Geomagnetic Storm Today may affect power and communications

[Mark Roberts]

I posted a slightly revised version of my 5/10 write-up on Mastodon, and got this response from "Arnie the DXman" in Poland:

I had similar observations from Poland on Friday night. Stunningly dead band, erratic most of my regulars were weak to very weak - except Tunisia on 963 and especially 630, where normally it's swamped by Radio Timisoara out of W Romania. But near Tunisia, Egypt was gone! To the north of me, 1035 Estonia was gone, and I saw a Lithuanian on 1386 fade away slowly to cede way for Radio Makedonia, a Greek pirate!

Sadly no bigger DX except 1530 VOA Sao Tome, weak & still under Romania

I thought this might be of interest....

 

[TomásEstefan]

I posted a slightly revised version of my 5/10 write-up on Mastodon, and got this response from "Arnie the DXman" in Poland:



I thought this might be of interest....

Indeed, it is if the ionosphere, at least relative to the AM Band, ceased to exist.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Last night, I took the radio to a location away from most electrical noise. AM BC still just ground wave. All local area ground waves were receivable, including WMBN 1340 15 miles away operating on an STA with an inverted V antenna, measured at 60 uV/m Days, and a few weak signals from the Northeast, including WBZ. Strongest predicted skywaves within 300 miles are still absent.

On shortwave, WWV on 15 and 20 MHz, very weak. The shortwave noisemakers, something like the ancient signals that were heard in the 1960s, were heard quite strongly. No one has ever satisfactorily explained to me what they were. Some early method of FAX? They sound like airplanes. Not Russian Woodpeckers. I assume newer technology eliminated the need for those.

 

[gr8oldies]

Last night, I took the radio to a location away from most electrical noise. AM BC still just ground wave. All local area ground waves were receivable, including WMBN 1340 15 miles away operating on an STA with an inverted V antenna, measured at 60 uV/m Days, and a few weak signals from the Northeast, including WBZ. Strongest predicted skywaves within 300 miles are still absent.

On shortwave, WWV on 15 and 20 MHz, very weak. The shortwave noisemakers, something like the ancient signals that were heard in the 1960s, were heard quite strongly. No one has ever satisfactorily explained to me what they were. Some early method of FAX? They sound like airplanes. Not Russian Woodpeckers. I assume newer technology eliminated the need for those.

I seem to recall the "airplane" was indeed some kind of slow-speed fax that sent things like weather maps. I miss my bagpipes though! They were apparently transmitters for overseas phone calls.

 

[TomásEstefan]

Last night, I took the radio to a location away from most electrical noise. AM BC still just ground wave. All local area ground waves were receivable, including WMBN 1340 15 miles away operating on an STA with an inverted V antenna, measured at 60 uV/m Days, and a few weak signals from the Northeast, including WBZ. Strongest predicted skywaves within 300 miles are still absent.

On shortwave, WWV on 15 and 20 MHz, very weak. The shortwave noisemakers, something like the ancient signals that were heard in the 1960s, were heard quite strongly. No one has ever satisfactorily explained to me what they were. Some early method of FAX? They sound like airplanes. Not Russian Woodpeckers. I assume newer technology eliminated the need for those.

I think I remember some Soviet jammers sounding like jet aircraft with Morse code identifiers...

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

I had also heard that they were some kind of Soviet jamming station, but they weren't in the regular shortwave bands. I seem to remember one around 8 MHz.

The "Woodpeckers" were some kind of over the horizon radar according to stories I heard. Funny thing, the first over the horizon radar was invented by the late veteran DXer extraordinaire Oswald Garrison "Mike" Villard. He also designed all kinds of antennas to overcome jamming. I talked to him once on the phone about loop antennas, not realizing the extent of his expertise and fame at the time. He was very gracious, down to earth, and helpful on the phone. Between Mike Viilard and John Kraus, we DXers have a lot of antennas and methods to be thankful for. Wish I had talked to John Kraus.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

AM BC was much more normal tonight. Near Pellston, I'm getting WOWO 1190 quite well tonight. IBOC sideband interference is being heard intermittently, possibly from WHAM 1180 or WMUZ 1200. The talk show is talking about the unprecedented solar and ionospheric activity. I thought it was George Noory, but it's another late night talk show.

 

[fybush]

AM BC was much more normal tonight. Near Pellston, I'm getting WOWO 1190 quite well tonight. IBOC sideband interference is being heard intermittently, possibly from WHAM 1180 or WMUZ 1200. The talk show is talking about the unprecedented solar and ionospheric activity. I thought it was George Noory, but it's another late night talk show.

I don't think WHAM is in HD anymore. I'll check tomorrow to be sure.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

I don't think WHAM is in HD anymore. I'll check tomorrow to be sure.

Crawford is still very committed to AM IBOC, so it may be WMUZ (formerly WCHB, now on 1340, another perennial IBOC station).
I don't understand why anyone is using it now, with almost no music, and the sibilance on talk stations. It's only good for quick identification.

The Canadian stations that were getting IBOC sideband interference are still operating on Day facilities at Night, even though the IBOC stations are no longer using it. This is driving up the effective NIF for those adjacent channel stations, along with the other perennial cheaters using Day power at Night. These are ruining what's left of the band. And of course all the electrical noise.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

While researching this topic, I was amazed at all the anti DXers there are who have no sympathy for radio hobbyists, and are fully on board with overcrowding the bands, limiting station range, and not caring about electrical noise and digital sideband interference, on AM, FM, or TV. To them, we are "on the spectrum", and they're not talking about the radio spectrum.

