Tag Archives: ELAD

200 metre longwire: Radio Verdad 4054.9 kHz, Guatemala, unprecedented reception in Oxford, UK

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verdadRadio Verdad, Chiquimula, Guatemala is quite a regular catch at home, however, their modulation is nearly always weak as the carrier struggles to lift above the ubiquitous blanket of local QRM. Another issue with hearing this station is the digital utility signal just above 4055 kHz, thus requiring LSB reception to reject the adjacent noise.

This particular recording of Radio Verdad was taken during a DX’pedition using the 200 metre longwire and is unprecedented in signal strength and clarity – in my personal experience. With fully discernible audio both the Elad FDM DUO and Sony ICF-2001D receivers perform very well with my experimental 200 metre antenna. I should point out that the audio from the Sony is significantly louder because the speaker on the Elad is puny, to say the least. However, the reception on the Elad sounds to me at least, superior to the Sony in terms of SNR, which is everything in Tropical Band DXing. As usual, I welcome your comments. Recorded in Oxford UK on 31/07/18 at 03:31 hrs UTC. Thanks for watching.

Direct link to the Oxford Shortwave Log reception video of Radio Verdad, Guatemala

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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DX’pedition: first test of deployable 200 metre longwire antenna by Oxford Shortwave Log

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A view looking toward  Oxford Shortwave Log DX’pedition territory; a wood in rural Oxfordshire

Regular viewers of my youtube channel will know that I spend much of my shortwave listening time out in an Oxfordshire wood where QRM is negligable and Tropical Band stations can be heard with, at times, unprecidented signal-to-noise. Regular viewers will also be aware that I enjoy experimenting with different antenna set-ups, particularly pushing the boundaries with longwires coupled to portables. Having applied my rather modest practical skills, I constructed a 200 metre deployable 200 metre longwire antenna and finally got around to testing it, with my Elad FDM DUO and Sony ICF-2001D. There are a number of reception videos still to be uploaded to the Oxford Shortwave Log youtube channel, howvever, the immediate information and entertainment of SWLing Post readers, I have included two here. 🙂

The first is the more commonly heard Emisoras Pio XII from Boliva on 5952.5 kHz using the Sony and the second, the much more rarely reported Radio Chaski from Peru on 5979.9 kHz using the Elad. Both reception videos were very encouraging. In fact, I would go so far as to say they demonstrated excellent reception witihin the framework of their respective contexts. Emisoras Pio XII was almost booming with unprecidented signal strength and clarity, whilst Radio Chaski was heard with discernible audio. Neither station had been received as well at my QTH or the woods, previously.

Direct link to reception video of Emisoras Pio XII from Boliva on 5952.5 kHz

Direct link to reception video of Radio Chaski from Peru on 5979.9 kHz

I hope this gives other DXers ‘food for thought’ with regard to experimenting with antennas and perhaps more importantly, making significant improvements to SNR by removing themselves from the ubiquitous blanket of QRM generated by all of those devices at home that are intrinsic to modern life. Thanks for watching. 73.

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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Medium Wave DX: CBC Radio 1 Gander, 1400 kHz, remarkably clear signal in Oxford UK

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CBC Radio 1, Gander, heard in Oxford UK

A really great signal from CBC Radio 1 Gander – the best I’ve ever heard on this or any other medium wave frequency, complete with a clear station ID and very much out of season so-to-speak. I can’t remember recording any Medium Wave transatlantic signal with an audio bandwidth filter of 7 kHz, which says everything about the relative strength of this signal; 2.5 to perhaps 4 kHz would be more typical. As the subscribers to my youtube channel Oxford Shortwave log will know, I dabble in Medium Wave DXing, however, it requires a lot of patience because conditions of good propagation can occur quite infrequently. This is where the band recording features incorporated into the Elad FDM-SW2 software (and similar software for other SDR receivers) come into their own, allowing you to record the entire medium wave band, for example, for later analysis. As for the Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop antenna, I can’t praise it highly enough, both in terms of combating QRM and overall performance as a function of compactness.

Recorded in Oxford UK using an Elad FDM DUO and Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop antenna (indoors) on 29/06/16 at 03:00 hrs UTC.

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

 

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Elad FDM-S2 on sale $499 US

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Elad-Summer-Sale

While browsing the Elad website, I noticed an End of Summer sale on their US retail page.

The sale includes one of my favorite sub-$1000 SDRs–the Elad FDM-S2–priced at $499 US (originally $580). If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing the FDM-S2, this might be a good time to bite the bullet. Certainly a great value, in my book. Click here to read my review.

Note that the Elad FDM-DUO stand-alone SDR transceiver and FDM-S1 receiver are also on sale.

I don’t see an indication of when the sale ends, but I assume it may last until the end of summer. If interested, you might contact the Elad sales department to confirm.

