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The Spectrum Monitor — March, 2017
March 1st, 2017 | 
Author: 
Stories you’ll find in our March, 2017 issue:
TSM 2017 Air Show Preview
By Brian and Jo Marie Topolski
Get ready to experience high-performance jet teams, prop planes, WWI and II aircraft, parachute jump teams, wing-walkers, helicopters, jet-powered trucks, boats and fascinating static displays In all manner of combinations, these components are designed to thrill, enlighten and inspire. Veteran air show attendees, Brian and Jo Marie Topolski, tell you what to expect, what to bring and how to position yourself to get the most out of the show. Don’t forget to bring your camera and scanner!
Blue Angels and Thunderbird Crashes Mar 2016 Air Show Season
By Kevin Burke
2016 was a trying year for air shows, with both of the Thunderbirds and Blue Angels having crashes on the same day. While the Thunderbird pilot was able to eject to safety the Blue Angels pilot, Captain Jeffrey M. Kuss, USMC, was killed as he was starting a practice demonstration in Smyrna, Tennessee. Kevin takes a closer look at the mishaps.
Frequency Guide to Air Show Monitoring
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Milcom specialist and aeronautical radio author, Larry Van Horn N5FPW, gives us all the frequencies we’ll need to monitor air shows this season. He writes, “With a radio scanner in hand, you will experience a whole new perspective of the show that few attendees will get to experience—radio communications from the aircraft cockpit of the show performers.” Even if you don’t go to an air show this season, you can use these frequencies to monitor what’s happening in the air all around where you live.
ADS-B Monitoring with a Raspberry Pi
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
TSM’s Amateur Radio Astronomy columnist goes near-space as he shows us how to monitor Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmissions from aircraft flying over your house within a 200-mile radius using a dedicated Raspberry Pi computer and an ADS-B antenna.
2017 Air Show Schedule
There’s an air show coming to your area of the US and Canada this season. TSM presents the schedules of some of the more popular air show participants including, USAF Thunderbirds, USN Blue Angels, US Army Golden Knights, RCAF Snowbirds, RCAF C-18 Hornet, and Goulin Aerosports.
Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
A Look at OpenSky and Scanning Counties from Indiana and Virginia
Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Scanning Super Bowl 51
Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
DVA: Now They’re Talking
Shortwave Utility Logs
By Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz
Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
Do You Already Own a Digital Repeater?
VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
SDRs, Free Books and Ham Radio at West Point
Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Talk This Way!
Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
TSM Reviews: Como Audio Duetto Wi-Fi Radio
Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
The Ionosonde
World of Shortwave Listening
By Keith Perron
Not the Last of Radio Australia
The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Eclectic Programming is Everywhere!
Amateur Radio Satellites
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Amateur Radio Satellite Gatherings Plus AMSAT Update
The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
The Longwave-Aviation Legacy
Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
A 1940 Bakelite Radio: Zenith 6D510W
Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Transitions: Getting from A to B (or 50 to X)
The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.
Amateur radio below 9kHz
Until a few years ago, the conventional wisdom was that you needed huge power and huge antennas to be copied “beyond the garden fence” at VLF and ULF. In recent years much has changed and time and again great distances have been covered by amateurs with quite low power and modest antennas.
The trick is great stability, very narrow bandwidths and long integration times, often of days. For several years just detecting a carrier was enough, but in recent times people have been sending simple messages using EbNaut software.
When at the old QTH I detected signals from several European countries using simple, homemade gear and free software.
Although not totally up to date at all times, I try to update news of amateur VLF and ULF experiments at https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/ .
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 147
Icom previews details of ID-4100E D-STAR VHF/UHF mobile radio
The Callsign routing terminal mode feature will allow each radio to be connected like an access point to the worldwide D-STAR repeater network through the internet.
Southgate
Radio News Magazine archive
Every issue from 1919 to 1959.
American Radio History
How-to: Icom External Keypad
A short press on the M1 to M4 button triggers a single voice keyer send, whereas hold the M1 to M4 button for a second enables auto repeating of sending voice keyer memories.
M1BXF
End Fed Antennas – Where’s the other half?
My favorite tends to be the classic ‘Sloper’ with the feed point located on the ground.
K5ACL
International Radio Network
The IRN (International Radio Network) is a VoIP/RoIP system using Teamspeak 3 (TS3) that allows licensed radio users to talk around the World.
International Radio Network
WSPR Antenna Comparison (Loop vs Dipole vs End Fed)
I did 24 hour WSPR runs using 5 watts of power with each antenna on successive days.
High on Solder
Universal Radio Hacker: investigate wireless protocols like a boss
The Universal Radio Hacker is software for investigating unknown wireless protocols.
Johannes Pohl
Open-air wireless charging
Disney Research has invented a new method of wirelessly charging mobile devices that could someday allow amusement park patrons to walk about freely while also getting their mobile devices charged.
Computer World
Video
Assembling the BITX-40
BITX-40, a QRP, SSB, 10 watt, kit.
KE0OG
Visualising shortwave band activity throughout the year
An animation of 24-hour shortwave spectrum plots from Twente WebSDR.
London Shortwave
18 QSOs during Ski Outing
Judy and I went cross-country skiing down at the Pemigewasset River near Profile Falls. I brought the KX3 and made 18 QSOs (in the CWT sprint) including France, Italy and Germany. It was a bit over 50F.
What a fantastic day to be out. We went east from the road about a half a mile toward the river. Here it opens up into a large field. At the far edge are some picnic tables and the river.
I tossed my 30 foot wire over a pine branch and pulled the wire up over the picnic table. In the sun, it must have been over 70F, because I took off my coat and gloves and I was still hot.
