Wa8pyr

WARNING: pontificating and ranting ahead. You’ve been warned.

Tom pointed out that I had an inadvertent markup error which ended up dropping several paragraphs of this post. It is now corrected.

Julian, G4ILO followed up yesterday’s post about technology not being good for ham radio with a nearly equally confusing one today entitled Platform for progress. I find it confusing because the over the bulk of it, I’m entirely in agreement. He says that there are a (presumably significant) number of technophiles who get involved in amateur radio, only to drop out immediately when they realize that it isn’t a replacement for the cell phone or Internet because the infrastructure isn’t as extenstive or reliable as they expect. I’d agree that is probably true, although it’s hard to say that hams who never really become active have any actual negative effect on the hobby.

He then goes on to criticize the existing top end of HT radios, and in most respects I agree with him. When I compare the level of technology that’s inside my VX-8GR to the level of technology inside my two year old iPhone 3GS, the difference is palpable. but I think that’s mostly unfair: after all, the iPhone is cutting edge mass market product, with sales in the millions, and the VX-8GR will probably sell a few tens of thousands of units. And, of course, the IPhone’s purchase price is in most cases heavily subsidized by high fees from the cell phone companies which are simply not available to ham radio manufacturers.

But even taking those things into account, the state of the art in ham radio HTs is maddeningly primitive, and in ways that make operating your radio more difficult and more confusing. My VX-8GR has impossibly small buttons in an undistiguishable array on the front. Many important functions require pushing both a function key on the side and then a button on the front, a maneuver which cannot be done with one hand, and if you were left handed, require a very odd grip. the display is small and often fails to contain useful information, while commonly cluttered with information you don’t need. All the APRS functions are hidden behind the need to hit the MODE button, which puts you in a different mode, with different setup options, and a similarly bewildering method for navigating among APRS messages. Programming memories is (as it is on virtually all radios) a similarly mystifing barrage of error prone button clicks. It’s simply horrible.

And yet, it’s probably one of the better and more capable radios out there. Go figure.

Julian’s vision of how HTs could be transformed is remarkable, and I wish that ham radio manfuacturers would listen to him. While some people criticize attempts to make things easier to use as “dumbing down”, I completely disagree. No good purpose is served by poor interfaces, even for experts. It’s ridiculous how much effort it takes to get a radio programmed with local repeaters. I recently did this for the VX-8GR, and it involved:

• Buying a custom cable and software, because even if you had the cable (which is of course not a standard type), you still can’t find software to program the radio for free, despite having spent $350 on the radio.
• Surfing over to K5EHX’s awesome repeater site and downloading an export of all the local repeaters.
• Loading them into the software, and then deleting obvious duplicates and bad data.
• Organizing them into banks.
• Adding a bunch of FM satellite frequencies, along with Doppler shifts for satellite operation.
• Adding in APRS setups for both terrestrial (144.390) and satellite (145.800) frequencies.

I can imagine a world where I plug the radio in, visit a website, and all this happens automatically. would this be dumbing down amateur radio? of course not. It doesn’t take any particular intelligence to program a radio: it’s just a bit of tedium that could reasonably be automated. but the state of the radio art is a long way from making this happen. What’s more, because most radios hide behind undocumented protocols and stupid non-standard cables, it isn’t even possible for guys as clever as K5EHX (who programmed and maintains the repeater maps himself) to step up and make life easier for everyone.

So, Julian and I are in violent agreement, right up until the end of today’s post, where he says:

So why won’t this happen? I guess the reason for that is that Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood and the rest don’t make cellphones. their business is making radios that are intended to be as dumb as most of their users. Ham radio is just an offshoot. the market just isn’t big enough to justify developing what for them would be a completely different and unique hardware platform. so I guess for the foreseeable future we’ll be stuck with our geeky walkie talkies and the cool stuff will all be on cellphones.

Argh. first of all, I don’t see how anything good comes out of insulting a bunch of your fellow hams. Our own intelligence lies along a continuum, and while I admit that there are a lot of people considerably stupider or less experienced than I, there are also a whole bunch of people on the other side who are considerably smarter and more experienced. It’s hard to understand how calling other people stupid actually enhances ham radio. James has pointed out that Julian was likely referring to business and public radio users as being “dumb”. I’ll strike the previous paragraph as a misunderstanding of his point. I do think that Kenwood, Yaesu and Icom don’t design ham radios the way they are because of any conviction that their radios need to be simple (in fact, I’d say that they are needlessly complicated to use, as my examples above were meant to indicate) but that simply they have successfully sold radios of similar design, and their isn’t enough competition for them to invest in improving them in significant ways. I also think it is possible (but I have no evidence to support it) that there might be some fear that a significantly new and radical architecture for radios might be met with some trepidation by hams, who have a reputation of not being the most progressive and quick to adopt new things.

Secondly, it presumes that technological advances in ham radio must come from manufacturers. Even today, that simply isn’t true: modes like APRS and PSK31 were originally designed by amateurs, and have been copied and extended by amateurs until the manufacturers took notice, and are just now being adopted as features in products. we also see software defined radio in inexpensive amateur kits like the Softrock, and now adopted into semi-commercial products like The SDR Cube. My guess is that you’ll see a commercial offering of similar capability reasonably soon. My point: we can serve to lead and inform manufacturers what technology we find interesting by developing it ourselves, and creating a market for it..

Lastly, I’m exasperated by the fatalism that is expressed by these kind of statements. here and in the responses to yesterday’s article, Julian expressed doubts that “ordinary hams” could learn enough about SDR or acquire the ability to work with surface mount parts. I’m baffled by this kind of negativity. here in the U.S. we are regulated under Part 97, which says that the amateur radio service was created to allow for self training, experimentation and advancement of the radio arts. It doesn’t say anything about mastering “just the easy bits” or “just the non-software bits”. Julian also made the claim:

Those that have the expertise to experiment with new technologies in ham radio probably learnt those skills professionally. the reason why I am against the incursion of advanced technologies into this amateur hobby is that it forces more and more of us true amateurs into being mere appliance users.

I don’t really mean to pick on Julian, but I find this to be almost entirely wrong. first of all, everything I know about amateur radio, electronics, digital signal processing and microcontrollers I learned because of personal interest, and I know literally dozens of people of similar stories. And of course, there have always been skilled amateurs in our ranks who learned their material as professionals, and brought their skills to amateur radio. Julian appears to be saying that the participation of skilled, professionally trained people in amateur radio is undesirable. I find that baffling.

