197 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
197 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
PIRATE RADIO SURVIVAL GUIDE
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Note: this chapter is from the book "Pirate Radio Survival Guide" written by; Nemesis of
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Radio Doomsday, and Captain Eddy of The Radio Airplane. If you like this book and would
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like to support their efforts, you may send a donation of your choice to either Nemesis or
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Capt. Eddy at PO Box 452, Wellsville NY 14895.
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Please note that some chapters refer to illistrations or drawings, these could not be included in
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this BBS version of the book. If you would like the illistrations or have other questions you
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may inquire at the above adddress.
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PROPAGATION
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Like I mentioned in the section on Frequencies, each part of
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the spectrum acts "differently" depending on many variables of
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natural conditions. Propagation is a fascinating science and can
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be studied for many years without ever learning it all! This
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section is intended ONLY as a rough guide and there are many
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books that cover this subject in more detail. Should you wish to
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learn more, look wherever radio books are sold!
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Rather than explain about such things as Sun Spots, 11 Year
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Cycles, A & K Indexs, etc. I'm just going to outline general
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propagation characteristics for each of our newly designated
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pirate bands.
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185, 87 and 74 Meters - During the hours of daylight, reception
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should be possible up to 200 miles. During the hours of darkness,
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reception should be possible up to 1000 or more miles. During
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years of low solar activity, long distance reception at night is
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not uncommon. High static levels make reception difficult during
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late spring, summer and early fall.
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48, 44 and 41 Meters - During the hours of daylight, reception
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should be possible up to 1000 miles. During the hours of
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darkness, reception should be possible up to several thousand
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miles or more. During the Winter Dawn and Dusk periods it is
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possible to have reception from the other side of the world, as
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signals follow the darkness path. Late spring, summer and early
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fall will contribute to higher static levels.
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32 and 30 Meters - During the hours of daylight, reception
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should be possible up to 400 to 1500 miles. During the spring,
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summer and fall seasons reception during the hours of darkness
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should be possible up to several thousand miles. During the
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winter months in the hours of darkness should produce only
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marginal reception.
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26 Meters - During the hours of daylight reception should be
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possible up to 500 and 2000 miles during the entire year. Longer
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distances should be possible for a hour or two after local
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sunrise and during late afternoon and early evening. During the
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spring and summer reception should also be good during the hours
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of darkness.
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22 Meters - During the hours of daylight reception should be
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possible up to 600 and 1800 miles and increasingly further during
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the winter season. During late afternoon, early evening and for
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several hours around the sunrise period, reception should be
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possible from 1000 miles to HALFWAY AROUND THE WORLD! During the
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summer months reception of very long distance can be expected
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during the hours of darkness. During the peak years of solar
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activity, this band will be "open" almost on a 24 hour basis.
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During low solar activity, this band will
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be "open" mainly during daylight hours and is especially good in
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the dawn and dusk periods.
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20 Meters - The best reception will occur for an hour or two
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after local sunrise and again during the late afternoon and early
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evening. Medium and short distance reception should be possible
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during the daylight hours. During the summer season excellent
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reception conditions may also extend well into the hours of
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darkness. This band shows highly variable propagation depending
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on the solar activity levels. During high sunspot years, this
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band will be favorable to long distance reception almost 24 hours
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a day. At mid levels, this band will produce the most favorable
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reception during the daylight hours. Sporadic E type skip, single
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hop up to 1300 miles and double hop up to 2600 miles, is common
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during early summer and mid-winter.
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14 Meters - Primarily a daytime band. Conditions should be
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optimal for long distance reception during the fall, winter and
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spring seasons. During the summer season, reception will favor
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North-South paths. Because of decreasing solar activity,
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conditions on this band will be marginal.
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11 Meters - Primarily a daytime band. Conditions are more
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dependent on high solar activity than any other band. Long
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distance reception during the daylight hours should be possible
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up to several thousand miles during the fall, winter and early
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spring seasons. During equinoctial seasons, reception will favor
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North-South paths. During the winter season, reception will favor
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East-West paths. During the summer season, reception should be
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possible from 800 to 1200 miles.
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Sources of Up to Date Propagation Information:
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Geological Survey of Canada, Geophysics Division in Ottawa.
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For a 72 Hour Forecast call (613) 992-1299
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WWV & WWVH. 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and sometimes on 20.0 Mhz.
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or you can call (303) 499-7111
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Geophysical Reports are issued during the 18th minute of each
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hour.
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Geophysical Alerts are issued during the 46th minute of each
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hour.
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"What do the Numbers mean that I hear in the Reports?"
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SOLAR FLUX - A relative indication of Sunspot Activity. The
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Range is 0 to
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200. The Higher the Number, the increased likelihood of Band
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Openings in the Higher Parts of
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the Spectrum.
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A INDEX - A relative indication of Geomagnetic Activity
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averaged over the
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last 24 Hours. The Range is 0 to 400.
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The lower the number, the
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better propagation conditions should be.
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K INDEX - The same as A Index except averaged over the last 3
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Hours. The
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Range is 0 to 5. Lower is Better! Also
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note that QUIET = 0 or 1,
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UNSETTLED = 1 to 3 and ACTIVE = 4 to 5.
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Use "Beacon Stations". If India on 7412Khz or Botswana on
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7415Khz is booming in, you can be pretty sure that the band is
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open somewhere! Time Stations make suitable beacon stations as
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well!
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Selected list of Amateur Beacon Stations:
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10.144 DK0WCY Germany 30 Watts Dipole
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14.100 4U1UN New York 100 Watts Ground Plane
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14.100 W6WX California 100 Watts Turnstile
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14.100 KH6HO Hawaii 100 Watts Ground Plane
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14.100 JA2IGY Japan 100 Watts Vertical
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14.100 4X4TU Israel 100 Watts Ground Plane
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14.100 OH2B Finland 100 Watts Ground Plane
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14.100 CT3B Portugal 100 Watts Vertical
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14.100 ZS6DN South Africa 100 Watts Ground Plane
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14.100 LU4AA Argentina 100 Watts ???
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18.080 PY2AMI Brazil ??? ???
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24.901 PY2AMI Brazil ??? ???
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This should be enough for you to start getting a handle on the
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fundamentals of propagation. The best way to learn, is to Listen,
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Listen, Listen and Read, Read, Read!
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