How DXers can contribute to ionospheric research during the October 14, 2023 solar eclipse!

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Many thanks to SWling Post contributor, Nick Hall-Patch, who shares the following announcement:

How DXers can contribute to ionospheric research during the 14 October 2023 solar eclipse

There will be an annular solar eclipse on 14 October, 2023 when, at totality, the size of the Moon’s disk will appear slightly smaller than the size of the Sun’s disk.  This eclipse will affect all of North America, as well as Central and part of South America, as seen in the map below.

AM Broadcast Band DXers know that the blocking out of radiation from the sun during a total solar eclipse can introduce temporary night time listening conditions over an area far beyond the path of totality.

The upcoming annular eclipse is expected to have a similar effect on daytime medium wave listening conditions as would a total solar eclipse, and should not be missed by DXers.  Live listening can be done during the eclipse, as well as recording the entire medium wave band, using SDRs (software defined radios).

There might be more to our DXing results than new and unexpected receptions of distant radio stations, however.  The rapidly changing listening conditions will be indicating a similarly turbulent ionosphere, and DXers’ documenting those listening conditions through SDR recordings could provide information that will be useful to scientists who want to gain a better understanding of the Earth’s ionospheric dynamics.

How can DXers contribute to ionospheric research?

HamSCI is an organization of volunteer citizen-scientists and professional researchers who study upper atmospheric and space physics, and will be interested in examining MW DXers’ wideband SDR recordings made during both eclipses, and indeed, in having DXers assist with HamSCI’s research.

It will be important to have many participants in this project.  To sign up, please go to https://hamsci.org/mw-recordings/ and discover how to make sure that those DX files will also qualify as scientific data that can become part of the public record.

Those interested in finding out about all the research that HamSCI will be doing during the upcoming eclipses, check out https://hamsci.org/eclipse .  Especially if you are also an amateur radio operator, there are several other ways that you might contribute to the project.

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Pirate Radio: Peter decodes spectrum images from Mix Radio International

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pete Jernakoff, who writes:

Last evening around 10:45 pm local, I came across the pirate Mix Radio International broadcasting on 6950 kHz upper side band. Signal was absolutely huge at my QTH (northern Delaware) and the show was highly entertaining with dance and rap mixes of various pop songs being played. Also played were some NSFW rap songs… 🙂 And every so often this station would modulate its signal so as to transmit a picture or text on one or the other side of its main signal that was plainly visible on the waterfall. (I was listening with an SDRplay RSPdx and SDRuno.)

Videos:


and

Very cool!

Rgds,

-Pete Jernakoff-

Very cool indeed! Thank you for sharing this, Pete!

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Carlos pulls headlines from Kyodo News radiofax

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:

Kyodo News is a Japanese news agency, the only one in the world that still transmits news via radiofax to Japanese vessels, on shortwave frequency of 16971 kHz USB. The international radiofax transmission standard is 120 lines per minute, but the Kyodo News standard is 60 lines per minute.

However, the retransmission of the bulletin in English is done at a cadence of 120 lpm. I’m using an Android application called HF Weather Fax with which I’m decoding the radio signal coming from Japan and received in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The receiver is the Xhdata D-808 and the antenna is a magnetic loop. The image arrived this morning in Porto Alegre, at 4:10 am local time, quite noisy and with a lot of effort I managed to decipher some headlines.

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Radio Waves: SIBC Receives New Generator, BBC Longwave Petition, HamClock Fun, and CBS Board Game Nostalgia

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura, Rick Murray, Uli Zehndbauer, and David Iurescia for the following tips:

New Zealand government hands over new standby generator to SIBC (SIBC)

The New Zealand government today handed over a standby generator to the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC).

The generator will ensure SIBC’s transmission and services via its medium and short wave frequencies remain operational even when there is a power outage.

Speaking at a brief handing over ceremony, New Zealand High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, His Excellency Jonathan Schwass said the donation marks another milestone in the partnership between New Zealand and SIBC.

He said it is important for SIBC to have an uninterruptible power supply during broadcasting.

“Given the power outage we are having at the moment, it is really important to have an uninterruptible power supply for SIBC broadcast.”

“That’s not just the matter of ensuring the listening pleasure of Solomon Islanders.”

“It is also a matter of guaranteeing the flow of essentials to the scattered Islands and the communities of this country especially in times of natural disasters and during crises like COVID-19,’’ Commissioner Schwass said. [Continue reading…]

Keep BBC Radio 4 Longwave (Change.org)

BBC Radio has been broadcasting on longwave for 89 years, covering most of the UK and northern Europe from a single transmitter in Droitwich. This radio frequency uniquely travels practically unimpeded across the country and provides a vital radio link in areas where reception of other signals and internet coverage is poor. Because only one transmitter is needed, the cost of providing this service is tiny. Not everyone is able to access digital or internet radio and longwave remains the most reliable way of receiving the BBC in any place at any time. It is also much better for the environment, as longwave receivers require far less power than digital radios, computers and mobile phones.