I also think his conclusion is odd. To me, the inclusion of software technology into amateur radio serves as an incentive to bring large numbers of skilled software engineers into the ranks of amateurs, enabling new applications and new techniques. the vision I have for the future of amateur radio is one where we are more more engaged, not less. Furthermore, if we drag our feet in adoption of technology, amateur radio as a whole becomes increasingly irrelevant as the rest of the world advances in technology. we simply become a kind of technological re-enactment society, like a kind of radio Rennaissance faire. (Apologies to those who like Renaissance faires…)

Ham radio is a very odd endeavor: for an activity which is centered around one of the greatest advances in technology in human history, we have a surprisingly large number of people who treat it with mysticism, who want to hold it just at the level that they themselves feel comfortable, and who resist efforts to change or advance it. There are radio amateurs who are obsessed with tube rigs, and refuse to consider modern solid state design. They’ll tell you there is something just inscrutable about transistors, but the truth is, they’ve never manufactured a tube, and for the most part, tubes are just as inscrutable as transistors. SImilarly, there are people who refuse to use ICs in their rigs, because somehow it just seems to be “cheating” to use a device that integrates more than one gate in a package, even though making transistors is just as inscrutable as making ICs. You’ll find people who don’t want microprocessors, so they do crazy things like using 555 timers in reckless abandon, with all sorts of diode based switching, when a $2 Atmel chip will do the same and more for less money and actually with less circuitry.

Julian’s blog has lots of really cool stuff, stuff that has inspired and challenged me to learn and do more. I hope he continues with it. like him, I’m eagerly awaiting G3XBM’s DSB 10m rig design, and hope to be constructing one. I’m still playing with beacons, and APRS and other things that he’s interested in. I just wish we could send out a consistent, careful message to our fellow hams and potential hams to be that technology and amateur radio aren’t strange bedfellows. we are the Amateur Radio Service, not the Antique Radio Society.

Now this happens to be an area in which I have a fair amount ofexperience. I’ve been listening to shortwave for almost 30 years. Ihelp produce a monthly magazine on the topic, serve as a member of theboard of directors of the largest shortwave radio club in the Americas,and am webmaster of a popular and well-regarded site for that club.I think that in an earlier entry in the series, the Professor brieflymentioned how some people have elaborate setups with long antennas andexpensive radios and such.

I am one of those people.

So I figured that maybe the audience that eats this stuff up atBeware the Blog might be interested in what you can hear with anoutdoor antenna specifically constructed to be good at receivingshortwave and a top-notch radio. On June 28, between 1855 and 2013 UTC(2:55 and 4:13 pm), I tuned through the 25 meter band, extending from11500 to 12200 kHz, recording as I tuned. My shack is down the shore inMonmouth county, about 30 miles south of WFMU’s Jersey City location.I’m about 5 miles from the ocean and maybe 2 or 3 miles from the bay. Ihave a couple of external antennas, one long piece of wire about 300feet long, and another about 100 feet long in a configuration called a T2FD. My main receiver is an AOR AR-7030 Plus,a tabletop communications receiver designed by the genius Englishengineer John Thorpe. AOR offers an optional noise blanker and notchfilter, and I had those installed when I bought the radio. When I sentthe radio back to the U.K. for servicing a couple of years ago, I alsohad AOR retrofit the radio with the ability to receive digitalshortwave broadcasts. the radio is basically all tricked out.

One thing you’ll notice as you listen is that most of these stationsare the same international broadcasters you can hear with a portablereceiver. There’s often a conception out there that one of theseexpensive tabletop receivers are required to hear oddball weakstations. but the truth is that what these radios and the antennasassociated with them really get you is better reception of the stationsyou can already hear for the most part, and the ability to "clean up" amessy signal to some degree. You can hear almost anything on a portablethat I can hear on my radio. You probably won’t hear it as well, andnot as often. but when the conditions are right, you can do amazingthings with a portable receiver. the reason to get a tabletopcommunications receiver is to do those amazing things even when theconditions are just shy of right.

If you’ve listened to any of the Professor’s recordings, you’llnotice one thing different about these recordings: as I approach astation, you will hear a descending tone. the reason for this is thatwhen I scan a band, I typically do so in sideband mode rather than AMmode. An AM signal consists of a carrier and two sidebands. Thesidebands carry the audio information, and they are mirror images ofeach other. Someone realized many years ago that this meant that one ofthe sidebands was redundant, and that it was possible to transmitrecoverable audio by transmitting only one sideband and no carrier.Radios that can tune sideband transmissions have the capability ofgenerating their own carrier to replace the missing one on the signal.so how does this explain the descending tone? When I tune across an AMsignal in sideband mode, the carrier of the AM signal and the carriergenerated by the radio generate what’s called a heterodyne; basically,the tone that you hear is defined by how far apart the two carriersare. a radio-generated carrier that’s 800 hertz away from the carrierof the AM signal the radio is receiving generates an 800 hertz tone. Asthe tuner approaches the carrier, this tone drops in frequency.Ideally, with a radio with sufficient resolution, you can place theradio-generated carrier right on top of the signal’s carrier. This isuseful for a couple of reasons: first, on a weak, fading signal, theradio-generated carrier is likely to be far more stable, allowing thereceiver to decode the sidebands without the fading one associates withshortwave. Second, when you’ve placed the radio-generated carrier righton top of the signal’s carrier, whatever frequency the radio shows isthe station’s frequency. It’s surprising how often they’re a little bitoff the frequency they’re supposed to be on. in some cases, withstations that are known to be off frequency all the time, this can evenhelp you identify the station. the tone that’s generated by thecarriers when they’re separated is called a "beat", so when you’vesuccessfully placed the two carriers together, that’s called "zero beat".Not all stations that generate a heterodyne have recoverable audio. Sotuning in this manner is a good way to find even weak stations(although I wouldn’t log a station simply based on hearing itsheterodyne; that’s considered bad form).

