VOA Radiogram for February 25-26

Hello friends,

With reception conditions apparently improving, we will take a chance with MFSK64 (240 wpm) for one of our news stories this weekend.

But if reception conditions are poor, we will also transmit one story in MFSK16 (58 wpm).  Tuning for MFSK16 needs to be precise, so if the RSID does not work, I precede it with a 10-second tuning signal.

[We have coronal holes, again.  Could go either way. -Hugh]

So this will be a weekend to compare MFSK16, 32, and 64, including one image transmitted in both MFSK64 and 32, and another image transmitted in both MFSK16 and 32.   

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 204, 25-26 February 2017, all in MFSK with baud rates as noted:

 1:59 MFSK32: Program preview

 3:10 MFSK64: Astronomers discover "new earths"*

 8:06 MFSK32: Image* and HAARP experiment*

16:28 MFSK16: Arctic seed vault*

22:44 MFSK32: Image* and closing announcements*

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule (temporarily expanded):

UTC Day	UTC Time	kHz	Transmitter	Target	Also try in …
Saturday	0930-1000	5865	North Carolina	Americas	Asia-Pacific, Europe
Saturday	1600-1630	17580	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	0230-0300	5745	North Carolina	Americas	Europe
Sunday	1930-2000	15670	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	2030-2100	11580	WRMI Florida	Europe	Americas
Sunday	2330-2400	11580	WRMI Florida	Americas
Monday	2000-2030	3975	IBC Italy	Europe
Wednesday	2100-2130	3975	IBC Italy	Europe

The Mighty KBC broadcast to North America will be Sunday at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 6145 kHz, via Germany. A minute of MFSK32 will be transmitted at about 0130 UTC. Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com . See also http://www.kbcradio.eu/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheMightyKbc/ . 

DigiDX is taking a few weeks off, hence the VOA Radiogram transmissions via WRMI and IBC.  See http://www.digidx.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/digidx/

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has digital modes as follows:
EVERY WEDNESDAY ON 3975 KHZ 20.30-21.00 UTC in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500
EVERY FRIDAY ON 9955 KHZ 02.25-02.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SATURDAY ON 1584 KHZ 21.25-21.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 7730 KHZ 00.55-01.00 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 6070 KHZ 11.30-12.00 UTC  in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 (VIA RADIO BCLNEWS)
For the complete IBC transmission schedule, including voice broadcasts, visit  http://ibcradio.webs.com/

Winter SWL Fest.  I am planning to attend the Winter SWL Fest, March 2-4, 2017, at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Hope to see you there. Information at  http://www.swlfest.com .  (Single-day walk-ins are welcome.)

Thanks for your reports.  I will try to respond to program 203 reports this weekend.

I hope you can tune in and write in.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @VOARadiogram  (especially active just before, during, and after broadcasts)

PS: A few operating notes:

• For best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi's squelch (SQL) off.
• The RSID at 1500 Hz sometimes mixes with the transmitter hum, most noticeable at 360 Hz, to move your receive audio frequency down to 1140 Hz, resulting in no decode. To prevent this, in Fldigi: Configure > IDs  > RsID > unselect Searches passband.  Your center audio frequency will wander no more than +/- 200 Hz.
• Fldigi automatically saves your decoded MFSK images as png files in the folder \fldigi.files\images\ (in Windows; folder names might be different with other operating systems). You can attach those png files with your reception report.
• The VOA Radiogram Twitter account @VOARadiogram is especially active before, during, and after the broadcasts. You don't need a Twitter account: just go to https://twitter.com/voaradiogram and refresh it occasionally.

VOA Radiogram for 18-19 February

At the top of his post, Kim noted the irony of the North Carolina transmitter turning off in the middle of an image showing Radio Australia turning off the transmitter for the last time.  Right after the finger on the button was copied all over the planet, the VOA signal went away. The difference, of course, is that the VOA came back. Those of us who have known and loved R. Australia since we were kids with $40 radios are most unhappy that it didn't.  -Hugh

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

Last weekend, we marked World Radio Day with a malfunction of the radio transmitter on 17580 kHz, during the time that the World Radio Day logo should have been broadcast.  Other than that, we had a good weekend of reception and decoding!

