Time
is getting short. The June VHF Contest is only three weeks
away and I don’t have suitable antennas for use away from
my home shack. Yikes!
Thankfully, once you’ve built a couple, Cheap Yagis
take only an hour or so to build. See www.wa5vjb.com/references.html for the big picture, and this month’s photos for
some close-up details.
Hopefully, 2 meters isn’t really the No Magic Band
after all. Meet you there for a radio check?
Other Factors
I could dial up one of the local repeaters, but repeater
operation isn’t my “thing.” I could try the FM simplex calling frequency at 146.52 MHz, but from all of the complaints
I’ve been reading online, it’s probably more difficult to scare
up a QSO there than it is on SSB! Plus, my antenna is horizontally polarized, which may make it a relative dummy load
when working vertically polarized FM stations.
I could call someone and make a sked, and to verify
antenna performance, SSB modulation, and microphone EQ
settings, that’s my next step. But one of my personal “lines in
the sand” involves regularly making skeds for VHF (or any)
contacts. For me, “sked radio” isn’t ham radio (rag-chewing
with buddies excepted). If whatever band or mode I’m using
can’t support random QSOs without the assistance of coordination, then it’s not for me (although it might be for you,
which is fine).
The harsh reality may be that—outside New England
or Southern California—there’s just not much (any?) activity on 2-meter SSB/CW without enhanced propagation or
contest weekends. And in the end, I’m not exactly sure why
that surprises me. Six meters, on which I’ve made thousands
of QSOs, is “deadsville” unless the band is open. I rarely
hear anyone local calling CQ there, and if I call CQ, nobody
answers (exactly like my experience to date with my new
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 57 Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR ks4zr1@gmail.com
I
Meet the New 20-Meter Band
(Hint: it’s on VHF)
had the transceiver on while working at the desk the other day and the band was in good shape. A station from
Toronto, Ontario, was in QSO with a station near Orlando, Florida, who was joined by a ham in Michigan. Later,
a ham from California was in QSO with a ham in Alabama
and, over the course of the day, hams checked in from all
parts of the US and Canada. Many of those stations were
using modest base stations and others were operating mobile.
None were using more than 25 watts and most had simple
vertical whip antennas a couple of feet long; all were operating on the same frequency: 146.730 MHz.
What I was listening to was a local repeater that was using an IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) connection that
allowed other similarly equipped local repeaters anywhere in
the world to link to it. This particular repeater was connected
to the East Coast Reflector. Using IRLP-linked repeaters,
all that any licensed ham needs to get in on the action is a
simple HT or mobile transceiver with enough power to get
into their local IRLP-linked repeater with a decent signal or a
similar rig and a computer configured to operate using IRLP
software.
Made to Order for a Declining Solar Cycle
The advantages of such a repeater operating in every
county in the US, or locality in Canada, are huge. First, it’s a
way for entry class operators to experience the fun of working stations from all over the US, North America and even
the world.
Second, it cleverly skirts the issue of the declining solar
cycle. No HF propagation? No “Big Gun” station that can
overcome propagation woes? Who cares? During my monitoring activities, it turns out that the station from Toronto
was located in a high-rise apartment building and he was using a window mounted whip antenna to work the station near
Orlando. Try that on 20-meters!
And, third, it presents one more system for emergency communications. In fact, WX4NHC, the amateur radio
station for the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida,
has used IRLP linking for years as part of their multi-mode
service during hurricane-related operating. According to
their website, WX4NHC uses IRLP reflector #9219. Notices
regarding events at the station are found here: http://www.
How a typical IRLP node is set up. (Courtesy: David Cameron
VE7LTD, creator of Internet Radio Linking Project; IRLP)
voipwx.net. Details about VoIP technical configuration tips
are found here: http://www.voipwx.net/node/218.
IRLP on 2-meters is a great equalizer. The most successful HF mobile operators have expensive rigs, linear
amps and elaborate antennas. Not needed here. If your local repeater is so equipped, any 2-meter HT or mobile rig,
no matter how cheap, can work into other states and countries just like the guys with all-band, all-mode rigs using
tower mounted beam antennas. It makes no difference. I’ve
even heard bicycle/mobile operators chatting with other
hams across the country. Try that on 20-meters!
Evolutionary Progress of IRLP
The IRLP project, according to the homepage www.
irlp.net, was started in 1997 by David Cameron VE7LTD,
“as an attempt to use the Internet to link radio systems
across Canada.” He notes, “The first full time link that was
established ran from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Saint
John, New Brunswick. The link had many problems and
was shut down in March of 1998 due to the numerous computer crashes and repeater lockups it was causing, and the
lack of user control over the system.”
Cameron didn’t give up. He writes on his web page, “I
set out to design a better way to use the same technology to
perform the same task, while improving usability, user control, and sound quality. My first breakthrough was to replace
the existing operating system, Windows, with a more stable
and versatile language. I chose Linux, an open source form
of the operating system UNIX designed by Linus Torvalds,
because of its superior networking characteristics, its reliability, and its ease of programming.
“I designed my own interface board to interface the radio to the computer. This allowed a large amount of delay to
be removed from the system because two VOX circuits were
no longer being used. I also wrote my own custom control
software, and modified an existing Voice-Over-IP [Internet
Protocol] software package to accommodate the project.
“The final product was a combination of hardware and
software that created a nearly seamless radio link between
two remote sites on the Internet. The product works so
well that many people can not believe that they are talking
through a link at all!”
Indeed, it does. With no more problems than you’ll hear
on a non-IRLP linked repeater, it’s amazing to hear so many
communicating so easily from so many locations using so
many linked repeaters.
One of the more interesting aspects of this is that, while
I was monitoring this repeater, I was also checking what was
happening on the area’s many 2-meter repeaters within range
of my QTH: very little. Often, when there was a lull in the
action on the IRLP-linked repeater, I would scan the other
frequencies; zilch.
Is there an IRLP-linked repeater near you? If so, what
node ID, call sign and frequency is it operating with? Here’s
the location of the IRLP Status Page for repeaters around
the world, across Canada and the US: http://status.irlp.net/
index.php?PSTART=3. The list notes the repeater call sign,
city, state/province, if the repeater is off-line, idle, down,
linked to another node or uses EchoIRLP, and how long such
status has been in effect. The list is quite lengthy—several
thousand—so, to find what IRLP-linked repeaters are near
you, go here and enter your ZIP code or Lat/Long: http://
status.irlp.net/index.php?PSTART=7.
When I did this I discovered that there were three such
linked repeaters within a 25 mile radius (and easy reach with
my roof-mounted scanner antenna); one each on 2-meters,
220 MHz and 440 MHz. To find out what new nodes are
connected since the last time you looked, click the tab that
indicates, “New Nodes.” At the time I looked, there were six
new repeaters from the USA, two Canadian, one New Zealand and one Danish, added in just the two previous weeks.
In all, there are currently 35 countries using IRLP connections. At the time I looked, there were 2,603 nodes in the
USA with 332 in use, 830 idle, 38 off-line and 1,403 down.
The list is kept current.
IRLP access to these repeaters may come and go during
certain times of the day. For instance, many club repeaters
are used for various nets—SKYWARN, ARES, or beginner/
Elmer get-togethers—and are disconnected from the IRLP
Rack-mount case for IRLP configured repeater operation. (Courtesy: David Cameron VE7LTD)
node at those times. Some may be down because of software
glitches or radio maintenance.
And, that brings up another great aspect of IRLP linking; these repeaters can become watering holes for various
special interests to discuss particular subjects in and out of
the radio hobby in general. A special list of IRLP topics and
their associated repeaters was not functioning as of this writing, but perhaps it will later. If so, click on the “Topic Channels” tab on the main IRLP page.
Another interesting thing is that access to IRLP-linked
repeaters can be closely controlled, so that non-hams and/
or other repeater abusers can be blocked from accessing the
repeaters. This control function is particularly useful when a
repeater is being used during emergency operation.
And, finally, since 2012, David Cameron VE7LTD has
been working on IRLP connectivity via the popular and inexpensive Raspberry Pi computer. The objective is to make
IRLP connectivity as inexpensive and as reliable as possible.
He has put together an IRLP-Pi package that consists of a
Raspberry Pi-2 Model B; an IRLP board (modified for the
Pi); a 25-pin GPIO cable, wired for the Pi; a USB soundcard
modified/wired to the IRLP board, and a 16-GB micro SD
card, loaded and configured for IRLP operation. The price is
$280.
He also makes the individual components available so
that you can put it together yourself, if you already have the
Pi-2 Model B, for example, at a great reduction in price. To
check out the Pi-connection, photos, text and to download
the PiRLP owner’s manual, go to the home page: http://
www.irlp.net and click on the “Pi-based nodes” button.
And he makes available what he calls, “Next generation
IRLP embedded nodes.” Pictured above is his “rack case,”
which is open to show the boards of a completed IRLP node
system. A complete embedded node includes a standard case,
wired IRLP board, pre-configured software, wide voltage
input (9-19 volts DC) for $639; all of his prices are US
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 59 Popular Raspberry Pi-2 Model B, configured for IRLP operation;
a very low-cost solution. (Courtesy: David Cameron VE7LTD)
Project boards from Raspberry Pi, Arduino, BeagleBoard and
Olimex, courtesy of MCMelectronics.com
Dollars.
There’s so much more to know about IRLP and
EchoLink, but current information via publications is dated.
The ARRL has published a book, “VoIP Internet Linking for
Radio Amateurs” by Jonathan Taylor K1RFD, that may help
you get started. According to the ARRL website, it covers,
among other things, conference servers, reflectors and nets,
how to set up a node, digital audio via the Web, EchoLink
and IRLP, legal issues and sources. At 155 pages, the ARRL
published book costs $22 directly from ARRL: http://www.
arrl.org/shop/VoIP-Internet-Linking-for-Radio-Amateurs.
But this second edition is from 2009 and won’t cover some of the hardware and software advances already
discussed, such as the Raspberry Pi solution to IRLP. The
only other publication I could find was “Nifty E-Z Guide
to EchoLink Operation” ($14) by Bernie Lafreniere N6FN,
but it was published in 2011, has scant reference to IRLP,
according to the table of contents, concentrating on Windows-based VoIP.
There are a few articles in back issues of QST relating
to IRLP, but the latest one was published May 2009; a product review. The last full article on IRLP, a two-pager, was in
the May 2005 issue of QST; ten years ago.
Still, there’s enough information available online from
the previously listed websites to get you started. The main
thing to do is find which repeaters in your area are operating
IRLP or EchoLink and start listening while you see what you
can glean online. And, while you’re at it, you can check out
information about a particular node by clicking on the active
link under the “Node” heading in the main IRLP list.
remain virtually unchanged, though the amount of branded
Radio Shack products may be greatly reduced. That’s left a
lot of us looking for alternatives. Most of us are going directly online to Amazon or other multi-purpose, virtual big-box
stores or dealing with other mail order electronic retailers
such as All Electronics, Mouser and DigiKey.
One company that I’ve had great success with over
the last few months is MCM Electronics http://www.mcmelectronics.com. Their online catalog includes individual
electronic components and lots of other items for makers
and indefatigable DIYers. From dirt cheap to very expensive,
you’ll find everything from wire and cable, the aforementioned Raspberry Pi 2 Model B Starter Kit ($60), appliance
repair parts, a 9-inch quad-core Android tablet ($60), FM
and TV antennas and countless parts and components. They
also have an assortment of vacuum tubes and sockets.
Orders are shipped very quickly and, unlike Amazon,
you can call toll-free and talk to an actual person to take care
of any issues that might crop up. And, when you do order,
they’ll pack their latest 150-page sale flyer in the box that
will have special prices not available on the Web. But, when
you order and enter the “source code” in the order, the price
switches to the sale price.
In last month’s column about “Training Your Replacement,” I mentioned the Snap Circuit sets from Elenco. The
company also has an extensive catalog of products designed
for instructors and service technicians, including training
kits, for those with beginner to advanced capabilities. These
include analog and digital multimeter kits as well as an AM
radio kit that features transistors and ICs specifically for soldering training. They have sophisticated test equipment as
well as repair and diagnostic technician kits in portable cases. They also produce a paper sales flyer that will be packed
with any order. To check them out go to: http://www.elenco.
com.
Life After Radio Shack?
The shifting fortunes of what’s left of Radio Shack have
left many of us without such a store locally, while others
have found a greatly reduced Radio Shack presence in their
area. Others, served by Radio Shack associate stores, will
T S M
R a dio P ropag at ion
By Tomas Hood NW7US
nw7us@nw7us.us
The 10.7-cm Radio Flux
The recent Solar Cycle is represented in several ways. At the left is the Sunspot Number, in the middle, the F10.7-cm Radio Flux, and
at the right, the Ap Index (a measure of geomagnetic activity) history. In all of the plots, the black line represents the monthly averaged
data and the blue line represents a 13-month smoothed version of the monthly averaged data. For the Sunspot Number and F10.7-cm,
the forecast for the rest of the solar cycle is given by the red line.A significant dip can be seen in the monthly averaged sunspot count as
well in the F10.7cm Radio Flux. At the same time, geomagnetic activity was stormy at times due to enhanced solar wind from several
CME and coronal holes during the last few months. Credit: NOAA/Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)
L
ast month, we explored how the ionosphere can be
enhanced by Sporadic-E. This month, we’re going to
look at one of the ways we keep tabs on solar activity,
the 10-centimeter Radio Flux index. This particular measurement is used as an index of the level of solar activity, an
index that is somewhat correlated with sunspot activity.
As you know from past editions of this column, the density of the different layers of the ionosphere is responsible
for the refraction of a radio wave. If the ionospheric F-region
is highly ionized, higher frequencies in the upper slice of
the shortwave spectrum are refracted, while signals on those
same frequencies will pass right through the ionosphere and
into space when the F-region is much less energized.
The Ever-Fluctuating Flux
The Sun emits radio energy with an ever-varying intensity. This never-ending radio energy originates from layers
low in the Sun’s corona and high in the Sun’s chromosphere.
Throughout the day, this solar radio energy changes gradually, but it also varies with the sunspot cycle activity.
Solar radio energy originates from three solar sources:
from the undisturbed solar surface; from developing active
regions, and from short-lived enhancements above the daily
level. Enhancements such as X-ray flares have a well-known
influence that most of us associate with solar radio energy.
However, other enhancements such as solar prominences are
also factors in solar radio energy levels, and these can occur
even during periods when no sunspots exist.
The solar radio flux at 10.7 cm (2800 MHz) is a useful
indicator of solar activity. Often called the F10.7 index, it
is one of the longest running records of solar activity. It is a
measure of the noise level generated by the Sun at this wavelength, and it correlates well with the sunspot number. The
monthly median is used in analysis and prediction of radio
wave propagation in the ionosphere, because many decades
of data have been collected and a model has been created,
which keys off of the index.
The sunspot number is calculated from a count of the
number of individual sunspots, and the total number of sunspot groups. The result must be reduced to a standard scale
taking into account the differences in equipment and techniques between observatories. On the other hand, the radio
flux at 10.7 centimeters can be measured relatively easily
and quickly and has replaced the sunspot number as an index
of solar activity for many purposes. We use the flux index to
estimate the ionization of Earth’s upper atmosphere, the ionosphere, at a given month.
