Hawaii to Michigan this morning on Medium Wave!

[crainbebo]

I also do some NDB DX (when possible) on the Albany, NY Global Tuners node. I have caught MN, Cayman Islands, and many, many ON/QC NDBs. I recognize the Canadians because they use a (close to) 400 hz pitch for the morse, compared to (close to or around) 1000-1050 hz for U.S. NDBs.

-crainbebo

 

[w9wi]

I started playing with NAVTEX over the holidays, using the Frisnit decoder. So far I've logged sixteen stations:

AE86 NMA, Miami
BE41 ZBR, Bermuda
CA13 NMC, San Francisco
CB15 VCK, Sept-Iles (Quebec)
EA71 NME, Charleston (SC)
FA89 NMF, Boston
GE40 NMG, New Orleans
HB78 XLK835, Tofino (B.C., Canada)
HE78 XMJ329, Wiarton (Ont., Canada)
MC17 OXF, Simiutaq (Greenland)
NA02 NMN Chesapeake (Virginia)
PE74 XLJ895, Thunder Bay (Ont., Canada)
QA05 NMQ, Long Beach (California)
RE43 NMR, San Juan (P.R.)
UE47 VAR9, Chebogue (N.S., Canada)
WA75 NMW, Astoria (Oregon)

Yaesu FT-1000MP (operating in 500Hz bandwidth), 300-foot center-fed antenna.

 

[Darth_vader]

Wow, Greenland! Can you post some text samples of the raw output section? (I could even host them for you on my site if you want. Fire me a PM message if you're interested.)

What's your '20, by the way?

"I'd start by running a simple patch cable from the line-output jack on your Sony to the microphone input on your computer's sound card."

*waves hands* NOOOOO!! No no no no no!! Whatever you do, NEVER connect a line-level output to the microphone/phono input (reddish-pink) unless you want to royally screw up your sound card and probably mess up the radio, too! Use the line-in jack (yellowish-green) instead. Only connect microphones to the microphone inputs.

I actually learned that the hard way one time with an 8-track player and a Sound Blaster microphone input.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

Wow, Greenland! Can you post some text samples of the raw output section? (I could even host them for you on my site if you want. Fire me a PM message if you're interested.)

What's your '20, by the way?

"I'd start by running a simple patch cable from the line-output jack on your Sony to the microphone input on your computer's sound card."

*waves hands* NOOOOO!! No no no no no!! Whatever you do, NEVER connect a line-level output to the microphone/phono input (reddish-pink) unless you want to royally screw up your sound card and probably mess up the radio, too! Use the line-in jack (yellowish-green) instead. Only connect microphones to the microphone inputs.

I actually learned that the hard way one time with an 8-track player and a Sound Blaster microphone input.

I had a Sony CF series AM/FM Cassette Recorder back starting around 1971 that you could match almost anything to the output and input without a problem. The plastic kept breaking on the main switch, and while that was out for parts, I tried using the output from another Sony AM/FM radio to the Line In (not Microphone) input of a Sony cassette recorder. Blew the recording part right out. It was under warranty and they fixed it. I asked why this would happen and he said "ground loops". I also remember that there were resistive patch cords you could buy for such purposes in that era but after that I never tried it. I couldn't figure out why Sony wouldn't have designed the two products to be more electrically compatible. I think after that most products were designed with more isolation.

I also used to record a Sony TRF AM Portable to a Midland Reel to Reel that only had a Microphone input. That worked OK but you had to keep the volume way down below the break in the potentiometer where it rapidly changed resistance and volume, or it was distorted. No other problems. That's the way I recorded that "From Chicago to the North American Continent, WLS" ID.

 

[radioman148]

>>"From Chicago to the North American Continent, WLS" ID.>>

Do you still have that ID? If so I'd really like to have a copy of it. Thanks!

 

[w9wi]

Wow, Greenland! Can you post some text samples of the raw output section? (I could even host them for you on my site if you want. Fire me a PM message if you're interested.)

