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| Tweet Topic Started: Saturday, 16. January 2010, 09:18 (3,940 Views) | |
| Deleted User | Saturday, 16. January 2010, 09:18 Post #1 |
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Anybody do much SW listening? Not so much amateur bands I'm thinking about broadcast and utility stations. I used to be a very keen SWL. The simple pleasure in hearing a voice from another country especially those behind the "iron curtain". The propaganda and what other countries thoughts about us (UK) was fascinating. I do have a SW receiver in the shape of a Yeasu FRG-7. Never the best in the world but it has certain charms. I love receivers with anolog tuning, makes them proper Other receivers I've had have included a AR88 and a FRG-7700. I would get in the morning, turn the AR88 on then go downstairs for some breakfast. Return an hour or two later and the radio would be nice and warm and very stable. Lovely. A lot of SW stations have now gone digital so no matter what time of day or night you can "receive" any broadcast from wherever without the fading or the blocking tactics, just crystal clear audio! What's the point in that ! I love proper radio. |
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| Firetrap | Saturday, 16. January 2010, 16:32 Post #2 |
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I do quite a bit of SWL, usually around 3Mhz to 5Mhz on LSB and USB Quite a few air traffic control stations, RAF bases and weather freqs i think! Also like to giggle at the middle eastern commercial radio stations at around 12mhz to 13mhz on AM. We should start a reports thread to post known used frequencies for us listeners!
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Charlie Tango DX www.cbradiouk.com | www.charlietango.co.uk Domain Names For Sale V5Bid.com | Ypsi1.com | 041183.com | Hiya.Mobi | Oddiz.com | DoddP.com Life is not a Conspiracy - Enjoy it, don't be consumed by The Conspiracy Effect | |
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| Deleted User | Saturday, 16. January 2010, 16:39 Post #3 |
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Not a bad idea. Try 11.200 USB. British Airways long haul. |
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| Firetrap | Saturday, 16. January 2010, 16:40 Post #4 |
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Ill stick it on now mate!
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Charlie Tango DX www.cbradiouk.com | www.charlietango.co.uk Domain Names For Sale V5Bid.com | Ypsi1.com | 041183.com | Hiya.Mobi | Oddiz.com | DoddP.com Life is not a Conspiracy - Enjoy it, don't be consumed by The Conspiracy Effect | |
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| Firetrap | Saturday, 16. January 2010, 16:43 Post #5 |
26CT100
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5.505.00 LSB is a good one! forget who it is though, mark knows! Also there is the coastguard frequency too around 5 or 6mhz but cant remember the exact freq!
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Charlie Tango DX www.cbradiouk.com | www.charlietango.co.uk Domain Names For Sale V5Bid.com | Ypsi1.com | 041183.com | Hiya.Mobi | Oddiz.com | DoddP.com Life is not a Conspiracy - Enjoy it, don't be consumed by The Conspiracy Effect | |
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| Firetrap | Saturday, 16. January 2010, 16:53 Post #6 |
26CT100
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4.718 USB on a night 5.680 USB during the day Kinloss Rescue HF |
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Charlie Tango DX www.cbradiouk.com | www.charlietango.co.uk Domain Names For Sale V5Bid.com | Ypsi1.com | 041183.com | Hiya.Mobi | Oddiz.com | DoddP.com Life is not a Conspiracy - Enjoy it, don't be consumed by The Conspiracy Effect | |
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| Deleted User | Saturday, 16. January 2010, 17:18 Post #7 |
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Nice topic Bob......An RCA AR88.......not for mobile use for sure.I also have a Yaesu "Frog" had it sice was 17,I listen to most Airbands (have an old Realistic scanner from the 80's),I like listening The Battle of Britain memorial flights ect.Also what I love checking out is the "Numbers Stations" on HF like The Lincolnshire Poacher.For the newer guys who havn't heard them.......its numbers transmitted on SSB generaly by various countrys in code for their "Inside Men" very "Cloak and Dagger!!!".......and the reason for "The Lincolnshire Poacher Monika" is they play the song at the end of the transmission!!
