Hunting For NDBs in CLE294
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YZS-362 Coral Harbor, NU (ve3gop.com) |
Another month has zoomed by and it's CLE time once again. This is a challenge for all newcomers to NDB listening and the ultimate test of your medium frequency receiving capabilities. Can you meet the challenge?
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmitted on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier was tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident could be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone was actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone was 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizers comes the following info:
Hello all,
Our 294th Co-ordinated Listening Event is almost here.
First time CLE logs too? Yes, please!
Short logs are always as welcome as long ones.
Days: Friday 28 July - Monday 31 July
Times: Start and End at midday, your LOCAL time
Range: 350.0 - 369.9 kHz
Please log all the NDBs you can identify that are listed in this range (it includes 350 kHz but not 370) plus any UNIDs that you come across there.
Send your final CLE log to [email protected], preferably as a plain text email, not in an attachment and - important - with 'CLE294' and 'FINAL' in its title.
Please show the following main items FIRST on EVERY line of your log:
# The Date (e.g. 2023-07-28) or just the day (e.g. 28)
# The Time in UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the beacon's nominal published frequency, if you know it.
# The Call Ident.
Optional details, such as Location and Distance, go LATER in the same line.
Please make your log useful to everyone by including your listening location, its 6-character Maidenhead Locator if you know it, and brief details of the receiver and aerial(s).
We will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 19:00 UTC on Tuesday so you can check that your log has been found OK.
To be included in the combined results, do make sure that your log has arrived on the List by 08:00 UTC on Wednesday 2 August at the very latest.
We hope to make all the combined results within a day or so.
You can find full information about current and past CLEs from the CLE page https://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm.
You can also find your relevant seeklists made from REU/RNA/RWW by visiting https://rxx.classaxe.com/cle.
Good listening
Brian & Joachim
(CLE coordinators)
(Reminder: If you wish you can use a remote receiver for your loggings, stating its location and owner - with their permission if required.
A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, whether local or remote, to obtain further loggings for the same CLE)
CLE's provide several purposes. They:
• determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
• will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
• will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
• give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event.
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other DXers in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 293
Special ISS SSTV experiment scheduled for ARRL Teacher’s Institute
The pass will be over the Mid-Atlantic area with transmissions scheduled to begin at 16:05 ET and ending at 16:20 ET.
ARISS
Building a simple Faraday Cage
This article describes the effects of EMP and CME and how to build a simple inexpensive Faraday cage.
Survival Blog
Monitoring the temperature of our radios
A stick-on temperature label may be the answer.
AE5X
How does a ground tuning unit work?
Tuning an entire planet? Now that’s a different matter!
Ham Radio Outside the Box
HOA antenna challenges
How I accepted the antenna challenge and kept the HOA hounds or condo cops from having their heads spin backwards.
VE9KK
Modifying a battery fan to also run from 12 volts
A blog post about a fan? Really?
KA7OEI
Careers for Hams: ARRL is hiring
ARRL has open positions for full-time employment in both technical and non-technical areas of the association.
ARRL
Video
RadioBerry HF SDR transceiver Pi Hat
RadioBerry has a maximum bandwidth of 384 kHz and an operating frequency range of 0 to 30 MHz.
Tech Minds
Interview with SP5WWP of the M17 Project
Why SP5WWP created M17 and how to get started with it.
Ria’s Ham Shack
Inside the ARRL with CEO David Minster NA2AA
A free-wheeling conversation about culture and being responsive.
W1DED
Stealth HOA Ham Radio antenna flag pole
The HOA will never know.
HOA Ham
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Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.
Part 2: Condo antenna challenges.
The MFJ loop covered and ready to go into service. |
In part 2 of antenna challenges, I want to dive into living in a condo and getting on the air. Many amateur operators at some time have found themselves moving into an apartment to save for a home or downsizing into a condo when the house has grown too big.
This lifestyle does not mean the radio hobby is tossed. Most of us find our radio hobby adds pleasure to one's day. For me when I was in a condo it meant just another hurdle to overcome toward getting on the air. In my readings, I have seen hams who have erected wire, mobile whips and so on. I have never tried any of these and if you have please do share what you have tried. The condos that I have lived in were heavy on condo cop protection and the list was long as to what could and could not be on a balcony. One of the items on the list was antennas and as for me, I look at that as where there is a will there is a way!
Yearly checkup |
In all the condos I have lived in I have always had a balcony to take advantage of for an antenna. After investigating many antennas the best solution (a pricey solution) was a mag loop antenna for the balcony. It offered a small size, if needed it could be taken in and out from the balcony and as well its multi-band antenna. In the past, I have had mag loops such as an AEA isoloop, Chameleon P-loop and Alex loop. I planned to leave the loop on the balcony and not have to run in and out to tune the loop. I ended up purchasing the MFJ 1786 mag loop and this loop gave me the desired remote band tuning I wanted. I then purchased a tripod to mound the loop and next was how to conceal the loop. I ended up getting a patio furniture cover which looked great and to the condo cops, it was just another piece of patio furniture on the balcony. I was thrilled the cover did not affect the SWR at all as I was prepared to remove the cover during operation and then cover it once done. The mag loop had to be moved around the balcony for the best overall SWR. This took some time and once done I marked the balcony floor with a permanent marker. Also in the front of the loop is a round copper wire and by changing its shape also can help with improving the SWR.