The 10.7-cm radio flux index is written as “the F10.7
index”, or simply, F10.7 (when no subscript is available, it is
written as, F10.7, or F10.7-cm Flux). The global daily value
of F10.7 is measured at local noon at the Penticton Radio Observatory in Canada (see http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 61 in progress), and other factors.
How Accurate is the Flux Average?
A plot of the monthly-averaged sunspot number against the
monthly-averaged 10 centimeter solar flux for data between 1947
and 1990. The correlation between these quantities is evident
but there is still considerable scatter even for monthly-averaged
values. (Credit: http://www.ips.gov.au)
solutions/facilities/drao.html).
When utilizing the F10.7 in the analysis or forecasting
of radio wave propagation, scientists emphasize that we be
careful not to use the current or daily flux index when using
the propagation models that rely on monthly median values.
Typically, F10.7 is averaged over one of three ranges: a month,
a 90-day period, or a year. The models that use the flux averages have compensated statistically for the daily variations
that occur due to geomagnetic influences and the changing
space weather conditions due solar events like a flare.
Even though F10.7 and the sunspot number both indicate
the level of solar activity they each have significantly different scales. For example, F10.7 never drops below a value
of approximately 67 even during solar minimum when the
sunspot number is zero, as we witnessed for many weeks at
a time between the end of Sunspot Cycle 23 and the start of
Cycle 24.
The following equations allow you to convert between
a 10.7-cm flux index number (F) and a sunspot number (R).
The equations are valid on a statistical (i.e. average) basis.
F = 67.0 + 0.572R + (0.0575R)2 - (0.0209R)3
R = 1.61FD - (0.0733FD)2 + (0.0240FD)3
where, FD = F - 67.0.
F10.7 has been recorded routinely by radio telescopes
near Ottawa since February 14, 1947, until May 31, 1991.
Radio telescopes at Penticton, British Columbia have recorded F10.7 since the June, 1991. Each day, F10.7 levels are
determined at local noon, which is 2000 UTC at Penticton,
and are then corrected for factors such as antenna gain, atmospheric absorption, major solar events (like a flare that is
In a study, “Limits to the Accuracy of the 10.7 CM
Flux,” published in 1994 in Solar Physics, volume 150,
authors K. F. Tapping and D. P. Charrois of the National
Research Council, Penticton, BC, Canada conclude that, in
general, spot measurements are usually within a percent or
so of the daily-average fluxes. They explain that the daily
10.7-cm flux data are actually spot measurements of the solar flux density at the 10.7-cm wavelength. These values are
frequently used as the average flux for that day. Since each
spot measurement takes about one hour to make, and the
Sun’s emissions at that wavelength can vary over time scales
shorter than the intervals between the measurements, the data
are unavoidably under-sampled. Does this mean that the daily
spot measurement is not accurate as an index of daily flux
activity?
Radio emissions from transient events, such as flares,
are defined as contaminants of the flux, and largely empirical
procedures have evolved which are used to filter them from
the data. The utility of the F10.7 index over more than 40 years
suggests that the consequences of the under-sampling and the
use of largely empirical data filters are not serious. Rather,
the researchers have found that the daily measurement is very
useful when used with current models of ionospheric behavior. That, in turn, means that analysis and forecasts using
these models (by software using the VOACAP engine), and
the 10.7-centimeter flux index, are reliable and practical.
You can find the daily 10.7-cm flux index in the reports
offered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or on websites such as your columnist’s
Space Weather and Radio Resource Center webpage at
http://SunSpotWatch.com. A thirty-day detailed solar radio
number report can be downloaded at ftp://ftp.swpc.noaa.
gov/pub/lists/radio/30day_rad.txt.
When we look at the daily measurements of the 10.7-cm
solar flux, we find that the higher this index, the more ionized the various layers of the ionosphere become. Generally
speaking, when the flux is low, then the ionosphere is weaker,
especially in regard to the F-region. A strongly ionized and
highly dense F-region supports the propagation of the higher
HF radio spectrum, while a weakly energized ionospheric
region will only support lower shortwave frequencies. Of
course, there are many variations during the day, between regions in daylight and darkness, and from season to season.
Next month, we’ll continue looking at the fundamentals
of space weather and radio wave propagation via the
ionosphere.
Shortwave Conditions
June marks the changeover from equinoctial to summertime propagation conditions on the shortwave (HF) bands.
Solar absorption is expected to be at seasonally high levels,
resulting in generally weaker signals during the
hours of daylight when compared to reception
during the winter and spring months.
Ten-meter propagation to DX locations far to
the east and west are a rare event during the peak
of summer. With the low solar activity at this stage
in the decline of the cycle, I don’t expect to see
much on 10, except via Sporadic-E short skip propagation. The flux just won’t support a high-enough
Maximum Usable Frequency on most DX paths.
North and South paths on 10-meters still present
opportunities for DX, especially around sunrise and
sunset, but these openings will be short.
Seventeen and 15-meters will be just a bit
more reliable than 10, holding some promise. But
these will still be a challenge with the decreased
solar activity. Watch for days when the Flux peaks
high. During those peaks, 15-meters may support
short EU/USSR openings during much of the day,
and during some evening or early morning hours.
Twenty-meters is fair to good during the hours
of darkness but will be a bit weaker during daylight
hours. The best openings on 20 will be the hours
around sunrise. Maximum Usable Frequencies
(MUFs) during the daytime hours are considerably
lower during June and the summer months than
during the other seasons. However, they are considerably higher during the hours of darkness in
June than during the same hours of darkness in the
winter.
Recurring coronal holes will cause occasional
periods of geomagnetic storminess during June,
degrading higher-latitude signal-paths more than
middle- and low-latitude paths. In addition, thunderstorm and other natural-static noise increases
considerably during June and the summer months.
These higher static levels will make DXing on 40,
80, and 160 more of a challenge.
The 30 and 40-meter bands should offer good
DX conditions during the night despite higher static. Look for Europe and Africa as early as sunset.
After midnight, start looking south and west for
Pacific, South America, and Asia. Short-skip should
be possible out to about 750 miles during the daytime.
Expect some openings on 80, similar to how
40-meters will be acting. Fairly frequent short-skip
openings up to 1000 miles are possible during darkness, but expect very few daytime openings with all
the static and absorption.
Sporadic-E propagation starts to peak during
June. Expect an increase in the number of shortskip openings on HF, and often on 6 and 2-meters,
with paths open between 50 and 2300 miles.
A major solar flare reaching the magnitude X2.7 erupted at 22:11 UTC
on May 5, 2015. This created a Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID),
also known as a radio bloackout, reaching a magnitude R3 (Strong) on the
NASA scale. The source of this powerful eruption was old Region 2322, now
numbered as 2339 and located on the northeast limb of our Sun.
Most Intense Solar Flare of 2015 (So Far)
The largest solar flare so far in 2015 was an impulsive, major
solar flare reaching X2.7 erupted at 22:05 UTC (5:05 p.m. CDT) and
ended at 22:15 UTC, peaking at 22:11 UTC.
This is the most intense flare so far, in year 2015. It is not the
most powerful in this current sunspot cycle, but was spectacular: This
X2.7-level flare produced a level R3 (Strong) shortwave radio blackout
on the sunlit side of Earth, which was over the Pacific region. A coronal mass ejection (CME) was associated with this flare. The flare originated in Sunspot Active Region NOAA 2339.
In addition, the flare produced a two-minute radio burst, heard as
a roar of static from shortwave receivers on Pacific isles and western
parts of North America. A radio burst of this kind is generally shortlived, but can cause interference for radar, GPS, and satellite communications.
We’ve talked about the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) in
past editions. This spacecraft takes very high-definition images in a
series of wavelengths (mostly in Extreme Ultra-violet, EUV) nearly
every second. It launched over five years ago.
VHF Conditions
The summertime Sporadic-E (Es) season for the Northern Hemisphere begins in force in May. By June, things could well be hot on
6-meters and there might even be openings on 2-meters. During the
late spring and summer months, a sharp increase at mid-latitude of Es
propagation occurs. Through June, you can expect to see 20 to 24 days
with some Es activity. Usually these openings are single-hop events
with paths up to 1,000 miles, but June’s Es are often double-hop. Europe can generally be worked from the US east coast throughout June.
During the daylight hours, monitor 6-meters for transcontinental
openings, as well as between Hawaii and the western states, and the
Caribbean and Central and South America. The best time to look for
these are during the afternoon hours, especially when conditions are
excellent.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 63 There is usually a seasonal decline in Transequatorial Propagation (TE) during the summer months, but some
6-meter openings may still be possible during June. The best
time to catch an opening across the geomagnetic equator is
between 8 and 11 PM local daylight time.
els during June 2015. When geomagnetic activity is stormy,
look for opportunities to take advantage of aurora-mode radio
wave propagation.
Solar Cycle 24 Today
Do you have propagation-related questions, or a topic related to the Sun, the Ionosphere, or the Sun-Earth connection,
that you’d like answered? Please send in your questions and
comments, for possible inclusion in this column.
Do you want to dive deeper into radio propagation
and the Sun-Earth connection? Are you interested in space
weather influences on radio propagation? If so, check out the
self-study course offered at http://nw7us.us/swc — a course
designed to equip you with skills that will enhance your
ability to forecast and analyze communications on shortwave
frequencies.
On Twitter, radio propagation and space weather Tweets
are provided in regular updates by @hfradiospacewx (https://
Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx). Your columnist is on Twitter, as
@NW7US ( https://Twitter.com/NW7US).
Finally, if you have friends that have not yet had
exposure to amateur radio and shortwave radio listening,
here is a video with your columnist introducing a little bit of
ham radio: http://g.nw7us.us/whatwehearswlham. Until next
month, may your radio journey be exciting and rewarding.
The Royal Observatory of Belgium reports that the
monthly mean observed sunspot number for April 2015 is
54.4, up from February’s 48.8, but still down from January’s
67.0. The twelve-month running smoothed sunspot number
centered on October 2014 is 67.3. The forecast for June 2015
calls for a smoothed sunspot count of about 58, give or take
seven points. The forecast anticipates a steady decline in this
second-half of Cycle 24.
The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory at
Penticton, BC, Canada, reports a 10.7-cm observed monthly mean solar flux for April 2015 is 129.2, continuing the
downward trend. The twelve-month smoothed 10.7-cm flux
centered on October 2014 is 138.4. The predicted smoothed
10.7-cm solar flux for June 2015 is 122 give or take seven
points.
The observed monthly mean planetary A-Index (Ap) for
April 2015 is 12. The twelve-month smoothed Ap centered
on October 2014 is 9.9. Expect the overall geomagnetic activity to be varying greatly between quiet to minor storm lev-
Feedback Requested
T S M
T h e Wor l d of Shor t wav e
L i s t e n i ng
By Andrew Yoder
info@hobbybroadcasting.com
Corsette-Building Project
T
(Graphics courtesy of the author)
hose who closely follow the shortwave pirate scene in
North America are aware that some operators are active with building small, solid-state, battery-powered
transmitters. The best-known design is still probably Radio
Animal’s Grenade (at 10 watts), followed by the Corsair (also
at 10 watts), LuLu ( at 20 watts), Anarchist (at 8 watts), and
the Corsette (at 1 watt).
In the past, I thought it would be great to have some
full-out articles on how to build these transmitters in the
Pirate Radio Annual. I’ve even talked to Fearless Fred of
WAZU and he said, “Yes,” but that it might be some time until he could finish it. I also talked to the operator of Channel
Z, who said that he thought it would be better if I would build
it with his help and then write an article or blog entry about
it. This is a great idea because if I can build one, anyone
should be able to.
Best of all, the Corsette is a multi-function transmitter.
First, it’s low-powered example of a pirate transmitter, and
it’s a design that Channel Z has used with success—he’s
been heard hundreds of miles away with one. Next, because
the transmitter is so low-powered, it can be used with a
low-wattage dummy load as a Part-15 transmitter to emit a
signal within a small area, such as within a building. Using
the transmitter in this way, the Corsette would be perfect for
covering a radio conference or a small hamfest.
And, finally, the Corsette could be used within a house
to transmit programming to antique radios. A lot of antique
radio restorers appreciate having vintage audio to feed to
their antique Zeniths and Philcos. In a few markets, licensed
AM radio stations carry old-time radio programs at select
times. Or some people in the East could listen to the unidentified old-time radio station on shortwave (see the stations below) if it’s still on the air when this column is published. But,
for example, if someone wanted to play a bunch of WWII
programs on June 6, vintage Christmas music in December,
or old sports rebroadcasts, they could do so with a Corsette.
I’ve been buying parts over the past few weeks and
should at least be starting work on the project by the time this
issue of TSM is published. Whether or not I post the full article on my blog, I do plan to include some information there:
www.hobbybroadcasting.blogspot.com.
Radio Plate Current’s broadcasting career has been brief, but it
has plans to return in the future with more plate-modulated AM.
Recent Shortwave Pirate Activity
Old-Time Radio Unidentified
One of the more interesting shortwave broadcasters of
any type over the past year is known among DXers as the
Old-Time Radio Unidentified Station. The ID is a bit more
self-explanatory than some DXer-named numbers stations,
such as the Lincolnshire Poacher or Edna Sednitzer. For
months, the Old-Time Radio Unidentified Station has played
nothing but audio of old-time radio shows, primarily from
the United States in the 1940s and 1950s, 24 hours per day
on 6770 kHz.
From a pirate radio perspective, it’s been fascinating
to see a station broadcasting continuously for so long—the
initial station tests were on 6772.6 in mid-May 2014. These
lasted for hours at a time, and the station was on for weeks
at a time without going off the air on 3204.6, 3389.6, 3395,
6770.6, 6880.4, and 6912.5 kHz. But for nearly six months,
the station has been running old-time radio shows continuously on 6770 kHz. Aside from being best heard in the
Northeast, there is no indication of where the broadcasts are
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 65 Wide spectrum coverage
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IC-R6-16
Vivian Girls Radio hasn’t yet been reported by many listeners, but already several different styles of eQSLs have been sent out by the station. (Courtesy of Chris Smolinski)
coming from or who is transmitting them.
Aside from the sheer mystery of this pirate, it’s also been one of the few
bright spots for shortwave listeners at a time when licensed broadcasters have been
disappearing at an alarming rate. Nearly every day, for about a year, I’ve listened
at some point to this station and I think it’s a fantastic time capsule. I’ve heard The
Jack Benny program, A Day in the Life of Dennis Day, Murder at Midnight, Our
Miss Brooks, Great Gildersleeve, The Lyon’s Eye, Duffy’s Tavern, Amos & Andy,
Avalon Hour with Red Skelton, Frontier Town, Frontier Gentleman, Gunsmoke,
Lone Ranger, Sgt. Preston, Fort Laramie, and much more.
Radio Free Whatever Smokes a Capacitor
One of several “regular” pirates on 43-meters over the past few years, Radio
Free Whatever features Dickweed and Stavin, who sit in the studio and talk at
length with Russian accents while playing a variety of alternative rock and heavy
metal. RFW has managed to be heard in Europe a number of times with 150 watts
output via a Pride 150 linear amplifier. On March 30, Dick tuned up for an hour of
broadcasting on 6950 kHz at 0025 UTC. After some audio problems, the station
signed off the air, thanks to a blown electrolytic capacitor in the amplifier. But not
to worry; Dick replaced the cap and has been reported with an excellent signal
across much of the US as recently as May 2 on 6945 kHz. You can contact everyone’s favorite radio comrades at dickweeddj@gmail.com
Vivian Girls Radio
Henry Darger was born in Chicago in 1892. His mother died of a fever when
Henry was four, and he was institutionalized in the Illinois Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children in 1900, after his father could no longer care for him. According to his biographer, as an adult, Darger was a loner who worked as a hospital
custodian and attended mass regularly.