For a good example of Olivia 64-2000 performing well despite poor reception, try decoding from this audio that I recorded from an SDR in Australia: http://voaradiogram.net/post/157100458412/voa-radiogram-olivia-64-2000-received-in-nsw

This weekend, we will again transmit an excerpt of text in a non-Latin Alphabet. This time it will be Ukrainian. Use the UTF-8 character set, which, in Fldigi, you can adjust (if necessary) via Configure > Colors & Fonts.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 203, 18-19 February 2017, all in MFSK32 except where noted:

 1:50  Program preview

 3:17  Trump Administration sued over bumble bee protection*

 9:18  India rocket launches 104 satellites*

16:09  Olivia 64-2000: First white dwarf pulsar discovered

20:44  MFSK32: World Radio Day items from RFE/RL*

23:27  Ukrainian text**

25:59  Closing announcements*

* with image

** use UTF-8 character set

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule (temporarily expanded):

UTC Day	UTC Time	kHz	Transmitter	Target	Also try in …
Saturday	0930-1000	5865	North Carolina	Americas	Asia-Pacific, Europe
Saturday	1600-1630	17580	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	0230-0300	5745	North Carolina	Americas	Europe
Sunday	1930-2000	15670	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	2030-2100	11580	WRMI Florida	Europe	Americas
Sunday	2330-2400	11580	WRMI Florida	Americas
Monday	2000-2030	3975	IBC Italy	Europe
Wednesday	2100-2130	3975	IBC Italy	Europe

The Mighty KBC broadcast to North America will be Sunday at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 6145 kHz, via Germany. A minute of MFSK32 will be transmitted at about 0130 UTC. Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com . See also http://www.kbcradio.eu/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheMightyKbc/ . 

DigiDX is taking a few weeks off, hence the VOA Radiogram transmissions via WRMI and IBC.  See http://www.digidx.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/digidx/

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has digital modes as follows:
EVERY WEDNESDAY ON 3975 KHZ 20.30-21.00 UTC in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500
EVERY FRIDAY ON 9955 KHZ 02.25-02.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SATURDAY ON 1584 KHZ 21.25-21.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 7730 KHZ 00.55-01.00 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 6070 KHZ 11.30-12.00 UTC  in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 (VIA RADIO BCLNEWS)
For the complete IBC transmission schedule, including voice broadcasts, visit  http://ibcradio.webs.com/

Winter SWL Fest.  I am planning to attend the Winter SWL Fest, March 2-4, 2017, at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Hope to see you there. Information at  http://www.swlfest.com .  (Single-day walk-ins are welcome.)

Thanks for your reports from last weekend.  I am now sending out confirmations from program 201, with hopes to send out confirmations from program 202 during this weekend.

I hope you can tune in and write in.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @VOARadiogram  (especially active just before, during, and after broadcasts)

PS: A few operating notes:

• For best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi's squelch (SQL) off.
• The RSID at 1500 Hz sometimes mixes with the transmitter hum, most noticeable at 360 Hz, to move your receive audio frequency down to 1140 Hz, resulting in no decode. To prevent this, in Fldigi: Configure > IDs  > RsID > unselect Searches passband.  Your center audio frequency will wander no more than +/- 200 Hz.
• Fldigi automatically saves your decoded MFSK images as png files in the folder \fldigi.files\images\ (in Windows; folder names might be different with other operating systems). You can attach those png files with your reception report.
• The VOA Radiogram Twitter account @VOARadiogram is especially active before, during, and after the broadcasts. You don't need a Twitter account: just go to https://twitter.com/voaradiogram and refresh it occasionally.

World Radio Day VOA Radiogram for 11-15 February

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

Happy World Radio Day!  World Radio Day will be Monday, 13 February, and it will be mentioned this weekend on VOA Radiogram.

