Re: [IRCA] Reviewing SDR DX

[James Renfrew <jim.renfrew@xxxxxxxxx>]

It's simple:  give up your job, give up relationships, give up sleep, give
up eating ... then it's a breeze.

I have Perseus recordings from a week of Newfoundland DXing for 2010, 2011,
and 2013.  In have gotten through about half of the recordings.  If you
wonder why we haven't published a DXPedition report from these different
years its because we haven't finished reviewing all of the recordings, that
typically involve 5 minute TOH and BOH segments from 1500-1000z for seven
days.  It can be especially challenging because we are generally listening
to other languages and this requires listening to some clips a dozen times
or more, and often sending them out to DXing Info for more expert ears to
decipher.  Also challenging is that TOH in Brazil can float anywhere
between xx58-xx02 so you really have to listen to the full five minutes in
order not to miss something important.  And then when different ones of us
spot a mystery, we then may need to go back to files we thought we had
already completely reviewed to find something new.  I make short clips of
each station I ID, but I am reluctant to erase any of the raw recordings,
with the wild idea that I may go back to them someday for search for more.
 So I now have three 2TB storage units filled with recordings.  Lately I
have barely DXed at home because I have an endless supply of awesome DX
from Newfoundland.

On the other hand, lest you think this is a bad thing, the wealth of
receptions possible is truly amazing.  In 2010 I learned to quickly scan
the entire band at the BOH to hear Iran chimes, so - voila! - a dozen or
more new loggings (some of them extremely weak) that I would have missed
live.  In 2013 we did timed recordings of RNE local IDs and I got several
dozens of new ones where my log book had previously listed each one as
"synchros".  And there's nothing more incredible than to have full
recordings on a night that's really DX hot.  We had that on NOV 11 2013
with a great South American opening to Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay,
sometimes with several stations deep on many channels.  One of our guys
actually runs two Perseuses (Perseii?) one dedicated to the Euro wire, and
the other to the Brazil wire.  That's going to be a lot of review.

I did a single 6:00 AM timed recording last week from home for the first
time in a while, and it took the entire next day to get through it (yes,
family and work required some of my attention, too), and I got one new one.
 But NOV 11 2013 in Newfoundland is taking two months to complete!  There
are dozens of new ones, adding to my master Newfoundland logbook that is
already around 1200 stations.  And I have six more days to review,  I think
I'll be back in Newfoundland long before I finish reviewing 2013.

Here's my solution:  DX apprenticeships.  Newcomers to the hobby have to
put in several years as apprentices listening to my recordings, finding the
gems in the rough for me to review later.  Once they get through the
apprenticeship they can go on to be Perseus Masters, too!  Anyone want to
be my apprentice?  I can promise long hours, a crash course in Portuguese,
but great satisfaction in presenting me with the fruits of my DXing.

Jim Renfrew, Holley NY


On Sat, Jan 11, 2014 at 5:02 PM, Les Rayburn <les@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I'm curious to hear how other DX'ers tackle "data management" when it
> comes to the use of I/Q recordings from SDR receivers. My SDR-IQ allows me
> to record 192 KHz of bandwidth, and using HDSDR software, I've started
> recording TOH periods overnight. I record about four minutes per hour,
> starting at local sunset and continuing through sunrise.
>
> This provides a total of 19 MW channels to be reviewed per hour, Recording
> for 4 minutes over a ten hour period, leaves me with 760 minutes of data to
> be reviewed daily. Some channels are nearly impossible to find new ones on,
> so these can be reviewed quickly, checking only for unusual conditions. But
> it's still a massive amount of data.
>
> Since starting this just a few days ago, I've already deleted days of
> recordings, unchecked, simply because there is no practical way to review
> it all. Perseus owners would have an even bigger issue, due to the much
> wider bandwidth that can be recorded. The entire AM band for instance!
>
> What strategies have other DX'ers found successful for managing the data?
> I've considered recording just the sunrise/sunset periods, or waiting for a
> night with unusual conditions to record TOH ID periods only, or even simply
> recording for a week in mid-winter, then taking my sweet time to review
> them during the summer.
>
>
>
>
> --
> --
> 73,
>
> Les Rayburn, N1LF
> 121 Mayfair Park
> Maylene, AL 35114
> EM63nf
>
> 6M VUCC #1712
> AMSAT #38965
> Grid Bandits #222
> Southeastern VHF Society
> Central States VHF Society Life Member
> Six Club #2484
>
> Active on 6 Meters thru 1296, 10GHz & Light
>
> _______________________________________________
> IRCA mailing list
> IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca
>
> Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the
> original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
> IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers
>
> For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org
>
> To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
_______________________________________________
IRCA mailing list
IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca

Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers

For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org

To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx