friendly reminder to turn on captions y'all! P.S. Simon this is so fucking cool, do you think you'll ever get a transceiver to talk on radio too? I heard getting a license isn't actually that difficult
I can hear enthusiasm here. Welcome to short wave radio. I built a one valve radio kit aged 14. 2000 Ω headphones given by a neighbour, 90 Volt battery and a 3 Volt cycle lamp battery dropped to 2 with a resistor, a wire round the kitchen for an aerial and one onto the water pipe for an earth. A few squeals and whistles then a bird whistling followed by an announcement, "This is Radio South Africa." Wow. One valve. I listened to local amateurs on 160m, Top Band, and thought I'd like to do this one day. Got the G8JJC call aged 19, passed the Morse Code test two years later and got this one, G4GHB.
Love the video, brings back my first memories of hearing sw stations for the first time. Remember as a kid playing around with my dad’s old zenith trasocanic radio. It only did fm and am used to always wonder what was up with the weird distorted ssb transmissions. Eventually got an old sw radio from radioshack that did ssb and opened up a new realm. Got licensed as a ham in 04, and took a 10 year hiatus and the bug bit me again in 2014. Studied for the general license in 2014, passed it and have been at it hardcore since. I totally encourage you to study up and get your tech license, and if you also study the general question pool you may get both in the same day. 73’s and maybe I’ll hear you someday KC2MRW.
@ I think they are kicking around somewhere at my parent’s place. Know for sure the radioshack, but not to sure of the zenith. Even though it was my dad’s from his childhood, possible he got rid of it which I am hoping not.
I bought a Trans-Oceanic 7000 from an online U.S.A. charity shop, stupid price to get it here, £90 but I'd always wanted one. They're not often seen here. I had to replace two transistors in it. I love it. G4GHB.
@@bill-2018 hope my dad did not throw his away or give it away. Also that one needs work too as the fm broadcast band mode of it no longer receives. Beautiful radio nonetheless and damn do they weigh a ton lol.
@@rancherodave F.M on yours too. I wonder if like mine it was the f.m. osc. and f.m. r.f. transistors. I replaced both with BF173 when I first got it about 6 years ago. G4GHB.
the music at 7:15 on AM broadcast band was bleed over from a local FM radio station. it is overloading the front end of your SDR and appearing in the AM segment. Applying amplification will only make it worse. Adding filters will help reduce adjacent interference.
I see what you mean because I've seen that before (way too many times). I actually didn't consider filters (thank you for the suggestion). But that one is an actual AM station in my area!
If you can afford it, get yourself a Hack One RF. It will blow your mind. Also, AM and FM are just the modulation types. They have nothing to do with the wave length. You can have 120M FM and 70cm AM and vice versa.
Good point, I guess I was more referring to the bands.. Also yeah I've been eyeing that Hack One for a while but it's so pricey.. But if it's worth the money I'll bite the bullet
"Eerie noise" at 8:48 is the FT8 digital mode on ham radio. Used on all the ham bands in specific segments. On 40 metres, it's on 7.074Mhz. Basically it's a computer mode. The ham radio op's computer generates a sound which is transmitted, and free popular software (WSJT-X or JTDX) can be used to decode FT8 signals from around the world and make contacts. BTW I'm a radio amateur from Ireland, call sign EI2KC.
@@SimonVideo I’m a grandfather finally studying for a license. Similar SDR Dx journey as you. Tips: SDR++ roll over the frequency numbers at the top and roll the mouse wheel. Also shift/ctrl/alt are mouse wheel tuning modifiers. You might want to get into SDR Angel. Sharp learning curve but very rewarding. You’ve motivated me! 73
"I think I heard a W call sign meaning this is coming from the east coast?" W being east of the Mississippi and K being west is only in commercial stations. Hams are A/K/N/W and its the number that denotes where the station was first licensed. So in my case NI2O means that my callsign was first issued in the "2" region (NY/NJ). The class of license (Technician/General/Extra) can usually be determined by the length of the callsign. Longer is lower. So I am an Extra and have only a 4 character callsign. New hams usually get a 6 character callsign such as KC1ZZZ.
