HF Receiver

I have bit of a dilemma.
I am in Central Otago New Zealand & have a Sangean ATS-803A which I have used successfully to receive HF Aircraft & Marine.
This was at a previous similar location & there I used a long wire into the external antenna jack.
I have experimented with several temporary antennas but haven't had much luck so far.
I did receive one transmission on 8.864 which is Auckland Airport, but was very faint.
Thinking it might be the location, I took the radio to the top of a nearby hill that had a clear unobstructed view over the area & tried it portable.
I had a list of known frequencies & worked my way through them for about a hour.
All I got was a very faint automated weather.
At this point I am wondering if there is a problem with the radio or are these HF frequencies not being use anymore.
Have Aviation & Marine gone to another form of communication.

Thanks

I doubt there have been changes in the aviation and marine services. Strong signals collected by the longwire could have overloaded the 803 front end. If MW and FM are working properly, then perhaps the antenna jack itself has a mechanical problem.

Assuming here there's no damage to the radio, and the gain is turned up all the way...

I will let our resident NZer (Majoco, you here?) comment on what you can hear from where you are, but aircraft on HF is quite easy. There's even a digital mode called HFDL which you can also decode with the right software.

Marine on the other hand has largely moved to digital modes that you won't be able to decode. However, FAX and NAVTEX are still quite plentiful and easy to receive, again, with the right software.

There's free software for all those modes; see this page in our wiki for links for a great many packages

HF Software Decoders - The RadioReference Wiki

Mike

Thanks guys.
The radio works fine on FM, I use it on the local station in my man cave.
The RCA antenna jack only seems to be connected to the centre.
Earth doesn't do much, so cant use a dipole type antenna.
It has always been that way.
My recent antenna tests have found HF reception is better connected to the telescopic antenna instead of the jack.
Maybe that's an indication of a fault.
It's quite an old unit now & I was considering replacing it with a Tecsun PL-660
Just didn't want to spend my dollars on that & then find it wasn't any better.

If I recall the RCA jack on the 803A can become intermittent at the center pin. Some RCA connectors have a long center pin and if used can jack up the inside of the connector if you accidently bang the connector with the external antenna connected or partially inserted..... I don't recall if you can correct it without replacing the jack itself. Or the RCA connector you are using is the kind with a short center pin.... I think that makes a difference.

If it doesn't receive well with the telescopic whip, then it could be a fault in the front end amp. You might look around on the internet to see if there is a repair facility that is willing to take a crack at analyzing the issue.... but it sounds like the jack is not making connection to the center pin of the RCA jack.

Hope you can get it working my friend...

73 de Jerry N5RV

Hi Rocky,
I'm in Ashhurst in the Manawatu and HF aero is certainly not dead here!

The frequencies for the South Pacific area are 3467,5643, 8867, 13261 and 17904kHz. Bear in mind that they don't continually broadcast and frequencies are picked to avoid the other stations in the network and the time of day. From later afternoon to early morning, Auckland is often on 5643 and Brisbane could well be on 8867. During the day Brisbane is usually on 13261 while Auckland will be on 8867 or 17904. If you listen long enough you will hear an aircraft get transferred from one sector to another and they will tell them what frequency is in use. If you heard Auckland on 8864 I think you should check your frequency calibration against WWVH on 15, 10 or 5 MHz in the evening. Set your frequency to righ on the correct frequency then adjust your BFO for zero beat and leave it set there - all stations are exactly on frequency and USB.

You can hear the South Pacific weather transmissions on 6679, 8828 and 13282 kHz at 20minutes past and 10minutes to the hour on all frequencies and 24/7.

There is only one Marine HF station and that's up by Lake Taupo near the RNZ transmitter station although it's controlled from Lower Hutt Avalon - the old TV studios! All the info is here .....
Coast station Taupo Maritime Radio ZLM | maritimeradio.orgMaritime Radio

Coastal stations are all on VHF, the calling frequency is 156.800MHz but I doubt if you'll hear anything in the middle of Otago.

When I lived in Christchurch, Auckland Aero HF boomed in so I imagine in Central Otago where it's fairly quiet interference-wise you shouldn't have much problem. I suggest a bigger outside antenna might help - run it east-west if you can and about 25metres or more. DON'T clip it to the telescopic antenna otherwise the merest sniff of lightning may damage your radio. Your suggestion of a tecsun PL660 is good, I have a Degen 1103 and a Tecsun PL600 which both work well on the whip antennas - but there's a few desk top radios too...

Have fun and don't get discouraged - you'll soon get the hang of it. Worldwide there's plenty of activity, Hawaii comes in on the same frequencies late afternoon but she calls herself San Francisco. There's a big worldwide chart of frequencies here which shows the areas too.........

http://www.liveatc.net/downloads/hfaero.jpg

...that you can download and stick on the wall!

Where in Central are you? I used to work for Mount Cook Airline when we had the old 748's so I know my way around there quite well!

n5rv said:

If I recall the RCA jack on the 803A can become intermittent at the center pin. Some RCA connectors have a long center pin and if used can jack up the inside of the connector if you accidently bang the connector with the external antenna connected or partially inserted..... I don't recall if you can correct it without replacing the jack itself. Or the RCA connector you are using is the kind with a short center pin.... I think that makes a difference.

