Tag Archives: Eric McFadden (WD8RIF)

The ISS will be sending SSTV in April

(Source: ARRL via Eric McFadden, WD8RIF)

Space Station’s Slow-Scan Television System to be Active in April

The Amateur Radio Slow-Scan Television (SSTV) system on the International Space Station (ISS) is expected to be active in April on 145.800 MHz (FM). The Russian segment’s MAI 75 SSTV has announced transmissions on Monday, April 2, 1505 – 1830 UTC, and on Tuesday, April 3, 1415 – 1840 UTC.

“Reviewing the crew schedule, the SSTV activity, which uses Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) radios, was coordinated around ARISS school contacts and is listed for April 2 and April 3,” said NASA ISS Ham Project Coordinator Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO.

The SSTV system, which uses the call sign RS0ISS, is also expected to be active from April 11 – 14 worldwide to mark Cosmonautics Day in Russia on April 12. Specific transmission times are not yet available. Images on all dates will be related to the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos cooperative space ventures project.

SSTV images will be transmitted in PD-120 format on 145.800 MHz (FM) using the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver in the ISS Russian Service Module. ISS transmissions use the 5-kHz deviation FM standard. It’s possible to receive SSTV transmissions with only a handheld transceiver and appropriate SSTV software[…]

Click here to read the full article on the ARRL website.

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Atlas Obscura: “This weather report has been making waves for 150 years.”

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Photo by Michael Browning on Unsplash.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that the excellent website, Atlas Obscura, recently featured The Shipping Forecast:

Why a Maritime Forecast Is So Beloved in the United Kingdom

For the penultimate song on their 1994 album Parklife, Blur chose the swirling, meditative epic, “This Is a Low.” The song envisions a five-minute trip around the British Isles as an area of low pressure hits.

“Up the Tyne, Forth, and Cromarty,” sings the lead singer Damon Albarn, “there’s a low in the high Forties.” The song’s litany of playful-sounding place names, including the improbable “Biscay” and “Dogger,” may seem obscure to listeners abroad, but to a British audience, they resonate.

The song’s lyrics were inspired by the Shipping Forecast, a weather report that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Sailors working around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, recipients of the wrath of the North Atlantic and North Sea, are the ostensible beneficiaries of the forecast.

But, for listeners who tune in while tucked in bed rather than sailing the high seas, the reassuring sound—a simple, steady listing of conditions in the seas around the British Isles, broken down into 31 “sea areas,” most of which are named after nearby geographical features—is something more akin to the beating pulse of the United Kingdom, as familiar as the national anthem or the solemn chimes of Big Ben.[…]

Continue reading the full story via Atlas Obscura.

Thanks for the tip, Eric!

SWLing Post readers know that I’m quite a fan of The Shipping Forecast. We’ve posted a number of articles about the Forecast on the SWLing Post in the past–click here to read through our archives.

When I lived in the UK, I would often fall asleep and/or wake up to the Shipping Forecast. Here in the States, I can listen to the forecast live via the U Twente WebSDR, but I rarely remember to do so.

And, of course, I can navigate to the Radio 4 website and stream current and past forecasts on demand, but I find the audio a little too clean and full fidelity. I prefer listening to my maritime poetry via Amplitude Modulation (AM)!

To satisfy my desire for some AM forecasts, this morning I fed my SSTran AM transmitter with audio from the Radio 4 website, then made a recording with my AirSpy HF+ SDR.

Here’s my AM version of the Shipping Forecast:

Click here to download as an MP3.

For the record: this is what you get when you combine a radio and shipping forecast geek!

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Guest Post: A Photographic Tour of Universal Radio’s New Location

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), for sharing the following guest post:

In October, 2017, Universal Radio moved from their large Reynoldsburg, Ohio retail store and warehouse to a smaller retail store and warehouse at 651-B Lakeview Plaza, Worthington, Ohio. This is actually Universal Radio’s fourth location in its 75 year history. In 1942, Universal Service opened on North Third Street in downtown Columbus. In 1977, Universal Radio moved to Aida Drive in Reynoldsburg. In 1992, Universal Radio moved to Americana Drive in Reynoldsburg. Finally, in 2017, Universal Radio moved to the current location in Worthington.

