IARU:
The CEPT Conference Preparatory Group
met this week in Ankara, Turkey. Items of interest to the amateur
service which were finalised were:
- Agreement to a European Common
Proposal (ECP) on allocating 50-52 MHz to the amateur service in Region 1
on a secondary basis with a footnote listing those countries where the
amateur service will have a primary allocation in the band 50-50.5 MHz
(WRC Agenda Item 1.1)
- Agreement to an ECP on spectrum to
be considered for International Mobile Telecommunications, which does
not now include the primary amateur band at 47-47.2 GHz (WRC Agenda Item
1.13)
- Agreement to an ECP that retains the
current regulatory position in the 5725-5850 MHz frequency band which
includes secondary allocations to the amateur service and the
amateur-satellite service (WRC Agenda Item 1.16)
- Removal of 144-146 MHz from a French
proposal for study of additional spectrum for aeronautical
applications. (WRC Agenda Item 10)
Saturday, September 07, 2019
Monday, September 02, 2019
Hurricane Watch Net is on 7268 LSB
20 meters has been wretched today due to a persistent geomagnetic storm. Instead of the usual daytime 14325 kHz USB, they are using 7268 kHz LSB. Signals are good into the US East Coast. One amateur relayed an emergency station setting up in Nassau, Bahamas. The message was that the weather station is destroyed, and the US consulate evacuated.
It also appears that Internet weather stations in the Bahamas are no longer operating.
It also appears that Internet weather stations in the Bahamas are no longer operating.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Dorian hurricane aircraft was heard on HF today
You can still hear them.
A UDXF member reports hearing NOAA 42 on 8918.00 kHz, working New York oceanic ATC on the Caribbean (CAR) MWARA net. This is a WP-3 operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the "weather bureau"). The pilot reported that he was going operational below 15,000 feet.
Sometimes the USAF "Hurricane Hunters" come up on these frequencies. Their call sign is TEAL plus two figures.
The amateur US National Hurricane Watch Net was briefly active on 14325 kHz USB. If past policy holds, it will likely activate again when the storm gets close to the Bahamas.
Daily aircraft taskings for hurricanes are issued by CARCAH (Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance, All Hurricanes) at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL. The link is:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/recon.php .
They come out 24 hours or so before the day of the operations.
We wish the best to all those threatened by this powerful storm.
A UDXF member reports hearing NOAA 42 on 8918.00 kHz, working New York oceanic ATC on the Caribbean (CAR) MWARA net. This is a WP-3 operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (the "weather bureau"). The pilot reported that he was going operational below 15,000 feet.
Sometimes the USAF "Hurricane Hunters" come up on these frequencies. Their call sign is TEAL plus two figures.
The amateur US National Hurricane Watch Net was briefly active on 14325 kHz USB. If past policy holds, it will likely activate again when the storm gets close to the Bahamas.
Daily aircraft taskings for hurricanes are issued by CARCAH (Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance, All Hurricanes) at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL. The link is:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/recon.php .
They come out 24 hours or so before the day of the operations.
We wish the best to all those threatened by this powerful storm.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Revised frequency list for Night of Nights XX
The heroic True Believers of KPH have made some more transmitting antennas active after the damage last winter. Here is the revised frequency list for Night of Nights XX, which begins tomorrow (US time) at the traditional 0001 UTC. That's July 13 on the Prime Meridian, but still July 12 (local time/date) in North America, including at the station location in Point Reyes National Seashore.
The time is traditional. It is when commercial Morse operation was discontinued by Globe Wireless, the last US holdout. KPH (also using the KFS call sign by permission of its current owners) is a triumph of the human spirit, defiantly taking to the same frequencies (still allocated by the ITU) at this time every year.
WLO is not participating this year because it no longer exists. The Coast Guard is not participating this year either. KFS has one frequency active. This is 12695.5 . The rest are KPH.
Here's the latest list, with an addition, and the latest correction:
KPH: 426, 500, 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8, 22477.5 .
500 kHz is still the MW calling frequency, and QSY after contact is to 426. Ships call KPH and KFS on ITU maritime channel 3. This is:
4184.0, 6276.0, 8368.0, 12552.0, 16736.0, 22280.5 .
The ships are good catches. Several call and pass traffic every year.
K6KPH is also active, and anyone who can handle heavy-duty commercial Morse can sit the circuit, since control ops with ham licenses are present. Similar procedures are used, such as sending "DE" for a station to call again. QRY and a number means that other stations are waiting, and that's your turn. Pilots know how this works (for takeoffs) only too well.
Everything is CW, of course.
Several of these frequencies are restored vintage "heavy iron" transmitters, and they sound great. The rest, presumably, are the Henry transmitters which were installed at Bolinas High Power when it ceased commercial operation.
