HF Aeronautical Frequencies #2 (3-4 MHz)

3001.0             RDARA 6A 6E

3004.0             NCA-3

3004.0             RDARA 11B 13K

3004.0             Flight Test (Rockwell/Boeing)

3007.0             ARINC HFDL 09 - Barrow0

3007.0             LDOC W 2/3 (Companies)

3010.0             LDOC W 1/4 (Companies)

3013.0             LDOC W 2/5 (Companies)

3013.0             Barrow LDOC (ARINC)

3016.0             NAT-A

3016.0             SEA-1

3016.0             RDARA 9D 13G

3016.0             EA-1

3016.0             Russia - RDARA

3016.0             RDARA Argentina

3016.0             RDARA Russia NW

3016.0             ARINC HFDL 08 - Johannesburg

3019.0             NCA-1

3019.0             RDARA 11B 13K

3023.0             RAF/ Shanwick SAR (Night)

3032.0             RAAF, RNZAF

3046.0             Russia - RDARA C

3046.0             RDARA Russia C

3059.0             USAF Scope Command ALE

3068.0             USAF Zulu discrete

3095.0             RDARA Saudi-Arabia

3102.0             Russia - RDARA FE

3102.0             RDARA Russia FE

3116.0             USAF Zulu discrete

3134.0             USAF Zulu discrete

3137.0             USAF Scope Command ALE

3143.0             USAF Zulu discrete

3151.0             Bulgarian LDOC

3175.0             RDARA Egypt (old)

3245.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3255.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3281.0             Flight Test

3295.0             USAF Zulu discrete

3349.0             Old Alaskan RDARA

3401.0             RDARA 2B 2C 3B 9B 12C 13K

3401.0             RDARA Russia FE

3404.0             RDARA 3A 3C 9C 9D 10B

3404.0             VAFI

3407.0             RDARA 2B 2C 3B 7C 12D 14D

3407.0             RDARA Russia - FE

3407.0             RDARA Cuba

3410.0             RDARA 1D 3C 11B 13J

3413.0             CEP-1

3413.0             RDARA 3B 6G 13C 14A 14E

3413.0             VEUR - Shannon VOLMET

3413.0             RDARA Russia - FE

3416.0             RDARA 1D 2A 2B 3A 6D

3416.0             RDARA Indonesia

3419.0             AFI-2

3419.0             RDARA 3B 3C 9B 10D 12J 13I

3419.0             RDARA Papua-NG

3422.0             RDARA 2A 2B 3A 6G

3422.0             Russia - RDARA NW

3422.0             RDARA Russia NW

3425.0             RDARA 3B 3C 9B 10D 13D

3425.0             RDARA Russia CE

3425.0             RDARA SP-9

3425.0             RDARA Papua-NG

3428.0             RDARA 2B 2C 11B 13J

3431.0             RDARA 3A 3B 5B 6G

3434.0             RDARA 2A 2C 6F 11B 13G

3437.0             RDARA 3B 4A 6G 13M

3440.0             RDARA 2A 2C 6F 12

3440.0             Russia - RDARA C

3440.0             RDARA Russia C

3443.0             RDARA 3A 3B 4B 6E 11B 13N

3443.0             Russia - RDARA FE

3443.0             RDARA Russia FE

3446.0             RDARA 1D 6G 10E 13F 14

3449.0             RDARA 2B 2C 6G 10A 13M

3452.0             AFI-1

3452.0             CEP-1

3452.0             SAT-1

3452.0             RDARA 3A 3C 5A 5C 14C

3452.0             RDARA Australia

3455.0             CAR

3455.0             CWP-1

3455.0             RDARA 2A 2C 7B 13H

3455.0             ARINC HFDL 07 - Shannon

3458.0             RDARA 1B 10D 13C 13J 13K

3458.0             VSEA

3461.0             RDARA 7F 9C 12E 12F 12G 12H 14

3461.0             VNCA

3461.0             Russia - RDARA FE

3461.0             RDARA Russia FE

3461.0             RDARA Australia West/Central

3464.0             RDARA 1C 6G 12C 13K

3467.0             AFI-3

3467.0             MID-2

3467.0             SP

3467.0             RDARA 10B 13D

3470.0             SEA-1/3

3470.0             RDARA 1C 10A 13G

3470.0             RDARA Norway

3470.0             RDARA Alaska

3473.0             RDARA 1B 6C 10E 13C

3476.0             NAT-F

3476.0             INO-1

3476.0             RDARA 9B 13F

3479.0             SAM-C

3479.0             SAM-2

3479.0             SAM-2

3479.0             EUR-A

3479.0             RDARA 6A 6B 14

3482.0             RDARA 5D 6G

3485.0             VNAT - New York, Gander

3485.0             EA-2

3485.0             SEA-2

3485.0             RDARA 7H 13H

3488.0             RDARA 1B 5B 6B 10B 12E 12F 12G 12H 14B 14F

3488.0             RDARA Colombia

3491.0             EA-1

3491.0             RDARA 1E 4A 10C 13E

3494.0             LDOC W 2

3494.0             ARINC LDOC San Francisco, NY, Santa Cruz

3494.0             NY LDOC (ARINC, remote in Bolivia)

3494.0             SF LDOC (ARINC, rmt in Barrow)

3494.0             Stockholm LDOC (Night Primary)

3497.0             ARINC HFDL 09 - Barrow

3520.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3595.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3608.0             RDARA Philippines

3650.0             RDARA Iran

3658.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3695.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3765.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3815.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

3834.0             RDARA Philippines

3872.5.0          RDARA Philippines

3900.0             ARINC HFDL 03 - Reykjavik

3906.0             Russia - RDARA FE

3906.0             RDARA Russia FE

3931.5             Russian Air Force

HF Aeronautical Frequencies #1 (2-3 MHz)

