Listening

Leonids

2009-11-11T01:31:00.001-08:00

The Leonids meteor shower is set to peak on the 17th of November 2009 and should be especially good over North America and parts of Asia.

Unfortunately, my radio equipment is offline at present pending a move to a new office so I will not be participating this year.

Another problem is the lack of suitable TV transmitters as the ones that I used are being switched off as their respective countries move to digital. Quite where that will leave my meteor tracking in the future I am not certain.

The photo shows my efforts at the Perseids shower recently.

More information on the current Leonid shower can be found on this page of Science at NASA.

The Old 1029 - Still Going Strong!

2009-11-09T02:51:00.001-08:00

Sunspot 1029 - the most active sunspot of the year so far - is still going strong and set for a reappearance soon!

This was the spot that produced a whole host of 'C' flares some week or so ago and since then it has been orbiting around on the far side of the sun. Now, however, it is set to reappear any day now and the good news is that it's still as lively as it was.

STEREO B picked up the spot just yesterday - 6th November 2009 - and caught a fierce eruption taking place. If you are quick you can still catch the link to the movie in the report on SpaceWeather. The movie shows that it still have plenty of life left in it yet!

It is due to come back into view for us at the end of the week so it is worth keeping an eye out as it may have more surprises yet.

While the spot has been away we have had mostly a blank face on the sun apart from another small and extremely timid spot that vanished shortly after it appeared.

A Proper Spot At Last!

2009-10-27T02:22:00.001-07:00

At last we have a proper looking sunspot on the face of our sun!

Sunspot 1029 is growing as I write this and producing quite a barrage of flares. Of course, a few years ago this spot would be considered so small as to not be worthy of note but, in these days of the quiet sun, it is certainly worth a fanfare.

The photo is from SOHO (ESA and NASA) and shows the spot clearly.

Let us hope that this is the first of many more!

At Last - A Flare!

2009-09-25T00:12:00.001-07:00

The twin sunspots, like angry wasps slowly orbiting the face of the sun have, at last, produced some magnetic activity.

Mind you, a 'C' class flare, in better times, would go unnoticed but, in this deepest of deep solar minimums this is a major event.

The spots are, really, the first proper spots we have had this cycle and some magnetic activity was guaranteed so this is hardly surprising but it is very pleasing to see that the sun hasn't forgotten how to shoot out a burst of x-rays.

To recap, a flare is when the lines of magnetic force that accompany (and cause) sunspots get twisted and then break ejecting vast amounts of matter out into space at considerable speed.

On the scale of severity, it has to be said, 'C' class flares are very minor ones but major ones cause radio blackouts, disrupt communications and may harm astronauts.

The sunspots have been around for some time now and seem to be lasting well, showing little sign of diminishing so perhaps this is the start of some real solar activity. Wait a minute! I seem to have said all this before!

Image from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

Multiple Spots On The Sun

2009-09-22T13:23:00.001-07:00

For the first time in a long, long time we have not just one sunspot but two!

The first spot - I have already written about this - was seen forming on the far side of the sun and has at last rotated into view to be noticed and numbered (it's 1026). But now a second spot is emerging to join the first one.

According to Spaceweather this is the first time we have had more than one reasonable sized spot for at least a year.

If this marks the beginning of a period of renewed solar activity remains to be seen and it is anyone's guess if this activity will continue or die down again since this is, without question, the deepest solar minimum for a very long time.

It will, however, be interesting to see what happens now!

The photo is of from SOHO and shows the magnetogram as it exists today with the two anomalies easily seen. A photo of the sun is available from SOHO at the url below:

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/home.html

Spot On The Way - Well, Maybe!

2009-09-15T23:12:00.001-07:00

The sun has been blank for, let me see, another long period of 14 days again but all that may be about to end.

On the far side of the sun and about to rotate into view is a sunspot, or what appears to be the beginning of a spot. It also looks as if it has the potential, at least, to be a good sized spot.

That's one piece of good news and the other is that it's located around the 30 degree latitude mark which will identify it firmly as a spot of the new cycle, Cycle 24.

