Trying to get back into HF

[Bavoo]

Group,
I've recently decided to dust off the old Sony ICF 2010 and try to get back into Utility Monitoring.

I've been out of the loop as far as active Freq's so I've scoured the old threads and found some nice ones for me to try here in Long Island, NY.

Questions:
Are there any local Util's that I could monitor? USCG maybe or the 2 Int'l Airports? I figure I may just cover Air on my PRO95.

How about Military?

As far as antennas, all I have is the supplied wire hanging off of some drapes . I can't put up a giant outdoor antenna...Can you guys recommend any indoor or active antennas? RS maybe?

Anything I can do to decode the CW and other stuff? (I forget the acronyms)

Is my 2010 still good or should I upgrade in order to get back in after ohhhh 10 years of being away from HF?


Thanks for an excellent group and I look forward to your replies and of course any other advice you could give to make my "new" HF experience as good as it can be!

Bavoo

 

[KC4ZEX]

Hi there and welcome back to HF listening. If your 2010 is in good working order it should give you plenty of chances to listen. Their is a little less activity than 10 or 15 yrs ago but still plenty out there. Don't know how long your wire is on the curtain rod but most of the radios like the 2010 and later portables will overload with more than 25 or 30 ft. If its only 10 ft add a aligator clip and attach it to the metal curtain rod making it part of the antenna or add a few ft of 16 or 18 gauge primary wire should help. You still have commercial and military aircraft to listen to. Some Coast Guard, shipping , and amateur radio. Several web sites to get freq's try activesignals.com. Also their are some Cw and Rtty reading software programs for a sound card available from the web. If you have a scanner you can get local planes and boats in your area. Aircraft 120 to 136 mhz. Marine and boating 156 and 157mhz.

 

[K2KOH]

Your 2010 will work just fine for LGA and JFK, as well as the local airports out on the Island. Also, tune in on the HF MWARA frequencies for the Transatlantic Flights. You should have no problem hearing New York, Santa Maria, Shanwick, Gander, Iceland.
Nighttime check out 2.887, 3.455, 2.899, 3.016, 2.872, 5.598, 5.550 for starters

 

[ka3jjz]

Group,
I've recently decided to dust off the old Sony ICF 2010 and try to get back into Utility Monitoring.

I've been out of the loop as far as active Freq's so I've scoured the old threads and found some nice ones for me to try here in Long Island, NY.

Questions:
Are there any local Util's that I could monitor? USCG maybe or the 2 Int'l Airports? I figure I may just cover Air on my PRO95.

How about Military?

As far as antennas, all I have is the supplied wire hanging off of some drapes . I can't put up a giant outdoor antenna...Can you guys recommend any indoor or active antennas? RS maybe?

Anything I can do to decode the CW and other stuff? (I forget the acronyms)

Is my 2010 still good or should I upgrade in order to get back in after ohhhh 10 years of being away from HF?


Thanks for an excellent group and I look forward to your replies and of course any other advice you could give to make my "new" HF experience as good as it can be!

Bavoo

The best place to go for learning about the HF Ute world is the Worldwide Utility News group. Their web site is:

http://www.wunclub.com

Join the email reflector at qth.net (it's free) and you'll start getting all sorts of info. While the 2010 is a decent place to start, I have no doubt you will want to upgrade sometime down the line. I would also order the new WUN CD - a little expensive but to get you up to speed it's well worth it.

As to decoding software, well, things have changed in a decade or so, as you might imagine. There are far fewer clear RTTY stations on the air - the last news broadcasts left HF RTTY about the time you left - but there are many other things to hear, as you will discover. If you're itching to investigate some software, the Utility Monitoring Central site (which is found on the WUN website, in the links section) will begin your education.

I'd start with the CD and subscribing to the WUN. You will, no doubt, have many questions about what you're reading - and maybe hearing - and the WUN mailing list is the best place to find the answers.

73s and GL...Mike