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.

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.

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:

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

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:

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

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.

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.

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:

-$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii

It'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.

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.

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.

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:

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

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

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

HAARP Facility to Resume Ionospheric Research this Week

Heads up, radio nerds!  It's spring, and that's HAARP time.  HAARP's new incarnation is less tinfoil-y than the former military project, and there's often more to hear than just the usual funny noises.

ARRL:

04/02/2018
Alaska’s super-power High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) transmitters in Gakona, Alaska, will fire up again for the spring research campaign April 6 – 14. University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Space Physics Group researcher and HAARP Chief Scientist Chris Fallen, KL3WX, told ARRL that more than 40 hours of “externally funded” experiments are in the queue.

“Scientists from US universities and government labs will explore the physics of scintillations, magnetic field-aligned plasma irregularities, artificial and natural atmospheric airglow, stimulated electromagnetic emissions, plasma waves, and radio-enhanced ionization,” Fallen said. “The HAARP transmitter is still at 80% net power, but by summer we expect to have the final ‘column’ of transmitters restored, bringing the array back to 100%.”

For his part, Fallen said he still has some time remaining on his National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to study artificial airglow, but added that this is “a tough time of year in a tough year of the solar cycle” for such experiments. “It will not be dark enough in Gakona to observe artificial airglow emissions until 10 PM at the beginning of the campaign and 10:30 PM at the end of the campaign, due to the rapidly lengthening days in the Land of Midnight Sun.”

Fallen said that due to weakening solar activity, the critical frequency of the ionosphere’s F2 layer (foF2) is relatively low during the day, peaking at a little more than 4 MHz above Gakona in the late afternoon, and falling rapidly in the evening. “This limits the time available for experiments, since airglow is usually only created when the HAARP transmission frequency is near or below foF2,” Fallen explained. “The lower limit of the HAARP transmitter is approximately 2.7 MHz, and so we can only expect perhaps 30 minutes or less of usable airglow experiment time each day.”

Fallen said he is considering his options and plans to continue “bundling” amplitude modulations in the airglow experiments of interest to hams. His previous airglow experiments were accompanied by tones and music to illustrate the Luxembourg effect and slow-scan television (SSTV) images in Scottie 1 format.

“In future experiments, I want to try sending text and images using one of the MFSK modes,” Fallen told ARRL. “Several hams have requested I try the smoking hot FT8 mode with HAARP. Since that is a mode primarily designed for two-way contacts and makes use of time synchronization to help achieve amazing efficiency, it is not yet clear to me how to best do this with HAARP which currently has no receive capability.”

Fallen said he has to be at UAF for much of the April campaign but will be at HAARP toward the end. He plans to tweet selected transmitter frequencies and other information throughout the campaign from his personal Twitter page. HAARP’s official Twitter page will share photos and other information of general interest, “such as what the HAARP dog is up to,” Fallen said.

Operation of the HAARP research facility was transferred from the US Air Force to UAF in 2015.

More on SWRadiogram schedule changes

The Friday show didn't air at its new time.  It was also gone from its old air time on Sunday. (All dates U.S..)

Presumably WRMI's automation is slow in making the summer changes. We'll try again this week.

Summer schedule changes for SWRadiogram

From Kim Andrew Elliott:

Hello friends,

A schedule change for Shortwave Radiogram is scheduled to begin today. The Sunday 2030-2100 UTC transmission changes to Friday 2030-2100 UTC on 7780 kHz and 9455 kHz. See the new schedule below. (Sometimes it takes a few days for the automation system to catch up with the advertised schedule, so we will see what actually happens this weekend.)

Last week's MFSK64 performed very well, even in reception conditions where this fast (240 wpm) would be expected to show errors. You can see (and decode from) examples in videos produced by BlackApple 62 in Italy (Saturday 1600 UTC) and by Scott in Ontario (Sunday 2330 UTC).

This weekend, we'll skip the simultaneous text and image transmission, but we will transmit one item (with image) in MFSK64. It is a story about Dyngus Day, an obscure holiday on the Monday after Easter celebrated in my native northern Indiana.

