KB2GOM
Active Member
Many of the frequencies I want to monitor are intermittent . . . just like VHF/UHF comms. Are there HF SSB-capable receivers (tabletop or portable) that can be set to scan a selected group of frequencies?
HF scanner?
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One of the problems is squelch. Unlike in VHF/UHF, the noise level on HF is much more variable, making it harder to set a squelch level that will scan past with no activity, but stop on a channel with a weak or deeply fading desired signal. There are some HF radios for military and commercial uses that have a voice squelch. Another way it is handled in that realm is ALE or SELCAL.
Here is a thread that discusses this: R30 - Squelch on HF USB?
Here is a thread that discusses this: R30 - Squelch on HF USB?
KB2GOM
Active Member
If you took squelch out of the equation (which, frankly, I hadn't thought about), there is another alternative: an HF radio that would simply rapidly scan through a group of selected channels and the listener -- me -- would have to stop when he heard some activity.
Yes, you would be listening to background noise on each channel, but I think it would beat punching the button to move from memory to memory. My Satellit 800 has the ability to scan memories but it is veeerrrryyyy slow.
Are there HF tabletops or portables that would do that? The key would be the ability to select a group of channels, but not necessarily all of them.
Yes, you would be listening to background noise on each channel, but I think it would beat punching the button to move from memory to memory. My Satellit 800 has the ability to scan memories but it is veeerrrryyyy slow.
Are there HF tabletops or portables that would do that? The key would be the ability to select a group of channels, but not necessarily all of them.
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What you're asking for exists.. I have an IC-7000 and an IC-7600. Both will scan channels or continuous bands of frequencies with the squelch open (leaving the operator to stop the scan when a signal appears). Right now my IC-7000 is set up to scan the SSB portion of 17 meters with the squelch open.
But as far as portables or tabletops, I'm not aware of any other radios that will do this..
But as far as portables or tabletops, I'm not aware of any other radios that will do this..
Any communications receiver (AOR, ICOM, Yupiteru) among others can do this, but as mentioned above me, it would be impractical due to variable noise floor
I scan the 43 meter band with the squelch off on a regular basis. Due to some of the signals that I am trying to listen to having the squelch on I would miss some of the weaker signals. I use a JRC NRD-545 for scanning most of the time and I would guess the scan rate is a frequency a second. Slow for a VHF/UHF scanner but not bad for my uses, if I hear something it is easier to go back to find what frequency it was on if I was busier with something else and couldn't get back to the receiver. The Icom R75 scans but at a much slower rate which is rather frustrating. The JRC NRD-525 has a variable scan rate but I have never used it at its fastest scan rate as it isn't usable for my needs.
tuihill
Member
Drake R8B has an excellent scan mode.
The Harris RF-590A does this. I used the military version, the R-2368/URR, and it was a very nice receiver. (The Navy versions do not have speakers in them, while the USCG version does.)
Consider the Icom R30 for portable scanning.
icomamerica.com
IC-R30 Receiver Handheld - Features - Icom America
icomamerica.com
Yes. As stated Icom and AOR. I have owned and was very pleased with Alinco
Hello. I have used and have been pleased with listed receivers and especially the Alinco DJ-X11 . It's no match for a new SDR or hybrid but for handheld use it works well. As noted scan speed is slow. solid little rx. cheers
Chris
Although a bit outdated and rare in the US, the Yupiteru 7100 handheld receiver can handle up to 1000 memories and will scan as the others do.
KB2GOM
Active Member
I posted this in the HF equipment section a few days ago, but failed to post it here.
It turns out that I "sort of" had the answer to my own question all along . . . that is, if you are patient.
The Satellit 800 has 70 Non-volatile memories – that store mode (am or ssb), bandwidth, sync and AGC (Fast/Slow) settings. It has four bands -- AM, FM, SW, and AIR, and when you save a memory, it, of course, saves the band.
I have owned the Satellit for years, but haven't used it extensively until recently.
There is a memory scan function on the Satellit, and I always assumed that it would scan all the memories, including AM, FM, SW, and air memories, that were stored, pausing on each one for 5 seconds.
But that is not exactly so. It turns out that if you select one of the shortwave frequencies in memory and start the scan from there, the Satellit 800 will scan through the shortwave memories . . . and not through any of the other memories. If you start on one of the air frequencies, it will scan only the air frequencies that are stored.
So, in a sense, the Satellit 800 has both airband and shortwave memory scanners . . . albeit really slow scanners. It probably has separate AM and FM memory scanners, too, although I haven't tested that.
Bottom line, I can load up the Satellit 800 with SSB memories that I want to check, and have it do a leisurely scan through them (although it will not squelch out the noise).
And that's not a bad thing. If you have a Satellite 800, you might want to give it a try . . . or maybe you know this stuff already.
It turns out that I "sort of" had the answer to my own question all along . . . that is, if you are patient.
The Satellit 800 has 70 Non-volatile memories – that store mode (am or ssb), bandwidth, sync and AGC (Fast/Slow) settings. It has four bands -- AM, FM, SW, and AIR, and when you save a memory, it, of course, saves the band.
I have owned the Satellit for years, but haven't used it extensively until recently.
There is a memory scan function on the Satellit, and I always assumed that it would scan all the memories, including AM, FM, SW, and air memories, that were stored, pausing on each one for 5 seconds.
But that is not exactly so. It turns out that if you select one of the shortwave frequencies in memory and start the scan from there, the Satellit 800 will scan through the shortwave memories . . . and not through any of the other memories. If you start on one of the air frequencies, it will scan only the air frequencies that are stored.
So, in a sense, the Satellit 800 has both airband and shortwave memory scanners . . . albeit really slow scanners. It probably has separate AM and FM memory scanners, too, although I haven't tested that.
Bottom line, I can load up the Satellit 800 with SSB memories that I want to check, and have it do a leisurely scan through them (although it will not squelch out the noise).
And that's not a bad thing. If you have a Satellite 800, you might want to give it a try . . . or maybe you know this stuff already.
Wow... I haven't seen one of those since 1991. We had a couple in Galena AK from MITRE that were used for testing ALE.
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