The sun is off to a very slow start and the spots that have appeared so far have been less than spectacular but this one, if it really does appear, could be a more substantial offering.

Let's keep our eyes on the sun and see what the next few days bring!

Photo of the sun from SOHO (ESA & NASA).

Lashenden (Headcorn) NDB

2009-08-24T02:54:00.001-07:00

The Lashenden beacon is near Headcorn in Kent in the UK and sends the identifier 'LSH' on 340 kHz.

It's position is given from the waypoint website as 510917N by 0003853E

Headcorn is the base for one of the most active parachute centres in the South of England with jumping taking place up to 15,000 feet. More information can be found on the excellent page for the airfield:

http://www.headcornaerodrome.co.uk/pilots_page.html

I made several attempts to log the beacon and I could definitely hear something but I was unable to make a positive identification. You can see the beginnings of a trace at 400 Hertz but I could not make out any signal. The aid is only about 140 miles from me

The Sun Again

2009-08-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

The sun still seems to be firmly stuck in some kind of cosmic backwater according to the statistics on SpaceWeather.Com.

I, too, have been watching the number of spotless days clock slowly up - we are now at (Saturday August 22, 2009) 42 days since the last activity.

SpaceWeather have been watching it, too, and point out that 'the longest stretch of spotless suns during the current solar minimum was 52 days in July, August and Sept of 2008'. As you can see, we are approaching that record now at a steady rate!

Sunspots, as you will know, are really magnetic pools containing knotted lines of force which appear and then slowly sort themselves out as the sun spins. There is now, however, some suggestion that the magnetism of the sun itself may be slowly waning.

The section found on the current page titled 'Are Sunspots Disappearing' contains some research that suggests that maybe they are and that this is due to a lack of magnetism. It all makes sense, of course, but as the article says, this is very new science and so surprise is very much the order of the day.

My guess, for what it's worth, is that we are in a very interesting period and that the sun is worth watching closely. Life on Earth is so intimately connected with the emissions that we receive that even a small change could have far reaching consequences for us.

Of course it is far too soon to draw conclusions, we will have to wait and see but these are certainly interesting times.

If you have not done so, be sure to read the two links on the page to the article dated 04.01.2009 from Science@NASA called 'Deep Solar Minimum' which contains some useful information and statistics.

Perseids

2009-08-17T00:28:00.000-07:00

The Perseids meteor stream is always a good one and something that the world likes to stop and watch and this year was no exception for the stream was a very good one. The stream peaked three times from the morning (in the UK) of April 12th, 2009 onwards.

It was already known that the Earth would pass through a slightly thicker filament than normal but this year there was a surprise. After exiting that dense area it hit another patch dragged in by the Earth's gravity and produced a second show a few hours later. Then, for reasons unknown, there was a third peak a few hours after that.

I watched it from the comfort of my radio, recording the peaks produced from a far away television transmitter as each meteor vaporised in the upper atmosphere and lionized the air above to produce a meteor trail.

This image and the rest which show the build up to the show are posted to my Flickr page, the link is below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miketaperell/sets/72157621996359366/

Each image shows the trace on a spectrum analyser with time running from right to left and the signal strength shown by the intensity of the colour.

The frequency was television channel E2 and the receiver an Icom PCR1500

Tropical Band DXing

2009-08-11T05:00:00.001-07:00

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The last few posts have covered, in brief, the whole area of tropical band DXing and it just remains now to write a few words to close this section.

So what is, in a sentence or two, the continuing appeal of this hobby that really gets people involved and keeps them listening?

There seem to be two separate facets: firstly there is the obvious fun in hearing and 'collecting' stations heard from a long distance. This is a basic theme that repeats itself over many aspects of the hobby but for Tropical Band DXing there is, of course, an added ingredient.

The stations that you hear are not intended for general reception, they are just designed to be heard locally. This both makes them harder to receive and to identify, making each new catch all the sweeter. Collecting stations in this way is both fun to do and interesting to look back on and talk about.

