[Lowfer] LW AM Stations Heard in N.A.

[Gedas]

Hi Steve and thank you very much for that excellent summary. I think 
your long wires have a lot to do with it !  I saw a YT video of a SWL in 
the Midwest that used a huge beverage (I think about 1/2 mile) and was 
switching around to several LW AM frequencies......it was really, 
really  impressive !  But this was some years ago when many stations 
were around and prop was quite different.

I have several followup questions based on your reply, I hope you (and 
the group) do not mind.

When you said you lived in the PNW were you able to pickup the European 
LW stations from there or were these Asian LW stations?

For Morocco, what (local time for you) did you usually find signals the 
best for Europe? I seem to see the strongest carriers starting about 3 
hrs before my SR up until about an hour before SR.

I also do not understand why, with carriers peaking 20 dB out of the NF 
I am not able to detect any modulation. Even if I did have a local birdy 
on that frequency I should be seeing some signs of the modulation in the 
waterfall but I am not. I usually listen using 2-3 kHz AM (usually SAM) 
and 2-3 kHz USB or LSB. In either case it's a no-go.  I will concentrate 
on Morocco although it is probably too late in the season.

What do you use for a receiver?

TU again, most helpful. 73

Gedas, W8BYA EN70JT

Gallery at http://w8bya.com
Light travels faster than sound....
This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

On 3/8/2023 11:21 AM, Steve Ratzlaff wrote:
> I try for LWBC for many years now; when I lived in northeast Oregon I 
> regularly heard them during the winter months. Since moving to Arizona 
> (20 miles southwest of Tucson) 12 years ago I have been thrilled to 
> also be able to hear LWBC. However this season has been the worst that 
> I can remember, apparently due to the high and frequent solar 
> activity. Only a few times so far this season have I heard any LWBC 
> when normally it's been at least several times a week. For me, 171 
> Morocco is generally the best, then the low pitched data signal on 162 
> France, 198 BBC, 252 Algeria; I've heard others (when they were still 
> on), but much less frequently. I first check in CW mode; I use 100 Hz 
> bandwidth--listening for the carrier. If strong enough then I switch 
> to SSB or sometimes AM and check for modulation. Since the 198 DIW, NC 
> NDB has been off past year or so, anything on 198 is LWBC from BBC. At 
> least for me, it doesn't take too much detected carrier to be able to 
> get at least some recovery of the modulation. Surely a 20 db out of 
> the noise carrier ought to produce some modulation for you!
>
> I'm fortunate (living on my brother's 20 acre property) to have room 
> to string  700' N/S and  900' E/W unterminated longwires; usually the 
> N/S gives better LWBC reception at my location.
>
> 73,
>
> Steve AA7U
>
> On 3/8/2023 9:01 AM, Gedas wrote:
>> New member here, TU for allowing me to join in.
>>
>> I have a question regarding the ability of N.A. SWL's being able to 
>> receive the few remaining LW AM stations from Europe and N. Africa.
>>
>> I have a not so horrible VLF-MF SWL station consisting of a RSPdx and 
>> several wire antennas. My usual best is a 75m band Inv-V at 70. At 
>> times a pure 40m elevated vertical works well. I am in a fairly quiet 
>> rural area and keep my antennas several hundred feet away from the 
>> home and I like to use VLF CMC at both ends of my coax cables for 
>> insurance.
>>
>> In any event, I have been trying for several years to at least hear 
>> some modulation from a station like BBC-4 on 198 kHz. I can always 
>> see it's carrier, at times 20 dB above my NF but never able to detect 
>> any sidebands or hear any modulation. I have monitored many times 
>> (sometimes right from my sunset to sunrise in the UK) and can see the 
>> several hours of peak propagation but even then it's a no-go for any 
>> actual reception.
>>
>> I am located in Indiana which I know is going to make it a lot more 
>> difficult compared to stations along the east coast of the states.
>>
>> I have absolutely no issues detecting all of the dozen of so FSK/MSK 
>> military signals from various parts of the world and can nicely hear 
>> the ticks of DC77 and digital data from TDF on 162 kHz. TDD and Negev 
>> are easy to spot as well. Alphas no problem etc, etc, etc.
>>
>> So what is the issue with me not being able to hear any LW AM 
>> stations? I realize as of today only a few remain and I am hoping I 
>> can nab one before they are all retired. Are others able to hear BBC 
>> or Algeria from N.A. and if so what is the secret ?
>>
>> TU 73
>>
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