 

[fybush]

All due respect, I think that's a somewhat simplistic view of the situation.

I'm a professional broadcast consultant and engineer, and also a DXer. I'm in no way "anti-DX." But I have a job to do for my clients, and that job is to get them the best signal I can get them within the rules as they exist.

And the rules as they now exist favor a maximum number of signals in any given small area over distant - "DX," if you will - coverage.

There are a few hobbies, DXing being one of them, where the hobby is entirely dependent on a business that doesn't directly serve the hobbyist. I'm thinking of trainspotting as another good example. The railroads tolerate railfans, most of the time, but business comes first for them.

Same for radio. There's no way I could go to a client and say, "I could get you this power increase but it would block DX reception of this other station 90 miles away, so let's not do it."

Do I feel bad sometimes about the effect that has on DXing? A little - but the reality is that as DXers, we are a tremendously niche hobby. If the new 97.1 translator signal I just lit up here in Rochester reaches only 2000 new listeners, that's still probably 500 times as large an audience as whoever's trying to hear CIGL on the same frequency from the other side of the lake.

And isn't that ultimately serving the "public interest, convenience and necessity?"

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

While researching this topic, I was amazed at all the anti DXers there are who have no sympathy for radio hobbyists, and are fully on board with overcrowding the bands, limiting station range, and not caring about electrical noise and digital sideband interference, on AM, FM, or TV. To them, we are "on the spectrum", and they're not talking about the radio spectrum.

I've been a DXer longer then ive been a broadcaster..... and DXing clubs have somewhat turned into a group of people stuck in the 70s and 80s waving their dicks showing off their latest log and acting like stations owe them something. I've seen DXers request QSL cards for listening to a web stream!

Ive gotten to the point where I don't post many logs except for the more exceptional ones.

Back several years ago, there was a discussion on an AM Radio facebook page and several dxers "ganged" up on a wisconsin station owner who said stuff that boiled down to "since you don't care about dxers or reception reports, youre wrong, in the wrong business and you need to sell off your station, you owe us qsl cards". the discussion went round and round for a few days in that realm

I'm also part of the group of folks who help arrange dx tests and the leader of our committee has heard some harsh but honest words about what dxers have done and said towards stations.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

All due respect, I think that's a somewhat simplistic view of the situation.

I'm a professional broadcast consultant and engineer, and also a DXer. I'm in no way "anti-DX." But I have a job to do for my clients, and that job is to get them the best signal I can get them within the rules as they exist.

And the rules as they now exist favor a maximum number of signals in any given small area over distant - "DX," if you will - coverage.

There are a few hobbies, DXing being one of them, where the hobby is entirely dependent on a business that doesn't directly serve the hobbyist. I'm thinking of trainspotting as another good example. The railroads tolerate railfans, most of the time, but business comes first for them.

Same for radio. There's no way I could go to a client and say, "I could get you this power increase but it would block DX reception of this other station 90 miles away, so let's not do it."

Do I feel bad sometimes about the effect that has on DXing? A little - but the reality is that as DXers, we are a tremendously niche hobby. If the new 97.1 translator signal I just lit up here in Rochester reaches only 2000 new listeners, that's still probably 500 times as large an audience as whoever's trying to hear CIGL on the same frequency from the other side of the lake.

And isn't that ultimately serving the "public interest, convenience and necessity?"

As I said before, I did that kind of work for a number of years, and have crowded and messed up the band myself with a number of allotments and upgrades in areas around the Great Lakes. I continue to search for overlooked allotment and upgrade opportunities for a limited number of clients. One way I crowded the band was by finding two opportunities to drop in 93.7 at near minimum distance separations to WJFM/WBCT. Most people thought that you needed more spacing because it was a 320,000 watt ERP grandfathered Class B. Nope, the cochannel distance requirement for those is 177.5 km using 73.207 and 73.208. I told both clients that it would get a lot more interference from WBCT than a typical Class A, but their lawyers said go for it or someone else would find it and do it anyway. I play my cards very close to my chest on the better ones left these days, and the ones with loopholes busier consultants don't think of or aren't even aware of. Many Engineering and Technical Consultants are or were the same kind of conflicted DX/hobbyist geeks we are, I have found, according to their bios available online.

 

[crainbebo]

That's why I rarely ask for QSLs. I love adding to the DX logbook, but not at the cost of a very busy staff that doesn't have time to do QSL cards. In fact, I have rarely contacted radio stations to ask for playlist logs, identification, etc. I'd say probably 3 times.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

That's why I rarely ask for QSLs. I love adding to the DX logbook, but not at the cost of a very busy staff that doesn't have time to do QSL cards. In fact, I have rarely contacted radio stations to ask for playlist logs, identification, etc. I'd say probably 3 times.

I now have EQSL's for KSKO. but you must hear us on whatever SW broadcast we may be doing.. either the weekly on 5900kzh Fridays at 2100 or the couple a year i do on WRMI

 

[crainbebo]

SpaceWeather reports an X8.7 flare off the western limb of the sun earlier today. This led to a massive HF blackout across North America. The Parker Spiral (interplanetary magnetic field) may lead to more auroral AM DX (and possibly FM), and a CME is possible, but with little effect on Earth.
Stay tuned.

Also: another big sunspot AR3676 is facing Earth now with the possibility of more M to X-class flares coming.