Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Hey Thomas, just got a broadcast (Nov 5, 2023) on 21640 kHz, from 15h30 to 16h00 UTC here in Rio de Janeiro. A potpourri of pop rock songs and then a female voice says ‘this is the end, have a nice day’.
Both Carlos and I assume this could be a shortwave pirate. If you can help Carlos identify this station, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Johnson, who writes:
Well, based on this post from Carlos Latuff–QSL: Australian Radiofax Received in Brazil–I got interested in HF weather fax decoding. I asked how to do it and got an answer but did not find a linked post that would help.
So as usual a wikipedia is helpful: WEFAX – Signal Identification Wiki
Which led me to realize… I already owned the Black Cat Systems decoder in my iPhone, but alas had never tried to use it!
So I reinstalled the HF FAX program. It had been included in a package of iPhone ham software programs I had previously purchased. I then searched the frequencies linked here: Marine Weather Broadcasts from the USCG
And soon after on 12179kc on my D-808 around Noon eastern time on 11/4/23 was decoding my first partial wx fax from Boston, I believe:
I then started fine tuning the D-808 and as you can see the fax quality began to improve significantly…
Alas the signal ended very abruptly, before I could perfectly tune it… I never received a complete fax but this was a fun radio exercise and I will keep at it.
WxFax (this is my name for it) reminds me of my NDB beacons. Both are older tech that appear to be rapidly disappearing. Just last night I was happy to tune two new but weak Canadian LW beacons from my Michigan location on my D-808. Alas I then refreshed the dxcentre NDB list–at: https://www.dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm–only to find that I would be losing 3 relatively strong beacons to decommission within weeks! Such is the life of an LW NDB chaser in the year 2023.
Thanks to Carlos for giving me something else to chase on SW HF!
John Johnson (N8ELK)
This is brilliant, John! The more you work with the app and reception, the better you’ll get at clear decodes. It’s a skill you’ll build very quickly. Thank you for sharing this!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
For the first time, I received in Porto Alegre a noisy radiofax from the Bureau of Meteorology of Australia: Mean Sea Level Pressure (MSLP) map.
Frequency of 20469 kHz USB, 08h45 UTC.
Radiofax (noisy)
Original
My request for a QSL card was kindly answered (attached along the radiofax and the original chart from BoM’s website). Notice that BoM’s transmitter is 1 KW only!
I realize that your Radiofax decode wa noisy, but I feel like that’s an impressive feat considering the distance involved, the fact that your radio was a portable, and their output power was only 1,000 watts. Proper Radiofax DX! Thanks for sharing!
Photo: US Coast Guard
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following video/recording and notes:
Hey Thomas, [Check out] how well the USCG signal arrives from Chesapeak in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It’s a NOAA Pacific NE forecast.
I made this video at 06h36 (09h36 UTC):
[Here is an audio ifile so you can get an idea of the quality of the reception:
That is amazing reception in Brazil, Carlos! Thank you for sharing this! I must say, you really give your XHDATA D-808 a workout! It’s a proper little DX machine!
Artwork by Carlos Latuff
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Hello Thomas,
I’m sad to know that the New Zealand meteorological agency MetService, has retired radiofax in July 1st, and is focusing on “modern solutions” of sending synoptic charts to vessels. In 2021 I received several radiofax charts from MetService in Porto Alegre.
https://about.metservice.com/our-company/national-weather-services/retirement-of-radiofax
This is a video I shot in 2020:
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
I made some adjustments and now I receive better quality radiofaxes. Since I started receiving radiofaxes in 2021, I had forgotten a fundamental detail.
To tune 1.9kHz lower than the advertised frequency. For example, the frequency of Kyodo News is 16971 kHz. I therefore tune in 16970 kHz. Of course, the fact that I tune in at 4:10 am in Brazil also makes a difference, as the propagation is quite good at that time.
Thank you for sharing that tip with up about moving down 1.9 kHz lower than the broadcast frequency. It certainly works–your decodes a very clean.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent RHC broadcast.
Carlos’ goal is to vividly illustrate the broadcaster’s message in his own unique artistic style and is not a reflection of his own beliefs or those of the SWLing Post. His objective is for his artwork to add historical context and put a visual with the news, reporting, and broadcast content:
Carlos notes:
Extract from the news bulletin of Radio Havana, Cuba, with the position of the Cuban government regarding the Palestine and Israel conflict. Heard in Porto Alegre, Brazil.