Those in the area can visit the receive building, which also houses the National Seashore office, and is reached by one of the best "tree tunnels" in the country.
Full details and links to maps to the receive building are at the MRHS web site.
The time is traditional. It is when commercial Morse operation was discontinued by Globe Wireless, the last US holdout. KPH (also using the KFS call sign by permission of its current owners) is a triumph of the human spirit, defiantly taking to the same frequencies (still allocated by the ITU) at this time every year.
WLO is not participating this year because it no longer exists. The Coast Guard is not participating this year either. KFS has one frequency active. This is 12695.5 . The rest are KPH.
Here's the latest list, with an addition, and the latest correction:
KPH: 426, 500, 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8, 22477.5 .
500 kHz is still the MW calling frequency, and QSY after contact is to 426. Ships call KPH and KFS on ITU maritime channel 3. This is:
4184.0, 6276.0, 8368.0, 12552.0, 16736.0, 22280.5 .
The ships are good catches. Several call and pass traffic every year.
K6KPH is also active, and anyone who can handle heavy-duty commercial Morse can sit the circuit, since control ops with ham licenses are present. Similar procedures are used, such as sending "DE" for a station to call again. QRY and a number means that other stations are waiting, and that's your turn. Pilots know how this works (for takeoffs) only too well.
Everything is CW, of course.
Several of these frequencies are restored vintage "heavy iron" transmitters, and they sound great. The rest, presumably, are the Henry transmitters which were installed at Bolinas High Power when it ceased commercial operation.
Those in the area can visit the receive building, which also houses the National Seashore office, and is reached by one of the best "tree tunnels" in the country.
Full details and links to maps to the receive building are at the MRHS web site.
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
Will hams lose two meters?
That is the question, and the answer will come at this year's WARC-19 and the future WARC-23. The re-allocation of the entire two meter band was not widely opposed at a European meeting, when France brought up a Thales proposal to use it for some kind of commercial airband cellular service.
As we know only too well, governments consider corporations to be more important than people, and they make their decisions accordingly. At some point, however, someone's got to raise a stink. I probably join most of the readers here in going WTF at the prospect that ham radio would lose what's probably its most popular band.
Amateur groups are expected to fight this tooth and nail.
From DF2ZC, DARC Frequency Manager:
As we know only too well, governments consider corporations to be more important than people, and they make their decisions accordingly. At some point, however, someone's got to raise a stink. I probably join most of the readers here in going WTF at the prospect that ham radio would lose what's probably its most popular band.
Amateur groups are expected to fight this tooth and nail.
From DF2ZC, DARC Frequency Manager:
If this proposal in its current version is endorsed at the next meeting of the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group in August it is highly likely that it will appear on the agendas of WRC-19 and WRC-23 where a final decision will be made. At least 10 of the 48 CEPT countries have to be in favour of this proposal while not more than 6 must be against this.During the recent Meeting of the CEPT Project Team A in Prague this proposal by France was being discussed for the first time. Only the German delegation made it clear that they are against this proposal including 144-146 MHz. [That's as high as it goes in Europe. The frequency range in question would include the whole band worldwide. -Hugh]The main reason for that little opposition might be that the 2 m band was included in the revised version of that French proposal only few days before the deadline for the Prague meeting. Consequently most other European countries had no time for internal discussions let alone formulating their position.IARU, being supported by regulatory experts of their member associations (RSGB, DARC, VERON etc) is intensively working on executing their influence within the current process and trying to keep the 2 m band as it is now. By the way, the cost of this activities is covered by the funds resulting from the contributions of the IARU member societies. So those who left their county's amateur radio society should perhaps reconsider their decision. Without the commitment and the funds the amateur radio community would have little influence in that process, let alone could be present at the relevant meetings.Most importantly, amateur radio should speak with a single voice only. So I would like to ask everybody to refrain from using maybe good personal contacts to your government or the EU. This would weaken our position and take away power and vigour from the systematic approach by IARU and country amateur radio societies. This particularly applies for online petitions in the WWW, which by the way do not even base on a correct facts background.
Friday, February 01, 2019
No more weather warnings on WWV/WWVH
ARRL Letter:
The National Weather Service (NWS) is discontinuing its high seas and storm warnings transmitted via National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) WWV/WWVH time and frequency-standard HF transmissions, starting January 31 [yesterday-Hugh] at 1800 UTC. The NWS warnings are aimed at the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific."This service is being terminated because weather information in the current broadcast format does not support frequent-enough updates for changes in marine weather and cannot provide enough detail in the allotted window required by mariners to avoid hazardous weather," NWS said in announcing the discontinuation. "Additionally, alternative technologies and numerous media outlets that provide weather information in various formats have overtaken the need for providing weather information through the NIST frequency signals."The NWS said other sources of marine weather information, high seas alerts, and detailed forecasts are available over satellite, telephone, the internet, marine fax, radio fax, and VHF radio. The NWS, US Coast Guard, and US Navy provide multiple dissemination methods for storm positioning, high sea areas, observations, forecasts, outlooks, and warnings for both coastal and oceanic marine zones near the US, all through a variety of technologies, including NAVTEX and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).
Thursday, January 31, 2019
KPH/KFS/K6KPH resume partial operation on Saturday
With the government shutdown over, the National Park Service has re-opened the KPH receive building to normal use. All call signs should be on-air this Saturday.
But, as always, there's a catch. A strong storm took down trees, destroying a number of feedlines to antennas. The damage includes broken poles and snapped wires, and generally it's a mess. Repairs will take time and cost money. As usual, the MRHS could use any donations we feel like giving them.
From MRHS:
But, as always, there's a catch. A strong storm took down trees, destroying a number of feedlines to antennas. The damage includes broken poles and snapped wires, and generally it's a mess. Repairs will take time and cost money. As usual, the MRHS could use any donations we feel like giving them.
From MRHS:
With the end of the partial shutdown of the federal government the Maritime Radio Historical Society has been given clearance to return to "The Wireless Giant of the Pacific," and to resume operations as of 2 February 2019 at 1800 GMT, with the return of the Free Press broadcast from KPH and KFS. We will commence service to ships at sea at 2000 GMT. Our station in the amateur radio service, K6KPH, will return to the airwaves at that time, 2000 GMT.---
The good news is that most of our ship customers will not be effected by the reduced operational capacity. The following commercial channels will be in service:
KPH: 426, 500, 8642, 12808.5, 17016.8 kc.KFS: 12695.5 kc.As always, KPH and KFS will maintain an effective watch on 500 kc, and guard all ITU HF Channel 3 frequencies, even the bands that were effected by the damage.The bad news is that K6KPH suffered the most damage.Until further notice K6KPH will be limited to: 3550 & 14050 kc.We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to our faithful customers, both maritime and amateur.
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Reception of NOJ Kodiak AK FAX on 26 Jan 19
Here's a screen shot from about 15 minutes ago, on the 12 MHz frequency via the SDR at KPH using the big TCI antenna in a low-noise location. Faxes received in this manner usually print just fine, so the problem is not caused by remote Internet reception.
Note the extremely noisy signal, the downward displacement of the white tone, the absence of a black tone, and the distortion covering something like 7 kHz. This is considerably mistuned from the listed frequency, but it gave the best chart, comparatively speaking. At least it's readable, sort of.
All frequencies at all times are similarly distorted, suggesting that the problem is before it gets to the actual transmitters.
Now that the government is back in business, and the Coast Guard is actually getting paid for the incredible job it does for all of us, hopefully this problem will finally be resolved.
Note the extremely noisy signal, the downward displacement of the white tone, the absence of a black tone, and the distortion covering something like 7 kHz. This is considerably mistuned from the listed frequency, but it gave the best chart, comparatively speaking. At least it's readable, sort of.
All frequencies at all times are similarly distorted, suggesting that the problem is before it gets to the actual transmitters.
Now that the government is back in business, and the Coast Guard is actually getting paid for the incredible job it does for all of us, hopefully this problem will finally be resolved.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Will they ever fix Kodiak FAX?
For several weeks now, all NOJ radiofax transmissions from USCG in Kodiak, AK have been off-frequency and severely distorted. It's possible to get something resembling a chart by tuning to wherever the white frequency is at the moment, but even then it's fuzzy at best.
Signal strength is not the problem, because the distortion happens on all frequencies and time slots, regardless of the reception quality. On a waterfall, the spectrum resembles several smeary tones and various distortion products. The charts coming from NOAA are not the problem either, since they look fine on the web site.
Nominal frequencies (center/USB dial in kHz) should be 2054.0/2052.1, 4298.0/4296.1, 8459/8457.1, and 12412.5/12410.6 kHz. 12412.5 is on right now, though that frequency won't give even bad copy. Tuning around gets it. Try putting the white tone on the strongest smeary mess, and see what happens.
Several listeners have sent e-mail to the address shown on NOJ's materials, and gotten no response. As with a lot of U.S. government functions right now, it's obviously on auto. Even when the whole Coast Guard isn't working for free, the reply that I've gotten most of the time when inquiring about the NOAA radiofax product is, "We don't do that any more."
Given the dangerous weather in the area of responsibility this time of year, one must hope that the problem is fixed sooner rather than later.
