Tag Archives: Longwave

Addendum: More Notes on the HF+ SDR on Medium Wave & Long Wave

In my recent post on the AirSpy HF+ vs Elad FDM-S2, I commented on medium wave reception only.

This past weekend I swapped out the Wellbrook ALA1530S+ for another Wellbrook loop, the ALA1530LN Pro. This LN Pro model is less likely to overload receivers at my suburban Tacoma, WA location. Both AirSpy and Elad radios performed admirably with the LN Pro and it was nearly impossible to find any reception differences on medium wave.

Before the antenna swap though I experimented with inline attenuation modules (“bullets”), typically used in cable TV installations. I used the same sample rates on the SDRs as described in the previous article. After some tests with different attenuation levels, I came to the following conclusions during daytime comparisons:

FDM-S2 with ALA1530S+ loop, medium wave: needs a minimum of 6 dB attenuation to avoid overloading. Anything less causes saturation of the spectrum & waterfall, “crunching” overload noises, and minimal or no received signal.

HF+ with ALA1530S+ loop, medium wave: I had to search diligently to find any signs of false signals or overloading, but finally noticed a weak image or spur of a S-9+60 dB (-13.5 dBm) local station on 1560 that was appearing very weakly on 1270 kHz, mixing with the station on that frequency. Sometimes it was there, other times the spur or image would drop down and disappear, leaving the 1270 signal alone. If I added just 3 dB of attenuation in the antenna’s feed line, the interference from the 1560 station was gone for good. The S-9+60 dB station is a very strong signal; it’s impressive that the AirSpy HF+ deals with this and similar powerhouse signals so well.

Long wave: Below are two screen captures from my local long wave reception in the evening, made moments apart with each receiver.

FDM-S2

HF+

As you can tell, there are a half dozen or so additional signals seen on the HF+ below 200 kHz that do not appear on the FDM-S2. These extra spikes are images or spurs from medium wave signals that were missing from the FDM-S2’s reception–bravo Elad! However, the remaining spikes on both radios below 200 kHz seemed to be noise or interference.

Each receiver had roughly equal performance in the bulk of the long wave spectrum, when I did A-B comparisons on the same beacon signals. I’m not a LW or NDB DXer however, so I can’t claim any expertise on these frequencies. In short, though, both radios seem neck-and-neck from about 200 to 500 kHz.

The DXer of LW frequencies may want to look elsewhere for a better performing radio than either the FDM-S2 or HF+. SWLing Post reader Tudor Vedeanu has commented that the SDRPlay RSP1A  and the Eton E1 work very well at long wave.

Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington.  He’s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.

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WI2XLQ: Brian Justin’s annual longwave broadcast Dec 24-26

Canadian Reginald Aubrey Fessenden in his lab believed circa 1906 (Source: Radio Canada International)

Now an annual Christmas tradition, Brian Justin (WA1ZMS) will put his longwave experimental station WI2XLQ on the air to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Reginald Fessenden’s first audio transmission.

WI2XLQ will be on the air from 17:00 UTC Dec 24th on 486 kHz and run for 48 hours until 16:59 UTC on Dec 26th.

Listener reports may be sent to Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, at his QRZ.com address.

If you would like more information about Brian Justin and WI2XLQ, check out our interview with him in 2013. Indeed, I successfully heard the 2013 WG2XFG broadcast and posted this audio clip on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

Additionally, SWLing Post reader, George Stein has a very personal connection with radio pioneer, Reginald Fessenden: click here to read his story.

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Ron discovers a new VLF converter

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who writes:

A firm in the UK is now offering new VLF converters in built, ready to go form or in kit form.

Coverage is 10-500 khz full LW band or 0.1-100 kHz ELF band.

Your choice of stock or SO239, BNC or RCA connectors for antenna input and converter output.

Powered by a nine volt battery.

In addition a special 630m version is available tuned for max performance on 475 kHz in the middle of the 630m band.

Click here to view on eBay.

Thanks for the tip, Ron! Based on the photos, the construction looks to be of very good quality. There are so few VLF converters on the market–please share your review when you’ve had a chance to evaluate it!

