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The digital modes all work roughly the same way: connect your radio to the PC soundcard (even just using the headphone out into mic in will work, better if you've got line out on the radio and go into line in on the soundcard). Most of the digital modes frequencies lie towards the bottom edge of the ham bands. For most (but not all) you'll need SSB capability on the radio. You install the (usually free) software, connect the radio to the PC, tune to the relevant frequency and run the software. A good and fun place to start is with "SSTV", which is the acronym for "slow-scan TV". It's not really telly at all to look at, but rather a way of transmitting images encoded as an audio signal. You can use free software such as MMSSTV: http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/pages/mmsstv.php Then tune your radio to a band with known SSTV activity (14.230 mHz USB is a good spot to look), listen for a signal (SSTV has a very distinctive sound which you'll soon learn to recognise) and run the software. Before long you'll get to recognise the "look" of the signal and be able to tune it in so that the software locks on to it and automatically decodes the pictures. In no time you'll be enjoying pictures of people's dogs and camper vans and antenna installations tastefully labelled in Comic Sans. If you have fun doing that then there's loads of other software to let you decode plenty of other digital modes which you can try. You can eavesdrop on the ham bands, or look around for other stuff like WEFAX, which is short for "weather fax", pretty much exactly what it says on the tin - fax images of weather charts broadcast for the use of folks at sea. Generally you'll find stuff local to you but depending on conditions you can sometimes receive charts for all kinds of odd places. Here in Wales we routinely get maps from Canada and we've even had a few from Chile come through before now. We've even managed to pull images off passing weather satellites using nothing more than a handheld scanner and a laptop standing out in a field  .A lot of what you receive can be pretty mundane and in truth the challenge of receiving and decoding the information is often more rewarding than the actual data you end up with but it's fun to try .Digimodes are definitely off towards the nerdier end of the shortwave listening hobby but they are a nice change from Estonian folk music, ranting preachers and bloody China bloody Radio International when you fancy something a bit different  .
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Mar 22, 2010 21:08
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Also, if you want to test your SSTV setup there was a recent change to the video game Portal which makes it spit out SSTV signals in certain conditions. People have dumped the WAV files from the game, so you can find them easily online along with the resulting decoded image to verify that your stuff it working right.
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Mar 22, 2010 21:21
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If you're interested in testing a digital setup, the best way IMHO is to listen for the ARRL bulletins everyday at 6 & 9 P.M. Eastern Time; of course, the League has to make things difficult by alternating the order of modes every day: The new digital schedule is as follows: Monday: Baudot, PSK31, MFSK16 Tuesday: PSK31, MFSK16, Baudot Wednesday: MFSK16, Baudot, PSK31 Thursday: Baudot, PSK31, MFSK16 Friday: PSK31, Baudot, MFSK16 Setting up your software (I use Ham Radio Deluxe to control my radio and the included DM780 for digital modes, it's free!) is pretty easy, most of the time all you have to do is choose the right preset: Baudot: RTTY 45.45 baud, 170hz shift, 5 bits, 1.5 stop (some software has a "ham" preset which will set this automatically) (I sometimes have to switch into reverse mode, so if you're getting gibberish PSK31: BPSK31 MFKS16: MFSK16
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Mar 22, 2010 21:53
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How is C-Crane radios in general? Looking at this model http://www.ccrane.com/radios/shortwave-radios/ccradio-swp.aspx Cheap, portable. Are there better models out there? I'm sure of it, however, it might do as a beginners radio. Yea or Nay?
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Mar 23, 2010 04:58
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So I figured out I can switch my Sony car stereo to 10 KHz steps on AM! Unlike MOST car stereos where the setting is in a advanced menu Sony decided to make it a slide tab underneath the unit. So I got to pop out the radio, find tab, slide tab, pop in radio and redo all presets and settings. Thanks Sony for making a simple setting change so easy  One thing I noticed when I changed from non-American radio settings to American radio settings is AM sound quality really took a hit, anyone know why ? I know the US caps AM bandwidth at like 10KHz(5KHz really), does Europe have much better sounding AM radio !? If anything I would believe it to be worse since they have smaller channel steps (9 vs 10KHz) to work with. Maybe they just make the most of it while we reduce our AM radios to telephone quality, bah! I've been enjoying listening to Radio Australia every morning driving to work. Such a great signal considering it travels over 7,000 miles to reach here!
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Mar 24, 2010 00:23
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Well, took the plunge and ordered the Grundig G3, they throw in a "Eton Grundig FL100 Emergency Hand Crank 3 LED Flashlight with Compass" for free too  Gonna take a week to get here, can't wait.