Signal strength is not the problem, because the distortion happens on all frequencies and time slots, regardless of the reception quality. On a waterfall, the spectrum resembles several smeary tones and various distortion products. The charts coming from NOAA are not the problem either, since they look fine on the web site.
Nominal frequencies (center/USB dial in kHz) should be 2054.0/2052.1, 4298.0/4296.1, 8459/8457.1, and 12412.5/12410.6 kHz. 12412.5 is on right now, though that frequency won't give even bad copy. Tuning around gets it. Try putting the white tone on the strongest smeary mess, and see what happens.
Several listeners have sent e-mail to the address shown on NOJ's materials, and gotten no response. As with a lot of U.S. government functions right now, it's obviously on auto. Even when the whole Coast Guard isn't working for free, the reply that I've gotten most of the time when inquiring about the NOAA radiofax product is, "We don't do that any more."
Given the dangerous weather in the area of responsibility this time of year, one must hope that the problem is fixed sooner rather than later.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Russian Military "Squeaky Wheel" (S32) Now Even Squeakier
The Russian "Squeaky Wheel" marker has been around for many years. It's a channel marker for a military network. It used to be designated XSW, but then Russian voice traffic appeared, and it was changed to S32.
Today, however, the sound has changed, at least for now. It's now three audio frequencies instead of two, so the "wheel" really needs oil. This spectrogram was made from the U. of Twente WebSDR tuned to 3828 kHz USB, with the passband opened to 3 kHz to get all of the tones. Note how the 2800-Hz tone appears to be somewhat distorted.
Now we can get headaches even faster.
Today, however, the sound has changed, at least for now. It's now three audio frequencies instead of two, so the "wheel" really needs oil. This spectrogram was made from the U. of Twente WebSDR tuned to 3828 kHz USB, with the passband opened to 3 kHz to get all of the tones. Note how the 2800-Hz tone appears to be somewhat distorted.
Now we can get headaches even faster.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
San Francisco HFDL is using System Table 51
I sent my column in this morning, so it was time for something
important to happen. It always does after I don't have time to put it
in.
This time, it's HFDL rolling out System Table number 51. It adds a new ground station, number 10. The coordinates, return to a site in southwestern Korea. The Google Earth image is a bit old, but it does show a definite antenna farm under construction. It appears from the lack of shadows that the towers were not yet in place when this image was captured.
As we know, different ground stations use
different tables. This doesn't seem to be a problem for the aircraft,
but it is for PC-HFDL users. Fortunately, the frequencies never change
much.
--------
Add 17 Jan 2313Z:
The new ground station 10 is listing out as MUAN - SOUTH KOREA. The appropriate correction has been made to this post.
Every ground station that I've been able to find with various SDRs, and every one that's mentioned on the Yahoo HFDL mailing list, is using table 51 (33 in hex). It would appear that the HFDL system is finally, at long last, standardizing on a single table. Thank the powers that be for this small favor. I will post a working pchfdl.dat to my web site soon as I'm sure that it's the standard.
--------
Here is System Table 51:
This time, it's HFDL rolling out System Table number 51. It adds a new ground station, number 10. The coordinates, return to a site in southwestern Korea. The Google Earth image is a bit old, but it does show a definite antenna farm under construction. It appears from the lack of shadows that the towers were not yet in place when this image was captured.
--------
Add 17 Jan 2313Z:
The new ground station 10 is listing out as MUAN - SOUTH KOREA. The appropriate correction has been made to this post.
Every ground station that I've been able to find with various SDRs, and every one that's mentioned on the Yahoo HFDL mailing list, is using table 51 (33 in hex). It would appear that the HFDL system is finally, at long last, standardizing on a single table. Thank the powers that be for this small favor. I will post a working pchfdl.dat to my web site soon as I'm sure that it's the standard.