On Friday, November 17, I had the opportunity to visit the new location of Universal Radio for the first time and I prepared a photographic tour of the new location.

The new location is smaller than the previous location and instead of consisting of one large showroom space, the new location consists of several smaller rooms. (Indeed, the new layout reminds me the layout of one of my all-time favorite bookstores, the Book Loft in Columbus’s German Village neighborhood, which now has 32 (!) rooms of books. No, Universal Radio’s new store does not have 32 rooms!) As can be seen in the following photographs, these rooms are densely stocked. Universal Radio still offers all the items that were available in the previous store location. Of course, just as at the previous, larger, location, some items aren’t on immediate display but are available upon request.

The new Universal Radio storefront at 651-B Lakeview Plaza Blvd, Worthington, Ohio. There’s more than ample parking.

The sign and entrance to the new Universal Radio store.

Books, with Barb stocking the shelves with the newest "The Worldwide Listening Guide"

Immediately upon entering the store, one will find hundreds of book titles. Here, Barb is stocking the shelves with the newest, just-released, “The Worldwide Listening Guide”.

And, of course, Universal still offers several issues each of the two major American amateur radio magazines.

Antennas, shortwave receivers, HTs, scanners + VHF/UHF mobiles

In the main showroom: antennas, shortwave receivers, HTs, scanners, and VHF/UHF mobile transceivers.

In the same showroom, the HF transceivers, available to operate.

The Heil microphone and headset display.

The Used equipment display: HF transceivers, shortwave receivers, VHF/UHF transceivers, handhelds, and accessories.

Antennas!

And more antennas!

Just as with nearly any other modern retailer, Universal Radio’s bread-and-butter is internet and telephone orders. This is just a small portion of the new warehouse and shipping area, with Barb and Cathy busily filling orders.

A small portion of the warehouse and shipping area.

Universal Radio still has a nicely-equipped service area.

Just as at the previous Reynoldsburg location (and at the even earlier Aida Drive location), the new Universal Radio store is home to several cats which, sadly, I neglected to photograph.

The new store is staffed by the same friendly and helpful people we’ve come to know from the Americana Drive location. During this visit, I saw and spoke with Josh, Eric, Barb, and Cathy.

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Space Weather Woman: Check out Dr. Tamitha Skov’s forecasts

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who recently shared one of Tamitha Skov’s space weather forecast videos.

Over the past few years, I’ve watched Dr. Skov’s weekly video forecasts to better understand the implications of incoming CMEs, solar winds, sun spots (or lack thereof) and geomagnetic storms. While her videos include a lot of technical details, they’re also much easier to understand than the typical propagation forecast. Plus, her videos they’re chock-full of solar imagery and animations.

This weekend, for example, we’re going to experience some disruptions to HF propagation. Yesterday, solar wind speed soared to 704–and at time of publishing this post it’s 721 km/sec (thanks for noting, Mike!).

Dr. Skov explains it all in her latest space weather video:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Click here to view and subscribe to Tamitha Skov’s YouTube channel, and click here to check out her website.

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Eric seeks advice: Building a directional mediumwave antenna for the RSP2 SDR

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who writes with the following question:

A request for assistance.

After comparing the reception of the RSP2 and 1/2 doublet to the reception of the County Comm GP-5 SSB and its little external ferrite-bar, I’ve decided I probably want to make some sort of directional antenna to use on AMBC with the RSP2. A wire loop, perhaps, or some sort of ferrite-bar thing, that connects to the RSP2’s Hi-Z input.

[Perhaps SWLing Post readers can suggest] options and then I can get the needed bits at the 2017 Hamvention.

Post readers: if you can offer Eric suggestions, or point him to antenna plans, please comment! I do believe he would rather build an antenna than simply buy one and he’s looking to permanently mount this antenna outdoors.

