Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Christian, who writes:
Another Grundig/Eton deal on Amazon. This time the Eton Exectutive Traveler for $46.65 shipped. One of the lowest prices I’ve seen on this one. I already have a Traveler so no plans to purchase, but thought your readers might be interested. Good little radio if you ask me. Esp. the executive version as I like the case. Again we’re talking Amazon here so the price can change based on demand.
Thanks for the tip, Christian!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Fahey, who shares the following comment in response to our KiwiSDR post from yesterday:
[T]here are now so many [KiwiSDR] receivers – how do you know which ones are best? Why not use this map as an alternative to sdr.hu/map:
[A]ll the same receivers are shown in a map interface but the receiver signal to noise ratio changes how big each receiver target appears. The bigger the blob, the better the lower the noise which usually equates to a better antenna system etc.
Wow! Thanks for the excellent tip, Mark! This map makes exploring the KiwiSDR network much easier. I especially like the full screen option.
Note, too, that Mark hosts a KiwiSDR in Freemans Reach, Australia (near Sydney). Mark sets the default auto logout for 2 hours to better cater to SWLs (which he says only represents about 10% of his SDR guests!). Most KiwiSDRs use the 30 minute default auto logout, which I find frustrating when I’m making broadcast recordings.
Click here to enjoy Mark’s KiwiSDR in Freemans Reach, Australia.
(Source: Tom Taylor Now)
The FCC last night reported that more FMs were out (20) than AMs (three). While nearly 14% of cell sites in the affected areas were out of service – and like the AM/FM picture, virtually all the outages are in coastal North Carolina. Forecasters had predicted the brunt of the storm would fall around Wilmington and New Bern, and that’s how it played out, in slow motion. Friday morning’s NOW reported the Curtis Media radio stations in New Bern were off, as well as Sinclair’s ABC-TV affiliate, WCTI-TV. Both Channel 12 and the Curtis cluster are located very hear the Neuse River, and Sinclair was forced to originate programming from Greenville, instead. WCTI-TV’s still off, as well as sister Fox affiliate WYDO (digital channel 47/virtual channel 12). Likewise, a range of radio stations including Cumulus-owned classic hits “94.5 the Hawk” WKXS and not-for-profit EMF’s contemporary Christian “K-Love” affiliate, WBNK/92.7. One of the three silent AMs carries an ominous name for the current conditions – Cumulus-owned talk “980 the Wave” WAAV. Read last night’s FCC “Status Report” here. The agency’s main page for Hurricane Florence communications is here.
While I love the Panasonic RF-B65, the Voice of Greece and a St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout: this combo can’t fight the persistent radio interference here at the condo.
Some of you might recall that I’m spending the months of August and September in a condo near Québec City, Canada. We love it here, though it does present some radio challenges. Unlike our rural/remote mountain home in the States, I’ve always had to cope with QRM (manmade radio interference) here at the condo. Not surprising.
I typically bring my PK Loop antenna–it helps lower the noise a tad and is easy to take out on our balcony for optimal reception. Lately, though, the QRM has been even worse on the balcony than inside the condo (more on that in a future post).
Some North American and European stations punch through the noise when propagation is favorable (especially the Voice of Greece and Radio Romania International) but there have been evenings where nothing could penetrate the wall of noise.
One way I escape the noise, of course, is to take my radio to a picturesque remote location for the afternoon or evening. It’s amazing the number of signals you can pull out of the ether when the noise floor is so low.
Back at the condo, though, there’s no easy way to escape the noise.
Or is there?
Perhaps 21st century problems require 21st century solutions.
This year–especially here at the condo–I’ve spent a great deal of time exploring the KiwiSDR network.
For those of you not familiar, the KiwiSDR is a self-hosted WebSDR which operates much like a mini U Twente WebSDR. KiwiSDR owners install their SDRs at home–or in other favorable locations–then share control of their SDR with the world via the the Internet.
Like the U Twente WebSDR, KiwiSDRs allow multiple simultaneous users to control the SDR independently of each other. Each KiwiSDR can allow up to four simultaneous guests (the U Twente WebSDR can allow hundreds of simultaneous users, but it’s also a university-supported bespoke SDR with fantastic bandwidth!).
Over the past few years, the KiwiSDR network has grown almost exponentially. There are Kiwi SDRs on every continent save Antarctica (someone remedy that, please!).
Each red pin represents a KiwiSDR installation.
Other than the fact that the SDR audio is piped through the Internet–and you can’t walk outside and adjust the antenna–there is no difference between using a KiwiSDR remotely or locally.
In fact, the KiwiSDR only has a web browser-based application, there is no downloadable application for local use. So quite literally, the experience of controlling and using a KiwiSDR locally or globally is identical.
And it’s so much fun! I browse the KiwiSDR network via the map above, select an interesting location, and virtually travel there for an impromptu DXpedition. I can travel to India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, or Hawaii via the network and be back in time for dinner here in Canada without breaking a sweat or even using frequent flyer miles!
I’ve found that the combo above makes for an immersive experience. I use Bose Quiet Comfort noise-cancelling headphones paired with my iPad Air (which I have enclosed in a Zagg Rugged Book). With a reasonable Internet connection, it truly feels like I’m there.
Of course, you don’t need an iPad, or any special equipment. The KiwiSDR application works with pretty much any computer, tablet or smart phone that has a web browser. For the best experience, however, I would suggest connecting a good external speaker, bluetooth speaker or headphones.
I know many of you are thinking, “But Thomas! This isn’t real radio!”
