Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

HAARP February 2017 on air operations

Many thanks to Chris Fallen (KL3WX), Assistant research professor in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical – Space Physics group , who shares the following update in reference to upcoming HAARP activities:

Regarding this February 2017 campaign, HAARP will be operating from 19 to 22 February.

Specifically, experiments will begin daily sometime after 1800 hours 2/19 UTC. My experiments will be the last each day (local Alaska time) and are scheduled to start at 0330 hours on 2/20, 2/21, and 2/23 UTC; and at 0430 hours on 2/22.

Experiment times and frequencies are subject to change for various reasons, particularly in response to ionospheric conditions shortly before each experiment.

I will do my best to update https://twitter.com/ctfallen in real time.

Operations are very active times and I will be monitoring conditions and equipment so generally speaking, for my artificial aurora experiments, your best bet is to search around 2.7 MHz +/- 100 kHz given current conditions.

For the Luxembourg effect experiments, I will try to keep the two frequencies separated by about 1 MHz, which means that they will occur earlier in my experiment window rather than later, when the ionosphere is more dense.

Many thanks for the update, Chris.

SWLing Post readers viewing our website should find your Twitter feed embedded below. Those reading via RSS or our Feedburner email feed, can click here to view updates on Twitter.

Shortwave Relays This Weekend

(Source: Tom Taylor)

Hamurger Lokal Radio via Shortwave Station Göhren, Germany with 1KW to Western Europe:
6190 KHz Every Saturday 07.00 to 11.00 UTC
7265 KHz Every Saturday 11.00 to 16.00 UTC
9485 KHz Every Sunday 10.00 to 13.00 UTC
Contact email: [email protected]

Radio City via:
IRRS to Europe on 7290 KHz (every 3rd Friday) between 19.00 to 20.00 UTC
IRRS to Europe on 9510 KHz (every Saturday) between 09.00 to 10.00 UTC
Challenger Radio to Northern Italy on 1368 KHz every Saturdays from 20.00 UTC onwards
Contact email: [email protected]

European Music Radio Transmissions via;
WBCQ to Central & North America on 5130 KHz on 18th February between 23.00 to 00.00 UTC
Shortwave Station Göhren on 9485 KHz on 19th February between 09.00 to 10.00 UTC
Channel 292 on 6070 KHz on 19th February between 16.00 to 17.00 UTC
Contact email: [email protected]

Internet Repeats on 19th February 2017:
EMR will repeat this months Transmissions via two streams running at the following Times:16.00, 18.00, 20.00 UTC
http://nednl.net:8000/emr.m3u will be on 96 kbps /44 KHz stereo for normal listening
http://nednl.net:8000/emr24.m3u will be 24 kbps / 22 KHz mono will be especially for low bandwidth like mobile phones.

KBC via:
Media Broadcast to America on 6145 KHz Every Sunday between 00.00 to 01.00
Contact email: [email protected]

Hobart Radio via:
Channel 292 to Western Europe on 6070 KHz Saturdays fortnightly between 09.00 to 09.30 UTC next airings: 21st Jan and 4th February.
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 KHz Sunday between 04.30 to 05.00 UTC
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 KHz Tuesday between 23.30 to 00.00 UTC
WBCQ to North America on 5130 KHz Mondays 04.30 to 05.00 UTC
Contact email: [email protected]

For outside the listening area please try the Twente/Netherlands Web RX at http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

You can also hear many European free and alternative stations via the Internet at: http://laut.fm/jukebox

Radio Channel 292 Transmission schedules on 6070 KHz (on the air every day):
http://www.channel292.de/schedule-for-bookings/

Radio Mi Amigo Transmission schedules:
http://www.radiomiamigo.es/shortwave

Eric spots a Drake SPR-4 shortwave receiver on eBay

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who is quite a Drake fan and recently spotted this SPR-4 on eBay.

The seller has it listed as an auction currently at $400, but with a BuyItNow price of $600 US. That’s a fairly steep price considering Universal Radio has sold them in the past for +/- $400. Of course, the last one in Universal’s sold index was posted in 2011.

I’ve never owned a Drake receiver, but I’ve certainly used them and have been impressed with their performance and audio fidelity. SPF-4 reviews on eHam are certainly positive.

Image source: Universal Radio

I know this: I love the blue backlit dials on this particular Drake line! Gorgeous!

Click here to view on eBay.

Hans discovers a JRC NRD-630 on eBay

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Hans de Zeeuw (MM6HDZ), who writes:

Hi, Thomas here’s a message from bonny Scotland:

Yesterday I found at eBay a JRC NRD-630 receiver for auction. The receiver is located in London, UK and the seller ships worldwide:

Click here to view on eBay.

An opportunity for people who are looking for this very rare receiver.

This is just the sort of receiver Dan Robinson could have in his collection!  Looks like the NRD-630 might fetch a hefty price at auction, but I wonder if it’ll exceed the original price (which I’m sure was also hefty!)?

Thanks, Hans.

Any Post readers own the JRC NRD-630? Please comment!

Xenophon introduces bill which would force ABC to bring back shortwave broadcasts

(Source: Shepparton News)

The shortwave broadcast station which beamed Radio Australia to the Pacific from Shepparton could be coming back online.

Senator Nick Xenophon (Source: Twitter)

South Australian senator Nick Xenophon earlier this week introduced a bill to parliament, which if passed would force the ABC to bring back shortwave broadcasts.