The rest of the program will be in MFSK32, except for a brief surprise mode (with RSID) after the closing announcements. Sorry, I don't think the surprise mode works with TIVAR or AndFlmsg, but it is brief, and another RSID will bring you back to MFSK32.

Here is the lineup for Shortwave Radiogram, program 41, 30 March to 2 April 2018, in MFSK32 except where noted:

 1:35  Program preview
 2:46  MFSK64: Happy Dyngus Day! What is Dyngus Day?*
 8:24  MFSK32: Australia plans lasers to destroy space junk*
14:52  The great Pacific garbage patch*
19:49  SSTV from the International Space Station*
24:44  Image* and closing announcements
27:37  Surprise mode

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

Twitter: @SWRadiogram

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/567099476753304

Shortwave Radiogram Program 41 (30 March-2 April 2018)
Friday	2030-2100 UTC	7780 kHz 9455 kHz	MFSK32, MFSK64, and surprise mode	WRMI Florida
Saturday	1600-1630 UTC	9400 kHz		Space Line, Bulgaria
Sunday	2330-2400 UTC	7780 kHz		WRMI Florida
Monday	0800-0830 UTC	7730 kHz 5850 kHz		WRMI Florida

The Mighty KBC transmits to Europe Saturdays at 1500-1600 UTC on 9400 kHz (via Bulgaria), with the minute of MFSK at about 1530 UTC (if you are outside of Europe, listen via websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ ).  And to North America Sundays at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 8-10 pm EST) on 5960 kHz, via Germany. The minute of MFSK is at about 0130 UTC.  Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com . See also http://www.kbcradio.eu/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheMightyKbc/. 

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC)  For the complete IBC transmission schedule visit  http://ibcradio.webs.com/  Five minutes of MFSK32 is at the end of the 30-minute English-language “Shortwave Panorama,” per the schedule below:

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) Broadcasts in English with MFSK32 during the last five minutes of each
Tuesday	0100-0230 UTC	5950, 7730 kHz	Americas
Wednesday	2000-2030 UTC	5845, 6070 kHz	Europe/Middle East/Asia
Friday	0100-0130 UTC	9955 kHz	Americas
Friday	0230-0300 UTC	5985 kHz	Americas
Saturday	0030-0100 UTC	9395 kHz	Americas
Saturday	0130-0200 UTC	5850, 5950, 7780, 9455 kHz	Americas
Sunday	0030-0100 UTC	7730 kHz	Americas

Thanks for your reception reports!  

Kim

 

Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB

Producer and Presenter

Shortwave Radiogram

Reporting on international broadcasting at https://twitter.com/kaedotcom

European NDB Log

Heard late 2017 on various remote SDRs

Identified from REU

khz      ID     Location

277.0    CHT    Chiltern, UK

284.0    GNA    Gorna, Bulgaria

289.0    HR     Hericourt, France

290.0    ONL    Liege, Belgium

293.0    OB     Brussels National Airport, Belgium

307.0    DIK    Diekirch, Luxembourg

309.0    DO     Dole/Tavaux, France

300.0    SC     Linkoping, Sweden

303.0    RTT    Rattenberg, Austria

307.0    DIK    Diekirch, Luxembourg

310.0    KT     possibly Novosibirsk

311.0    LMA    Lima/Bruggen, Germany

314.0    OZ     Brussels National Airport, Belgium

316.0    EPM    Epson (Heathrow), UK

317.0    VS     Valenciennes, France

317.0    OZ     Kardla, Estonia

318.0    HIG    Bremen, Germany

319.0    VAR    Varhaug/Stavanger, Norway

320.0    VE     Valence, France

321.0    ABY    Albert, France, dit in between IDs

322.0    LCY    London City Airport, UK

323.0    ONC    Charleroi, Belgium

324.0    ON     Norrkoping, Sweden

325.0    RCA    Reggio di Calabria, Italy

326.0    LLS    Lelystad, Holland

326.0    POR    Porto, Portugal

327.0    LNZ    Linz, Austria

328.0    BLK    Blackbushe, UK

329.0    JW     Jersey

330.0    LNA    Lena, Sweden

330.0    SO     Groningen, Holland

330.0    SRN    Saronno, Italy

330.0    ZRA    Zadar, Croatia

331.0    TUR    Tours, France, dit between IDs

332.0    LL     Lille, France, dit between IDs

332.0    SHM    Shoreham, UK

332.5    CAM    Cambridge, UK

333.0    LE     Hasslo, Sweden

333.5    VOG    Voghera, Italy

334.0    MR     Maribor, Slovenia

335.0    WCO    Westcott, UK

337.0    EX     Exeter, UK

337.0    MY     Myggenaes, FRO

338.0    OA     Jankoping, Sweden

338.0    FNY    Finningley, UK

338.0    MNW    Munchen, Germany

338.0    NC     Nice, France

340.0    LSH    Lashenden, UK

341.0    IS     Ajaccio, Corsica

343.0    MR     Masirah, Oman

345.0    TZO    Trezzo sull'Adda, Italy

345.5    CF     Centograf, Czech Republic

348.0    CL     Canors/Lalbenque, France

349.5    SZA    Solanzara, Corsica

354.0    NG     Nimes/Garons, France

358.0    RNN    Roanne, France

358.0    TUN    Tulln, Austria

361.0    MAK    Mackel, Belgium

362.0    RU     Sevastopol, Ukraine; 2x ID and gap

363.0    OEM    Everod, Sweden

364.0    MAL    Malpensa, Italy

366.0    ADC    Le Castellet, France

369.0    RT     possibly Ramenskoye

370.0    BSV    Bensacron/La Veze, France

370.0    NK     Unknown, 400 Hz, 2x ID

370.0    GAC    Gacko, Bosnia and Herzegovina

371.0    MYN    Munster, Germany

373.0    LCT    Le Cannet, France

374.5    ANC    Ancona, Italy

375.0    GLA    Gland/Geneva, Switzerland

376.0    HAN    Hahn, Germany

376.0    BS     Bale/Mulhouse, France

378.0    LU     Le Luc, France

381.0    BW     possibly Sheremetevo, Russia

382.0    LAR    Arruda, Portugal

383.0    MAR    Marseille, France

383.0    ALD    Alderney, GSY

383.0    ERK    Erken, Sweden

384.0    AT     Annecy/Meythet, France

384.0    ADX    Andraitx, BAL

385.0    AVN    Vilnius, Lithuania

386.0    LNE    Milano/Linate, Italy

386.0    BZ     Brize Norton, UK

387.0    BGP    Brest Guipavas, France

388.0    COR    Corner for Bromma, Sweden

388.0    KRU    Kruunupyy, Finland

388.5    CDF    Cardiff, Wales

390.0    DR     Dinard, France

390.0    PAJ    Pajela, Sweden

392.0    RAN    Ranta, Finland

392.5    TOP    Torino/Poirino, Italy

393.0    TAT    Tautra, Norway

395.0    FOY    Foynes, Shannon AP, Ireland

396.0    FS     Al Massira, Morocco

397.0    LM     Borlange, Sweden

398.0    ESS    Esse, Finland

