Some VOA Radiogram listeners had a chance to try the beta AndFlmsg app – Fldigi for Android devices – during the weekend of 7-8 March 2015 (program 101).

Ricardo in Spain provided this photo of his decoding using a four-year-old Samsung Galaxy S2 and an equally small Icom IC-E92D 144/440 MHz transceiver whose wideband receiver includes HF …

Ricardo also provided these videos of his And Flmsg decoding …

https://vine.co/v/OEd9KZZTj5h

https://vine.co/v/OEdQ6rUXibi

Emiliano in Italy also decoded the 15670 kHz transmission and provided this screenshot …

Merkouris in Greece decoded the 17860 kHz broadcast …

And this from Philip in the Netherlands, same time and frequency …

Here is my decode of the 5745 kHz transmission, using a Sangean ATS-909X with a patch cord to an inexpensive Asus tablet …

Most decoding was via “acoustic coupling,” i.e. placing the radio’s speaker next to the Android device’s built-in Mic. (Emiliano placed one half of a set of earphones next to the built-in mic, while listening with the other half.) This generally was successful.

Feeding the audio via a patch cord is more complicated. Some Android devices do not have the TRRS, 4-pin jack that accommodates an external microphone as well as headphones. If the TRRS jack is available, an adapter is necessary to provide a separate audio input. And, finally, the audio level must be adjusted. Even though an audio cable is plugged in, this does not turn off the built-in mic unless the audio through the cable reaches a certain level. On the other hand, AndFlmsg (like most decoding software) likes a low input level. I have found that, with a higher input level, the decode is good, but the waterfall is noisy, with the trace of the MFSK32 signal difficult to see. Experiments will continue.

Some additional information about this weekend’s VOA Radiogram, program 101…

Live Hangout: Lorenzo in Italy has organized a live hangout just before and during today’s 1600-1630 UTC broadcast. It begins at 1550 UTC at this YouTube URL (new):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3gQW8PeV8Q

Most of the discussion will be in Italian, but it’s fun to listen to even if you don’t understand Italian.

Shortwave Shindig redux: A recording of last weekend’s Shortwave Shindig at the Winter SWL Fest will be broadcast by WRMI in Florida Sunday at 0300-0400 UTC, that’s Saturday (today) evening 10-11 pm EST, on 7570 kHz. The Shinding includes an image in MFSK32. There is no RSID, so have your software set to MFSK32 and centered on 1500 Hz. Reception reports to David at shortwaveology (at) mac.com .

Flmsg:  For this weekend’s Flmsg transmission, if you get an “ignore errors?” prompt, click Yes.

The wandering RSIDs: Some of you think the problem is not the audio level from the radio to the computer, but at the transmitter. And you’ve provided some useful evidence of this. More about this soon at voaradiogram.net

More information about this weekend’s program is at http://bit.ly/1E1DBpv

Here is our radio experimenter in his white coat as received and decoded by Chris in New Zealand, 14000 km from the North Carolina transmitter, during the 0930 UTC transmission on 5910 kHz …

The picture looked better in the target area. This is from Merkouris in Greece, about 8500 km from the transmitter, 8 March 2015, 1930-2000 UTC, 15670 kHz …

VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 7-8 March will be for experimenters.

The first experiment involves the RSID, which instructs your software to switch to the correct mode and center audio frequency.

In the path few months, several listeners have noticed the RxID moves Fldigi to the wrong audio frequency, usually around 1140 kHz. I think it has something to do with the “halo” that sometimes surrounds the MFSK32 trace  …

The first news item on VOA Radiogram will include five MFSK32 RSIDs (1 to 1 ½ minutes apart) so that we can troubleshoot this problem.

Dave, W1HKJ, the lead author of the Fldigi suite, tells me that the problem is caused by “overdriven audio at the receiver.” He’s not sure at which point in the receive path that the overdrive is occurring, but his first guess is the input to the computer. “The user might be connecting a high level signal to the microphone input of the sound card (mic in on a notebook).”