Sure:


ZCZC MC17

040200 UTC JAN 13
GREENLAND SIMIUTAQ
WARNING OF ICE ACCRETION FOR:
NARSALIK:
RISK OF LOCALLY ICE ACCRETION.

NNNN

ZCZC MB68

040200 UTC JAN 13
GREENLAND SIMIUTAQ
WARNING NUMBER 12
STORM WARNING FOR:
NUNAP ISUATA KANGIA:
NORTHNORTHEAST 25.

GALE WARNING FOR:
NUNAP ISUATA KITAA:
NORTHEAST 23.
NUNARSUIT:
EASTNORTHEAST 20.
NARSALIK:
NORTHNORTHWEST 18.
MEQQUITSOQ:
NORTHNORTHWEST 20.


NNNN


The Greenland stuff is unusually clear, most of my more distant loggings (like California) have a few errors in copy. Sometimes a LOT of errors.

I've also noted (as, apparently, have other NAVTEX monitors) that sometimes a station will transmit a bulletin that's pretty much irrelevant for that station's location. For example, Chesapeake, Virginia warning of navigation lights out in Hilo harbor...

What's your '20, by the way?

I'm 30 miles northwest of Nashville. (sorry about that, I really should make sure my location is in any message listing DX receptions...

 

[jd]

"ICE ACCRETION"

Now there's something you don't hear every day!

 

[crainbebo]

Nice that you heard the Astoria OR NAVTEX. 518 is full of activity, but I can't decode it yet.

-crainbebo

 

[w9wi]

Nice that you heard the Astoria OR NAVTEX. 518 is full of activity, but I can't decode it yet.

-crainbebo

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the West Coast catches, and some of them have decoded very well. Have never heard Oregon within the regular broadcast band, and British Columbia is very rare DX.

What are you using for a receiver & software? I found reception improved dramatically when I switched to a narrower bandwidth.

 

[kilokat7]

I've also noted (as, apparently, have other NAVTEX monitors) that sometimes a station will transmit a bulletin that's pretty much irrelevant for that station's location. For example, Chesapeake, Virginia warning of navigation lights out in Hilo harbor...

I've noticed this too. When I first I first started decoding, it confused the heck out of me. I thought I had Hawaii early on, but it really turned out to be Miami based on the station identifier letter. Since that time, I learned to never rely solely on the message content to determine which station I'm receiving, but rather the station identifier (assuming you receive a clean header) and the time of the transmission while comparing to known schedules.

With the good conditions to the Pacific NW last night on MW, I finally obtained some good decodes from Kodiak, Alaska - a new one for me.

 

[w9wi]

Nice catch on Kodiak!

To date I've been hoping I can count on the combination of station identifier letter & message content to properly ID things. There are only 26 ID letters and far more than 26 stations -- for example, I've received identifier "C" from both San Francisco and Sept-Iles (Quebec). I haven't been double-checking times against the schedule -- although I'm hearing sometimes stations "spill over" past their scheduled transmission times.

 

[Darth_vader]

The San Francisco station ("C") is notorious for running over-schedule. See what I said earlier about "shutting up for a few minutes"! A lot of times it'll fire up right when I have a good, strong signal coming in out of Alaska and render both unreadable. Basically, it sounds like a droning, steady high-pitch whining noise that neither YAND nor Frisnit could make any sense of.

I tried to check out what was going out over 518 right after I heard the report (like, some 10 minutes later or so) of the big earthquake in Japan a couple years back and this was happening. As far as I could tell it sounded like all six stations (or seven, if you count NMO) were on the air at once, just sitting idle.

 

[robotique]

I'm hoping to score Greenland on navtex! I'm using portables with no added antenna. Wish me luck!

 

[robotique]

so far I've bagged the following Navtex's in the past month using portables to receive and my iPhone to decode...