Aside from these activities, it appeared that Darger’s main focus was writing
and creating artwork for a book: “The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known
as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by
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the Child Slave Rebellion.” You might
think the title is long, but it’s nothing
compared to the multi-volume manuscript, which clocked in at more than
15,000 pages! The artwork was a mixture of collages of altered images and
watercolors, often with complicated and
sometimes disturbing images of little
girls fighting armies and other scenes.
Darger’s work epitomized what
later became known as “outsider art”—
art that’s passionately created by people
with no formal training and which
rarely finds acceptance in the artistic
community within the creator’s lifetime.
Outsider art has been catching on over
the past 25 years—and some might
consider pirate radio to be a subset of
the genre.
Vivian Girls Radio was reported
by several listeners on April 6 at 0128
UTC on the somewhat-out-of-the-way
frequency of 6876.2 kHz. The station
has been quick to send eQSLs for correct reports. Contact: viviangirlsradio@
gmail.com.
WPIG Returns?
Speaking of the connections between pirate radio and outsider art, on
Saturday evening, April 25, 2015, DXers pulled out a tiny signal on 6925 kHz
USB from about 2330 to 0000 UTC. It
was buried down in the static and with
a signal that sounded much like that of
Latino fishermen, who like to chat in
the same general range where the pirates also operate. But instead of talk in
Spanish about the catch of the day, one
side of several phone calls was being
aired, along with songs and discussions
about how to be a pig.
That station was WPIG, which was
last reported 21 years ago. The station
was notorious at the time for broadcasting nearly every day at some point and
for singing off-the-cuff a capella songs
and reading children’s stories on the
air. Monitoring Times “Outer Limits”
columnist, George Zeller, described the
programming as “somewhere in a gray
area between juvenile and lunatic.”
WPIG’s announcer said that his
name was Ira and he started broadcasting on January 8, 1994 on the then-ma-
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jor pirate frequency of 7415 kHz. Ira
announced his home telephone number
and an address that was traced to a nearby UPS store in Woodbridge, New Jersey, while making plenty of “oinking”
noises and stream-of-consciousness
stories about pigs. The programs were
brief, often lasting only between five
and 30 minutes, but were aired nearly
every day at a variety of times.
Considering that few stations were
operating on weekdays in 1994, and this
predates the era of SDRs with their HF
spectrum recording capabilities, who
knows how many hours WPIG was
broadcasting. One thing was certain;
during an era when the FCC spent a
great deal of manpower enforcing the
HF bands, WPIG’s days were numbered. Even when logging WPIG’s first
show, one listener mentioned, “This one
might not last long.”
The operator of the Wellsville,
New York, mail-drop contacted Ira
about using his address for QSLs rather
than announcing his own for safety
purposes. It wasn’t enough to save the
station. George Zeller later reported,
“WPIG was visited after a broadcast on
February 19 by Woodbridge, NJ, police
and an FCC agent, supposedly Alexander Zimny of the New York City FCC
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The Spectrum Monitor 67 WREC, Radio Free East Coast, returned in April, after 17 years
away from the hobby.
office, who warned the station not to broadcast on 7415 kHz,
since it is ‘in the aero band.’ Given this advice from the government, I’d hate to see the Voice of America cause a plane
crash. Unclear if this will lead later to Notice of Apparent
Liability. Transmitter inspected, but not confiscated.” (The
remarks about the VOA and planes crashing were in regard
to the FCC’s claim at the time that 7415 kHz was an aero
frequency—even though the Voice of America was broadcasting there nightly with a strong signal in North America).
The WPIG mail-drop mentioned after the fact that
Ira lived in a group home, which might have been why the
FCC only warned him, but didn’t fine him, issue him with
a Notice of Apparent Liability, or confiscate his transmitter.
If announcing a local address and phone number weren’t
conspicuous enough, his mail-drop also said, “He told me
he liked to drive past (or park outside) a nearby church and
transmit, getting into their PA system and disrupting the
service! Not the smartest thing to do. . . .”
Although the 2015 transmissions of WPIG were weak
and difficult for many to hear, it was a fascinating glimpse
back into pirate radio history. And, it turns out, the recent
transmissions were off-air recordings from 1994, not a
re-emergence of Ira on the shortwave bands.
Pigs, the FCC, and the Bunndymobile: A visual summation of
WPIG programming, as depicted on one of the station’s 1994
QSLs.
laying an old WREC tape that had circulated through hobby
circles, but PJ Sparx verified it: “Yes it’s true . . . WREC is
back on the air! That was me you heard . . . It wasn’t a relay
and it actually was a new ‘return program’ I put together on
my computer yesterday morning.”
Sparx mentioned that the transmitter for the April 12
return-to-the-air broadcasts was a Heath DX-60B that he
had borrowed from a friend, but that he was in the process
of purchasing a new transceiver. He said, “I’m excited to be
back in the hobby as I always did miss it.”
Unlike most current pirates, WREC did not use an
e-mail address for its April 12, return-to-the-air shows, the
station later sent eQSLs from wrecradio@gmail.com (Fig.
4). Its old mail-drops, PO Box 109, Blue Ridge Summit, PA
17214 and PO Box 1, Belfast, NY 14711, are also still good
for hardcopy reports.
WREC Really Does Return
Radio Plate Current
Before the days of eQSLs, DRM, software-defined
radios, and pirates broadcasting SSTV images, PJ Sparx of
WREC (Radio Free East Coast) was operating on a regular
basis. From 1993 to 1998, WREC was one of the most active
pirate stations on the air, making hundreds of transmissions
and relaying programming from dozens of other stations.
Using a Johnson Viking II, Kenwood TS-450, and a Radio
Animal Grenade transmitter, WREC was heard from coast to
coast with big signals and nice audio. Seventeen years ago,
Sparx reported that he had lost interest in the hobby and he
sold off his equipment.
Fast forward to April 12 on 6948.3 kHz at 1945 UTC,
when WREC was reported in the East with a few comedy
songs, such as the “Psycho Chicken” parody and a few by
The Ramones. Some listeners suspected that a station was re-
I heard from the operator of Radio Plate Current, a
station that made a few live broadcasts late at night, at times
between 0440 and 0800 UTC over the course of a week
and a half between January 1 and 10, 2014, but has since
disappeared. He said that he was broadcasting from “a great
spot in the hills of Idaho with lots of aluminum in the air,”
but that he had to leave that location and is currently off the
pirate bands. He said, “I am working on an old boat anchor
so some hi-fi AM should be in the pirating future.”
T S M
T h e S h o r t wav e L i s t e n e r
By Fred Waterer
W
programming_matters@yahoo.ca
Shortwave’s Continuing Impact
elcome to the June edition of The Shortwave Listener. Warmer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere mean longer days and higher frequencies
propagating later in the day. This is always a favorite time of
the year for me to take my radio out to the patio in order to
enjoy those warmer temperatures and listening opportunities
after being “cooped up” all winter. Get out and enjoy this
time of the year with your favorite hobby!
In late April there was a massive earthquake in Nepal,
which caused unimaginable damage and killed people in the
thousands. Once again, when a tragedy like this happens,
radio demonstrates its incredible importance. While it is true
that Nepal is well served in terms of Internet and cell phones,
radio is crucial to getting news in and out of a disaster zone.
As they always do, amateur radio operators throughout the
region, and the world, swung into action, exchanging information and getting news to first responders and aid agencies
outside the affected area. International broadcasters added
extra programming hours, to get news to those who may
have been without power and other resources.
For instance, the BBC World Service added extra
English transmissions to Nepal following the earthquake.
English language broadcasts were added at 0000-0030 on
9540 (Singapore) & 5895 (Thailand), and broadcasts in
Nepali were added at 0130-0145 on 11995 & 15510 (both
from Thailand) and 1500-1600 on 9650 (Singapore) & 5895
(Thailand). (Source: Mark Hattam WRTH – World Radio TV
Handbook Facebook page)
International Radio Serbia (the former Radio Yugoslavia) faces closure, joining many other stations around the
world. In April, employees of the company staged a protest
against the closing of the station, which for 79 years had
aired broadcasts in 11 languages around the world. With this
decision pending, English can be heard daily (except Sunday
and Monday) at 0030 UTC on 9685 kHz. Tune in for news,
reports and some great Balkan music.
“Although the new media laws were adopted in 2014,
we are certain there is a way for Radio Yugoslavia – International Radio Serbia to survive, being the only shortwave radio station in the country, and whose broadcasts are reaching
all continents. There is not a lot of us – less than a hundred –
and before you solve our fate, check to see whether Germany
has renounced on Deutsche Welle, Great Britain on BBC, the
USA on the Voice of America, China on the China International, or Russia on the Voice of Russia. The situation is
Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake in April. Radio was there
when it was needed. (Courtesy CIA.gov)
similar in Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania. Those are
all radio stations financed from the state budget as their world
service. Please consider those options and let someone speak
to us before passing the decision to shut down the program in
11 languages, which offers exquisite possibilities for representing Serbia around the world. We sincerely believe you
will find the way to hear our position and help us,” reads one
segment of the letter from the employees of radio Yugoslavia – International Radio Serbia addressed at Serbian Prime
Minister Aleksandar Vucic.
Once in a while you come across a truly powerful radio
program. In May during the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Radio Prague
dedicated an entire 30-minute broadcast to the end of the war,
but also to the entire six year tragedy of German threats, the
Munich Agreement, partial and then complete occupation of
the country and finally it’s liberation in 1945.
As a history buff I found the program fascinating with
incredible detail. It completely encapsulates this tragic era in
Czech and Slovak history. One of the great things about the
Internet age we live in, is that this program is available on
demand at the Radio Prague website. Check it out for yourself. Radio Prague was always an excellent station back in the
days when it was on shortwave; it continues to offer quality
programming online. While the romance of shortwave is
important, to hear these programs in virtual FM quality is also
a treat. However you choose to listen to Radio Prague (or any
other station for that matter), enjoy! http://www.radio.cz/en/
section/special/70th-anniversary-special-the-czech-resistance-during-world-war-ii.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 69 Radio Prague Logo (Courtesy Radio.cz Radio Prague)
“Made for Minds.” - Deutsche Welle’s New Slogan
Deutsche Welle (DW) has developed a new slogan:
“Made for minds.” It represents a strong statement that will
accompany DW’s content around the world.
“The new slogan offers an overarching message that
lends a clear profile to DW and its offerings. A pledge to
DW’s target groups, it captures in a few words what makes
the broadcaster relevant and attractive. The phrase is intended to immediately stir curiosity while simultaneously assuring target audiences that DW is the right address for what
they’re seeking. Furthermore, the slogan serves as a way of
differentiating DW among its international competitors and
setting itself apart in a confident fashion.” http://www.dw.de/
made-for-minds-deutsche-welles-new-slogan/a-18403925
Following up on last month’s discussion of Boko Haram in
Nigeria, something is being done to win hearts and minds in
the troubled northern states of Nigeria. There is a (relatively)
new radio program in the Kanuri language, called Dandal
Kura. Kanuri is spoken by 80 percent of the locals and,
surprisingly, there has been a dearth of radio voices in this
language. The program is seen in a Toronto Globe and Mail
article as being a key player in the fight against Boko Haram,
giving people news and a voice in the conflict.
While it is a bit sketchy as to who is behind this project,
various sources suggest that the transmissions are originating
on a popular (former) BBC frequency of 12065 kHz daily at
1800 UTC via Ascension (according to their twitter feed @
dandalkura, they have bounced between 12050 and 12065
kHz over the last few weeks and months. There is also a
transmission between 0600 and 0700 UTC, which has appeared on frequencies of 7415 and 9440 kHz. Dandal Kura
also has a Facebook page. On that page it says, “Dandal
Kura aims to connect, inform, and hear Kanuri and Hausa
speaking people who have been affected by Boko Haram in
Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.”
The Globe and Mail article cited earlier goes further,
“It’s important that it becomes a regional program, not just
local, so that people know that Boko Haram is not just a
Nigerian problem, and that people are banding together to
defeat it.”
Abdalla Uba Adamu, a professor of media and cultural
communication at Bayero University in Kano, notes that the
Kanuri language has traditionally been swamped by Hausa,
the main language of northern Nigeria. “Millions of native
Dandal Kura (Courtesy Dandal Kurae)
Kanuri speakers are shut out of the discourse on counterinsurgency, as well as narrative conversation about current affairs, being almost always broadcast in the Hausa language,”
he said.
“So the idea behind Dandal Kura is quite welcome.
It provides hope for those without hope.” http://www.
theglobeandmail.com/news/world/nigerias-war-againstboko-haram-takes-to-the-airwaves/article23887004/
To hear a sample of Dandal Kura, just go to YouTube
and search it by name. There are a few samples of the program posted there. This seems to be a project that was long
overdue. The transmitter in Ascension should ensure a good
signal, perhaps even as far as North America.
Meanwhile in Burundi....
According to an announcement from the Voice of
America May 11, 2015,
“Voice of America today began boosting broadcasts to
Burundi where at least 14 people have been killed and more
than 200 injured in protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza running for a third term.
“VOA has additional shortwave and FM broadcasts in
Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, French, and English with
an expanded call-in show, more reporting from the ground,
and new drive-time newscasts.
“‘At this critical moment for democracy in Burundi,
we are stepping up to keep our audiences informed,’ says
VOA Director David Ensor. ‘Voters deserve to know what is
going on with presidential elections just one month away.’...
VOA is one of the last remaining sources of news in Burundi
after authorities blocked access to social media, closed Radio
Publique Africane, and suspended relay transmissions for
two other independently owned stations -- Bonesha FM and
Isanganiro.
“The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns this
harassment and says the Nkurunziza government is ‘blatantly trying to gag’ coverage of its opponents.
“VOA is adding reporters in Burundi and Rwanda
along with additional staff in Washington D.C., where its
U.S. government-funded transmissions originate.
“Daily broadcasts air on 95.2 FM and 94.9 FM in Bujumbura and on 104.3 FM in Kigali.
“There are new VOA shortwave broadcasts from 0400
to 0530 UTC and from 1930 to 2000 UTC on 7350 kHz,
9815 kHz, and 11905 kHz; and from 1600 to 1630 UTC on
13630 kHz, 15460 kHz, and 17530 kHz.
“‘With thousands of Burundians fleeing to neighboring
Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
VOA is committed to providing accurate and reliable news
to this critical region,’ says Ensor.” http://www.insidevoa.
com/content/voa-boosts-broadcasts-to-burundi-as-civilians-flee-political-violence/2762849.html
Deutsche Welle offers something for program listeners
and DXers. DW programming has always been top notch
and has been mentioned many times in this column and
others. DW Worldlink is one of the better news programs
in English available anywhere. It is heard UTC Saturdays.