Dave advises Fldigi users to look at the signal on Fldigi’s signal view. In the lower left corner of Fldigi is the WF (for waterfall) button. Click it until SIG appears.  

Dave says “never allow the audio waveform to exceed the upper and lower gray boundary lines.”

During the weather volunteers’ news item, start with your normal settings. Then try reducing the audio input to your computer. Note if the RxID directs you to the correct audio frequency, which should be 1500 Hz plus or minus a few Hz.  

To reduce the level of audio into Fldigi, if you have the SignaLink interface, reduce the RX setting. Make a similar adjustment if you have another digital interface.

If you patch audio from the earphone jack of your radio to your PC, turn down the volume of your radio.

If you are using a line out or rec out jack of your radio, the audio level adjustment will have to be made within your computer. On a Windows 7 PC, this involves a right click on the speaker icon, then select “Recording devices,” then right click on the input device.  Next, select “Properties,” then “Level,” and reduce that level.

Attenuating patch cords or inline attenuators might also help. Until recently, you could visit your neighborhood Radio Shack and buy this handy headphone volume control, which is useful for adjusting the audio level between a radio and a computer.

You could also try adjusting the RF level. This can be accomplished by using an attenuator or RF gain control, if your radio has either of these, or by using a less sensitive antenna.

The second experiment will be a resumption, after several months, of a news item in the Flmsg format.

If you do not have an updated version of Flmsg (the latest is 2.0.8), download it from [http:// http://w1hkj.com/download.html]http://w1hkj.com/download.html. To make Flmsg work with Fldigi, in Fldigi:  Configure > Misc > NBEMS: Under “Reception of flmsg files” click “Open with Flmsg” and under that indicate where your flmsg.exe program is located. If it works, Flmsg will open your default web browser and display the VOA News story on it.

One reason we are using Flmsg this weekend is that a beta version of the new AndFlmsg app for Android devices is now available. It is designed for use with Flmsg forms. If you have an Android device and want to try using this app to decode VOA Radiogram, the manual and files are at  http://www.w1hkj.com/vk2eta. Be sure to read the readme.txt file and the manual.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 101, 7-8 March 2015, all in MFSK32 except where noted:

1:29  Program preview
2:52  Description of RSID experiment*
5:25  Volunteer weather reporters in the USA*
13:09  Iran cyber war (in Flmsg format)
19:59  White House proposes restructuring of Radio/TV Martí*
27:30  Closing announcements
28:32  Feld Hell: Bonus mode of the week

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5910 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 Saturday at about 1230 UTC on 6095 kHz, and Sunday at about 0130 UTC (Saturday 8:30 pm EST) on 7375 kHz, both frequencies via Germany. Send reports for the KBC transmission to Eric at themightykbc (at) gmail.com.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 100(!), 28 February-1 March 2015, all in MFSK32, except where indicated:

  1:59  Program preview
  3:01  Cheaper method of scrap metal separation*
  8:51  University students analyze Russia’s RT TV*
17:10  Kim’s comments about two years of VOA Radiogram*
26:39  Closing announcements*
28:26  MFSK16: Bonus mode of the week

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5910 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

The Winter SWL Fest is taking place today and tomorrow (27-28 February) in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. One event during the Fest is “The Annual Spectacular Shortwave Shindig” with David Goren. The Shortwave Shindig will be transmitted by WRMI in Florida UTC Saturday at 0300-0400 (Friday 10-11 pm EST) on 7570 kHz. The Shindig will include, sometime during the hour, an image in MFSK32. There will be no RSID, so have your software set to MFSK32 and centered on 1500 Hz. Send reports to David: at shortwaveology (at) mac.com .

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 (an image showing the raffle grand prize at the Winter SWL Fest) Saturday at about 1230 UTC on 6095 kHz, and Sunday at about 0130 UTC (Saturday 8:30 pm EST) on 7375 kHz. Both frequencies are via Germany. Send reception reports to Eric at themightykbc (at) gmail.com .  