Click to expand...

That's the RCA connector versus the "Motorola" type connector. Dimensions are the same, however the longer center pin and longer skirt can be an issue.
I've used the Motorola type connectors on mine without issue, but I agree, it could be damaged if dropped.

There is a small transistor in the front end that can get zapped by static electricity, I had to replace the one in mine I got used.

Oh you guys are great.

Taking all that into account I think I'll retire the Sangean & buy a PL660.

Martin, I am in Wanaka, you helped me out some time ago with VHF air band.

rocky28965 said:

Taking all that into account I think I'll retire the Sangean & buy a PL660.

Click to expand...

Stay away from the heavily discounted PL-660's sold on eBay..... I've first hand experience in that.... newer 660's can be calibrated should you receive one that seems off frequency between wide a narrow filters. The discounted ones on eBay are usually older versions that cannot be calibrated... mine sounds fine on narrow, but on wide it is 5kc's off....

73 de Jerry N5RV

Buy Tecsun direct from Anon-co - that's where I got my Degen and Tecsun from.

They do seem to have a pretty good rep. Many people have bought their 880s from there, and they came with the most recent firmware installed and the service was very good..;..Mike

Done, got one coming from Anon-co.
Xmas present.

I had considered building a magnetic loop antenna as a project, but spotted this on Anon-co

https://www.anon-co.com/product/addwards-a38lms-antenna

Any good or just a gadget?

Looks like a Kaito or Sony clone, unsurprisingly...Mike

ka3jjz said:

They do seem to have a pretty good rep. Many people have bought their 880s from there, and they came with the most recent firmware installed and the service was very good..;..Mike

Click to expand...

I bought a 660 and an s-2000 from Anon. No issues whatsoever.

Ok I'll try connecting the 16 AWG directly to the receiver.
I was always led to believe you needed a shielded section between the antenna & the receiver to stop interference from the building.
Its a wonder reception was as good as it was at my last location.
Used to pickup Bluff fisherman's radio on a good day.

First off, the Sangean 803A is not going to pick up much HF off the whip antenna, unless you are in Europe or somewhere that HF signals are really plentiful. Mine didn't pick up much, if any, SW off the whip when new. Sangean 803A's pick up much more signal off an external antenna, as you discovered when you used to have a longer wire attached to the radio.

Second off, on the 803A the switch between EXT and INT (located next to the antenna jack) can get oxidised. If it is oxidised, then you won't get much signal on SW, period. Exercising it, or using tuner cleaner on the switch, should help if that is the case.

Third, yes, the RF amp can blow on 803A's but it's not as common as some other radios, where it is more frequently reported. If your radio worked fine the last time you had an antenna attached to it on HF or SW, it probably works OK now. If you get MW DX on your 803A off the loopstick, that would be an indicator that your RF amp is fine, because the SW RF amp comes right after the MW RF amp and loopstick. If the SW RF amp is blown, you won't hear much on MW aside from a few locals probably.

Fourth, conditions are horrible on HF and SW compared to even 2-3 years ago, and like me, you live in a low signals part of the world.

Either way, looks like you have already gotten another radio, just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.

Still waiting for my 660.
Does anyone know if it will support a dipole antenna, or does it just have a centre contact in the socket??

Most of these type portables are not set up for dipoles per se, altho they likely have a center conductor and the shell connected to ground. You wouldn't want to use a dipole unless you are interested in a particular frequency range, and odd multiples. For example, a 7 Mhz dipole will work just fine on 21 Mhz. However outside of this range, it's much less efficient.

As your original message mentioned HF marine and aircraft, both of these services require something that's much more broad banded. Certainly a hunk of wire attached to the antenna terminal - preferably going through the little first timer project discussed here...(better to blow the diodes in this box than having to send the portable out for service...)

https://forums.radioreference.com/receive-antennas-below-30mhz/295299-great-first-timer-project.html

I would hesitate putting a large amount of wire on the antenna jack - the strain might be too great, and there would almost certainly be overloading issues. You would know this is the case if you started hearing AM and FM stations all over the dial, or in places where they don't belong. It depends greatly on your local RF environment - if there are a lot of MW and FM stations in your area, it might very well become an issue.

What is your situation? Can you put something outside away from the home (and all the crazy noise sources)? Or are you stuck with indoor antennas - which are almost always not nearly as effective nor efficient.

Mike

Thanks Mike.

Firstly I will get one of your first timer projects made.
20 years ago I could have done it my-self, but I now have to impose on a family member to do it for me.

My Location is Wanaka, Central Otago.
No AM stations within 100k's
Just 3 or 4 low power FM local stations

I live in a reasonably posh street & the only likely location for a long antenna is right across the front.
I will put one up temporarily to see what the 660 is capable of.

Having said that, I do have a ground plane on the roof for VHF Air band & also 144Mhz wip.
They seem to merge in reasonably well, but only because they are stationary & not waving round in the breeze.

I had thought of going patriotic & put up a flagpole with guy-wires.