RDARA  = Regional & Domestic Air Route Area

MWARA= Major World Air Route Area

V = VOLMET = Flying Weather

LDOC = Long-Distance Operational Control

HFDL = High-Frequency Data Link

2435.0             RDARA Mongolia

2495.0             RDARA Russia

2562.0             RDARA Egypt

2635.0             Russia - RDARA

2648.0             RDARA Alaska?

2655.0             RDARA Russia

2682.0             Russia - CIV Aero

2763.0             RDARA Spain

2770.0             Russia - CIV Aero Night

2793.0             RDARA Uruguay

2805.0             USAF Scope Command ALE

2811.0             RDARA Cuba

2815.0             RDARA Libya

2835.0             RDARA India

2851.0             NCA-2

2851.0             RDARA 2A 3B 3C 9C 11B 13E 13F 14 Angola Congo US Flight Test

2851.0             RDARA Angola

2851.0             RDARA Congo DR

2854.0             SAT-2

2854.0             RDARA 3A 3B 6E 10B

2857.0             RDARA 2B 2C 6B 13J

2860.0             RDARA 1B 3A 3C 9B 10B 12E 12J 13I Uruguay

2860.0             RDARA Uruguay

2860.0             VAFI

2863.0             RDARA 2A 2C 7B 13C 13J 13K

2863.0             VPAC

2866.0             RDARA 2C 3C 4B 6D 10A Alaska

2866.0             RDARA Alaska

2868.0             RDARA Russia FE

2868.0             RDARA Angola

2869.0             CEP-2

2869.0             RDARA 2A 2B 3A 6G 10E 13C 14G

2869.0             Russian VOLMET S

2872.0             NAT-C

2872.0             RDARA 3B 6A 6E 13G

2872.0             RDARA India

2875.0             RDARA 2A 2B 3A 6G 10A 12G

2875.0             RDARA Alaska

2878.0             AFI-4

2878.0             RDARA 3B 3C 11B 13I 13J 14

2878.0             RDARA Alaska

2881.0             RDARA 1B 2A 2B 3A 6C

2881.0             VSAM

2884.0             RDARA 2C 3B 6D

2884.0             Russia - RDARA

2884.0             RDARA Russia FE

2887.0             CAR

2887.0             RDARA 2A 2B 3A 7E 13I 14C

2890.0             RDARA 1B 6G 13J

2893.0             RDARA 2C 3 4B 10D 12F

2893.0             Ukraine RDARA

2896.0             RDARA 2A 2B 3A 6G

2896.0             LDOC Moscow

2899.0             NAT-C

2899.0             RDARA 5D 6G 13H

2902.0             RDARA 2B 2C 3B 6G 12J

2902.0             Russia - RDARA

2902.0             Belorussia RDARA

2902.0             RDARA Russia FE

2905.0             RDARA 3A 3C 5C 9B

2905.0             VNAT

2908.0             RDARA 2B 2C 3B 13M

2911.0             RDARA 3A 5B 6G 10A

2911.0             RDARA Alaska

2914.0             RDARA 2B 2C 3B 13D

2917.0             RDARA 2A 6E 6G

2920.0             RDARA 2B 2C 6B 12C 13J

2920.0             Russia - ?

2923.0             RDARA 3A 6A

2923.0             RDARA India NE

2923.0             RDARA Nepal

2923.0             RDARA Pakistan

2926.0             RDARA 2A 2C 4A 6F 1OC 12J

2926.0             Russia - RDARA

2926.0             RDARA CIS

2929.0             RDARA 2B 9B

2931.0             RDARA Pakistan

2932.0             NP 1/2/3

2932.0             RDARA 2A 2C 13K

2935.0             RDARA 3 10D

2938.0             RDARA 2 6G

2941.0             RDARA 2A 6F

2941.0             Russian VOLMET

2944.0             ARINC HFDL 09 - Barrow0

2944.0             SAM-1

2944.0             MID-3

2944.0             RDARA 10A 10E 14G

2945.0             RDARA Myanmar

2947.0             RDARA 6A

2947.0             RDARA Myanmar

2947.0             RDARA Bangladesh

2947.0             RDARA India

2950.0             RDARA 2 3C 7C 10F 12A 14A 14D

2950.0             VCAR

2950.0             RDARA Greenland

2953.0             RDARA 4A 6G

2956.0             RDARA 6C 7F 10A 12E 12F 12G 12H 13F

2956.0             VMID

2956.0             RDARA Indonesia

2956.0             RDARA Alaska

2959.0             RDARA 3A

2962.0             NAT-E

2962.0             RDARA 6G

2965.0             RDARA 1E 7B 10C 12F 12J 13H

2965.0             VSEA

2965.0             RDARA Argentina

2968.0             RDARA 3B 5B 6G

2971.0             NAT-D

2971.0             RDARA 5D 6G 13G

2973.0             RDARA Myanmar

2974.0             RDARA 1D 3C

2977.0             RDARA 1C 6G 13M

2980.0             RDARA 1D 3C 12C

2983.0             Norway RDARA

2983.0             RDARA 1C 6G 13D

2983.0             RDARA Norway

2983.0             RDARA North Sea

2986.0             RDARA 3C 5A 13N

2986.0             Russia - RDARA

2986.0             RDARA Russia FE

2989.0             RDARA 1D 6G

2989.0             RDARA Greece

2992.0             ARINC HFDL 09 - Barrow0

2992.0             MID-1

2992.0             RDARA 10A 10E 13C

2995.0             RDARA 6G

2998.0             CWP-2

2998.0             RDARA 7D 12E 12F 12G 12H 13F

2998.0             VEUR

2998.0             ARINC HFDL 07 - Shannon

U. of Twente WebSDR is Back!

Readers of this blog might have seen my previous reports on the situation that was created with the ground-breaking WebSDR site when the amateur radio club at the University of Twente in the Netherlands was moved into a new building with no access to the outside.

As I noted at the time, those familiar with universities, and their various rules and procedures, will have no difficulty imagining the nightmare of a group of students getting the physical plant department to make a hole in an outside wall of a campus building.  This alone took months, and it was then followed by issues with lightning protection, grounding, metal in the building, interference, and so on.

But now, nearly two years later, the WebSDR is back, and with more coverage of utility bands!  I haven't had much time to play with it, but it looks promising. Right now, it covers everything 0-30 MHz, and its small active antenna does an excellent job.

As before, the WebSDR is reached at:

http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

International Lighthouse Weekend in Progress

The next weekend 18-19 August 2012 is the annual "International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend". Many HF amateur radio stations shall be transmitting from lighthouses and lightships around the world. 

Usually they use CW and SSB, very rarely RTTY 45 baud - 170 Hz.

For more information:

* http://illw.net/  - International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend
* http://illw.net/index.php/entrants-list-2012
* http://arlhs.com/  - Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society

73 Costas SV1XV
Athens, Greece

The SDR Chronicles (#5: Conclusions)

Abstract:

After five weeks of daily use, my conclusion is that the Excalibur Pro, and down-converting SDRs in general, are useful for Utility DXing.

Report:

As noted early on, this radio is less like something you listen to, and more like something you use like a tool.  You wield it.  It's not for beginners, unless you want a learning curve.  It's best to learn the radio jargon and the basic DXing mind set the usual ways, thus becoming ready to unleash the power of the Excalibur Pro.

Hams will prefer the Flex, which also has a 100-watt transmitter.  They might also like any of quite a few smaller, cheaper boxes intended for experimenters.  Hams and DXers also have a viable alternative in the Perseus, another experimenter's favorite, though I'm glad my agonizing decision process led to the WiNRADiO.

WiNRADiO provides a programming language, Radio Basic. This will be worth exploring at some point. It is like the old BASIC that most people my age learned to program with, minus the line numbers.  I hated line numbers anyway.  They made it much slower to edit your code.  FORTRAN, a compiled language with a roughly similar syntax, got along for generations just fine without them.

Here are my gripes about the Excalibur Pro:

Gripe #1: The AGC seems dodgy.  The overshoot on CW can get pretty annoying.  Maybe it needs more fiddling with the parameters. These are, thank goodness, mostly brought out to the user, though I give the caution that the wrong settings can turn a basically good radio into a barely listenable radio in seconds.  While I don't expect any digital substitute to sound like a good analog loop such as on my Drake R-4, it would be nice for it to sound like my DSP-based NRD-545.

Gripe #2: While the keyboard shortcuts are user-definable and helpful, it would be nice to have something like Photoshop, where the user can create combinations that do whole new actions not on the default list.

Gripe #3: There aren't enough hours in a day to have fun with the thing.

Here are my likes about the Excalibur Pro:

Like #1: The waterfalls, though not as configurable as I would like, are very good for playing Whack-A-Mole, quickly logging signals on different frequencies when the going gets heavy.  Right before the last CME, during a red-hot 11 meter opening, I logged 54 different Spanish language "freeband" frequencies in under an hour.  One quickly gets used to what different modes look like, spending less time searching through other noises for the pay dirt.  In a similar manner, I've been able to get a good handle on what the Mexican military has been up to for the years since it vanished from ALE.  You'll have to read the column for that one, though.

Like #2: The "spectrum analyzer" window at the bottom can give a very quick overview of HF's condition in a very short time.  The opening mentioned above became evident when this display suddenly lit up at the high end, which is usually just textures made by this QTH's legendary noise floor.  Again, a task that might have taken tens of minutes can be done in about that many seconds.