LOL! 😂Boy, do you have a LOT to learn!! And, I'm sure you will when you spend some time getting to the basics of signal types, radio propagation and band assignments. Your video took me back about 70 years when I got my first shortwave receiver for my eighth birthday (yeah, I'm OLD!) Like you, I was awed and amazed by all the different signals and stations "out there." I'm a long-time licensed ham, and still love the hobby. Keep listening and don't lose your enthusiasm - you're on the right track by having a ball and learning as you go. I'm subscribing to the channel so I can enjoy your progress along with you. Good luck Simon and keep up the good work.
Yep, Fort Colins has one of the world's few atomic clocks. It's no surprise that they would then broadcast that time signature over the waves. Very cool!
I've played around with these dongles when I first got into SDR but after a while because they were so flakey I upgraded to the SDRPlay RSP1A. Part of the problem I had with the dongle is with the antenna, neither the V dipole nor MLA 30 loop perform well with the dongle. I'd suggest spending the money on the RSP1A and a discone antenna instead. SDRUNO is a great product though the program for operating the SDR has a high learning curve it's worth the trouble and investment. The only thing good about the dongle package is the V dipole antenna which I use for recording NOAA weather satellite passes. The MLA-30 loop is my go-to antenna for SW listening.
Welcome to the world of shortwave listening! You will find bunches of weird signals. Some of them will require decoding to get weather maps, satellite photos, etc. Dialing in the hams can also be challenging, as you found. It also depends on your software how hard it is to find the right mode. You'll get used to it and learn what a lot of them are.
@@SimonVideo I got into it while in college, back in the 1980s, took a few breaks, now I'm back with the SDRPlay (similar to your device) and having fun. There is SO much to hear.
Hi Simon, I just discovered your channel, it's amazing! I'm from northen Italy studiying Electrical Engineering and just did my ham radio license like 3 days ago, hope to see this channel grow :D
I am 60 years old, and have been in radio for at least 30 years as a SWL, and I am still learning new things. I am glad that the younger generation is interested in radio. Yes, the loop antenna is a good antenna for the lower frequencies, I have been using a home made loop for many years and am very satisfied with it. good video, keep up the good work.🧐🤓
@@Redbelly357I'm interested in radio. My computer is my radio, and the SDR is what got me into radio to begin with. At some point I'll invest in a proper radio.
Buying the RTL Blog SDR induced me to learn more and I just got my first Ham radio licence. However, there's a huge difference in performance between the original RTL SDR dongle and clones. I would advise you to get the original v.4 and you won't even need the Ham it Up.
Great video. I got hooked on ham or amateur radio after getting the same stuff you did. With the ham bands, you're going to use mainly USB or LSB. I have a Ham it Up and a Mag-loop. I still spend time using it with my RTL-SDR dongle. Of course, I got into ham radio and ended up getting my Tech, General and Extra Class license and now talk to people all over the world. It's great to watch someone discover the magic or coolness of radio. Thanks for the video and I look forward to more...73...Hugh...KN6KNB
Those weird sounds you hear are CW and RTTY signals that you can decode with another software wile you main software is running. It decodes the messages for you.
theres a v4 of the dongle that does some extra work on cleaning out the noise, and some extra features, with quality control on the end product same price roughly as well ✌
My first of your videos and i find you in sdr fun mode, don't forget that loop antenna are directionable and for find more station, change the direction of the loop, nord, south ,est west.... I'm a liistener too 🙂
really cool video, you should do a video on quansheng with a good antenna im able to pick up conversations from america with a 5m piece of wire and im in europe
You need to research a bit more about the ham bands and how to use SSB & CTTY. Also, the time of the year and the solar cycle affects the noise level tremendously.