Programming from DW is certainly not as easy to hear, or
nearly as ubiquitous as it once was, but with the closure of
the Kigali, Rwanda relay station, it comes from a surprisingly diverse number of transmitter sites. All DW broadcasts in
English are aimed at Africa. At 0400 one can hear them on
9800 kHz via Madagascar and 15275 kHz via Dhabbaya in
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Both transmissions are
intended for east Africa.
At 0500 DW English can be heard on 7425 kHz via
Meyerton, South Africa and 15275 kHz from Madagascar
beamed to Southern Africa. At 0700, in broadcasts aimed
at West Africa, DW transmits on 15275 kHz via Issoudun,
France and on 15560 kHz via Ascension. That’s five different transmitter sites in three one-hour blocks. It might be a
good time to log as many of them as possible with the future
of international broadcasting on shortwave so tenuous.
If you want to take it a step further, DW continues to
broadcast in other languages from three further transmitter
sites. You can try for DW broadcasts from Trincomalee, Sri
Lanka in Pashto (0800 UTC, 17800 kHz; 1400 UTC 15215
kHz); in Dari (0830 UTC 17800 kHz, 1330 UTC 15215
kHz); in Swahili (15-16 UTC, 15275 kHz); in Amharic (1617 UTC, 15275 kHz).
Deutsche Welle transmits from Yerevan, Armenia in
Swahili at 0330 UTC on 11960 kHz. And one can try to hear
DW in Hausa, aimed at West Africa via Sao Tome at 0630,
1300 and 1800 UTC, all on 9830 kHz. That makes a total of
eight different transmitter sites still broadcasting DW programming. While some may prove difficult to tune in, many
aren’t. So, go get ‘em and happy hunting!
Sputnik News is the latest transformation of the Voice
of Russia. For decades, the station was known as Radio
Moscow, the Cold War-era voice of the Soviet Union. In the
1970s and 1980s, Radio Moscow World Service could be
heard on multiple frequencies for much of the day. I used to
listen to them for hours at a time, usually in the evenings.
Much of the content was predictable, party-line propaganda, with more than a few gems interspersed. Radio Mos-
“DW Made for Minds” logo. (Courtesy: Deutsche Welle)
cow’s cultural and music programs were first rate. Whether
you were interested in classical, jazz, folk or even rock, there
were music programs to suit any taste. These programs were
always both interesting and entertaining. Sometime in 2014,
the World Service underwent yet another transformation to
this Sputnik iteration. Some programs from the old Voice of
Russia continue, chief among them “Red Line.” Vasily Strelnikov and Natalia Stefanova continue to present “From Moscow With Love.” New programming seems to be appearing
too. A cursory glance at the Sputnik website suggests that
it is mirroring the current Putin line. While not quite a cold
warrior yet, Sputnik Radio does seem to have a tinge of frost
attached to it. We’ll look at this more in depth next month.
Upcoming Programming in June
Paul B. Walker Jr. Writes: “Well, normally I’m a
Shortwave Radio Listener but coming up next month, I’ll be
a Shortwave Radio Broadcaster for a special onetime show.
Coming up on June 19th join me on Channel 292 Shortwave,
6070kHz from 8 pm to 11 pm in Scotland, Ireland and the
UK (0400 UTC), 9 pm to 12 midnight in Germany and 3 pm
to 6 pm Eastern in the US for some great music.
“I’ll be hosting ‘Paul’s Classics Experience,’ three
hours of great music from the 50s through to the 90s. I’ll
play some big hits and I’ll spin some tunes that you haven’t
heard in awhile; everything from rock and roll to country.
I’m doing this purely for fun and to share music with others,
so tune in if you can.
“Channel 292, 6070 kHz with 10 kw should be audible
in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands along the UK, Scotland and Ireland. It might be a bit
scratchy in parts of Southwest UK and some of Ireland but it
should be listenable.
“If you can’t hear it over the air, listen to it online
thanks to a shortwave radio you can control and listen
to over the Internet, either of these two will work: http://
websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ (I’m hearing them on this one
right now!) http://www.globaltuners.com/receiver/1475/js2
“Again, this is just for fun...nothing commercial about
it, I’m not asking for money or trying to raise money. I’m a
commercial AM/FM broadcaster/music on-air talent here in
the USA and just want to jam out for a few hours one night
to my favorite tunes on the radio and share that music with
others. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ExtremeShortwaveListening/?multi_permalinks=507013396114849,50721
4686094720,507816889367833&notif_t=group_highlights.
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 71 A m at eur R a dio Sat e l l i t es
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
I
kb1sf@hotmail.com
From Famine to Feast
n my last column, I shared a bit of early amateur satellite
history with you. In this, and subsequent columns, I’ll
continue with this history lesson and also share some
very exciting news about some of the latest developments in
the amateur radio satellite world. In many ways, the Amateur
Satellite Service has now gone from “famine to feast” with
launch opportunities which will allow us to, quite literally,
take amateur radio where it has never gone before. But first,
here’s more of the history lesson:
AMSAT Management Approach
Since its birth in 1969, AMSAT has grown into an
international organization that has spun off a number of affiliate organizations in other countries. While the affiliations
between the groups are not formal, they do often enter into
one-time agreements to help each other with space-related
projects.
That is, most of the subsequent work done on amateur
satellites since OSCAR 5 has been by way of international
efforts where teams of volunteers from one or more countries
have helped build, launch, and/or control each other’s satellites. Usually, one or more national group(s) define the basic
spacecraft and its interface requirements. Then, teams are
formed from the various international pools to be responsible
for the various systems and subsystems of the spacecraft.
This gives AMSAT’s design engineers substantial
flexibility to create and manufacture innovative subsystem
designs. Usually, any design is acceptable as long as it meets
AMSAT’s basic operational criteria. This approach also
allows each group to take maximum advantage of whatever
materials and resources they already have on hand (or whatever they can find in the form of leftover materials or donations of materials from the aerospace industry!)
AMSAT’s major source of operating revenue is obtained by offering yearly or lifetime memberships in the
various international AMSAT organizations. Membership is
open to radio amateurs and to others interested in the amateur exploration of space. Modest donations are also sought
for tracking software and other satellite related publications
at amateur radio gatherings. In addition, specific spacecraft
development funds are established from time to time to
receive both individual and corporate donations to help fund
major AMSAT spacecraft projects. For instance, such a fund
has now been established at AMSAT’s North American head72 The Spectrum Monitor June 2015
A worker at California Polytechnic Institute (CalPoly) in San
Luis Obispo, California prepares the FOX-1A satellite for inclusion into the carrying structure that will take it to orbit. (Courtesy: CalPoly via AMSAT)
quarters to help support the FOX project.
However, in corporate terms, these funds usually
yield operating capital that’s well below project budgets for
comparable commercial satellite activities. For example,
AMSAT-North America’s entire operating budget for 2015,
including all the development and launch campaign funding
generated from member donations toward the FOX project,
amounts just over $350,000.
From a personnel standpoint, AMSAT-North America
is a true volunteer operation. The only person in the entire
3500-member organization drawing a paycheck is our office
manager at our headquarters near Washington, D.C. She conducts the day-to-day business of membership administration
and other key organizational tasks. The rest, from the President of the Corporation, on down to the workers designing
and building space hardware, all donate their time and talents
to the organization.
While use of a decentralized, all-volunteer “army”
does have its drawbacks in managing a space program, the
dividends are enormous in that it allows a single project to
draw on the talents of many highly capable and well motivated people. Many of these volunteers are also aerospace
Left: FOX-1 is shown here (along with its NASA “ticket to ride”) just prior to insertion into its “P-Pod” carrying structure. (Photo
courtesy of AMSAT) Center: Jerry Buxton N0JY, AMSAT VP of Engineering poses at CalPoly with the fruits of his and his team’s
labor; the flight-ready FOX-1A satellite. Jerry is wearing the typical “bunny suit” that all spacecraft integrators wear during handling
to insure they don’t inadvertently contaminate these fragile payloads with such things as lint, dust, human hair and/or oily fingerprints.
These are all contaminants that can severely damage a spacecraft and shorten its lifetime on orbit when subjected to the harsh environment of space. (Courtesy: CalPoly via AMSAT). Right: A CalPoly worker makes sure FOX-1A has been constructed to the proper
CubeSat dimensions. It was. (Courtesy: AMSAT)
professionals. To them, the aura of building, launching,
controlling and then actually using the fruits of their labor,
once the satellite is in orbit, is a powerful motivator for them
to contribute their very best professional efforts.
Also, because vast sums of money are simply not available for development efforts, AMSAT’s management philosophy encourages innovation and simplicity by not “over
specifying” the spacecraft’s design criteria. During development, subsystem designs are based predominantly on interface specifications with the rest of the spacecraft rather than
by reams of detailed technical specifications at the subsystem
level. The KISS approach...short for “Keep it Simple, Stupid”...is far more than just a buzzword for AMSAT’s design
engineers. KISS, quite literally, permeates the entire management and design philosophy of AMSAT’s operations.
OSCAR Satellite Construction Characteristics
As would be expected after nearly five decades of
technological improvements, substantial advancements have
been made in the features and capabilities of the OSCARs.
However, the “home brew” flavor of these satellites lives on
even in the most current AMSAT spacecraft designs.
For example, a substantial number of the subsystems
for OSCAR 13 (one of AMSAT’s previously operational
high altitude OSCARs) were concocted in home workshops.
Several pieces of the spacecraft’s structure were purchased
from an electronic surplus store in the Orlando, Florida, area.
In addition, all of AO-13’s fiberglass module mounting
rails were cured in the kitchen stove of one of our (then)
AMSAT Vice-Presidents! Material for spacecraft thermal
blankets were also donated to the cause, and were subsequently hand-sewn together by yet another AMSAT volunteer in their basement workshop.
Elements of AMSAT’s Phase 3-D spacecraft (which
later became OSCAR 40 on orbit) were fabricated using
similar “bargain basement” techniques. For example, the
satellite’s 20-foot solar array (which was also fabricated from
donated parts) was designed and built to be both deployed
and stabilized on orbit using a device no more complex than
a simple “bar door” hinge. The spacecraft’s structure was
made from ordinary sheet aluminum that was subsequently
painted for thermal balance considerations. In addition, many
of the spacecraft’s antennas were made from ordinary flexible
steel carpenter’s rule material and its kick motor and batteries
consisted of leftover parts donated (or offered to AMSAT at
substantially reduced cost) by aerospace corporations both
here and abroad.
OSCAR Payloads, Capabilities, and Ground Station Requirements
Despite AMSAT’s “low tech” approach to satellite procurement and construction, the degree of technical sophistication of AMSAT’s satellites rivals that of many commercial satellites now flying. Indeed, as I reported in an earlier
column, AMSAT’s venerable OSCAR 7 satellite has since
outlived ALL satellites ever launched into Earth orbit...then
or since.
Over half of the amateur radio satellites launched since
1961 or that are now in orbit carry what can best be described
as “flying digital bulletin boards” (BBSs). Some of these
BBSs have allowed radio amateurs to connect and interact
with them at speeds up to 9600 BPS using little more than
laptop computers and “shoe box” sized radios. Using these
satellites (called PACSATs), messages can be sent by hams
from literally any place on Earth to any other place on Earth
within a matter of minutes.
The voice transponder capabilities of AMSAT satellites
also offer users a variety of operating modes from Morse
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 73 Left: Jerry Buxton N0JY, AMSAT VP Engineering takes a final photo of FOX-1A just prior to handing it over to the CalPoly integration team. (Courtesy: CalPoly via AMSAT) Right: A CalPoly worker prepares FOX-1A for final insertion into its P-Pod launcher.
(Courtesy: AMSAT)
code (CW) to Single Sideband (SSB) and Frequency Modulation (FM) voice. In addition, some OSCARs even allow
their users to send and receive slow and fast scan television
pictures to similarly equipped stations anywhere on the
globe.
Ground station equipment to work these satellites is
also easily obtainable and relatively inexpensive. For example, for about $3000 (much less if older or “home brew” gear
is employed) any ham can purchase enough commercial amateur radio equipment to assemble a ground station capable
of interacting with any of the AMSAT satellites now in orbit.
Whether for the digital or analog modes, this equipment can
also usually be obtained off-the-shelf via a simple telephone
call to any one of the hundreds of amateur radio dealers
throughout the world.
I’ll continue with this “history lesson” in subsequent
columns. But now, there’s some BIG news to report about
AMSAT’s current projects.
FOX-1A News
In late April, Jerry Buxton N0JY, AMSAT-NA’s
Vice-President for Engineering, took the recently completed
flight model of AMSAT’s FOX-1A satellite to California
Polytechnic Institute (CalPoly) in San Luis Obispo, California, for final integration into its launch carrier. As I’ve been
reporting to you in previous columns, FOX-1A is now slated
to be placed into orbit via Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ElaNa) mission number XII aboard an ATLAS-5
launch from Vandenberg AFB, California later this fall.
As you can see from the accompanying photos, FOX1A will be only one of several small CubeSats that will fly
on that launch, all ejected into orbit from a carrying structures called “P-Pods.” As I also noted in a previous column,
in many ways this launching mechanism closely resembles
one of those spring-loaded, cloth “snakes in a can” that we
all used to buy at joke shops that quickly sprang out when
an unsuspecting victim opened the lid. In this case, however,
the “lid” is opened remotely once it’s time for the satellites
to be launched into their own orbits.
Jerry reports that “all went well” with the integration as
he said goodbye to his and his team’s handiwork. At this is
being written, (early May, 2015) the launcher containing the
satellites had already been handed over to the US military for
eventual mounting on the ATLAS-5’s upper stage.
More FOX Project News
AMSAT and the University of Iowa have recently
agreed to include the University’s HERCI (High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument) radiation mapping experiment
on Fox-1D. According to Don Kirchner KD0L, Research
Engineer at the University of Iowa Department of Physics
and Astronomy, “HERCI is intended to provide a mapping of
radiation in a low earth orbit. This is of scientific interest for
planning CubeSat test flights for low energy X-Ray detectors.” The instrument consists of a digital processing unit
(DPU) derived from processors currently in orbit around Saturn on Cassini and on the way to Jupiter on the Juno spacecraft. The DPU was shrunk to a CubeSat form factor with
funding from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium. HERCI’s
sophisticated data system will allow storage of a full day’s
worth of data which can then be downlinked during a single
pass over the CubeSat tracking station on top of Van Allen
Hall in Iowa City.
The University of Iowa’s history in space flight research dates back to the earliest satellites. As Kirchner puts
it, “HERCI can be considered a direct descendant of the first
University of Iowa space flight instrument flown on Explorer
I back in 1958.” The instrument is being constructed as a
Senior Design Project by four Electrical Engineering students from the UI College of Engineering, under supervision
of KD0L and William Robison KC0JFQ. In fact, the students
all passed their US Technician class amateur radio exams
and became licensed while working on the project. Significant firmware support also came from Brian Mokrzycki and
Left: AMSAT experimenters and others stand next to the Aquila M8 satellite structure that, if all goes as planned, will carry AMSAT’s
hosted payload to Geosynchronous orbit. From left to right are Sonya Rowe KK4NLO; Jerry Buxton N0JY; Bob McGwier N4HY;
Franklin Antonio N6NKF; Tom Clark K3IO; Michelle Thompson W5NYV; and Phil Karn KA9Q. (Courtesy Millennium Space Systems
via AMSAT) Right: The University of Iowa’s HERCI (High Energy Radiation CubeSat Instrument) radiation mapping experiment that
will fly on Fox-1D. (Courtesy: University of Iowa)
Monte Dalrymple KR6DC.