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Mar 24, 2010 06:17
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JammyLammy posted:How is C-Crane radios in general? Nay. I don't own the SWPocket or have any real experience with it but it seems steeply priced for its features(like most CCrane products). It doesn't cover ALL shortwave frequencies and it doesn't have single sideband (SSB) which has some cool stuff. For a little bit of extra money ($10 in my link) you can get a better featured radio with the Degen 1103 (see thread OP). I love mine, only downside is the strange interface but the performance makes up for that. One man's opinion. Ebay Linky Radio Nowhere fucked around with this message at 17:58 on Mar 24, 2010 |
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Mar 24, 2010 17:22
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But is it endorsed by not only Rollye James, but also all the hosts of Coast to Coast? I think not  Heh, thanks for the help, I will look into that next time. Right now I just got home with a Grundig G3, classes canceled tomorrow, so I got some big plans tonight to try this out. edit: Hmmm, got some old XM antenna, wonder if I can cannibalize any them and use it for the shortwave.
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Mar 24, 2010 22:12
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Sorry for the double post. Now I took my XM antenna, unplugged the XM, stuck a wire in it, then with alligator clamps hooked it to the antenna of my G3. Boosted the signal quite nicely, probably get even better reception if I throw the XM receiver ontop of the apartment. However, my room seems to have gotten a odd burning smell. I should probable check that out.
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Mar 25, 2010 04:37
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Damnit, driving home tonight my steering wheel stereo controls crap out! Guess the steering wheel control interface is wonky, another thing to fiddle with on my shortwave car stereo. Probably not too safe cruising around constantly reaching for the center console tapping "tune" to find some rare DX  Haven't DX'ed anything too rare lately, Radio Australia still a regular catch on 9560 KHz in the morning. Yesterday evening I could actually hear Miami's WRMI 9955 thanks to gray-line propagation, the station normally shoots its 50,000 watts entirely over the Caribbean/South America so a hard catch here in Maryland. Also I've been checking out Radio Havana Cuba's new 5040 KHz national service for tourists. Like the Radio Rebelde transmitter on 5025 KHz the antenna, called a NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave radiating system , also known as a "Cloud Warmer"), shoots the signal straight up intended only for strong nearby reception. Fortunately shortwave doesn't really work like that and 5025 and 5040 carry well beyond. The 5040 services carries like an hour of various languages intended for vacationers. Jokes on them, few foreigners even know what shortwave is .... Radio Nowhere fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Mar 26, 2010 |
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Mar 26, 2010 04:18
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Radio Nowhere posted:Damnit, driving home tonight my steering wheel stereo controls crap out! Guess the steering wheel control interface is wonky, another thing to fiddle with on my shortwave car stereo. Probably not too safe cruising around constantly reaching for the center console tapping "tune" to find some rare DX Why not? I do it all the time. It only becomes a problem if you can't operate the radio by touch. NVIS actually is rather local (where local is ~500 miles) most of the time. It isn't line of sight, but during the day, 5040 would not carry far at all, and at night, wouldn't have a great long distance skip chance with an NVIS setup. HFX fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Mar 26, 2010 |
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Mar 26, 2010 17:43
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HFX posted:Why not? I do it all the time. It only becomes a problem if you can't operate the radio by touch. I can but I paid money to do it on my steering wheel damnit! Working progress trying to fix it, still haven't quite figured it out. Listeners in the Florida Keys and South Florida have reported uber strong signals from both 5025 and 5040, like S9+40. Here in central Maryland the stations maybe tap out at S9 during the night. I can still hear 5025 during the day but with around S3 strength. Guess my point was the shortwave signals will carry beyond intended local coverage though not exactly crushing me with signal (Cuba does that with int'l RHC on 6000, 6010, 6060, 6140, and so on ).
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Mar 26, 2010 22:18
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I just a shitton of static. How would be the best way to go about reducing this? edit: I set up a bunch of cable around the ceiling. When I clip it to my antenna, it seems to increase the amount of static.... edit: Listening to the statics sample on the first page, it sounds like power line static. If I was to run a cable far away from here, set up a long antenna, would that help reduce it? JammyLammy fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Mar 27, 2010 |
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Mar 27, 2010 23:20
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JammyLammy posted:I just a shitton of static. How would be the best way to go about reducing this? If you're using a random wire setup, there's really nothing you can do other than to make sure your wire isn't running close to power lines. If you run a longer antenna and clip it, you'll end up with the same problem if your new run is crossing/running parallel to power lines. One other thing you can check out is whether you have anything electronic plugged in around where you are. If I plug in my netbook I get a boatload of static on a random wire clipped to my G6, but if I disconnect the AC and run it on battery the static goes away.
