Tag Archives: FT8

Patricia hears a mystery signal on 7075 kHz

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Patricia, who writes with the following inquiry:

I wonder if anyone has heard and identified the station or signal I heard on 7075 kHz at 0745 October 30, 2021 on my C. Crane Skywave, and I live in southern California. I would like to know where this signal originates, sounding something like a numbers station, no voice, but a whooshing sound. I have heard it may be a ham frequency or a signal from space. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Patricia G.

Thank you for your question, Patricia.

I believe what you’re hearing is the ham radio digital mode called FT8.

FT8 is a weak signal digital mode that is extremely popular in the ham radio world these days. The mode isn’t designed around relaying lengthy messages, rather it’s designed for short, very formulaic exchanges.

Each message of up to 13 characters takes 13 seconds to send. For FT8 operators to be successful, they try to keep very accurate timing on their computing device controlling the transceiver. When the whole group is coordinated well, you’ll hear groups of signal tones singing all at once in 13 second intervals with a couple seconds of space between messages.

Here’s what FT8 sounds like in SSB mode:

It’s possible it sounded quite different, however, if you were listening in AM mode.

If this doesn’t sound like what you heard, perhaps you can check the comments for any other possibilities, but my guess is it’s FT8 as it’s a pretty strong chorus of tones!

Great question, Patricia!

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Ham Radio Digital Modes: Joe Taylor talks FT8 and introduces FT4

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pete Eaton, who shares the following note and video:

Here is a You Tube Video of a presentation given by Joe Taylor last night at the Fair Lawn ARC Club Meeting on FT8 & Beyond an introduction to FT4.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thank you for the tip, Pete!  FT4 looks like a fascinating iteration of the popular FT8 mode.

Post Readers: Any fans of FT8 out there?

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Don’t buy into the doom-and-gloom: Low sunspots are not the end of DXing!

In response to the spaceweather.com article about a lack of sunspots I posted yesterday, SWLing Post contributor, Rob Wagner (VK3BVW), replies:

Oh Thomas! Really?
It’s not all doom-and-gloom, you know! The low-frequency part of the SW spectrum is proving very good value at the moment. And the mediumwave guys are telling me that there’s plenty of DX to be had in that part of the RF spectrum.
And yesterday, I had some FT8 success!
From southeastern Australia on a dipole with 5w getting into Plymouth, Minnesota on 14mHz in the mid-afternoon here. Not bad at all for the bottom of the sunspot cycle!

Ha ha! Thanks for your reply, Rob! Honestly, I wasn’t trying to spread doom-and-gloom, rather I was pointing out how low this sunspot cycle has gone. (Okay, so perhaps I was also shaking my fist at our local star!)

I completely agree with you Rob. It’s not all doom-and-gloom! Here are a few strategies for working DX during sunspot lows:

Go low!

Sunspots really enhance propagation on the higher HF bands:  especially 17 meters and higher. Without supspots, you’re not going to reliably snag serious DX on 10 meters, for example–there will be the occasional opening, but it might not last long. During sunspot cycle peaks, the higher bands provide outstanding DX opportunities even with a modest setup.

During one peak, I’ll never forget sitting in my car in North Carolina, with a RadioShack 10 meter mobile radio connected to a mag mount antenna, and having a three way chat with a ham in Sandiego, CA and one in Glasgow, Scotland.

With that said, even this year I’ve snagged some excellent DX on 17 meters (my favorite HF band). And, as you point out Rob, 20 meters is a great band for snagging serious DX even with no sunspots giving you a boost.

Openings between the US and Australia happen routinely on the 40 meter band as well, although some of us might have to wake up early or go to bed late to participate.

Of course all of this same advice applies for SWLing. Most of the DX I snag these days is found on the 25 meter band and lower. I’ve also been using this opportunity to explore Mediumwave DXing.

Digital Modes

Kim Elliott and I had an exchange about this yesterday on Twitter. Some digital modes are so robust they seem to work regardless of propagation.

Kim knows this well as he receives reception reports from Shortwave Radiogram listeners across the globe each week.

If you’re a ham radio operator, I strongly encourage you to check out the latest “weak signal” digital modes: JT65 and, especially, FT8.

