Kongsfjord Mid-Winter Report

Today was my first visit to Kongsfjord in 2012! Checking antennas and replacing the QDFA battery was long overdue, with weather being the limiting factor. Last weekend saw temperatures down to -25 Celsius and winds up to 25 meters per second. The result is razor-sharp ice particles blowing around.  You don't want to work outside in conditions like that. The picture below from Kongsfjord International Scuba School (copyright) should illustrate my point. My house is just outside the left frame.

Today though was mild and relatively calm, allowing me to replace the last beverage lamp cord feedline with a Belden Twinax. Works fine.

The QDFA inspection was rather disappointing. One of the clamps securing the secondary fiber glass rods had snapped, probably as a result of the temperature and wind. Also, two of the loop wires had snapped, probably of the same reason. Lesson learned is that we need more durable wires for our QDFA. And another example of the mechanical challenges loop arrays are in areas with extreme weather conditions and without being able to look after the array on a daily basis. But we live and learn! Maybe next season the QDFA will be operational all winter!

Polar Night

Days are dark at almost 71 North. This picture from my mobile phone was taken last Sunday close to local noon. Usually, December days are a bit lighter because of the snow reflecting the modest light from the sky, but  this autumn and winter has been 3-4 degrees Celsius warmer than normal, so there is very little snow at the coastal areas. It was -1C that day.

The picture faces south-southeast and is taken from the QDFA phaser/power box after I had installed a full-charged 18 Ah battery to the QDFA phaser. It will last for another 3 weeks before needing replacement. The mast to the right is the center of southernmost of the four QDFA deltas (or rather "houses" as they have been redesigned to).

Winradio G39DDC Excelsior

If you want to tune from zero (almost) to eternity, this is it. With a 9 kHz to 3500 MHz tuning range, two independent 4 MHz channels (also available for recording and later playback), excellent specifications and a multitude of tools for signal analysis, this appears to be the heftiest SDR available today. Alas, the price tag will require dedication or easy cash flow, and I am rather sure that I don't want to spend USD 4000 for a receiver today. So don't expect to see a G39 review on this blog.

Image from Winradio.com

But Nils Schiffhauer got his priorities right, and submitted this video to the Winradio G3 reflector. Readers who know the G31 and G33 interface will note that the playback bar is different, resembling that of SpectraVue.

For the average MW DX-er though, such as I, the G39 doesn't do much that the G31 and G33 don't, so it's probably overkill. Would be übercool to have one though.

G33DDC Version 1.68 - An Important Software Update

The first official software update since the introduction of the G33DDC has just been made available, with numerous small and a few very important changes.

In version 1.61, if one tuned around inside the DDC spectrum while recording (and who wants to be stuck on one frequency while recording), the spectrum itself would actually move, making it impossible to play back the recording properly. The demodulated frequency would change with the changing DDC spectrum. I first thought this was a bug but in fact it isn't; it's a feature but with an unwanted side effect. The feature is that one can move the DDC spectrum at will within the 0-30 (or 50) MHz range while recording.

The update makes it impossible to move the DDC spectrum while recording with the .ddc extension. So you are free to tune around inside the spectrum. For recordings with the .rxw extension, moving the DDC spectrum during recording requires the "Insert FDT" function to be disabled. So, if you record a DDC file, or an RXW file with FDT enabled, the spectrum will not move.

Another important change is how the playback bar works. Previously, it was cumbersome to move within playback of a DDC spectrum recording. The playback bar has been redesigned so that the handle or thumb is easier to "grab" with the mouse pointer, and the left and right arrows have been assigned to five-second steps. In addition, if you click on the bar, the recording will move back or forth with what I believe is 1/30 of the length of the file (or files, if they are linked into one larger recording). Of course if you move the handle you can maneuver at will within the recording.

Another thing that has been up lately (though unrelated to the software update) is that DDC files recorded in the .ddc format in one time zone (or during daylight savings time) will not show the correct time when played back in a different time zone (or during "normal" time). This is because the date and time information is not embedded in the file, but merely part of the file name.

This not a problem if recordings are made in the .rxw format, which is Winradio's proprietary format. However, .ddc is the default file extension, so you have to actively select rxw when you start a recording. Press "Browse" and select "RXW" from the file types dropdown. Or simply replace ".ddc" in the file path with ".rxw". The software will remember the file format for subsequent recordings, even if you shut down the program. For scheduled recordings it's a bit more cumbersome as you need to define the file format for each task you add.

The RF Space NetSDR

After having played around with the RF Space NetSDR a few weeks, I thought it was time to share my impressions. A PDF-file is available in the Links section to the right, or you can view it as an html-page here.

Another DX Test - Another Blackout

Although propagation hasn't been outstanding, it has at least opened up for trans-polar signals the past week or so. But it's a rather weird coincidence that most times a DX test is announced, the conditions will go rock bottom.

