[IRCA] A mostly failed DX trip to Grayland WA
Over the holidays I spent two days around Hoquiam WA. On the morning of December 28 I tried to hear some TP MW stations. I setup in the Westhaven state park (on the WA state coast) along the sidewalk in the main parking lot. While the Dxing wasn't successful, I did learn a number of things about preparation and weather. For starters, setting up an antenna in pitch black on a coast with major wind gusts is challenging (I started around 6:20 am). Unfortunately the new 500 foot wire that I'd just bought at Home Depot was tangled - so I spent time trying to untangle it in the dark while a friend held a flashlight. Ultimately I resorted to cutting it in pieces with the wire cutters and my antenna ended up being around 200 feet (on the ground) with a short coax feed to get away from the laptop (a Macbook pro that puts out a ton of RFI - especially when you use the touchpad). I used a QS1R powered with a battery pack and a laptop. There was a lot of wind (maybe 50 mph gusts?), it was relatively cold (45F - could have been worse), and there was the occasional short rain shower. I focussed on recording the MW spectrum.Unfortunately either the laptop shut down to save energy, or the QS1R battery pack was getting weak - and I lost most of my recording time. So I was left with several minutes of recordings from 16:10 - 16:50 (sunrise was at 16:02). I think there might have been problems with some of my connectors, as I got better shortwave reception using my portable (Degen 1103) connected to the other end of the antenna. The portable got good reception of the Australian stations in the 120 meter band (and other stations in the 60 meter band) whereas they were much weaker in the QS1R recording. The QS1R recording feature is not the greatest. For instance, you cannot jump to a time - instead you have to replay the entire clip. Results While driving earlier in the car I got good reception of 540 CBC Saskatchewan. Otherwise nothing too spectacular. I only noticed the faintest traces of any TP stations (558, 1134, etc) . The night before I heard a very faint het on 738 using my Tecsun PL 880 (with internal antenna) at Hoquiam. Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] A mostly failed DX trip to Grayland WA
After reviewing more of my logs, I heard decent Japanese (presumed) audio on 594 khz at 16:08 (Dec. 28, 2014). Probably NHK Japan. So that was very exciting as it's my first TP dx log! Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] 1st NEW STN on 1400 Khz since 1982!!! WDNY, Dansville, NEW YORK
I think a fundamental stat for SDR is the ADC converter. Perseus is 14 bit. QS1R and the new ELAD are 16 bit which provides more dynamic range. My very basic research into ADC chips looks like they are improving, but not that fast. Otherwise we'd be seeing radios based on 18 bit chips with 140 msps sampling by now. You can also have different noise figures on the ADC chips. So you want one with the best signal/noise ratio. There may be a tradeoff between the number of bits and bandwidth. Or at least between bits, bandwidth and cost. So it gets pricy if you want to cover 0-50 mhz (you need a sampling rate of twice the range) at 16 bits. So the Funcube sacrifices bandwidth in exchange for dyanmic range. By contrast the very cheap dongles with wide bandwidth are only 8 bit and suffer from very poor dynamic range. I'm running a QS1R in Philadelphia, and I don't see any indication of overload - including from the local powerhouse: a -5 dbm MW station. I do think the station is overloading my Wellbrook 1530 s+ though (and I get a large number of intermodulation products during the day, but fortunately none at night). I think good sdrs crush non-SDRs (so long as you have equal noise conditions) - notably in unparalled selectivity (nearly brickwall filters that can be sized to the nearest 1 hz) and resolution. So I haven't used my Drake R8 in years. There is a learning curve, but it's a ton of fun! I'd recommend that everyone buy a SDR for your main desktop rig if you're spending more than say $200. For non-MW dx, it is possible that some top end non-SDRs have better sensitivity - but for MW - selectivity is so critical that SDRs are probably always the best choice. The QS1R does have a couple quirks. The recording system is unfriendly and I wish the two noise blankers worked better (by contrast the notch is very strong). But in general it's an amazing radio. Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] steel wire fence in Venice, CA (near Los Angeles)