398.0    MT     Montoir, France

400.0    AG     Agen, France

401.0    LA     Laval, France

401.0    RBU    Rambu, Norway

404.0    AGO    Angouleme, France

404.0    KG     Kjerringnes, Norway

404.0    Y      Ketolanpera, Finland

406.0    UM     possibly Ivanovskoy, Russia

406.0    BHX    Birmingham, UK

406.5    BOT    Bottrop, Germany (1500 Hz)

409.0    BRK    Bruck, Austria

410.0    C      La Coruna, Spain

414.0    BRI    Bristol, UK

414.0    HD     Hestad, Norway

414.0    SJA    Senja, Norway

415.0    TOE    Toulouse, France

416.0    POZ    Pozarevac, Serbia

417.0    CVT    Madrid/Cuatro Vientos, Spain

417.0    SNO    Santiago, Spain

419.0    RD     Vasteras, Sweden

421.0    BL     Borlange, Sweden

421.0    BUR    Burnham, UK

421.0    GE     Madrid/Grinon, Spain

422.0    PAM    Pamplona, Spain

423.0    FE     Odense, Denmark

424.0    RUS    Reus, Spain

424.0    LOE    Limoges, France

424.0    PIS    Zagreb/Pisarovina, HRV

425.0    PI     Pii, Ukraine, 2x ID

426.0    CB     Coimbra, Portugal

426.0    CTS    Castets, France

426.0    SH     Shobdon, England

427.0    LUE    Lunde, Sweden

427.0    RY     Royan, France

428.0    CTX    Chateauroux, France

428.0    MUS    Nice, France

428.0    TGM    Targu Mures, Romania

429.0    LOS    Losinj, Croatia

430.0    AJ     Staritza, Russia, 2x ID

430.0    LU     Batumi, Georgia

430.0    MB     Chamukha, Russia, 2x ID

430.0    SN     St. Yan, France

432.0    AKU    Akujarvi, Finland

432.0    PK     Prevek, Czech Republic

432.0    PRD    Peyrehorade, France

433.0    VNS    Castor UGS, platform off Spain

433.0    CRE    Cres, Croatia

433.5    HEN    Henton, UK

434.0    KNE    Kunovice, Czech Republic

434.0    MV     Melun/Villaroche, France

436.0    SME    Sarmellek, Hungary

437.0    NP     Porter, Poland

438.0    B      Bratislava, Slovakia

438.0    KO     Kozala, Croatia

438.0    PE     Poprad, Slovakia

438.0    XA     Kirov, Russia

444.0    NRD    Lnowroclaw

445.0    TU     Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina, tone+ID

448.0    HLV    Holesov, Czech Republic

448.0    LQ     Landsberg, Germany, Tone+ID

450.0    PDV    Plovdiv, Bulgaria

452.0    ANS    Ansbach, Germany

460.0    ABD    unknown

463.0    CL     Cerkljje, Slovenia

468.0    FTZ    Myneralnye Vody, Russia, tone+ID

470.0    BK     unknown, possibly Boufarik, Algeria

474.0    BIA    Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, Poland

484.0    HOF    Hof, Germany

485.0    IA     Indija, Serbia

485.0    CW     Krasnaya Gorbatka, Russia, 2x ID

486.0    KL     Krasniy Sulin, Russia

488.0    ILM    Illesheim, Germany

488.0    NPR    Tomaszow-Mazowiecki, Poland

489.0    NK     Poznan, Poland

489.0    SIL    Siegerland, Germany

490.0    WAK    Vakarel, Bulgaria, long dah after K

492.0    TBV    Trebova, Czech Republic

493.0    AW     possibly Maryino, Russia

508.0    Z      Zilina, Slovakia

509.0    CR     Chernivtsi, Ukraine

510.0    BL     Blida, Algeria

514.0    GO     Amari AB, Estonia

514.5    LA     Namest Nae Oslavou, Czech Rep.

515.0    NV     Rostov Na Donu, Russia

517.0    ARD    Arad, Romania

520.0    NW     Leczyca, Poland

520.0    B      Bacau, Romania

520.0    DF     Mukhrani, Georgia

520.0    NW     Leczyca, Poland

521.0    BSW    Bucuresti, Romania

565.0    KS     possibly Opaliha, Russia, 2x ID

690.0    DM     Dmytrivka, Ukraine

700.0    MR     Moscow, Russia

745.0    BG     Karmanovo, Russia, 2x ID

750.0    NR     possibly Novolokti, Russia, 2x ID

816.0    EB     possibly Matveyevskiy, Russia

960.0    CY     Chervonyi, Ukraine, 2x ID

1005.0   LO     Klimovsk, Russia, 2x ID

1020.0   DK     Glotayevo, Russia, 2x ID

1290.0   TU     Bely, Russia, 3x ID