--------
Here is System Table 51:
Version 51 Ground Station ID 1 SAN FRANCISCO - CALIFORNIA UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 121 45 33 W Latitude 38 23 4 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 8 Frequency 21934000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 17919000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 13276000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8 Frequency 11327000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 10081000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 8927000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 6559000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8 Frequency 5508000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Ground Station ID 2 MOLOKAI - HAWAII UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 157 11 11 W Latitude 21 11 3 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 12 Frequency 21937000 Hz Master Frame Slot 0 Frequency 17919000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 13324000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 13312000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 13276000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 11348000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 11312000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 10027000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 8936000 Hz Master Frame Slot 0 Frequency 8912000 Hz Master Frame Slot 0 Frequency 6565000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 5514000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Ground Station ID 3 REYKJAVIK - ICELAND UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 22 27 19 W Latitude 63 50 49 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 7 Frequency 17985000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 15025000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 11184000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 8977000 Hz Master Frame Slot 0 Frequency 6712000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 5720000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 3900000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Ground Station ID 4 RIVERHEAD - NEW YORK UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 72 38 14 W Latitude 40 52 54 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 7 Frequency 21931000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Frequency 17919000 Hz Master Frame Slot 9 Frequency 13276000 Hz Master Frame Slot 5 Frequency 11387000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Frequency 8912000 Hz Master Frame Slot 9 Frequency 6661000 Hz Master Frame Slot 5 Frequency 5652000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Ground Station ID 5 AUCKLAND - NEW ZEALAND UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 174 48 34 E Latitude 37 0 55 S Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 6 Frequency 17916000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 13351000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8 Frequency 10084000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 8921000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 6535000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8 Frequency 5583000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Ground Station ID 6 HAT YAI - THAILAND UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 100 23 18 E Latitude 6 56 15 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 7 Frequency 21949000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 17928000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 13270000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 10066000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 8825000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 6535000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 5655000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Ground Station ID 7 SHANNON - IRELAND UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 8 55 35 W Latitude 52 44 38 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 8 Frequency 11384000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 10081000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 8942000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 8843000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 6532000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 5547000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 3455000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 2998000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Ground Station ID 8 JOHANNESBURG - SOUTH AFRICA UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 28 12 21 E Latitude 26 7 45 S Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 8 Frequency 21949000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 17922000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 13321000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 11321000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 8834000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 5529000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 4681000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 3016000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Ground Station ID 9 BARROW - ALASKA UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 156 34 37 W Latitude 71 15 30 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 19 Frequency 21937000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 21928000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 17934000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 17919000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 11354000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 10093000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 10027000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 8936000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 8927000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 6646000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 5544000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 5538000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 5529000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 4687000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 4654000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 3497000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 3007000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 2992000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 2944000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Ground Station ID 10 MUAN - SOUTH KOREA UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 126 14 19 E Latitude 35 1 56 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 8 Frequency 21931000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 17958000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 13342000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 10060000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 8939000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 6619000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 5502000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 2941000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Ground Station ID 11 ALBROOK - PANAMA CITY UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 79 22 25 W Latitude 9 5 4 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 6 Frequency 17901000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 13264000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 10063000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Frequency 8894000 Hz Master Frame Slot 6 Frequency 6589000 Hz Master Frame Slot 2 Frequency 5589000 Hz Master Frame Slot 10 Ground Station ID 13 SANTA CRUZ - BOLIVIA UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 63 9 24 W Latitude 17 40 15 S Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 7 Frequency 21997000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 17916000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 13315000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 11318000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Frequency 8957000 Hz Master Frame Slot 11 Frequency 6628000 Hz Master Frame Slot 7 Frequency 4660000 Hz Master Frame Slot 3 Ground Station ID 14 KRASNOYARSK - RUSSIA UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 92 35 0 E Latitude 56 9 9 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 7 Frequency 21990000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 17912000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 13321000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8 Frequency 10087000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 8886000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 6596000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8 Frequency 5622000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Ground Station ID 15 AL MUHARRAQ - BAHRAIN UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 50 38 23 E Latitude 26 16 25 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 6 Frequency 21982000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Frequency 17967000 Hz Master Frame Slot 9 Frequency 13354000 Hz Master Frame Slot 5 Frequency 10075000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Frequency 8885000 Hz Master Frame Slot 9 Frequency 5544000 Hz Master Frame Slot 5 Ground Station ID 16 AGANA - GUAM UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 144 49 41 E Latitude 13 29 19 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 7 Frequency 21928000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Frequency 17919000 Hz Master Frame Slot 9 Frequency 13312000 Hz Master Frame Slot 5 Frequency 11306000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Frequency 8927000 Hz Master Frame Slot 5 Frequency 6652000 Hz Master Frame Slot 1 Frequency 5451000 Hz Master Frame Slot 9 Ground Station ID 17 CANARIAS - SPAIN UTC UNLOCKED Longitude 15 24 18 W Latitude 27 57 39 N Squitter Version 0 Number of frequencies 6 Frequency 21955000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 17928000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 13303000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8 Frequency 11348000 Hz Master Frame Slot 4 Frequency 8948000 Hz Master Frame Slot 12 Frequency 6529000 Hz Master Frame Slot 8
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Kerkyra (Greece) taking Sellia Marina (Italy) NAVTEX skeds UFN
This affects both 490 and 518 kHz. Kerkya is using the same letters and time slots. The only differences are the transmitter location and government operators.
