With the wintertime change now fully in effect, please note that broadcasts of Shortwave Radiogram from WRMI Florida stay with their UTC times, so they are one hour earlier by local time in most of North America and Europe. Broadcasts from WINB Pennsylvania on 9265 kHz stay with Eastern Time, so they are one hour later by UTC. However, the WINB DRM transmission stays with UTC. See the schedule below.
Last weekend we experimented with the new modes MFSK32WIDE and MFSK64WIDE. See this page for more information about these new modes. The 2000 Hz bandwidth is designed to increase redundancy and thus the accuracy of the text decode over the conventional MFSK32 and MFSK64 modes.
One "problem" is that MFSK32 is such a good mode that it is difficult to find signals bad enough to result in errors that can be improved upon by MFSK32WIDE. We did find a few examples of improved decode with MFSK32WIDE. Differences with MFSK64 and MFSK64WIDE were difficult to discern, but testing continues.
A video of last weekend's Shortwave Radiogram (program 176) is provided by Scott in Ontario. The audio archive is maintained by Mark in the UK. The analysis is prepared by Roger in Germany.
This weekend we will limit our experiment to MFSK32 versus MFSK32WIDE. Another problem with last week's tests is that, as we are aware, the signal of Shortwave Radiogram can deteriorate or improve during the half-hour. If several minutes elapse between one mode and the next, changing conditions would give the erroneous impression that one mode is better than another. To correct for this, we will tighten up the amount of time between modes. This will consist of six transmissions, each between 1 1/2 and 2 minutes in length, three MFSK32 and three MFSK32WIDE. Please observe if the decode of MFSK32WIDE improves upon that of MFSK32. Of course, challenging reception conditions will make this experiment more interesting.
This weekend's show is in the usual MFSK32 and MFSK64, as well as the new MFSK32WIDE. You will need Fldigi 4.1.15.05 or newer (available here) to decode the MFSK32WIDE. If you do not have this version, or if you use TIVAR/AndFlmsg, you will miss less than five minutes of the show. You can access the entire article about the New York City bookstore here.
We'll be so busy comparing modes that we will only have time for seven MFSK64 images.
Here is the lineup for Shortwave Radiogram, program 177, 6-8 November 2020, in MFSK modes as noted:
1:44 MFSK32: Program preview
3:18 MFSK32: Independent bookstore in New York City
5:13 MFSK32WIDE: Bookstore (continued)**
6:47 MFSK32: Bookstore (continued)
8:50 MFSK32WIDE: Bookstore (continued)**
10:26 MFSK32: Bookstore (continued)
12:12 MFSK32WIDE: Bookstore (continued)**
14:01 MFSK64: This week's images
28:07 MFSK32: Closing announcements
** Text will not appear in the receive pane until about 20 seconds
after the sound of the mode begins.
Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net
And visit http://swradiogram.net
Twitter: @SWRadiogram or https://twitter.com/swradiogram (visit during the weekend to see listeners' results)
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/567099476753304
Shortwave Radiogram Gateway Wiki https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Shortwave_Radiogram_Gateway
Shortwave Radiogram Transmission Schedule
UTC Day UTC Time Frequency Transmitter
Friday 0030-0100 UTC 9265 kHz WINB Pennsylvania
Friday 1300-1330 UTC 15770 kHz WRMI Florida
Friday 1500-1530 UTC 13655 kHz DRM WINB Pennsylvania
Saturday 0330-0400 UTC 9265 kHz WINB Pennsylvania
Saturday 1330-1400 UTC 15770 kHz WRMI Florida
Sunday 0800-0830 UTC 5850 kHz 7730 kHz WRMI Florida
Sunday 2330-2400 UTC 7780 kHz WRMI Florida
The Mighty KBC transmits to North America Sundays at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 5960 kHz, via Germany. A minute of MFSK is at about 0130 UTC. Reports to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com. See also http://www.kbcradio.eu/ and https://www.facebook.com/TheMightyKbc/.
“This is a Music Show” is the newest addition to digital modes via analog shortwave. Most of the show is a music show, but the host transmits some MFSK text and image near the end of the broadcast. It’s transmitted on WRMI, Thursdays at 0200-0300 UTC on 5850 kHz (Wednesday evening in the Americas) and a new time also on WRMI, Wednesdays at 2100-2200 UTC on 7780 kHz (aimed towards Europe) . Also, look for a waterfall ID at the beginning of the show. thisisamusicshow@gmail.com. www.twitter.com/ThisIsAMusicSho/ @ThisIsAMusicSho
New York and Pennsylvania NBEMS nets. Most weekends, as KD9XB, I check in to the New York NBEMS (Narrow Band Emergency Messaging Software) net Saturday at 1300 UTC on 3584 kHz USB, and the Pennsylvania NBEMS net Sunday at 1230 UTC on 3583 kHz USB (with out-of-state check-ins now starting at 1130 UTC). Check-ins are usually in Thor 22, and messages are in MFSK32. Messages generally use the Flmsg add-on to Fldigi. If you are a radio amateur in eastern North America, feel free to check-in. Outside the region, use an SDR in the eastern USA to tune in and decode. You do not need Flmsg to check in, and most of the messages can be read without Flmsg. If you can decode the net, send me an email to radiogram@verizon.net, or tweet to @SWRadiogram, and I will let them know you are tuned in. USEast NBEMS Net: Please also note the USEast NBEMS Net, Thursdays 0000 UTC (Wednesdays 7 pm EST) on 3536 kHz USB.
Thanks for your reception reports!
Kim
Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
Shortwave Radiogram
Reporting on international broadcasting at https://twitter.com/kaedotcom
SW Radiogram http://www.swradiogram.net/
