FlexRadio PowerSDR now incorporates SWLing features!

This weekend: MARS communication exercise

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan (K2DLS), who writes:

There is a MARS communication exercise taking place this weekend. As
part of the exercise, a MARS station on the east and west coasts will
broadcast a bulletin which will be verified by a QSL.

Please see the notice below:
A HIGH POWER 60 METER BROADCAST WILL BE MADE TO THE AMATEUR RADIO
COMMUNITY THIS SUNDAY 30 OCT AT 2300 HOURS ON 5330.5 USB (60 M). IT
WILL REPEATEDLY RUN A 5 MINUTE BROADCAST FOR AN HOUR ALTERNATING
BETWEEN AN EAST COAST AND WEST COAST STATION. THE BROADCAST WILL
INSTRUCT AMATEUR RADIO STATIONS TO MAKE CONTACT WITH A MARS STATIONS ON
60 METER CHANNELS (INCLUDING 5330.5 USB) AND REPORT LOCAL CONDITIONS.
AMATEUR RADIO OPERATORS WHO RECEIVE THE HIGH POWER 60 METER BROADCAST
WILL ALSO RECEIVE A QSL CARD BY ENTERING A RECEPTION REPORT ON THE
WWW.USARMYMARS.ORG WEBSITE.

Carver W2TFM
MARS Region 2 (NY & NJ) Director, AAA2RD
——–

73, Dan

VEry cool! Thank you, Dan!

Aeronautical SDR: Ivan’s in-flight FM spectrum captures

8 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov (NO2CW), who writes:

Thomas, not sure if this is something relevant but airlines now state it is OK to use an am/fm radio on board aircraft.

Not much possibilities for AM unfortunately but on a recent flight from Ft Lauderdale to Dallas and Albuquerque I hooked up an SDRPlay receiver to a 3 inch stick antenna and recorded a few stations I was able to pick up along the way.

The first video is posted here:

I did take a few more videos flying between JFK and MIA as well.

I used the following equipment:

1. 13 inch laptop that I also use for work
2. SDRPlay receiver
3. Old scanner antenna that I happened to have
4. SDRUno software to drive the radio
5. Screen recorder that comes with the Win 10 Xbox app
6. Windows movie maker to stitch the individual clips together and annotate

If needed, the size of the setup above can shrink further if a smaller laptop/tablet is used and an RTL dongle instead of SDRPlay.

You will also need to equip yourself with a window seat. Otherwise, signals are significantly weaker.

I did not place the antenna in a special position, just next to me on the seat where it could not be noticed by other passengers. I uploaded a few more videos from my weekly shuttle flights between MIA an JFK.

Ivan NO2CW

Wow! Thanks so much, for sharing this, Ivan.

I’ve always packed a simple FM-capable radio in my one, compact carry on bag and typically try a little FM DX travel while in flight. I was never aware there was a restriction on using an FM receiver in flight, but I’ve always kept my radio listening very discrete so it’s never been a problem.

I love the idea of doing in-flight FM spectrum captures! It would be fun to watch signals on the spectrum shift and change as the flight progresses. Very cool, Ivan!

Post readers: Have you ever made in-flight FM spectrum captures like Ivan? Please comment!

Hobart Radio International B16 schedule

2 Replies

(Source: Hobart Radio International on Facebook)

We’re getting ready for the B16. Here is our new schedule. Changes include WRMI reductions and Ch292 commencement. We air for the first time on Channel 292 6070 Nov 5th.

From The Isle of Music Preview Oct 31/Nov 1

DRMNA: Interview with Mike of PantronX, maker of the Titus II

3 Replies

Those of you following the upcoming Titus II receiver will enjoy reading this interview with Mike of Pantronix. Here’s a short excerpt taken from DRMNA.info:

[DRMNA] Can you tell us a little about the process taken to develop the new receiver?

[Mike] We became aware of the need for a digital capable receiver by a visit from TWR representatives about three years ago. Having designed RF products and receivers in the past, it intrigued me that there were no low cost method to receive DRM. This began research into the problem. Initially we envisioned and designed what we call an ATU (Antenna Tuner Unit) that plugged into a ‘standard’ Android tablet. Unfortunately as time and testing proved, ready made tablets had varying problems from vendor to vendor, model to model. The decision was made about a year ago that we had to do our own Android ‘tablet’ and integrate the ATU into it. Hence the Titus II was developed.[…]

Click here to read the full interview on DRMNA.info.