Pensacola is loaded with FM translators due to the lousy ground conductivity around here. Not all translators make it to the location where I am (18 miles southwest from downtown). At least not in listenable form. The ones that do are prone to getting blown out by bigger signals from farther away.
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- Thread starter CADXER
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I started on the Knoxville (W8BUG) SDR on 790 and caught WAXY, South Miami FL with its new Radio Libre format // Boca Raton SDR. 2 oldies and/or Classic Hits stations were mixing in, one had jingles but were unintelligible. I ruled out WETB (Goat 93.7) Blountville based on stream. The owner apparently pulled the antenna connection so I moved back to Edinburgh IN where I still was able to hear Miami, then one or 2 classic hits, plus WNIS Norfolk
Why is it that every stream I've been trying lately is using super low bitrate MP3 for their streams?!
I bring this up because I saw mention of WTIX-FM a few posts ago and I wanted to check it out. Imagine my horror when I discovered their stream is encoded at a pathetic and very lousy sounding 64 kbps! I'd think that even on the outermost fringes, it sounds much better OTA.
Are there any web-based SDRs that can receive the FM band? I ask because it seems like all the ones I've listened to are limited to 0-30 MHz (basically LW, MW and SW/HF), and I haven't found any that go much beyond that (I think there's a couple that go up to 32 MHz, but that's a fairly meaningless difference in my opinion).
c
I bring this up because I saw mention of WTIX-FM a few posts ago and I wanted to check it out. Imagine my horror when I discovered their stream is encoded at a pathetic and very lousy sounding 64 kbps! I'd think that even on the outermost fringes, it sounds much better OTA.
Are there any web-based SDRs that can receive the FM band? I ask because it seems like all the ones I've listened to are limited to 0-30 MHz (basically LW, MW and SW/HF), and I haven't found any that go much beyond that (I think there's a couple that go up to 32 MHz, but that's a fairly meaningless difference in my opinion).
c
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KHKR-1210 Washington UT (250 watts) TOH ID at 2100 PT. Oregon stations are back and KSL HD is strong, so it's returned to semi-Au conditions. I was able to also find one more NEW log from last night that I didn't report...and it's a really good one
1320 - KOFA AZ, Yuma; faint in and out with KIFM Sacramento at 2359 PT 2/28/23, then KIFM took a big fade (this was my unid jazz station). With mention of 94.7 translator, Arizona Western College. NEW #826, only *106 watts* at 1,011 miles! Got a nice recording of this one, but it's definitely one where headphones are needed. Heard KAWC-88.9 via Es in July 2014 prior to the sign-on of the KOLU translator here in Yakima.
A few minutes after, KXST had their SSTV/CW DX test (and KDWN did too), KXST was NEW #827, running (I assume) 10KW day power for the test, at 767 miles.
1320 - KOFA AZ, Yuma; faint in and out with KIFM Sacramento at 2359 PT 2/28/23, then KIFM took a big fade (this was my unid jazz station). With mention of 94.7 translator, Arizona Western College. NEW #826, only *106 watts* at 1,011 miles! Got a nice recording of this one, but it's definitely one where headphones are needed. Heard KAWC-88.9 via Es in July 2014 prior to the sign-on of the KOLU translator here in Yakima.
A few minutes after, KXST had their SSTV/CW DX test (and KDWN did too), KXST was NEW #827, running (I assume) 10KW day power for the test, at 767 miles.
I can't get on the Vegas SDR, too busy
That's the one in Pahrump, yes? I got in, but then I reached the 24 hour limit and got disconnected 
There's another SDR in Stauffer, CA that seems to have a good signal on 720. I don't know what its limits are, but hopefully it'll let me stay on long enough to catch KDWN's second and final DX test and subsequent shutdown.
c
There's another SDR in Stauffer, CA that seems to have a good signal on 720. I don't know what its limits are, but hopefully it'll let me stay on long enough to catch KDWN's second and final DX test and subsequent shutdown.
c
720 & 1140 still on at 1:10am
There are some Global Tuners rigs that can receive the FM band, but not so numerous as the 0-30 SDRs
@cc333: Having used many substandard radios with one ear working properly for decades, I don't much mind the fidelity. I'd estimate that I can only hear 32 kbs anyway, hi. Irrespective of the radio's caste, nowadays AM DXing is like fishing always was, except you now only get a nibble once an hour.
Some far-West SDR site I checked for 1140 to // at their TEST time had a loud, unID talker (Sacramento? Boise? Palm Springs? Vegas?). But underneth them was a guy with a really lowpitched voise, sounded like EE, talking to what sounded like a crowd. I can't count it ; I'm just curious ....
On 1140 off the radio here in the East, WRVA Richmond was atop as usual. But under them and fairly steady was a female talker, in EE. No ID or idea.
* * * * * * *
A 1040 tip for some of you adventurous, fellow East Coast insomniacs: WHO was getting piranha'ed by a steady #2 signal, EE religious station during last night's session. They IDed as WCHR, from Flemington NJ. Here's their nighttime Rorschach inkblot.
Flemington NJ is about 75 miles east of me, on the other side of the Delaware. They're a daytime regular, but I'd never heard them at night before.