In fact, SWLing Post contributor, Robert Gulley (AK3Q), wrote an excellent introduction to these modes in the June 2017 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine.

Robert and I talk about the FT8 mode frequently. Since I discovered this mode at the 2017 W4DXCC conference, I’ve been hooked. Sure–it lacks the nuances of phone and CW, but it’s incredibly fun to watch my flea-powered signal acknowledged by someone on the other side of the planet with a flea-powered signal.

As Robert will tell you, FT8 seems to defy propagation theory. I agree wholeheartedly.

I’ve worked some of my best DX with this mode during the sunspot low and have never used more than 15 watts out of my Elecraft KX3 and KX2.

Don’t give up!

Although propagation was poor, I worked more stations during National Parks On The Air than I had worked the entire time I’ve been a ham radio operator. All in the field with modest portable antennas and 15 watts or less.

Use the sunspot low as an excuse to explore frequencies and modes you’ve never used before. Use this as an opportunity to improve your listening skills and the most important part of your listening post or ham station–your antenna system!

I regularly get email from people who’ve found the SWLing Post and take the time to write a message to me complaining about the death of shortwave radio: the lack of broadcasters, the prevalence of radio interference and the crummy propagation.

My reply?

“Hey…sounds like radio’s not your thing!”

While this same person is moaning and complaining, I’ll be on the radio logging South American, Asian and African broadcast stations.

I’ll be working DX with QRP power, even though everyone tells me that’s not possible right now.

I’ll be improving my skill set and trying new aspects of our vast radio world.

You see: I’ve learned that the complainers aren’t actually on the air. They gave up many moons ago because someone told them it wasn’t worth it, or they simply lost interest. That’s okay…but why waste time complaining? Go find something else that lights your fire!

While these folks are complaining, I’ll be on the air doing all of the things they tell me I can’t do.

Rob, thanks for your comment!

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The HF Voyager: Make contact with an “autonomous ocean-going drone”

The HF Voyager (Source: JRF Amateur Radio Club)

(Source: Southgate ARC)

David, AA6YQ, author of DXLab – ‘Better DXing Through (Free) Software’, posted the following: ‘Jupiter Research Foundation Amateur Radio Club (JRFARC) has integrated an HF transceiver with an autonomous ocean-going drone. Our mission is to deploy a ham radio station that roams the world’s oceans while providing an opportunity for amateur radio operators everywhere to make contacts with rare locations.’

“We sent this new Voyager out to the open ocean on its way to California on January 15th, 2018 as a passenger on the JRF HUMPACs mission. As they search for ‘missing’ humpback whales, JRF’s pilots will guide HF Voyager to sections of the Equatorial North Pacific that are not normally available to ham operators. The station will use FT8 and PSK-31 on the 20 meter band as its primary operating modes. You may also find it using WSPR in times of poor propagation.”

See http://www.jrfarc.org/hf-voyager/

The portal in http://hfvportal.jrfarc.org/ takes a minute or two to display data.

The club plans to give a certificate of recognition to operators world-wide that have a confirmed contact with the HF Voyager. In the future we hope to collaborate with Amateur Radio organizations and publishers to sponsor operating events and contests for HF Voyager contact milestones.

Gridsquare collectors, maritime operating fans, Islands on the Air participants, and all other hams interested in this unique opportunity to make a contact with an autonomous roving maritime station should find this to be an exciting new aspect of their favorite hobby.

Be sure to check out our HF Voyager Blog for updates and schedules:
http://www.jrfarc.org/hf-voyager-updates

I think this is a pretty fascinating project–especially if the system can withstand the rigors of ocean travel and can be tracked and picked up later for replacement and upgrades.

I had never spent much time on the HF digital modes until last year when I caught the FT8 bug. While FT8 lacks some of the social nuances of, say SSB voice and CW, it is a fascinating mode that seems to defy HF propagation rules. It’s certainly an accessible way to work HF stations across the globe with a very modest setup. I think it’s an ideal pairing for a project like the HF Voyager.

Even if you don’t have a ham radio license, with an HF receiver and a free PC application, you can receive/decode FT8 contacts from across the globe.

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