Tag Archives: Google

Google’s 96.4 kilowatt experimental transmitter

spaceport-virgin

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for sharing the following story:

(Source: Hackaday)

[…]In a publication released last week, Google asked the FCC to treat some information relating to radio experiments as confidential. These experiments involve highly directional and therefore high power [96.4 kilowatt] transmissions at 2.5 GHz, 5.8GHz, 24GHz, 71-76GHz, and 81-86GHz. These experiments will take place at Spaceport America, a 12,000 foot runway in the middle of New Mexico occasionally used by SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and now Google.

For the most part, this document only tells the FCC that Google won’t be causing harmful interference in their radio experiments. There few other details, save for what bands and transmitters Google will be using and an experimental radio license call sign (WI9XZE) that doesn’t show up in the FCC database.[…]

Read the full article at Hackaday…

Click here to read FCC File No. 0142-EX-PL-2016 (Google Public Redacted Version).

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SDR Touch: An Android-based software defined radio

SDRtouchThough not available for the shortwave bands, Google Play reviews are mostly positive for the new software defined radio application that will run on your Android phone or tablet: SDR Touch.

According to the Google Play page, SDR Touch covers 50 MHz to 2.2 GHz and demodulates WFM, AM, NFM, USB, LSB, DSB, CWU and CLW signals. It requires an inexpensive USB rtl-sdr compatible USB DVB-T tuner. Click here to search eBay for RTL-SDR receivers. You then connect to your Android device via a USB OTG cable and SDR Touch should control the receiver.

SDR Touch’s Google Play website has a list of supported receivers–make sure to check the model number from eBay against this list before purchasing. Additionally, you should install their free demo SDR app to make sure your Android device is compatible.

This video shows SDR Touch in action on the FM broadcast band:

SDR touch claims that crashes should be expected as this app is still considered somewhat experimental.

Would be great if SDR Touch could support the HF bands some day.

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Google Doodle honors Heinrich Hertz’s 155th birthday

If you visit Google’s home page today, you’ll notice that their typical logo has been replaced with an animation of an undulating, multi-colored wave.

If you click on the wave, you’ll be taken to sites telling the story of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.

We should all take a moment today to thank Hertz for his contribution to the radio spectrum. Indeed, it was Hertz who showed that electricity could be transmitted via electromagnetic waves. This laid the groundwork for developing wireless telegraph and radio. In the 1930’s the International Electrotechnical Commission decided that Hertz’s name would become the unit of frequency for our electromagnetic spectrum–the hertz (Hz)–about four decades after the his death.

To read the story of Hertz, I would suggest browsing his Wikipedia entry.

If you missed seeing the Google Doodle animation, check out the video below:

This isn’t the first time Google has honored an influential innovator in our radio world, a few years ago we posted their Google Doodle tribute to Samuel Morse.

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Google commemorates 218th anniversary of Samuel Morse’s birthday

We woke up this morning to find the homepage of search engine, Google, in morse code. What a great way to commemorate Samuel Morse’s birthday. In case you missed this special Google Doodle, check out the screen capture below.

_ _. _.._ Google!

googleincw

Why not learn morse code and add that extra dimension to your SWLing skills? If you’re interested, check out these informative websites:

  • Go to the LCWO (Learn CW Online) website, create an account, and start learning morse code online today!
  • If you’re an amateur radio operator or are considering becoming a ham, check out this article. Code practice is easy if you have a code buddy!

Click here to read Wikipedia’s biography of Samuel Morse.

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