But I would argue that it is real radio! It’s a real radio, connected to a real antenna that you’re simply controlling via the Internet with a web-based SDR application. Instead of the audio going through a sound card into your headphones, it’s going into a soundcard, piped through the Internet, then into your headphones.
Give it a try! You might find an impromptu DXpedition is the perfect remedy to your QRM and RFI blues!
Post readers: Any heavy KiwiSDR users out there? Or do you oppose using WebSDRs? What are your thoughts? Please comment!
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(Source: Radio World)
More broadcasters than you might realize are helping keep the ionosphere warm (and the power companies happy)
In the May 9 issue of Radio World, I reported on a recent power upgrade at TWR’s Bonaire AM facility that brought that station close to the half-megawatt level (440 kW), allowing the station to make the claim that it is the most powerful medium-wave (MW) operation in the Western Hemisphere. After the dust settled, I thought it might be interesting to poke around a bit in the data available to see if they have a close (or even not-so-close) contender for second place for this title.
With only a few exceptions, U.S. stations have been capped at 50 kW since this power level was authorized by the Federal Radio Commission in the late 1920s. Powel Crosley Jr.’s WLW 500,000 kW 1930s “experimental” operation is one very well-known example, as it received a lot of publicity during the five years or so during it operated before being powered down. However, there was another much less well-known superpower operation during that period (it actually beat WLW to the punch by putting 400,000 Watts on the air about three years before Crosley was ready to belt out his hundreds of kilowatts).
[…]Surprisingly, there is one U.S. AM station that has the necessary paperwork and equipment to operate at 100 kW full-time. However, it’s not listed in the FCC’s AM database. I’m referring to the VOA’s “Radio Martí” in Marathon, Fla. which operates on 1080 kHz.
The VOA station (it sports no call sign) appears to be the only operation in its class in the U.S. and Canada, but it if you cross the border into Mexico, you’ll find “muchas estaciones de radio” that emit lots more than a puny 50,000 “vatios.”[…]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marcus Keulertz, who writes:
I would like to [share a] picture of our other female family member. I’m not quite sure if she loves the shortwave chirping signal which was emitted from Radio Taiwan’s English Service.
What I observed is that she stayed calm while listening to their evening broadcast.
In other words, RTI can entertain even a furry feline friend––right, Markus? She certainly seems to have her ears in the listening position. Thanks for sharing!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who shares the following information about the VoIP Hurricane Net in which he is heavily involved:
**VoIP Hurricane Net will activate starting at 9 AM EDT Thursday Morning through 11 PM EDT Saturday Evening for Dangerous Hurricane Florence which is expected to be a major hurricane and will slow its approach to the Southeast North Carolina/Northeast South Carolina Coast Thursday Night through Friday Night with continued hurricane impacts into Saturday.**
**WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, will activate at 900 AM EDT Thursday 9/13/18 for Dangerous Hurricane Florence**Here are the VoIP Hurricane Net and WX4NHC Activation Plans for Florence as of Wednesday Evening 9/12/18 at 745 PM EDT/2345 UTC:
The VoIP Hurricane Net will activate starting at 900 AM EDT Thursday Morning through Saturday Evening for Dangerous Hurricane Florence’s impacts to North and South Carolina. WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio Station at the National Hurricane Center, will activate at 900 AM EDT Thursday 9/13/18. Florence is expected to be a dangerous major hurricane and slowing her approach to the North and South Carolina coast Thursday Night through Friday Night with hurricane impacts and landfall some time on Saturday.
Any Amateur Radio Operators in the affected area of Hurricane Florence or with relays into the affected area of Florence are asked to provide surface and damage reports into the VoIP Hurricane Net for relay into WX4NHC, the Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center. We appreciate any and all support from Amateur Operators in the affected area or Amateur Operators with relays into the affected area. We are looking for reports based on the National Weather Service SKYWARN Reporting criteria. This can be seen on the VoIP Hurricane Net web site at the following link:
http://voipwx.net/voip-hurricane-net-reporting-criteria/
Any pictures or videos of wind damage, river/stream/urban/storm surge flooding etc. can be sent to the following email address: [email protected] and credit will be given to the Amateur Radio Operator, weather spotter or individual that took the photos and media and be shared with the Amateur Radio team at the National Hurricane Center and other agencies and outlets.
Advisories on Hurricane Florence can be seen off of the Atlantic Tropical Products menu selection on the voipwxnet web site, via our Facebook and Twitter feeds, and off the National Hurricane Center web site via the following link:
Reports as obtained via the VoIP Hurricane Net from Amateur Radio Operators in the affected area, relays from the affected area or from APRS/CWOP Weather Station feeds and other social media outlets can be found at the following link:
http://report.voipwx.net/qilan/nhcwx/list_VOIP_records?auth=OK
Stations outside the affected area who would like to listen into the VoIP Hurricane Net can use any of the following systems for listen-only purposes and can connect on either Echolink or IRLP:
*NEW-ENG3* Echolink conference node: 9123/IRLP 9123Stations outside the affected area who would like to listen into the VoIP Hurricane Net can use any of the following systems for listen-only purposes on Echolink:
*KA1AAA* Echolink conference node: 4439
*WX5FWD* Echolink conference node: 372418
*ARERT* Echolink conference node: 27366Stations outside the affected area who would like to listen into the VoIP Hurricane Net can use any of the following systems for listen-only purposes on All-Star by dialing *33009123.
We will have an audio livestream as provided by KC4QLP-Bob Carter. That link is listed below:
The VoIP Hurricane Net Management team continues to closely watch Hurricane Florence. Thanks to all for their continued support of the VoIP Hurricane Net!
73,Rob-KD1CY.
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net
