Monthly Archives: February 2016

1.8MHz 9th Order High Pass Filter Kit

hpf9-1m8a-500x500In reply to our post about a home brew high-pass filter, SWLing Post contributor Guy Atkins replied:

I recently purchased one of these high pass kits and an enclosure from an Australian company, and look forward to assembling it:  http://www.minikits.com.au/electronic-kits/filter-kits/hf-highpass-filters/HPF9-1M8

The price was just $14.95 USD at the current exchange rate, but I did pay extra for the matching enclosure.

It’s a 9th order Chebyshev filter at 1.8 MHz with less than 1 dB insertion loss from 1.8 to 100 MHz, and I expect it to work very well. Since it’s a kit with all parts and a PCB, it is half way between a “DIY from scratch” and a completely built commercial high pass filter.

Very cool, Guy! Looks like it’ll be a fun kit to build. Please let us know what you think of the filter once you have it assembled. $14.95 is a very fair price.

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MegaLoop ML052: Bonito’s new portable mag loop antenna

(Source: Bonito Press Release)

At the beginning of the model year 2016, there is good news in the range of our MegaLoop Active Loop Antennas:

New Model: MegaLoop ML052

MegaLoop ML052The new Active Loop MegaLoop ML052, which is available end of February, is the successor to our MegaLoop 060. Based on the proven technology of theMegaLoop 200 platform, an additional low pass filter with an extra FM-band-stop was integrated. Thus, the ML052 is especially suitable for operation near strong FM-stations and higher frequencies , where, because of its broadband capacity, the ML200 could be overloaded by strong signals.

Frequency range:
Low Gain: 9kHz – 52 MHz
High Gain: 9 kHz – 36 MHz
Suppression on FM (88 – 108 MHz): max. 40 dB

Intercept Point
IP:3: typ. +40dBm
IP2: typ. +84 dBm

The effect of the integrated filter can be seen very good on these two images:

ML052 in High Gain Mode

ML052 in High Gain Mode

ML052 in Low Gain Mode

ML052 in Low Gain Mode

Like the ML 200, the amplification of the ML052 can be changed internally with a jumper:
a) High Gain: 0-36MHz
b) Low Gain: 0-52 MHz (-7dB)
Suppression of the FM band: (88-108MHz): max. 40dB

Outstanding intermodulation surpression, with only 5 volts!

CPI1000 with Powerbank

CPI1000 with a standard Powerbank

The MegaLoop ML052 achieved outstanding values regarding intermodulation suppression even at a low supply voltage from only 5V. It can be powered either by a conventional plug power supply or even via USB. Powering via USB has the advantage that no external power supply is needed and that the antenna can be used autonomously and noise-free with a separate USB power bank. A appropriate dual power input adapter (CPI1000) is already included in the standard package.

The MegaLoop ML052 can now be pre-ordered in our eShop underwww.hamradioshop.net. In the UK at Taylor Made RF.

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Radio Öömrang

Icom-R-75This once-a-year broadcast could be an interesting challenge for folks on Sunday:

Radio Öömrang will broadcast on Feb.21, 2016 from 1600 to 1700 UTC on 15215 kHz in German, English and Frisian.

*(Caroline Mesnier via EuroRadio)*

Radio Oomrang broadcasts once in a year on shortwave in lower German language via facilities of Media Broadcast in Germany. Radio Oomrang announces as “The Free Voice of Frisian People from Amrum island in Germany”.

Station ID is in english.

About Oomrang :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96%C3%B6mrang

— Posted by Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi in the Cumbre DX Yahoo Group

While I have not heard them before, I will definitely be trying to catch the broadcast this weekend, and I will have my recording gear ready! Let us know if you have a successful reception report to share!

Edit: I mistakenly listed Saturday at the top but the correct date is the one in the post, Sunday. Sorry!!

For verification card, contact [email protected]

Robert Gulley, AK3Q, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs at All Things Radio.

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Paul gives us a glimpse of KIYU Alaska

IMG_2798

SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, is not only a shortwave listener, he’s also a broadcaster.

Paul works at community radio station KIYU in Galena, Alaska. At my request, Paul has kindly shared a few photos of his workplace with us.IMG_0077IMG_2797IMG_2799

Paul also sent this short video at the mic of KIYU:

http://youtu.be/VjTWKpXIHGU

Very cool, Paul! You certainly have a lot of translators to list in your station ID–no doubt, these are the many sites that serve your communities.

Thanks for sharing a little of your world at KIYU!

If you’d like to try hear Paul on the air, check out the KIYU home page.

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WRMI’s B16 schedule

WRMIMany thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Ally, who shares the following note from WRMI:

WRMI has a new schedule as of today, February 17th. We have some new frequencies — a total of 21 now. You can find the complete broadcast

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nEVwCMB9RSKowLzLXamyayVpCzjmPAw_SB1r3YOdzQc/edit#gid=0

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A simple homebrew high pass filter

12744054_901043640014242_2651293633303686752_nMany thanks to Jon Hudson, of SDRplay, who posted the image above along with the following note on Facebook:

David, WA7JHZ has designed and assembled this neat 2.6 MHz high-pass filter (HPF) for use with SDRs. He says that this simple input band-pass filter (BPF) might be of interest to anyone suffering from strong AM broadcast stations that are causing overloads…..David suffers from three nearby AM radio broadcast stations that overload the front ends of several of his receivers, including the SDRplay RSP and this is an ideal, low cost solution. He built this circuit from junk parts and commented that Amidon T44-2 iron powder cores would have made a better design, but that he decided to keep costs down with this design.

This design is simple enough for almost anyone to build and could help your receiver’s front end from overloading. Many thanks to David for the design/schematic and to Jon for sharing!

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Video: This Is Radio Free Europe (1964)

RFE-Image

If you’re in the mood for a little Cold War era nostalgia, check out this video produced by Radio Free Europe in 1964. One of the things I found most fascinating was seeing the number of rack-mounted Hammarlund SP-600s (and other benchmark receivers) at the RFE monitoring station near Munich.

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