Field Day VOA Radiogram for June 27-28

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

I'm almost hoping for poor reception this weekend, because we will transmit another news items in Olivia 32-2000, and this mode can work very well in adverse conditions.

If the RSID does not change your mode to Olivia 32-2000, you can manually make the change in Fldigi:

Op Mode > Olivia > Custom > Bandwidth: 2000, Tones: 32

Or you can make a macro in Flidigi for a quick change to Olivia 32-2000. Insert this under Macro Text: <MODEM:OLIVIA:2000:32>

[While you're at it, name the macro something like Olivia 32-2000. The name shows up on the empty button. -Hugh]

On the other hand, I'm also hoping for good reception this weekend, because that would bring good conditions for the amateur radio Field Day exercise. The program will include greetings to radio amateurs participating in Field Day.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 117, 27-28 June 2015., all in MFSK32 except where noted:

 1:31  Program preview
 2:38  Triassic Reptile Was 'Grandfather' of All Turtles*
 9:06  Explosive Growth May Exhaust Web Space*
18:16  Olivia 32-2000: Consumer rights website blocked In Russia
22:36  Amateur Radio Field Day 2015*
27:13  Closing announcements*
29:08  CW: 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 its usual minute of MFSK64 Sunday at 0230 UTC (Saturday 10:30 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz, via Germany. If you decode this, please retune quickly to VOA Radiogram, which also starts at 0230 UTC, on 5745 kHz. Reports for KBC to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com .

Thanks for your reports from last weekend. I will not be able to finish the gallery for program 115 and begin to respond to reports for program 115 until Sunday.

I hope you can tune in and write in this weekend.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
voaradiogram.net 

Medium-Wave Experimenters to Transmit Field Day Greetings

From ARRL:

Once again this year, a group of medium-wave experimental licensees will transmit greetings on 630 meters during the ARRL Field Day weekend, June 27-28. While the 472 to 479 kHz band is not yet available for Amateur Radio use, John Langridge, KB5NJD, said he'd like to continue promoting awareness of the proposed ham band. In April, the FCC proposed a new 630 meter Amateur Service MW allocation at 472 to 479 kHz, and it allocated a new LF band, 135.7 to 137.8 kHz -- both on a secondary basis. Langridge this year is hoping that some LF experimenters will also take part in the exercise. No Amateur Radio operation will be permitted in either band until the FCC establishes specific operating rules. Some of the stations involved in the Field Day activity, including Langridge, are associated with the ARRL 600 Meter Experimental Group (WD2XSH).

ARRL 600 Meter Experiment (WD2XSH) Coordinator Fritz Raab, W1FR, said that while the FCC's April Report and Order, Order, and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a step in the right direction, it could be some time before hams have a 630 meter ham band in the US. "With that in mind," he told ARRL this week, "we plan to renew the WD2XSH license and continue operations much as we have been, until such time as the 630 meter band becomes a reality."

Langridge said last year he got about 60 reports on his own transmissions from Texas. "It seems the longer we do this, the more legs that grow on it, and participation has really increased," he said. The point is to make active, relevant signals available to existing Field Day stations that might have a large pool of operators, many still having no idea that anything is going on below the broadcast band."

Langridge said Field Day stations could try using an HF transceiver capable of covering the 472-479 kHz range to listen for participating stations. He stressed that stations can use "whatever antennas that they have on site -- a dipole, a tribander, a vertical, whatever -- as the impedance mismatch may help improve the signal-to-noise ratio enough for effective copy."

Langridge said that in 2014 he received an Argo screen shot of his CW signal from Utah. "Reporting is important, since we all like to know who is listening and how we are doing," he said. Stations hearing any of the MW (or possible LW) Field Day "greeters" may report their reception online. Read more.

Summer Solstice VOA Radiogram for June 20-21

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

Based on your reports, reception was generally good last weekend. That’s somewhat unfortunate, because we included a news item in Olivia 32-2000, a mode that can be successful decoded even in very bad reception conditions. I tested this twice: First was during the Saturday 1600-1630 UTC broadcast on 17870 kHz. I usually don’t listen to this transmission because, in northern Virginia, I’m in the skip zone. Last weekend, the MFSK32 had many errors, but in Olivia 32-2000, 1111 of the 1115 characters decoded correctly. I had similar results Sunday 0230-0300 UTC on 5745 kHz using a receiver in Slovakia.

