Yep. If you’re using SDR# (it looks like it supports the HackRF), in the ‘Recording’ tab you just tick ‘Baseband’ and press ‘Record’. Then when you want to play it back, you just link SDR# to the baseband wave file you recorded earlier.
2 Likes
It’s seems to be swinging around a bit to the north now. 2NUR and New fm starting to be received, 2HD Port Stephens a bit stronger also. Signals from the south a little bit weaker now.
It looks like the duct across to Canberra is starting to get establish, very weak Classic, News Radio, and SBS. The Hepburn forecast chart is only forecasting low to medium enhancement at best along this duct.
5 Likes
I’ve only been getting enhancement from the north today/tonight. Same areas as last night, but stronger – here are the same three stations from my video last night, but tonight:
3 Likes
Inversion is quite weak down here. Cool at the bottom of my valley but there’d be hot air just above. Blackheath (Mount Boyce) still above 20C.
1 Like
Tremendous. Thank You, truly. Will check this out this week.
Speaking of DX, I purchased an old second-hand Huawei phone with FM radio capability (uses the headphones as antenna) and I’m receive all the Central Coast FM stations loud and clear from 30 floors up in Parramatta.
EDIT: Am also receiving Newcastle tonight. 102.9FM coming in patchy but quite clear. However on second observation it seems that two different songs are playing faintly if I move the antenna. Could I be receiving two stations broadcasting on the same frequency? Fascinating stuff!
EDIT 2: Yes turns out I am. Triple M Newcastle and 2ST Southern Highlands on the same frequency. The antenna is only my headphones as I’m listening via a phone. Haha.
5 Likes
Maybe the FM co-channel canceller could help with that? Northside has always been dominant at my location, but here you can see it unmasking Brock playing INXS under Northside:
It seems like magic that a signal could be recovered like that through software processing only
5 Likes
Yes not sure how it’s being achieved. But fun to use.
Tonight I used it to uncover 100.9 Bathurst (which was under 100.9 2BACR) & I’m now listening to oldies & old classic pop music on 97.3 (heavily distorted & weak), where ABC Illawarra dominates, assuming it’s Lake Macquarie FM.
8 Likes
a correction: my 1143khz is in fact Taiwan confirmed by a Russian DXer. A Malaysian DXer has got it wrong (which I find surprising given he would be better at ID’ing Asian languages).
6 Likes
Tropo still hanging around this morning and again is coming from the south.
103.5 2BA slightly stronger then it was last night.
New catch for me on the hifi with fm dx setup, 103.7 Sky Sport Nowra, only very faint. This proves with strong tropo I will receive the new 91.7 2ST Nowra.
Also noting 2ST Bowral is the strongest I have had it with full RDS.
6 Likes
ha! - stereo pilot on 95.3/100.9 (RN) off again
3 Likes
What are they doing?
2 Likes
Here’s a challenge for the SDR phase cancellation button: 102.5 Bega under 2MBS. I reckon the signal is there a lot of the time in summer. I had Bega coming in quite well during a rare power outage that affected the entire Sydney CBD in 2009, knocking 2MBS as well as Koori Radio off the air. Didn’t get Edge FM though, as they use vertical pol.
Loads more frequencies to try:
88.3 Riverina vs WS FM (also 89.1/89.9)
88.9 Braidwood vs 2RSR (my favourite, obviously)
89.3 Rete Italia Wollongong vs 2GLF
89.7 NewsRadio Bega vs 2RES
90.1 2BS Sofala vs 2NBC
91.3 NewsRadio Lithgow vs C91.3
92.9 Tamworth vs Classic Sydney
96.1 2XL vs The Edge
96.5 2CHR vs Wave FM
97.7 Snow FM vs SBS
98.1 Power FM vs i98
98.5 NewsRadio Lismore vs 2000 FM (tropo only)
98.9 RN Griffith vs JJJ Illawarra
99.7 Hit Griffith/Rhema Newy vs 2SSR
99.9 JJJ Mt Dowe/NewsRadio Goulburn vs SWR FM
100.3 Armidale vs 2MCR (tropo)
100.7 RN Mt Dowe vs Wow FM
103.3 Goulburn/Albury/Muswellbrook vs 103.2 splash
104.5 2UUU vs Star 104.5
104.9 NewsRadio Muswellbrook vs 2MMM
105.7 Local Radio Muswellbrook vs 2JJJ
106.5 Albury vs KIIS (tropo)
107.3 Max FM vs 2SER
107.9 Move vs RN Coonabarabran/Radio Dungog
I have managed to get a few of these using a standard radio+ strong tropo. Some stations I haven’t heard at all in Sydney, such as 2CHR Cessnock.