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| Mark in Essex | Sunday, 17. January 2010, 07:01 Post #8 |
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26 Charlie Tango 037
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Volmet Lee ...lol.....This might be of interest http://www.shortwavemonitor.com/index.html
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[][img][/img][/url] https://www.youtube.com/user/26TANGOMIKE037/videos Nembutol numbs it all But I prefer alcohol | |
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| 2EC837 | Sunday, 17. January 2010, 19:19 Post #9 |
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You guys might try: 8.983 USB 5.696 USB United States Coast Guard Try at the top of the hour and every 15 minute as they run status checks and position reports with all airborn craft Also 11.175 USB for various US military 73 2EC837 |
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| Firetrap | Sunday, 17. January 2010, 19:34 Post #10 |
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Thank you for the frequencies, ill have a listen tonight! Also, Thanks for the name of the frequency Mark! |
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Charlie Tango DX www.cbradiouk.com | www.charlietango.co.uk Domain Names For Sale V5Bid.com | Ypsi1.com | 041183.com | Hiya.Mobi | Oddiz.com | DoddP.com Life is not a Conspiracy - Enjoy it, don't be consumed by The Conspiracy Effect | |
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| 2EC837 | Sunday, 17. January 2010, 20:10 Post #11 |
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Let me know what you hear on that side of the lake. |
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| Mark in Essex | Monday, 18. January 2010, 13:59 Post #12 |
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26 Charlie Tango 037
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http://www.ukdx.org.uk/tv/tuner.htm |
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[][img][/img][/url] https://www.youtube.com/user/26TANGOMIKE037/videos Nembutol numbs it all But I prefer alcohol | |
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| Deleted User | Friday, 3. September 2010, 17:07 Post #13 |
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What antenna's do you folks use? I'm getting back into SWL, just bought my self a cheap as chips Realistic DX-394, just to have a 'play' and make sure it's still my sort of thing. Trouble I have, is antenna. Don't want to shove up anything mahoosive or anything ugly (is there such a thing as an ugly antenna?) but something discreet which will still do the job. Was thinking maybe an 11m dipole? I do like 11m DX listening, but by the same token, I like searching out utility stations lower down the bands. A dipole has to better than an internal whip, but not as good as a G5RV on the end of an ATU? Problem I have with going horizontal on the wire, is that my garden length runs from ESE to WNW, so I think I'd be broadside to the Atlantic and the North Pole! Wires are of course great, by very directional. I also can't get it that high, not much more than about 7 or 8 feet as I have nowhere to fix it to at the far end of the garden. So, what do you folks think? Dipole or wire? |
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| Miko | Friday, 3. September 2010, 19:21 Post #14 |
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The age old prob of enormous antennas and small gardens. However if tx is not a requirement then resonance is not quite as important therefore giving a lot more scope. Height is good but not essential so I would opt for as much wire as pos bearing in mind it does not have to be stretched out in a straight line. i.e. coiled vertically around a plastic drainpipe or round and round your attic space if you have one. If you have a pitched roof an inverted v dipole on the gable end. If no gable end, a long wire chucked right over the roof. If you've plastic guttering, a wire tacked to this will function. An atu is good but a cheap cb matcher would probably help. I'm sure with some ingenuity you will find something not to intrusive but giving a reasonable coverage. |
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| MikeXray | Saturday, 4. September 2010, 09:05 Post #15 |
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For MW I use Loops, I tune these via a SWL ATU. I have 2 Mizuho / Global AT2000's, these tune loops & random wires a treat. I also use a Norcal, these are MUCH better than a G5RV http://www.norcalqrp.org/norcaldoublet.htm I also use a Miracle whip, these are small portable amateur QRP antennas, that make truly superb RX antennas, but are rather expensive. I also have, but it is not currently up. A ZS6BKW antenna. These are resonant on more bands than a G5RV, so perform better without a ATU http://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/frank_radio_antenna_ZS6BKW.htm I suffer from a lot of QRM from local electrical noise, but I find on RX, I can work around this much easier than on TX. For MW & Tropical band etc a loop is cheap, simple to make & VERY effective, I also use them some Sundays when listening to some of the free radio stations, but performance of a loop does reduce as you go up in frequency & down in wave length. Edited to add...If you want to buy a ATU, then I can highly recommend the Mizuho / Global AT2000. These have band pass filtering & adjustable Q, so reduce QRM & optimise the wanted signal strength at the same time, so weak signal reception is made much easier. These ATU's are almost as good as a notch filter. Edited by MikeXray, Saturday, 4. September 2010, 09:09.