Changing the shape improves SWR |
This way when it was stored in the corner during non-use I was able to put it in the right spot for best operation. The loop was very fussy and putting the loop in the exact spot was important for the best possible SWR. The loop was tried both in the vertical and horizontal position. I was not able to get a decent SWR when the loop was mounted vertical. I ended up using it in the horizontal position. This was also great for the cover as it looked like a patio table I was covering. I used the Comet CTC-50M (flat coax cable) to feed out the sliding glass door so the coax would be permanent as well. This setup allowed me to place the antenna in position and start operating. Again in this configuration, I was strictly CW and I also added digital communications as well. I admit it is not an ideal situation but it got me on the air and making contact.
In my third and final antenna challenge post I want to share some other antennas I have tried some failed, some worked and others were crazy and worked. After using the loop for a short while I became very fast at tuning the loop. I also found in the summer if the humidity was high it would affect the SWR. Once a year I took the loop in for an inspection and remove any bugs that made the loop home.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
Colorado 14er Event on Ham Nation
The Ham Nation folks invited me on to talk about the Colorado 14er Event last night. Thanks for the invite! This turned out to be a concise look at the 14er event with lots of great photos of past operations.
Here’s the video (my segment was 20 minutes long):
We have lots of information on the event at ham14er.org.
73 Bob K0NR
The post Colorado 14er Event on Ham Nation appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.
Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
ICQ Podcast Episode 408 – Expanding your Ham Radio Activity HamRadio 2023
In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode's feature is our second half of our Ham Radio 2023 Round-Up.
We would like to thank Keith Schlottman (KR7RK), Frank Westphal - (K6FW), Dino Papas (KLØS), Ed Jones (K8MEJ), Philip Heckingbottom VK6ADF and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate
- WRTC 2026 Announced – ICQPodcast Joins as Official Media Partner
- Student journalist makes video of GB23C SSES
- Michigan Hams Exempt from “distracted driving” Law
- Hams Honour Retired Search and Rescue Planes
- Study: Commercial Satellite Constellations EMIT RFI
- New N Class licence for Germany - Entry Level Licence to come in in July 2024
- Commercial Interests Petition FCC for High Power Allocation on Shortwave Spectrum
- Team of Ukraine Takes Top Spot in WRTC Competition
- HamSCI Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science Events
Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].
AmateurLogic 183: Field Day & Friedrichshafen
AmateurLogic.TV Episode 183 is now available for download.
W5AXC and W5SLA Field Day Events.
JPC-12 40-6 Meter Vertical Antenna.
Friedrichshafen 2023
George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].
Part one: HOA antenna challenges.
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Alpha Delta DX-EE |
Many Amateur radio ops now find themselves in a neighbourhood, downsizing to a condo or moving to an assisted living complex that is ham radio antenna unfriendly. I have lived in many antenna challenged, HOA and condo rules that outlaw antennas. But I have always managed to get on the air using HF and enjoy the hobby. Over the next few posts, I am going to share how I accepted the antenna challenge and kept the HOA hounds or condo cops from having their heads spin backwards. Today let's look at a situation that involves home HOA hounds or townhouse condo cops.
In the neighbourhoods I have moved to I always get a copy of the rules. (HOAs and condos have more pleasant words than rules) But let me start by saying I am not against having common understandings (rules) as it can control some funny things that can pop up in uncontrolled neighbourhoods or condos. In most of the rules I have read regarding antennas, it boils down to you can't have them due to safety, how they look and the size. The way I see it is if it's safe, no one see's it and it's small then we are good to go with an antenna!
The first big hurdle is out of sight, as with amateur radio an HF antenna can be a tough one. For 16 years I lived in a townhouse which was not antenna friendly. I found we had a very large attic and then the next challenge was what to put up there for HF operations. What I tried was 2 mobile whips configured into a dipole. This had a very narrow bandwidth and only a single band as I could not set up more than one due to space and interaction. A band change meant getting up in the attic and doing the whip change. That idea was deleted due to attic heat in the summer and just getting up and down from the attic.
Electric fence stand-offs |
My goal was a multiband antenna that was small and could be left in the attic and forgot about. I committed to a dipole antenna from Alpha Delta the DX-EE model. This was a 10-40m antenna that was 40 feet long. Now my attic is nowhere close to being 40 feet long but I ended up installing it in a "Z" configuration. To secure the antenna in the "Z" configuration I used electric fence standoffs. Also, I added a 1:1 choke balun at the antenna feed point. This antenna served me without issue for years and it was out of the elements from the weather, out of sight and got me on the air. As a sidebar, I only transmitted at QRP levels as I did not want to have any issues with those on either side of us in the townhouse.
DX-EE |
Some of the challenges were:
The antenna had a narrow bandwidth on 40m but the Elecraft K3 tuner looked after that. As well using the Elecraft K3 tuner I was able to also use the WARC bands as well.
I picked up very bad band noise from a Plasma TV but that was fixed with an MFJ noise-cancelling unit.
Getting the coax from the attic to the radio room. The room was on the second floor and I ended up putting the coax in the wall and out in the radio room.
Securing the antenna for a "Z" configuration. As mentioned I used electric fence stand-offs.
Getting the best bang for each watt of power meant CW and not SSB. That began my journey of re-learning CW. Also fast forward to now there is also the digital modes you can use.
The next post (part 2) will be dealing with my condo apartment antenna challenges.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].