E25

Two transmissions for today, the first with Arabic message and lower signal quality, and the second in English. Note also the carrier dropping prior the first sending:

• E25 9450 kHz AM 1208z 26/12 Arabic message to "835" low signal strength (listen!)
• E25 9450 kHz AM 1228z 26/12 Message to "555", better quality! (listen!)

I'm open to your suggestions why is the signal strength varies with time. Is it the ionosphere, or tho operators beam the signal to a different location/use lower power to achieve local coverage? My guess is less power due to op mistakes or the ionosphere. These guys are prone to mistakes. They're probably resources-limited so not capable for high-tech stuff like frequency diversity and beaming! After all they use only one frequency!

Update 27/12:

The translation to the Arabic message is:

6011/6011
5040/0540
8360/3806
3576/5367
5911/9511
5820/8520
6126/1662
1478/4187
6976/9667
5040/0540
7887/8778

Thanks Mr.DXer!

ZKLF Wellington, New Zealand: Ultimate HF-Fax DX is DONE!

Bring me Honolulu!

Santa brought me a nice present for Xmas on my screen. I proudly present you...

13551 kHz, 1330z 1200 SW PACIFIC MSL PROG H+48

There are no doubts anymore. 17400 km! 17400 km! ...17400 km! 5kW transmitter! A portable radio! Antenna made out of junk!

Here comes another!

5807 kHz, 1400z 1200 SW PACIFIC MSL PROG H+72

And another!

9460 kHz 1415z 1200 SW PACIFIC MSL PROG H+72

This one suffered from BC QRM. 600 Hz above was the carrier of a broadcast station interfering.

...Again the same one transmitted on different frequency...

13551 kHz, 1430z 1200 SW PACIFIC MSL PROG H+72

The next transmission (1445z) was on 3247 kHz, too low for me. OK you can't have everything!

A different chart:

5807 kHz, 1500z 1200 TASMAN - NEW ZEALAND MSL ANAL(YSIS)

(parenthesis added to avoid any misunderstandings. This is a DX blog and nothing more!)

The same chart as above, on the QRMed higher frequency:

9460 kHz, 1515z 1200 TASMAN - NEW ZEALAND MSL ANAL(YSIS)

That's all for now. I hope you're impressed, and not bored! Again, the schedule can be found here.

I'll have to run a VOACAP run for Honolulu. I assume it must be more difficult, not because of distance, but because of the frequencies they use.

The Ultimate HF-Fax DXing

This is the ultimate DX goal for any HF-Fax DXer (well, for those located near my QTH!)

13551 kHz 1434z Wellington, New Zealand. Distance: 17400 km

I decided to give a try and that's what I got! It must be the most distant HF-Fax station from my QTH. Distance-speaking, it is further than Honolulu, but maybe easier, propagation-wise. It is noisy, but it is definitely a fax transmission! The schedule can be found here. It is more detailed than the one found in rfax PDF. The service uses a single transmitter which changes frequency cyclically, as time passes.

OXT Skamlebæk, Denmark Meteo HF-Fax

For a couple of days I was looking for a noiseless reception from Denmark, to present you a decent chart. My major problem is noise for this "nearby" station. The schedule can be found in the Danish Meteorological Institute website, except from the well known rfax PDF publication. The station transmits a CW ID prior the Fax transmission, lasting for 2 minutes. The ID is "CQ DE OXT". Running my notebook on batteries reduces noises a little bit on higher frequencies.

17510 kHz, 1335z

NMG New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. Meteo HF-Fax

STANDBY FOR NMG FAX

A 10000 km path opened late this evening from my QTH to the coast of Louisiana, offering the above image (8504 kHz 0000z). While not promising, the next ones are good:

8504 kHz 0115z

And here is the original, from NOAA's National Weather Service:

Not bad for 10000 km travel! And the next one:

8504 kHz, 0125z

Again, the original:

The funny thing is that on the lower frequency, 4318 kHz, Moscow Fax and New Orleans Fax, coexist! Right now (0152z) Moscow is dominant but you can see the black vertical line of New Orlean's transmission! On the other hand, on 8504 kHz things are getting more noisy, (and my eyes more sleepy!) Oh well, I'll wait a little bit to finish receiving this chart and then to my bed!

8504 kHz 0150z

Stay tuned for more Fax & Numbers! Good night!

E25 in Arabic

Here is today's E25 transmission in Arabic. It started at 1209z on 9450 kHz, AM mode as usual. I have no time to translate it. Anyone willing to do it for me? If you are kind enough you can post the translation! I have a feeling that this is an older message, so it might be easier!

Update 26/12/2006:

A fellow DXer provided the translation to the message:

5010/5001
8411/4811
1071/1017
1866/8166
8414/4842
7760/7706
3810/8301
9728/7982
8411/4811
3717/7372

Thanks OM!

E25

I set my PC to record from receiver, from 1200z to 1300z to catch any E25 transmissions. I was lucky!

• E25 9450 kHz AM 1209z 18/12 830 8 (listen!)
• E25 9450 kHz AM 1241z 18/12 785 22 (listen!)
  