Like #3: This same window is perfect for finding and displaying the various "funny noises" on HF that everyone has meant to seriously investigate but never quite had the time. It's easy to get a sense of what's really going on in such swept-carrier oddities as The Squiggle, The Frog, and chirp sounders. The latter can be used to get a sense of propagation by where the diagonal lines disappear.  None of this has generated any answers yet, but it helps one ask the right questions.

Like #4: The optional frequency extension to 50 MHz has its uses, such as quickly confirming all CHP's new frequencies without having to tie up the scanner for what is basically grunt work.  It will be fun to see if the fall's low-VHF skip can be DXed in the same manner as HF.

CONCLUSION:

This project was definitely worth the non-trivial financial investment required.

Updated Night of Nights Frequency List

From MRHS:

The Transmitter Department has advised that KFS 17026.0kc may be unavailable for Night of Nights XIII due to an antenna problem. All other KPH, KFS and KSM frequencies are reported operational.

For complete Night of Nights information see our Web site at:

http://radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=nonxi&panel=pab1_5#pab1_5

--- Freq List ---

KPH

KPH will transmit on 426, 500, 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8 and 22477.5.   MF and 22Mc will be on Henry transmitters, rest of KPH HF on 1950s vintage RCA K and L sets.

KPH operators will listen for calls from ships on on 500kc and ITU Channel 3 in all HF bands. The Channel 3 frequencies are 4184.0, 6276.0,  8368.0, 12552.0, 16736.0 and 22280.5kc

Reception reports may be sent to:
Maritime Radio Historical Society
P.O. Box 392
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
USA

-----

KFS

KFS will transmit on 12695.5 and 17026.0 -
KFS 17026.0 may be unavailable due to an antenna problem

12695.5 will be on a 1940s vintage Press Wireless PW-15. 17026.0 will be on a 1990 vintage Henry HF5000D transmitter.

KFS will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and HF Channel 3. 
 
Reception reports same as KPH

-----

KSM

KSM will transmit on 426, 500, 6474, 8438.3 and 12993.

 A failure of any of  the RCA transmitters may cause a KSM tx to be diverted to cover KPH.   KSM will listen for calls from ships on 500 and HF Channel  3.

Reception reports same as KPH

-----

WLO

WLO will transmit on 2055.5 (tentative), 4343.0, 8658.0, 12992.0 and 16968.5. 

WLO will listen for calls from ships on HF Channel 3.

Reception reports may be sent to:

WLO Radio
7700 RINLA AVENUE
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36619
USA

-----

KLB

KLB will transmit on 488, 500 (A1 & A2), 8582.5.

KLB will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and 8368.0.

Reception reports same as WLO

-----
SS AMERICAN VICTORY/KKUI
WWII Victory ship SS AMERICAN VICTORY/KKUI will be on the air attempting to contact all the coast stations above.  They'll use the best calling frequency for the prevailing propagation at the time but they usually call KSM on 12552.0.

-----
K6KPH

Amateur station K6KPH will transmit and listen on 3550, 7050 14050 and 21050kc for KPH, KFS and KSM reception reports.

Night of Nights XIII is in 10 Days!

What is Night of Nights XIII?

It is the thirteenth act of defiance since the last commercial Morse code message was (supposedly) sent in the USA. This message was passed at 0001 UTC on July 12, 1999 over most remaining CW transmitters in the US.

Then came silence, until a hardy band of True Believers called the Maritime Radio Historical Society convinced the Point Reyes National Seashore to let them attempt a seemingly impossible task.  This was, believe it or not, to restore the biggest and best commercial maritime flame thrower on the whole West Coast.  Yes, we mean no less than RCA's mighty KPH, the Power House, The House Marconi Built, with its miles of antennas and several large buildings full of equipment, none of which had been scrapped, or even turned off in some cases.

It immediately became a matter of doing The Lord's Work for a lot of radio people, especially on the West Coast.  Sometimes, a man just has to do what a man has to do.

The result was a gathering at the receive building near Inverness, CA, for a celebration of Morse code on the anniversary of its US commercial demise.  I doubt that anyone knew that it would become a semi-religious observance to be awaited eagerly every year.

KPH is now a call sign at Globe's Dixon Supersite used for digital traffic. Each year, on this night alone, Globe grants permission to use the KPH and KFS calls again.  The rest of the year, the majestic facilities on Pt. Reyes are used by KSM, believe it or not a recently licensed commercial CW/RTTY/SITOR station. It is QSX every weekend and whenever a special event gives an opportunity to demonstrate the way radio used to be. Yes, it will take your radiotelegraph traffic, and yes, OBS and AMVERs are free. 


Where do we listen?

Tentative CW frequencies (in kHz) are:

KPH: 426 500 4247 6477.5 8642 12808.5 17016.8 22477.5

KFS: 500 12695.5 17026

KSM: 426 500 6474 8438.3 12993


What do we hear?

The stations will send special messages, plus the usual salutes to maritime ROs who lost their lives in their dedication to safety at sea.  There is also usually a roll call of vanished coastal stations, and a traffic list of the sort once heard regularly on these stations.  If it's like the other years, one of the ships on this list will be RMS Titanic.  As one of the station managers once said, "There is no such thing as a dead message."

Usually, at least one ship actually calls up on one of the QSX frequencies and works KPH or the other stations, using the old commercial procedures. 


Are other stations involved again?

Maybe.  Despite the recent private equity transaction involving ShipCom, Rene has announced his intention to participate. Very tentative CW frequencies (in kHz) are:

WLO (AL): 2055.5 4343 12992 16968.5

KLB (WA): 488 500 8582.5


Do I get to play too?

Always, if you're a ham.  K6KPH will have its usual CW skeds on 4 bands, from the Pt. Reyes site:

K6KPH: 3550 7050 14050 21050

Signal reports of the big transmitters can be passed right to the receive bldg in this manner.


What happens if I show up?

You find the receive building, go inside, and get cake.  You have a great time with some serious radio people.

Doors open at 3:00pm, first transmission at 5:01pm (0001 UTC)

The receive building is a large, impressive, white structure at the end of a road, with the address of 17400 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Point Reyes National Seashore, past the oyster company and G Ranch.


Information: info@radiomarine.com or +1 415-663-8982

Point Reyes is really pretty.  Remote, chilly, and windy, but awfully pretty.  Pop over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, get on a road you've seen in many car commercials, and just keep going until you get there.

In other years, the hard core of the hard core have been able to arrange admission to the transmit building some miles north in Bolinas, which is not for people who get uneasy around electricity.  I do not know if that is the case this year.  The transmitters are, of course, remotely controlled from the receive building, though techs are present for the Night of Nights.  You'll just have to ask the MRHS what the policy is this year.


Do they QSL?

In past years, this has been handled by Denice Stoops, who was the only female telegraph operator at the original KPH, or perhaps at any commercial Morse station in the US.  Tragically, though, she suffered a bad stroke right after realizing her dream of shipping out on a vessel.  She is recovering, and MRHS will tell you where to write her.

Therefore, I do not have the QSL information, but in the past the veries have been on leftover RCA radiogram blanks using a telegrapher's mill.


Why is this night like no other nights?

On all other nights, we plow through the utility bands trying to decode, or at least identify, more funny noises than anyone can imagine.  On this night alone, we listen to the rhythms of dahdidah didahdahdit didididit, and of course the eminently danceable dahdidah dididahdit dididit.  We hear an era of large, flashing, glass bottles and iron men.  We try once again to copy commercial bulletins by ear.  We hoist one (or more) for people who communicate through funny beeps in the air.

We REALLY thank the MRHS for keeping huge loud old KPH alive.

