Tag Archives: Chris Fallen (KL3WX)

Ongoing HAARP HF experiments

Tomorrow is the final day in this latest HAARP campaign–still time to tune in:

(Source: Chris Fallen)

Funding Agencies: National Science Foundation, Fourth State Communications

Experimenters/Instrumentation Support: Cornell University, UAF, Naval Research Lab, Eastern Michigan University, HAM amateur radio operators

Research: Experiments are carried out by scientists from Cornell University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Fourth State Communications, LLC. Additional instrumentation and other support will be provided by scientists from the Naval Research Lab and Eastern Michigan University, and by ham amateur radio operators located in Alaska and British Columbia. During the campaign, scientists will investigate radio-enhanced airglow (i.e. “artificial aurora”) including its relation to the natural aurora and use for measuring high-altitude winds in the thermosphere, the ionospheric generation of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves, and testing new communications applications of artificial ionosphere plasma structures. HAARP operations can be monitored throughout Alaska using shortwave radio receivers tuned to frequencies between 2.7 and 10 MHz. Conditions permitting, the artificial aurora may be photographed as a faint “spot” above Gakona between approximately 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. Alaska Standard Time on each day of the campaign.

Follow Chris Fallen’s Twitter feed for up-to-date times and frequencies.

Spread the radio love

HAARP WSPR 80m transmissions July 30 – Aug 1

(Source: Southgate ARC)

Chris Fallen KL3WX will be using 80 kilowatts into the massive HAARP antenna array in Alaska for WSPR experiments in the 80m band from July 30 to August 1

Chris KL3WX tweeted:

WSPR experiments are tentatively planned to occur between 2300 and 2400 hours UTC on July 30, 31, and Aug 1. Most broadcasts will be at the 80m dial frequency default in WSJT, that is 3.5926 MHz with AM (3 dB loss) because HAARP does not have an upper side band (USB) mode yet!

For updates follow Chris KL3WX on Twitter at
https://twitter.com/ctfallen

University of Alaska Fairbanks HAARP
https://twitter.com/uafhaarp

HAARP FAQ
https://www.gi.alaska.edu/haarp/faq

WSPRnet
http://wsprnet.org/

Spread the radio love

Building the Cricket QRP Transceiver at HOPE 2018

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m currently at the Circle of HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) convention in New York City.

Yesterday morning, I grabbed some breakfast and a cup of coffee then headed to the Hardware Hacking Village–a space in the Hotel Pennsylvania with over 50 soldering stations–sat down and started to build the Cricket QRP transceiver.

I’ve always found that kit building and soldering calms my nerves and since my presentation was later that day, it was just what the doctor ordered.

I opened up the kit at 9:00 am and started working.

All of the components were accounted for and the instructions were clear and easy to follow.

Although I didn’t need extra help I did have the extraordinary luxury of having the kit’s designer, my buddy David Cripe (NM0S), sitting across the table from me at one point.

Dave (NM0S) giving my Cricket the nod of approval.

The Cricket was incredibly easy to build, taking only about one hour or less start to finish.

The cool thing about this transceiver is that there are no coils to wind (they’re traced into the board) and by breaking off a pre-scored length of the circuit board, you can build an on-board hand key.

I had it on the air by 10:30 at the special event station W2H.

The Empire State Building as seen from the roof of the Hotel Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, the blowtorch AM broadcaster on the Empire State Building (ahem…next door!) overloaded the Cricket in no small way. I was, however, able to confirm output power, audio and that the receiver was functioning.

Most impressed!

Incidentally, Dave tells me he has a limit number of the Cricket kits available on his eBay store for about $37 US shipped, if you’re interested.

Click here to view the Cricket on eBay.

As for HOPE? It has far exceeded my expectations.

I’m looking forward to Chris Fallen’s presentation about HAARP later today, followed by David Cripe’s EMP presentation (who I will introduce).

Spread the radio love

HAARP Amateur Radio Experiment

(Source: Southgate ARC)

Radio ham’s HAARP experiment

The IEEE Spectrum reports on the Slow Scan Television (SSTV) transmissions made from Alaska’s HAARP facility by radio amateur Chris Fallen KL3WX

In late September, Christopher Fallen and technicians at the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) near Gakona, Alaska, switched on a giant array of 180 antennas. They were hoping to produce radio-induced airglow, also known as artificial aurora, as a way to better understand the mechanics of natural aurora.

He embedded images into the powerful radio wave that HAARP uses to heat a patch of the ionosphere, and alerted amateur radio enthusiasts through Twitter. As the experiment ran, his feed began to light up with tweets from listeners who were sending the images back to him.

Fallen, an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute, had transmitted two UAF logos, a cat photo, and a QR code granting the recipient 0.001 Bitcoin.