Oh, and not forgetting 93.3, where Gosford could be phased for 2BBB in tropo.
6 Likes
Now that’s a great target list & interesting proposition.
I think I’ll print out that list - thank you.
Some targets would be more realistic than others.
In all cases it will require some intense ducting & in several cases I suspect usage of a high gain FM antenna pointed at the target just to have a chance.
In the cases of the 150kW stations [with co-channel target], the best I can achieve is a 20-30dB amplitude reduction of the local with the co-channel canceller.
I suspect one would need to be at least 50km away from the 150kW stations to even have a chance.
2 Likes
A significant easterly change has blown through down here. I’ll be on Braidwood FM (88.9) from 1900-2100 so if you pick me up, let me know via the text line that I’ll announce.
2 Likes
The Central Western Slopes stations are coming in this evening.
Out of curiosity, Dubbo seems to be the largest target audience for the Central Western Slopes transmissions, with Dubbo being over 100 km away, how well do the ABC stations get into Dubbo? There don’t seem to be any local relays for Triple J or ABC Classic FM like other regional cities have (e.g. Bathurst) – only for ABC Local Radio.
Do the Central Western Slopes transmitters have the record in Australia for the biggest distance between transmission site and the intended audience?
Edit 1: SW Slopes/E Riverina now.
Edit 2: Canberra now also coming in.
Edit 3: Batemans Bay now. The tropo seems to coming from all over the place tonight, fading between stations from different areas rather quickly.
Edit 4: An open carrier briefly faded in and then out on 107.5 (it had the 19 kHz stereo pilot) - not sure what this would be.
6 Likes
It’s to late for me to check tropo but I can answer your question regarding CWS National fm’s in Dubbo.
They come in fine on a car radio and even on a portable radio using the headphones as an antenna.
I had perfect reception on my car radio for 102.3 Triple J even in the shopping centre undercover car park.
In the motel I was staying in central Dubbo, you needed to get the right position for the headphone cord on the Sangean dpr35 to get full signal otherwise it reverted back to mono.
the local Dubbo stations Triple M / Zoo were obviously a lot stronger.
Reception is so good over this large distance because, Mt Cenn Cruaich Is 1156m ASL,
and the ERP towards Dubbo is 220KW. Is this the highest licensed ERP in Australia??
My guess is the signal would be between rural and suburban grade.
Moderate inland tropo is enough to bring the signal into my location in NW Sydney however most of the time it is fighting with ABC Classic Canberra for dominance.
I have even picked up permanent reception of the CWS ABC National fm’s in Tamworth on my car radio, they travel a very long way.
5 Likes
The highest I can see are:
- Bendigo: 250 kW
- Mount Gambier: 240 kW
- Central Western Slopes: 220 kW
- Upper Naomi, Latrobe Valley, Mildura/Sunraysia: 200 kW
- NW Tasmania: 190 kW
- Sydney, Illawarra, Renmark/Loxton: 150 kW
7 Likes
Re Cenn Crauich ABCs in Dubbo…
The best I’ve been able to achieve is about 41db. Good considering it’s 110km away but in my opinion, it’s inadequate for a town the size of Dubbo. Peak really should be 50+ db.
Car radio reception is stable, but not full stereo. Indoor reception is problematic as @Ant5476 said.
Whilst 95.9 Local Radio is the only local relay as yet, 96.7, 97.5, 98.3 and 99.1 have been allocated for the others, but these were made years ago now.
6 Likes
I was a little surprised by the lower signal readings that @Radiohead got in Dubbo. My Hyundai Tucson has a very sensitive radio and was able to pull Triple J in very well in full stereo.
Re my motel I was on the second level and the room faced north, I had the advantage of LOS. If I was at ground level and facing away the reception would have been much lower and probably pretty ordinary.
I do agree with @Radiohead a town the size of Dubbo needs low powered relays of the CWS ABC nationals, obviously the locals put up with it. If there was massive reception issues the Dubbo translators would be on air.
A good fm antenna / Omni with a masthead amp would be needed in Dubbo for Mt Cenn Cruaich to be boosted above rural grade, and to get any acceptable reception of Hit Orange.
4 Likes
100.1 2HHH Hornsby: Anyone note any changes to the signal of 2HHH lately?
I’ve noted some differences. One of the MPX changes is that the 19kHz stereo pilot carrier (SPC) has been significant boosted to ~ -17dB (SDR# measurement), up from -25dB. This change would possibly keep auto select mono/stereo radios stay in stereo with weaker reception. This higher SPC makes this station easier to ID for dxers, from observation of SDR MPX spectrum, compared to a nominal SPC level of ~22dB.
It also appears 94.1 Todays Country have dropped their previously very high SPC level from ~13dB to ~18dB.
2 Likes