The SDR Chronicles (#4: Getting Down to Business)

Several interesting things:

1. This location is prone to overload from several nearby AM broadcast stations.  Obviously any SDR with the typical barn door front end is going to have issues with this.  The Excalibur Pro has a hardware MW filter that rolls off the RF input starting around 2 MHz, and it works.  Without it, the noise floor below 4-5 MHz is mostly broadcast intermod and general crud.  With it, the noise is the usual HF static.

2. There is another hardware RF filter which can do passbands.  This can be cranked in to also roll off above your tuned frequency. This is not needed here, yet anyway, but if you have a 27 MHz ratchet jaw or local ham DX ace with "maximum legal power," I can see where it would come in handy.

3. I had no interest in DRM until I got this radio. Now, I have Radio New Zealand International going in beautiful, noise-free audio while I write this.  The Excalibur Pro actually comes with a DRM demodulator, but one needs to pony up a non-trivial sum of money (around $70 US at current Euro exchange) for a license to use it. Once this is done, the DRM works just fine on strong signals.

As with any DRM receiver, audio dropouts start occurring when the s/n ratio displayed by the demodulator drops below about 15 dB. This setup here is actually good down to about 12.5 dB.  Below that, you will hear a brief reverb effect sounding like an old Fender amp, followed by silence.

4. "Dream," a free DRM demodulator program from Source Forge, works very nicely with the Excalibur Pro. I don't know if you can get it to work just using "stereo mix" or the "virtual audio cable." I'm using WinRadio's "Virtual Sound Card," aka "Digital Bridge," another paid add-on.  Clicking "IF" sends out a real IF output, user adjustable to the necessary 48000 bps, and centered on zero with stereo I and Q.  After this, Dream needs to be started after the Excalibur software, and using the following command line:

C:\[path]Dream.exe -c 5

where [path] is the usual full path to wherever Dream.exe lives on your box.  This puts it into the proper config to handle this I/Q mode.  The audio, at least on this computer, has a bit more midrange punch than on WinRadio's decoder, but it is also more prone to dropouts and affected a LOT more by fading.

5. One last thing about DRM: it will NOT work with the noise blanker on.  I found this out the hard way.  You'll never get above a 9.5 dB s/n with it on, but you'll rarely get that low with it off.

6. The manuals make a considerable fuss over something called the XRS Variable.    This is a Windows environment variable which tells the software where to install and look for plugins.  If it doesn't match the path shown in the registry, plugins won't work.

No matter what I did, this variable showed up as null, even though the path in the registry was correct.  The "G3 Diagnostic Tool" ( a free download from WinRadio) would pick this problem up, but the "XRS Repair" would not fix it.

DO NOT re-install the driver and application software, because this is a pain in the butt and unnecessary. The real fix is actually well explained in a document buried deeply on the WinRadio web site. I might as well save you the time, however.  Here goes.

You need to find out how to set "environment variables" on your particular version of Windows.  On mine, it's right click on "computer," then take the "Advanced" tab and click the box labelled "Environment Variables."  Then create one called XRS_PLUGIN_PATH, in both user and system variables, and set its value to whatever the diag tells you it says in the registry.  Here, it's

C:\Program Files (x86)\WINRADIO\PLUGINS

and case does not seem to matter.  I copied and pasted the text right out of the G3 diag.  Voila.  Now plugins install to the right folder, and the software finds them, and they work as well as they're ever going to.  "Presets" is a useful little plugin.

There's more, but this is getting pretty geeky if you don't have one of these radios.  And the fun continues......

Night of Nights XIII Is Upon Us!

From Richard Dillman of MRHS:

NIGHT OF NIGHTS XIII - SAVE THE DATE

12 July 1999 was a sad day for many of us. We knew it was coming but when the end finally arrived it was a shock. I was there.

It was the supposed last day of Morse code. The final sign off took place at a remote station on the Pacific coast. Women attending the event were dressed as if at a funeral. Grizzled, hard bitten old men, the kind you wouldn't mess with in a bar room, had tears in their eyes as the last message was keyed out to the world at 0000 gmt. And then there was silence. It was just beeps in the air. But that's how much Morse code means to the men and women who made the profession of radiotelegrapher one of honor and skill.

But the prediction of the death of Morse code was not to be fulfilled. On that day the Maritime Radio Historical Society was born. On that day we began plans to restore a Morse code radio station - the famous KPH. One year later we held the first "Night of Nights" when not only KPH but other coast stations appeared once again on the air. Every year since we have commemorated that date by returning these stations to the air and thereby, we hope, honoring the men and women who came before us.

Join us this year for Night of Nights XIII. See and hear a real Morse code coast station in full song. Mingle with the pioneers who were the men and women of the airwaves.

Or, if you can't join us in person, join us on the air. KSM and, we hope, KPH and KFS will be in action (to be confirmed - watch our Web site for updates). K6KPH will be open to calls from amateur stations.

When: 12 July 2012 - Doors open at 3:00pm, first transmission at 5:01pm (0001gmt)
Where: KPH receive station, 14700 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, past the oyster company and G Ranch
Information: info@radiomarine.com or 663-8982

Light snacks will be served.

VY 73,

RD

Mexican Military List Grows

More frequencies have been discovered for the Tadiran radios in use by the Mexican Navy.  Mike Chace-Ortiz reports that this system has actually been in use for some time.

There are also two frequencies where the older Harris AVS voice scrambler, aka the "Hooter," is still in use.

Here's the list of frequencies heard here:

4595.0    Harris AVS
4617.5    Tadiran scrambled voice
4625.0    Tadiran
4650.0    Tadiran
4675.0    Tadiran
4700.0    Tadiran
4707.0    Tadiran
4730.0    Tadiran
4810.0    Stanag 4285, continuous and message mode
4820.0    Tadiran encr 110A and 2-tone data mode
4865.0    Tadiran clear voice, then 110A
4880.0    Tadiran clear and scrambled voice
4885.0    Tadiran encr 110A & scrambled voice
4890.0    Tadiran encr 110A & clear voice
4895.0    Tadiran rekey/sync sequence and buzzy mode
4900.0    Harris AVS
4910.0    Tadiran rekey, occasional short PSK data bursts
4915.0    Tadiran selcal, no traffic
4920.0    Tadiran encr 110A
4930.0    Tadiran

Mike has heard others, as low as 3808 kHz USB, and as high as 19105.  These have so far not been heard here.

The SDR Chronicles (#3: Discoveries)

I'm really starting to get the hang of the Excalibur Pro.

One very useful feature is the waterfall palette adjustment.  This is a bit different than the ones you've seen.  The two adjustments are for "bottom" and "gravity."  The first sets the low end of the color scale, while the second defines the place where the colors change the fastest.  These interact, and take some fussing, but they are useful when you need to pop out weak signals, or if you just want a brighter display.

While investigating signals around 4 MHz, I ran across some modes I hadn't heard before. According to Mike Chace-Ortiz, our digital editor and authority on such things, these are Tadiran radios.  He suspects Mexican military, and I do too.  That particular agency can really go through modes.

Given the disappearance of all their ALE nets with the cute call signs, a new Mexican military radio network is something of a major discovery here.  For various reasons, the confidence is high that these are indeed the people making all their latest weird noises.   The clear voice sounds like the way they train their operators, and also some stations are still using the older "Hooter," an analog voice scrambler made by Harris.

It appears that the new (at least for me) equipment has a number of selectable waveforms, best tuned in USB.  Nearly everything starts with a short, 1000 hertz beep, making tuning simple.  After this, one hears clear voice or several obviously encrypted waveforms.

These latter have the payload signal on the low end, but also include various lengths of high-pitched data signalling in 2-4 narrow audio bands centering around 2800 Hz. One is obviously a kind of vocoder-ish voice scrambling, while another is just the high band by itself. A third is a high-band "turkey call" beginning with the 1-kHz beep, and apparently some kind of crypto key/sync information, followed by a PSK waveform that detects as MIL-STD-110A. Being encrypted, it of course always errors out.