But there is another and much more technical side to the hobby. Successful Tropical Band DXing requires a good and thorough knowledge of propagation to know when to listen for the best signals. This knowledge is built up from studying resources and from carefully recording results and then looking back on past experiences. Being able to handle data in such a way is a skill worth possessing, especially today.

The hobby also lets you learn about and construct such things as antennas, transmission lines and periphery equipment like tuning units, power supplies and audio filters.

You can connect your radio to a computer and then use a whole world of software, much of it free, to monitor the signals in a very sophisticated way. In addition, it will even allow you to construct your own radio if you wish!

Tropical Band DXing is thus an excellent way to not only have fun but also to acquire and use extremely technical knowledge, useful in its own right, and an excellent way to keep and maintain an active and healthy brain.

Our Sun's Report - Could Do Better!

2009-08-01T00:24:00.001-07:00

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Those who read my blog will know that I keep an eye on the sun to monitor as it changes cycles from number 23 to number 24.

You will also know that I'm getting a little concerned that things do not seem to be going entirely to plan.

Last year (2008) was a bad year. Sunspots were down and the general activity level of the sun seemed sluggish. It was as if the new cycle was reluctant to start.

Solar cycles do vary, of course, and up to now this century we have had extremely good ones so a small blip is to be expected every now and again. However, this began to look ominously like something more.

Checking back in the records, the sun does have times when sunspots almost disappear or, on several noteworthy periods, disappear totally. I began to wonder if we were in for another of those times.

Then came the surprising news that this year (2009), so far, sunspots have been fewer than there were last year. According to NASA, there were spotless days on 78 of first 90 days (That's January to March 2009).

Most scientists now agree that this is the least active sun since the early years of last century. The solar minimum of 1912/13 and the one previous were comparable.

So, is this just a natural part of the cycle? We have had, as I have said, quite energetic cycles recently so is this just a mid-course correction or is it something more?

Other measurements of the sun, for example the solar wind, tend to confirm that the sun is less active in other ways so it seems that this is, at best, a general quieting that may be part of a longer cycle yet to be understood.

Of late we have had some sunspots but most, with one exception, have been feeble. One even began showing a magnetic signature from the previous cycle which all adds weight to the idea that this is going to be a quiet and relatively slow changeover.

A trawl around the internet this morning did reveal one thing; everyone, it seems, has their own different belief in what will happen over the next four years!

So, for that reason, we will have to wait and see but this first quarter report that our sun has received is not, it has to be said, a good one. Let's hope that our sun can do better and pick up some speed over the rest of the year!

This excellent picture of the Saturday Morning sun is courtesy of SOHO consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

Morse Code Introduction

2009-07-30T23:16:00.001-07:00

My friend said using morse code is like building a wall but doing so molecule by molecule instead of using bricks!

You take each individual letter from the word and, as if that isn't enough, you break it into even tinier bits which you then send one at a time. It takes forever and a day just to send 'Hello'!

The point about morse code, however, is not that it's a fast way to send a message but that it's a way that usually gets there, no matter what else is in the way.

But, even that's not the real point. The secret of morse code (a secret no one else tells you) is that, as well as being 100% practical, it's also great fun both to know, learn and do!

We'll look at morse from many different angles in this series, both from ways to learn it, all the way to the how, why and when is the best time to use it. And we will also look into the structure of morse code and similar codes as well

The first proper post will appear next week and I'm afraid it starts on what appears, at first sight, to be a rather sombre note.

Since this subject doesn't lend itself well to creating illustrations, there will be no pictures at the head of each of these posts.

Tropical Band DXing And Awards

2009-07-29T00:52:00.001-07:00

Every since radio DXing began people have offered awards for hearing or contacting a number of stations. In some cases this is offered for hearing certain stations or hearing stations in a particular area, or it is for just the number of stations heard.

Although awards do not seem to be as popular as they once were, they are still available if you look around.

International Short Wave League
For example the International Short Wave League (ISWL) still offer a variety of awards if you send them confirmation of stations heard. To find out more take a look at the url below:

http://www.iswl.org.uk/awards.htm

To seek information about other awards it is best to search the internet using a search term such as "shortwave awards". When you do this, don't forget to include the quotation marks to limit the search to just that phrase, or use the search engine's advanced search page.

