Very Interesting VOA Radiogram for 30-31 May

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

It has been several months since we last transmitted slow scan television (SSTV) on VOA Radiogram.  Emiliano in Italy notes that the International Space Station has been using the PD180 SSTV mode. He suggested that we compare PD180 SSTV images with our usual MFSK32 images. And, so, we will do that this weekend.

To decode PD180, download MMSSTV from http://hamsoft.ca/pages/mmsstv.php . (In theory, MultiPSK also decodes PD180, although I have not yet successfully decoded PD180 using MultiPSK.)

In the MMSSTV interface, under RX Mode, right-click on any mode to reveal the complete list of modes. Left click on the mode for it to appear in the main menu.  "Auto" under RX Mode should detect that PD180 is the  mode, but to be safe, manually select PD180.

After the image is fully decoded, you can right click on the image, then Copy it to MS Paint or other program that lets you save images. Or, by clicking on MMSSTV's History, you can use the left-right arrows to find the image you have decoded, then use the copy icon, or right-click to copy.

Another twist in this weekend’s show will be the transmission schedule in Olivia 64-2000 16 dB under the closing music. That will be followed by the usual “thank you” message, also in Olivia 64-2000, but at full level. The RSID will not be sent during the second Olivia 64-2000 transmission, so if you missed it at -16dB, set the mode manually.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 113, 30-31 May 2105, all in MFSK32 except where noted …

 1:33  Program preview

 2:50  Science of nighttime thunderstorms*

 8:21  Plankton are a major source of oxygen*

15:06  Volcano on Galapagos

18:08  SSTV PD180 test

21:28  Same image (but smaller) in MFSK32

25:11  Closing announcements

26:12  Bonus mode: Olivia 64-2000 at -16dB

27 17  Olivia 64-2000 at full audio level

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com .

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
  Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz
  Sat 1600-1630 17870 kHz
  Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
  Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 Sunday at about 0230 UTC (Saturday 10:30 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz (via Germany). This temporary time slot is one hour later than usual, and it coincides with the VOA Radiogram broadcast at the same time. If you have only one radio, decode from The Mighty KBC at 0230 UTC, then quickly retune to 5745 kHz for VOA Radiogram. Reports for the KBC MFSK64 to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com .  

Thank you for your reports from last weekend. I continue to be two weeks behind is responding to your emails, but I will try to improve that to merely one week behind.

I hope you can tune in and write this weekend.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott

Producer and Presenter

VOA Radiogram

voaradiogram.net

VOA Radiogram for 16-17 May Includes MT63-2000L

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

After the MT63-2000L bonus mode of program 108, Walt in the UK suggested that we transmit an entire news story in this mode. That will happen this weekend. This long-interleave version uses the entire 2000 Hz we have available in one sideband of a shortwave AM channel. I have measured its speed at nearly 200 words per minute, about twice as fast as our usual MFSK32 mode.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 111, 16-17 May 2015, all in MFSK32 except where indicated:

1:29  Program preview

2:44  VOA increases broadcasts to Burundi*

8:09  Forest management to reduce hunger*

16:02  Shipwreck found during search for MH370*

23:19  MT63-2000L: Huge demand for US entrepreneur visas

27:11  MFSK32: Closing announcements

28:40  Olivia 64-2000: Bonus mode of the week.

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com .

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule

(all days and times UTC):

Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz

Sat 1600-1630 17870 kHz

Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz

Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz

All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 Sunday at about 0130 UTC (Saturday 9:30 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz, via Germany. (It will be a van Gogh painting.) Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com .

If you have an Android device, try the beta AndFlmsg app, available from http://www.w1hkj.com/vk2eta/

The Saturday 0930 UTC transmission is now propagating to Japan.  See videos at …

http://voaradiogram.net/post/118013945737/videos-of-voa-radiogram-on-2-may-2015-from-japan

I continue to be two weeks behind in answering your emails. I’ll try to send out all the galleries for program 109 before the end of Saturday.

Despite the backlog, please tune in and write in this weekend. 