This notice was transmitted in NAVTEX bulletin KA69:
This notice was transmitted in NAVTEX bulletin KA69:
ZCZC KA69 051500 UTC NOV 18 KERKYRA RADIO NAVWARN 216/18 ITALIAN NAVTEX STATION SELLIA MARINA (V) OFF AIR HELLENIC NAVTEX STATION KERKYRA (K) HAS ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY BROADCASTING MARITIME SAFETY INFORMATION (MSI) ON BEHALF OF SELLIA MARINA (V) NAVTEX STATION THIS TRANSMISSION START TIMES (UTC) NNNN
Monday, August 27, 2018
Freak magnetic storm causes wretched band conditions
Your radio isn't busted. A variety of events affecting the Earth's magnetic field have caused one of the longest geomagnetic storms in recent memory. The K index has reached 7 on a number of occasions in the last three days, and this is expected to continue on and off. K is back to 7 as of this writing.
Surface events such as ground currents in Norway have taken place. We also saw some extreme southward Bz, including a sustained period of -17 nT yesterday. Strong aurora has occurred in high geomagnetic latitudes. Geomagnetic storming has reached the G3 level at times.
A large coronal hole is the current cause of all this, but when it started it was due to some less common phenomena. For various reasons, the resulting band conditions have been some of the year's worst, with extended periods of weak or missing signals. We have not seen the sudden dropouts related to solar flares, since there haven't been any flares. It's been just days of truly dreadful propagation.
The flow from the coronal hole is expected to persist for several more days.
While it has no relation to the geomagnetic activity, the appearance of a large sunspot pair with an opposite magnetic field is also getting attention. If this group (AR 2720) was at a higher solar latitude, we would definitely have the first spots of Cycle 25. However, it is near the solar equator.
Even in quiet-sun conditions, our neighborhood star is good for surprises.
Surface events such as ground currents in Norway have taken place. We also saw some extreme southward Bz, including a sustained period of -17 nT yesterday. Strong aurora has occurred in high geomagnetic latitudes. Geomagnetic storming has reached the G3 level at times.
A large coronal hole is the current cause of all this, but when it started it was due to some less common phenomena. For various reasons, the resulting band conditions have been some of the year's worst, with extended periods of weak or missing signals. We have not seen the sudden dropouts related to solar flares, since there haven't been any flares. It's been just days of truly dreadful propagation.
The flow from the coronal hole is expected to persist for several more days.
While it has no relation to the geomagnetic activity, the appearance of a large sunspot pair with an opposite magnetic field is also getting attention. If this group (AR 2720) was at a higher solar latitude, we would definitely have the first spots of Cycle 25. However, it is near the solar equator.
Even in quiet-sun conditions, our neighborhood star is good for surprises.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Concern Rising within Amateur Radio Community over WWV Shutdown Proposal
From ARRL Letter:
ARRL members and Amateur Radio clubs are expressing increased concern over the inclusion of WWV and WWVH on a list of proposed cuts in the White House's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Fiscal Year 2019 budget request. The proposed cuts, which only recently came to light, would also include the Atomic Clock signal from WWVB. Online petitions soliciting signatures include one established by Tom Kelly II, W7NSS, of Portland, Oregon, who would like to see funding for the stations maintained. The decision is up to Congress.
"It is important to note that no changes to NIST services have occurred, and if the proposal were to be implemented, public notice would be provided," NIST said this week.
ARRL is suggesting that members of the Amateur Radio community who value the stations for their precise time and frequency signals and other information sign the petition and/or contact their members of Congress promptly, explaining how the stations are important to them, beyond government and military use. WWV is among the oldest radio stations in the US and has broadcast the official time for nearly a century.
According to the NIST Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget request, the specific cut would come from the NIST Fundamental Measurement, Quantum Science, and Measurement Dissemination budget and would amount to $6.3 million.
"NIST has a long-standing history of providing time and frequency services through our radio stations and we appreciate that many people use these services," NIST said in a statement. "WWV is the longest continuously operating radio service in the US. At the same time, the proposed NIST budget for FY 2019 required difficult choices about budget priorities."
NIST said that it plans to eliminate "efforts that have been replaced by newer technologies, measurement science research that lies outside NIST's core mission space, and programs that can no longer be supported due to facility deterioration."
WWV and WWVH broadcast 24/7. Announcements include time announcements, standard time intervals, standard frequencies, UT1 time corrections, a BCD time code, geophysical alerts, and marine storm warnings. Transmissions are broadcast from separate transmitters on 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz. An experimental 25 MHz signal is also currently on the air. WWVB transmits standard Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) signals on 60 kHz to appropriately equipped devices. Read more.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Proposed NIST budget eliminates WWV/WWVH
Shit.
That's all I can say. This may be the first time anything to do with radio has made me ruin my vocabulary in public.
As our headline indicates, the proposed FY 2019 budget for the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology includes the elimination of WWV and WWVH:
This comes from The SWLing Post, via the ARRL Letter.
That's all I can say. This may be the first time anything to do with radio has made me ruin my vocabulary in public.