The good thing about awards is that, not only are they are good to receive and to exhibit, but they also give you a goal to aim for. In a sense, they help provide a structure to your listening so that you can work towards a particular award, or several awards. This can provide you with an incentive and help prevent you getting sidetracked by other facets of the hobby.

In order to obtain the award it is often necessary to submit a number of QSL cards. QSL cards are the cards you will receive from the transmitting station for sending them a reception report.

Collecting these cards is a whole subject in itself and, indeed, to some a separate interest apart from their use in awards, and this is something we will look at next week.

Hawarden NDB

2009-07-26T23:32:00.001-07:00

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Today we have a frequency that contains two NDBs on the same frequency, one of which, Hawarden, is around 60, or so, miles from me and the other, Lashenden, much further at 140 miles. My location is between the two with one to the North-West and the other to the South-East.

I will show Hawarden this week and Lashenden next which will give me the chance to listen on this frequency again.

The Hawarden aid is at N53:10:7 and W002:58:7. The aid sends an identifier of 'HAW' and is on 340KHz.

The beacon seems to be located within the airport at Hawarden which is also called Chester Airport.

Chester Airport is a newish airport offering passenger flights and is found to the West of Chester, just inside Wales. It also has some connection with BAE and a factory is located nearby.

The airport has a nice website, the url for which is below:

http://www.chesterairport.co.uk/contact.html

The trace is the result of a long listen, about an hour, between 08.00 and 09.00 on a Sunday morning (2009_07_26). Conditions for this frequency, on that day, were described as fair but there had been some geomagnetic disturbance recently. The frequency and those around were strangely quiet with little noise so perhaps there were still some anomalies.

Although I could hear some sounds at 400Hz, I could not identify the code but, as can be seen from the trace, there is clear evidence of two signals, differing slightly in frequency, with one signal stronger than the other.

I will post the information about the other beacon on this frequency (Lashenden) next week so that will give me the chance to listen again when conditions may be better.

Kemble NDB

2009-07-26T02:23:00.000-07:00

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Whilst listening on 349KHz and preparing the post for tomorrow, I heard a very strong beacon signal sending 'KMB' on 349KHz.

A glance at the trace (click the image above for a full size picture) will show just how strong the signal was.

A search in the beacon documentation did not reveal a beacon on this frequency. However, I noticed from the info at Beaconworld that a beacon had recently been tested (then sending 'TST') located at the airfield at Kemble in the country of Gloucester in the UK.

The url for the latest list is below and, if you have not been to Beaconworld before, then I recommend that you have a look around while you are there since there is much to see and download.

http://www.beaconworld.org.uk/uklist.htm

So, I concluded that the beacon is now operational and sending 'KMB' although I was unable to find any reference to it on the internet.

It is a very strong signal with me, stronger than I would have thought since it around 50 miles away.

The airfield does have a website which is below:

http://www.kembleairport.com/

The Sun Surprises Us Yet Again

2009-07-24T00:22:00.001-07:00

Just after I posted the last post about the end of the series on propagation, I checked the sun and had something of a surprise.

Look closely at the image above (it's from "SOHO (ESA & NASA)") and see the spot just below the centre of the disk slightly to the right.

The good news is that this may well turn out to be a sunspot forming. The bad news is that it looks as if it will be from the old cycle, Cycle 23.

But surely, Cycle 23 finished months ago and now we are well into the start of the long awaited Cycle 24?

It seems not. The sun is surprising us yet again with unusual behaviour. Not only is this the longest solar minimum for probably a hundred years but it is also the most unusual.

You can keep an eye on the sun by going to SOHO above or by checking Space Weather web site to see what happens.

Propagation

2009-07-23T23:40:00.001-07:00

We've been looking at various forms of radio propagation over the last few weeks all the way from the top of the short wave band down to the end of VHF but now it's time for a quick overview.

Having an idea what to expect in various sections of the spectrum will help you decide what and when to listen so we will create some very big, but valid, divisions in the spectrum to look at.