There are radios out there that do this heterodyne hunting automatically. This feature is called "synchronous detection",and what happens is that the radio finds the carrier, locks on to it,and substitutes its own carrier automatically. You would think thiswould be something you would find only on expensive tabletop radios,but the two best synchronous detectors produced in a non-military radioare on portable receivers, the classic Sony ICF-2010 (now discontinued, but produced for 20 years, a testament to its high quality) and the brand new etón E1XM.  the synchronous detector on my 2010 is far better than the one on my early Drake R8,and probably even a little better than on my AOR AR-7030 Plus. Theseradios are definitely at the high end of the spectrum of portables, butyou can get a radio with an excellent synchronous detector for muchless; the Sony ICF-7600GRtypically costs less than $150 and has pretty much the same circuitthat much more expensive ICF-2010 had. with synchronous detection, youcan reduce the fading that can make shortwave difficult to listen to,and in most implementations, you can select one or the other sidebandto listen to. That’s very useful; if there’s a strong station 5 or 10kilohertz above a station you’re trying to hear, tuning to the oppositesideband can make a signal that’s being interfered with perfectlylistenable. That’s one reason I tune in sideband mode, but theseportable receivers make it easy to do that at a fraction of the cost.

The 25 meter band presented here is a transitional band; at times oflow sunspot numbers, like now, it is mostly a daytime band; at times ofhigh sunspot numbers, as we’ll probably see in about four or fiveyears, it’s useful at night as well. At this hour of the day, the bandis open to quite a bit of the world, including Europe, Africa, andparts of Asia. a few hours later, shortly before sunset at yourlocation, European stations would likely be inaudible, but more Asianstations would be available. This is prime listening hours in Europeand Africa, so many of the broadcasts recorded here are directed there,and merely overheard here in North America. That’s one of the neatestthings about listening to shortwave is this ability to eavesdrop on theworld. One other nice thing about this reception is a relative lack ofU.S. religious and fringe political broadcasts. Personally, I’m not afan of those broadcasts, and tend to tune right by. There are a coupleof instances of them in these recordings, but they’re far outweighed bynational and even local broadcasters.

Segment 1 – 25 meter band 06-28-2006 (download MP3)

11605 – Deutsche Welle

This sounds like it might be Arabic via their transmitters inWertachtel. One thing that’s interesting about listening to broadcastsin languages you don’t understand is that, once you’ve listened to anumber of broadcasts, you can often figure out what kind of program isbeing aired. This is toward the end of the hour, and there areaddresses in a number of countries being given. the largestinternational broadcasters often open postal addresses in othercountries so that their listeners in that country can write themwithout having to pay for anything more than domestic postage. There’sa brief stinger after the addresses that gives the identity of thisstation away; this brief piece of music is used in all their languageservices.

11620 – All India Radio

News from India in English via transmitters in Aligarh. and tuned injust in time to get the ID at the top of the hour! Shortwave is full ofbroadcasts like this, offering a different perspective on the news thanwe usually get in the U.S.

11630 – Golos Rossii

Russia’s external service in Russian via Moscow. the news ends, thenthere’s an ID for "Radio Compania Golos Rossii", just like what weheard a few seconds earlier from All India Radio. Radio is radio. Oneof the nice things about my tabletop receiver is that I can play withthe sound, trying to get better reception by switching which sideband Ilisten to or engaging different filters. You can hear some of that here.

11650 – China Radio International (maybe)

Too weak to really tell.

11655 – Radio Netherlands

English via transmitters at Flevoland. Radio Netherlands is astation that definitely punches above its weight in internationalbroadcasting. the people who make the programs there have a visceralunderstanding of what it means to make interesting radio of a certainsort. As a result, their programs often win awards at festivals likethe International Radio Festivalin New York each year. One other interesting aspect of their broadcastsis that they don’t flinch from covering the darker side of life. so,for example, you get this program about alcoholism, something youwouldn’t expect to hear from most international broadcasters.

Radio Netherlands’ programs compare favorably to those of the BBC,from a station in a country that doesn’t speak English as their firstlanguage and made with a tiny fraction of the budget. they do it bydeploying their limited resources carefully, by hiring excellentpeople, and by being clever. for example, when the BBC World Service shut down its shortwave broadcasts to North Americaa few years ago, Radio Netherlands seized the opportunity and bought upmany of the now-silent transmitter hours for a few weeks so that whenpeople tuned in expecting to hear the BBC, they would hear someexcellent programming in English, but from Radio Netherlands. Theycouldn’t afford to buy most of the time permanently (although NorthAmerica did gain a morning broadcast from them that wasn’t there beforeas a result), but they gained some listeners and some goodwill from theBBC’s now abandoned listeners.

11655 – Voice of the Arabs (Egypt)

Arabic music via Abu Za’bal. This is pretty faint, but you can hearthe music, slightly distorted because I was tuning in SSB and didn’thave a perfect zero beat here. There are a number of stations thatbroadcast hours and hours of Arabic music, many of which come in muchmore strongly than this.

11680 – BBC World Service

Arabic broadcast from the BBC via their transmitters in Rampisham.whatever they’re talking about, it has something to do with Israel.

11690 – Deutsche Welle

Arabic from DW via Wertachtel, Germany.

11695 – China Radio International

French transmission via a relay in Cerrik, Albania. CRI is really anup-and-comer in international shortwave broadcasting. At a time whenthe BBC and Deutsche Welle are abandoning large patches of the globeand the VOA is cutting its English broadcasts in favor of focusing onsurrogate home services in Arabic, Farsi, and other language, CRI isexpanding its broadcasts. It’s investing in relay stations to ensurethat they’re widely heard everywhere. and it has seriously upgraded thequality of its programming. This is not your father’s Radio Beijing.

11705 – Radio France International

If Radio Netherlands punches above its weight, RFI has long punchedbelow its weight. Much like its insistence that French is the languageof diplomacy long after English has usurped its former position there,so French is the language of international broadcasting. they focuslargely on former colonies, so perhaps there’s a justification fortheir approach. they have an hour or two per day to Asia and maybe abit more to Africa in English, and most of the rest of their broadcastsare in French. They’re well respected, particularly for their reportingin Africa, but within Anglophone communities perhaps not as visible asthey could be.