I didn't have my radio with me at the time, but there is a steel wire fence on a bike path in Venice CA which is around 1000 feet. Could this work as a pre-made beverage? Can you tap a beverage with a simple coil around it, or what is the best approach? https://www.google.com/maps/place/Venice,+Los+Angeles,+CA/@33.9651082,-118.4505142,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80c2bac03052685d:0x8f1101b40d5c8d3c Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] steel wire fence in Venice, CA (near Los Angeles)
Nick, I should clarify that it is a steel cable fence. So there were three cables running parallel to the ground, that do not touch each other and appeared unbroken. Each steel cable consisted of several twisted smaller wires (but still heavy gauge). The cables ran through slots in fence posts - maybe 10 feet apart. The supports looked non-conductive, but that would need to be tested. At the time I had a portable Degen 1103 - which I haven't used with an external antenna on MW (and I'm not sure how to overide the internal MW antenna - you might have to induce the signal into it with a coil). I also have a QS1R which I would just connect any antenna directly to the antenna connector. But my main question is: "How effective is it to use a pickup coil on a beverage antenna?" I'm guessing there'd be a loss of sensitivity (though maybe not a huge issue if the antenna is long enough - as the signal/noise ratio would still be very good). Would there be any loss of directionality? I didn't even consider that saltwater conductivity would hurt the beverage directionality!How far should the beverage antenna be from saltwater? Thanks, Aaron -- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 15 May 2015 05:59:41 + From: Nick Hall-Patch To: Mailing list for the International Radio Club of America Subject: Re: [IRCA] steel wire fence in Venice, CA (near Los Angeles) Message-ID: <20150515055942.cffb25...@texas.kotalampi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Some unknowns here, Aaron...is it a single wire on supports? A "wire fence" is a grid of wires in many people's minds, and that's mostly a random chunk of metal as far as being a radio antenna. If it is a single wire on supports, are the supports non-conductive? Because the bike path is parallel to the salt water, your Beverage effect may be quite compromised by the water's electrical conductivity.I suspect you might just get extra signal strength without much directional effect.As for hooking up to it, that would depend on what sort of radio you're using. How would you hook up a random wire to that radio? That might be a good starting point. Good luck with this, Nick At 22:51 11-05-15, you wrote: I didn't have my radio with me at the time, but there is a steel wire fence on a bike path in Venice CA which is around 1000 feet. Could this work as a pre-made beverage? Can you tap a beverage with a simple coil around it, or what is the best approach? https://www.google.com/maps/place/Venice,+Los+Angeles,+CA/@33.9651082,-118.4505142,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80c2bac03052685d:0x8f1101b40d5c8d3c Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] [NRC-AM] THREE NAIVE QUESTIONS
I'm not an expert, but I think that the number of bits on the ADC of a Software Defined Radio is pretty important (for dynamic range) - and maybe also the ADC noise figure. QS1R uses the LTC 2208 with 16 bits (and I cannot comment on the noise figure). By contrast, the Perseus is 14 bit (and old technology). There appears to be a tradeoff between bits and bandwidth. So the wideband radios have fewer bits (ex. the cheapest dongles are 8 bits). You might be ok with a fewer bits if you have a preselector, or don't have strong locals. QS1R is a great radio (and one of the cheapest 16 bits with coverage up to 60 mhz). The GUI might be the best of the lot.Support is very limited and development, at least of the software, has stopped. The spectrum recorder is weak (Ex. you cannot jump to any point in your recording - you can only start at the beginning). I've been using it for almost 3 years. The ELAD FDM-S2 is 16 bit and with the Euro so cheap, it is a great price ($550 USD - as you don't pay VAT). I think the noise figure for its ADC chip is 2 db worse than the QS1R chip (Does this mean the noise floor in 2 db higher?). On the pro side, it has FM coverage and probably a larger market than QS1R. Haven't used it. My limited research into ADCs is that they aren't improving that quickly and Linear Technology doesn't sell a 18 bit high speed ADC. So if you buy a SDR, it probably won't quickly go obsolete. The FPGA is a key component as well, though I'm not sure if it is a limiting one. I'm guessing that SDRs, based on good chips, will all have superb selectivity (blows away any non-SDR - like my Drake R8) and synchronous detection depends on good software (QS1R again crushes the Drake R8). As I've got limited space, I never use my Drake R8. Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] Phasing Null Depth and Antenna Distance