As our headline indicates, the proposed FY 2019 budget for the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology includes the elimination of WWV and WWVH:
-$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and HawaiiIt's time to flood NIST with letters. This would be a fundamental loss to anyone using a radio in North America. WWVB is great for clocks, but it's outside the coverage of most HF radios, and also its signal does not cover the entire hemisphere.
This comes from The SWLing Post, via the ARRL Letter.
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
My first decent fix with KiwiSDR TDoA mode
I finally got a good fix on a station with the KiwiSDR TDoA extension. It's tricky, but for a system available to the public, it works amazingly well. The instructions that are given from the "Help" button are accurate. That's how you do it. The secret is indeed to use the minimum possible passband in IQ mode, and to pick relatively close receivers.
Here's a plot of the French 2-megawatt LW time station, made with three receivers. This band is groundwave propagation, with fewer variables than you get with skywave. The signal is very steady, and comes from a known location, which we see marked by the "TDF" label. The fix given by the Kiwi system nails the longitude right on, and only misses the latitude by about 30 arc-minutes to the north. That's pretty good. It's possible that more receivers would have refined the plot further.
Anyway, it works.
Here's a plot of the French 2-megawatt LW time station, made with three receivers. This band is groundwave propagation, with fewer variables than you get with skywave. The signal is very steady, and comes from a known location, which we see marked by the "TDF" label. The fix given by the Kiwi system nails the longitude right on, and only misses the latitude by about 30 arc-minutes to the north. That's pretty good. It's possible that more receivers would have refined the plot further.
Anyway, it works.
Friday, July 13, 2018
KiwiSDR introduces record and TDoA functions
You've probably been playing around with the huge KiwiSDR network which can be reached from http://sdr.hu/ . Just this week, too late to put into the column, it has rolled out a new beta with a recorder and a Time Difference of Arrivial (TDoA) direction finder.
Both seem pretty slick. The recorder is self-explanatory. You click a big red button over on the top right of the control panel, and it starts recording. Click again, and it stops, at which point it downloads to your computer. This will save me having to remember to start a recording application on this computer every time sometime gets interesting. Also, it's possible the recording will be minus whatever net dropouts and errors you get in transit to your machine. I'm not sure yet, but it sounds logical.
The TDoA has a learning curve. When I get it to work, I'll write more about it. Basically, it uses the KiwiSDR network as one huge direction finding system, synchronized to GPS time and positions. The user tunes in a station to locate, changes the mode to "IQ" (In phase/Quadrature) and selects other SDRs positioned to receive the signal and give a good solid computation. That's the tricky part. Ground wave signals work best, favoring the VLF/LF stations. Also sometimes enough receivers can be found near the target. One can make sure the other SDRs receive the signal too by double-clicking them, which opens them in a new tab.
When it's all set up, click "select" and watch it churn. It can go for several minutes. I have yet to have it return a "heat map" with the most likely positions, but others have. For example, someone got a pretty good fix on the 4625 kHz Russian "buzzer" ("UVB-76," S38). The hot spot shown is outside St. Petersburg. In other words, right where I told you it was.
More on the TDoA here.
This could have a major effect on the hobby. More information as it comes.
Both seem pretty slick. The recorder is self-explanatory. You click a big red button over on the top right of the control panel, and it starts recording. Click again, and it stops, at which point it downloads to your computer. This will save me having to remember to start a recording application on this computer every time sometime gets interesting. Also, it's possible the recording will be minus whatever net dropouts and errors you get in transit to your machine. I'm not sure yet, but it sounds logical.
The TDoA has a learning curve. When I get it to work, I'll write more about it. Basically, it uses the KiwiSDR network as one huge direction finding system, synchronized to GPS time and positions. The user tunes in a station to locate, changes the mode to "IQ" (In phase/Quadrature) and selects other SDRs positioned to receive the signal and give a good solid computation. That's the tricky part. Ground wave signals work best, favoring the VLF/LF stations. Also sometimes enough receivers can be found near the target. One can make sure the other SDRs receive the signal too by double-clicking them, which opens them in a new tab.
When it's all set up, click "select" and watch it churn. It can go for several minutes. I have yet to have it return a "heat map" with the most likely positions, but others have. For example, someone got a pretty good fix on the 4625 kHz Russian "buzzer" ("UVB-76," S38). The hot spot shown is outside St. Petersburg. In other words, right where I told you it was.
More on the TDoA here.
This could have a major effect on the hobby. More information as it comes.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
More Night of Nights XIX
RD passes along the following:
The correct station phone number is: +1 415-669-9646 . The number is answered only when the station is on the air.