FOX-1C Developments
In other FOX news, Jerry Buxton N0JY also announced
plans to incorporate an L-Band receiver in Fox-1C and FOX1D. This addition will allow ground commanded selection of
the U/V (normal Fox-1 bands) or the new L/V 1.2 GHz (23
cm) mode. Both bands will operate as an FM single channel.
Rather than adding a complete new receiver, the
L-Band “Project Downshifter” will convert the received
L-Band signal down to the FOX-1 uplink frequency and feed
it to the regular UHF receiver on the Fox-1 satellite. The
design will not require an additional antenna on the satellite
because the existing UHF antenna will also work for L-band
receive as well. The FOX team is also planning to design an
affordable L-band uplink ground station that will be available to amateurs by the time Fox-1C is on orbit.
FOX-1D and FOX-1E
In further news, Jerry announced the plan to construct
a Fox-1E “Evolution” variation of the Fox-1 series which
will carry a Mode-J linear transponder. The transponder is
planned to be 30 kHz wide and will also include a 1200 bps
BPSK telemetry beacon.
The purpose of the project is to test a design for a linear
transponder that could be made available to CubeSat builders
as a secondary (or even primary) radio payload thus bringing more opportunities for amateur radio in space as well
as offering AMSAT’s proven communications skills as a
telemetry option.
And, now that FOX-1A is on its way to launch, AMSAT has recently been approached for a launch opportunity
for Fox-1E sometime in 2016, but launch details cannot be
shared at this time.
Jerry concluded, “It is important that we find additional
resources to help the Fox-1 Team with these new endeavors.
We are looking for volunteers who have solid RF building
and testing experience to work on both the downshifter as
well as transponder prototyping and construction.”
If you would like to help and be a part of the success of
Fox-1C/D and/or Fox-1E, please contact Jerry through the
AMSAT Engineering volunteer form page on-line at: http://
ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1121.
And Now...for the Really Big AMSAT News!
AMSAT is also excited to announce that they have
now accepted an opportunity to participate in a potential
ride-share as a hosted payload on a geosynchronous satellite
(GSO) planned for launch in 2017. An amateur radio payload, operating in the Amateur Satellite Service, will fly on
a spacecraft which Millennium Space Systems (MSS) of El
Segundo, California, is contracted to design, launch, and operate for the US government based on their Aquila M8 Series
Satellite Structure.
Geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is
an orbit around the Earth with an orbital period of one sidereal day, and which intentionally matches the Earth’s rotation
period (approximately 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds).
Satellites in these orbits appear to “hang” in roughly the
same place in the sky, thereby allowing fixed antennas to be
used on the ground. For example, this is the orbit where most
large direct-to-home TV satellites are currently “parked.”
A meeting to discuss this potential ride-share took place
on April 13, 2015 at Millennium Space Systems that included Dr. Bob McGwier N4HY; Franklin Antonio N6NKF,
longtime AMSAT member and co-founder of Qualcomm;
Jerry Buxton N0JY, AMSAT’s Vice President of Engineering
and member of the board for AMSAT-NA; Dr. Tom Clark
K3IO, Director and President Emeritus of AMSAT-NA;
Phil Karn KA9Q (another long time AMSAT member); and
Michelle Thompson W5NYV.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 75 Left: The official logo and patch for the ELaNa XII mission (Courtesy: NASA via AMSAT) Right: ElaNa Mission XII P-Pods mounted
in the structure that will carry them all to orbit. (Courtesy: CalPoly via AMSAT)
Hosting the meeting for MSS were Stan Dubyn as
founder and chairman of MSS, Vince Deno as president of
MSS, Jeff Ward K8KA, of MSS as VP for Product Development, formerly with SSTL and The University of Surrey (England) Space Center, and Ryan Lawrence of MSS as Project
Manager on the spacecraft mission.
Attending by telephone were Dr. Jonathan Black,
Associate Research Director of Hume Center for Aerospace
Systems and Associate Professor of Aerospace and Ocean
Engineering and Dr. Michael Parker KT7D, founder of RINCON Research Corp.
Following the meeting, Dr. Bob McGwier N4HY, Director of Research at the Hume Center for National Security
and Technology of Virginia Tech, and former director and
former VP Engineering of AMSAT, described this as an opportunity to (finally!) go forward with the “AMSAT-Eagle”
project which, in the 2006-2008 timeframe, evolved into a
microwave payload to be flown to geosynchronous orbit as a
hosted payload. It would have provided digital communications to small terminals on the ground and a linear bent pipe
transponder had it flown. This project failed to go forward in
part due to lack of an affordable flight opportunity.
As I said, the AMSAT Board of Directors has now accepted the invitation to participate in this potential ride-share
payload opportunity. AMSAT expects to be involved in the
development of the ground station and the payload RF development, and will also serve as the amateur radio (hosted)
payload operator once the satellite has been launched.
The transponder is expected to support a wide range of
voice, digital, and experimental advanced communications
technologies. A decision is expected soon specifying the
microwave uplink and downlink bands. Additional information on the Aquila M8 Series Satellite can be viewed on-line
at: http://www.millennium-space.com/ and at http://www.
millennium-space.com/platforms#aquila
Selected References:
Baker, Keith and Jansson, Richard, Space Satellites from the
World’s Garage--The Story of AMSAT, Dayton, OH: Proceedings of the National Aerospace and Electronics Conference, 1994.
Davidoff, Martin, The Satellite Experimenter’s Handbook
Newington, CT: The American Radio Relay League, 1984.
Jansson, Richard, Spacecraft Technology Trends in the Amateur Satellite Service, Ogden, UT: Proceedings of the 1st
Annual USU Conference on Small Satellites, 1987.
T S M
T h e Long wav e Zon e
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
wb2qmy@arrl.net
An Easy-to-Build Natural Radio Receiver
Left: This diagram shows the BBB-4 receiver layout. All components used are common varieties, and the circuit is about as simple as
it gets. Right: This circuit boosts the BBB-4’s audio to a useable level, although a bit more amplification is needed to drive a speaker at
full volume (see text). (Graphics courtesy of the author)
D
Xing beacons, broadcasters and experimenters on
longwave can be a lot of fun, but sometimes it’s
good to have a change of pace. This month, we’ll
explore how you can tune into the “lowest of the low” radio
frequencies—the land of Natural Radio—with very little
difficulty or expense. Perhaps you’ve read about the signals
that can be heard here: Sferics, Tweaks, Whistlers, and Dawn
Chorus, to name a few. Now is your chance to hear them for
yourself using a simple, yet effective homebrew receiver.
You’re invited to join in as we build up a “Bare Bones
Basic” BBB-4 receiver from scratch! This unit is built along
the lines of the one described online at: www.auroralchorus.com/bbb4rx3.htm. The Auroral Chorus site is run by
fellow longwave enthusiast Stephen McGreevy (CA), and
it provides a complete review on natural radio as well as
the BBB-4. We’ll provide enough detail in this column for
you to build your own unit, but I highly recommend visiting
Stephen’s site for the complete background on natural radio
(including many sound clips). If you have time for only one
part of the site, be sure to check out Stephen’s VLF Story, at
www.auroralchorus.com/vlfstory.htm.
the parts for the unit are readily available from Digi-Key
Electronics and Mouser Electronics (see resources), or your
favorite supplier. If you still have a Radio Shack store open
in your area, that could also be a resource to explore. Those
with a well-stocked junk box might be able to build the unit
without any parts purchases.
The schematics shown on the Auroral Chorus website date to the early days of the Internet, and as such, are
composed of text characters to ensure compatibility with all
browsers and computer platforms. While the diagrams are
readable, I chose to redraw them for improved clarity before
beginning construction. Both are shown above.
In re-drawing the circuits, I made two minor changes:
First, I combined the “front-end” and filter schematics into
one drawing for the sake of simplicity. Second, I changed the
values of resistors R3 and R4 to allow using a 2N3819 transistor for Q1 instead of the harder to find 2N5484. (These
changes are recommended in the original text when using a
2N3819 transistor.)
The Receiver
I’m building the BBB-4 on a small piece of “perfboard”
using simple point-to-point wiring. Sheets of this material
are available from many sources (check online) and may be
cut to the desired size. If going this route, I recommend making the board a bit larger than needed for “elbow room” and
easier construction. Also, this ensures clearance for standoff
The BBB-4 is a wideband ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) receiver with a peak RF response near 2 kHz. The
receiver is, as its name implies, about as basic as you can
get and still have good natural radio performance. All of
Mechanical Considerations
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 77 Left: Radio Shack aluminum enclosure. Center: Radio Shack 1k-ohm, center tapped audio transformer ($2.99). Right: Radio Shack
mini audio amplifier ($15). Get them while they’re still available from the Shack! (Courtesy: Radio Shack)
spacers and bolts at the corners of the board for mounting
inside an enclosure. A metal enclosure is recommended for
RF shielding. I chose an aluminum project box (Radio Shack
No. 270-238), as it has plenty of room inside for mounting
the board, connectors, 9V battery, etc. A smaller box could
be used, but I wanted the extra room to experiment, at least
for starters.
Whip Antenna
The project calls for using a whip antenna 1 to 3 meters
long. I selected a universal replacement telescoping antenna
that extends to roughly 1 meter. To mount the antenna,
some ingenuity will be required. The most important thing
is to make sure it is completely insulated from the metal
enclosure.
I suggest insulating the bottom few inches of the antenna
(including where it passes through the case) with heat shrink
tubing or electrical tape, and then mounting it to the inside
of the metal box with a pair of plastic cable clamps. A short
“pigtail” of wire can then be used to connect the base of the
antenna to the circuit board.
Component Notes
Most of the parts values on the schematic are self-explanatory. An item that may need some discussion is L1, the
180-200 mH choke. If you have a choke in this range, great,
go ahead and use it. If not, an acceptable substitute is the primary winding of a 1k-ohm center-tapped audio transformer
(such as Radio Shack No. 273-1380 or similar). You’ll need
to use the center tap lead and either end of the primary for
the proper inductance. All other leads of the transformer are
unused for this application.
Remember that Q1 is a field-effect transistor (FET) and
it is subject to damage from static electricity. Use caution to
avoid static discharge when handling the FET, and install it
into the circuit last. In fact, you may want to use a socket for
Q1 so that it can be simply plugged in and removed without
hassle, if needed.
Outboard Audio Amplifier
The BBB-4 as shown, will provide sufficient output to
drive a tape recorder input or an audio amplifier, but it is not
high enough for direct listening with a speaker. (A small earphone might work without amplification, but I haven’t tried
it.) An inexpensive outboard amplifier such as the Radio
Shack No. 277-1008 is ideal for this purpose. It is a compact
unit with a built-in speaker and volume control. You could
also build a suitable amplifier, as circuits for this abound online. An easy-to-build design can be found at: www.theqrper.blogspot.com. Just scroll down to “Beginner: A Really
Simple Audio Amplifier” to see it. You can click on the schematic for a larger view. This project is straightforward, and
based on the common LM386 chip.
Parts Sources
As mentioned, some readers may have a Radio Shack
store still operating in their area that has the parts, but if not,
you can always order online or by mail. Here are two wellknown suppliers to the electronics hobbyist:
Mouser Electronics
www.mouser.com
958 N. Main St.
Mansfield, TX 76063-4827
Tel. 800-346-6873
Digi-Key Corp.
www.digikey.com
701 Brooks Ave. S.
Thief River Falls, MN 56701-0677
Tel. 800-344-4539
Next month, we’ll discuss final assembly of the BBB4 and turning the receiver on for the first time. Until then,
happy building.
Left: Radio Shack LM-386 low-voltage audio power amplifier. Right: Perfboard for mounting the project. Right: 28-inch replacement
telescoping whip antenna. (Courtesy: Radio Shack)
A Natural Radio Download
Loggings
Last month I mentioned an item from Allen Lutins
KC2KLC regarding a software option for receiving Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) signals. In my efforts
to wrap up that column against a deadline, I misspelled Allen’s last name. In addition to correcting that error, I wanted
to mention yet another item from him in this month’s column: A Natural Radio download that you can get for a very
low cost.
The offer is called simply “Ionosphere” and it is presented by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. It is a capture
of NR signals dating back to 1955, at a time when whistlers
and other related phenomena were not widely understood.
What’s more, it presents two simultaneous recordings made
at widely separated locations. The download is available for
$2.98 total cost. More information is available at www.folkways.si.edu/ionosphere/sounds/album/smithsonian.
Kriss Larson KR6ISS (CA) sent along some loggings
from this past winter using his Grundig G3 receiver with
a Palomar LF converter and 100-foot wire antenna. Kriss
writes:
“I don’t bother with longwave scans from home often
anymore, but with a nice full moon and quiet conditions, I
decided to give it a try. The VLF was particularly strong that
night—I’ve never heard 37.5 kHz Iceland from home before,
and Exmouth, Australia at 19.8 kHz and Puerto Rico at 40.75
kHz were much stronger than normal.
“The beacon ‘IP’ at 201 kHz is unusual—a private beacon at a private airport near Phoenix, Arizona, that Lufthansa
uses to train pilots. LBH at 332 kHz from Portland used to
be IA—probably when the FAA dropped it as an ILS beacon,
the airport operator decided to keep it going under another ID. That didn’t happen at our local John Wayne-Orange
County airport—the NA 337 kHz beacon went off the air,
and was later dismantled. I’ll be traveling next to Curacao
and Bonaire in the Dutch West Indies. It will be interesting
what a longwave scan down there will bring up.”
New Allocations Pending!
The April 30, 2015 issue of the ARRL Letter contained
some very exciting news: After years of waiting for action on
two amateur allocations on longwave, the report stated the
following:
“Amateur Radio is poised to gain access to two new
bands! The FCC has allocated a new LF band, 135.7 to 137.8
kHz, to the Amateur Service on a secondary basis. Allocation
of the 2.1 kHz segment, known as 2200 meters, was in accordance with the Final Acts of the 2007 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07). The Commission also
has proposed a new secondary 630-meter MF allocation at
472 to 479 kHz to Amateur Radio, implementing decisions
made at WRC-12. No Amateur Radio operation will be permitted in either band until the FCC determines, on the basis
of comments, the specific Part 97 rules it must frame to permit operation in the new bands.”
You can read the full report at www.arrl.org/arrlletter?issue=2015-04-30#toc01.
kHz
37.5
73.6
124
201
206
216
220
242
242
251
260
265
275
275
278
ID
NRK
CFH
CKN
IP
SOW
EC
HLE
EL
XC
AM
AP
SAA
GEY
GUY
CEP
LOCATION
Keflavik, Iceland (MSK)
Halifax, NS (MSK)
Vancouver, BC (MSK)
Mobile, AZ (Lufthansa)
Show Low, AZ
Cedar City, UT
Hailey, ID
El Paso, TX
Cranbrook, BC
Amarillo, TX
Denver, CO
Saratoga, WY
Greybull, WY
Guymon, OK
Capitan, NM
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 79 286
290
332
353
367
378
380
397
400
407
415
EKS
YYF
LBH
NY
HQG
DW
GC
ULS
QQ
YLJ
ZRG
Ennis, MT
Pendicton, BC
Portland, OR
Enderby, BC
Hugoton, KS
Owaso, KS
Gillette, WY
Ulysses, KS
Comox, BC
Meadow Lake, SK
Regina, SK
New Way to Log
Longwave Link of the Month
Kevin Johnson W2RKJ (NJ) wrote with an interesting
method he uses to log beacons with the aid of Google Maps.