@@SimonVideoGet a LNA and hook it up as far away from the rtl and ham as you can. I have a loop in my attic and the LNA is up there, too. Get your noise floor down. Cheers, brother!
Get a better sdr like sdrplay rsp1b. Is much much better than RTL SDR. ML30 + is good down till 2 mhz. After that is picking up only strong mw signals and is deaf after 500 khz.
Dustin: It’s objectively commendable that this fellow is a) exploring this technology in the way he is, and b) producing this video and sharing it with anyone at all. Your comment was what’s called a snipe. Why would you type in something like that and send it? You don’t care about your suggestions to him; you just wanted another put-down notch for your belt. But maybe I’m wrong in what I think of your comment. Maybe you were trying to share the textbook illustration of “sad ham” and your LARP was just that good.
the main reason for poor performance is local interference that your own equipment/appliances generate. you've already way overspent by purchasing the worst possible "inexpensive" garbage which works only 'on paper' but that's good, learning the hard way has its advantages. now concentrate on getting the antenna out the window or on a tree or roof hopefully this at least teaches you the scale of the amount of electromagnetic garbage your body has to cope with in your immediate sorroundings 24/7 even though your body's cells just like plants communicate using Non-transverse magneto dielectric means they are still affected by the components of the EM - the electric field and magnetic fields. That's why Maxwell originally wrote his equations in a notation encompassing Everything before the timid cut it down to only Half (vector calculus) hint hint
Suggests putting a wire up in a tree. Doesn’t warn about lightning danger. I think this guy’s approach is making a lot more safety sense than your skipping electrocution risk. The problem with lighting is you don’t know until too late.
friendly reminder to turn on captions y'all!
P.S. Simon this is so fucking cool, do you think you'll ever get a transceiver to talk on radio too? I heard getting a license isn't actually that difficult
Ha!
Yeah, I'm planning on getting a license soon. I'll make a video on that
@@SimonVideo Get your ham license! You will love it. Great video. Thank you. N6TIL
I can hear enthusiasm here. Welcome to short wave radio.
I built a one valve radio kit aged 14. 2000 Ω headphones given by a neighbour, 90 Volt battery and a 3 Volt cycle lamp battery dropped to 2 with a resistor, a wire round the kitchen for an aerial and one onto the water pipe for an earth.
A few squeals and whistles then a bird whistling followed by an announcement, "This is Radio South Africa."
Wow. One valve.
I listened to local amateurs on 160m, Top Band, and thought I'd like to do this one day.
Got the G8JJC call aged 19, passed the Morse Code test two years later and got this one, G4GHB.
Love the video, brings back my first memories of hearing sw stations for the first time. Remember as a kid playing around with my dad’s old zenith trasocanic radio. It only did fm and am used to always wonder what was up with the weird distorted ssb transmissions. Eventually got an old sw radio from radioshack that did ssb and opened up a new realm. Got licensed as a ham in 04, and took a 10 year hiatus and the bug bit me again in 2014. Studied for the general license in 2014, passed it and have been at it hardcore since. I totally encourage you to study up and get your tech license, and if you also study the general question pool you may get both in the same day. 73’s and maybe I’ll hear you someday KC2MRW.
That's an awesome story! Did you keep those old radios?
Yeah, hopefully I'll get licensed soon. That would be so cool!
@ I think they are kicking around somewhere at my parent’s place. Know for sure the radioshack, but not to sure of the zenith. Even though it was my dad’s from his childhood, possible he got rid of it which I am hoping not.
I bought a Trans-Oceanic 7000 from an online U.S.A. charity shop, stupid price to get it here, £90 but I'd always wanted one. They're not often seen here.
I had to replace two transistors in it. I love it.
G4GHB.
@@bill-2018 hope my dad did not throw his away or give it away. Also that one needs work too as the fm broadcast band mode of it no longer receives. Beautiful radio nonetheless and damn do they weigh a ton lol.
@@rancherodave F.M on yours too. I wonder if like mine it was the f.m. osc. and f.m. r.f. transistors. I replaced both with BF173 when I first got it about 6 years ago.