1 to 5MHz
This section covers the tropical bands, which have formed the subject of their own series in this blog already. It also covers the 160 (Top Band) and 80 metre amateur radio bands as well as several marine and aircraft frequencies. In particular,this is where much long distance communication with ships and aircraft is carried on.

During daylight hours, signals on these bands are absorbed by the 'D' layer in the atmosphere so only signals within range of the ground wave can be received. However, after dark, the 'D' layer disappears and signals can get through to be reflected by a layer higher in the sky and distances increase considerably.

5 to 15MHz
In this range we have the bulk of the broadcast bands along with many amateur radio bands and both commercial and military stations.

It is here that the real long distance contacts happen with signals breaking through the lower layers intact and then being reflected from the higher 'F' layer to enable very long distance contacts. However, conditions are more changeable and these bands are affected more by the sunspot cycle. At present the cycle is at a minimum and so conditions are poor.

15 to 30MHz
This area contains several amateur radio bands and some broadcast bands but is active mainly when the sunspot cycle is at a maximum. This will not occur until around 2012 but when it does contacts can be made around the Earth with just a few watts of power.

30 to 430MHz
We are into VHF and the start of UHF and signal usually are restricted to just a little further than line of sight. However, specialised propagation can occur when conditions in the atmosphere are right and then signals from much further away can appear as strong as locals.

In this range, as well as several amateur radio bands, there are the Band 2 FM broadcasts, terrestrial television and DAB broadcasting along with hundreds of utility, military and air band transmitters.

VHF DXing has attracted a lot of followers who enjoy the technical nature of propagation and the fact that, when conditions are good, they can be exceptionally good.

That completes this look at propagation. These few posts have barely knocked on the door of propagation but they have been fun to write. Much more information exists on the internet and in books and more is being learned day by day by scientists and radio amateurs alike.

This ends the series of posts on propagation, next week we begin a new short look at morse code.

Tropical Band DXing - Blogs

2009-07-22T05:36:00.001-07:00

Last week we looked at the sort of logs you can keep and what information to show. This week we will look at creating and keeping DX blogs.

Blogs are perfect for recording the stations heard and other details and many people use them just for that purpose. Many free blogs are available such as Blogger (where this blog is found) and WordPress. As well as being free, both of these hosts (and most others) allow you to have more than one blog.

Blogger
Wordpress

If you have not had a blog before then both of these two blog hosts are easy ones to start with, requiring little other than choosing a theme and then creating the content.

The radio DX blog
A DX blog for your radio listening is a record of the stations you have heard along with a reception report in one of the formats discussed last week. As well as this, be sure to include information about the conditions found. You can also add other radio related content about the stations or about equipment.

Since it is a blog, there is a temptation to put in any other information, particularly if you think the posts are not long enough! However, a separate blog is better for more personal details.

The advantage of a blog is that it's easy to get at from any computer no matter where you are. It can be read by other people, if you make it public, and can often be searched for relevant content or, as this blog, have labels attached to posts to make them easy to find.

Once you collect a good number of posts, it can also serve as a reminder of stations heard and conditions that existed at a particular time of the year and let you compare conditions in similar periods.

The disadvantage is that the blog is not under your control on your computer and you must keep a backup of it yourself in case one day it should suddenly disappear.

As hinted above, you can also make a blog private so that only you, or perhaps you and your friends, can read it, if this is what you would prefer.

By allowing commenting in blogs, other people can post their reaction to what you are writing which encourages a more dynamic dimension to your listening.

How to find radio DX blogs
It has to be said that the world is not over full of radio DX blogs, particularly for the tropical bands, but they are there if you look. If you search on the internet for 'radio dx blogs' or similar words then you should begin to find them. A search in Google BlogSearch is also recommended as is Tecnorati.

Google BlogSearch
Technorati

Collecting blogs as feeds in a feed reader or aggregator is to be recommended since it is easy then to search for content. I use RSSOwl and this also forms the subject of a post that appears one day a week (Wednesday) in my open source software blog, Free As In Air. A link is below and simply choose the label 'RSSOWL' from the left hand side of the page.