We mentioned that on-air operations will start at 5:01pm Pacific time (0001Z 13 July) but didn't say how long operations will continue. We usually continue live operations until about 9:30pm Pacific time (0430Z). At that point K6KPH operations cease and KPH and KFS operations are turned over to the transmit site. They continue to broadcast press, weather and special messages until 0000 Pacific time (0700Z). We then hand key the benediction (written by Denice Stoops) from the transmit site and call it a night.
Information for Night of Nights XIX
Is it really 19 years?
Be that as it may, here is full information on the annual triumph of the human spirit also known as MRHS Night of Nights. Notice the absence of the US Coast Guard, not to mention WLO, which has left the air. Be that as it may, the fun continues.
MRHS:
Be that as it may, here is full information on the annual triumph of the human spirit also known as MRHS Night of Nights. Notice the absence of the US Coast Guard, not to mention WLO, which has left the air. Be that as it may, the fun continues.
MRHS:
NIGHT OF NIGHTS XIX INFORMATION
Yes,
of course there will be a Night of Nights this year. And of course, as
usual, you are invited to join us on the air or in person for this
dramatic and moving event.
What
- On 12 July 1999 a ceremony was held at the receive site for coast
station KFS at which the last commercial Morse message in the US was
sent. Or so it was thought. But that was also the date on which the
Maritime Radio Historical Society (MRHS) was founded, with the mission
to assure that commercial Morse would not perish from the Earth.
Why
- Morse code is clearly obsolete, nobody uses it, it's just beeps in
the air. So who cares if it perishes? The people at that ceremony at
KFS cared. They cared deeply. Hard bitten grizzled old buzzards who
had spent their life at sea as radio officers were weeping. They were
seeing their profession, their passion and, in a way, their life passing
away before their eyes. So it became the mission of the MRHS to make
sure that the skills, the culture and the traditions of these men and
women would be remembered and preserved through the restoration and
operation of one of the greatest of all coast stations: KPH.
|
| Richard Dillman, later to become MRHS Chief Operator, sends one of the last messages on 12 July 1999 |
Where
- Join us at the RCA receiving station, 17400 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in the Point Reyes National Seashore at the foot of the Cypress tree tunnel.
|
| Cypress tree tunnel |
When
- 12 July 2018. Each year on the anniversary of that supposed last
message, plus one minute, KPH comes roaring back to the air with all the
full throated majesty that mariners around the world heard for
decades. Station KFS will also be on the air as well as amateur station
K6KPH which will be standing by for your comments and signal reports.
Doors open at 3:00pm PDT. The opening message will be broadcast at
5:01pm PDT (0001gmt).
Join
us for a complete tour of the station. Enjoy complimentary radio
sandwiches and all the trimmings. Photograph everything. Whisper the
magic words "True Believer" and be granted access to the fabled Treasure Room where the gems of maritime radio history are kept.
For
those of you around the world who will be listening for KPH and KFS or
calling K6KPH, here are our frequencies along with the transmitters and
antennas that will be used. The RCA transmitters are 1950s vintage.
The Press Wireless PW15 is from 1942. The Henry transmitters are 1990s
vintage.
Key: EDZ = Extended Double Zepp. H/2 = H over 2
KPH (5kW):
426 Henry MF5000D Marconi T
500 Henry MF5000D Marconi T
4247.0 RCA 252K EDZ
6477.5 RCA 251K EDZ
8642.0 RCA 303L EDZ
12808.5 RCA 304L H/2
17016.8 RCA 305L H/2
22477.5 RCA 298H H/2
KFS (5kW):
12695.5 PW-15 H/2
17026.0 Henry HF5000D H/2
KPH and KFS operators will listen for
calls from ships on 500kc MF and ITU Ch 3 HF. Listen on these
frequencies if you want to hear the ship side of the QSO.
4184.0
6276.0
8368.0
12552.0
16736.0
22280.5
6276.0
8368.0
12552.0
16736.0
22280.5
K6KPH (1.5kW):
3550.0 Henry HF5000D End-fed wire
7050.0 Henry HF5000D EDZ
14050.0 Henry HF5000D H/2
21050.0 Henry HF5000D H/2
Reception reports and QSLs may be sent to:
Maritime Radio Historical Society
PO Box 392
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Monday, July 02, 2018
Lights out at WLO
WLO, Mobile Radio in Alabama, has discontinued most of its services as of 1 July 2018. It was the last of the great old coastal traffic stations in the US.
The following was posted to their facebook account:
Sad announcement: It's the end of an era.....after 71 years, WLO will go off the air at 11:59CDT (0459UTC) on 01July2018. A few automated systems/services will continue but there will no longer be 24/7 operators on duty at the Mobile, AL stations. Thank you everyone that liked and commented on this page. I will keep the page up for a while longer.
Leigh (KC4MZT)- Radio/telephone operator, admin
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