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Eric spots a Drake SPR-4 shortwave receiver on eBay

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who is quite a Drake fan and recently spotted this SPR-4 on eBay.

The seller has it listed as an auction currently at $400, but with a BuyItNow price of $600 US. That’s a fairly steep price considering Universal Radio has sold them in the past for +/- $400. Of course, the last one in Universal’s sold index was posted in 2011.

I’ve never owned a Drake receiver, but I’ve certainly used them and have been impressed with their performance and audio fidelity. SPF-4 reviews on eHam are certainly positive.

Image source: Universal Radio

I know this: I love the blue backlit dials on this particular Drake line! Gorgeous!

Click here to view on eBay.

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A Replacement Whip Antenna for Sony ICF-SW7600G

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The Sony ICF-SW7600G (Photo: Universal Radio)

This is a guest-post by Eric, WD8RIF.

I’ve had my Sony ICF-SW7600G for almost twenty years. Early on, my very young son broke the receiver’s telescoping whip antenna and it was a simple and inexpensive matter to order a replacement whip assembly from Universal Radio, the Sony dealer from whom I had purchased the radio.

Recently, the receiver’s antenna failed at the pivot-point. First, the factory-supplied countersunk screw’s Phillips-head stripped out through repeated attempts to tighten the pivot over the years until finally I had to replace the screw. The best replacement screw I could find was a 2mm x 6 Allen-head screw from an R/C hobby shop that appeared to work fine until I managed to strip the antenna’s threads through over-tightening this screw. (Perhaps the Allen wrench simply provided too much torque for such a small screw.)

Clearly, it was time to actually buy a replacement antenna. This turned out to be easier said than done. Universal Radio is no longer a Sony distributor and has no access to parts for Sony products. A visit to the Sony website disclosed that service-parts are handled by two other companies, neither of which could provide the antenna—a surprising thing to discover since I think the antenna used in the ICF-SW7600G is the same part which is used in the current-model ICF-SW7600GR. A search on Amazon disclosed a seller offering the part for over $52, far more than I wanted to pay. Perhaps belatedly, I thought to check eBay where I found several listings, some offering the genuine Sony part shipped directly from Japan. I was intrigued, however, in the listing by stone_deng (link) who offered a non-OEM replacement antenna, shipped from Virginia, for $16.80 with free shipping. The description claimed the antenna was a perfect-fit replacement. Figuring the price would make this a good gamble, and because I wouldn’t have to wait weeks for delivery from Japan, I placed an order for one on a Monday evening and the postman delivered the antenna to my mailbox the following Friday. (I noticed as I was composing this post that stone_deng has raised the price for this antenna to $19.90 with free shipping.)

In comparing the replacement antenna with my original Sony part, the only difference I could see is that the metal tip of the replacement antenna is of a different style. Dimension-wise, the two antennas appeared to be identical.

Installation of the new antenna was simple. A single screw secures the antenna to the radio.

Remove this screw and pull the antenna straight out of the receiver.

It should be possible to slip the new antenna into the hole, twisting it to properly line up the mounting-flange, and run the screw back into place. In my case, the new antenna insisted on snagging on something inside the radio and I ended up removing the rear-panel entirely to install the new antenna rather than try to force the antenna into place. Fortunately, the rear panel is easily removed.

Remove the battery-cover and the four AA cells. Remove the five black Phillips-head screws that are marked on the rear panel with arrows. The rear panel will then lift straight up. Insert the new antenna into its hole, lining up the mounting flange with the screw-hole, and insert and tighten the screw. Carefully place the rear panel into place, lining up the four screw holes, and insert and tighten the five screws. Re-insert the AA cells and replace the battery cover.

I’m hopeful that this non-OEM antenna will prove to be rugged but time will tell. If this antenna proves to be inferior than the original in some way, I will post a follow-up to this post.

Obligatory disclaimer: I don’t know stone_deng, and I don’t have any financial interest in his company or products.

Eric McFadden (WD8RIF) is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Click here to visit Eric’s website which features QRP operation. Eric is based in Athens, Ohio.

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