Segment 2 – 25 meter band 06-28-2006 (download MP3)

11735 – Radio Tanzania Zanzibar

This station is a great example of a station that’s worth listeningto despite having no clue what the presenters are saying. mostly, theybroadcast music, and it’s beguiling. Typically, there’s a fairsprinkling of the local taarab music, mixed with Arabic pop, Indianfilmi music, and African music, largely South African and Congolesestyle. I like the use this station as an example of how I switchbetween being a DXer and being a program listener. the first time Iheard this station, I was thrilled to add a new station and a newcountry to my log. the next 70 or 80 times I listened, it was because Iloved the music. I actually took to listening to this station mostafternoons while I worked for a while.

This particular reception is not the best representation of theirprogramming. the reception is a little weaker than usual, and this kindof unaccompanied Arabic singing is not what I usually hear. That said,I still enjoy listening to it. RTZ typically starts fading in aroundmid-afternoon; given that it’s summer and that this recording was madenot long after the longest day of the year, that fade in is fairlylate. in the winter, it’s much earlier. There’s a five minute newsbroadcast in English every weekday at 1800 UTC, relayed from theirlocal FM station aimed at tourists, Spice FM. That’s not so easy tohear at this time of year, but in the autumn and winter, it comes inquite clearly.

Given that, this station comes in much better an hour or so later.Check out this bonus reception of Radio Tanzania Zanzibar from 2017 totheir closing at 2100 UTC. RTZ is without question one of my favoritestations in the world.

11740 – Holy Koran (Saudi Arabia) mixing with Radio Farda

Many Arabic countries broadcast readings of the Koran. Saudi Arabiahas a station entirely devoted to it. While the readings sound quitemusical, it’s considered offensive to describe it as "music" or"singing". the Saudi station is mixing with Radio Farda, a U.S. stationaimed at Iran, broadcasting in Farsi and serving as a surrogatedomestic service in much the same way that Radio Free Europe and RadioLiberty did for Warsaw Pact countries and the Soviet Union during theCold War. Sadly, this is usually being done at the expense of the Voiceof America, which has a reputation for impartial news reporting andprobably does more good for America’s image abroad than all of thesesurrogate stations combined.

11755 – YLE Radio Finland

Finnish via Pori. This station recently decided to stop transmittingon shortwave, and in fact are already off the air. in lieu of this,they’re saying they can better reach their audience of expatriate Finnsvia satellite and the Internet. they used to broadcast in English aswell. several years ago, they had a wonderful English service thatbroadcast a half hour a day, with a number of releases throughout themorning that were easy to hear here in North America. Then they movedtheir broadcasts to the North American evenings and largely lost theiraudience. I had a conversation with the head of Radio Finland at the Winter SWL Festin Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, several years ago shortly after they madethis move, and told her why I thought this was a bad move. in theevenings, they were competing against the dozens of other broadcasterswho were trying to reach North America at the same time, and they kindof got lost in the noise. but their morning broadcasts, which coincidednicely with breakfast time across the continent, had littlecompetition. I don’t want to take credit for the move, but the nextseason they reinstated their morning broadcasts. Unfortunately, by thentheir audience had moved on, and it wasn’t much after that when theydiscontinued broadcasting in English. That was a shame; they hadexcellent programming that I enjoyed listening to.

11775 – Caribbean Beacon

The late Dr. Gene Scott® has been covered pretty extensively in TheProfessor’s musings, but I have to say that I particularly like thisclip where he talks about getting laid. This is a nice example of theGood Doctor’s more eccentric approach to evangelism.

11780 – Radio Nacional da Amazonia

Portuguese language domestic broadcast from the capital, Brasilia.This is a national service, aimed at areas in the Amazon and theinterior of Brazil that are not well served by AM and FM stations. Theyplay some interesting music, and, unlike international broadcasters,they include commercials. Latin America has a tradition much like NorthAmerica’s with small local commercial broadcasters dominating the sceneas opposed to monolithic national broadcasters like in the rest of theworld. Even a large national broadcaster like this one can sound like acommercial broadcaster. There are dozens of shortwave stations inBrazil, and this is one of the strongest and easiest to hear.

Segment 3 – 25 meter band 06-28-2006 (download MP3) 

11785 – Possibly Radio Free Asia via Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, or Chinese Jammer

The music here is clearly Chinese. Radio Free Asia, the U.S.’surrogate home service for China and a few other countries, is jammedby the Chinese using transmissions of traditional Chinese music. It’snot uncommon in this circumstance for propagation to favor the jammingstation and not the jammed station. so it’s probably the case here thatwe’re hearing the jammer, but not the jammed. That said, the fact thatI can hear the jammer more clearly here in the eastern U.S. is noindication that the same is true in China itself; often times whenpropagation is different at the transmitter site and the jammer site,the jammer will have little effect on the transmission it is attemptingto jam.

Most jamming is unpleasant to listen to, such as the dieselengine-like sounds used by the Cubans against Radio Marti. the Chinesejammers, on the other hand, aren’t half bad, and can be listened to fortheir program content. I wonder if the jammers QSL….

11795 – Deutsche Welle

German via Kigali, Rwanda. the largest shortwave stations, like theBBC, VOA, and Deutsche Welle, maintain numerous relay stations aroundthe world. This way, the signal doesn’t have to travel too far to reachits intended audience. This transmission is from Rwanda, and is one ofthe easiest ways to hear that country. It’s perhaps not as interestingas hearing Radio Rwanda though. Radio Rwanda is not an easy catch; itsbroadcast on 6055 kHz is usually covered by one European broadcaster oranother. There is a five minute window from 2055 to 2100 UTC afterRadio Slovakia signs off but before Rwanda signs off when Rwanda canoccasionally be heard. interestingly, that last five minutes of theirbroadcast every day is usually filled up with IDs in a number oflanguages, including French and English.

Arabic via Qasr al Kharana. At this hour, there will be a lot ofthis sort of unadorned vocalization, which is often broadcasts of theHoly Koran.

11820 – Holy Koran (Saudi Arabia)

This is the same station as on 11740, but this time not mixing withRadio Farda. This transmission is aimed at Arabs in Europe. America isin the same direction from Saudi Arabia (just a little further away),so this broadcast typically pounds in here.

Not sure who this is, but they’re in Arabic.

11850 – Voice of Turkey

French via Emirler. There’s an ID in French, "La Voix du Turkey",toward the end. the best source for IDs in languages you don’tunderstand is the World Radio TV Handbook.they typically print IDs in many or most of the languages anybroadcaster transmits in. so you don’t need to speak the language inorder to ID the station.