Free As In Air

Finding and reading some radio DX blogs, you will soon see that there is no fixed format for them. Some are simply a record of stations heard while others are much more expansive.

Blogs are a good and very useful way to produce a log book and record information on your listening as well as helping to link you to the wider online world of radio DX. If you use a radio then consider investing in a blog both for your own benefit and for the benefit of the community at large.

Bournemouth NDB

2009-07-20T01:06:00.001-07:00

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Bournemouth, in the county of Dorset in the United Kingdom, is a well known tourist seaside resort located on the South coast of the UK.

It has an International Airport a short distance from the town and the airport has a website at the link below:

http://www.bournemouthairport.com/bohweb.nsf

However, I had less success in finding the location of the Bournemouth NDB. I had a long look on the Internet but was unable to find the beacon on a map but the coordinates are given by 'The Hanger' as 504604N 015033W.

http://www.thehangar.co.uk/waypoints/sql.php3?sql_order=+order+by+LAT+ASC

I could, however, hear the beacon. The image above shows the trace using my Winradio with it's 70 foot long wire as an inverted 'L' and for my own reference and those who use the G303 by Winradio, I used audio AGC set to 'Fast'.

The beacon is on 399.0 kHz and sends the callsign BIA. The distance between Birmingham and Bournemouth is 126 miles or 202.73 Kilometres and I listened on 19 July 2009 between 19.00 and 22.00 UTC.

Seeing Meteors - The Electronic Way

2009-07-17T11:01:00.001-07:00

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One of the things that really got me hooked on meteor watching was the ability to actually 'see' them electronically.

I live on the outskirts of a big town in a fairly industrial area and the skies suffer light pollution making the visual spotting of meteors difficult so being able to see them on the computer screen in real time is a real bonus.

Spectrum Analysers
A spectrum analyser is a device that takes a signal as it's input and displays the level of that signal across a range of the audio spectrum. Some analysers works in software and displays the result to the monitor but, of course, require a signal from the radio as input.

It is possible to connect the audio output from a receiver directly to the input of the computer using the 'Line In' connection on the soundboard or, if you really have to, the microphone input.

This is not the best way to connect the two together and many special interfaces exist which isolate and match the devices. However, for many people a simple piece of wire, easily obtainable, will suffice to make a start.

Once the signal arrives inside the computer the spectrum analyser can capture it, analyse it and then display it.

There are various spectrum analysers available, many of which are free of charge. I use one made by DL4YHF since this was the first one I ever encountered. It is extremely good and regularly updated software although it is a little complex to use.

Using a spectrum analyser it is possible to sit on a particular frequency, say one in Band 1, and watch as the meteors ionise a path between you and the transmitting station. As you watch, the meteors appear as tiny 'blips' on the display, each producing the characteristic 'ping'.

It may take a little time to set up, but for me it was well worth it and I still take time to sit and listen when the Earth is passing through one of the major clouds.

So, that is something to try once you are able and I think that wraps up the section in this series on meteor scatter so next week we will begin a look at something different.

Tropical Band DXing - Keeping A Log

2009-07-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

It's a good idea to keep a log of the stations you hear. One reason - the obvious one - is so that you always have a record of what you have heard.

The other reason is to be able to compare conditions as they are now with the way they were in the past. This allows you, for example, to monitor the rise and fall of the sunspot cycle.

Finally, a record is needed if you want to apply for an award for stations that you have heard. We will cover this in more detail a little later.

Recording what you hear
There are two ways to record the stations heard. One way is to write down the details in a notebook, recording the frequency, time and signal strength along with any additional information or to record the details in a blog.

As well as this, you can also record the signal of the station digitally as you listen and thus have a record that you can play to others. Compared to a written note this seems better but such a record is not as durable and, unless backed up carefully, can be easily deleted or lost.

The best advice is to keep a notebook or blog and, if you wish, digitally record the stations.

Log books
Since the log will be a document you will want to refer to long after you have made the entries it is advisable to ensure that the log entries are both legible and will be capable of being understood years from now.