The SDR waterfall allowed rapid identification of these signals, and the recording feature made close analysis of the frequency range possible.  So far, all this activity is between 4.5 and 5 MHz, nearly always in 5-kHz channels.

Frequencies identified so far are:

4595 4617.5 4625 4820 4865 4880 4885 4890 4895 4900 4910 4915 4920 4930.  The 4617.5 does not fit this convention, but indeed that was the right frequency.

The speed with which all this data was gathered is a major indication of the usefulness of the SDR in the utility DX pursuit.  I'm sold.

The SDR Chronicles (#2: First Light)

With the USB issue sorted out, it was time to get down and hack some serious radio with the slick Excalibur Pro.

People have said good and bad things about the user interface.  Personally, I love it.  I'd actually downloaded and run the Perseus and WinRadio software test versions as part of my agonized decision making.  I found the WinRadio software to be more usable on my graphics production monitor with its large screen and small font sizes.   Something like this is important with a tool as intensive as an SDR, which serious users will undoubtedly stare at for hours at a stretch.

The interface has three major displays. Top left is the DDC spectrum, top right is the demodulator spectrum, and across the entire bottom is the spectrum analyzer. This third one displays the entire range of the analog-digital converter, from the low-frequency band to either 30 or 50 MHz depending on configuration.

It really is rather compelling to turn on the waterfall display, and watch all of HF go by at once.  Chirpsounders make diagonal lines across the entire band, and often multiple reflections appear and disappear.  OTHB radars make little short squiggly lines that change frequency.   CODARs show up as closely spaced diagonal sweeps, making it a snap to measure their frequency ranges.   A mysterious entity centered on 24 MHz produces a whole band of little bursts with a frequency distribution resembling the statistical bell curve.  Spread spectrum?

In practice, of course, one sees a lot more detail with this display zoomed in.  Being an SDR, it is of course clickable, taking you right to interesting spots.  So are the other two plots.

Returning to the spectrum display, I clicked a nice spike around 22 MHz.  With some tweaking in the DDC window in waterfall mode, I got centered on an obvious broadcast station.  Its carrier showed as a vertical line, with symmetrical sidebands going out both ways.  It was Radio Australia.

Somewhat later, another interesting spike showed up in 75 meter amateur, where voices usually display as the intermittent RF bursts of lower sideband emission.  Yes, it was AM.  In fact, the voice was familiar.  My new SDR had apparently found a local ham buddy on that band's AM frequency.  He was discussing his new SDR (a Flex), which he'd picked up at Dayton.

Ultimately life intervened, and I had to tear myself away from the Excalibur Pro.  By then I had the user interface pretty much wired, and I was getting used to the best ways to unleash the awesome performance of this little box, with its vertical filter slopes (more on these later), amazingly low noise, and generally snappy performance.

It is clear that this radio is a tool.  You do not listen to it as much as you wield it, like King Arthur with his magic sword.  Congratulations to WinRadio for making a product that really does live up to its initial hype.

The SDR Chronicles (#1a: Update)

Richard at WinRadio e-mails the following:

If you have a very new PC with USB3 ports, try connecting to a different
port, preferably USB2 because hardware /driver support for backward
compatibility of USB3 varies between manufacturers.

This certainly explains why the radio worked properly on the laptop, which only has USB 2.0.  It also explains why it worked when I put it back on the big computer.  Just for the sake of testing one new variable, I had indeed tried a different USB port, and one known to be 2.0 only.

And so we have cleared that up.  I figured it was something to do with the USB, since there have been other issues with other products used for radio.  Obviously, this is not a bug in the Excalibur Pro, which in fact is living up to its advertising.

The SDR Chronicles (#1: Installation)

Many months ago, I decided to add an SDR (Software-Defined Radio) to my array.  After this, I spent altogether too long agonizing between the venerable Perseus and the new Excalibur Pro.

Both of these are DDC (Digital Down-Converter) radios.  Essentially, an untuned RF front end goes to an A/D converter, and is down-converted by a mathematical algorithm for output over a standard USB 2.0 cable.  What used to be the IF strip, where the real action in a superheterodyne receiver goes on, is now done by software.  What used to be the detector stage is now a digital demodulator, making waveform changes a snap. Finally, the result goes to the computer sound card for D/A conversion into audio for the computer's speakers.

The Perseus is an established product, a bit old, but with a large and dedicated user base which shares many great things that various smart people have learned to do with it.  The slightly more expensive Excalibur Pro was vapor until about a year ago, and its userbase is tiny by comparison, but anyone who ever tried it said it was a darn good radio.

Finally, I went with the Excalibur Pro.  I think it's the broadcast audio that finally tipped the scale, though obviously nothing using computer audio will ever match the soul stirring roar of the R-390 through a good stereo system.  Still, it is clean and non-fatiguing, which is more than I can say for most of the better radios used by utility DXers.

My nice new radio arrived last Friday, and was summarily unpacked. It's a neat looking little metal box, covered in a futuristic looking material that looks pretty indestructible.  The antenna downlead, snap-in USB connector (supplied), and DC power connection are on one end, which is considered the back.  Extra points to WinRadio for using a linear power supply rather than a wall wart.

The front has a main power button and a minimalist blue LED.  Once you power up,  the LED blinks in a fair semblance of Morse code to show the radio's state of readiness.  "S" means you're connected and waiting for the software to start.  A somewhat elongated "A" means you're good to go.

Installation is just a matter of following steps.  Install the software, cable up the radio, turn it on and let Windows find it.  Let it install the driver, then connect your antenna through the BNC-SMA adapter supplied, and light up the software.

At this point, there should be spectrums dancing and audio happening.  The box was factory set to 10 MHz WWV.  I should have had time.  Time with latency, but time.

Nothing.  No dancing spectrums, no audio, no nothing.  An hour or so of various troubleshooting steps got nowhere.  ????

I was damned if I'd send my nice new box back to Grove before trying it on another computer.  And so I did.  Same process, exactly, except that when WinRadio's app was started, the radio gave a little relay click and WWV lit up the screen and speakers.

At last, I had found time.

The radio was connected back to the big computer, a 6-core 3.2 GHz liquid-cooled production machine with the horsepower to do some serious radio processing.  This beast was going to be its friend, one way or another.  For whatever reason, this time it was.  The radio gave the same little relay click, and everything's worked great since.

Computers.  Can't live without 'em, can't live with 'em.

(To be continued.)

US Maritime Warning for Titanic Site Traffic Jam

The following Navtex message was issued by the US Government and copied by Tom Sevart:

ZCZC FA57

UNCLASSIFIED//

MSGID/GENADMIN/NGA NAVSAFETY WA DC//

RMKS/

WRN N ATLC.

POTENTIAL SAFETY CONCERNS IN THE AREA SURROUNDING THE WRECKAGE OF TITANIC.

1. THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC MAY RESULT IN SUBSTANTIALLY MORE VESSEL TRAFFIC IN VICINITY OF THE WK SITE ON OR AROUND 14 APR. PASSENGER AND EXPLORATION VESSELS MAY BE KEEPING STA IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO EACH OTHER POSING A POTENTIAL SAFETY CONCERN.

2. VESSELS ARE ASKED TO REFRAIN, WHERE OPERATIONALLY POSSIBLE, FROM DISCHARGING GARBAGE, BLACKWATER, GRAYWATER AND ANY OTHER INCIDENTAL DISCHARGES TO THE OPERATION OF A VESSEL WITHIN 15 MILES OF AREA BOUND BY 41-55-19N 050-10-00W, 41-55-05N 049-43-11W, 41-32-07N 049-43-38W, 41-32-21N 051-10-17W.