Is there any research/data on how null depth from phasing two antennas varies based on the distance (in wavelengths) between the two antennas? I'm asking because I've got a limited city lot and am also trying to avoid local noise sources. And I'm also curious as to what the answer is. I've heard 1/10th wavelength as a recommended minimum. Thanks! Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] [ABDX] Mauritania not on SW
I've only seen a het, but based on the fact that it stays on past sunset in most other countries (and after almost all the other TA hets disappear) - I'd guess it is Mauritania. Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] WKDN 950 Philadelphia harmonics
Should I be able to hear harmonics of local Philadelphia WKDN 950 during the day? I live 3.5 miles from the station. I'm in the path of their directional beam. They use 43 kw. I wrote the station engineer and he said they were following the law. I can hear them on the 2, 3, 4, and 5 harmonics using my Wellbrook 1530S+ (active version - less amplification) and QS1R. They also mix in with 900 khz and a local RFI noise (probably a switching power supply). Their strongest signal (950 khz) is only -13 dbm (loop pointed at the station). On 1900 khz they are -75 dbm. On 2850 khz they are -71 dbm. I cannot null the harmonics. My antenna is 10 feet from power lines (unfortunately there are power lines all over my property), so they are possibly being radiated by that. Can anyone else near Philadelphia hear them? Aaron Philadelphia, PA ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] 1575
I heard R. Farda, 1575 on Sept 30, at 23:43 UTC. // to webstream. Audio was faint, but they were playing a lot of music which made matching it to the webstream possible. Philadelphia, PA Wellbrook 1530+ QS1R Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] warble jammer on Cuba?
Is someone warble jamming Cuba? 650 khz Progreso 790 khz Reloj 5:16 UTC Oct 28. Both have warble jamming. Heard in Philadelphia, PA This is an older video of Progreso and the warble: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqTyWUWFhdk Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] 1620 possible spanish pirate
I'm hearing Mexican/Latin music on 1620, behind Rebelde. Possibly La Que Buena, a mexican pirate in South-East PA - (Kennett Square), near Philadelphia. 6:00 UTC But I'm really unsure. I haven't been able to match what might be the station's livestream: http://www.radioforest.net/radio/la-que-buena-1620-am-pennsylvania-usa/600128 Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Mounting the ALA-1530+ Loop Antenna
I wrote up my setup: http://www.campusactivism.org/blog/Wellbrook_Loop_Antenna based on: http://www.reeve.com/RadioScience/Antennas/Active_Loop_Antenna.htm ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] 1520 NY off
I listened to 1520 for a couple hours and had very little usable audio. Heard one mention of Oklahoma, possibly KOKC. But wasn't able to match it to the webstream. Is it possible that the webstream was not replaying the station? Had a country station. Had a spanish (probably religious) station. It did sound domestic. It wasn't parallel to the PR webstream. (There are also two Colombian religious stations on 1520. But I think they are low power - like 1 kw and I have only heard the faintest trace of 50 kw Colombian stations). Somebody did the news at around 7:30 UTC - which didn't match KOKC's webstream (they were doing all talk and no news breaks on the webstream). Aaron Philadelphia, PA Wellbrook 1530 S+, QS1R ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] Philadelphia spanish pirate 1620am
I'm hearing a local spanish pirate on 1620 am right now. Not strong, but decent. (around S7). Mentioned Philadelphia. I think they are possibly from Kennett Square, PA. http://www.radioforest.net/radio/la-que-buena-1620-am-pennsylvania-usa/600128 Aaron Philadelphia, PA ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] DXpedition capture files?