Messages returned from Pueblo, Colo., and Victoria, British Columbia. Given that HAARP’s antennas point directly up at the sky instead of out toward the horizon, Fallen was pleased with the results. “As powerful as HAARP is, it’s just a big radio,” he says.

It’s actually a giant phased array radio transmitter capable of sending 3.6 megawatts of energy into the ionosphere.

Read the full story at
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/scientists-in-alaska-attempt-to-produce-fake-aurora-with-giant-antenna-array

Click here to read at the Southgate ARC Website.

Spread the radio love

HAARP Open House: August 19, 2017

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

HAARP Open House 19 August, September campaign

The next HAARP open house will occur on 19 August 2017 and include round-trip bus transportation from Fairbanks for $45 which will help bring costs down for individuals, particularly for those from out of town.

(Flyer attached, though I am not aware of an official press release yet but updates will be posted at http://www.gi.alaska.edu/haarp)

Throughout the day there will be talks by Geophysical Institute researchers on-site about the HAARP facility and research, and other research topics pursued at the UAF Geophysical Institute. As in the previous year, tours of the main transmitter array, control center, and power generation plant will be offered throughout the day. Hams and radio enthusiasts are encouraged to bring their equipment for photo opportunities or even to make contacts from the site.

Any SWLing Post readers/contributors plan to attend the open house? If so, we’d love to share your photos! Please contact me if interested!

Spread the radio love

HAARP campaign update: Luxembourg Broadcast & Artificial Aurora

Many thanks to Chris Fallen (KL3WX), Assistant research professor in the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical – Space Physics group , who shares the following update from the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP):

Campaign time!

Experiments begin in the mid morning 19 February Alaska Standard Time (AKST) and continue intermittently through the evening each day through 22 February.

Luxembourg Broadcast

The first radio modification of the ionosphere occurred in the early 1930s and was an accidental consequence of the new and powerful Radio Luxembourg transmitter. In certain situations, listeners of other weaker broadcast radio stations found that they sometimes heard Radio Luxembourg programming even though it was transmitted on a completely different frequency. Scientists and engineers eventually concluded that signals from powerful Radio Luxembourg and less powerful stations were being mixed in space, that is, through ionosphere modification.

HAARP will transmit a sequence of tones and music using amplitude modulation (AM) on two different radio frequencies (2.7 MHz and 3.3 MHz) in a sort of reproduction of this so-called Luxembourg Effect. If conditions are sufficient and you tune-in to one frequency or the other, you will hear tones and music from both frequencies. The tones and music have been specifically composed to take advantage of the Luxembourg effect.

The Luxembourg broadcast will begin as early as 6 p.m. on 19 and 20 February Alaska Standard Time (AKST) and conclude by 6:40 p.m. In Coordinate Universal Time (UTC), the broadcasts will begin as early as 03:00 on 20 and 21 February and conclude by 03:40. Tune in to 2.7 MHz or 3.3 MHz (2700 KHz or 3300 KHz), or both! The program is approximately 10 minutes in duration and will repeat until 6:40 p.m. AKST or 03:40 UTC.

Artificial Aurora

Aurora photographers in Alaska, Yukon Territory, and northwest British Columbia have a chance to photograph artificial aurora created with HAARP, starting immediately after the Luxembourg Broadcast and continuing until the ionosphere critical frequency over Gakona drops below about 2.7 MHz.

Radio listeners can still tune-in to these operations, but the transmissions are slightly more complex in order to test a scientific hypothesis. Also, at least in these initial experiments, the broadcast will only sound like a silent carrier wave, as if a radio DJ fell asleep and neglected to change the record (or now, more likely, the digital file). The specific transmission sequence is as follows:

MAIN: Repeat the following 480 second sequence if foF2 > 2.80 MHz

90 seconds : 2.80 MHz
30 seconds : OFF
90 seconds : 2.80 MHz, O mode, CW modulation, MZ direction
30 seconds : OFF
90 seconds : 2.82 MHz, O mode, CW modulation, MZ direction
30 seconds : OFF
90 seconds : 2.84 MHz, O mode, CW modulation, MZ direction
30 seconds : OFF

BACKUP: Repeat the following 240 second sequence if foF2 < 2.80 MHz

90 seconds : 2.75 MHz
30 seconds : OFF
90 seconds : 2.75 MHz
30 seconds : OFF

Thank you, Chris.

Chris tells me that his campaigns are “strenuous chair-and-keyboard marathons” where, at times, he drives a mile or so to adjust cameras and drives back to the operations center to make adjustments there–the process being repeated many times over. I can only imagine how challenging it must be working with a site so vast.

Note that we have given Chris Fallen an account on the SWLing Post so he can directly post details about HAARP campaigns and research prior to and after events, when his time allows.

Spread the radio love

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.

Spread the radio love