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Video: Controlling the Elad FDM-S2 SDR with the HP Stream 7 tablet

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Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanelMany thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Guy Atkins, who shares the following video demonstrating how the Elad FDM-S2 can be controlled with the $99 HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet PC:

You can read more about Guy’s FDM-S2/HP Stream 7 setup in his previous post.

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Using the Elad FDM-S2 on the $99 HP Stream 7 tablet

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The HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet

The HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet

Regarding the Elad FDM-S2, Guy Atkins comments:

“This week I bought an HP Stream 7 tablet from the local Microsoft Store for $99, and it runs my Elad FDM-S2 receiver great! This recently introduced tablet is the perhaps the lowest priced new computer with Windows 8.1. I can even record the entire MW band, and play back the WAV files without audio stuttering. CPU load is an impressive 11-12%. Once you add a small OTG USB adapter you can plug in a USB hub and attach a wireless mouse receiver, the SDR’s cable, and other stuff. I was recording to a micro SD card (the slot is a bit of a pain, as you need to remove the back cover of the tablet. Recording to a USB external HD or SSD may also work). I also had an AC adapter powering the USB hub, as the tablet’s micro USB port cannot supply enough current for the Elad SDR.

This will be a neat, very portable setup for camping DXpeditions and when I want to take the SDR right to the termination of a phased loop array antenna for adjusting nulls. I do that now, but it’s more of a hassle with a regular laptop.

I presume I’ll be able to run the Afedri SDR-Net in “LAN mode” also but I’ll need to attach a USB-to-LAN adapter to the tablet first. A LAN rather than a USB connection is required for this particular SDR to have the bandwidth to handle all of medium wave at once.

Here’s a review of the 7-inch, Win 8.1 tablet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoPNzx8bcVQ. Also, when you buy it for $99 USD it includes a one-year subscription to MS Office 365, that can be used on two different devices. That’s worth $70 in itself.”

Wow–thanks so much for sharing this, Guy.

I’m very impressed you can record the entire MW band to an SD card and playback without stuttering. The quad core Atom processor must have enough horsepower to cope with the incoming data.

This setup would be ideal for field recording then taking the SD card back to the PC for analyzing later on a larger screen.

As you use this set-up, Guy, please keep us informed about any tips or quirks you discover along the way!

I found the Stream 7 at the following places online:

Update: Check out Guy’s video demonstration of the Stream 7/FDM-S2 combo. 

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Elad FDM-S2: Eric’s method of mitigating strong local signals

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Elad-FDM-S2-FrontPanel

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader Eric Cottrell, who writes:

“Thanks for your excellent review of the Elad FDM-S2. I bought one and received it yesterday.

I tried out the software earlier this week by downloading 4GB of sample files from DK8OK and the Elad software. There are a lot of interesting features.

It is small! I like the use of the USB port for power. I can see how it would be a good receiver to throw into your laptop bag for trips.

I have a harsher Urban RF environment with 5KW and 1KW AM Broadcast transmitters within 2.5 miles. They reduce power at night. The Wellbrook AHA1530 Loop outputs a very high signal level from all the area’s AM stations. I have to use the attenuator on any radio at my QTH below about 2.5 MHz.

The unit having one preselection filter for LW/MW/HF is noticeable as I got ADC Clip warnings when directly connected to the Wellbrook loop. Turning on the 11 dB attenuator took care of the problem and did not seem to affect the weak signals much. It also was not as bad when I connected a Mini-Circuits ZFSC-2-6+ two port splitter between the Elad and the Wellbrook.

The Perseus has multiple preselection filters, but I noticed only one low pass filter for the 0 to 1.7 MHz range. So a MW band reject filter would be useful for Long Wave with both units. I plan on building an external preselector.

The option for multiple receivers and two RF ranges is pretty neat. I was listening to multiple FM stations at once. This morning I set one range to 31 meters and the other to 49 meters. I listened to Radio Australia on 9580 KHz using the right laptop speaker for audio, and could check their other frequencies on 31 and 49 meters using the left laptop speaker for audio.

I do HF Utility monitoring on digital signals, so I want to setup the Elad software with external decoder software. I have seen reports that the Elad can receive Airband pretty good, so I will also try receiving and decoding multiple ACARS frequencies at the same time.

So many experiment to try this Winter!”

Thanks for sharing your experience, Eric! Since I live in such a rural area, I never have to worry much about low pass filters (though I’m sure they couldn’t hurt). I’ve had the FDM-S2 since June this year.  I can tell you that there are so many features, settings and possibilities with this radio, you could easily spend the winter and spring experimenting. I have yet to use the WinRad app to drive the S2.

Eric, we welcome any other discoveries you make along the way! Many thanks!

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