Matthew in New Hampshire has posted an item about VOA Radiogram at his Matthew’s Workbench blog …

http://www.matthewsworkbench.com/decoding-voa-radiogram/

Norberto in Italy also has a blog post dedicated to VOA Radiogram …

http://norbik.jimdo.com/voa-radiogram/

Each week, Roger in Germany produces a web page of his text and image decoding of VOA Radiogram as well as The Might KBC. This is from the 21 February 2015, and it has links to pages from previous shows …

http://www.rhci-online.de/VoA_Radiogram_2015-02-21.htm

From Lorenzo, IZ0KBA, in Italy, here’s a YouTube video of what was a live hangout of Italian radio enthusiasts on 21 February 2015. The VOA Radiogram music introduction, at 1600 UTC on 17860 kHz via North Carolina, begins at about 24:45 into the video, with the tuning signal at 26:00, the MFSK32 starting at 26:30, with visible text decoding at 26:45. There is severe interference from an other-the-horizon radar signal centered in 17850, but Lorenzo’s text decode is not bad despite the noise …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anFSt4VHKIQ

Just about every week, Tim, K0RUS, in Colorado produces a YouTube video of his reception and decoding of VOA Radiogram. Here is his video from 21 February, 1600-1630 UTC, 17860 kHz (same broadcast that Chicca decoded) …

http://youtu.be/7kd5arkYgb4

More of Tim’s videos are at his YouTube channel …

https://www.youtube.com/user/K0RUSHam

Shortwave reception conditions seem to be improving, at least in the northern hemisphere, judging from the many reception reports from last weekend. Even the transmission Sunday at 1930 UTC on 15670 kHz, which was problematic in December, provided these image decodes from Finland (left, by Juha) to California (right, by Eric) …

This weekend, again, the MFSK32 RSID will be transmitted once, followed by a 30-second tuning signal.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 99, 21-22 February 2015, all in MFSK except for the bonus mode:

  2:05  Program preview (now)
  3:04  US embassies to monitor air quality
  8:11  Philippines looks to geothermal power*
14:14  Clone Twitter accounts target RFE/RL, VOA*
20:36  Broadcasting Board of Governors meeting*
26:45  Closing announcements*
28:27  Olivia 16-500: Bonus mode of the week

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com  .

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5910 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 Saturday at about 1230 UTC on 6095 kHz, and Sunday at about 0130 UTC (Saturday 8:30 pm EST) on 7375 kHz. Both frequencies are via Germany. Send reports to Eric at themightykbc (at) gmail.com .

Just about every week, Tim in Colorado produces a video of his reception and decoding of VOA Radiogram. If you’ve never decoded a VOA Radiogram, these videos are a good way to see how the process works. You can also decode the text and images from the audio of Tim’s video.

This video is from the broadcast on 14 February 2015 (program 98), 1600-1630 UTC, on 17860 kHz, from our transmitter in North Carolina …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlJ5O3ZClkk&feature=youtu.be

More VOA Radiogram videos are at Tim’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/K0RUSHam

On VOA Radiogram this weekend, the MFSK32 RSID will be transmitted only once, just after the voice introduction, and that will be followed by a 30-second tuning signal.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 98, 14-15  February 2015, all in MFSK except where indicated:

  1:59  Program preview
  3:07  New satellite will observe space weather*
10:19  Russia may block web anonymizers*
17:08  North Korea tightens controls at China border*
24:01  Museum of Mathematics logo
27:08  Closing announcements
28:09  Bonus mode of the week: BPSK63F  

* with image  

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com  .

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5910 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 (a picture of one of Eric’s classic American cars) Saturday at about 1230 UTC on 6095 kHz, and Sunday at about 0130 UTC (Saturday 8:30 pm EST) on 7375 kHz. Both frequencies are via Germany. Send reports to Eric at themightykbc (at) gmail.com .

VOA Radiogram MFSK32 image received and decoded by Sergey in Ukraine, 7 February 2015, 1600-1630 UTC, 17860 kHz …