Kevin writes:
“What I’m doing is monitoring the NDBs with either
my Yaesu FRG-100B or Collins R-389/URR that I just fully
restored. I’m having some minor sensitivity issues with the
R-389 that should be corrected with some new tubes coming
in this week. That is one quiet receiver. I record the audio
using RecAllPRO audio software into an mp3 file. The actual
log is an Excel spreadsheet.
“The loggings I’ve made were also recorded via computer. I was using a Pixel loop antenna I received this past
Christmas and I can’t believe the performance. If you click
on the balloons shown at https://www.google.com/maps/d/
edit?mid=zZoUCL2n9bag.kFAGutNHMk4 s it shows the
NDB name. Also, when you enlarge the map it zeros down
to show the actual station and antenna when clear enough on
the map. I’m having a ball with this and I’m amazed more
people aren’t doing this.”
Old Brown’s Head Light
TLZ readers may be interested in a song that refers to
vanishing lighthouses, but could just as easily have been
written about longwave beacons. In fact, there may well have
been a radio beacon at the Brown’s Head site; I am not sure.
(Perhaps some of our European-based readers can enlighten
us on this.) At any rate, I believe that dedicated beacon hunters will find special meaning in the song. You can check it
out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKTjjoLLCv0.
End Notes
Two quick updates from my bench… This month I had
intended to review the use of the Kiwa Earth Monitor in the
field. However, when I opened the case I discovered that at
least one of the AAA batteries had leaked, causing (hopefully) minor damage inside the set. I removed the batteries
immediately, but more time is needed for me to clean out the
mess, and I will share my results next month. I have a technique that others may find useful when facing a similar issue.
80 The Spectrum Monitor By the way, has anyone else noticed that even brand-name
batteries seem to be leaking more often today, after many
years of not seeing this problem? Low price is no bargain if
it ruins your electronics!
Free time has also been limited for yet another project—
the Neophyte 1 receiver described here over the past several
months. I had hoped to wrap up its conversion to longwave
this month, but other priorities have prevented me from doing that. Last month, we showed a way to put it on the band,
but lingering issues with oscillation in my own set have kept
me from performing this final step. Look for a conclusion to
the Neophyte project in the next issue of TLZ!
June 2015
Visit http://www.w3eee.com/ for an interesting collection of LF resources. Whether you’re a listener, DXer,
or experimenter, there is sure to be something here of
interest. If you have the slightest interest in QRSS reception, check out the “Live Grabulator II” link provided on
the site.
T S M
A dv e n t u r e s i n R a dio
R e stor at ion
By Rich Post KB8TAD
kb8tad@gmail.com
First Look at a Zenith 5K037 “Farm” Set
(Graphics courtesy of the author)
Left: Inside the Zenith 5K037 as purchased showing the telescoping ‘wave-rod’ antenna and cracked rubber insulation. Center: Closeup of telescoping antenna. Right: Zenith 5K037 period advertisement.
I
f you ask what is a good first radio restoration project,
many folks will say a 1950s AC-DC 5 tube set. We had
an example of a 4- tube, AC-DC version in the February
and March columns with typical problems. However, I am of
the opinion that a better choice for a first project is what has
been termed a “Farm Set,” a radio designed for use in areas
and locations that in the 1930s through the late 1940s did not
yet have electric utilities. That was typically true of farms
especially before the big push for rural electrification that
began with the establishment of rural electric cooperatives in
the Roosevelt Administration. (1)
The typical farm radio was a wooden tabletop set with
a small chassis and lots of room inside for one or more large
batteries. Outwardly it looked like the typical set offered for
AC plug-in power. Manufacturers such as Zenith, Philco,
Crosley, and other big names of the 1930s and 40s produced
farm sets to fill the need, but mail-order catalog brands such
as Sears-Roebuck’s Silvertone and Montgomery-Ward’s
Airline probably outstripped each of the other popular brand
names in sales since the mail-order business thrived in rural
locations.
Not all such sets found their way to farms, however.
Vacation cabins and boats were also often equipped with
these sets.
Battery Powered
The most common farm set of the mid 1930s to late
1940s used 1.4-volt tubes powered by an “A” battery with
the high-voltage source of 90 volts from a “B” battery. Often
a single, large battery supplied both the “A” and the “B”
power. The 1.4-volt tube filaments were typically wired in
parallel. Because the tubes had no indirectly heated cathodes
but used the filaments directly as “cathodes,” biasing for the
tubes with parallel filaments allowed for simpler circuits as
opposed to series filaments.
Less common farm sets ran on a 6-volt storage battery
with a vibrator supply for the high B+ voltage in similar
manner to automobile radios. A wind-powered generator
could be purchased to charge the storage battery. Other sets
used tubes with 2-volt filaments. Still others used a 32-volt
system for both series-wired filaments as well as the “B”
supply. However, those using the “A-B” 1.5 and 90-volt
battery package were the most common farm sets and still
are the most likely ones encountered at antique radio swap
meets. The sets are typically “low mileage,” i.e., used conservatively because of the battery requirement and often put
in attic storage when rural electric power was finally available. It is not unusual to find sets with the original tubes.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 81 Left: Replacing the cracked, rubber-covered battery cable. Center: Zenith type Z-28 A-B battery designed for farm sets. Notice both the
four-pin jack and an octal socket as optional battery connectors. Zenith 5K037 farm set chassis before cleaning.
Transoceanic Telescoping Antenna
When this 1946-47 Zenith model 5K037 came up for
auction, I noticed it had an unusual addition, a telescoping
rod antenna that was identical to that used on the first postwar Zenith Transoceanic model 8G005. I wondered if a former owner had added the antenna or whether it was original.
As usual, my curiosity got the better of me. The radio was
in rough shape, but I wanted to find out how well it would
perform, especially since, with its tuned RF stage, it might
theoretically work as well as a Transoceanic on the broadcast band. A tuned RF stage would certainly make it more
sensitive than the typical AC-DC set. That, and the princely
auction price of $2, sealed the deal. That low price reflected
the fact that most antique radio enthusiasts avoid farm sets
because of the battery requirement, another reason why they
make great inexpensive first projects. Since the cost was so
low, I determined to find ways to keep all costs in line with
that low price if at all possible, as an example for even the
most “impoverished” (2) restorer to get involved.
A Modern A-B Battery Source
The set uses a combined A-B battery, which is not sold
anymore. So how do we get those voltages? One method is
to use a couple of “D” cells in parallel for the “A” supply
and ten 9-volt transistor radio batteries daisy-chained or
snapped together end to end in series aiding for the “B” supply as shown in the pictures. The end connectors are simply
made of a 9-volt battery top cut in two with wires soldered
to each of the two snap terminals. The 9-volt batteries can be
the cheapest typically sold in dollar stores since power draw
is very light; about 11-mA in this radio. Even worn batteries
are fine given the low current draw. There is no reason to use
more expensive alkaline cells. If you decide to use ten such
batteries in series for a 90-volt supply, be cautious since you
are still dealing with 90 volts. I normally group two sets of 5
batteries each as shown and keep the two groups apart until
I need the full voltage, minimizing the shock hazard. After
the “B” wiring to the radio is complete, the last connection I
make is to join those two sets of 5 batteries each. For the “A”
supply, I used a battery holder that normally connects two
“D” cells in series but cut the internal series connection and
rewired the holder so that the two “D” cells are in parallel,
providing 1.5 volts at enough current.
Schematic Source
I found two sources for the factory schematic for this
set; Rider’s “Perpetual Troubleshooter’s Manual” Volume 17,
Zenith pages 17-5 and 6 and Beitman’s 1947 “Most Often
Needed Radio Diagrams,” page 186. The factory schematic
for this model shows that the Transoceanic-style telescoping
antenna is indeed original. The schematic calls it a “wave
rod.” The radio is very similar to the 1942 Zenith model
5K637, which originally sold for $35 but did not have the
telescoping antenna.
The tubes listed on the schematic are a 1A7GT converter, 1H5GT detector and first audio, two 1N5GT for RF and IF
amplifiers, and a 1C5GT for audio output. Four of the tubes
require 50 mA each for the filaments but the audio output
tube needs 100 mA. Thus all of the filaments together draw a
total of 300 mA.
Condition of the Set
As purchased, the set was dirty; its flexible clear plastic
dial cover was yellowed and split open, and the battery cable
used rubber covered wiring that had hardened and was flaking off. The wires to the tube grid caps and wave rod showed
the same flaking rubber insulation and, finally, the cabinet
was in need of refinishing.
The knobs did not come off easily. But, by using my
homebrew knob puller, a split webbing belt hooked around
the knob like a button in a buttonhole (see February column),
they came off without damage.
I pulled the little chassis and speaker out and checked
the speaker and its output transformer with my VOM, on its
RX100 setting, to see if it would make scratchy noise when
the prods touched the transformer primary connections. If I
Left: Snap connector made from the top of a dead battery. Blue wire is correct for B+ side. Center: Two sets of five, nine-volt batteries connected together end-to-end with color-coded connecting wires. Right: Zenith showing all capacitors replaced. All but two were
recycled from dead CFL bulbs.
didn’t have a nice analog VOM, I would have used a simple
1.5-volt AA battery for that test. I perform the output transformer and speaker test on every radio I repair or restore because an output tube and audio transformer can be damaged
without a proper load.
An audio output tube with an open output transformer
has no proper plate load, which could damage the screen
grid. An output tube and transformer with no speaker load
can be damaged because of high fly-back voltages in both
the tube and transformer. This speaker with its onboard audio
transformer passed the test, so I put it aside with a piece of
cardboard attached to the front to prevent damage to the cone
while out of the cabinet.
Careful Cleaning
I next pulled each tube in turn, cleaning them carefully while making sure not to rub off identification marks. A
type 1P5GT had been subbed for the 1N5GT as IF amp. A
quick check in the RCA tube manual showed little difference
between the two. The audio output tube had no visible ID
markings. I immediately labeled it with permanent marker
after verifying by way of the filament connections that it
was indeed a 1C5GT rather than the compatible 3Q5GT, an
output tube with a 2.8 volts center-tapped filament that is
provided in an alternate chassis as noted on the schematic. I
tested each tube filament with my VOM still on RX100.
The tube sockets were each cleaned with contact
cleaner as were the ground connection feelers of the variable
tuning cap. Next came the volume control and power switch.
Like most farm sets, the power switch has four separate
terminals as a DPST switch (double pole single throw),
which allows the switching of both “A” and “B” power at the
same time. There was no continuity at the switch, a common
problem in a long-dormant set. I used some DeoxIT contact
cleaner on both the switch and the volume control and left
the chassis on its face overnight with the control shaft pointed down to allow the cleaner to wick into the switch by gravity. In the morning, my VOM on its RX1 setting confirmed
that each side of the switch now showed proper continuity
when switched to “On.”
Like many farm sets, the power switch actuates a
spring-loaded mechanical red flag that is a visible indication
of “power on.” Unlike a pilot light, a flag indicator uses no
power, an important consideration in a battery-operated set.
I noticed that the dial cord had been worked on in the past.
The tuning control shaft had been beefed up with two layers
of adhesive tape. The dial cord had been mounted with only
a half turn on that control shaft and its tape layers. It worked
but occasionally slipped. A separate second dial cord connected the variable cap pulley with a similar pulley for the
tuning pointer. I made a note to replace the main dial cord.
A thorough cleaning of the chassis came next, vacuuming
dirt and then scrubbing with old soft toothbrushes and waterless hand cleaner. Narrow locations were cleaned with rags
moved by wooden chopsticks.
I next replaced the cracked, rubber-covered battery
cable using color-code matched wires of red, black, blue and
Left: Battery cable RMA color codes. Center: New battery cable shown next to worn, cracked, cable removed from set. Capacitors not
yet replaced. Right: Forming female push-on connectors for the battery plug pins.
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 83 Left: Opening a CFL bulb, an oscillating multi-function tool also works well at opening the plastic housing. Center: Inside a CFL
bulb showing useful power supply components. Right: Powering the Zenith 5K037 chassis with batteries.
yellow which correspond to the RMA (Radio Manufacturers
Association) color code. Red is A+, black is A-, blue is B+
and yellow is B-.
I also replaced the cracked rubber grid cables to the
tube caps and the wire lead to the telescoping antenna. Most
of the point-to-point wiring under the chassis was intact and
had not hardened, but I replaced several pieces that were
questionable.
Recycled Capacitors?
I next proceeded to replace all of the wax capacitors
and the electrolytic. Because one of my goals was to show
what could be done as an “impoverished” restorer, I used
capacitors from my stock of caps recycled from burned out
CFL bulbs. Since the maximum B+ voltage in this set was 90
volts, all I needed were caps that could handle that voltage.
All of the little caps in the typical CFL bulb are rated at 200
volts or more, including some at over 1000 volts, and are
thus easily capable of meeting the need. I replaced the 8 uFD
150-volt electrolytic with a 10 uFD at 200 volt from a CFL
bulb. The electrolytics in CFL bulbs are designed for service
up to a temperature of 105 degrees Celsius as compared
to the typical older radio electrolytics that were rated at a
maximum of 85 degrees. (On the Celsius scale, 100 degrees
is the boiling point of water.) Just for assurance, I checked
all of the little recycled caps with my Sencore LC-75 capacitor analyzer, but I have yet to find any bad cap from one of
those bulbs. I was able to replace all the wax caps except two
using recycled ones. Since the modern (but recycled) caps
are so small, the chassis looked nearly empty compared to its
look with the old wax caps.
My next action was to make some female connectors
for the battery plug. I ended up modifying several flat pushon connectors by simply bending and forcing them into a
round shape with my needle-nose pliers. The metal retained
its springiness and gripped the battery plug pins properly.
I used color-coded heat-shrink tubing to match the RMA
color-coded wires.
The Radio Comes to Life
The tubes were re-installed and the speaker reconnected
to the chassis on the bench. With all the new caps and the
DeOxit cleaning of all movable contacts, I was not surprised
that the radio came to life when the batteries were connected.
I did not have to do further trouble-shooting.
There is always satisfaction and a feeling of accomplishment in having an old radio come to life after many
years. I still get a kick out of that. I noticed some buzzing
noise when tuning the radio and then quickly realized that it
was picking up the RF noise from my CFL desk lamp! Shutting off the lamp solved the noise problem, and I proceeded
to tune in my favorite daytime weak-signal oldies station.
The radio was working quite well with just a clip lead for
antenna.
Next month we tackle the alignment, the dial cord, and
the broken tuning dial cover and then attempt to design a
homebrew solution to run the set on AC power using readily
available components.
(1) For an interesting history of rural electric cooperatives,
see “America’s Rural Electric Story,” page 2 in the January
2008 issue of “Country Living” from the Rural Electric Cooperative in Harrison County, West Virginia
http://www.harrisonrea.com/Country%20Living/2008-01%20January%202008.pdf
(2) The word “impoverished” in the context of radio is a tipof-the-hat to T. J. Lindsay and his vintage series of paperbacks titled, “The Impoverished Radio Experimenter,” that
may still be available as reprints. Unlike Lindsay, we don’t
need to make components but using recycled components
such as capacitors from a CFL bulb is a useful way of keeping at least some materials out of the waste stream and at no
cost.
