Anything in New England to hear?

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mainetrunk

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Hi guys, I have seen 1,000 posts. Everything is by region or overseas. Outside of 11.175, I havent heard jacksquat. Now that I have the interference pegged, it would be nice to hear something -utility wise- . Thx , Ron
 

mjk3997

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Hi,not sure about your setup or antenna but if you heard 11.175 in your area then you should,if conditions are fair have some luck with these... 5.598 MWARA NAT-A 5.696 US Coast Guard night primary 9.007 MACS (Canadian Military) 8.992 HF-GCS..Turn your radio on after sundown.Should hear activity on these,especially 5.598. New York ,Gander,Santa Maria.Good luck
 

ka3jjz

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maine activity on the ute bands is so wide and varied that it's hard to know what to recommend. Certainly what mjk put out is a start, but it barely scratches the surface.

To understand what you can hear, you need to understand a bit about HF propagation - to start, you should listen above 10 Mhz or so during the day, but at night, drop below that. In addition we're recovering from a solar storm that really stirred things up - you see, not only does the time of day matter, but the activity from old Sol can really mess things up. Things are going to be a bit messy for a few more days at least.

Here is a very good starting point for understanding this topic - note that you need the Flash player to be active to view it...

Propagation Primer - Flash Movie by AE4RV

Of course the receiver and antenna play a big role too. What are you using?

Looking at logs takes a bit of a discerning eye. The UDXF is a worldwide group, so there's a fair amount of folks from places other than the US. Keep in mind that what they hear in Europe you might not be able to hear here, due to very different daylight/darkness patterns. When you look at logs, watch for those reports from your general neck of the woods. For example, logs from a DXer in NH are much more useful to you than ones from California for exactly the same reason.

While there are some stations that have fixed schedules, many don't. You simply need to know what it is you're looking for, where they have shown up in the past, and at what time. That's only a start - there's much more to it, and it's often learned by looking at logs and tuning the bands. Start to learn the 'feel' of how signals are propagating - after a while, you will recognize the signs of disturbed conditions even before you check websites like Spaceweather or listening to the 18 min past the hour broadcasts of WWV

Mike
 

mjk3997

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Without knowing your setup or antenna.If you heard 11.175 give these a try in the evening 5.598 NAT-A/C 5.696 US Coast Guard 9.007 Canadian Military 8.992 USAF.You should hear activity on these channels assuming conditions are at least fair. Especially 5.598 you can expect to hear New York,Gander and maybe Santa Maria.Good luck
 

mainetrunk

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Wow, I did not realize outside of solar flares, space weather hits us too. NEVER thought of it. So many factors. Well, at least now I have the --tech specs-- . Thank you sir. We must have some good sattelites-- to take that beating and not crash.
 

n2pqq

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What radio are you using ?
What are you using for a antenna ?
Can you hear the broadcast bands ?
 

mainetrunk

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Cool, another Alinco in New England. Thx ka3jjz. Will follow that. Right now I got a PL259 6 foot ( 1 inch of wire showing ), to bnc to Alinco. Also, the smr-bnc , that junction lets static in. Unlike the rubber duckie that is all rubber. No signal loss. It's gold. Ok, so this is pretty much a closed topic.. Thx
 
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SCPD

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I just heard my 1st airport wx checkin. On 6757. HF Reference Material I got 1/2 of these programmed in, but on 6757, I couldnt get it tuned right. Not AM,USB, or LSB could get it right, unless its supposed to sound like that.

Download this and print a copy out.

http://www.arinc.com/sectors/aviati...nd_data/radio_svc/jeppesen_charts/ARINC-3.pdf

Here's the west coast version which should give you a good idea of conditions. If you can receive SFO then you're doing good.

http://www.arinc.com/sectors/aviati...nd_data/radio_svc/jeppesen_charts/ARINC-4.pdf
 

SCPD

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Cool, another Alinco in New England.

You have to realize the radio in which you own... is not ideal for HF at all. Portable wide-band receivers have ALWAYS had drawbacks. Yes, they do work to a point and yes, they can be used for HF; however, an equivalent Alinco R8T would make for *much* better listening experience.

Alinco DX-R8T Alinco DX-R8 Receiver

PS. I highly recommend picking up a copy of the 2014 ARRL Handbook which will help you to understand more about how radio works

2014 ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications Softcover: arrl: 9781625950017: Amazon.com: Books
 

cj5

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Alinco dj x11t, rubber duck, yes. Heard spain last night

Impressive you heard Spain and 11175 kHz. With a rubber duckie antenna? Wow!

I used to live in New Hampshire, and when I listened to stuff I used an Icom R-75 fed by a Princeton Sky Wave end-fed wire antenna. I picked up lots of stuff, including European numbers stations, that have long since gone off the air. The antenna is everything. The radio is important too, but using a rubber duckie is really not the way to go for enjoying HF listening. As someone else has specified, you may want to trade up for a receiver specific to shortwave/HF operation. I have owned and used an Icom R-20 portable widebander, and even when it was hooked up to the wire antenna, it was not as pleasing of an experience as was the R-75.

Good luck, and I hope you have a good time surfing the dial.
 

mainetrunk

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Yes sir, I heard those 2, but it was not easy. This Alinco grabs the airwaves well, many radio stations. The snr/bnc connector seems to be a static attractor. No crap static with rubber duck, wish it taller than 9 inches. Going up to a spot to check midday signals, no interference there. I hope. Thx
 
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ka3jjz

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Well maybe in NZ...midday above 10 Mhz or so is where you want to be. Of course, that greatly depends on what it is you're trying to hear....Mike
 

mainetrunk

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I just went to a high point to check locals, any cb or anything. I got radio stations great. But at that height and just power wires going by, it should've been quieter than it was. I ran into alot of 2 mhz interference. I think its time to think about the next step up.. for equipment. The problem with my Alinco is you cannot arrange the search patterns. So I have to run thru 2--28 mhz... Hmmm, right now-all is quiet, no static. According to MY air evaluator, I should be getting some, but none. Full moon is 1/3 up. Too quiet, Will try the bnc/sma to pl259 wire with 1 inch of bare wire at the end. That made all the difference. Now alot of interference.. Hmmm, ruber duck or interference? Which to go with.??
 

majoco

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I don't understand the 1 inch of bare wire at the end. End of what? I guess the antenna socket on the radio is SMA to which you have fitted a SMA to BNC adapter which then goes to a bit of coax cable with a PL259 plug on the other end but where's the 1 inch of bare wire?
 

majoco

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So the one inch of bare wire is the antenna, the rest is screened coaxial cable? Perhaps you need 10 feet of unscreened bare wire for the antenna.
 
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