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RTÉ longwave 252: maintenance shutdown June 27 – July 8, 2017

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, James Leary, who shares the following news and audio clip from RTÉ:

Hi Thomas, I heard this announcement the other day about RTE 252 and thought it might be of interest for your site. I think it’s also going to shut down permanently in 2019.

Received on a Tecsun PL-390 in NW UK.

Click here to download the audio as an MP3.

Thanks for the news and recording, James!

You’re correct: according to an article from Radio Today, RTÉ has agreed to continue its longwave 252 service until the end of June 2019.

Impressive that RTÉ’s longwave transmission equipment has been in continuous operation for over 27 years! I’m not surprised the antenna needs maintenance.

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The Bonito Boni whip: proving to be excellent portable antenna for DXing

Hi there, if you’re a subscriber to the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel, you will be aware that I have been using a Wellbrook ALA1530 H field antenna, for 15 months or so, with (at times) excellent results. A while back I was on the lookout for a second antenna, however at more than £250, I couldn’t justify purchasing a second Wellbrook. Ultimately I splashed out on the Bonito Boni whip E-field wideband active antenna (20 kHz to 300 MHz) and with a very compact form-factor suitable for DXpeditions/portable operation in general, the Boni whip definitely ticked all the boxes. Furthermore, with reasonable second and third order intercept points of +55 and +32.5 dBm respectively, the Boni whip, on paper at least, looked like a pretty good buy at around £100.

 

Initial testing at home confirmed, perhaps not surprisingly that the Boni whip could not match the SNR provided by the Wellbrook ALA1530 in a noisy, urban environment. However, less predictably, the Boni whip has proven to be a truly excellent antenna away from the ubiquitous blanket of ‘electrosmog’ at my QTH. Furthermore, it really is so compact, I simply leave it in the car in a small flight case, with a portable and connectors etc. for ad-hoc listening sessions. Since returning from my most recent trip to Brazil, I have had a chance to review my most recent catches with the Boni whip, some of which are realy pleasing and most definitely underline the excellent performance of this diminutive antenna. In particular, signals from Radio RB2  on 11935 kHz and Radio Aparecida on 11855 kHz, both low power Brazilian stations, are testament to how sensitive the Boni whip is in an electrically quiet environment. Check out also the quality of longwave signals from Poland and the  Czech Republic – simply amazing for such a physically short antenna. Finally, there’s a personal first from Lusaka, Zambia, Voice of Hope Africa on 13680 kHz. All the more rewarding that this was actually copied in my work office!

I hope you found this article interesting. There are embedded reception videos below and text links for all, which will take you directly to the relevant video on the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel. Thank you for reading/watching/listening and I wish you all excellent DX!


 

Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to watch on YouTube

Click here to watch on YouTube

 

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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HRO consignment deal: HEROS technology VLF-LF up-converter

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who is a fan of longwave DX and notes that HRO has a Heros Technology VLF/LF up-converter on consignment/used. Ron mentions that the $140 price tag is quite a bargain for customers in the US market. Ron notes::

Here is a Link to the User Manual with pix of inside and some very cool videos of it in action:
https://www.herostechnology.co.uk/pages/VLF_LF_Converter.html

And here is a Link to the one at Ham Radio Outlet:
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=91-004203

New ones are $235 delivered to your door from London-no U.S. source.

Thanks, Ron!

Click here to view at HRO.

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RTÉ longwave set to continue “until at least 2019”

(Source: The Irish Post)

RTÉ are set to continue transmitting their longwave 252 service until at least 2019 after positive talks took place at a consultative meeting in London.

The news follows a statement issued by RTÉ back in October in which the state broadcaster announced its “intention to close the service in 2017.”

RTÉ said at the time that they were exploring the possibility of using ‘alternative technologies’ to help maintain links with its audiences in Britain beyond the service’s closure.

But longwave is now set to continue transmitting through 2017 and 2018 after a week which saw calls for the service’s retention heard in the Seanad.

Last week, independent Senator Billy Lawless sought government assurances that the Irish in Britain would not lose access to longwave 252.

Senator Lawless urged Minister of State for the Diaspora Joe McHugh to “implore RTÉ management to reconsider this ageist and discriminatory cut” to its longwave 252 service.[…]

Read the full article via The Irish Post. 

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