Some far-West SDR site I checked for 1140 to // at their TEST time had a loud, unID talker (Sacramento? Boise? Palm Springs? Vegas?). But underneth them was a guy with a really lowpitched voise, sounded like EE, talking to what sounded like a crowd. I can't count it ; I'm just curious ....
On 1140 off the radio here in the East, WRVA Richmond was atop as usual. But under them and fairly steady was a female talker, in EE. No ID or idea.
* * * * * * *
A 1040 tip for some of you adventurous, fellow East Coast insomniacs: WHO was getting piranha'ed by a steady #2 signal, EE religious station during last night's session. They IDed as WCHR, from Flemington NJ. Here's their nighttime Rorschach inkblot.
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Flemington NJ is about 75 miles east of me, on the other side of the Delaware. They're a daytime regular, but I'd never heard them at night before.
There are hobbyists that use ultra low power Part 15 transmitters (usually just a couple of milliwatts) on shortwave. These use the “QRSS” extremely slow Morse Code CW format. Such transmissions can be “received” over 1,000 miles away, and there have been examples of much more distant reception.
While there is nothing audible, the receiver is fed into a ”waterfall” visual display. Running the receiver in BFO mode results in lines on the visual display, which reveal the carrier ons and offs, thus a visual representation of Morse Code.
13.555 MHz (give or take a few kHz) is a popular frequency for this kind of operation, but other bands are also used.
Yes, I would compare that to a star being detected for the first time, with a bigger telescope, implied by gravitational pull from the star, etc. I never said the signal wasn't there, only that it was unlikely to be detected without extreme measures. That's the Physics.
I successfully logged the KDWN test early Wednesday morning. Over on the KDWN test thread I posted this:
Around 13 past the hour I was also hearing what sounded like a man and woman praying the Rosary in Spanish, with instrumental music in the background. This could be Radio Catolica in Nicaragua although they're listed as off the air overnight. I tried their stream but it wasn't working on my phone. Maybe try again tonight...
I wasn't able to try last night, but Mark Connelly over on the NRC Facebook page indicated there was a clear Radio Catolica ID at 0803:30 UTC. Checked my tape and there it was! My first Nicaragua logging. MWlist shows them off at 0400 UTC, but there they were. The format at that hour sounded like EWTN, only in Spanish.
Around 13 past the hour I was also hearing what sounded like a man and woman praying the Rosary in Spanish, with instrumental music in the background. This could be Radio Catolica in Nicaragua although they're listed as off the air overnight. I tried their stream but it wasn't working on my phone. Maybe try again tonight...
I wasn't able to try last night, but Mark Connelly over on the NRC Facebook page indicated there was a clear Radio Catolica ID at 0803:30 UTC. Checked my tape and there it was! My first Nicaragua logging. MWlist shows them off at 0400 UTC, but there they were. The format at that hour sounded like EWTN, only in Spanish.
KXST and KDWN will be signing off tonight. For real this time. I hope some of you who missed the SSTV transmission on Tuesday will be able to decode.
KXST special program will start at 10:55PM PST.
KDWN special program will start after the last break of Perilous World, approximately 11:45PM PST.
It has been a rollercoaster...
KXST special program will start at 10:55PM PST.
KDWN special program will start after the last break of Perilous World, approximately 11:45PM PST.
It has been a rollercoaster...
Okay, so KDWN is finally off as of midnight and there is sadly no sign of WGN, but I am hearing a pretty good signal from the north of KFIR from Albany, Oregon in the Willamette Valley. New log for me! KFIR is coming in pretty good down here in San Diego, California so are they on daytime power or is it just good auroral conditions for their 184 watt non-directional nighttime signal?
Yeah, I noticed that once KDWN was gone, 720 was basically reduced to a mess of overlapping background chatter. One of them could've been KFIR, but since my antenna was aimed east-west, there could be some WGN in there too. I'll have to listen longer another night to sort it out.
@ente I recorded the whole thing from beginning to end, and aside from some fading, it is quite readable.
c
@ente I recorded the whole thing from beginning to end, and aside from some fading, it is quite readable.
c
Tonight I thought I'd check out 720 to see what's going on, and KFIR, which was bubbling under KDWN before, is now booming in almost like a local!
Either they're still on day power (a modest, but decent 10 kW), or maybe, with KDWN's demise allowing for 720 to become relatively quiet, their normal 146 Watts of night power are enough.
c
Either they're still on day power (a modest, but decent 10 kW), or maybe, with KDWN's demise allowing for 720 to become relatively quiet, their normal 146 Watts of night power are enough.
c
A few more clips from the great auroral conditions we had this week...
KROP - end of Adventures in Odyssey, KGBA support message - KROP 1300 CA Au 2 27 23 edited clip
UNID 1140 way under KHTK 2/28/23 sunrise - possibly Palm Springs? -
KMIN 980 Grants NM (heard on the Weiser ID SDR) - KMIN 980 Grants NM from Weiser ID 2 27 23 mixed with Mark Levin, likely KGLN CO
KROP - end of Adventures in Odyssey, KGBA support message - KROP 1300 CA Au 2 27 23 edited clip
UNID 1140 way under KHTK 2/28/23 sunrise - possibly Palm Springs? -
1140 UNID under KHTK 2 28 23 sunrise
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