Recently, the BBC announced plans to end all longwave transmissions by 31st March 2024, just six months before the 90th anniversary of these transmissions beginning. We call upon the BBC to cancel these plans to scrap Radio 4 longwave, and to continue to provide this essential and historic radio lifeline for as long as possible.

Click here to sign petition.

Fun with the Clear Sky Institute HamClock (Nashua Area Radio Society)

I haven’t had the occasion to use any programming languages since retirement. That’s why the addition of a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B to the shack was a welcome change. I like to think of the Raspberry Pi as just another computer – one that uses a different operating system. With the Raspberry Pi, I can browse the Internet, access email, and write and run programs.

When I began to assemble a shack, I reserved a space on the wall for a 32? TV, Figure 1, which was purchased during a temporary rental stay. That TV has been unused for 3 years, but it was earmarked for a HamClock.

I searched the N1FD site to see if anyone had written about HamClock, but no articles were found. The first article for HamClock, written by Elwood Downey, WB0OEW, appeared in October 2017 QST[1]. In his article, he calls for the use of an Adafruit HUZZAH ESP8266 Wi-Fi system-on-chip. That device was fastened to the back of a 7? TFT display.

The version of HamClock that I built for use with the 32? HDTV employs the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, Figure 2, with 2 GB memory[2]. The kit that I found on Amazon includes a 64 GB microSD card (with USB adapter) onto which the Raspberry Pi operating system had been preloaded. The kit also includes a plastic case with fan, little rubber feet, tiny screws to attach a camera, device heatsinks, a wall-wart power supply, a micro HDMI to HDMI cable, an instruction manual and various assembly instruction cards. The user has to provide their own USB mouse and keyboard. I already owned a wireless mouse and keyboard so I was able to use a single USB 2.0 port on the Pi for the wireless adapter.

If you already have a microSD memory card with USB adapter, power supply, mouse, keyboard and HDMI cable, you could get by with a Raspberry Pi Zero[3] at one-fourth the price. [Continue reading…]

CBS Board Game From the 1930s Highlights Golden Age of Radio (Radio World)

Hey radio history fans! Can any of you share a story behind this great find?

Steve Moravec, president of Phoenix Media Group in St. Paul, Minn., circulated this photo in his weekly “Monday Morning Memorabilia” email.

“This ’30s vintage board game promoted the radio stations of the Columbia Broadcasting System across the country,” he writes. “The goal seems to be to ‘touch ’em all’ with the game pieces, which appear uncut in the attachment.”

He found it on eBay; here’s the listing with more photos.

The early days of wireless, ship-to-shore and modern broadcast radio produced a number of radio board games. For example, online auction and history sites turn up “Listen In: The Great Wireless Game”; also “Radio Game,” published in 1920 by Milton Bradley (more pix here); and a “Radio Game for Little Folks,” from the mid-1920s. You can find photos of more on sites like Play Things of Past.[Continue reading…]

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Cuban Numbers Station HM01 Goes Cuckoo! And Other Cuban Broadcast “Shenanigans”…

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pete Madtone, who shares the following recording of Cuban Numbers Station HM01 and notes:

Hi Thomas,

I was reading HF Underground earlier and a post on it mentioned that HM01 had gone a bit mad “10345 kHz is HM01 Cuban Lady with what sounds like a cuckoo clock“. Well I got up straight away and tuned in on VE7AV KiwiSDR and here it is in all it’s glory:

It almost sounds a bit reggaeish and even has what sounds like a little drum roll in parts.

If you’re feeling a bit down or tired today please have a listen as this’ll cheer you up!

All the best

Pete

Wow–thanks for sharing this recording with us, Pete! What a mystery behind this numbers station! Was the cuckoo intentionally or unintentionally added to the audio at the studio or transmitter level? What could that signify? Since the audio is tracking with the HM01 broadcast, it seems to be originating from the same transmitter. 

Perhaps this adds more context or confusion: SWLing Post contributor Paul Walker has noted a number of audio “shenanigans” from Cuban broadcasts. Here are a few notes from his listening post in Alaska:

  • 0320UTC Mon Aug 28 and Cuba is missing from 9700 for the 2nd time in a week, but instead of regular programming they’re broadcasting a horror movie of some kind. I can detect some kind of noise under the movie but it’s like a screech/hum, which is all I heard from 9700 last time it was on.
  • I should also add, after the first time i heard 9700 down on 9600, I subsequently heard it back on 9700 again…..so something’s up!
  • And now HM01 aka Suzie Cubana on 10345 is broadcasting……. along with Suzie counting down the numbers and the digital data bursts, theres a cuckoo bird cuckooing over the top of that audio.
  • In the 0500 UTC, Rebelde on 5025 kHz noted running TV audio too….some English language movie.
  • The domestic Radio Rebelde AM and FM web feeds appear to be running normal programming

What do you think is going on?