490 VAR (ID=V) Fundy New Brunswick (language=FF)
490 VCK (ID=D) Riviere-Au-Renard Quebec (language=FF)
518 NMF (ID=F) Camp Edwards MA
518 VAR (ID=U) Fundy New Brunswick
518 VCK (ID=C) Riviere-Au-Renard Quebec
518 NMN (ID=N) Portsmouth VA
518 NME (ID=E) Charleston SC
518 VBR (ID=H) Prescott ON
518 NMA (ID=A) Miami FL
518 ZBM (ID=B) St George's Bermuda

I just logged Bermuda a little over an hour ago. I'm guess I'm lucky to be living in eastern mass to be able to get all these. The last few I can hope to log - again with portables using internal antenna only - are Thundar Bay ON, Goose Bay Labrador NL. Longshots include Greenland, Puerto Rico, Antilles, New Orleans and Iqualuit NWT (seasonal). I think Sydney Nova Scotia is off the air. The key thing with these of course is transmission schedule.

 

[cd637299]

so far I've bagged the following Navtex's in the past month using portables to receive and my iPhone to decode...

490 VAR (ID=V) Fundy New Brunswick (language=FF)
490 VCK (ID=D) Riviere-Au-Renard Quebec (language=FF)
518 NMF (ID=F) Camp Edwards MA
518 VAR (ID=U) Fundy New Brunswick
518 VCK (ID=C) Riviere-Au-Renard Quebec
518 NMN (ID=N) Portsmouth VA
518 NME (ID=E) Charleston SC
518 VBR (ID=H) Prescott ON
518 NMA (ID=A) Miami FL
518 ZBM (ID=B) St George's Bermuda

I just logged Bermuda a little over an hour ago. I'm guess I'm lucky to be living in eastern mass to be able to get all these. The last few I can hope to log - again with portables using internal antenna only - are Thundar Bay ON, Goose Bay Labrador NL. Longshots include Greenland, Puerto Rico, Antilles, New Orleans and Iqualuit NWT (seasonal). I think Sydney Nova Scotia is off the air. The key thing with these of course is transmission schedule.

Robo, let us know if you are able to bag any Bermuda AM....of course they'll start coming in 1 hour prior to your sunset, give or take a few minutes. The Bermuda Broadcasting stations are all FM now....only those controlled by VSB ( www.vsbbermuda.com ) remain:

1160 BBC World Service
1280 Bible Broadcasting Network (check against www.bbnradio.org ---they only ID as the flagship in Gaffney SC I think)
1450 "1450 AM Gold", bagged by our member "kilokat7" about 18 months ago---standards/oldies

cd

 

[robotique]

so far I've bagged the following Navtex's in the past month using portables to receive and my iPhone to decode...

490 VAR (ID=V) Fundy New Brunswick (language=FF)
490 VCK (ID=D) Riviere-Au-Renard Quebec (language=FF)
518 NMF (ID=F) Camp Edwards MA
518 VAR (ID=U) Fundy New Brunswick
518 VCK (ID=C) Riviere-Au-Renard Quebec
518 NMN (ID=N) Portsmouth VA
518 NME (ID=E) Charleston SC
518 VBR (ID=H) Prescott ON
518 NMA (ID=A) Miami FL
518 ZBM (ID=B) St George's Bermuda

I just logged Bermuda a little over an hour ago. I'm guess I'm lucky to be living in eastern mass to be able to get all these. The last few I can hope to log - again with portables using internal antenna only - are Thundar Bay ON, Goose Bay Labrador NL. Longshots include Greenland, Puerto Rico, Antilles, New Orleans and Iqualuit NWT (seasonal). I think Sydney Nova Scotia is off the air. The key thing with these of course is transmission schedule.

Robo, let us know if you are able to bag any Bermuda AM....of course they'll start coming in 1 hour prior to your sunset, give or take a few minutes. The Bermuda Broadcasting stations are all FM now....only those controlled by VSB ( www.vsbbermuda.com ) remain:

1160 BBC World Service
1280 Bible Broadcasting Network (check against www.bbnradio.org ---they only ID as the flagship in Gaffney SC I think)
1450 "1450 AM Gold", bagged by our member "kilokat7" about 18 months ago---standards/oldies

cd

You know I've never thought about Bermuda with DXing. I'll be on the lookout! Thanks!