Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Latest Cooking Recipes from the King´s Village DX-QTH


Just tune into my cookin pot at the King´s Village DX Hut!
Well, this is not an April Fool, but my latest tests using the mobile Internet connection (a 3G-mobile modem / DNA operator) reveleas that by putting the modem with the enclosed antenna into my old cooking pot makes the connecting better by using the old pot as an reflector! The antenna setup can been seen at the picture above.

My current setup includes the Perseus & Perseus server software (4.0beta), the above modem and a small HP110 laptop - all these connected to an antenna. During the latest tests I have been still using my Asia-antenna - a wire under the snow (picture). According to several users of the system it seems to have been working OK for the most of the time - at least when the connection has been using "3G" (maximum upload about 300 vs download around 700 kb/s). The server is configured as "GPRS"-mode and the speed has been around 50-90 kbs most times. The picture below shows a typical screenshot of another Perseus user listening to his own Perseus and my Perseus simultaneously on the same computer. Unfortunately it seems my Perseus was seriously off the exact frequency! Thanks MR for testing the connection.

I will inform when my server is online during the next few days and weeks (only when I am also at the QTH). Usually it will be online in the evenings / nights. Probably I will change to a longwire antenna soon. The information will be in the Perseus-Yahoo Group and/or you can see my Perseus on the Perseus server Map.

73,TK
PS: BOG/LWOG is still under the snow, but not very long ...

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Radio Nord Revival 1512 kHz


In the beginning of March (8th, 12th & 13rd) it was nice to listen to Radio Nord on MW. Of course the reception was better on SW 6060, but it was interesting to note that both the first transmissions with 60 Watts had a readdable signal - as a matter of fact it was better than the signals of the more powerfull TX during the weekend 12-13rd March. The reason was that the first TX was a bit off the nominal on about 1511.897 kHz, so the intereference from the very powerfull Iranian (and Saudi) was avoided. The screenshot (picture above) on 12th March shows the analysis of carriers during the evening - my setup (IQ+PC) is maybe not staying on exactly on the channel, but as can be seen the difference of the carriers is only about 1 Hz, the Iranian being on about 1511.999 while Radio Nord was on 1512.000 (note that I have corrected my calibration error of 1 Hz by moving a lower scale a bit). Saudi-Arabia was on about 1511.991. What I have been told the tx of R Nord was very stable - may picture shows the variation of about 200 mHz, but that should be because of my receiver set up. The SDR-Radio IQ-Data File Analysis is a very good tool to analyse the carriers indeed.
Just looking forward into the next broadcasts of Radio Nord in May, more information from their web-page - stay tuned!
73,TK