Re: [IRCA] Morning TP Methodology?

[Volodya S <canswl@xxxxxxxxx>]

Nick's comments has me replying in addition.  I'm one of the guilty parties
who collect TB of SDR recordings from all over:   mostly Masset, but also
from trans-Pacific cruises, around South America, PEI, and occasionally on
really good mornings here in Victoria.  Using native Perseus software is
not very user friendly in that one cannot choose how much to fast forward,
or rewind, although one can loop a segment and try and dig out a difficult
ID.  Chuck's suggestion about SDR Console prompted me to download the
latest version last night, and I'm impressed with the ease of reviewing
files.  Certainly, it's better for this aspect than native Perseus
software.  Being very much OCD with my recordings, I do tend to listen to
them channel by channel, and many times have noted a fade in lasting for
seconds to less than a minute from fade up, to fade out, so there
definitely is lots of DX to be had if one digs enough.  Also, TOH in my
opinion is often not the best time to snag an ID if only due to adjacent
splatter from stateside stations.  How many times has that happened that
you have a station, say on 891 and the ID is coming, coming, coming, and
then SPLAT, the TOH fanfare from 890 obliterates any chance to hear an ID.
However, if one is patient, another might occur a few minutes later!   Good
discussion, all around.   I'm thinking that my wav files are a "spotlight"
into history now, as they date back over 10 years, and include many
significant dates which are picked up by the various newscasts I recorded.
Walt Salmaniw, Victoria BC
PS:   More on DXing.  When live in Masset, and especially when conditions
are hot, hot, hot, I simply am overwhelmed by the choices presented to me.
Every 9 kHz channel might present at least one TP signal, if not 2 or 3.
Where does one start???  I find that I'll simply record a really long swath
(sometimes over an hour) of spectrum, and then sit back and enjoy LISTENING
to a program that might be particularly interesting, especially NPR
stations from Alaska.  I promise myself that I'll go back and review the
SDR files, but more often than not, the real day begins with my wife, and
off we go to do things on the beach, or in town, so they simply accumulate
until, "another time".   Of course, when I return to Victoria, the job
calls, and no time is left for review, or more likely, the tele gets my
attention, as well as the fatigue of the workday, and nothing more happens
with the SDR files.  Anyone want to start processing mine???  ;-)

On Sun, Sep 23, 2018 at 2:59 AM Nick Hall-Patch <nhp@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Thanks Guy.   I agree that this is a very effective method for top of
> the hour ID searches.   However, here I'm reviewing up to 90 minutes
> of files every day, and SDR technology is capable of more than
> clicking on  a playback bar when reviewing potential DX over that much
> time.
>
> I mentioned the DXFishbarrel, which uses an older SDR, and which can
> be recorded as a video from screen.  An initial analysis of
> conditions changing over 90 minutes can take very little time.   See
> http://www3.telus.net/public/shallpat/4all/FBarrelSept2018.avi for a
> minute long analysis of this morning. (yellow, orange and red on the
> color bars indicate signals with audio) The Japanese big guns are
> there of course, but at 13:37UT, 1422 pops up for less than a minute
> in the original recording with a woman in Japanese at good level:
> http://www3.telus.net/public/shallpat/4all/1422_20180922_1337.wav
> And then, for a quick fade up and down for 30 seconds or so, check
> out 1701kHz at
> 13:44UT
> http://www3.telus.net/public/shallpat/4all/1701_20180922_1344.wav
> (Brisvaani judging by the 30Hz offset?)
>
> Those were found with that minute long scan of signals over the
> entire band, and of course there is much more, but both of those were
> unusual, so caught my eye.   So, SDR's could do this, and if anyone
> knows of software that performs similarly, please let us know.   I'm
> not a programmer, and I'd be happy to hear of someone who is, that
> can deliver a worthwhile product, as I've heard that this one doesn't
> quite cut it.
>
> This was initially developed for assisting live listening with the
> R8, nearly 10 years ago when SDRs covered only 190kHz or so of
> bandwidth, but, even in those days, the SDR-14 had a spectrum
> analysis function for up to 30MHz bandwidth.  There's an IRCA reprint
> from that time describing the details
>
> If live listening isn't your thing, then my system won't be much use
> to you, unless you operate and record your own copy for later
> playback.   But seeing that it writes to the web
> (http://www3.telus.net/public/shallpat/test/display.htm), it's a
> fairly good initial indicator for anyone in a 100 mile radius of
> here, that maybe you should (or should not?) be using the radio, and
> it is easier on the eyes than peering at over 1MHz worth of closely
> spaced lines on a screen, especially on a phone-sized screen, which
> is what I tend to use to check what is happening on the radio.  And
> once you are warned, and are live listening, its display of a
> suddenly fading up 1422kHz signal (such as this morning) will catch
> the eye far faster than one of those closely spaced lines on a normal
> SDR waterfall.  And, yes, SDR has been used for live listening
> here  for over five years, while recording at the same time....no,
> not a Perseus,
>
> Admittedly, my interest is more in propagation peculiarities than in
> logging new ones, though I've certainly never turned down the new or
> unusual ones that have turned up during these searches.
>
> best wishes,
>
> Nick
>
>
> At 18:54 2018-09-22, Guy Atkins wrote:
> >My thoughts: what Chuck describes is basically what I do for reviewing SDR
> >recordings, with whatever software I might be using. Clicking carefully on
> >the playback bar can also advance the recording in increments of your
> >choice.
> >
> >Skipping ahead in one-minute increments makes the top-of-the-hour range
> >we're generally most interested in go by rather quickly during review. As
> >Chuck described it only takes your brain a second or two to recognize if
> >there's any content worth pursuing. If not, then a quick click
> >fast-forwards you to the next minute for a second or two auditory check.
> >It's kind of the "30,000 ft. view" of the DX, and if anything seems
> >interesting you can get more granular in your review & playback...that's
> >the beauty of SDR because nothing is lost.
> >
> >What I'm listening for is audio rising up to intelligibility (in the case
> >of threshold signals that may be worthwhile to follow), or in the case of
> >signals with decent intelligibility already I'm listening for content
> clues
> >that there may be an ID, advertisement, or other helpful content in the
> >"vicinity" of that moment I'm reviewing. If so, then I dive in for a
> >careful listen.
> >
> >This minute-by-minute quick checking method is a great way to get past
> >music so you can get to an announcer's voice.
> >
> >The same approach works for bottom-of-the-hour and other in-between times
> >when an ID *might* be heard. However I save these less productive time
> >frames for after I've exhausted top-of-the-hour possibilities. As Chuck
> >said, bad or normal nights are obvious and you don't need to waste your
> >time. Were conditions shown to be great on your recording? Then you may
> >have a gold mine waiting for you to dig through...that's the fun of
> >capturing the entire band with an SDR. DXing "live" with a traditional
> >receiver or an Ultralight is another kind of fun, too. It's all radio, and
> >all good  :^)
> >
> >Guy
> >
> >
> >
> >On Sat, Sep 22, 2018 at 10:21 AM, Chuck Hutton <charlesh3@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > > Nick:
> > >
> > >
> > > If you listen to  a second or two every minute or two, wouldn't you
> agree
> > > the needed time is a percenrt or two of what it was?
> > >
> > > And many channels won't need attention at all.
> > >
> > > And bad or normal nights quickly become obvious and the files don't
> need
> > > to be studied.
> > >
> > >
> > > Nothing earth shattering here.
> > >
> > >
> > > Chuck
> > >
> > >
> > >
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>
> Nick Hall-Patch
> Victoria, BC
> Canada
>
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