Thursday, December 10, 2020

Shortwave Radiogram schedules, December 11-13

 
Hello friends,

The reception last weekend was difficult in some parts of the world, but there were plenty of good decodes nevertheless. A good place to see results reported by listeners is the @SWRadiogram Twitter account. If you are not on Twitter, point your browser to https://twitter.com/swradiogram and scroll down.

During the Sunday 0800-0830 UTC broadcast, via receivers in Europe, we again had success sidestepping the STANAG 4285 data transmission on 5850 kHz. We did this by placing the closing announcements in MFSK32 at 2000 Hz rather than our usual 1500 Hz.  See examples here and here. This weekend the closing MFSK32 will be at 2000 Hz on all the transmissions. Your Fldigi RxID will take you to 2000 Hz, if: Configure > IDs > RsID ... "Searches passband" is selected and and "Retain tx freq lock" is deselected.

Videos of last weekend's Shortwave Radiogram (program 181) are provided Scott in Ontario (Friday 1300 UTC) and by Octavio in Costa Rica (Sunday 2330 UTC) (also here). The audio archive is maintained by Mark in the UK. The analysis is prepared by Roger in Germany.

And speaking of Roger in Germany, he has prepared a small image that we can use to detect multipath shortwave (HF) reception. This will be the first of the images at 12:22 into the broadcast. Multipath reception occurs when the signal reaches you via the usual short path and by one or more other paths, possibly the long path around Earth. You can hear it as an echo. You can see it as visually interesting ghosts in your decoded images. If you are experiencing multipath, the header for the image might not work, so it's a good idea to record the show and try several times to make the header work from your playback.

This weekend's show is in the usual MFSK32 and MFSK64, with ten images (1 x MFSK32 and 9 x MFSK64).

Here is the lineup for Shortwave Radiogram, program 182, 11-13 December 2020, in MFSK modes as noted:

 1:40  MFSK32: Program preview
 2:44  New cuts to Radio Canada International*
 9:13  MFSK64: SpaceX dark coating cuts satellite reflectivity
12:22  This week's images*
27:56  MFSK32 (2000 Hz): 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 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