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Mar 28, 2010 01:01
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BigHustle posted:One other thing you can check out is whether you have anything electronic plugged in around where you are. If I plug in my netbook I get a boatload of static on a random wire clipped to my G6, but if I disconnect the AC and run it on battery the static goes away. Sadly that thought occurred to me about an hour after I posted. Look at my desk and there was the netbook, lamp, speakers, XM radio, and some other misc. poo poo. How the hell did that thought not enter my head? As for the ceiling antenna, I clip one end onto the radio antenna, what do I do with the other end? Originally used 100 feet, and was going to use some thicker gauge outside for a long antenna, but do to the way that powerlines are set up around my place thats not really feasible :/ I guess I might we all just hang up the rest around the ceiling then.
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Mar 28, 2010 01:10
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JammyLammy posted:Sadly that thought occurred to me about an hour after I posted. Look at my desk and there was the netbook, lamp, speakers, XM radio, and some other misc. poo poo. How the hell did that thought not enter my head? Because you get used to it. I was without power for 3 days when the last major storm rolled through and knocked a tree down on the power lines. It was insane the amount of things I forgot that I needed power to use. quote:As for the ceiling antenna, I clip one end onto the radio antenna, what do I do with the other end? Originally used 100 feet, and was going to use some thicker gauge outside for a long antenna, but do to the way that powerlines are set up around my place thats not really feasible :/ I guess I might we all just hang up the rest around the ceiling then. Exactly what you said. I ran mine up around the ceiling all the way around the room. I know other folks who have gotten good reception tacking it up around a window frame. If you have a length of wooden dowel or a chunk of wood, you could try the Great White North Antenna or one of the other Limited Space Antenna ideas that guy has.
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Mar 28, 2010 01:32
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Excellent, thanks for the help. I did a really ghetto ceiling antenna and moved the radio away from alot of electronics, that cleared up things alot. Manage to hit some Chinese station and right now I have it on a Japanese station. The chinese one came in quite clearly, the japanese has a bit of lingering static in the background but you can still hear the broadcast. I still got another 100 feet of cable, I'm debating about putting that up (will need to pick up some hooks). At some point I wouldn't mind start filling in those report forms to send to stations. Any good links on how they should look, and where to send them to?
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Mar 28, 2010 05:09
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JammyLammy posted:Excellent, thanks for the help. I did a really ghetto ceiling antenna and moved the radio away from alot of electronics, that cleared up things alot. Manage to hit some Chinese station and right now I have it on a Japanese station. The chinese one came in quite clearly, the japanese has a bit of lingering static in the background but you can still hear the broadcast. If you're in the US, you may be hearing Radio China International being broadcast out of Sackville in Nova Scotia. A few nights I've been able to pick up Radio Algerienne broadcasting Quran calls out of Issodun in France and Voice of Russia being broadcast out of Kishinev-Grigoriopol in the Republic of Moldavia, but most of the usual suspects are being broadcast 'locally' by Radio Canada International (China Radio Int., Radio Japan, Voice of Turkey) out of Sackville or by WYFR/Family Radio (Radio Taiwan Int.) out of Okeechobee, FL. I generally keep the netbook handy and use short-wave.info to see what I'm listening to and where they're transmitting from. For the rare occasion that they don't show anything there, I'll Google the frequency and usually something will pop out at me. As far as the antenna goes, you might want to figure out what frequencies you want to focus in on and make a half-wave antenna (or several) to fit the bill. The basic formula for determining your antenna length is to divide 468 by the frequency in MHz. As an example, if you want to listen to Radio Habana Cuba on 6000 KHz (6 MHz) or stations on nearby frequencies, you'd want to cut your wire to be about 78 feet long. Antennas also work on multiple frequencies, so that antenna for 6000 KHz will also work (although 'not as well') on 12000, 18000, and 24000 KHz. As far as QSL info, I haven't gotten into it so I'm of limited use there. You can get general info on what the radio stations look for here.
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Mar 28, 2010 06:35
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BigHustle posted:Antennas also work on multiple frequencies, so that antenna for 6000 KHz will also work (although 'not as well') on 12000, 18000, and 24000 KHz. Actually, it will work just as well on any order harmonic. However, harmonics are more important when transmitting then reception. As for noise, wall warts especially switched ones are very noisy generally. Laptops seem especially bad and it really is almost a crime they are allowed to be so noisy.