3. VESSELS ARE ASKED TO CONCENTRATE ANY DROP WEIGHTS OR OTHER MATERIALS NECESSARY FOR THE NORMAL DESCENT AND ASCENT OF SUMBERSIBLE CRAFT WITHIN 100 METERS OF THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS: A. 41-44-08N 049-56-46W. B. 41-43-51N 049-56-32W. C. 41-43-58N 049-57-06W. D. 41-43-41N 049-57-01W.

4. VESSELS ARE ASKED TO UTILIZE BIODEGRADABLE MATERIALS FOR DROP WEIGHT BAGS AND OTHER ITEMS THAT MUST BE LEFT ON THE BOTTOM DURING NORMAL SUBMERSIBLE OPERATIONS.

5. VESSELS ARE ALSO ASKED TO REFRAIN FROM INSTALLING, ATTACHING OR PLACING ADDITIONAL PLAQUES, MEMORIALS, OTHER TEMP OR PERMANENT FIXTURES, HOWEVER WELL INTENTIONED, ON THE R.M.S. TITANIC.

6. CANCEL THIS MSG //220018Z APR 12//

NNNN

Titanic Events Set As 100th Anniversary Approaches

The RMS Titanic sank 100 years ago this April 15th. Many events have been planned or are in progress.  A lot of these are on the radio.

1. UK: GB100MGY will be on-air from Fort Perch Rock on April 14 and 15. MGY is the Marconi Wireless call used by the Titanic on its single doomed voyage. From UDXF:

We have special permission from OFCOM to use the 501 to 504 khz band from 12th to 18th April from above location at FPR using above callsign. Please listen out for us on around 502 khz CW. We will be on air on this frequency most evenings and overnite on 14th/15th April, the Titanic's anniversary of its sad demise. We will be using Marine radio equipment from Marconi, JRC, Nera with a long wire between fort and lighthouse and a 6oo foot loop aerial around the fort. For those of you without a 500khz band NOV we will be be doing crossband qso's on 3566 khz or 7066 khz.

2.  Germany: Deutsche Wetterdienst weather station will operate its 147.3 kHz station in  Morse telegraphy from 2230 UTC on 14 April to 0200 UTC on the 15th. During the Silent Periods observed on the 500 kHz maritime CW band, the names of former maritime mobile radio officers will be sent in QRSS3, a weak-signal mode in which a single dit lasts 3 seconds. Crossband HF operation will be by DL0SWA.

3. Belfast:  GI2012MGY is on-air from the SS Nomadic April 12-15. GI100MGY will be on all HF amateur bands. Most operation on the 14th and 15th will be CW. A silent period will be taken at the precise time the Titanic went to the bottom.

4. Britain: Other amateur special event stations include GB100WSL (White Star Line), Southampton; GB100MBA (Carpathia call sign); G3MPD, Poldhu; GR100MGY, Godalming; EI100T, Cobh; M100T, Southampton; GB100GGM, Gwent; GB0TI, Lichfield; many others.

5. Belgium: Special event operations with special QSLs on the 14th and 15th by OO100MGY, Antwerp; OR100MGY Knokke-Heist; and OT100MGY, Londerzee. Special certificate for hams working all three.

6. United States: Special event operations by W0S, MO, on April 13-15. More details here. W6MGY, Pacific Arc & Spark Society, CA, 30 and 40 meter CW on April 10-15.  Special events at the Chatham, MA Marconi Center and mobile from the old transmit site at Wellfleet.  Special event at the National Capital Radio & Television Museum in MD, with amateur call sign W3R.

7. Canada: Amateur VO1MCE will "re-enact" the Titanic radio history made on the night of the sinking in real time April 14-15. VE0MGY is set to operate from a cruise ship at Titanic's last position and communicate with VO1MCE and others.  Several special observances will be made in the Cape Race area, closest land point to the Titanic sinking. More information on these is here.  Admiralty House Museum, St. Johns, will be on-air working stations for 24 hours from its radio room.

Region 1429 Reappears!

Active region #1429, the source of several major flares, CMEs, and radio blackouts earlier this month, has made it all the way around the sun. The STEREO spacecraft followed it across the far side, and now it is just becoming visible on the limb. It is still flaring regularly, and producing large CMEs which are only marginally geoeffective at this point.

Expect daily solar fluxes to rise out of the 100 range, and K indices to approach the event threshold as this region continues its movement across the disk, and as a full-halo CME from another region on March 27 UTC approaches our planet.  In addition, C class flares are likely, and M class is not out of the question.

472-479 kHz Amateur Allocation Passes WRC-12

ARRL:

Amateur Radio Gets Secondary MF Allocation at WRC-12

02/14/2012

It’s official -- delegates attending the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) have approved a new 7-kilohertz-wide secondary allocation between 472-479 kHz for the Amateur Radio Service. Agenda Item 1.23 had both its first and second readings in Plenary Session on Tuesday, February 14; to become part of the ITU’s Radio Regulations, each Agenda Item must be read twice in Plenary Session. While the Final Acts will be signed on Friday, February 17 at the close of the Conference, the new allocation will not take effect until it is entered into the Radio Regulations. No date has been set for this, but it is unlikely to be earlier than January 1, 2013. In any case, no amateur can use the band until his or her national regulations are revised to implement the allocation.

...

Agenda Item 1.23 originally called for a 15-kilohertz-wide spectrum in parts of the band 415-526.5 kHz, taking into account the need to protect existing services. But according to ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, this was in conflict with the Maritime Mobile Service. WRC-12 delegates approved Agenda Item 1.10, which called for a worldwide exclusive allocation to the Maritime Mobile Service of 495-505 kHz. Discussion of this allocation to Maritime Mobile "has been in the works throughout the conference preparation (i.e. since 2008)," Sumner explained, "and was the reason why the MF amateur allocation could not be made in this band as some amateurs had hoped. That’s why we had to look elsewhere and is what put us in conflict with aeronautical radionavigation."

Sigmira Fix Now Available

The updated features.dat file for Steven A. Harlow's popular (and good) Sigmira program can be obtained at his web site.  Instructions on where to put the updated file are there as well.

600-Meter Amateur Passes Committee, Goes to WRC-12 Plenary

ARRL:

On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 7 (Geneva time), Committee 4 of the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) approved Option 1 to satisfy Agenda Item 1.23, with minor editorial amendments to the text received from Working Group 4C. Option 1 calls for a worldwide secondary allocation to the Amateur Service at 472-479 kHz, with a power limit of 1 W EIRP, with a provision for administrations to permit up to 5 W EIRP for stations located more than 800 km from certain countries that wish to protect their aeronautical radionavigation service (non-directional beacons) from any possible interference. Option 2 was NOC (no change to the current rules).

In keeping with the rules of the Conference, Committee decisions must be read twice in Plenary session; the decision of the Conference is not final until after second reading in Plenary. According to ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, quite a few additional administrations -- mainly in the former Soviet Union and Arab states -- will be adding their country names to the Footnotes prior to consideration in Plenary.

(ITU footnotes number in the hundreds.  They are a means of achieving consensus on international radio regulations by allowing exceptions for countries with concerns which would otherwise force them to vote against an agenda item in Plenary Session.)

Spectrum Lab Works Fine in 64-bit W7

I don't know why I thought it didn't.  It is installed in c:\radio\spectrum and it works just fine.  I also run it as an administrator with full permission set to its folder branch just to be sure.  So far, it's done everything it did in XP.

People might know that I really like Spectrum Lab, so it's nice to have it back.  Its window scales any size one would ever need it to be, and you can spend the rest of your life getting acquainted with all it can do.  I've even made digital art with it.