The latter has the usual signal quality I enjoy in my QTH, while the former is noisy. On both occasions you can hear the sound the transmitter makes when turned on! Cool!

CFH Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Meteo HF-Fax

The recent solar storm still disturbs the ionosphere but I keep trying DXing Fax stations. Maybe I should rename the blog into HF-Fax-something ! My recent addition is Halifax, which sometimes interferes with E10 numbers station. What defines interference? When listening to PCD on 4270 kHz, Halifax is interference, while when DXing for Halifax, the strong carrier from E10 is interference! Most of my fellow numbers stations fans will probably adopt the first point of view!

Back to subject now: 4271 kHz (among others) is the Halifax HF-Fax service and in between Fax transmissions are RTTY transmissions. More info can be found in the Canadian Coast Guard Internet Site. And here is the image:

4271 kHz 0100z

Not a stunning image but a nice addition to my collection! As the conditions improve, I hope for better ones! By the way, I was browsing old Fax pictures of mine from 2001-2002, when I started playing with shortwave. Compared to nowadays reception quality, then conditions were amazing! Later I may show you later a sample from those images. Then Japan HF-Fax was easy and clear, today is hard (for me at least). Alas, the effect of solar cycle minimum...

Emission for syntony Valparaiso Playa Ancha Radio CBV

A better "tuning aid chart" received today. While this is better than the previous one, still needed image processing (slant fix) and it's not complete. It is obvious I got the final part of the transmitted "chart".

8678 kHz, 2247z

The following transmissions were noisy so I didn't uploaded any of them. Again it is a stormy day, we had 2 X-ray flares within 20 hours.

3-day Solar-Geophysical Forecast issued Dec 14 at 22:00UTC

Solar Activity Forecast: Solar activity is expected to be moderate to high. Isolated X-class flares from Region 930 remains a possibility.

Geophysical Activity Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to range from active to major storm levels for 15 December. This activity is due to the CME observed on 13 December. Unsettled to active conditions are expected for 16 and 17 December.

That's not a promising forecast... It really discourages me from hunting other HF-Fax transmission from distant places... But right now I have Louisiana... Stay tuned...

New images from downbelow

Here are more images from CBV Valparaiso, Chile HF-Fax service. The quality is not stunning but remember, these traveled 13500 km under stormy weather! (Another X-ray flare occurred today, magnitude X3.4).

The frequency was 8677 kHz (-1.9 kHz if you use USB, as myself) and the time was 2210-2341z

8677 kHz, 2220z and 2241z



8677 kHz, 2310z and 2331z

The last one obviously is a sat image. The fact that the third picture is the best is in par with VOACAP's prediction of maximum SNR at 2300z. Impressing!

JJC Kyodo News Agency, Japan, HF-Fax

How a newspaper looks like if faxed through shortwave? My receiver gives an answer!

12746 kHz 1200z

That's how it looks like! Kyodo News provides weather, news & sports in Japanese & English via HF-Fax. Probably it is the only HF-Fax station which provides such info.

One thing to note, the service uses 60 RPM, in contrast to 120 RPM which is more common. Here and here (hi Chris!) you can read more about HF-Fax reception instructions and jargon.

Additional info can be found in Wikipedia's entry about Radiofax.

VMW Wiluna Australia Meteo HF-Fax : New image!

18060 kHz 0943z (left), actual (right).

For your convenience I present you side-by-side my received image vs. the original one found at this page. I rotated the original so you don't have to turn your head! Luckily the image found there is the one sent this morning.

HLL2 Seoul Meteo HF-Fax

As mentioned in my previous post, I managed to log Seoul Meteo HF-Fax transmission. The chart depicted below started at 0714z on 13570 kHz. I also got a couple of other charts, but this one is the less noisy. You can identify the Korean Peninsula if you turn your head towards your left shoulder!

13570 kHz 0714z

I hope my images encourage you to try DXing these stations. My setup is really simple and you can see the results it can achieve!

CBV Valparaiso Chile Meteo HF-Fax

This evening I decided to hunt for other Fax transmissions. I got Seoul and Chile! I tuned to 8677kHz at 2308z just in time to let the station introduces itself! Lucky me!

8677 kHz 2308z

The original decoded image was slanted, but I did my magic by simple image processing! Distance from me is about 12500 km. The farthest HF-Fax image I have! That's real DX!

VMW Wiluna Australia Meteo HF-Fax

A quick VOACAP run indicated that around 1000z it is a good time to check for HF-Fax transmissions from Australia. I tuned my receiver to 18060 kHz and got four charts. I can't say I'm impressed with the quality of the reception, but at least it is possible, and my decoding software manages to recognize the beginning and end of the charts.

The best one is presented below. According to schedule, it is supposed to be "S.H. 500 hPa Prog (H+48) Valid 0000". You can find how the original chart looks like in the same web page. Unfortunately, the current chart isn't available online, only an older one.

18060 kHz 1032z

Wiluna is located at 26° 35' S, 120° 13' E, about 12000 km from me! Not a bad signal for such long path! Boston is about 8000 km, so it must be the most distant Fax image in my blog!

