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Something to listen for, especially around the DX windows ( if you don't know what those are) in each Ham Band.quote:07/03/2008: John, N7CQQ reports that the TX5C Clipperton 2008 team received their Landing Permit from the French Polynesia authorities. The TX5C Dxpedition will operate as *FO5A/mm* from the Shogun while on route to Clipperton Atoll. Departure date is February 28, but it is possible the team will be able to leave on the 27th, arriving on Clipperton (NA-011, DIFO FO-001, Grid DK50) on March 7+-. They are planning to operate 10 days depending on conditions, all bands and modes 160-6m.
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Mar 3, 2008 22:16
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| # ? May 24, 2024 23:54 |
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also from http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/ , I know how some of you like to listen to this kind of stuff  quote:Frequency change for The Overcomer Ministries
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Mar 3, 2008 22:19
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Wonder_Bread posted:How does one go about getting a QSL card from Radio Habana? Is it even possible, living in the US? You can just email them. I emailed them with a reception report and got a QSL card, some brochures, and a christmas card a few months later. I also get email from them from time to time announcing contests and stuff. Half the time the emails are in spanish and I have no idea what they are talking about.
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Mar 3, 2008 22:23
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AstroZamboni posted:Interference from the mountains? Probably not much, since Shortwave depends on skywave (as opposed to groundwave) propogation. As for the AFB? Maybe some RF interference, but it'll probably also give you some interesting things to listen to, particularly in the SSB areas. Awesome, thanks a lot! I wasn't super concerned about the mountains, but I figured I'd ask before I found out the hard way that they would be some sort of problem.
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Mar 3, 2008 22:42
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StarkRavingMad posted:You can just email them. I emailed them with a reception report and got a QSL card, some brochures, and a christmas card a few months later. I also get email from them from time to time announcing contests and stuff. Half the time the emails are in spanish and I have no idea what they are talking about. I figured this to be the best route. Do you have the e-mail address handy? I can't seem to find one on radiohc.cu.
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Mar 3, 2008 23:50
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I heard a radio station from Taiwan last night...I think Radio Taiwan International. I also started flipping over to SSB more. Who are the people that talk on SSB? I kept on tuning into weird conversations...I also could barely hear, occasionally, almost what sounded like transmissions between boats or planes or something. Basically, someone reading out coordinates. Odd. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a numbers station...it was a real person's voice; it didn't sound generated or fake or anything.
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Mar 4, 2008 00:42
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Shnakepup posted:I heard a radio station from Taiwan last night...I think Radio Taiwan International. And out of curiousity, what do you all use to log your listening? I was just using a pen and notebook combo, taking down notes as I listen, but yesterday I found Shortwave Log and transferred my logs from the past month over to that. It's a little overwhelming at first, and not the most user friendly thing on the planet, but it seems like it could be useful. One function it offers raises a question for me - it'll (presumably machine) translate simple reception reports into other European languages so you can QSL non-English stations, but how are you supposed to know any of the details of the program if you don't speak the language? Have any of you submitted reports to stations broadcasting in languages you don't speak? If so, how'd that work out? sub supau fucked around with this message at 04:27 on Mar 4, 2008 |
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Mar 4, 2008 04:22
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Illegal Clown posted:The only thing I've gotten out of SSB other than the ear splitting data noise was that it made the people speaking sound like they were attacking the Death Star, which I thought was cool in its own way.
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Mar 4, 2008 05:34
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TetsuoTW posted:FWIW, if it was in English and you know it was from Taiwan, it was definitely RTI. To the best of my knowledge, there are only two radio stations in Taiwan across the entirety of the spectrum that broadcast in English - ICRT, which is FM only (and complete poo poo), and RTI. Log my listenings? I'm not sure I follow you...I just cruise the frequencies, occasionally saving whatever sounds interesting to my G5's memory. I don't really try to keep track of what i've heard...mostly just static and just-barely-there signals. The RTI was one of the strongest signals I picked up last night, other than a japanese station and some mundane SSB conversations.
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Mar 4, 2008 05:53
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Swingline Savvy posted:If memory serves, that effect was actually created by using SSB CB radios.
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Mar 4, 2008 13:25
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A few pages back in the thread, I asked about how clouds/weather can affect reception. I have another weather question: can humidity itself affect reception? I was listening last night when I noticed that I really couldn't pull in much of anything. My first clue that something had to be up was that all my favorite preacher stations weren't coming in nice and clear. Next, I noticed that I had trouble pulling in Radio Habana and Radio Marti (I live in Florida, this shouldn't be the case!). Finally, I used the spectrum scope tool and noticed that I just wasn't getting any strong signals at all in the shortwave bands. So, I went and checked the weather forecast. Sure enough, heavy rains were scheduled for Monday night through Wednesday. And on my way to class, I got soaked in that predicted rain (  ). I should mention the reason for my question was that even though it was hot and humid, there wasn't a cloud in the sky last night. So the clouds weren't there to affect reception, just lots of humidity.
