Shortwave radio

Furryanimal said:
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Thanks for posting, that was very interesting.
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I would imagine that maintenance cost of that antenna structure would have become formidably high at some point and I would shudder to think about how well it would deal with high winds.

Phasing all those individual active element to form a cohesive beam would be formidable, especially for a high power transmitting antenna.

The ground plane for something like this would have to be extensive with radials going out great distances and soil conditions might create a large battery effect.

Quite certainly, that signal would have disrupted Soviet systems just as much as they did ours. The waterfall display suggests lots of harmonic and intermodulation distortion products. So I don't understand what advantage they thought they would gain. Over the horizon radars in the HF range would be highly inaccurate given the dependence on skywave.

My guess is that some Russian contractor sold their government a bill of goods here. The overall payoff does not seem that it would be very high.

(LOL, not like we don't get sold overpriced useless stuff.)
 
Furryanimal said:
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Pecos said:
Thanks for posting, that was very interesting.
.
I would imagine that maintenance cost of that antenna structure would have become formidably high at some point and I would shudder to think about how well it would deal with high winds.

Phasing all those individual active element to form a cohesive beam would be formidable, especially for a high power transmitting antenna.

The ground plane for something like this would have to be extensive with radials going out great distances and soil conditions might create a large battery effect.

Quite certainly, that signal would have disrupted Soviet systems just as much as they did ours. The waterfall display suggests lots of harmonic and intermodulation distortion products. So I don't understand what advantage they thought they would gain. Over the horizon radars in the HF range would be highly inaccurate given the dependence on skywave.

My guess is that some Russian contractor sold their government a bill of goods here. The overall payoff does not seem that it would be very high.

(LOL, not like we don't get sold overpriced useless stuff.)
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Oh yes the infamous Duga-3. Every hf Amateur radio operator felt it's sting
 

All these discussions take me back. I have had a ham radio license since 1953. I built lots of Heathkits and really enjoyed it. My final station boasted a 4 element 3 band beam antenna, and I had built a 2 KW linear amp to go with it.
I was also active in mobile radio in my car.
Fast foward about 50 years and everything is microminiature. I still have my 1974 aeronautical transceiver and my 2018 one that is 1/4 the size and has much more capability.
 
bowmore said:
All these discussions take me back. I have had a ham radio license since 1953. I built lots of Heathkits and really enjoyed it. My final station boasted a 4 element 3 band beam antenna, and I had built a 2 KW linear amp to go with it.
I was also active in mobile radio in my car.
Fast foward about 50 years and everything is microminiature. I still have my 1974 aeronautical transceiver and my 2018 one that is 1/4 the size and has much more capability.
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Long time no hear. What brand and model was the 1974 aeronautical radio? Speaking of microminiature you can't get any smaller then an SDR stick and Raspberry Pi. Take care.
 
The Russian Woodpecker a/k/a The Steelyard a/k/a Duga 1 and 2 OTHB-R

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www.interestingengineering.com/the-russian-woodpecker-the-soviet-signal-that-could-be-heard-on-the-radio

www.qsl.net/n1irz/woodpeck.html

www.englishrussia.com/2008/04/28/duga-the-steel-giant-near-chernobyl/

www.arrl.org/news/surfin-remembering-the-woodpecker

www.hfunderground.com/wiki/index.php/Duga_Radar_(Russian_Woodpecker)

www.cnn.com/travel/article/duga-radar-chernobyl-ukraine/index.html

www.messynessychic.com/2017/01/11/dont-trust-that-giant-abandoned-listening-device-in-chernobyl/

www.planetanalog.com/a-nightmare-for-ham-radio-operators-the-russian-woodpecker/#

www.totallylost.eu/space/duga-radar/

https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Duga_radar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russian_Woodpecker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duga_radar





 
Good morning Furry one. The one thing about the Russians is their ability to construct highly technical projects in a massive way. Many experts in the field have stated that their biggest problem is their quality control.
 
 
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Here in Europe last evening found the following good signals around 1930 GMT
Voice of Iran 6040 khz
Voice of Turkey. 6050 khz
China Radio International 7295 khz and 7415 khz
A good Englixh signal on 9395khz..Web SDR suggested Radio Miami International.Religious broadcast being relayed.
 
FastTrax said:
Chet that boat anchor looks like you got it from here.
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www.fairradio.com/our-products/

https://egumball.vids.io/videos/7c9...ics-store-in-lima-oh-fair-radio-sales-company


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www.skycraftsurplus.com

www.facebook.com/SkycraftSurplus/

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I got my "boat anchor" in the mid '70s. It sat in a pile on the floor with other miscellaneous stuff. I could spend a lot of time in those establishments you mention. It would be a trip back in time.
 
 
When I was a kid, I had an AM/FM transistor radio that my dad gave me for helping build the addition on our house (within the limits of what a kid can do). I stretched a coil in the radio enough to cover the air band just above the FM band. Some of the other kids in the neighborhood and I used to go down to Van Nuys airport and listen to the planes coming and going. I could also get traffic from LAX, but at Van Nuys we could watch the planes with binoculars.

I think this thread may inspire me to drag out my Sony 2010 one of these days. ;)

Tony
 
I don't know anything about shortwave radios and the hobby. But, tomorrow I will be the owner of a Tecsun R9700DX Shortwave Radio ($54.90 plus Free Shipping). I am intrigued about this older technology (I am a bit burned out with digital) so I decided the best way to explore this new hobby is to start off with a good beginners unit. I also purchased a retractable antenna since I will be using the radio in my second floor office. So, I may a few questions in the coming weeks. Any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

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