T S M
T h e B r oa d c a s t Tow e r
By Doug Smith W9WI
dougw9wi@gmail.com
FCC Fines, Interference and Pot Talk Flop
L
ast December, I reported someone had rebroadcast
the 2011 national Emergency Alerting System test.
In January, that someone was identified as the Bobby
Bones Show on WSIX-FM here in Nashville.
I speculated that error would be rather expensive. I was
right. iHeartMedia (formerly known as Clear Channel) has
entered a consent decree in which it will pay a civil penalty
of $1,000,000. The company will also engage in a compliance and reporting plan, in an attempt to ensure such an
error doesn’t happen again.
Power. I Want Power!
Whole Lotta Watts. The Nation’s Station. The Big One.
WLW-700, Cincinnati has a history matched by few American broadcasters. Some of you are aware of one of WLW’s
claims to fame: the only U.S. commercial AM broadcaster
to ever operate with more than 50,000 watts of power. For
a few years in the mid-1930s, this behemoth operated with
500,000 watts.
Why don’t we have 500,000-watt stations today? It’s
not particularly difficult to build a monster station like this.
They exist across much of Europe and Asia. 2,000,000-watt
stations in the Middle East use transmitters manufactured
in Texas. There’s no technical reason why we couldn’t have
more powerful stations in the U.S.
Today, the major problem would be interference with
other stations. There is no such thing as a “clear channel”
anymore. 1200 kHz is probably the clearest channel. I
remember a day when WOAI was the only station operating
on 1200 at night. Today, this San Antonio station has eleven
neighbors sharing its channel. Forty years ago, a 500,000watt WOAI wouldn’t have interfered with anything. Today,
it would cause massive interference to stations in Chicago,
North Dakota, and Florida among other places.
In the 1930s, the problem was competition. WLW was
a NBC Red station. (at the time, NBC had two radio networks. The other one – Blue – eventually became ABC.)
At 9:00 on a Friday night, WLW would carry NBC Red’s
“First Nighter.” Thirty-eight other stations carried this
program at the same time. Some of them – including WCAE
(Pittsburgh); WMAQ (Chicago); WMC (Memphis); WSM
(Nashville); WTAM (Cleveland); and WWJ (Detroit) – were
well within the coverage of WLW’s 500,000-watt signal.
WLW-700 Cincinnati. (Doug Smith)
When it came time for a station break, a listener in Detroit
tuned to WLW would hear not the Detroit commercials – but
the Cincinnati ads. So, jealous smaller stations got WLW’s
high-power permit yanked.
What would the dial sound like today if WLW’s
500,000-watt permit had survived? For one thing, high power
wouldn’t have been limited to WLW. Some of the stations
known to be interested in high power included WSM-650
(Nashville), WSB-750 (Atlanta), and WCCO-830 (Minneapolis). There were others.
How much louder would these stations be today? Not as
loud as you might think. By my estimate, Nashville’s WSM
delivers about 0.2mV/m of signal to Louisville, 165 miles
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 85 Tower system for WKRD-790 Louisville (Doug Smith)
away, during the day. That’s enough that the FCC protects
it from interference. But most engineers feel you need at
least ten times that much signal to provide useful service
in today’s noisy environment. Increasing WSM’s power
to 500,000 watts would increase the signal in Louisville
to about 0.7mV/m. That’s a lot better, but nowhere near
enough to provide useful service. Installing the largest transmitter available – 2,000,000 watts – would boost WSM’s
Louisville signal to about 1.4mV/m. That’s getting pretty
close to useful service. It still wouldn’t compete with FM.
A close look at the photos shows a second, smaller
tower on the site. (this tower appears to be the same size as
the WLW tower, but that’s only because it’s closer to the
camera) The smaller tower holds FM translator W238BJ.
This 70-watt pipsqueak broadcasts rock music as “The
Project.” There’s also an FM antenna visible atop the WLW
tower itself. This antenna is for WFTK 96.5, “96 Rock.” The
W238BJ antenna can double as a backup for WFTK.
Up All Night
One argument for authorizing powers greater than
50,000 watts was that higher power was necessary to provide full-time radio service to smaller rural communities.
These towns didn’t have stations of their own, but a more
powerful large city station could provide service. The counter-argument is that if the power of the big stations is limited
to less than 50,000 watts, small stations could be started in
these small towns.
More recently, some of these smaller stations have
argued that they should no longer be required to reduce
power at sunset. The theory seems to be that if these stations
can stay with their higher daytime power at night, they’ll be
able to better overcome the interference that plagues their
signals.
It seems to be forgotten that, if station WAAA-1320 is
allowed to use their 1,000-watt daytime signal at night.. that
station WZZZ-1320, 300 miles away, must also be allowed
to use their 1,000-watt daytime signal at night. We’ll have
WQRP-89.5 Dayton (Doug Smith)
at least as much interference as we did without the power
increases.
I did the math on one station in Wisconsin. Operating
with nighttime power of 150 watts, this station suffers from
interference from several distant stations. For a listener at the
far end of the county, interference from a specific Minnesota
station about 180 miles away would be 34dB down. The Wisconsin signal would be clearly intelligible, but would suffer
from annoying interference.
Allowing the Wisconsin station to use daytime power at
night would improve the interference ratio to 46dB. That’s not
quite hi-fi, but it’s close enough for many listeners. But there’s
a hitch.
To be specific, fairness would require the FCC to grant
the Minnesota station permission to use its daytime facilities at
night as well. That would bring the interference ratio back to
something very close to what it is right now – 32dB. Both stations would be spending more money on electricity, but neither
would see much improvement to their signal. And we aren’t
considering the dozens of other stations on the same frequency
that would also see higher powers.
Are They Citizens or Not?
U.S. policy is to require at least 75 percent of the ownership of American broadcast stations be U.S. citizens. When
a station is owned by an individual, this is of course easy to
prove. When a station is owned by a publicly-traded corporation, proof is more difficult. Many broadcasting companies
were founded by individuals. When they sold stock to the public, they made arrangements that ensure the founders’ family
will continue to control the company. Assuming the founders
were citizens, their descendants are likely citizens as well;
achieving 75 percent U.S. ownership is not difficult.
It is more difficult when the company buying the station(s) is a relatively new corporation. Pandora Radio – the
same company that owns Pandora Internet Radio – is attempting to purchase a South Dakota FM station. Pandora believes
that at least 82 percent of their stock is owned by U.S. citi-
zens. However, Securities and Exchange Commission rules
prohibit a company from directly contacting shareholders if
those shares are held by intermediaries (brokers or banks). In
a nutshell, Pandora cannot even determine who half of their
shareholders are, let alone their citizenship.
Pandora argues that 100 percent of their board of directors are U.S. citizens. They also argue that the same SEC
rules make it impossible for non-citizen shareholders from
controlling the company without openly disclosing their
intention (presumably, this would trigger the FCC to require
sale or closure of any broadcast stations owned by Pandora).
The FCC has agreed to regard Pandora as compliant
with the citizenship requirements, with several provisions
designed to ensure foreigners don’t take control. This
doesn’t mean the sale of KXMZ-FM to Pandora has been
approved – the Commission is still working on that.
No Longer High
Last month I reported that a Colorado Springs station had adopted an all marijuana talk format. I speculated
“K-High 1580” was a publicity stunt. It turns out I was right.
After a month of talk about pot, the station flipped to a simulcast of KFEZ 101.3 FM. The programming is light rock.
I suspect this programming won’t last long either.
a nearly new digital television exciter. This item was only
on display for an hour or so. I can’t imagine it sold. Such a
device is worth well into five figures. I rather doubt anyone at
Hamvention was carrying that much cash!
On the way home from Hamvention, I took a quick side
trip to take a look at WLW. The distinctive Blaw-Knox tower
is familiar to those of us who live near WSM’s famed unit.
I didn’t realize WLW’s had an FM antenna up top. Another
smaller tower nearby houses a low-power FM station and a
backup antenna for the FM atop the big tower. All of this is
located in the middle of a group of strip malls.
STATION REPORT:
NEW STATIONS
Permits granted for new stations:
Pine River, MN1210
Hamilton, VA 1440
5,500/250 DA-N
960/5,000 DA-2
Applications for new stations dismissed:
Garden City, GA 570
Braham, MN 1160
What if You Had a TV Station and Nobody Watched?
STATIONS GOING AWAY
On April 23, 2015, fire destroyed the transmitter of CJDC-TV-1 at Hudson Hope, British Columbia. This 63-watt
station relays the programs of the main CJDC-TV transmitter at Dawson Creek, roughly 60 miles away. Owners, Bell
Media, estimate replacement of the transmitter would cost
$35,000.
In the weeks since the transmitter was destroyed, station management heard from... nobody. Not a single phone
call was received complaining about the loss of the signal.
Channel 11 was the only signal receivable over the air in
Hudson Hope. Viewers wishing to have a choice of programming subscribed to satellite TV.
Bell has asked for permission to delete the Hudson
Hope transmitter from the CJDC-TV license. I expect that
permission will be granted.
Honolulu, Hawaii
1180
Nakina, Ontario
1240
98.1 FM)
Lancaster, S. Carolina 1560
for cancellation)
Dayton Review
apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-15-52A1.pdf
FCC agrees to treat Pandora as American-controlled company
I attended the Dayton Hamvention in mid-May. There
wasn’t much of interest to the broadcast DXer at this year’s
show. Three items in the flea market did catch my eye. One
was a beacon – one of the red lights found on a broadcast
tower. Another was a mint-condition Collins AM transmitter
of 1930s vintage. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t operating.
(In past years, Dayton has seen an operating AM broadcast
transmitter mounted in the back of a semi truck. Some hams
enjoy converting these transmitters for service in the 1900
or 3900 kHz amateur bands.) The most surprising find was
KORL (renewal dismissed)
CBLN (to be replaced by
WAGL (license surrendered
Web links for this month’s column:
americanbandscan.blogspot.com
My DX blog
www.fcc.gov/document/iheart-pay-1m-misusing-eastones-during-bobby-bones-show
iHeart will pay for abuse of EAS bursts
hawkins.pair.com/wlw.shtml
Jim Hawkins’ page on the WLW transmitter
www.cjdctv.com
CJDC-TV. One of their relay transmitters is gone but the
main transmitter remains.
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 87 A n t e n na C on n ec t ions
By Dan Farber AC0LWac0lw@att.net
Round and Round: Loop Antennas
W
elcome back, my friends. This month, let’s look
at a primary concept that underlies many of our
antennas—the concept of the loop. From simple
principles, the loop has evolved over the years into a number of different configurations. Here we examine the origins
of these concepts, the antennas they become, and what the
aspects and abilities of such antennas might be.
With Open Arms
The first notion to consider is the simple, or single-turn,
loop. This is nothing more than the realization that our old
friend, the folded dipole, is basically a full wavelength of
wire, and can be opened up from a linear arrangement of two
closely parallel conductors, shorted together at the far ends,
into a coherent loop of wire, be it configured as a square, a
circle, or any sort of polygon shape. The feedpoint is unaltered; the flat folded dipole is simply opened up into a true
“loop” of wire.
The folded dipole, let us recall, has a feed point impedance of about 300 ohms, and the default feed setup is 300ohm twin lead, or a 4:1 balun to match to 75 ohm coaxial
cable, or a matching network to coax. Keep this in mind; it
is an important aspect of the “loop” rearrangement of the
folded dipole.
This full-wave loop is versatile. For starters, it comprises the driven element of a quad antenna, the performance of which is legendary. For example, all other things
being equal, a two-element quad generally has the gain and
directivity of a three element Yagi—nothing to sneeze at.
Also, where the Yagi must be physically turned 90 degrees
to change polarization, the quad can do the same by merely
changing the feed point.
Okay, let’s go back to the loop by itself for a moment.
The loop can be installed vertically or horizontally. Installed
vertically, the loop can be rotated to take advantage of its
directivity, which makes sense given that it is basically a
“one-element quad.” Edge-on, there is a sharp null; in the
two directions facing the “flat” plane of the loop there is
maximum signal. Again, we can select vertical or horizontal
polarization by simply changing the feed point. The main
drawback to vertically installed loop is that it becomes unmanageably large and difficult to support as we go lower in
frequency. Fortunately, there’s another way to do it.
The full-wave loop is just a folded dipole spread open. (Drawing
by author)
Installed horizontally, say with four handy trees as supports,
the full-wave loop is a tremendous performer. Low-angle
radiation is greatly improved over a simple dipole, even at
low heights above ground that would turn the dipole into a
“cloud warmer” (high-angle radiation). Indeed, the loop even
shows some gain relative to a dipole, and at lower heights
above ground. Its excellent low-angle performance makes it
an effective DX antenna.
One common misconception is that the loop needs to
be circular, or any other particular shape. A circle is virtually
impossible, anyway; you would need an infinite number of
supports! (Even with 100 supports, you would end up with a
100-sided polygon, not a circle.) Extensive experience shows
that just about any loop shape works, be it square, or rectangular, or any old odd polygon. Even a triangle works well
(this is called a “delta loop”; a delta version of the good old
quad antenna has long been known as an effective antenna).
As long as our old friend the folded dipole is opened up in
one way or another, creating an open area with the wire as
perimeter, the loop will work.
Continuing the analogy to dipole theory and usage, the
loop larger than a full wavelength begins to show respectable gain, increasing as we go higher in frequency; this is
reminiscent of, say, my 102 foot dipole, which is not even a
half-wave dipole at 80 meters, but has enough quarter-wavelengths at 21 MHz and up to show real “collinear array” gain
and directivity. Indeed, when six meters is open, it holds its
ground with many Yagis and quads, based on a comparison
Left: The loop is the genesis of the quad antenna. Right: The loop can be any shape; the open area inside the wire makes it a “loop.”
(Drawings by author)
of signal reports. In the same way, the loop that is a full
wavelength long at, say, 40 meters has considerable gain at,
say, 10 and 6 meters.
In general, no matter the shape of the loop, if it is a full
wavelength along its perimeter, it will show a feed point
impedance of roughly 100 to 150 ohms, placing it neatly
between a dipole and a folded dipole in impedance. Some
folks accept the mismatch of a direct 75-ohm coaxial cable
connection, anywhere from 1.25:1 to 2:1 SWR. There are
of course more elaborate ways to match the loop to 50 or 75
ohm coax, such as an appropriate balun, or a section of coaxial cable as a matching transformer. At other frequencies,
the impedance will of course vary widely, making multiband
operation trickier if one insists on using coaxial cable to feed
the loop.
You can probably guess, by now, that your antenna
columnist will advise you to forget about wavelength, put up
the largest loop you can, feed it with ladder line or openwire line and a tuner, and proceed to work every band. If this
sounds like my often-repeated sermon about dipoles, it is.
Like the dipole, the loop will perform differently on different bands, but will almost certainly load up on every band,
thanks to the balanced feedline and tuner.