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Mar 4, 2008 13:52
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Well I'm proud to say at 2AM tonight I too lost my numbers station virginity to the Spanish lady on 5883 kHz. I didn't realize these things transmit for so long.
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Mar 7, 2008 08:19
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After getting my logs in some semblance of order, I'm about to head off into the wonderful world of QSLing. My only real question right now is, have any of you QSLd Voice of Korea? I would love to get some of that stuff, but the "instructions" for mailing VOK in Passport are a little hard to follow and have made me somewhat paranoid about loving it up.
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Mar 7, 2008 09:36
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Just got a Eton E5 for 89.99 shipped at overstockdealz.com I actually just bought a Kaito 1103 less than a week ago, but that was only because it was 75 bucks cheaper than the E5. Now that I found the E5 at only $90 bucks shipped, I couldn't resist purchasing it. Maybe I can make the 1103 a gift or 2nd radio for myself, I don't know. I just couldn't pass up that good a deal on the e5.
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Mar 7, 2008 19:11
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biglads posted:I've made an extended version of the theme tune (Man of Action by the Les Reed Orchestra) of the early 70's Pirate Radio Ship 'Radio Northsea International', suspected by British Intelligence of being a Stasi Numbers operation Hey, thanks for this, it's great. I love this sort of stuff and have hours of the sort of easy listening often referred to as lift/test card/supermarket music by any philistine who happens to overhear it.
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Mar 7, 2008 22:47
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Well add another Grundig G5 to the list for $150. I just started scanning and came across an old lady saying "if I deboned a chicken it would be unrecognizable!" at 5850KHz. 
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Mar 8, 2008 09:24
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TetsuoTW posted:After getting my logs in some semblance of order, I'm about to head off into the wonderful world of QSLing. My only real question right now is, have any of you QSLd Voice of Korea? I would love to get some of that stuff, but the "instructions" for mailing VOK in Passport are a little hard to follow and have made me somewhat paranoid about loving it up. Anyway, sending a letter only costs a few bucks, why not give it a shot? Who cares if they never get back to you?
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Mar 8, 2008 11:03
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Thanks for the tips nmfree, although the "via Beijing" idea is pretty much a non-starter for anyone, like me, living in Taiwan. And the Passport instructions saying something about having your return address not on the sent envelope, but in (not on) another envelope inside, IIRC, also confused me. But even sorting all that out, I realized I'll still have a problem with this whole QSLing VOK. I have to look into it to check, although where I'm buggered if I know, but I have a sneaking suspicion mail coming into Taiwan from North Korea would probably get me on a watchlist here, what with NK being communist and buddy-buddy with China and all, and as a resident alien I really can't afford that. God I hate the retarded loving political situation here. Speaking of political situations, while not technically SW, for anyone interested you can listen to Kosovo's national radio station, Radio Kosova, at http://www.rtklive.com/video/t_radio/radkos.pls.
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Mar 8, 2008 19:36
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OP updated. Only 11 radios to be sold until somebody wins the big prize!
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Mar 8, 2008 22:38
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TetsuoTW posted:Thanks for the tips nmfree, although the "via Beijing" idea is pretty much a non-starter for anyone, like me, living in Taiwan.  Sorry.
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Mar 8, 2008 23:13
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AstroZamboni posted:OP updated. Only 11 radios to be sold until somebody wins the big prize! Speaking of which I've posted a thread to buy one if someone has lost interest or upgrade equipment: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2793180
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Mar 8, 2008 23:42
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Well, now that we've settled into our new place, I've had time to do some scanning. Yay! I can even run a bunch of cable out onto the patio so I get awesome reception! Yay! Right? WRONG! There must be some gospel transmitter nearby, because I swear that I can hear the same gospel music over EVERYTHING else I pick up. I'll hear it in the 2,3,5,6, and 7 mhz ranges! What the hell?! Tonight it is being especially bad! This evil station is even able to broadcast over Radio Netherlands and Radio Havana!  I tried using the less sensitive "local" mode on my scanner, but that just means I can't really pick up anything. Is there any such thing as a "filter" to stop stations that can transmit over everything?
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Mar 9, 2008 07:32
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nmfree posted:...and I knew that you were living in Taiwan, too. It's all good. Any advice is more than welcome.
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Mar 9, 2008 08:11
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Since I don't have archives and the HAM thread has been moved off I figured this thread wold do. Passed my Technician's test yesterday. Time to start buying HAM gear!
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Mar 9, 2008 16:23
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mas posted:Since I don't have archives and the HAM thread has been moved off I figured this thread wold do. Congrats! In the same vein I'm getting up Extra upgrade in 5-6 weeks or so. Anyone else getting licensed?