[…]Senator Xenophon criticised the decision, which was made by ABC management and not the Federal Government, labelling it shortsighted.

‘‘The response to the shortwave cut-off demonstrates the woeful inadequacy of the ABC’s consultation process,’’ Senator Xenophon said.

‘‘Not only have we heard from many rural Australians concerned about the decision, our near neighbours such as Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea have also voiced serious concerns.’’

[…]‘‘The cost-cutting decision will save $1.9million a year — a tiny fraction of the ABC’s $1billion-plus annual budget,’’ he said.[…]

Read the full story at the Shepparton News.

Mark spots a National NCX-3 in Fargo season 2

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:

I’m currently enjoying season 2 of Fargo on Netflix. This radio popped up in episode 9, in use by the South Dakota police.

Sharp eyes, Mark! I’m impressed with the number of radio sightings you find in present-day TV and film.

The Eton Satellit: my thoughts after 3 weeks of DXing and some recent catches…

Hi there, it’s been about three weeks now since I started DXing with the Eton Satellit and I thought it time to post an updated review, based on my experiences thus far, along with some recent catches. Noting that other radio hobbyists with a strong presence online have been posting neutral to negative reviews on this receiver, I would just like to point out, perhaps rather obviously, that no receiver is perfect and just as importantly, the criteria on which a portable radio is judged will be different from user to user, based on their listening habits. I am almost exclusively engaged in DXing with the Satellit, whilst others will be listening on the broadcast bands on a more casual basis. I know that for some, the ultimate quality and finish of a product is as important as performance and they would make their physical assessment in a very detailed manner. I on the other hand focus mainly on performance and as regards quality, I’m reasonably satisfied if it doesn’t fall apart in my hands, straight out of the box! That actually happened – and it’s sort of where I draw the line 🙂 I guess the point is, I try to respect everyone’s opinion, irrespective as to whether we are in agreement or not and I believe that’s healthy for the future of our hobby.

Ok, back to the Satellit. Firstly, I am able to confirm that in terms of ultimate sensitivity, this portable is very close to my Sony ICF-2001D – one of the most highly regarded portables ever made. The delta in performance between the two is most perceptible on the weakest of fading signals that intermittently deliver audio with the Sony, but can’t be heard on the Eton. On stronger signals, my experience is that either radio might provide the strongest and or highest fidelity audio. I have a series of comparison videos already in the can, which will be uploaded to the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel soon.

In terms of selectivity, the digital bandwidth filters work very well, although I note that even on the narrowest setting (2 kHz) when operating in a crowded band, adjacent channel QRM can occasionally still sound quite pronounced, as compared to my Sony ICF-SW55 or ICF-2001D receivers. As regards synchronous detection, this is more of a hit-and-miss affair. Subscribers to my channel might notice that in nearly all of my reception videos featuring the Eton Satellit, I have not engaged the SYNC. That isn’t to say it doesn’t work, however, even with selectable sidebands, the SYNC mode often appears to increase the overall signal amplitude and noise floor, without positively influencing the SNR. However, it’s interesting to note that signals on the Satellit in AM mode often almost match the ICF-2001D in SYNC mode, in terms of overall SNR. More on that to come.

There are a number of ways to tune the radio; manually using the tuning knob (and this has a decent feel/ resistance to it), direct frequency input which requires pressing the ‘AM’ button to engage, automatic search and access to 700 memory locations, via 100 screen pages. In the real world – and by that I mean ‘my world’ which is most often in the middle of a field, or the woods, all of the above tuning options are as ergonomic as most of my other portables. With regard to SSB reception, there are fast, slow and fine tuning options with a maximum resolution of 10 Hz and this works very well to reproduce natural sounding speech in LSB and USB modes. The tuning speed/fine options are engaged by pressing the tuning knob inwards towards the set – quite a neat idea. With SSB and SYNC there’s always a little pause whilst the electronics engage – a set of chevrons appear on the screen to indicate the receiver is actually doing something. It’s similar to the Sony ICF-SW77 where you effectively toggle between SYNC USB and LSB and wait for lock. Not an issue for me, but it might annoy some, particularly those who have experience with the ICF-2001D, where SYNC engagement is instantaneous, if the signal is of sufficient strength. A small point, but worth making.

 

So, overall, a brilliant little radio that in my opinion is completely worthy of the ‘Satellit’ branding, at least in terms of ultimate performance. As I mentioned previously, one of the most experienced DXers I know, with more than 3 decades of listening to the HF bands and an owner of a number of vintage Satellit receivers noted that the Eton Satellit outperformed them – and by some margin. To further demonstrate this, I have included links to recent reception videos. In particular, I copied three of the regional AIR stations with signal strength and clarity that had never previously been obtained. I also copied HM01, the Cuban Numbers Station for the first time on the 11 metre broadcast band, Sudan and Guinea on the 31 metre broadcast band (a whopping signal from Guinea) and Polski Radio 1 on longwave. I hope you find them interesting. Since featuring the Satellit on my channel, one of two of my subscribers have purchased this radio and thus far have been very happy indeed with it’s performance.

Ultimately, I have to strongly recommend this portable to anyone interested in DXing and in particular those that embark on DXpeditions. I just hope that should you decide to buy one, you receive an example that performs was well as mine. Embedded reception videos and text links follow below, In the mean time and until my next post, I wish you all great DX!


Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.