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Mar 28, 2010 11:23
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BigHustle posted:As far as the antenna goes, you might want to figure out what frequencies you want to focus in on and make a half-wave antenna (or several) to fit the bill. The basic formula for determining your antenna length is to divide 468 by the frequency in MHz. As an example, if you want to listen to Radio Habana Cuba on 6000 KHz (6 MHz) or stations on nearby frequencies, you'd want to cut your wire to be about 78 feet long. Antennas also work on multiple frequencies, so that antenna for 6000 KHz will also work (although 'not as well') on 12000, 18000, and 24000 KHz. I'm more interested in exploring up and down the spectrum seeing what I can get, rather then trying to find that particular station. This is a stupid question, but would this be feasible, Cut one antenna at 78 feet for 6000 KHz (and 12000,18000,24000, etc) Cut another antenna at ~94 feet for 5000 KHz (10000, 15000, etc) A third at ~59 feet for 8000 KHz, etc. You get the idea. Basically cut several different lengths, hook them unto the radio antenna (not touching each other!) Or would having them without proximity of each other mess it up?
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Mar 28, 2010 11:38
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JammyLammy posted:I'm more interested in exploring up and down the spectrum seeing what I can get, rather then trying to find that particular station. This is a stupid question, but would this be feasible, Depends on what you're using for antenna wire. If you're using speaker wire or something else covered in a non-conductive shield, you should be OK with them being close together. If you're using bare wire, you want to make sure they're separated enough that they won't touch at all. If you just want a ghetto antenna and aren't concerned with looks, you can make a homebrew separator out of some straws by cutting a length of straw long enough to leave an inch or 2 between the antennas and cut holes in the straw to hold the wire. Put a spacer every foot or so to keep things nice and even and you're good to go. code:
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Mar 28, 2010 21:26
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Friday night I was listening to WBCQ and the owner's program "Allan Weiner Worldwide" was broadcasting on 3 of its 4 transmitters (5110, 7415, 9330; later two were the strongest) around 8 PM EST. I was treated to what sounded like a Glenn Beck-like rant of how socialism/fascism is taking over and Americans are loosing their freedom and this loss is being felt around the world. Huh ? Is this the same Allan who not even 3 years ago said things like "Never Vote Republican" and actually took his station's slogan "Peace, Love and Understanding" seriously !? Maybe if I listened to Brother Stair (which WBCQ carries many hours of) enough I'd loose it too but disappointing since I considered Allan one of the normal broadcasters on the shortwaves. If you read his book about his pirate radio days you'll understand what I mean. http://www.amazon.com/Access-Airwaves-Fight-Free-Radio/dp/1559501634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269868502&sr=8-1
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Mar 29, 2010 14:25
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Finally got my steering wheel control working, the remote input on the back of my shortwave Sony car stereo is a little wider then it should be to properly hold the input cable so I did the old duct tape trick. I drove around for 20 minutes and everything finally works as it should. I listened to Holy Quran singing the whole drive on 11820 KHz, pretty good signal from the Middle East this evening. On the flip side caught this Michigan Militia piece on Google News, http://www.annarbor.com/vielmetti/michigan-militia-then-and-now/ I'll paste the shortwave part, quote:After Koernke's release from jail, he went back online and on the air under the name of Liberty Tree Radio, broadcasting from Dexter. Koernke is back broadcasting on shortwave radio with a show called The Intelligence Report, which runs from 6-7 p.m. on 9.265 kHz. Checking the frequency it's WINB from Red Lion, Pennsylvania. This station is also the radio home of jailed child molester Tony Alamo which Glenn Hauser points out every DXLD. Classy station. Add: Anyone been listening to AM 730 "The Wobbler" coming from Cuba ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9r5Ul7-zgk Radio Nowhere fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Mar 31, 2010 |
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Mar 31, 2010 03:42
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And to think, I'd almost given up on them... Voice of Turkey finally responded! This was from a QSL report that I emailed into them in late February. The envelope contained just a postcard of a Turkish landmark, with my report details verified on the back.
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Apr 3, 2010 21:47
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HAPPY EASTER from 15825kHz! http://llamasoft.co.uk/yak/completely_bonkers.wma
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Apr 4, 2010 16:48
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This will be a long shot but does anyone here know if there any stores in Philadelphia that sell shortwave radios? I want to find something locally rather than just order one off the Internet.