As they are today, during WGBW-1590's test going until 0700 UTC. Not even a faint trace of a signal. Even the near-24/7 companion KBRW-680 is gone.

The reason is that the proton flux began to rise yesterday, almost to the level of a proton event. Increased proton flux levels will always kill propagation in polar regions.

I hope they will set up a new test sometime, though.

KONG21 Antennas And Receivers - Some Reflections

I had four SDRs with me to this DX-pedition: The Winradio G31DDC and G33DDC, the RF Space NetSDR and the Perseus. The Perseus has been with me for a few years but the G33 and the NetSDR were new this year. Actually, the G31 was never put to use. I've been just as busy testing and discussing software as DX-ing this time, actually a rewarding experience since I've had some fruitful discussions with  Simon at SDR-Radio.com and Ian at Radixon (Winradio).

Most of the time, if not all, the Perseus has been connected to the 50-degrees beverage, the G33 to the 340 and the NetSDR to the 310. We also had the QDFA up, and another receiver (G31) available.  But they were never put into use. The QDFA wasn't working properly, and the reason wasn't discovered until Saturday afternoon when the rest of the crew had left. A rodent had short-circuited the feedline.The cut was so small I didn't discover it the first time I checked the feedlines. And although conditions weren't outstanding, we never found time to investigate deeper. Until Saturday afternoon.

The QDFA feedline is now fixed, and will be available for remote DX for the four of us when conditions improve. Even today the effects were stunning compared to the 340 beverage (the QDFA is 350 but a wider front lobe) as semi-local Murmansk 657 was 27 dB weaker on the QDFA, while KBRW on 680 was a dB stronger. Similar effects on 1035 where China and Estonia were fighting for glory on the 50 degree, but the QDFA nulled Estonia almost into noise level.

Nighttime conditions were poor throughout the week so we probably wouldn't have heard a lot more anyway, but it's a bit embarrasing to know that we could have lost a lot of good DX because we failed to spot the faulty feedline.

The G33 has been a real workhorse. It's been 100 % stable, and by and large is an excellent receiver. The NetSDR was tested with both Spectravue and SDR-Radio software, the latter with beta versions. Most of the time operation has been smooth and trouble-free although I had trouble with scheduled recordings a while until a fix was made. A write-up on the NetSDR will be released soon.

Unfortunately, my impression is that the Loran C noise has been worse than ever this fall. Some frequencies are almost impossible to listen to. I hear rumours that the Loran C network will be closed in 2015. We'll see.

Finally a picture of the signature dish here in KONGsfjord, namely the King Crab, in Norwegian KONGekrabbe.  The raw, frozen crab was supplied by Berle Fisk AS and Svein Olaf, and was immaculate. The best restaurants in Oslo aren't even close in matching this quality.

Date And Time Stamp On Winradio G31DDC Playback

Are you among those who hoped that Winradio would equip their G31DDC recordings with date and time stamp? So that you could see the time and date on playback, and not having to guess? So that you could move the file to another hard drive or folder without the created time/date being lost? Well, you know that it never happened, and probably never will happen

The solution is surprisingly simple, although it involves a bit manual labour on the keyboard. The key is the G33 software, which can play back G31 recordings.

The G31 has a frequency stamp (Insert freq) which keeps track of the center frequency. The G33 on the other hand has a date, time and frequency stamp (Insert FDT). The frequency bit is identical on the two. What separates them is the date and time bit. So I thought: What if I inserted the date and time info manually to the G31 file, and played it back with G33 software?

Worth a try wasn't it, so I changed the original file which was Rec-0.657MHz.ddc to Rec-0.657MHz_11-10-08_16'23'00.ddc, opened the G33 software and pressed Play. Smooth as silk. I then tested two linked G31 files and changed the file names according to G33 syntax and played them back. Smooth as silk. (The time displayed in the playback bar is UTC, i.e. local time - 2 hours)

Of course: If you have a lot of files, it will take some time to change the file names. And linked files may take longer than separate files, because linked G31 files use the -$001.ddc syntax while G33 files use -^001.ddc syntax. But the linked files will have the same date and time stamp as the first file. If you have made a habit of writing down when a file starts, the time should be fairly accurate. And if you haven't made that habit, now is the time.

A word of caution: Always, always, always back up the files you want to change. G33DDC software is available here.

Kiribati Strongest Skywave Signal

Would you believe that Radio Kiribati 1440 could be the strongest skywave station in Arctic Norway? Well today it is. A nice -90 dBm on the 50 degree beverage is only matched by KICY Nome AK 850. Even some of the Russian groundwave signals are weaker.

Strange conditions. Very strange indeed.

The Winradio G33DDC - Impressions

As usual, I cannot resist the temptation to write about the receivers I have. Some initial impressions have been posted earlier in this blog. You will find a more detailed report in the Links section, or here. Comments are appreciated.