For file storage, there are some hosts that specialize in file storage. I've got a 400 GB plan at cloudshards.com for $12.75/month - it's a virtual server with very limited memory/cpu and lots of disk space. A lot of regular web host companies will promised "unlimited" disk space, but tend to over promise. An even cheaper alternative might be torrents. You'd need at least one or two people to keep the seed going, and then a centralized list of the torrents that are available. I personally haven't done much recording because the SDRMax recording and playback functionality (for the QS1R) is very poor. Maybe I should figure out how to use HDSDR for recording. Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] Offsets
Is anyone interested in doing a better job of collecting offsets for North American stations? I know mwlist has some, but they only have the big US stations. I think European DXers are making most of the contributions. I recently figured out how to get 0.1 hz resolution on my QS1R (using HDSDR, tuning below the carrier, and using the audio spectrum). I'm looking at 1280 now and I see what I think are 30+ carriers! Very exciting! While 0.1 hz accuracy might be hard to achieve (even if your own receiver can do it - the transmitter won't necessarily be that stable), we should at least be able to do 1 hz. Aaron Philadelphia, PA ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Polar Night
Our 50 kw stations aren't as strong as the Europeans who still have a number of 100-500 kw stations left. We should be hearing more of them, then they hear of us. Unless we have some 50 kw stations that have a greater ERP due to directionality? Other possible reasons - better antennas, more DXers, more experience, higher latitude but lower auroral latitude (would this help?), better coastal locations, less problems from IBOC. -Aaron- Mark Connelly, WA1ION Wrote: One reason that northern Canada and Alaska stations are reported in Europe without a corresponding amount of Europeans being heard in western North America could be that most of the big really northern European stations are gone. We don't have Norway 1314, Sweden 1179, Finland 963, and several of the big Russians. Those would be the easiest Euro's to shoot over the pole into AK, BC, AB, WA, etc. Mostly we're left with the Brits such as 1215. Those are a bit less likely to make it up to the auroral "doughnut hole" without a bounce in the more absorptive auroral oval. ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] 1500khz someone with very noisy sidebands
Based on the frequency offset, I think it is WFED 1500, DC. I'm seeing noise spikes 100 hz, 200 hz, 300 hz away from 1499.990 - which is WFED. Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] 1500 Mystery Station
So my rotors stopped working (I need to look into this) and I cannot DF it. But I can phase. And when I phase out WFED it drops the noise as well (this is only evidence, not a strong proof as the phaser can affect multiple stations at the same time). Also when the noise is very strong it seems like WFED is the only thing capable of producing it (based on the carrier to sideband ratio - no other carriers are strong enough on 1500 khz). And finally, when the noise was on both sidebands several days ago - I measured it centered on 1499.990 (plus or minus 1 hz). Which was/is WFED's frequency. Recently it has only been on the USB so I haven't been able to reproduce this. Aaron QS1R, two Wellbrooks (one with a broken amp), and a Quantum Radio Phaser Philadelphia, PA ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] HDSDR - distorted recordings - and good TA conditions last night
Last night (March 15th - around 5-6 UTC) there was a great TA MW opening which I've seen several times during post-auroral conditions (often is short lived for only 30-60 minutes) So I tried to record it with HDSDR and my QS1R at the 1562500 sample rate. Unfortunately when I reviewed these recordings they were systematically distorted. You could hear the strongest stations, but the noise floor was much higher and there were spurious products all over the dial. For instance, there would be a spurious signal every roughly 2 khz above the 10 khz channels. It was like the radio was overloaded or when I put the noise blanker on max setting and everything distorts. So I did some tests and it looks like I can only record up to 625,000 sample rate without distortion (which unfortunately isn't enough for the entire MW dial). Do any other radios have this problem? If so is there a possible cure for HDSDR? I've got a very fast cpu 4670k (overclocked to 4.4 ghz), a solid state drive, and 16 GB RAM. So the computer should be able to handle it, but maybe it hit a limit? CPU runs at around 18% when recording (and running HDSDR in superwide mode with a waterfall). I can record a large sample rate with SDRMax IV (the custom QS1R software) - but that software's recording and playback features are unfriendly and the noiseblanker isn't as effective. Aaron QS1R, two Wellbrook loops, Philadelphia PA ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] La Que Buena 1620, Kennet Square, PA
