Happiness is receiving the Juno Earth Flyby QSL card in the mail:
Many thanks to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory for making the Juno Flyby such a fun experiment. To read more about the flyby, check out our post from last year.
Were any readers able to “work” the Juno spacecraft?
Many thanks to Dan Robinson who shares this post on the BBG Watch which outlines major changes to US International Broadcasting.
The draft bill, originating in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is known as the United States International Communications Reform Act of 2014. The bill outlines:
There are many, many more points to this bill thus I would encourage you to read the BBG Watch post in full for all details.
For your listening pleasure: 1 hour and 7 minutes of pirate radio station, Wolverine Radio–recorded April 27, 2014 starting around 1:10 UTC.
Wolverine was broadcasting on 6,945 kHz in the upper side band. Typical of Wolverine, lots of music variety which spans the decades and no commentary other than station ID throughout.
I decoded Wolverine’s SSTV QSL (see right) with Chris Smolinski’s SSTV app for iPhone. As you’ll hear, overall signal strength and audio fidelity were excellent.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:
SWLing Post reader, Anil, comments on Traveling light, SWLing right:
The Yaesu FT-817nd general coverage QRP transceiver
“I would like to suggest another candidate that is really hard to beat and is fantastic value when you buy a used one – The Yaesu FT-817 Low Power Transceiver.
It has outrageously good General Coverage performance and a massive LF – UHF coverage receiver. It has the same paperback footprint as many of the travel radios you review and a built in battery pack albeit a fairly low capacity one.
When it comes to extracting weak signals out of noise and interference it is head and shoulders above the rest with a switchable pre-amp, variable RF gain and attenuator, pass-band tuning, narrow filters etc.”
Anil, you’re right. The FT-817 is a very compact, full-featured radio and certainly easy to pack.
I was an early adopter of the ‘817, having purchased mine in 2000 or 2001. I was living in the UK at the time and traveled extensively throughout Europe for my employer. I looked to the FT-817 as a means to play ham radio on the go. It easily fit into my carry-on bag at the time.
Like you, I was very pleased with the receiver though I had nothing to compare it to at the time.
I kept the FT-817 for about five years, but eventually sold it. I started using the Elecraft KX1 as its replacement. I found that, for me, the ‘817’s front face was a little too small and some of the multi-function knobs could be a little frustrating to use while on the air. Those were relatively minor criticisms, though–the ‘817 continues to have a large fan base and is enjoying very long product life.
Anil, many thanks for sharing your comment!
Click here to check out the Yaesu FT-817 at Universal Radio or click here to search eBay for a used one.
For your listening pleasure: over one hour of the pirate radio station, MAC Shortwave. I recorded this broadcast on April 27, 2014 starting around 00:05 UTC, on 6,950 kHz AM.
MAC Shortwave features host “Jimmy Stewart” and some excellent big band music.
The first SWLing Post reader to identify this MAC Shortwave interval signal gets extra credit!
Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:
Last month, I was interviewed by NK News regarding the possibility of using inexpensive SDR dongles
While not yet as portable as an SDR dongle, Anonymous is developing a tool called AirChat which will allow long-distance communications via radio. AirChat borrows from Fldigi: a free application that decodes a variety of digital modes and has been used by amateur radio operators for years. Indeed, Fldigi is the same software you’ve used to decode broadcasts from VOA Radiogram and the new STF Radio.
Many thanks to the excellent Southgate ARC news site for this article about AirChat:
(Source: Southgate ARC)
The International Business Times reports that the online hacktivist collective Anonymous has announced that it is working on a new tool called Airchat which could allow people to communicate without the need for a phone or an internet connection – it uses radio waves instead
Initially the data mode software AirChat used code from ‘minimodem’ and then from ‘soundmodem’ sources but they say after suggestions from radio amateurs involved in the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), they decided to make it modular to use the Fldigi software, a broadly deployed solution for use with ham radios.
They say “So far we have played interactive chess games with people at 180 miles away. we have shared pictures and established encrypted low bandwidth digital voice chats. We have 3D printed over distances of 80 miles and transmitted medical orders at distances of over 100 miles.”
So far Yaesu FT-897D’s amateur transceivers have been used and the developers are also looking at using low-cost ($40) VHF/UHF handheld transceivers.
Read the International Business Times story
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/anonymous-airchat-aims-allow-
communication-without-needing-phone-internet-access-1445888
LulzLabs AirChat
https://github.com/lulzlabs/AirChat/
You can read about the goals of AirChat on their Github site and follow AirChat on Twitter with the hash tags #lulzlabs and #AirChat.
Anonymous has also posted the following video–a demo of AirChat:
My good friend, Rob De Santos, is trying to identify the best times and frequencies to hear Radio Australia across North America on Saturdays. Can you help him?
Rob writes:
“I am updating a page on my website with shortwave info on Radio Australia’s Grandstand coverage of Australian football. Typically this occurs on Friday night / Saturday morning US time (0330 to 1230 UTC Saturday, varies). As you all know, RA does not target North America and hasn’t for some time however some of the frequencies can be heard here.
I can tell you which ones I can hear in Columbus, OH but that doesn’t really give me much feel for all of the USA or Canada so I need your feedback. What is best in Vancouver, BC and Naples, FL are not likely identical and not at the same hours.
Which RA frequencies are best at your location between 0330 and 1230 UTC Saturdays? Are there particular hours better than others?
If you can [comment here] with the best frequencies and your QTH that would be terrific. The more geographic diversity and individual experience I can get the better advice I can give on the web page.
Thanks,
Rob de Santos”
Readers: if you can help Rob, please comment below. Many thanks in advance!