Year's First X-Class Flare Causes N.A. HF Blackout

An X1.7 X-ray flare was observed at 1840Z from Region 1402.  A warning has been issued for a S1 solar radiation storm. This warning is in effect for the next 24 hours.

This is the first X-class flare since November 3, 2011, when an X1.9 occurred.

Region 1402 is close to the limb, and CME (if any) should not be geoeffective.

This flare caused an R3 level radio blackout over North America, with a pretty much complete loss of HF propagation for about 30 minutes.  Right now, the 15 MHz WWV signal has recovered from nothing to about S9 with fading.  Normally, it would be about 20 over.

Auroral Event In Progress

Check out the photos of incredible aurora at high geomagnetic latitudes at this Daily Mail photo story.

The past two Kp indices have been 3, below the storm threshold.  As the news story notes, this was not a severe storm.  While energetic particles are traveling at a high velocity, most are missing the Earth.  HF propagation will not take a major hit from this one, although some signals from transauroral paths do seem much weaker or missing tonight.

Planetary K Index Now = 5

We have crossed the minor storm threshold.  Expect degradation of high-latitude paths, and perhaps a nice auroral show tonight in the northern US.

Geomagnetic Event Commences On Schedule

Space Weather News for Jan. 24, 2012
http://spaceweather.com

CME IMPACT: As predicted by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field on Jan. 24 at ~1500 UT (10 am EST).  A geomagnetic storm is brewing in the aftermath of the impact, but as this alert is being written it is too soon to say how weak or strong the storm might be.  High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras after local nightfall; the hours around local midnight are often best for seeing the Northern Lights.  Chances for a good display favor observers in northern Europe, Greenland, Iceland, Canada, Alaska, and possibly northern tier US states such as Maine, Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Check http://spaceweather.com for updates.

Local news media seem awfully excited about this event.  So far, one K index of 4 has been recorded, and HF propagation seems to be holding up.  Keep watching...

It's Not You: Sigmira Blows Up Again

Now, I like Sigmira.  It cranks on STANAG 4285, it has a great mode to demonstrate what's really up with the Japanese "slot machine" encrypted data station, and it does HFDL.

It has this one odd issue where every so often the features.dat file becomes obsolete and must be replaced for STANAG 4285 to work again.

This time, though, the problem is not loss of features.  The program starts up very briefly, then shuts down and displays a small window saying something unhelpful along the lines of "it didn't work."  Everyone got the problem at the same time, and it seems as if it might be related to the PC system date.

So far no word on the web site.   I won't be able to duplicate the problem and try for any insight because it never ran on my new 64 bit system anyway.  Too bad, because it IS a great program.

R. Bulgaria To Leave Air 1/31

The continual dropping off of one government short wave broadcast service after another can be explained by general lack of money and new priorities following the end of the Cold War.

It still remains distressing, however. It reinforces the popular idea that "short wave is dead," and makes it easier to gain approval for new products that do not conform to EM compatibility standards. Then we as ute DXers get hurt when the noise floor goes up again.

It's easy to say that Internet can do the same job, except for one pesky little fact, which is that it can't.  Radio is radio, and Internet is Internet.  While they overlap greatly, they most assuredly do not exclude one another.  Nor will they ever, except in the politically useful pronouncements of government budget hacks, and in the childish fantasies of technogeeks.

Anyway...

From Saveradiobulgaria.com:

Save BNR Radio Bulgaria on shortwave and medium wave

Dear listeners and friends of shortwave and Radio Bulgaria, With a huge regret I'd like to inform you very bad news. After more than 75 years in the world broadcasting from January 31, 2012 at 2200UT Radio Bulgaria cease broadcasting on shortwave and medium wave.

The first shortwave broadcasts from Bulgaria began on 16 February 1936.

The reason

No money for broadcasting on shortwave and medium waves. The decision of BNR is: Radio Bulgaria is not necessary now to its shortwave and medium waves listeners. And who listens to short waves today? We have internet.

Maintaining the shortwave transmissions was "Mission Impossible"!

Hope dies last.

Beginning of the end. But we expect your moral support.

What can you do?

Sign the petition [at the link]
Contact BNR

New CME May Cause Aurora Tomorrow

From spaceweather.com:

INCOMING CME: Big sunspot 1402 erupted on Jan. 23rd, producing a strong M9-class solar flare and a fast-moving coronal mass ejection (CME).

Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say the CME should reach Earth on Jan. 24th at 14:18 UT (+/- 7 hr) and Mars a little more than a day later. Strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud reaches Earth.

Our magnetic field is still reverberating from a CME impact on Jan. 22nd, so another blow could spark impressive auroras at high latitudes. Sky watchers in northern Europe, Canada, Alaska, and northern-tier US states such as the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin should be alert for Northern Lights.

Ham Radio Software Meets Windows 7 #4: The Final Accounting

After much sound, fury, hair pulling, and bad language, the results are in.

Programs that recognize the W7 app data path variable, keep their data outside the program file tree, and work when installed to the default directory (Program Files (x86)):

FLdigi (Note 1)
JVComm32
TrueTTY

Programs that should probably be installed in a different folder you create yourself (I called mine "Radio"):

DSCdecoder (Note 2)
MultiPSK (3)
PC-ALE (4)
PC-HFDL (5)
POSFIX
Spectran

1) Created files under "Users," not in program folder.
2) ITU lookup won't work installed under Program Files (x86).
3) Some confusion over whether or not to run INSTAL.exe after unzipping.
4) Do not leave "create desktop icon" checked.  Create shortcut manually in program's home directory, and drag to desktop.  In fact, do this for all these programs.
5) Go into ground station file, change "AUCKLAND - NEW ZEALAND" to "AUCKLAND - NZ" due to a bug unrelated to platform.

As always, your results will be different.  That's what worked here.

Ham Radio Software Meets Windows 7 #3: Debugging PC-ALE

After uninstalling MARS-ALE and removing various droppings still found throughout my computer, I bravely set out to see what PC-ALE would do in a home directory outside the Program Files (x86) or the virtual machine ("XP Mode").  Others had reported success when installed in this manner.

The version I'd been using is in the 1.07x cycle. I had the installers on backups.  The files are not on HFLINK, but can be found elsewhere.  You install the FI version, then drop the unzipped UD .exe file over the original .exe in your installation.  Then you copy in your .qrg files.  You DID back up your .qrg, right?

Scanning will have to wait until a compatible USB-serial adapter is obtained.  Right now I'm only parking on frequencies.


Here are some issues:

#1: Do not check the "Create Desktop Icon" box in the installer. This creates an incorrect path, which causes PC-ALE to write the files it needs for proper operation to the desktop instead of its home folder. It is then unable to find them there.

Instead, go to the home directory and right-click ALE.exe. Drop down and hit "Create Shortcut," then move the resulting new shortcut icon to the desktop. This solves the problem.  The files are created in the right place.

#2. The problem encountered with the input being pure noise seems to have fixed itself with the install to my custom directory. PC-ALE is finding the right input now.  "First light" here was J14, 003, and D08 sounding on 15867.  BER and S/N were well above minimums for high confidence decode.

#3: For some inexplicable reason, PC-ALE likes to set the gain of Line In to zero at startup and shutdown.  This causes the bars/sync to vanish altogether, because there's no signal.  Do W7's silly sound driver and turn it back up.  The bars/sync should appear, and you should be decoding ALE.  This issue fixes itself after running the program a couple of times.  Presumably, the default level finally gets set to the figure in your 141A config screen.

#4: It is said that MARS-ALE is actually better for receive-only than PC-ALE.  This could be the case.  MultiPSK, however, is better than both of them for receive, though equally user-inscrutable.  It will scan after you do the developer's weird payment procedure and get a license.

