Pop Shop Radio set for directional antenna test this week

 

I am planning a Pop Shop Radio really cool directional antenna test from Channel 292 this week! I have taken last week's show and augmented it with embedded digital data during the songs. The artist and title of each song will be transmitted in MFSK32 during the song.

Each 10-second blast will be during instrumental breaks, but you'll want to have FLDigi or Tivar up during the whole show. 

It will be at 0300 UT on Friday 19 July. Frequencies will be 6070 kHz - non-directional for Europe, and 9670 kHz directional for North America.

If need be, feel free to use a web SDR for your reception. 9670 has been heard well into the USA midwest, so it will be interesting to see the resilience of MFSK32 under challenging conditions. S

Special eQSL to be issued, so set up any automation you need, especially in Europe as it will be early in the morning for you!

Tony Pavick

Hope BC Canada

Shortwave Radiogram Schedules, February 15-17, 2019

Hello friends,

The International Space Station is transmitting SSTV again this weekend, until Sunday at  1725 UTC, on the usual 145.8 MHz (FM).

From your reports, I learned that last weekend's Shortwave Radiogram segment of Olivia 64-2000 succeeded when the MFSK32 and 64 showed errors due to poor reception conditions.You can see, and decode for yourself, this example of Olivia 64-2000 decoding 99% in very poor reception, with MFSK32 and 64 mostly unintelligible. For most listeners, reception was good enough that the Olivia 64-2000 was not necessary.

Videos of last weekend's Shortwave Radiogram (program 86) are provided by Scott in Germany (Friday 2030 UTC), Ralf in Germany (Saturday 1400 UTC) and DFS2010 in Japan (Sunday 0800 UTC 7730 kHz). Marco in Italy provided an example of the MFSK128 decoding from the WINB DRM transmission (video only, the music was not part of the broadcast). The audio archive is maintained by Mark in the UK. Analysis is prepared by Roger in Germany.

This weekend, hoping for some instances of bad reception, we will transmit another segment of Olivia 64-2000 (with another reminder about the Winter SWL Fest, 28 Feb-2 Mar). There will also be another broadcast via the WINB DRM transmitter, today (Friday) at 1500 UTC, 13690 kHz, likely with the content of last weekend's show.

Here is the lineup for Shortwave Radiogram, program 87, 15-17 February 2019, in modes as noted:

 1:41  MFSK32: Program preview
 2:53  Russia mulls test of disconnecting from the internet
 7:32  Olivia 64-2000: Winter SWL Fest reminder
11:17  MFSK64: Opportunity mission on Mars ends*
14:59  Mars MAVEN orbiter will dip closer to Mars*
19:24  Images of the week*
27:18  Closing announcements

* with image(s)

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 Transmission Schedule
UTC Day UTC Time Frequency Transmitter
Friday 1500-1530 UTC 13690 kHz DRM
Program 86 audio probably WINB Pennsylvania
Friday 2030-2100 UTC 7780 kHz WRMI Florida
Saturday 0330-0400 UTC 9265 kHz WINB Pennsylvania
Saturday 1400-1430 UTC 9400 kHz Space Line Bulgaria
Saturday 1830-1900 UTC 9265 kHz WINB Pennsylvania
Sunday 0800-0830 UTC 5850 kHz
7730 kHz WRMI Florida
Sunday 2330-2400 UTC 7780 kHz WRMI Florida

Slow Scan Radio transmits SSTV images and text modes Saturdays at 1300-1330 UTC on 6070 kHz and 7440 kHz via Channel 292 in Germany -- according to the latest schedule information I have. The website is http://www.slowscanradio.com. Reception reports to x@xdv.me.

The Mighty KBC transmits to Europe Saturdays at 1300-1400 UTC on 11600 kHz from Bulgaria, with the minute of MFSK at about 1330 UTC (if you are outside of Europe, listen via websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ ). And to North America Sundays at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 5960 kHz, via Germany. The 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/. 

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 1300 UTC on 3583 kHz USB. Check-ins are in Thor 22, and messages are in MFSK32. Messages usually 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.

Thanks for your reception reports!
Kim
Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
Shortwave Radiogram
Reporting on international broadcasting at https://twitter.com/kaedotcom 

Shortwave Radiogram weekend programming

Hello friends,
Last weekend’s experiment with Olivia 64-2000 was very interesting, and lots of fun. The mode did provide successful decodes in conditions where the MFSK32 would have failed. Warren in Arizona described his decode …
   

            I am astounded. Based on your email I received, I set Fldigi to Olivia 64/2K and set the radio on 11.580 MHz and forgot about it. About 23:35 I decided I had missed the broadcast as I was hearing nothing but background white noise. I had Fldigi minimized so with the idea of shutting it down, I opened it up and was amazed to see text coming in. I listened to the entire broadcast and I could not hear the signal nor see any of it on the waterfall, yet the text was printing. There was a lot of fading based on the quality of the copy changing but there were periods of perfect copy and a few sections that were pretty bad. Over-all I would say I had 80-90 percent copy of the entire broadcast.