Mysteries can be melodic

Accidentally I stumbled upon this one. Log details: 8147 kHz AM 2214z-2215z. Known as X06, it is believed to be a Russian SELCAL system nicknamed "Mazielka".

There are hundreds of different tone combinations that can be heard. I know at least one dedicated fan of them, but anyone agrees that the tones are melodic and distinguish from all the other strange-sounding signals found in HF.

E25

E25 sent a message today in English. It firstly appeared on 07/12. Here is a sound sample. Log details:

• 1240z : Carrier.
• 1242z : Buzz, 1000Hz test tone.
• 1244z : OM calling "780" in English.
• 1248z : "Message" x3

9919 3041 3340 1435 0174 4693 2918 3261 6456 8065 1745 8742 3774 3340

• 1250z : "Rebeat" x3.
• 1252z : EOM EOT.
• 1302z : Carrier down.

Note that the 3rd and last group are the same. This seems to be common practice now.

Space found

At last! Google provides 100MB of free space. This will resolve my audio samples storage issue! Now I can share my recordings with anyone! Funny, the solution was under my nose (as usual)!

Interested? Check this out!

This is S30, the so-called "Pip", but with a message. It is a brief message (probably) in Russian. You can call it rare, since few messages are transmitted; the station just send peeps most of the time.

NMF Boston Meteo HF-Fax

The sun storm continues, but the whole Earth is covering ionosphere in my part of the world. Sunlit regions of Earth are affected, and luckily it is night now.

For some reason I have a "decent" propagation path from here to Massachusetts and I can copy Boston Meteo Fax also on 9110 kHz (9108 kHz on my dial, you know, just subtract 1.9 kHz from the listed frequency!)

Reception on 9110 kHz is just a little better than 6339 kHz, so I parked my receiver there for some time. Here is a sample chart:

9110 kHz 2140z

And a chart depicting a satellite image:

9110 kHz 2151z

It is amazing that someone can receive signals from across the world, signals which travel in an unpredictable medium!

I'm pleased to introduce you... E25!

My radio listening has many aspects, from casual FM shows, to Non-Directional Beacon DXing. But the reason I love shortwave is... mysteries! So here is the first mystery station in my blog. Actually this and many other stations are called "Numbers Stations" from their fans. I am a dedicated fan of them!

E25 9450kHz

• 1213z : Oriental music intro.
• 1218z : A man started calling "835, 837 7" and repeating that many times.
• 1220z : The man called only "835". So there is a message for him.
• 1221z : "Message" x3 and then the message follows in Arabic numbers:

4010/4001 2120/1220 2816/8261 3888/8388 7698/6789
2680/6280 9084/0948 3880/8308 2120/1220 1325/3152

• 1224z : "Rebeat" x3, then the above message was repeated.
• 1227z : EOM EOT. Carrier until 1240z

For more info, check Enigma2000 Yahoo! Group.

Latest addition: Sound sample!

Major Solar Storm

The sun is shining outside, but that kills ionosphere!

I am still scratching my head... Where are my signals? Turning on the radio brought nothing but noise! Blame the antenna again! But that's wasn't the culprit. Medium wave signals were there; so something else is wrong.

Fellow listeners informed me that a major solar flare wiped out everything below 15 MHz. My favorite mystery signals were gone. Even Athens FAX was mediocre. But DDK7 still reaches me with a nice clean signal.

You can see the great spike (Bang!) in the image. Well don't forget that the vertical scale is logarithmic so actually that's a great, great spike! Stay tuned for latest space weather updates in my favorite space weather bulletin.

Let's see how this will evolve...

Later on 6 December, another spike occurred. It is also obvious in the above image. The ionosphere is still disturbed these moments I update this post...

SVA Athens Meteo HF-Fax

Athens Meteo transmits on 4481 // 8105 kHz, ~0900z-1115z. The transmission program is the same found at NOAA's rfax publication, just add 15 minutes! A sample picture follows, copied on 4481 kHz:

4481kHz 0926z

Transmission of the above chart started at 0926z (11:26 local time). I must say I've cheated a little bit. Athens' transmission originally is a bit slanted, and not spectrally pure. A spurious tone just below 1500 kHz (the black frequency) interferes and messes the reception. The image is produced with corrected slant, and using an audio bandpass filter applied to the audio recording, to keep only the useful part of the audio spectrum. I decoded the image from the filtered audio file.

Here is a spectrogram of the original audio file:



You can see the spur just below 1000Hz. It seems to be a transmitter problem and not QRM.

Sometimes, prior and after the program session, voices and chat between staff can be heard. While I'm a SWL for some time, I haven't stumbled upon Athens Fax transmissions. So maybe it is a come-back after a silent period of time?

DDK7 Hamburg Meteo HF-Fax on 15988 kHz

For a couple of days I received this one. Excellent signals and almost free of noise. Maybe one of the best Fax receptions I have. Here is a sample picture:

15988 kHz 1336z

Now it's time to send them a QSL report!

Welcome!

So... It was about time! A blog created after a lot of thoughts. They led nowhere, so I grabbed whatever handy and started a blog here! Sometimes isn't productive to infinitely evaluate available solutions. Just do it and that's all!