Also this weekend, we will transmit samples of text in Chinese, Russian, and Persian. For these alphabets to display correctly, Fldigi should be configured to the UTF-8 character set (Configure > Colors & Fonts > adjust Rx/Tx Character set to UTF-8, if it is not there already). Your operating system might also need font support for non-Western languages. If the Chinese, Russian, or Persian text is seen as a series of boxes in the Fldigi receive pane, copy and past those boxes to a word processor, and the text might display correctly. At the bottom of this email is a picture off what the received text in the three languages should look like.

There will be four MFSK32 images this weekend, but they will not be transmitted until the second half of the show.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 202, 11-15 February 2017, all in MFSK32 except where noted:

 1:45  Program preview
 3:05  China to vet online content and services
 6:11  Experiment with non-Latin alphabets**
10:17  Olivia 64-2000: ESA to help NASA
15:53  MFSK32: SSTV from the International Space Station*
19:58  Video of Radio Australia shortwave shutdown*
22:30  World Radio Day*
26:41  Closing announcements

* with image

** use UTF-8 character set

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule (temporarily expanded):

UTC Day	UTC Time	kHz	Transmitter	Target	Also try in …
Saturday	0930-1000	5865	North Carolina	Americas	Asia-Pacific, Europe
Saturday	1600-1630	17580	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	0230-0300	5745	North Carolina	Americas	Europe
Sunday	1930-2000	15670	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	2030-2100	11580	WRMI Florida	Europe	Americas
Sunday	2330-2400	11580	WRMI Florida	Americas
Monday	2000-2030	3975	IBC Italy	Europe
Wednesday	2100-2130	3975	IBC Italy	Europe

The Mighty KBC broadcast to North America will be Sunday at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 6145 kHz, via Germany. A minute of MFSK32 will be transmitted at about 0130 UTC. Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com . See also http://www.kbcradio.eu/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheMightyKbc/ . 

DigiDX is taking a few weeks off, hence the VOA Radiogram transmissions via WRMI and IBC.  See http://www.digidx.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/digidx/

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has digital modes as follows:
EVERY WEDNESDAY ON 3975 KHZ 20.30-21.00 UTC in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500
EVERY FRIDAY ON 9955 KHZ 02.25-02.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SATURDAY ON 1584 KHZ 21.25-21.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 7730 KHZ 00.55-01.00 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 6070 KHZ 11.30-12.00 UTC  in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 (VIA RADIO BCLNEWS)
For the complete IBC transmission schedule, including voice broadcasts, visit  http://ibcradio.webs.com/

Winter SWL Fest.  I am planning to attend the Winter SWL Fest, March 2-4, 2017, at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Hope to see you there. Information at  http://www.swlfest.com .

Thanks for your reports from last weekend. (Or, if you are in Europe and tuned in Sunday at 1930 UTC on 15670 kHz,  reports of attempted reception.) Now that I've finally responded to the reports from program 198, I'll start with the program 201 reports and work backwards.


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



Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @VOARadiogram  (especially active just before, during, and after broadcasts)

PS: A few operating notes:

• For best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi's squelch (SQL) off.
• The RSID at 1500 Hz sometimes mixes with the transmitter hum, most noticeable at 360 Hz, to move your receive audio frequency down to 1140 Hz, resulting in no decode. To prevent this, in Fldigi: Configure > IDs  > RsID > unselect Searches passband.  Your center audio frequency will wander no more than +/- 200 Hz.
• Fldigi automatically saves your decoded MFSK images as png files in the folder \fldigi.files\images\ (in Windows; folder names might be different with other operating systems). You can attach those png files with your reception report.
• The VOA Radiogram Twitter account @VOARadiogram is especially active before, during, and after the broadcasts. You don't need a Twitter account: just go to https://twitter.com/voaradiogram and refresh it occasionally.

The Chinese, Russian, and Persian text should look like this ...

New, loud, Russian marker appears on 4020 kHz

The latest in a long of line of Russian funny noises has appeared as an apparent channel marker on 4020 kHz. This one sounds a lot like one of those small hand-held air horns used on boats. It's in USB, with the usual poorly suppressed lower sideband we've come to associate with these signals.