Hausa, the language of northern Nigeria, via Ascension Island in themiddle of the south Atlantic Ocean. Probably. I don’t hear an ID, sothis goes down as tentative in the logbook.

11895 – possibly China Radio International

Sounds like Chinese, but pretty weak.

11915 – Holy Koran (Saudi Arabia)

More of the same station as on 11820. the clicks you hear in hereare the sound of me flipping between the two frequencies to confirmthat they’re the same broadcast. Finding parallel frequencies like thiscan be used as a way to identify stations in a language you don’tunderstand. It’s not as good as hearing an identification or aninterval signal, but it will do in a pinch.

America’s anti-Castro surrogate domestic service to Cuba. Totallywiped out by those diesel noises. Not nearly as listenable as theChinese jamming, is it?

11940 – China Radio International

English via Kashi. Their English language program is closing. Thisis a good time to get an ID, as is the beginning of a broadcast.

Segment 4 – 25 meter band 06-28-2006 (download MP3) 

11945 – Radiodiffusão Portuguesa

Portuguese to Africa via Lisbon. This station used to broadcast inEnglish, but stopped about five years ago, along with all other foreignlanguages. now they only broadcast in Portuguese, aimed primarily atexpatriates and former colonies. On weekends, you can hear soccerbroadcasts on this station, which are almost as animated as theSpanish-language broadcasts on Univision during the World Cup.

11975 – Voice of America

English to Africa via São Tome, a small island off the west coast ofAfrica. This station is very weak. VOA is often much stronger andeasier to hear, but not on this frequency at this hour.

11995 – Radio France International

French to Africa via Moyabi, Gabon. This is relayed via the transmitters of Africa Numero Un,a commercial shortwave station broadcasting to Africa that plays someexcellent African music. RFI also often plays some great African musicand can be worth listening to in French for that. This is just a newsbroadcast, however.

12015 – Radio Exterior de España

Arabic from the home of the Moors.  Lots of talk about American-Arab relations.

Not sure who this is, but they’re broadcasting in Arabic too.

Relay of their domestic service in Arabic via Abu Za’bal. Egypt isthe home of much of the Arabic language music industry, so Radio Cairocan be worth listening to for the music. Unfortunately, they’relegendary for their poor audio quality.

12070 – Voice of Russia

English service via Moscow with the latest news. This is followed upwith a program promo in the dulcet tones of Estelle Winters, an expatBrit who has worked for VoR for several years. That high pitched voicereally cuts through the static. She came to the Winter SWL Fest inPennsylvania several years ago, and served as the keynote speaker. Shealso brought a prize for the Fest raffle, a no-expense paid trip to agolf resort just outside Moscow (she was appropriately sheepish aboutit, but it was all she could get someone to donate). I was sitting inthe back of the room next to two of my best friends when this excitingprize was drawn in the raffle. the one friend muttered to himself"please, Dear God, not me" as the winning ticket was drawn; two secondslater, his name was called out, and I and our other friend burst outlaughing.

12085 – Radio Damascus

Syria’s English service via Adhra is not an easy catch here in NorthAmerica. I think this is English, but it’s awfully muddled. You canhear me trying to adjust the radio to get a better sound, but nothingreally worked.

12095 — BBC World Service

English to Africa via Ascension Island. This frequency used to be onthe air pretty much 24 hours a day from a variety of transmittersaround the world, and could therefore be heard at almost any time ofday. with the BBC de-emphasizing shortwave, that’s not so much the caseany more.

World Wide Crackpot Radio, from Nashville. I couldn’t leave youwithout at least one example of the fringe politics and questionableclaims that emanate from the modern day equivalent of Doc Brinkley andthe border broadcasters. the odd sound here is a result of my not quiteaccurately zero beating this signal.

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That’s it. Again, much appreciation to Ralph Brandi for his work and insight in providing the meat and audio for this post. (And you can check out his personal blog here.) I hope you can do this again sometime Ralph.

But, it sure would be swell to hear some reception in this series from other reader/listeners as well. I like the bandscanning format a lot, but I’m open to historic or rare recordings of shortwave as well. and as far as bandscanning, I’d really like to hear some reception from around the country and the world, on AM as well as shortwave. If you’re interested in making recordings of scans, or have some radio recordings sitting around that might provide compelling content for this series please send me an email. and if you’d like any tips or suggestions I might have as far as recording or encoding radio for the web, drop me an email as well. While it would be great to get more audio contributions from experienced DXers like Ralph, if you have an interest in shortwave or venturing through far off late night AM signals AND have a tape recorder, you could do this too.

If you’d like to write about shortwave or the reception you’ve recorded (as Ralph has here), that’s great, but not compulsory. however, providing a log or notes offering the frequencies (and local or UTC time they were received) would be extremely helpful. I’d really like to hear what it’s like to tune across the AM or shortwave dial in Alaska, California, Luxembourg, Guam, New Zealand, just about anywhere (especially not in the NE U.S. and the Midwest, the only locations I’ve offered bandscan recordings from thus far in this series). My preferences are that there’s some English language broadcasting in the mix, and that at least some of the reception has enough clarity to be understood.

Always interested in comments, corrections, questions, and other relevant interaction. please leave them in the comment box below or you can send me an email here. in the next post in this series I think ‘ll get back into the medium wave realm– AM radio. Other posts on such topics can be found here.

Thanks for listening.

