This is the audio I was able to capture from President Trump’s visit to Atlanta today! He announced that he would be landing at Dobbins ARB around lunchtime and I was listening.
Audio from the USAF Thunderbirds during Flyover at Superbowl LIII
With Superbowl LIII in town, I just had to turn this into a radio event somehow. Then I heard about the USAF Thunderbirds arriving at Dobbins ARB for the flyover! I watched several videos and news stories of their preparation and practice runs for the event! Then I thought, “Wonder if I can monitor their radio traffic during the big event?!?!?”
I knew the location and I knew the time. I did not know the frequency that they would be on. By the time that I got serious about this idea, they had already did their trial runs and I had no chance to monitor for any “practice”. I turned to my local ham radio reflector and asked if anyone had any resources for the poss frequencies. I received several great responses with a variety of frequencies and ranges. I decided which range was going to be my best chance of capturing the audio and I set my SDR up for the big day!
I used the SDRPlay RSP1 with HDSDR as the software. It is an amazing SDR that can monitor a 10MHz spectrum at once! It has an SMA connection on the side that I usually attach to an external antenna from the shack. For this project, I decided to go with a more portable antenna since I was planning to be outside and only 14 miles from the Mercedes Benz Stadium. I used a SMA to BNC adapter and then attached a 2m/440 antenna from an HT. This combination, alongside my surface pro tablet, got me portable! I set the software to cover as many of the “possible” frequencies as possible and waited.
While Gladys Knight was singing the National Anthem, I started to see the AM carrier toward the right side of my screen. Just after the pass was visible on TV, I started to hear some audio on the SDR. (With the spectrum recorded on my tablet, I was able to go back and replay the pass and dig out the audio that I originally didn’t hear.)
Below is what I caught condensed down to about 18 seconds.
Lessons learned…
- Prepare as much and as early as you can! I missed several of their trial runs that would have given me a good idea of their frequencies and range of my antenna.
- Don’t skimp on the antenna. As well as mine worked, anything else even with the modest of elevation would have been better than the “ruber duck” attached to the SDR. I even had a discone sitting on the ground in the back yard. I guarantee that I would have gotten more/better audio if I had that guy mounted even 10-15 feet above ground. Directional would have been even better.
End result…
- I captured audio directly from all 6 USAF Thunderbirds during the big event!
- I had fun doing it!
- And I learned from it for next time!
Till next time, 73’s! de K4NHW!
Audio from road trip to Gatlinburg
A few years ago, I remember a QSO with a friend of mine, who will remain nameless (But his call sign is KT4LS), that a repeater in Gatlinburg, Tennessee had a few “interesting” repeater announcements. In fact, my friend did, what I thought to be, a pretty good interpretation of a “sexy” announcement that I wish I had recorded for our own local repeater. (I am sure he would have really appreciated that!) Continue reading Audio from road trip to Gatlinburg
Call signs make it to Navassa!
For the past 3 years, I have found an interest in Navassa Island. I have watched several videos about the island and the Dxpeditions that have taken place on the island. I have even met several amateur radio operators who have been to Navassa in the past. Their stories are fascinating to say the least. Just hearing about the island and knowing how rare of an entity it is, and always will be, what an accomplishment it would be to be able to go there one day! Continue reading Call signs make it to Navassa!
My little CW operator!
My daughter has chosen to do a school project on morse code! I have to admit that when I heard this, I was pleasantly surprised. Not having all of the equipment that she would need, I reached out to my local club. A friend and fellow CW enthusiast loaned me a set of paddles and a keyer/oscillator.
The primary part of her presentation involves her research and the history of morse code but with the loaned equipment, she’ll now be able to give a demonstration of how it works. I offered up the suggestion that she learn how to send her name in CW to be able to demonstrate it during her presentation.
My daughter went straight to practicing her name in morse code. We worked with it for no more than an hour. She actually caught on very well . Below is a video that I took of her once she “got” it. You should at least be able to tell what her name is!
Even at 10 years old, she is making me proud of her every day!
DXCC…. well kinda!
I have had a few extra hours to spend on the radio over the last 2 months! In this time, I have dedicated myself to working on my DXCC! Its seems that DXCC is almost the probationary goal of new hams interested in working DX! In fact, some clubs only offer provisional (or associate) membership for operators who have not yet obtained their DXCC award. Continue reading DXCC…. well kinda!
The number… 73 (— — … … — —)
As amateur radio operators, we use “73” at the end of almost every QSO… ever wonder where that ever came from? Not sure I have figured out the answer to that one yet but I do have some nifty information about the number itself! Ha! Oh… and I’ve also included an excerpt from the TV show Big Bang Theory including an explanation from Sheldon of why 73 is the best number! Continue reading The number… 73 (— — … … — —)
To Infinity and Beyond!
(Well maybe not infinity, but 400 miles above the earth is close!)
So yesterday, I went to visit a fellow ham friend of mine (K4RGK) to discuss antennas and such. I had been over once before and was fascinated by an antenna setup in the back yard. It was a combination of 2 circularly polarized yagis (2m and 70cm) mounted on to a base with 2 rotors! One rotor controlled azimuth and the other controlled elevation. This was indeed designed for satellite work! Continue reading To Infinity and Beyond!
The 1 QSO Antenna (Part 2 – The Rest of the Story)
Now… for my intended purpose of the 1 QSO antenna. My sights were set on Tromelin Island (FT4TA) located just off of the coast of Madagascar. They were scheduled to be on the air from Oct 30th to Nov 10th. Continue reading The 1 QSO Antenna (Part 2 – The Rest of the Story)
The 1 QSO antenna! (Part 1 – Intention and Design)
As a new ham radio operator starting on my journey to my first 100 DX entities (DXCC), I am looking for any help I can get to get those contacts in the logbook. Most of the countries I have already logged have been by happenstance. I see a country come across the cluster so I tune down and make the contact. Not all countries are that easy. In fact, many of them are limited to small windows of opportunity! Continue reading The 1 QSO antenna! (Part 1 – Intention and Design)