You can get computerised log programs where you simply fill in the blanks and the database will make the record. The big advantage is that you can produce all sorts of statistics and search through the information in seconds. The disadvantage is that you have to complete a standard form so there is little you can do to complete a non-standard entry. You also have to be sure to keep a backup safe somewhere.

Alternatively, you can do what thousands of SWLs and radio amateurs have done for years, and fill in a paper notebook using a pen. The advantage of this is that it's easy to accommodate all sorts of entries including comments about conditions and equipment/antennas used but hard to then search through the information and get statistics out.

Ideally, this sort of logbook needs to be a complete book and not loose pages that can get lost or out of order.

A sort of intermediate stage is to create your own electronic log book that will allow you to complete the records the way you want but to do this you need to have an idea what sort of information you will want to record.

The information to record
Radio amateurs usually use the sort of information they used to supply in the days when logs were obligatory. They complete the date, time and band; the station worked; the RST (signal report) and then any notes - usually the other station's name, address and equipment.

For broadcast stations heard then the information could be the date, time, frequency, name of the station, a signal report and some information about the program and any notes about frequencies given or times for future broadcasts.

For utility stations and others, then similar information to that above would probably be sufficient.

Whether you want to create a document on the computer or use a notebook then the following information is suggested as a guide for your logbook:

Date
Time
Frequency
Station heard
Signal report
Station information
My information

'Station information' will be information about the station heard, such as the program content, frequencies and times of other programs.

'My information' is intended for notes about propagation conditions, interference and equipment/antennas used. This is particularly useful when you are experimenting with different equipment setups.

Reports
You need to specify the signal strength which can either be taken from an 'S' meter or simply be 'good, bad, fantastic' or whatever scale you want to use - but be consistent with your scale.

You also may need to record the readability of the station along with details of noise or interference.

You can use any method you like to report the station but use something that will be meaningful years from now.

To help you, there is a recognised method of reporting short wave stations called SINPO. This has been in use since at least the days when I was young and a search for this term will reveal several sites that give guidance on how to use it.

Most people keep a log of stations they have heard and if the log is standardised then it will be the most use in the years to come.

We need to cover blogs and, very quickly, the subject of awards which we will do next week.

NDB Warton

2009-07-13T00:07:00.001-07:00

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The next Non-Directional beacon to look at is Warton in the county of Lancashire, England, UK.

The beacon is due East of Warton Airfield which is a private airport and located West of the town of Preston. It was built originally by the American airforce in 1942 and used extensively during the Second World War but is now home to a large aerospace facility.

The beacon is located in a field about a mile to the East and the exact location and map can be found from The Hanger - url below:

http://www.thehangar.co.uk/waypoints/waypoints.shtml

Those who read my personal blog will know that I now (at last) have put up the 70 foot long wire again and the trace above is taken with the Winradio G303 and long wire. For my own reference, and for anyone else who uses the G303, I used audio AGC set to 'Fast' and a 200 cycle bandwidth. The trace was taken at 0710 on Sunday 12 July 2009.

The aid sends the callsign 'WTN' and is found on 337kHZ. As can be seen, the trace is quite clear and the distance is around 120 miles.

Meteor Scatter Of VHF Signals 3

2009-07-10T11:29:00.001-07:00

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We have looked at meteor scatter in quite a bit of depth already in the last two instalments posted to this blog.

If you want to read them, they are posted on Friday so just look back for the last two Fridays. Today, however, we will continue the series by looking at how to get the signal to the receiver.

Antennas
I always start a post on antennas by saying the same thing: the antenna is the most important part of your setup, it doesn't matter how fantastic your receiver, if the antenna doesn't deliver the signal then you won't hear the station!

So, if it all comes down to money (as so often it does) then you get more signal for your money by spending it on the antenna not the receiver.

Bear this in mind as we look at antennas by frequency.

50MHz
I began meteor scatter using TV frequencies around 50MHz which is (in Europe) Band 1. In particular, I listen on channel R1, which is the old Russian channel, and channel E2.

Again, I must stress that analogue TV is disappearing fast so make sure that the station you choose is still broadcasting before you attempt to listen to it!

I began using a random length of wire and then acquired an old adjustable dipole which I could set to the exact frequency and put this up in the attic of the house.