#5: ALL MILEAGE WILL VARY!!!!! We are dealing with computers, after all.  If you get a total bomb job, try asking the experts on the HFLINK group at Yahoo.

Ham Radio Software Meets Windows 7 #2: DSCdecoder FIXED!

OK.  Thanks to the informative forum at HF-ALE, I have the intelligence that Windows 7 security prevents programs from modifying certain files in their own home folders and subdirectories therein.  Variable data is supposed to be stored in User Data, App Data, or someplace like that.   These old ham programs don't do that.

The advice was given to create a folder OUTSIDE Program Files (x86) for old radio software that won't work any other way, and install these old programs there.  While they were talking about PC-ALE, this worked for DSCdecoder.  The ITU lookup is now working and the program is as far as I'm concerned now operating properly.  The display screen changes, and the data is written to the daily log and shipid.txt.

While I was at it, I moved the logging folder to My Documents, since I look at it a lot.  This is done with Options > Directories > Log File.


I wouldn't recommend this installation procedure for every single new program, since it does defeat a security feature built into W7.  This is for the care and feeding of these old radio sharewares.  Make sure you trust the software.

Ham Radio Software Meets Windows 7

Despite knowing the perils of attempting to use ham radio software with anything newer than XP, I continued in my resolve to enter the modern age with an operating system that has some hope of support after next year.   Since SDRs tend to like all the processor and memory you can throw at them, I loaded up on plenty of both, requiring the dreaded 64-bit operating system.

Dreaded because most ham shareware never heard of it.

After two weeks, results have emerged.  Here we go:

Programs that work with 64 bit Windows 7 (your mileage WILL vary):

FLdigi - No problems so far.

JVComm32 - Works fine; it's going right now.  Complains bitterly about my font sizes, but since I'm using a 1950x1200 graphic arts monitor, it'll just have to understand show biz.

MultiPSK - so far no problems except the need to personally communicate with the programmer to give him his well deserved money.  (And that issue is platform-independent :-) . )  It stopped complaining about the font size when I went to Properties > Compatibility and checked the part about "Disable display settings on high DPI."

PC-HFDL - No problems AT ALL.

Posfix - No problems AT ALL.

Spectran: So far, works perfectly, despite Windows declaring it incompatible.  There was some strange issue with its installer, which is really more like an unpacker.  No matter how bitterly Windows complains, it can be unpacked to anywhere, and moved by hand to an appropriate folder you create under Programs (x86).  There are no registry issues.  The program barely even wastes time on MickeySoft's new sound drivers (more on that later).

TrueTTY/SeaTTY - so far no problems.


Programs that do not work (at least here):

PC-ALE & MARS-ALE - the UI functions properly but it can't seem to find the right sound input.  Only noise displays in the box on the upper left.  Using the virtual machine and "XP mode" does not seem to help.  Also, scanning on many rigs requires a USB to serial adapter, and the older ones don't work on 64 bit W7, which has no driver for them.

Spectrum Lab - it's too bad that this state of the art package was never updated to post-Vista operating systems.  It's fine to declare yourself an XP holdout, and even brag about how much better it is, and in the case of ham radio you are undoubtedly right.  Back in the real world, it's important to keep up with technology.


Programs that work with some fiddling:

DSCdecoder - I think I finally have this one as happy as it's ever going to get.  It's running in compatibility mode, and everything works except the ITU lookup.  The issue with that is mysterious, and it may relate to the font sizes.  Clicking the MMSI does indeed go to ITU and grab the information, as can be seen by picking through the file named ituresponse.txt that gets written to the program's directory. However, it never makes it onto the UI, or into the master lookup database file shipid.txt.

---------------
More on the W7 sound card issue:

The problem is that, from what I can find online, MickeySoft has made it harder, if not impossible, to record from streams. This is undoubtedly a concession to the music industry, which is concerned about copyright.  Every sound card driver is different, but in my case, both the on-board and external sound had Stereo Mix and/or What U Hear missing.

In addition, the external sound card, a venerable Creative Live! they stopped supporting years ago,  did not work well.  It was prone to pops and crackles, and the sound was poor.  The driver available at Creative Labs was a legacy product, and did nothing to solve the problem.  I'll stay with the on-board sound, which is fine in all specs except signal to noise, until I feel like popping for a decent external card.

There is a hack to get Stereo Mix back on some of the sound drivers, at least for the Realtek driver on the Asus motherboard. This is documented all over the Internet, and it works.  It involves going to a certain place in the config, finding Stereo Mix and unblocking it.  However, my Stereo Mix still wouldn't do the right kind of loopback for legally recording and/or decoding audio from remote SDRs and radios.

(Psssst... Spectran, which ignores the sound board nonsense, will listen to Stereo Mix just fine on my box.  AND it records.  AND it's free.  Don't tell RIAA.)

Happy computing......

Major BPL Company to Shut Down

In the latest of a string of commercial Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) failures, International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc. (IBEC) is dropping its rural Internet service this month.

In a 12/23/11 letter over the signature of Scott E. Lee, the CEO, IBEC states:

It is with a very heavy heart, that we must inform you that IBEC will no longer be in a position to provide Internet service to your area.

We encourage all of you to pursue other options for your internet services as soon as possible. This includes your email service if you have an active @BPL,COOP email account. Please move to another email service as soon as possible.

...

Our demise, started with the April 27th storms of this year in Alabama, which destroyed over 3.2 Million in assets, which our Insurance Provider (CHUB) has refused to pay. We also lost a critical investment from an Investor commitment, due to these storms, putting IBEC into a negative financial situation. IBEC pursued assistance from RUS (our Federal Creditor at US Department of Agriculture), our vendors and endless potential buyers after these events without success.

It is doubtful that radio fans will be as heavy-hearted.  One might remember IBEC for another reason.  ARRL:

More than a year ago, the ARRL filed a complaint with the FCC, documenting ongoing harmful interference and egregious rules violations by IBEC-installed BPL systems in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Indiana. The ARRL had requested that the FCC “initiate immediately an enforcement proceeding regarding these BPL systems, and cause them to cease operation until such time as they are each in full compliance with the Commission’s Rules.” The ARRL even discovered IBEC BPL systems in operation that are not listed in the online BPL database -- another clear violation of the FCC rules, which require listing 30 days prior to initiation of service. To the ARRL’s knowledge, even as of today, the FCC has taken no enforcement action to correct these violations.

ARRL also notes that IBEC was the last BPL provider in the US that didn't notch amateur bands (a violation of FCC regulations).

KSM and K6KPH Will Operate New Year's Eve

MRHS stations KSM and K6KPH will be on the air for extended hours on New Year's Eve.

All KSM HF frequencies will be active.  We will also make a particular point of keeping 426kc active to give MF monitors a chance to copy us during night time winter hours.  Announcements will be made on 500kc, then the MF transmitter will be switched to 426kc for the transmission.  See:

http://www.radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=ksmstation&panel=pab1_2#pab1_2

for particulars of KSM.

K6KPH will be an active participant in Straight Key Night as we have in the past.  Multiple operators, including guest operators, will man the operating positions.  If you'd like to join us please let me know.  There's still space available.  See:

http://www.radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=skn2012&panel=pab1_5#pab1_5

and 

http://www.radiomarine.org/gallery/show?keyword=K6KPH&panel=pab1_3#pab1_3

for information about K6KPH and Straight Key Night.

QSLs and reception reports should be sent to:

MRHS
PO Box 392 
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
USA 

VY 73 and GL for the New Year,

RD

=================================
Richard Dillman, WPE2VT
Chief Operator, Coast Station KSM
Maritime Radio Historical Society
http://www.radiomarine.org
=================================