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| Smokes | Sunday, 5. September 2010, 09:54 Post #16 |
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26 Charlie Tango 371
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I think this is a great to have something like this. a swl database with Time, Freq & a brief commentI have bought SWL frequency books over the years & downloaded pages of lists which look very impressive but in practice only get some of well known Freqs, Plenty Ham & broadcast stations including data (havent set my pc up to use this yet) I know it has a lot to do with your location, propogation & time for day but some bands no matter how much paitence you try to give Edited by Smokes, Sunday, 5. September 2010, 10:08.
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| MikeXray | Sunday, 5. September 2010, 14:09 Post #17 |
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I am a member of The British DX Club & can HIGHLY recommend membership. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bdxcuk/home.html Membership includes an excellent monthly magazine called "Communication" This includes current logs for HF, MW, Free Radio & VHF, as well as news & reviews of SWL equipment.Currently membership cost £15.00 for UK & BFPO. They publish various cheap handbooks. Broadcasts in English @ £2.50 including postage for non members, but free to members. And Radio Stations in the United Kingdom @ £4.00 including postage. THE book for broadcast listeners, is now available via Internet membership & that's The World TV & Radio Handbook, which lists EVERY TV & Radio station, their QTH & broadcast details. I first joined BDXC back in about 1980 -81 & many of the regular contributors from that period are still regular contributors, so the experience contained within the BDXC logs makes membership well worth the money. |
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| Deleted User | Sunday, 5. September 2010, 17:04 Post #18 |
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Some ideas for thought there on the antenna front. Definitely not going for TX, just RX. Thing is, I don't really get antenna theory too well, so don't just want to launch a (random) long bit of wire down the garden without really understanding how to terminate it, avoid noise etc. Let's assume I have room for approx 20m - 30m length of wire (garden length is about that from house to foot of garden). I can't get too high because I don't have any way of attaching the far end, that is, I can't put a pole up, so the max height would be about 7 foot (i.e. the apex end of the shed). I could however start higher at the house end (2 storey house) and 'slope' downward. My 'shack' is in actual fact a large waterproof, heated and electric supplied summerhouse in the garden; this is about halfway between the house and garden. This half way point would be ideal to further support a long wire stretching from house to foot of garden, halfway along it's length, or as a feed point for a dipole. 1. Which would be best for receiving 0-30mhz - an end fed wire, or something like a Norcal mentioned above. 2. ATU - a necessity or a luxury? Now, on the assumption I have the antenna 'up', what needs to happen at the receiving end? An ATU I presume? I never used to bother with sort of thing in my early SWL days, but as I now want to take the hobby a lot more seriously (and have a little more disposable income!) I want to do things properly. Incidentally, I am thinking of buying the Icom i-R2500 or pushing as far as the base IC-R8500. Got some homework to do there yet. For VHF, I'll obviously put up a discone or similar. What do you feed into the ATU? PL259 on coax, stripped wires? The worry I have, particularly as I like to listen to 11mtr SSB, is that such a horizontal affair as I talk about above is going to be rather directional. This is what I am desperately trying to avoid. I did like the sound of coiling up round a drainpipe, but would that be end fed? How do you feed/terminate such an affair? I guess as it would be quite a random bit of wire, an ATU would be essential? I'm a real muppet when it comes to antenna's I'm afraid. I'm not really cut out to figure out all the impedance figures, ratios and what else. It seems to me with all the 'Googling' I've been doing, that just whacking a random length of wire up is not really the answer and it is a lot more scientific than that! Help! |
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| MikeXray | Sunday, 5. September 2010, 18:00 Post #19 |