I started out on 20 meters. The CWT sprint had been running for a half hour. Except for the sprint, the band seemed dead. I had no trouble making contacts. After making a dozen contacts on 20 meters, I switched to 40 meters and made another six. Here’s my log. I’ve changed the format to reflect a more normal log rather than using the CWT exchange format.
22 Feb-17 1930 14.026 N5ZO CW 599 599 CA Marko
22 Feb-17 1932 14.027 K0AD CW 599 599 MN Al
22 Feb-17 1933 14.035 F6HKA CW 599 599 France Bert
22 Feb-17 1935 14.036 DL2CC CW 599 599 Germany Frank
22 Feb-17 1936 14.040 KM0O CW 599 599 MN Tony
22 Feb-17 1938 14.032 N4ZZ CW 599 599 TN Don
22 Feb-17 1940 14.030 AC4CA CW 599 599 TX John
22 Feb-17 1942 14.029 WJ9B CW 599 599 NC Will
22 Feb-17 1943 14.030 IT9MUO CW 599 599 Italy Alf
22 Feb-17 1944 14.033 N4IQ CW 599 599 SC Bill
22 Feb-17 1947 14.035 K9UIY CW 599 599 Ill Vic
22 Feb-17 1950 7030 NA8V CW 599 599 MI Greg
22 Feb-17 1951 7031 K4HQK CW 599 599 VA John
22 Feb-17 1952 7036 K3WW CW 599 599 PA Chas
22 Feb-17 1953 7037 CG3KI CW 599 599 ON Rich
22 Feb-17 1954 7039 N3RS CW 599 599 PA Sig
22 Feb-17 1956 7039 VE3KP CW 599 599 ON Ken
22 Feb-17 1957 14.035 K4BAI CW 599 599 GA John
With this I packed up and headed back to the car. It’s been a long winter with plenty of snow during the last month. What a thrill to be outdoors again with a rig.
Pre-production X5105 SSB Test at 5 watts
Worked David W5WAZ on 14.300 today just after 1600z. Took a bit for him to hear me in his noise, but he got me and we had a qso after that. Used the MFJ whip and counterpoise facing south direction.
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 146
Amateur Radio Satellite Nayif-1 launched
Just like FUNcube-1, this mode has the spacecraft sending high power telemetry when in sunlight and with the SSB/CW transponder active when in eclipse.
AMSAT UK
Hamcation Recap
Hamcation is a great Hamfest. It’s huge, spread out, and located in the one place where the weather is actually amazing – Orlando. It’s sunny, 75 degrees, and I’m pretty sure I’m sunburnt. I forgot that this kind of weather exists.
N0SSC
DMR Hotspot from SharkRF
The first thing I noticed when listening to some of the more active talk groups is that it seems like every person getting on the system said “I just got this Tytera MD-380 radio and you are my first DMR contact.”
K0NR
Decibel hell – the reign of antenna gain pain
Let’s step our way though the topic and see what we can learn from the pros.
Ham Radio . Magnum Experimentum
FreeDV 700C
The US test team report 700C contacts over 2500km at SNRs down to -2dB, in conditions where SSB cannot be heard.
Rowetel
W8SRC repeater IDs are distinctive… to say the least
If you want to get a little more professional with your repeater ID, just ask.
KB6NU
PicSafari: QRZ Ham Radio Image Library
QRZ has the world’s largest collection of amateur radio related images.
QRZ.com
Alaska’s HAARP facility once again open for business
The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) in Gakona, Alaska, will soon undertake its first scientific research campaigns since the facility was taken over by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
ARRL
Video
2 Meter tape measure beam antenna
The 2 Meter band tape measure beam antenna is a 3 element Yagi with about 7.2 db of forward gain.
KB9VBR
Setup Icom 7300 on iMac with RUMLogNG
This is for beginners and I’m a beginner on the Mac, but it proved to be simple.
K0PIR
Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 145
ARRL seeks opinions concerning possible new entry level license
An Entry Level License Committee was established by the ARRL Board of Directors and appointed in September 2016.
ARRL
ISS SSTV active February 13th and 14th
The SSTV images will be transmitted as part of the MAI-75 Experiment on 145.800 MHz FM using the Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver located in the Russian ISS Service module.
AMSAT UK
The “Slick Six” 6 Meter Horizontal Dipole
This antenna is easy to adjust and can take any of the weather Texas can dish out.
KK5ID
‘Mysterious foghorn’ in Ham Radio bands
Observed on 7, 10 and 14 MHz, this is a Chinese OTH radar.
Southgate
Adding 160 meters to a Hustler 6BTV
I have never been able to transmit on the 160 meter band. As I hear it, it’s referenced as the “Gentleman’s Band.”
K5ACL
Baofeng for digital modes
When playing around with wireless mobile traffic lights, I also thought about options to transmit on the VHF and UHF bands.
Carriers Everywhere
Asus takes on Raspberry Pi
32-bit A17 CPU bolstered by fast Mali-T764 GPU, 2GB of RAM, and gigabit Ethernet.
Ars Technica
Easy homemade beginner ADS-B antennas
Easy to build, costs less than $1, no tools or equipment, takes maximum 15 minutes.
Radio for Everyone
ICOM IC-2820 fan mod
The replacement is a Pabst 0412 fan that comes with a 5,25” PC connector. I replaced it with a 1.5mm two pin JST ZH connector.
Notizbl0g.
Another outstanding year for Amateur Radio licensing
New Amateur Radio licenses issued were up by 1% over 2015.
ARRL
Video
Airborne TV DX Miami to St. Louis flight
Scanning the TV bands from 3, 000 feet – Miami to St. Louis and back with a Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-955Q dongle receiver and 3 inch stick antenna.
YouTube