This weekend will be another all-MFSK32 show, except for MFSK16 as the bonus mode, first at 16 dB under the closing music, and later at full level.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 116, 20-21 June 2105, all in MFSK32 except where noted:  

1:32  Program preview

2:51  Amateur Radio Field Day at former VOA transmitting site*

9:38  630M medium wave transmissions on Field Day

12:52  Watermills in Pakistan generate electricity*

20:26  Myanmar intensifies media restrictions*

26:42  Closing announcements

27:43  MFSK16: Bonus mode 16 dB under closing music

28:40  MFSK16: At full 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 0230 UTC (Saturday 10:30 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz, via Germany. This is part of the KBC transmission to North America Sunday at 0000-0300 UTC (Saturday 8-11 pm EDT). If you decode this, quickly retune to 5745 kHz for VOA Radiogram. Reports for KBC to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com .

A reminder about MFSK images: Fldigi automatically saves decoded MFSK images as png files in the Windows folder \fldigi.files\images\. If you send those png files with your reception reports, it’s easy for me to include them in the gallery.  

Thanks for your reception reports from last  weekend. I am still woefully in arrears in answering your reports, but they will be answered.

I hope you can tune in and write in this weekend.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott

Producer and Presenter

VOA Radiogram

voaradiogram.net

Russia Grounds Entire Tu-95 "Bear" Fleet

Russia has grounded its entire fleet of Tu-95 Bear-H bombers following an accident involving engine fire and running off a runway on takeoff, killing one.  The aircraft was completely destroyed except for the tail section.  Others were severely injured. 

The C in C of the Russian Air Force stated that the planes will remain grounded until an investigation concludes.

Noctilucent Clouds Visible in CONUS

From spaceweather.com:

NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS REACH THE USA: The northern season for noctilucent clouds began on May 19th when NASA's AIM spacecraft spotted a patch of electric blue over the Arctic Circle. Since then the clouds have been spreading south. This week, for the first time in 2015, they crossed the border into the lower 48 US states.  Seeded by meteoroids and floating near the edge of space, these eerie-looking clouds are increasingly visible to mid-latitude observers, possibly as a result of climate change.  Check today's edition of http://spaceweather.com for the latest sightings and observing tips.

Space and Turkey for VOA Radiogram, June 13-14

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

In last weekend’s experiment comparing Scottie DX SSTV and MFSK32 images, the MFSK32 images generally were clearer, but the Scottie DX images usually had less slant, probably because of the slant-correction capabilities of the decoding software. I will, eventually, compile a gallery showing several comparisons.

[That was the experience here. MMSSTV did correct a slight slant, but it had more noise in the image. -Hugh]

There will be no SSTV in this weekend’s program, but if you are interested in more SSTV tests, let me  know, and we can include them in future shows.

This weekend’s program will include one item in Olivia 32-2000.  This will be interesting if you experience poor reception conditions because of propagation, local noise, or a less-than-top-quality radio. In Fldigi, Olivia 32-2000 requires a custom mode selection: Op Mode > Olivia > Custom: Tones: 32, Bandwidth: 2000. I provide 20 seconds for you to make this change. However, Olivia 32-2000 does have an RSID, so it will probably do all the work for you.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 115, 13-14 June 2015, all in MFSK32 except where noted:

1:36  Program preview

2:47  New NASA photos of dwarf planet*

7:22  Mars landing device parachute test fails*

14:14  Olivia 32-2000: Glitch causes ISS to change orbit

18:46  VOA covers the Turkish election*

25:13  Closing announcements*

28:30  Hell 80: 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 0230 UTC (EDT Saturday 10:30 pm) on 9925 kHz, via Germany.  (Decode this, then retune quickly to VOA Radiogram on 5745 kHz.) Reports for KBC to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com .

AndFlmsg. If you have an Android device, this reminder that the beta version of AndFlmsg, Fldigi for Android, is available here:

http://www.w1hkj.com/vk2eta/

Thank you for your reception reports.  I’m still about two behind in answering them, but slowly gaining.

I hope you can tune in and write in this weekend.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott

Producer and Presenter

VOA Radiogram

voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @voaradiogram