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott

Producer and Presenter

VOA Radiogram

voaradiogram.net

  

U.S. Navy-Marine Corps MARS to Phase Out

The US Navy-Marine Corps branch of the Military Auxiliary Radio System is closing down. This quasi-amateur radio service supported the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. The transition is gradual, and will be completed by September 30 of this year. Members are encouraged to apply to the Army or Air Force MARS.

On 12 May, the announcement came in a message passed from Chief, Navy-Marine Corps MARS to all members. Here are some excerpts:

2. Evaluation of the NAVMARCORMARS program by Fleet Cyber Command (FCC)/ Commander 10th Fleet (C10F), Naval Information Domination Forces (NAVIDFOR), and NCTAMS LANT determined that there are no U.S. Navy service unique requirements.

3. NCTAMS LANT will work with other U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Strategic Command, Department Of Homeland Security representatives, and NAVMARCORMARS volunteers to develop a transition plan for NAVMARCORMARS members which meets the requirements of Ref B and Ref C. [Department of Defense plans for MARS and its mission. -Hugh]

…

4. Current NAVMARCORMARS individual members and clubs are encouraged to begin submission of applications to U.S. Army MARS or U.S. Air Force MARS programs as soon as possible.

…

5. Additional guidance will also be provided SEPCOR [SEParate CORrespondence -Hugh] for MARS stations under military auspices, agency stations, and individual members who also participate in the DHS Shared Resources (SHARES) HF radio program.

More from ARRL:

One individual who is very familiar with the MARS program said the change was not unexpected and came to a head as the US Strategic Command embraced Army MARS as the lead branch for contingency communication and Air Force MARS began partnering with the US Army program on the operations side.

“The Army and Air Force MARS branches have an obvious role in providing contingency communications for the 50 states,” said the individual, who preferred not to be cited by name. “Members are everywhere ‘on the ground,’ and experience in Afghanistan and Iraq has proven the tactical usefulness of HF on land. There was no similar role for the landlocked membership of Navy-Marine Corps MARS.”

He said the MARS program can use all the volunteers it can attract and hopes the Navy-Marine Corp MARS volunteers will join one of the other MARS branches.

Army MARS has announced that volunteers in good standing can join as full members, without starting over.

Bravo Zulu to Navy-Marine Corps MARS for its many years of service to those who serve.

UVB-76/ MDZhB/ S28 Is Back Full Strength

The question is, "Did it ever really go away?"  Can't answer that.  Band conditions can be pretty wretched this close to the Northern Hemisphere summer.

In any event, it's back, in all its bizarre glory, to launch a thousand more conspiracy theories.

UVB-76/ MDZhB/ S28 Back with Very Low Audio

On the usual 4625 kHz, the WebSDR does pick up a very weak and raspy audio tone at 250 Hz with a possible harmonic at 500 Hz.  This tone is becoming louder at 1700 UTC, and its timing and waveform are very similar to the "buzz."  Is this a lowered gain or a second transmitter?

In any event, we can safely conclude that either something's still being emitted on this channel, or that someone's playing around.

UPDATE 1717: It's definitely the same tone, just not as loud.  Conditions, lower gain, or is there actually a second transmitter as some have theorized?

UVB-76/ MDZhB/ S28 Silent After 2 Voice Messages

At some point this morning (US Pacific time), perhaps around 1500 UTC, the notorious buzzer station on 4625.0 kHz broadcast two voice messages with the group military call sign MDZhB.  At 1628 UTC, the transmitter is ominously silent, as heard here on WebSDR and by other people.

The text of these messages has not yet been reported. Presumably, it's in the usual Russian strategic format, which vaguely resembles the US "SKYKING" broadcasts in content and purpose.

This activity corresponds to a flurry of traffic on the Bear-H net, with markers and traffic on the summer ground frequency of 8895 kHz CW, and aircraft responding on summer frequency 9128 kHz CW. The aircraft transmissions were reported as unusually loud in the UK, and indeed some unusual RAF activity has been heard on the usual non-HF channels.  There is no way to know whether this is related.

It is now 1640, and there is still no buzzer.  Since Russian dead-hand nuclear missiles have not auto-launched, we can safely conclude (again) that the country's supposed fail-deadly system uses a different trigger.  That is, if it really exists at all.