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Apr 4, 2010 17:07
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Catastrophe posted:This will be a long shot but does anyone here know if there any stores in Philadelphia that sell shortwave radios? I want to find something locally rather than just order one off the Internet. RadioShack sells a small assortment of Grundig radios. Just don't expect them to know what the hell they are or how they operate.
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Apr 4, 2010 17:18
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Catastrophe posted:This will be a long shot but does anyone here know if there any stores in Philadelphia that sell shortwave radios? I want to find something locally rather than just order one off the Internet. Ham/CB retailers will frequently carry shortwave receivers. There seems to be a few in wilmington. http://www.dexknows.com/local/retail/consumer_goods/electronics/geo/m-philadelphia_metro-pa/att/cb-and-ham-radios/
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Apr 4, 2010 18:16
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Catastrophe posted:This will be a long shot but does anyone here know if there any stores in Philadelphia that sell shortwave radios? I want to find something locally rather than just order one off the Internet. If there's a frys electronics in philadelphia, they have a decent selection.
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Apr 4, 2010 21:12
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blugu64 posted:If there's a frys electronics in philadelphia, they have a decent selection. I checked the Fry's website. No luck. In other news, I'm currently studying for my Technician ham license. Don't have transmitting equipment yet, but I'm just about ready for the test.
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Apr 4, 2010 22:25
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AstroZamboni posted:I checked the Fry's website. No luck. If you have the Tech stuff down, you might want to pick up the General question pool and/or book and take that one too. Tech is nice if you want to keep to 2m/220/440 and a little 10m and up, but if you want the real fun stuff you'll want that General class upgrade. EDIT: This here PDF shows everything available to amateurs and what classes can transmit where. BigHustle fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Apr 4, 2010 |
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Apr 4, 2010 22:40
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AstroZamboni posted:I checked the Fry's website. No luck. There is a thread for people like you. We don't bite. To contribute, I need a Grundig so bad.
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Apr 5, 2010 04:02
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BigHustle posted:RadioShack sells a small assortment of Grundig radios. Just don't expect them to know what the hell they are or how they operate. Don't even say "shortwave", because you'll short circuit them and they'll just stand staring at the walls, slack-jawed.
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Apr 5, 2010 06:49
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:Don't even say "shortwave", because you'll short circuit them and they'll just stand staring at the walls, slack-jawed. This is very true. They'd likely fall back on their training and ask you if you're looking for an iPod or cell phone accessories. All of the stores I've been in, the shortwave units will be tucked away in some corner, where the people were oblivious to their presence.
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Apr 5, 2010 11:39
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I must have lucked out at my Radio Shack. They were able to point me in the right direction and then made small talk about using speaker wire what type to use. Then again the two guys at the radio shack I was at were older guys, not the typical highschool slacker.
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Apr 5, 2010 11:52
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JammyLammy posted:Then again the two guys at the radio shack I was at were older guys, not the typical highschool slacker. This is also true. Whenever I go to Radio Shack for something I only go into the store when I see the old guy manager there. He has probably worked there for 30 years and seems to love his job. He was probably a huge geek and knows his stuff. He has always helped me find any odd battery or wire I may need, whereas the regular help struggles with figuring out what a C battery is.
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Apr 5, 2010 12:33
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Evidently the book Radio Monitoring just went 'free' - I haven't looked at it to much yet, but anything from Paladin Press...
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Apr 5, 2010 17:07
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People on the Spooks list-serv have been hearing "The Buzzer" (4625) on random nearby frequencies, pretty loud too leading many to question if they are spurs or not! Listen to the clone Buzzers every 42.1 KHz from the main frequency. If all these Buzzers do stop for broadcast your rear end goodbye! 
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Apr 7, 2010 17:28
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Radio Nowhere posted:People on the Spooks list-serv have been hearing "The Buzzer" (4625) on random nearby frequencies, pretty loud too leading many to question if they are spurs or not! Listen to the clone Buzzers every 42.1 KHz from the main frequency. If all these Buzzers do stop for broadcast your rear end goodbye! I wonder if this has anything to do with the recent Moscow subway bombings. Maybe The Buzzer is actually waking up planted sleeper agents in the area and the baby buzzers are delivering their programming. 
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Apr 7, 2010 18:38
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:Don't even say "shortwave", because you'll short circuit them and they'll just stand staring at the walls, slack-jawed. Radio Shack: "You've got questions, we've got blank stares". Whenever I feel like I may need something from that store I will go online and find what I need and get the part number. Then I go to the store and just ask them where that part number is.
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Apr 13, 2010 02:34
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