What a difference! Signals were not just a little stronger but considerably stronger and that convinced me to always try to use the best antenna I could.

So, for these frequencies a metal dipole is perfect while a wire antenna cut to the frequency in use is almost as good. Antennas made of metal tubing have a wider frequency range rather than wire which is one reason why they are preferred for antennas at these and higher frequencies.

However, if all you have is wire, cut a dipole for the centre of the range you want to hear and it will be almost as good (and a lot cheaper).

The formula is 468 divided by the frequency and this gives the total length of the wire in feet. If you search for '6m dipole antenna formula' you will get various construction projects as well that will help.

Simply adjust the length to suit the range you use and cut the length of wire in half to make two identical sections. Connect one (it doesn't matter which) to the inside wire of a length of coax and the other to the screen wire. Now connect to the receiver and you are set to go.

If you mount the antenna outside (and this is preferred) always make sure that the join between the coax and the wire is well waterproofed with self-amalgamating tape. If water finds a way into the join you will lose a lot of the signal because it will then get into the coax.

Finally, know the direction that the signal will arrive from and position the antenna so it is pointing towards that direction.

2m 70cm
For the 2m and 70cm amateur bands, a purpose built yagi antenna works well but requires a rotator. However a simple dipole or collinear will catch the signals almost as well.

On these bands, meteor scatter signals are less strong so some extra help from the antenna is a good idea.

You can construct 2 metre antennas quite easily from stiff wire and PVC tube. Do this if you want to try the band first but a purpose built amateur radio antenna is not that expensive and probably a good deal better. That said, I had a lot of fun making 2 metre antennas out of wire and PVC piping!

Again, the higher the better for this band so that the antenna is clear of obstructions.

That concludes this post on antennas. Next week we will look at something that I found completely fascinating and which took my enjoyment of meteor scatter to a whole new level.

An Update On Sunspot 1024

2009-07-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

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Sunspots can be beautiful things but, sadly, beauty doesn't last forever and soon the spot will slowly disappear. But it's not disappearing in the sense of ending, not one bit of it!

As the sun rotates, so the spots are carried along with the rotation and, of course, eventually they vanish out of sight as that face disappears from view. So, sunspot 1024 will soon move around and behind us and we will no longer be able to see it.

Helioseismic Holography
Well, that's not completely true. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's Michelson-Doppler Imager can see behind the sun.

This is very clever science and it does it by monitoring sound vibrations on the sun's surface on the side you can see.

You can see a 'map' of the farside of the sun by going to the url below.

http://gong.nso.edu/data/farside/

So when the sunspot moves behind the solar disk it's path can still be followed.

'Best for two years'
According to the Space Weather website this sunspot has provided the 'best display of sunspots for nearly two years'.

OK, my memory is not as good as their's but, thinking back, it is a long time indeed since I watched a spot of this size whiz around.

They also comment that it's a spot belonging to this cycle (Cycle 24) and that it 'probably heralds more to come'.

Well, I wish I could be that optimistic. I'm sure we will get more but I have a feeling that we will get a lot more weaker single spots first but we will see.

The lovely photo of the sun above is taken from the SOHO (ESA & NASA) website, the url for which is below. From it you can see various images of the sun and read some explanations about the science undertaken.

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/

Let's hope that I will be posting some new images of more sunspots shortly.

Sammy And The Buxton Beacon

2009-07-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sammy, my Samsung NC10 netbook, is again running the Icom PCR1500 software and this time there is a little sporadic E propagation that enables the local 6m beacon, GB3BUX, to come through quite clearly.

Above is a screenshot of the software and Spectrum Lab (by DL4YHF) showing clearly the trace of the beacon. Note that each minute, marked by the vertical lines on the trace, there is a short identification CW pulse sending the callsign and this can be clearly seen. (The trace runs right to left rather than top to bottom.)

There some smears on the trace that may well be aircraft reflections.

The PCR1500 is shown in component view rather in communications view and only two of the modules are present. This is a good way to get the whole thing plus a spectrum analyser on the screen and see both of them!