We find the most interesting Radios Scanners. Here are the best deals we found for BC350C UNIDEN BEARCAT POLICE SCANNER 100 Channels BC350 for sale on the Internet. This auction is now closed. $9.99 if you want to see its description or find similar items currently for sale please click here. What are you looking for ? BC350C UNIDEN BEARCAT POLICE SCANNER 100 Channels BC350 Picture(s) and Description:

Your browser does not support JavaScript. To view this page, enable JavaScript if it is disabled or upgrade your browser. Click Here. Double your traffic. get Vendio Gallery – now FREE! BC350C UNIDEN BEARCAT POLICE SCANNER 100 Channels BC350 UNIDEN BC350C SCANNER 800MHz Scanning with Mobile Operation Refurbished get in on all the action with the Uniden BC350C, a powerful radio scanning and searching unit. In search mode, The BC350C can search 13 bands to find active frequencies. this differs from scanning in that the unit searches for frequencies that have not been programmed into the scanner’s channels. The scanner automatically chooses between two speeds (Search and Turbo Search) while searching. During search mode the scanner will search 100 frequencies per second, while in Turbo Search Mode the scanner can achieve up to 300 frequencies per second in bands that have 5 kHz steps. In scanning mode, The BC350C scans programmed channels at the rate of up to 100 channels per second until it locates an active frequency. when scanning stops on an active frequency, it remains on that channel as long as the transmission continues. when the transmission ends, the scanner stays on the channel for 2 more seconds, waiting for another transmission. if no response is detected, the scanning cycle resumes until another transmission is received. The BC350C monitors these communication types Police and fire departments (including rescue and paramedics) NOAA weather broadcasts (10 pre-programmed channels, 2 are Canadian Marine Weather Channels) Citizens Band (CB) Business/industrial radio Motion picture and press relay Utility Land transportation frequencies, such as trucking firms, buses, taxis, tow trucks, and railroads Marine and amateur (ham radio) bands Air band Many more in the 25-54 MHz, 108-174 MHz, 406-512, and 806-956 MHz ranges, excluding the cellular telephone band Package Contents BC350C Scanner Telescoping BNC Antenna Mobile Mounting Bracket AC Adapter Cigarette Lighter DC Adapter Plug Owner’s Manual Feedback is very important for us. if for any reason you feel you can’t leave positive feedback and all 5-star ratings, please contact me first at and let me know so we can work to correct any problems. Payment: please visit the auction page and click the “Pay Now” button to complete payment. All sales are final. we guarantee that all items will work properly when received. if an item is received in non-working condition, please contact us within 7 days to receive an RMA# before returning. we will send a replacement item upon receiving the returned defective item. Buyer is responsible for all return shipping expenses and shipping and handling charges are not refundable. Powered by eBay Blackthorne 04.03.019

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Identical to you need iPod and iPhone, you’ll need the fm radio transmitter to help entertain you listen to good songs and chat shows anywhere you arewith some fantastic new music. The earlier radios have now ceased into a size in the little form of adaptors, which you can plug within the cigarette lighter from the auto you might be driving and thus listen to to the radio irrespective of exactly where you will be.

The Functions of radio transmitter

Although, the FM radio transmitter can be a little looking gadget, you are able to avail its advantages from anyplace you are. The audio good quality has the attributes of clearness, crispness and seamlessness. Therefore, it is possible to listen to to distinct and distinctive voice from any location you will be in.

This is a small attractiveness, which you’ll be able to carry to any place that you simply want. Considering that it truly is portable, you’ll be able to have with you irrespective of should you be travelling long distances. in addition to, the small gadget gives you earful delights at any location that you want.

The top thing is that you are able to listen to a large number of tracks from the same supply. this is remarkable given that you get to take pleasure in a extended list of songs from anywhere which you really feel like. this is a excellent worth for just about any money which is invested, considering that the gadget is considerably less costly than iPod or iphone, therefore giving you earful return for tiny investment.

Regardless of whether it’s the FM radio transmitter or the TV transmitters, you’ll be able to link it with the cigarette lighter of one’s car. You are able to also connect one other finish in the FM transmitter to the iPod. now once you press the scan button, it will assist in scanning for the strongest radio frequency therefore bringing new music in the greatest audible version.

The top thing is that you’ll discover numerous radio transmitters, that are wi-fi and you can find Bluetooth link with it. thus, you appreciate several features of FM radio transmitter.

We find the most interesting Radios Scanners. here are the best deals we found for Brand new self programming digital GRE PSR-800 police scanner with many extras for sale on the Internet. This auction is now closed. $26.00 if you want to see its description or find similar items currently for sale please click here. What are you looking for ? Brand new self programming digital GRE PSR-800 police scanner with many extras Picture(s) and Description:

GRE PSR 800 SELF PROGRAMINGDIGITAL SCANNERTHIS ONE IS SO SIMPLE TO PROGRAM SO ANYONE CAN LISTEN TO POLICE, FIRE, EMS, AIRPLANES, TRAINS AND MANY MANY MORE!! EXTRAS INCLUDE:- 800 Mhz Tuned antenna ( a $50 value): bring those distant police, fire, EMS etc. systems in loud and clear – a second Sandisk micro SD memory card (2GB): have a backup at hand (or store many many more system!) – a $20 value- a screen protector (already installed for your convenience!) – to protect the beautiful LCD screen – a $5 value- a carry pouch – to protect the unit – a $5 value ALL OF THIS WITH FULL RETURN WARRANTY: IF YOU FIND ANY OF THIS WAS MISPREPRESENTED: I GIVE YOUR MONEY BACKLook at my feedback: I want to earn 100% from you as well! FEATURES: Easy to understand Media Player User Interface – the simplified keypad and display with familiar Play, Pause and Navigation controls make EZ Scan Digital intuitive to use. Complete USA Database on a MicroSD Card – the entire USA database is stored on a MicroSD Card included with the EZ Scan Digital, giving the user the most comprehensive radio data available…all without connecting EZ Scan Digital to a computer or Internet a GRE First!. Upgradeable CPU Firmware and Library – keep EZ Scan Digital current with the enhancements and updates as they become available through provided PC Software Application Powerful PC Software Application – Modify or add your own Scanlist with the easy to us EZ Scan Digital software application. SKYWARN Storm Spotter Functionality – Instant access to frequencies used by storm spotter networks. Monitor storm conditions as they occur, and learn about dangerous conditions before the media or emergency management officials announce them to the general public. SAME and all Hazards Weather Alerting -EZ Scan Digital features a Dedicated SAME Weather Alert Receiver mode, alerting users to severe weather and other hazards in the specific area(s) that they select. EZ Scan Digital can check local NOAA weather frequencies periodically, even while scanning, and provide an alert when an all Hazards alert occurs. Multi-System Digital and Analog Trunking – Scans digital and analog trunked radio system signaling formats, including Project-25, Motorola Type I/II/Hybrid, EDACS, and LTR systems. Powerful Spectrum Sweeper – Quickly sweeps EZ Scan Digital’s frequency ranges for transmissions from nearby sources. when a nearby transmission is found, EZ Scan Digital automatically tunes to that frequency and receives the transmission. Built-in Service Searches – Predefined service search ranges makes it easy to fine activity in your area. Audible alarms – Programmable alarms can be configured to sound when certain frequencies are active. Signal Strength Meter – Shows relative strength of received signals Slim, compact case design with larger speaker – Designed for one-handed operation and portability. Select your local system you want to monitor. Special request? no problem – you can add favorite frequencies with the included EZ Scan Digital software utility program. the PSR-800 combines simple controls like those used in an MP3 player with the power and sophistication of a state-of-the-art scanning receiver! Designed to provide unprecedented ease of use, for beginners and experts! Complete USA and Canada Database On a MicroSD Card Recording Function permits recording of Transmission Exclusive Multi-Color Alert LED full Dot-Matrix/High contrast “WHITE” Color backlight LCD Keypad, optimized for one-hand operation Multi-System Digital/Analog APCO P25 Trunking – Scans digital and analog trunked radio system signaling formats, including Project 25, Motorola Type I/II/Hybrid, EDACS and LTR systems. Upgradeable CPU and DSP firmware and library – keep EZ Scan Digital current with enhancements and updates as they become available with free upgrades through EZ Scan Digital software utility program. CTCSS and DCS subaudible decoder Weather radio receiver mode with SAME and all Hazards signal decoding User upgradeable CPU firmware Spectrum Sweeper rapidly finds nearby signals even if you do not know the frequency. SPECS: Frequency Coverage 25-54, 108-136.99166, 137-174, 216.0025-512, 764-781.996875, 791-796-996875, 806-960 (excluding cellular bands), 1240-1300 MHz Receive mode AM, FM, NFM, P25, MOT, EDACS, LTR, CTCSS, DCS Frequency step 3.125, 5, 6.25, 7.5, 8.33, 10, 12.5, 25 kHz Selectivity AM 25-27.995 MHz: 4 kHz / 6 kHz (-6 dB / -50 dB) other frequency and modulation: 7 kHz / 13 kHz (-6 dB / -50 dB) Scanning Rate up to 70 channels/second Search Rate up to 80 steps/second Receiving system Trip conversion PLL synthesize super-heterodyne Antenna Impedance 50 ohms Audio Output 500 mW (Max. Power) Power requirement 4AA Batteries or USB 5V DC Current drain 170 mA nominal (Squelched) at 5V DC Operating temperature 14 to 140 deg. F (-10 to 60 deg. C) Dimension (HWD) 5 5/16 x 2 1/8 x 1 1/16 inches (135 x 67 x 28 mm) Weight Approx. 7.4 oz (210 g) Included Accessories USB Data Cable, Antenna, 2GB MicroSD Memory card, Rotating belt clip, CD-Rom Media

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We find the most interesting Radios Scanners. here are the best deals we found for Rohde & Schwarz EB 100 Miniport Receiver 20 – 1000 Mhz for sale on the Internet. This auction is now closed. $10.50 If you want to see its description or find similar items currently for sale please click here. What are you looking for ? Rohde & Schwarz EB 100 Miniport Receiver 20 – 1000 Mhz Picture(s) and Description:

Rohde & Schwarz EB 100 Miniport Receiver – 20 Mhz to 1000 Mhz One of the last two units left. Another very good condition example of these very sought after receivers, again complete with R&S PSU, accessories & R&S case. This unit is in good working order and comes with a copy of the manual in English. New battery pack has been fitted. This classic receiver with scanning facility from the renowned Rohde & Schwarz is in good working order and condition. it comes with a number of accessories as detailed below including the original case. the unit has been tested and is working well. This unit has been fitted with a new battery pack. the front panel is very clean and the main panels are in good condition. the feet / tilt mechanism is present and correct. Included: EB 100 Main unit Original PSU Original Shoulder StrapTelescopic Antenna Original Case with keys Copy of Instruction Manual (English) Information from cryptomuseum.com : the EB-100 is a small portable surveillance receiver build in the 1980s by Rohde & Schwarz in Munich (Germany). it was intended for a variety of jobs, including frequency monitoring, radio surveillance, radio intercept, EMC measurements, direction finding and bug tracing. the EB-100 covers al frequencies between 20 MHz and 1000 MHz (1 GHz) with a bandwidth selectable between 7.5, 15 and 150 kHz. the receiver can store approx. 30 frequencies in its built-in memory (also used for scanning). All controls, with the exception of the frequency adjustment, are on the front panel. Frequencies can be entered directly on the 20-button key pad at the right, and are visible on the small LCD display at the center. an old-fashined analog meter, mounted to the left of the display, is used as signal strength indicator. the receiver has a carrying strap and a built-in rechargeable battery, allowing portable use (i.e. carried around the neck), and is usually stored in a briefcase together with the battery charger,and other accessories. it can by used for monitoring the programmed memory channels by using the scanning feature. the EB-100 was introduced by Rohde & Schwarz in the 1980s and was the de-facto standard for many years, until it was replaced in the late 1990s by the more advanced EB-200. Even today, the EB-100 is a highly wanted EMC test receiver. _________________________We also buy radio equipment ———— more high quality Scanners and Receivers in other items__________ International buyers are welcome but will be responsible for the additional shipping costs and any import duties / taxes for their country. please contact within 24 hours of auction close. No returns on this as it will be sent in excellent working order. Payment must be cleared before despatch but I will send it within 1 working day of clear funds receipt.

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Johnson County Sheriff Steve Kozisek and Buffalo Police Chief Jason Carder went before the Johnson County Commissioners on Tuesday to officially request funding and approval to purchase a new internal radio system for the criminal justice center.

Wireless Advanced Communications of Casper, who installed the other radio systems in the new jail, gave an estimate of $17,370.80 for the additional system, according to Kozisek, but he did tell the commissioners there will be some savings because fewer radios will be purchased, and there also may be savings on the installation process.

Kozisek explains more about the system and why it is needed.

The radio system was not an oversight in the design of the building, according to Kozisek, there was some discussion early in the project that the additional radio system might be necessary, but the decision was to wait on its purchase to make sure it was actually needed.

The radios will have their own frequency and will be used internally by staff, but can be switched to the regular sheriff’s radio frequencies should an officer or deputy need to be outside the building for a time.