A honking noise occurs at an interval just under half a second. It's hard to describe.  It's mostly a dropping, harmonic-y tone with a fundamental that briefly settles down to about 420 Hz. Large thump-type transients appear at start and finish.

It will be interesting to see if voice messages appear on the Air Horn, the way they do on the Buzzer, Squeaky Wheel, and Pip.

A recording of this marker has been added to the sound clip section of the Utility Planet web site.  Warning... this one is LOUD!

VOA Radiogram for 4-5 February

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

I’m still working on this email list.  If you would prefer not to receive these emails, please let me know.

VOA Radiogram this weekend will be, as usual, mostly in MFSK32, with some Olivia 64-2000. It will include information about VOA’s 75^th anniversary, which was 1 February. And the show will conclude with mention of the last Radio Australia shortwave transmission on 31 January.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 201, 4-5 February 2017, all in MFSK32 except where noted:

 

 1:48  Program preview

 2:58  Saturn's rings revealed in unprecedented detail*

 7:05  Batteries will help power California's grid*

11:37  Olivia 64-2000: Breitbart News expands to Europe

19:31  MFSK32: VOA's 75th anniversary on 1 February*

26:52  Closing announcements* 

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule (temporarily expanded):

UTC Day	UTC Time	kHz	Transmitter	Target	Also try in …
Saturday	0930-1000	5865	North Carolina	Americas	Asia-Pacific, Europe
Saturday	1600-1630	17580	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	0230-0300	5745	North Carolina	Americas	Europe
Sunday	1930-2000	15670	North Carolina	Europe	Americas, Asia-Pacific
Sunday	2030-2100	11580	WRMI Florida	Europe	Americas
Sunday	2330-2400	11580	WRMI Florida	Americas
Monday	2000-2030	3975	IBC Italy	Europe
Wednesday	2100-2130	3975	IBC Italy	Europe

The Mighty KBC broadcast to North America will be Sunday at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 6145 kHz, via Germany. A minute of MFSK32 will be transmitted at about 0130 UTC. Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com . See also http://www.kbcradio.eu/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheMightyKbc/ . 

DigiDX is taking a few weeks off, hence the VOA Radiogram transmissions via WRMI and IBC.  See http://www.digidx.uk/ and https://www.facebook.com/digidx/

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has digital modes as follows:
EVERY WEDNESDAY ON 3975 KHZ 20.30-21.00 UTC in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500
EVERY FRIDAY ON 9955 KHZ 02.25-02.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SATURDAY ON 1584 KHZ 21.25-21.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 7730 KHZ 00.55-01.00 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 6070 KHZ 11.30-12.00 UTC  in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 (VIA RADIO BCLNEWS)
For the complete IBC transmission schedule, including voice broadcasts, visit  http://ibcradio.webs.com/

Winter SWL Fest.  I am planning to attend the Winter SWL Fest, March 2-4, 2017, at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Hope to see you there. Information at  http://www.swlfest.com .

Thanks for your reports from last weekend (show 200). I hope to resume responding to your emails during this weekend.

I hope you can tune in and write this weekend.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
voaradiogram.net

Twitter: @VOARadiogram  (especially active just before, during, and after broadcasts)

PS: A few operating notes:

• For best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi's squelch (SQL) off.
• The RSID at 1500 Hz sometimes mixes with the transmitter hum, most noticeable at 360 Hz, to move your receive audio frequency down to 1140 Hz, resulting in no decode. To prevent this, in Fldigi: Configure > IDs  > RsID > unselect Searches passband.  Your center audio frequency will wander no more than +/- 200 Hz.
• Fldigi automatically saves your decoded MFSK images as png files in the folder \fldigi.files\images\ (in Windows; folder names might be different with other operating systems). You can attach those png files with your reception report.
• The VOA Radiogram Twitter account @VOARadiogram is especially active before, during, and after the broadcasts. You don't need a Twitter account: just go to https://twitter.com/voaradiogram and refresh it occasionally.