And, like the dipole, when the frequency gets too low
relative to antenna size (160 meters, anyone?), tie the feeders
together at the shack end and feed it as a single wire. The
feedline now becomes a “Marconi” style vertical, and the
loop becomes a capacitance “hat,” providing top loading; a
good ground is essential in this case. These scenarios will
allow even a small loop to operate numerous bands. For example, a full-wave 20 meter loop—only 16 feet on a side—
will operate on every band between 14 and 54 MHz, and as
a Marconi will also give you 30 and 40 meters, and maybe
80 and even 160, if the feedline is long enough to make an
effective radiator. All other things being equal, the loop so
operated will outperform the dipole so operated; and I can
attest that the 102-foot dipole so operated is a tremendous
antenna, giving me operation on every band between 160
and six. Maybe I should break down and proceed to put up
as big a loop as I can…I’ve got the wire and the ladder line
and my trusty E-Z Hang…and height above ground is not
nearly the important issue that it is with the dipole…
It is worth mentioning that the loop, with its good low-angle
performance, also makes a great DX antenna for the SWLs
among us. It is quieter than a vertical, and has more gain
than a dipole. These same qualities make it effective for
medium and long wave listening as well.
The only real drawbacks that I can see to the loop are
that the necessary supports may not be available to everyone;
trees may be scant or absent where you live, or stealthiness
may be important. If this sounds like your situation, consider
laying out a roof-mounted loop; it’s all but invisible, especially if you use insulated wire of a color close to the shingles’ hue. I made one of these years ago, stapling the wire
right onto the shingles. The fold in the middle due to the roof
being A-shaped rather than flat did not impede the loop’s
performance at all. Naturally, being me, I fed it with ladder
line and a tuner, and enjoyed good to excellent results on all
HF bands. Stealth rules!
All Wrapped Up
The other major evolution of the loop is the multi-turn
version. Instead of a single loop of wire, we now have a
considerable length of wire wound onto a form. This is the
textbook definition of a coil. A coil is not an effective transmitting element; most of the power would just heat up the
coil, rather than be radiated as RF energy. The turns of the
coil, lying right next to each other, tend to severely attenuate
radiated RF. But for receiving purposes, this coil is quite
effective.
Remember shirt-pocket radios? (You younger folks
have probably seen them in a history book.) They had no visible antenna; inside, a “ferrite loopstick” served as both the
inductor of the tuned RF input, and as the receiving antenna.
This is stretching things a bit; the loopstick was obviously
very small physically, and served as an effective antenna
mainly because local AM stations run high power to a really
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 89 Left: Homebrew receiving loop at my QTH. (Photo by author) Right: US Signal Corps receiving loops, almost 100 years ago. (From
Practical Radio, 1924)
big vertical, blanketing a circle around the antenna with a
huge signal.
It is possible, though, to build a physically larger loop.
For example, the photo shows a receiving loop I built. Over
500 feet of wire are wound onto a square wooden framework
a foot on a side. The assembly can be pivoted to null out
noise sources or strong interfering stations. (Recall that the
loop receives best on the flat plane of the loop, and edge-on
to the loop produces a sharp null.)
The loop works well even at or near ground level and
is effective all across the spectrum, at least as tested here, all
the way from 100 kHz to 30 MHz. And, it works quite well
indoors, making it the ultimate stealth receiving antenna.
Connecting it to the balanced input of my MFJ 969 tuner lets
me use the tuner’s inductor and variable capacitors to peak
response, although the tuner’s assistance is limited below
about 1 MHz.
Many ham operators use such a loop as a separate
receive antenna at low frequencies; typically 160 and 80
meters. This comes about because an antenna that is effective at transmit on the low bands is often unacceptably noisy
as a receive antenna, especially vertical antennas, which are
often the default choice for low-band transmitting. The loop
is quiet and, as mentioned, can be easily rotated to null out
noise, interference, and strong unwanted nearby signals.
Another example is the loop that sometimes is provided with
a home stereo system. They give you a length of wire for an
FM antenna, and for AM reception, a small plastic-encased
loop about four inches square. Once again, the tiny loop
works well for this mainly because AM broadcast stations
are fairly close by and running large amounts of power to
their big transmitting vertical antennas.
Much larger loops have been built, too. I found this
quaint photo of Signal Corps receiving loops being used
clear back in the 1920s. These look like they could do some
real damage if they fell on you! The point is that the receiv90 The Spectrum Monitor June 2015
ing loop has long been recognized as an effective antenna,
and that its sharp null edge-on is very useful in reducing
unwanted interference.
Sum and Difference
The loop has many points in its favor; it can be made
small and stealthy; a larger loop is a fine DX performer due
to its gain and excellent low-angle response; even a small
loop is a great receive antenna. If you are searching for a
wire-antenna alternative to a big dipole or a long wire, consider the loop. In fact, having written all this positive spin
on the loop, I now know what my next antenna construction
project will be. Might have to ask the neighbors if I can use
one of their trees as a support; or maybe just crawl up on
the roof and staple down a shingle-color-matched stealthy
loop…the possibilities are endless. You can no doubt find a
way to rig up some sort of loop at your QTH too! If you do,
let us know how it all works out. Be careful up there, and go
get that rare DX!
That’s all for this month. I’ll see you here in July with
more adventures in antenna theory and construction. Until
then, happy operating!
T S M
R a dio Hor i zons
Product Announcements of Interest to TSM Readers
International Shortwave
Broadcast Guide
Summer 2015
By Gayle Van Horn
715 Pages
Teak Publishing $4.99
Review by Ken Reitz KS4ZR
All former Monitoring Times readers remember Gayle
Van Horn’s popular column that appeared for decades in MT,
called “The QSL Report.” She also produced the shortwave
broadcast guide that appeared in each issue. Since the demise
of MT with the December 2013 issue, Gayle, through Teak
Publishing, has produced a biannual International Shortwave
Broadcast Guide in Kindle format. The latest is the summer
2015 edition and, since international shortwave broadcasters
change their broadcast schedules twice yearly in the spring
and fall, you need the latest version of this book to find out
which stations have changed frequencies and re-arranged
their schedules.
The book begins with several introductory articles
about shortwave listening, which may prove helpful to those
just now discovering this hobby. Following that is a spectrum
allocation chart that tells listeners which services may be
found on which frequencies throughout the High Frequency
(HF) radio spectrum. Other tricks of the shortwave listening
hobby: which frequencies work best during which part of the
day or season; what 24-hour UTC (Coordinated Universal
Time) means, for example, are offered that help make sense
of some of the terms you’re likely to run across while listening.
The meat and potatoes of this massive guide begin at
the start of the international shortwave broadcast day. From
0000 to 2400 UTC, every shortwave station known to be
broadcasting, regardless of language or output power, is
listed along with the frequencies on which each particular
services is transmitting. This is an SWLers dream data bank.
If you know what time it is UTC, you can search for stations
that should be on the air. Conversely, if you tune across a
station, you can quickly find out which station it might be by
looking it up through the time reference.
There is also an interactive Shortwave Broadcast Internet Resource Guide at the end of this book that lets you
access each station’s website through hyperlinks.
And, there is a list of popular daily shortwave programs.
More than a guide, the International Shortwave Broadcast
Guide Summer 2015, is a must have for all SWLers. (Courtesy:
Teak Publishing)
For instance, Arnie Coro’s popular “DXers Unlimited”
program airs Mondays at 0110 UTC on 6000 and 6165 kHz
among other times and frequencies.
Once you get started in shortwave listening, it’s not
long before you’ll get hooked on collecting QSL (confirmation of reception) cards. Luckily, Gayle has a Kindle
book for that too: “QSLing the World: a How-to Guide,”
($2.99). And, don’t forget to check her excellent blog for
daily updates on the world of shortwave listening, Shortwave Central at http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com
Kindle publications may be read on any desktop
or laptop computer or e-tablet with the free Kindle app:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/fiona/kcp-landing-page?ie=UTF8&ref_=sv_kstore_4
T S M
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 91 T S M B o o k s h e l f
Books of Interest to TSM Readers to Enhance your Radio Listening
T S M B o o k s h e l f
Books of Interest to TSM Readers to Enhance your Radio Listening
The National Radio Club’s
AM Station
Antenna Pattern
Book
Seventh Edition
including U. S. A., Canadian,
and selected
night and day patterns
prepared by
Paul Swearingen
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 93 A bou t Us
The Spectrum Monitor Writers’ Group
The Spectrum Monitor is edited and published by Ken Reitz KS4ZR, former managing editor, features editor, columnist
and feature writer for Monitoring Times. Former feature writer and columnist for Satellite Times, Satellite Entertainment
Guide, Satellite Orbit, Dish Entertainment Guide, Direct Guide; contributing editor on personal electronics for Consumers
Digest. Author of the Kindle e-books “How to Listen to the World” and “Profiles in Amateur Radio.” e-mail: editor@
thespectrummonitor.com
The Spectrum Monitor Writers’ Group consists of former columnists, editors and writers for Monitoring Times and
Popular Communications. Below, in alphabetical order, are the columnists, their amateur radio call signs, the name of their
column in The Spectrum Monitor, a brief bio and their websites and contact information.
Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF, “Amateur Radio Satellites”
Past president and currently treasurer of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Freelance writer and
photographer on amateur space telecommunications since 1993. Columnist and feature writer for Monitoring Times, The
Canadian Amateur and the AMSAT Journal. kb1sf@hotmail.com www.kb1sf.com
Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY, “The Longwave Zone”
Reporting on radio’s lower extremes, where wavelengths can be measured in miles, and extending to the start of the AM
broadcast band. Since 1991, editor of “Below 500 kHz” column for Monitoring Times. Author of “Listening to Longwave”
(http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/books/0024u.html). This link also includes information for ordering his CD, “VLF
RADIO!,” a narrated tour of the longwave band from 0 to 530 kHz, with actual recordings of longwave stations. E-mail:
wb2qmy@arrl.net
Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU “Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze”
Author of the Monitoring Times “Digital Digest” column since 1997, which follows the habits o f embassies, aid
organizations, intelligence and military HF users, the digital data systems they use, and how to decode, breakdown and
identify their traffic. www.chace-ortiz.org/umc
Dan Farber AC0LW, “Antenna Connections”
Monitoring Times antenna columnist 2009-2013. Building ham and SWL antennas for over 40 years. E-mail: ac0lw@att.
net
Richard Fisher KI6SN
A veteran journalist with a 35-year career in daily newspapers, and an amateur radio operator living in Riverside,
California, Richard has been an editor and writer for Popular Communications, WorldRadio Online, and CQ Amateur Radio
magazines. Among his previous responsibilities have been the monthly “Emergency Communications,” “Trail-Friendly
Radio” and “Easy Does It” columns for CQ, and has written for several QRP publications, including QRP Quarterly and
QRPp magazine. An avid homebrewer, he is a co-founder of The Adventure Radio Society. Write to him at ki6sn@aol.com.
Tomas Hood NW7US, “Radio Propagation”
An Extra Class operator since 1990, Tomas enjoys CW and digital modes on all HF bands. He is a contributing editor
to CQ Amateur Radio, the former Popular Communications and CQ VHF magazines, an ARRL publication on QRP
communications, and Monitoring Times. He runs the Space Weather and RadioPropagation Center at http://SunSpotWatch.
com. Web site: http://nw7us.us Twitter: https://twitter.com/NW7US.
Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z, “Amateur Radio Insight”
Amateur radio operator since 1977 at age 15. Author of “Stealth Amateur Radio.” Former editor, “ARRL Handbook,”
former QST magazine assistant managing editor, columnist and feature writer for several radio-related magazines, technical
editor for “Ham Radio for Dummies,” wrote “On the Ham Bands” column and numerous feature articles for Monitoring Times
since 2009. Web site: www.stealthamateur.com. E-mail: nt0z@stealthamateur.com
Stan Nelson KB5VL, “Amateur Radio Astronomy”
Amateur radio operator since 1960. Retired after 40-plus years involved in mobile communications/electronics/computers/
automation. Active in radio astronomy for over twenty years, specializing in meteor monitoring. He wrote the “Amateur Radio
Astronomy” column for Monitoring Times since 2010. A member of the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA).
www.RoswellMeteor.com. e-mail: Stan.Nelson@RoswellMeteor.com
Chris Parris, “Federal Wavelengths”
Broadcast television engineer, avid scanner and shortwave listener, freelance writer on federal radio communications since
2004, wrote the “Fed Files” column for Monitoring Times. http://thefedfiles.com http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com Twitter:
@TheFedFiles E-mail: cparris@thefedfiles.com
Rich Post KB8TAD, “Adventures in Radio Restorations”
As a teenager Rich Post repaired radios and TV sets. He passed the exam for a First Class FCC license when he was told he
needed one to repair his CB. He later received his amateur radio license as KB8TAD. Rich now holds a University Emeritus
title having retired from Ohio University as Assistant Dean and Director of the Instructional Media and Technology Services.
One of his hobbies is collecting and restoring “boat anchors.” He maintains the web site Boat Anchor Pix at www.ohio.edu/
people/postr/bapix.
Tony Roper, “Military Air and Naval Reception”
A Civil Air Traffic Controller in the UK as well as previously being in ATC in the Royal Air Force, totaling 25 years
experience. He has worked as a part-time aviation photographer/writer and has been published worldwide. He also provides
photos and research for IHS Jane’s, principally Jane’s Fighting Ships. His photography website is www.rogdabbit.co.uk and
his blog is http://planesandstuff.wordpress.com
Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV, “Digitally Speaking”
First licensed as a Novice over 40 years ago, he enjoys exploring various facets of amateur radio, from the latest state
of the art technologies, to the elegant simplicity found with a one-tube transmitter and straight key. He has an extensive
background with computers and likes to restore 8, 12 and 16-bit classics from the 1970s. He owns a television production
company and creates series programming, as well as marketing and training videos. wa3uvv@gmail.com.
Doug Smith W9WI, “The Broadcast Tower”
Broadcast television engineer, casual cyclist and long distance reception enthusiast. “Broadcast Bandscan” columnist for
Monitoring Times since 1991. email: dougw9wi@gmail.com blog: http://americanbandscan.blogspot.com Web site:
http://w9wi.com
Hugh Stegman NV6H, “Utility Planet”
Longtime DXer and writer on non-broadcast shortwave utility radio. Former “Utility World” columnist for Monitoring
Times magazine for more than ten years. Web site: www.ominous-valve.com/uteworld.html Blog: http://mt-utility.blogspot.
com /email: mtutilityworld@gmail.com Twitter: @UtilityPlanet
Dan Veeneman, “Scanning America”
Software developer and satellite communications engineer writing about scanners and public service radio reception for
Monitoring Times for 17 years. Web site: www.signalharbor.com E-mail: dan@signalharbor.com
Ron Walsh VE3GO, “Maritime Monitoring”
Retired career teacher, former president of the Canadian Amateur Radio Federation (now the Radio Amateurs of Canada),
retired ship’s officer, licensed captain, “Boats” columnist and maritime feature writer for Monitoring Times for eight years.
Avid photographer of ships and race cars. E-mail: marinecolumn @gmail.com.
Fred Waterer, “The Shortwave Listener”
Former “Programming Spotlight” columnist for Monitoring Times. Radio addict since 1969, freelance columnist
since 1986. Fascinated by radio programming and history. E-mail: programming_matters@yahoo.ca website: http://www.
doghousecharlie.com
June 2015 The Spectrum Monitor 95

Here - The Spectrum Monitor

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