Because of the US government shutdown, VOA Radiogram 28, first broadcast September 28 and 29, was repeated the following two weekends.

I returned to work Thursday, giving me just enough time to produce a new program for this weekend, using Fldigi version 3.21.76AH.

Once again we will test the new ability to transmit images in the MFSK64 and MFSK128 modes. This will include the transmission of the same picture in MFSK16, 32, 64, and 128. Correct decoding MFSK64 and MFSK128 images will require one of the alpha versions of Fldigi, available from www.w1hkj.com/alpha/fldigi/v3.21/  The current version is 3.21.76AN, but I think any version back to 3.21.76AB will provide satisfactory results.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 29, 19-20 October 2013:

2:53  MFSK16: Program preview
7:22  MFSK16/32/64/128: Same image in each mode
3:38  MFSK32: SpaceX launch, with image
3:34  MFSK64: Vegetables resist radiation, with image
  :27  MFSK32: E-mail address
2:11  MFSK128: Affordable Internet, with logo
3:30  MFSK64/Flmsg*: News from kimandrewelliott.com
2:04  MFSK32: VOA Radiogram logo 632x56
  :38  MFSK32: Closing announcements

*Use Flmsg (also from w1hkj.com) with Fldigi. To make Flmsg work with Fldigi, in Fldigi: Configure > Misc > NBEMS – Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg.exe file is located.

As usual, please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com  .  Audio samples and screenshots are also appreciated.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

You probably have heard the news about the US government shutdown. Congress has not sent to the White House an appropriations resolution that would allow continued funding of US government operations.

While VOA will remain on the air to provide news in its 42 languages, I will be on furlough during the shutdown and may not be able to produce a new VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 5-6 October. If the shutdown continues through the weekend, the transmitters, if they are on the air during the four half-hours of VOA Radiogram, will probably broadcast last weekend’s program, number 28, again.

After about 1500 UTC today, 1 October 2013, I will not be able to use the radiogram (at) voanews.com email account to send or receive emails until the shutdown ends.

My personal website, www.kimandrewelliott.com, will continue to be updated during the shutdown, and you can correspond with me using the email address listed at that website.

The VOA Radiogram website, voaradiogram.net, will remain online during the shutdown, but I will not be able to update it after 1500 UTC today.

Kim

VOA Radiogram during the weekend on 28-29 September 2013 included an MFSK128 gray-scale image of the late VOA jazz broadcaster Willis Conover.

The MFSK128 mode allows high resolution but is susceptible to degradations due to shortwave reception conditions. Here are some examples:

Marco in Italy produced this video of his reception 28 Sept 2013, 1600-1630 UTC, 17860 kHz

http://youtu.be/kJ2rL8xsrIM

Dennis in the Netherlands provided this video of an excerpt of the same broadcast on 17860 kHz:

http://youtu.be/J8JNeJ0NxkI

And this video is from Tim in Colorado, who listened 29 Sept 2013 at 0230-0300 UTC on 5745 kHz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm3Wzo4VdPM

The two previous posts compared images transmitted in MFSK16, 32, 64, and 128 on VOA Radiogram during the weekend of 28-29 September 2013.

This post provides samples of the four types of MFSK images transmitted 29 September 2013 during the 1930-2000 UTC broadcast on 15670 kHz:

Germany:

Italy (Rome):

Italy (Otranto):

Italy (Savona):

Puerto Rico:

Texas (Palestine):

Texas (Denton):

In the previous post, we compared images in MFSK16, 32, 64 and 128 transmitted 28 September 2013 on 17860 kHz.

This post looks at images in the four versions of MFSK transmitted on 29 September 2013 during the 0230-0300 UTC broadcast on 5745 kHz, and during the 1300-1330 UTC broadcast on 6095 kHz.

Germany 5745 kHz:

Colorado 5745 kHz:

Missouri 5745 kHZ

New Jersey 5745 kHz:

Ontario 5745 kHz:

Michigan 6095 kHz:

New Jersey 6095 kHz:

VOA Radiogram during the weekend of 28-29 September 2013 tested the new ability of Fldigi to transmit images in MFSK64 and MFSK128 as well as the previously available MFSK16 and MFSK32.

The 16, 32, 64, and 128 refer to the symbol rate, in baud, of the MFSK mode. All the images below required 1m 20s to 1m 30s to transmit. The difference is in the resolution. The increase in resolution, however, comes at the risk of more “noise” in the image caused by shortwave conditions.

Below are some comparisons of images in the four flavors of MFSK, all transmitted 28 September 2013, during the 1600-1630 UTC broadcast, on 17860 kHz via North Carolina.

Roger in Germany 17860 kHz:

Jeff in Texas, 17860 kHz:

Merkouris in Greece, 17860 kHz:

Fiorenzo in Italy, 17860 kHz:

Mark in the UK, 17860 kHz

VOA Radiogram (number 28) for the weekend of 28-29 September 2013 will continue experiments with Fldigi’s new capability of transmitting images in MFSK64 and MFSK128.

For correct display of the MFSK64 and 128 images, please install one of the “alpha” versions of Fldigi from…

www.w1hkj.com/alpha/fldigi/v3.21/

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram 28 during the weekend of 28-29 September 2013 (produced using Fldigi 3.21.76AG):

3:33  MFSK16: Program preview
5:38  MFSK 16/32/64/128 images: Large diamond
3:45  MFSK32: BBC World Service archive
4:04  MFSK64: Deutsche Welle, Radio/TV Martí, with image
1:32  MFSK128: Willis Conover Facebook page, with image
  :44  MFSK32: Email address
2:02  MFSK64: ISON comet, with image
2:29  MFSK64/Flmsg: Ultra-compact galaxy
  :37  MFSK32: Closing announcements
   
Please send reception reports and, if possible, screenshots and audio samples to radiogram@voanews.com  .

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

This weekend on The Mighty KBC, via Germany, I will have a minute of Olivia 64-2000 under a familiar musical tune. This will be Saturday at about 1130 UTC on 6095 kHz, and Sunday at about 0130 UTC on 7375 kHz (Saturday 9:30 pm EDT). Reports to themightykbc@gmail.com .

Tim, K0RUS, in Colorado, produced this YouTube video of his reception and decoding of VOA Radiogram, 21 September 2013, 1600-1630 UTC, on 17860 kHz. The audio drops out about nine minutes in, but the video continues until the end of the half-hour program.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwlrNCiJBo

Mark in UK produced this YouTube video of his decoding of the same broadcasting, using a venerable but great looking Sony ICF-6700L receiver:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfWz0h_Mcfg

Andy in northern Virginia provides this YouTube video of reception on 22 September 2013 at 1300-1330 UTC on 6095 kHz. Propagation between North Carolina and northern Virginia is usually very good at 1300 UTC on 6095 kHz, so the signal was big, and the decode flawless:

http://youtu.be/Um2Sn_thtyE

For the second weekend in a row, Takeshi-san in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, received and decoded VOA Radiogram. This time he was tuned to 15670 kHz, at 1930-2000 UTC on 22 september 2013. The distance from the North Carolina transmitter is 11,000 km, or 29,000 km if it was (more likely) via the long path:

http://youtu.be/xNOJ-a4mPNk

Jay in Ontario recorded an excerpt of the same 1930-2000 UTC broadcast. He  was using the DM780 decoding software that comes with Ham radio Deluxe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4S2dbDUyHY