Of course, the Olivia 64-2000 did not work in all instances. For some listeners, the signal was bad enough that no decode was possible.

We will try more slow modes this weekend.  On 3 December, during the troublesome Shortwave Radiogram transmission Sunday at 2330-2400 (24-S), we will try three slow modes that might succeed where our usual MFSK32 fails. The three modes are MFSK16, MFSK8, and IFKP 1.0.

2030:00   Voice introduction

2030:50   MFSK16: India net neutrality*

2041:32   MFSK8: India net neutrality (continued)

2049:21   IFKP1.0: Migrating birds in Israel*

2057:47   MFSK16: Closing announcements

* with image

Each mode will be preceded by its RSID and five seconds of silence. The MFSK8, in particular, needs precise tuning of the audio frequency. The IFKP1.0 will require a recent version of Fldigi. And, sorry, IFKP1.0 and MFSK8 are not available on TIVAR and AndFlmsg.

The other three transmissions will be in the usual MFSK32. Here is the lineup for Shortwave Radiogram, program 24, 2-3 December 2017, all in MFSK32:

 1:29  Program preview

 2:37  Ocean's deepest fish*

10:47  Could we run out of sand?*

19:21  Russia looks into separate internet for BRICs*

23:24  Sun's activity steady during solar minimums*

26:50  More SSTV from the ISS

28:07  Closing announcements

 * with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net
And visit http://swradiogram.net
Twitter: @SWRadiogram
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/567099476753304

Shortwave Radiogram Transmission Schedule (2-3 December 2017)
24	Saturday	1600-1630 UTC	9400 kHz	MFSK32	Space Line, Bulgaria
24	Sunday	0600-0630 UTC	7730 kHz	MFSK32	WRMI Florida
24	Sunday	2030-2100 UTC	11580 kHz	MFSK32	WRMI Florida
24S	Sunday	2330-2400 UTC	11580 kHz	MFSK16, MFSK8, IFKP1.0	WRMI Florida

The Mighty KBC transmits to Europe Saturdays at 1500-1600 UTC on 9400 kHz (via Bulgaria), with the minute of MFSK at about 1530 UTC (if you are outside of Europe, listen via websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ ).  And to North America Sundays at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 7-9 pm EST) on 5960 kHz, via Germany. The 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/. 

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC)  For the complete IBC transmission schedule visit  http://ibcradio.webs.com/  Five minutes of MFSK32 is at the end of the 30-minute English-language “Shortwave Panorama,” per the schedule below:

To Europe
Wednesday	2025-2030 UTC	1584 kHz (MW)	http://myradiostream.com/radiostudiox
Thursday	0325-0330 UTC	1584 kHz	http://myradiostream.com/radiostudiox
Saturday	2125-2130 UTC	1584 kHz	http://myradiostream.com/radiostudiox
Sunday	1155-1200 UTC	6070 kHz
To the Americas
Tuesday	0125-0130 UTC	11580 kHz
Friday	0225-0230 UTC	9955 kHz	http://wrmi.listen.creek.fm/stream
Saturday	0155-0200 UTC	11580 kHz
Sunday	0055-0100 UTC	7730 kHz

Thanks for your reception reports! 

Kim

 Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB

Producer and Presenter

Shortwave Radiogram

Shortwave Radiogram August 5-6

Hello friends,
Our transmission Saturdays 1600-1630 UTC on 9400 kHz, via Bulgaria, is intended for Europe is but often heard to the east, as far as Japan and New Zealand. To the west, the limit seems to be Iceland, but fragments of reception in North America are beginning to occur. Richard in New Brunswick decoded a few words of text on 22 July. And Bob in Ontario, 160 km northwest of Ottawa, was surprised to decode this image on 15 July, during unattended reception…

Last weekend, there were several instances of successful Olivia 64-2000 decoding in difficult reception conditions, when the MFSK32 was less than 100%. This weekend, our mode for difficult reception will be MFSK16, with most of show in MFSK32. There will be five MFSK32 images, including two that are gray scale, also known as grey scale, i.e. black and white.