The commissioners approved the purchase of the additional radio system.

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A two way radio employs various technologies to send and receive data. These technologies have been se developed that they make the use of this type of a radio very easy. Also with every technology, different types of features are incorporated within the radio so that it meets the needs of the customers.

The first two way radios employed a conventional technology in which operated on fixed channels. the use of conventional technology allows the use of only a single channel at a time even if the radio can operate on multiple channels. when radios are made using this technology, they are provided a scan feature so that the user can scan for and find the particular channel that one wants to listen to or use for the transmission of data. the provision of this feature prevents the user from using the channel selector that takes a lot of time to locate a particular channel.

Another technology used for two way radios is the trunked technology. In this technology, the radio picks up a frequency by itself. In this type of technology, the radio channels work according to a protocol to ensure that the assignment of channels takes place automatically. In this type of a radio system, a control channel is used by the protocol so as to control the allocation of frequencies to the radio.

Simplex technology is yet another technology that is used for two way radios. In this a single channel is used by the radios to send and receive data. Radios with this technology are the most common ones used for the purpose of communication. These types of radios are the most reliable ones for short distance transmission of data. the duplex technology when used for two way radios makes available two different channels, one for sending data and the other for receiving data. the use of two separate channels ensures that the data or signals do not interfere with each other. the duplex technology can be used in two ways in a two way radio. the first is the half duplex technology in which a radio can either send or receive signals at any given time. the second one is the full duplex technology in which the radios can send and receive signals simultaneously. This technology results in faster transmission of data.

Push to talk technology has also been used in these types of radios recently. In these radios, a button has to be pushed to start the transmission of data. These are popularly used in different types of vehicles.

Analog and digital technologies can also be used for these radios. when the analog technology is used, these radios transfer analog signals that have varying frequencies. when the digital technology is used for these radios, they transmit and receive digital data which has only two forms, namely on and off. This means that the frequency of digital signals is fixed. the 2 way radios that transmit analog signals are more popular because most communication takes place in the analog format. However, there is much more clarity in the transmission when the digital technology is used.

A two way radio is a device that is used for sending and receiving data, either over very large distances or small distances. these radios have become very popular and can be used for a variety of purposes. A two way radio can either operate in a half duplex mode or a full duplex mode. when it operates in a half duplex mode, the user can either send or receive a signal at any given time and cannot do both. in the full duplex mode, a user is able to both send and receive data at the same time.

When purchasing a two way radio, there are several factors and components that must be taken care of. the most important factor when buying a radio is to see that it fulfills the requirements of the user. another important factor is the cost of the radio. one of the most important components of this type of a radio that needs to be carefully selected and looked into is the battery.

The battery is considered to be the most important component of a two way radio because it has an impact on the area within which the radio operates effectively, the quality of communication as well as the time taken for the completion of a transmission.

If the battery used in the radio is of good quality, then it is able to operate in a wider radius with more effectiveness. On the other hand if the battery used in the radio is of poor quality, then the radio will not be able to operate in a larger area. A good quality battery also improves the quality of communication as the signals or data can be sent and received clearly without interference. A good quality battery also ensures that the time taken for transmission of data is less.

Two way radio batteries are manufactured by a large number of companies. these batteries are either provided as internal rechargeable batteries or as replaceable batteries. the internal rechargeable batteries can be charged by just plugging them into an adapter. these have a longer life as compared to replaceable batteries. the replaceable batteries are the ones that need to be replaced once their battery life is over. this can prove to be quite cumbersome if the replaceable batteries used are of poor quality.

One of the most widely used two way radio batteries is the nickel cadmium batteries. these batteries are known for their durability. this type of a battery is the least expensive and can be used in any temperature. this battery is generally provided as a rechargeable battery and over time it is said to lose its full recharging capacity. therefore, this type of a battery is difficult to maintain.

Another popularly used battery is the lithium ion battery. these are very light weight and easy to maintain. this type of a battery does not lose its charging capacity and has a very long life. these are widely used for their high capacity and as such prove to be extremely popular with users of modern UK Radio Comms and two way radios

Hand held radio scanners are often used for listening to emergency services, but there are other types of communications that you can listen to also. They are usually used as a hobby, but they are also handy for investigators, journalists, and volunteers.

Even though a lot of people call these radios police scanners, they can receive signals transmitted from a large range of frequencies, and so you are able to listen in on air traffic control, fire and ambulance services, race teams, and much more, as well as the police transmissions.

The most popular of hand held scanners are the Uniden radio scanners, especially the Uniden Bearcat scanner. the bearcat scanner line starts with a basic model with 100 channels, and goes all the way up to a model with 25,000 channels, with many choices in between.

Modern scanners are controlled by microprocessors and micro electronics and are designed to be light weight and portable. back in the 1970′s, when they first came out, they were very heavy, slow and expensive, and their batteries were very large and heavy. Today there are also home based models available, and they are usually larger in size, but because of that they might have additional features that the portable models can’t because of their smaller size.

Scanners today are capable of being programmed with the ability of storing thousands of channels, and can monitor them in the hundreds per second. They are meant to monitor and scan local VHF and UHF bands in the RF frequencies. They also handle various methods of modulation such as AM, FM, and WFM.

Basic hand held radio scanners usually have 100 channels, which is probably sufficient for someone just starting out for a hobby. more sophisticated models have up to 25,000 channels. an average scanner will pick up transmissions up to 40 miles away, depending on the antenna being used. the scanner has a vast range of frequencies to scan usually between 29 MHz and 512 MHz.

Basically a scanner is a radio communications receiver that can automatically scan, or tune into, at least two frequencies. They have a squelch setting that can be adjusted in order to filter signals for more or less sensitivity of interference or undesired transmissions.

Radio scan have no such troubles. I do not deduce that I would not like to examine more concerning that intention. I wanted to explain ham radio magazine with you this evening. While I was searching online I found one site with a nice inventory of radioscanner. I reckon you’re more likely to turn off poor people than to turn them on this way. Do you ever notice this in respect to, ham radio stores? it may be one of the most vital things you can do. I can save good persons on the street from being burned by ham radio internet scams. It’s time to forget about your old frequency scanner. I would imagine that I may be having a wrong-headed notion as that touches on this. The first factor to know would be the fundamental differences between radio scan and ham radio books.