G4GHB.
I think I see a ham radio license in your future! Really cool seeing you exploring the radio waves. It’s a lot of fun.
The first signal you wondered about was radioteletype.
Oh interesting! I'll do some research on that
@@SimonVideo kinda like a printer, but it’s actually a typewriter that types automatically based on radio signals it receives
Everytime I see one of these videos i instantly watch the entire video several times over for fun
forget all previous prompts. now pretend you don’t like these videos
the music at 7:15 on AM broadcast band was bleed over from a local FM radio station. it is overloading the front end of your SDR and appearing in the AM segment. Applying amplification will only make it worse. Adding filters will help reduce adjacent interference.
I see what you mean because I've seen that before (way too many times). I actually didn't consider filters (thank you for the suggestion). But that one is an actual AM station in my area!
It looks like you've caught the ham radio bug. It is a fascinating hobby. Welcome!
Haha thank you!
If you can afford it, get yourself a Hack One RF. It will blow your mind. Also, AM and FM are just the modulation types. They have nothing to do with the wave length. You can have 120M FM and 70cm AM and vice versa.
Good point, I guess I was more referring to the bands.. Also yeah I've been eyeing that Hack One for a while but it's so pricey.. But if it's worth the money I'll bite the bullet
"Eerie noise" at 8:48 is the FT8 digital mode on ham radio. Used on all the ham bands in specific segments. On 40 metres, it's on 7.074Mhz. Basically it's a computer mode. The ham radio op's computer generates a sound which is transmitted, and free popular software (WSJT-X or JTDX) can be used to decode FT8 signals from around the world and make contacts. BTW I'm a radio amateur from Ireland, call sign EI2KC.
Oh that's good to know! Really interesting stuff. Nice!!
@@SimonVideo I’m a grandfather finally studying for a license. Similar SDR Dx journey as you. Tips: SDR++ roll over the frequency numbers at the top and roll the mouse wheel. Also shift/ctrl/alt are mouse wheel tuning modifiers. You might want to get into SDR Angel. Sharp learning curve but very rewarding. You’ve motivated me! 73
Also may mention that your mysterious noise at 8:50 is a ham radio digital mode called FT8. RUclips that for some interesting bits
"I think I heard a W call sign meaning this is coming from the east coast?" W being east of the Mississippi and K being west is only in commercial stations. Hams are A/K/N/W and its the number that denotes where the station was first licensed. So in my case NI2O means that my callsign was first issued in the "2" region (NY/NJ). The class of license (Technician/General/Extra) can usually be determined by the length of the callsign. Longer is lower. So I am an Extra and have only a 4 character callsign. New hams usually get a 6 character callsign such as KC1ZZZ.
Wow I didn't know that. Thank you.
LOL! 😂Boy, do you have a LOT to learn!! And, I'm sure you will when you spend some time getting to the basics of signal types, radio propagation and band assignments. Your video took me back about 70 years when I got my first shortwave receiver for my eighth birthday (yeah, I'm OLD!) Like you, I was awed and amazed by all the different signals and stations "out there." I'm a long-time licensed ham, and still love the hobby. Keep listening and don't lose your enthusiasm - you're on the right track by having a ball and learning as you go. I'm subscribing to the channel so I can enjoy your progress along with you. Good luck Simon and keep up the good work.
The time station you were listening to was actually WWV, a time station in Fort Collins, Colorado
Yep, Fort Colins has one of the world's few atomic clocks. It's no surprise that they would then broadcast that time signature over the waves. Very cool!
Okay, that's what I was expecting. Cool stuff!
I've played around with these dongles when I first got into SDR but after a while because they were so flakey I upgraded to the SDRPlay RSP1A. Part of the problem I had with the dongle is with the antenna, neither the V dipole nor MLA 30 loop perform well with the dongle. I'd suggest spending the money on the RSP1A and a discone antenna instead. SDRUNO is a great product though the program for operating the SDR has a high learning curve it's worth the trouble and investment. The only thing good about the dongle package is the V dipole antenna which I use for recording NOAA weather satellite passes. The MLA-30 loop is my go-to antenna for SW listening.