Here is the lineup for Shortwave Radiogram, program 7, 5-6 August 2017,  all in MFSK32 except where noted:
 
 1:35  Program preview
 2:48  Old fish species returns to Illinois*
 8:04  Apple accused of bowing to Chinese censors*
13:52  Russia's "ghostly" radio station*
18:02  Millennials discovering TV antennas*
21:51  MFSK16: Tiny "Sprite" satellites
24:47  MFSK32: Image* and closing announcements

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

Twitter: @SWRadiogram

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/567099476753304

 Shortwave Radiogram Transmission Schedule

Saturday 1600-1630 UTC 9400 kHz Space Line, Bulgaria
Sunday 0600-0630 UTC 7730 kHz WRMI Florida
Sunday 2030-2100 UTC 11580 kHz WRMI Florida
Sunday 2330-2400 UTC 11580 kHz WRMI Florida

The Mighty KBC transmits to Europe Saturdays at 1500-1600 UTC on 9400 kHz (via Bulgaria), with the minute of MFSK at about 1530 UTC (if you are outside of Europe, listen via websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ ).  And to North America Sundays at 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 8-10 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz, via Germany. The 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/. 

Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC)  For the complete IBC transmission schedule visit  http://ibcradio.webs.com/  Five minutes of MFSK32 is at the end of the 30-minute English-language “Shortwave Panorama,” per the schedule below:
WEDNESDAY  18.55 UTC  6070 KHZ TO EUROPE
                        19.55 UTC  1584 KHZ TO EUROPE
THURSDAY     02.55 UTC  1584 KHZ TO EUROPE
FRIDAY           01.25 UTC  9955 KHZ TO CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA
SATURDAY     01.55 UTC 11580 KHZ TO NORTH AMERICA
                        20.25 UTC  1584 KHZ TO SOUTH EUROPE
SUNDAY          00.55 UTC  7730 KHZ TO NORTH AMERICA
                        10.55 UTC  6070 KHZ TO EUROPE

Thanks for your reports. It was good to hear from Zdnek in the Czech Republic, who decoded (appropriately) the Radio Prague logo during the 1600-1630 UTC transmission on 9400 kHz, 29 July 

I will begin sending replies and QSLs for SWRG program 5 this weekend. 

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
Shortwave Radiogram

VOA Radiogram weekend schedule

Special thanks to Kim Elliott for sending in this weekend's schedule

Hello friends,

This weekend's VOA Radiogram includes news about a survey of the best, and worst, countries for old people.

Here is the lineup form VOA Radiogram, program 79, weekend of 4-5 October 2014, all in MFSK32 except for the surprise mode:

 1:35   Program preview
2:35  Best countries for old people*
11:39  iPhone 6 sales in China*
17:46  Myanmar media silent on HK protests
21:08  Putin says Russia won't restrict Internet access*
27:21  Closing announcements
28:29  Surprise mode of the week
* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Radio Martí continues its tests of MFSK16 centered on 2500 Hz. Here is the schedule:

0558:40 UTC               1180  6030  7405 kHz

0758:40 UTC               1180  5980  6030 kHz

0858:40 UTC               1180  5980  6030 kHz

The actual start times vary. Each transmission is 57 seconds.

The 1180 kHz is medium wave, from the Florida Keys. The shortwave frequencies (5980, 6030, and 7405 kHz) are all via North Carolina.

You will probably hear noise on the frequency.

The email address for reception reports is included in the text transmission, but if you are not able to decode it, just send the report to radiogram@voanews.com.

We will probably change the mode to Olivia 64-2000, centered on 1800 Hz, sometime during the coming week.

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 Saturday at about 1130 UTC on 6095 kHz, and Sunday at about 0130 UTC (Saturday 9:30 pm EDT) on 7375 kHz. Both frequencies are via Germany. Reports to themightykbc@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who sent reception reports for last weekend's VOA Radigram and for the Radio Martí tests.  I'm not sure if Radio Martí sends its own QSL cards; if not, I'll send an eQSL.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
voaradiogram.net

VOA Radiogram update on MFSK32

Hello friends,

As a follow-up to my previous email about the MFSK32 on VOA Mandarin, I want to clarify that these transmissions will be daily for the next two weeks, at least.

2258:15 UTC        6135  9845 kHz

0058:10 UTC        9880 15385 15565 17560 kHz

The transmissions are via IBB relay stations in Asia.

The MFSK32 will be Chinese characters. You will need the UTF-8 character set. If using Fldigi: Configure > Colors & Fonts.

If you are unable to hear these frequencies from your location, perhaps you can via the University of Twente SDR receiver: http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ -- or a web controlled receiver in Asia, if you have access to one.

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com . Audio recordings, including a minute or two before the MFSK32 starts, would be especially helpful – even if you can’t decode the tones. Mp3 files are OK. 

The English VOA Radiogram broadcasts on weekends will continue.

Kim

Kim Andrew Elliott

Producer and Presenter

VOA Radiogram

voaradiogram.net