I'm wondering if they increased their transmitter power as I don't recall getting them this well in Philadelphia. It's a local spanish MW pirate from Kennet Square, PA (near Philly). Has anyone else heard it? I made this video at sunset today. https://youtu.be/--hOTSTt5Q0 Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] aurora conditions
Regarding auroral conditions, I've seen a rare condition about 4 times (roughly once a year) where TA stations get a huge boost when the auroral conditions are dying down and the K index is down to 4 or 5. The boost is possibly 20 db and lasts as little as 30 minutes. So the dial is full of hets (at least in the upper half of MW), and several stations have readible audio. There was a big event on Feb 2, 2015 at around 2:25-2:55 UTC where I heard more TA audio than I had in the past four months. More typical auroral conditions are that my northern stations are partially or totally wiped out and I get good reception into Cuba and Latin America. Aaron Philadelphia, PA -- High resolution map of race and income --> JusticeMap.org ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] WC Nov 5 snapshot - SDR shoot-out
Drake R8s are pretty cheap these days. I'm selling mine for $450 (plus shipping) on Ebay. Original owner. Refurbished by the Drake R8 manufacturer several years ago, and rarely used since http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drake-R8-Shortwave-Receiver-/291918828655 ... Selectivity: The good SDRs with 14-16 bit AD converters (Elad 2, Perseus, the most recent Winradios, QS1R) crush traditional (non-DSP) radios (even the $10k models) in terms of selectivity both in terms of the shape factor (I think we get close to 1.1?) and number of filters (unlimited). I'm not sure about ultimate rejection. You can also get great selectivity with the cheap portable DSP radios (though they have other problems). Stability - varies a lot. I think if you want extreme stability you need an external reference. Now where SDRs have the advantage is that you can apply a general offset to fix your accuracy. You can use a time signal or other known stable signal to get your accuracy as high as possible. So it's cheap accuracy. I can measure carriers with accuracy of plus or minus 0.1 hz on the QS1R on MW (or plus or minus 0.2 hz if the station is coming from 2000+ miles) which is useful if you want to null or maximize a station in a pile of others. I can also receive frequencies with 1 hz resolution (the Drake R8 was 10 hz accuracy). Sensitivity: I think is a tie. In both cases the radios have more than enough sensitivity when provided with a half-decent antenna (and in low-noise areas you want a good/long antenna anyways). Software: A SDR can be dependent upon good software from the manufacturer. The one advantage you have over non-SDRs is that there are some software like SDR Console V3 (which I think is the best) that handle most of the popular radios (though unfortunately not the QS1R, but I can use the HDSDR). By contrast the Drake R8 manufacturers came out with a single update (on EPROM). In general you can expect that your radio will improve over time due to new software, whereas with traditional radios it is less likely. The custom QS1R software is very good - though they are unfortunately never going to improve their recording function due to the company having limited resources. I also have an SDRPlay and their custom software is frankly extremely quirky and some of the worst User Interface design I've seen. The Drake R8 also suffers from a bad user interface which was only partially fixed by the second EPROM. Dynamic Range: my QS1R seems to have about equal dynamic range with the Drake R8. It might be better, as I never used the R8 with an amplified antenna nor living 1 mile from an AM station. Frequency coverage: SDRs typically have wider coverage. The QS1R goes from about 0 khz to 65 mhz and can be modded to receive up to 200 mhz or so (I haven't tried it). Modes: SDRs excel at having more modes, including digital decoding. For instance, the QS1R (and others) can decode an entire band worth of CW simultaneously. Notches: I think I can create ten customizable notches (set the frequency and width) as well as an automated notch. That said, I normally only need one notch. Noise reduction: I'm still hoping that SDRs will improve upon their noise reduction and blanking techniques. I never use "Noise Reduction" and Noise Blanking is useful, but could be a lot better. I think there are ways to identify noise and cancel it out that haven't been tried. For instance, I think you should be able to cancel out lightning noise bursts or the noise from switching power supplies (maybe I'm a dreamer!). In the future, I'm hopeful that software based antenna and receiver phasing will be more common. Now I had a great time with my Drake R8, spending thousands of hours listening to radio stations - especially in the 1990s when the dials were full of radio stations, but now I've got limited space and am happy to go with an SDR. Aaron -- High resolution map of race and income --> JusticeMap.org ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] Looking for Iceland cliff recomendations