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Mar 9, 2008 21:45
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I am if I could find study materials for the tech exam and a bit of time to prepare for it
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Mar 9, 2008 21:57
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sklnd posted:I am if I could find study materials for the tech exam and a bit of time to prepare for it Might check out this guy's study guides he put together. http://kb6nu.com/tech-manual/ I did a shitload of practice exams on eham.net for a week straight to prep for the test. I'd like to go for my General in the near future too, need some gear first though.
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Mar 9, 2008 22:15
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sklnd posted:I am if I could find study materials
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Mar 9, 2008 23:52
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Anyone else listening to the Clipperton Atoll DXpedition? I'm picking up fairly strong CW signals on 7007khz in Eastern MA.
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Mar 10, 2008 00:39
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blugu64 posted:Anyone else getting licensed? I'm currently studying for the General upgrade so I can actually transmit.
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Mar 10, 2008 01:28
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mrbill posted:I'm currently studying for the General upgrade so I can actually transmit. Ditto. Good luck to ya! I would recommend that, even though it's not required, you study the code too. It's a bitch, but it's worth it!
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Mar 10, 2008 03:37
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Dolemite posted:A few pages back in the thread, I asked about how clouds/weather can affect reception. I have another weather question: can humidity itself affect reception? As for all the hams - welcome to the new kids, and good luck to those who are studying! I was going to head to Charlotte yesterday and take the General test, but my wife had to go to the hospital, so that squashed that plan. Ah well, there are many chances to test, but I only have one wife
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Mar 10, 2008 03:51
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IonClash posted:Ditto. Good luck to ya! I would recommend that, even though it's not required, you study the code too. It's a bitch, but it's worth it! I am; I'm still kicking myself in the rear end for not getting off my rear and passing the test with code-required. I've got a good friend in Oklahoma who is going to "elmer" me on the code.
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Mar 10, 2008 05:13
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I have the 4-CD General Class study guide (sans book) that's put out by Gordon West if anyone wants it. It's made for the old question pool that expired last year, but it seems that most of the questions covered are still valid. If nothing else, it's a great way to learn a bit more about things.
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Mar 10, 2008 05:41
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Halah posted:Here's the strange bit. Humidity, especially with warmer weather, can actually increase your chances of pulling in more distant stations, through a phenomenon called tropospheric ducting. However this tends to come at the price of losing more nearby stations. Another factor that may have come into play with your storms would be interference from lightning that could play havoc with your reception. Well wow! I did not know such a phenomenon existed! I love this thread - I've learned so much! I'm off to Google more about that phenomenon. P.S. if any of you are shortwave listening right now, Radio Havana at 6000 KHz is playing some awesome jazz music!
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Mar 10, 2008 07:26
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A heads up for any of you shortwave goons listening right now. The Atencion number station lady is on 5900 KHz!
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Mar 10, 2008 09:11
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Halah posted:Here's the strange bit. Humidity, especially with warmer weather, can actually increase your chances of pulling in more distant stations, through a phenomenon called tropospheric ducting. However this tends to come at the price of losing more nearby stations. Another factor that may have come into play with your storms would be interference from lightning that could play havoc with your reception.
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Mar 11, 2008 00:00
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mrbill posted:I am; I'm still kicking myself in the rear end for not getting off my rear and passing the test with code-required. I've got a good friend in Oklahoma who is going to "elmer" me on the code. I used Code Quick to learn the code. It's an interesting way to learn the code, but it worked for me. For example, the letter "N" is learned by saying "NAA-zi," for "-." The letter "A" is "say AHHH" for "di dah, .-" and so on. It's pretty funny, but damnit, it actually worked. Here's the link: http://www.cq2k.com/
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Mar 11, 2008 04:20
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IonClash posted:I used Code Quick to learn the code. It's an interesting way to learn the code, but it worked for me. For example, the letter "N" is learned by saying "NAA-zi," for "-." The letter "A" is "say AHHH" for "di dah, .-" and so on. I actually bought CQ2K back in 2000, 2001 or so.. but unfortunately he wants a full-price upgrade for the version that runs under XP properly. 
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Mar 11, 2008 04:41
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nmfree posted:Tropo ducting doesn't usually occur in the HF bands, it's far more common at 50 MHz (6 meters and TV channels 2-6) and occasionally up to 144 MHz (2 Meters). This is partially because shorter wavelengths are easier to bend (as opposed to reflect), and also because longer HF wavelentghs are simply too large to fit in the duct. I think I'm gonna shoot for this weekend to take the General test, there's one about an hour from me. Then it's penny-saving time to get a HF rig. My lease is up in May, so I may look around for a place to stretch my antenna...er...arms and see if I can't build something better to listen.
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Mar 11, 2008 04:49
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