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Guest Post: Switching a Remote Antenna, Low Noise Amplifier, and an Antenna and Audio Between Two Radios

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Hemphill, who shares the following guest post:

Remote Antenna Switching Remote Low Noise Amplifier Switching and Switching an Antenna and Audio Between Two Radios

by Bill Hemphill, WD9EQD

Remote Antenna Switching

I have two YouLoop Antennas.  I had been placing them at right angles to each other.  I would then put one of them on the AirSpy software defined radio.  But manually switching from one antenna to the other was a real pain.  If only there were a way to electrically switch between the two antennas.

It would be nice to place the antennas remotely from the radio (and computers) and then have some sort of remote switch that would select an antenna and then a single feed line to the radio.  It was research time.

The YouLoop and the Airspy both use SMA connectors.  An SMA switch would be required.  A little research and I came across the following small board that can switch between two SMA antennas:

From Amazon Description:  50 Ohms RF Switch Module, 3-5V Remote Wireless RF Switch Single Pole Double Throw Board Input Output Impedance for DIY Electric Doors (HMC349)

This board is perfect for RECEIVE only projects.  Apply 5V to the board and then 5V to the VCC (control pin) to switch from RF1 to RF2.

Now that I had the SMA switch module, a way to actually do the switch remotely was required.  Maybe WI-Fi or Bluetooth module would do the trick.  I found a nice Wi-Fi module on Amazon that looked like it would do the trick:

Amazon Description:  DIYmalls SV Safe Low Voltage WiFi Wireless Switch Module DC 5V-24V Phone APP Remote Control Smart Home for Amazon Alexa Google Assistant

But do I really want to use a phone app to switch antennas.  Further investigation discovered a really neat module that uses a Car Fob type control:

Amazon Description:  RODOT Mini Relay Wireless Switch, 433Mhz Remote Control Relay Switch, DC 6V 12V 24V 1CH Channel Relay Wireless Secure RF Transmitter and Receiver kit, Momentary Toggle Latched Mode

BIngo!!  I could just press a button and switch antennas.  But a problem quickly arose.  I hadn’t fully read the description of the RODOT switch:

The blue output wire is ALWAYS Vcc (input voltage)! The device only switches the ground.

So the RODOT switches the ground but the HMC349 uses positive voltage to switch.  OOPS.  Next step was to place a latching relay to take the on/off ground and convert it to on/off positive.  Again, another nice board was found:

Amazon Description:  HiLetgo 2pcs 5V One Channel Relay Module Relay Switch with OPTO Isolation High Low Level Trigger

The nice thing about the Relay Module is that it can be latched either High or Low, so the RODOT switching ground can be used to latch the relay and then provide a positive voltage to the HMC349 antenna switch.

All modules are powered by 5V.  There are other modules available that use higher voltages.  But I wanted to be able to use a 5V power source for everything.

I learned a quick lesson on the first layout I did. I had directly connected the antenna cables to the HMC349 module.  A quick accidental side yank on one of the antenna cables and the SMA connector tore off the board.  A replacement board and some quick wiring and I had a workable antenna switch that with the press of the car fob button, either antenna could be selected.

I found a nice small plastic box that allowed for the HMC349 module to be suspended between SMA bulkhead connectors.  By using bulkhead connectors, there is no strain placed on the HMC349 connectors. The relay module was attached to the box lid.  The modules are mounted using brass standoffs.  The finished box is about 3”x4”x 2” high.  Either battery or a 5V wall module can be used to power it.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the results.  I find that sometimes switching antennas (and their orientation) can make a big improvement in the signals.  Other times, there’s very little difference.

Remote Low Noise Amplifier along with Antenna Switching

Now that the antennas can be switched, it would be nice if a Low Noise Amplifier could be switched in and out of the circuit.  Something like the Lana HF Barebones LNA made by NooElec:

For testing purposes, I first did a quick layout of just using one antenna with the ability to switch the LNA in and out.  Note:  I took a gamble on hooking the antenna cables directly to the HMC349 modules.  Luckily, the SMA connects didn’t tear off the boards.

Two HMC349 modules are used.  The first module selects the bypass or the LNA.  Likewise, the second module also selects either the bypass or LNA.  Note that the second module is turned upside down so that the switches match up when activated.  Two modules were used so that the LNA is totally switched out of the circuit. Continue reading →

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