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A random length of wire just connected to the back of the radio is the cheap & simple, but efficient answer & this will work just fine for listening to strong stations with no problems at all. Most serious HF (SW) broadcast listeners I know have a long wire as they do the job so well. But most also have a ATU & a couple of other alternative antennas as well, not that this is an essential. All a long random length of wire is, is a long wire version of the small telescopic antenna & the longer that antenna is the better, however, PLEASE don't forget that even without a strike, static electricity builds up on your antenna during thunder storms & the longer the wire the more it picks up. A tuned antenna works better than an untuned antenna, so something like a Norcal works better than a random length of wire on the bands it is designed for, in most cases that's amateur bands, so without a ATU they are no (or little) better than a wire on the broadcast bands. One way of improving performance without a ATU is to use a balun, on a long wire it's normally a 9:1. What this does is makes the wire more in tune (resonent) on some bands, it also reduces electrical noise slightly, but if you connect a earth stake to the second terminal on a balun it reduces the noise even more, so it can make a big difference for a small cash outlay. Antenna Tuning Unit. More correctly called an Antenna Matching Unit..These can can be brought very cheaply for SWL & these again give an earthing opportunity at the antenna which will help with static noise received by your radio, if you buy something like a Global, they also have bandpass filters which stops some more noise & by tuning you will find the volume peaks considerably when you optimise the tuning of the antenna, so weak signal reception is MUCH easier...But a ATU is not NEEDED, it's just a good thing to have as it brings so many more stations within range of you radio. For VHF & UHF, it depends upon the distance between you radio & the antenna, but as most things listened to are below about 500MHz, RG-213 coax does most of us, and a discone is fine antenna, as are some amateur band antennas which being simple verticals are often less visible to neighbours. Connectors on VHF / UHF are generally either N types or BNC's, but I tend to use PL-259 connectors on my coax with adaptors as I use my antennas on several radios & antennas & PL-259's suit my needs. I would say if you are going to spend money on SWL as a hobby, then a ATU is essential, as there is no point in paying £100's on a RX only to have it limited by the lack of a ATU which cost £50 or less secondhand & RX or TX it's the antenna that does 90% of the work. |
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| VoG | Sunday, 5. September 2010, 18:01 Post #20 |
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I'm a long way from any expert on aerails, but I would have thought that for RX only, an end-fed long wire is simple and probably as effective (on multiple bands) as a Dipole. If you were aiming for TX as well, then I'd say a Dipole or an off-centre dipole (a Windom). When you say "how to terminate it" do you mean at the radio end, or at the "open" end? For RX a tuner is not vital. But it will improve your received signal. As MikeXray said, if you;re using a fifty quid scanner to RX then fine, but if you have spent hundreds on a really good SWL set, then it makes sense to spend some of theloot on a tuner and get the most out of it. What feeds it depends on the ATU. Some have wire points on the back for single wire, or twin-feed wires. Whereas some only have the SO259 socket. An ATU would be a necessity for TX, obviously. Also, for TX, a long wire would typically be terminated in a Balun (actually an unun). The Balun is a wire-wound transformer which will convert the impedance of the wire into something closer to what your radio needs. Typically, long-wire baluns are 9:1 and have a connector for the wire on one end, and a SO259 on the other. So you’d run a patch lead, with a PL259 on each end, from the Balun to the radio. I had little joy with a discone when I was doing RX only, before I got into 11m then Amateur. Maybe I had a poor discone, or had it set-up wrong but I really didn’t hear much. If I was doing it again I’d put up a tri-band collinear for 6m, VHF and UHF, even if it was only for RX. Another problem with the horizontal for 11m RX is that nearly all ground-wave 11m traffic is vertical. It isn’t so critical for receiving DX as the “bounce” from the skip changes the orientation somewhat, but I find that a ground-wave 11m “CB” signal can be as much as 3 S-Points down if I use my Windom rather than my Vertical. In your position, I’d maybe even consider something like a tank-whip on the summerhouse roof, with a co-ax switch so you can change from horizontal to vertical Hope this helps a little. As said, I’m no aerial guru – but there are a few on this board that are pretty learned on the topic, so hopefully one of those chaps will give you a more complete answer. |
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a swl database with Time, Freq & a brief comment
8:25 AM Jul 11