So this might be a longshot, but I'm going to Iceland for a week long trip - driving around the entire country. And I'm wondering if there are any good DX cliffs with decent road access (as I won't have that much time for setup). I know there is only 3-4 hours of "night", but I'd love to log Greenland for the first time or other MW stations. I'm bringing a Tecsun 880. Any suggestions? Aaron -- High resolution map of race and income --> JusticeMap.org ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] Iceland
I went to Iceland for the past week and did a bit of DXing using a Tecsun 880. It was limited as I was travelling with family, hotel noise levels varied greatly, and "night" time hours were limited (3-4 hours). 666 RUV Iceland is on the air most of the time (maybe 90% when I checked) and is probably still running low power as they weren't super strong in Reykjavik. On the east coast of Iceland with a nice water path and generally 1-4 km from the water, I had regular very weak daytime reception of 810 BBC (North Scotland) and 693 BBC (not sure which transmitter). I also had some hets (probably including BBC Wales). I tested several cliffs and didn't notice any gain. Is it possible that lava rocks lack iron and thus aren't as good? I've read that Iceland is low on metals. This is the best daytime distances I've ever had on MW so I was quite happy! I did one short session of night time listening on the south coast of Iceland near Vik. I didn't hear Faero 531 - so they are still inactive. I also didn't hear Greenland or any US stations. I got the best reception from the UK, followed by Spain. Algeria (531 and 549) was good. I also tentatively heard Tunisia and Morocco. The furthest signal was from Saudi Arabia (585). Reykjavik isn't the best for DXing Europe as it on the coast, but has a lot of land between it and Europe. Iceland is an amazingly beautiful country due to the volcanos, though rather pricy (expect to pay double or more what you do in the US). We drove the highway 1 which wraps around the shoreline much of the time and would provide a lot of opportunities for a more DX oriented visit. Most of the country is open fields and you could also set up long antennas without a problem, assuming the sheep cooperate and that you can figure out who owns it (or frankly they probably won't care or find out). It is nice and temperate in the summer, though it can be also be rather cold (40) and windy (we had 30 mph gusts one day). Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Policing the AM BCB
WTEL 610 Philadelphia was overmodulating by 200-300% for a good year or two before they finally fixed it. I complained - never got any response. Using 110+ khz bandwidth on peaks. Now they finally stopped and stopped using IBOC so I'm very happy. I'm guessing lots of automated stations make mistakes all the time. What they need is an automatic error checking system (ex. if your audio modulation is below 10% for more than 2 minutes or if your frequency drifts by more than 100 hz, it could trigger a text message). Though from my experience as a software developer, even with error checking it is hard to maintain 100% up time. Aaron -- High resolution map of race and income --> JusticeMap.org ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
[IRCA] changing location (free VPS)
Opera browser has a built in free VPS. You can set your country. It isn't perfect and might work 98% of the time. I also found a service that lets you change your location without being a VPS. So it doesn't have the small speed loss that a VPS has. But it costs money. Aaron -- High resolution map of race and income --> JusticeMap.org ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] Pixel Pro 1B loop - question about it
My take on it is there is a bit of debate over whether the Pixel Pro 1B or Wellbrook 1530S+ is better. Jury is out. Possibly they are fairly similar. I've got a Wellbrook 1530s+. It is nice if you have high noise levels which I do. I also get some nice nulls 15-30 db, especially on local stations. Aaron ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
Re: [IRCA] ? 4 ULR/DSP experts: -25kHz wide splatter in ?1k BW, , strong signal pumping?
I think some IBOC stations put out dirty signals - I've got this video of WIP 610, Philadelphia putting out a signal from 570 to 650 khz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maEonHy2eSA ___ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com