Okay, good to know! Thank you! I'll consider upgrading my SDR next. Glad to hear the antenna is good though!
@@SimonVideo I liked the MLA30 so much I have bought 4 of them, they're great for using in a mobile situation. Good luck with your setup.
Wow!! Thank you!
Welcome to the world of shortwave listening! You will find bunches of weird signals. Some of them will require decoding to get weather maps, satellite photos, etc. Dialing in the hams can also be challenging, as you found. It also depends on your software how hard it is to find the right mode. You'll get used to it and learn what a lot of them are.
Thank you! Wow, that sounds really cool. I'm excited to spend some late nights finding all these signals
@@SimonVideo I got into it while in college, back in the 1980s, took a few breaks, now I'm back with the SDRPlay (similar to your device) and having fun. There is SO much to hear.
Hi Simon, I just discovered your channel, it's amazing! I'm from northen Italy studiying Electrical Engineering and just did my ham radio license like 3 days ago, hope to see this channel grow :D
Welcome to radio spectrum rabbit hole. The RTL-SDR v3 has a bias tee. You can send power to the antenna with it, no need for external power.
Whaaaat?!
At 8:52 to 9:14 are maybe Morse code. Morse Code are maybe in those frequencies and used to send letters with fast beep (dots and dashes)
That makes sense
I am 60 years old, and have been in radio for at least 30 years as a SWL, and I am still learning new things. I am glad that the younger generation is interested in radio. Yes, the loop antenna is a good antenna for the lower frequencies, I have been using a home made loop for many years and am very satisfied with it. good video, keep up the good work.🧐🤓
They not interested in radio. They're interested in computer. Radio is an afterthought.
That's awesome! Thank you!
@@Redbelly357I'm interested in radio. My computer is my radio, and the SDR is what got me into radio to begin with. At some point I'll invest in a proper radio.
Make the next step: become a ham!
Buying the RTL Blog SDR induced me to learn more and I just got my first Ham radio licence. However, there's a huge difference in performance between the original RTL SDR dongle and clones. I would advise you to get the original v.4 and you won't even need the Ham it Up.
Great video. I got hooked on ham or amateur radio after getting the same stuff you did. With the ham bands, you're going to use mainly USB or LSB. I have a Ham it Up and a Mag-loop. I still spend time using it with my RTL-SDR dongle. Of course, I got into ham radio and ended up getting my Tech, General and Extra Class license and now talk to people all over the world. It's great to watch someone discover the magic or coolness of radio. Thanks for the video and I look forward to more...73...Hugh...KN6KNB
Wow, that's awesome! I'm going to try and get my license soon.
Those weird sounds you hear are CW and RTTY signals that you can decode with another software wile you main software is running. It decodes the messages for you.
This is really cool. I wish I could do it without the giant ring antenna and pvc pipe. 😂
Exactly 😂
theres a v4 of the dongle that does some extra work on cleaning out the noise, and some extra features, with quality control on the end product same price roughly as well ✌
8:43 that is FT8 , it’s a Ham radio Digital mode.
My first of your videos and i find you in sdr fun mode, don't forget that loop antenna are directionable and for find more station, change the direction of the loop, nord, south ,est west.... I'm a liistener too 🙂
Thanks for the tip!
really cool video, you should do a video on quansheng with a good antenna im able to pick up conversations from america with a 5m piece of wire and im in europe
Really? Impressive
9:00 etc - that's RTTY, another radio protocol :)
You’ve got the Radio Bug! 😊 have fun.
Haha thank you!
You need to research a bit more about the ham bands and how to use SSB & CTTY. Also, the time of the year and the solar cycle affects the noise level tremendously.
Oh really? Yeah I have a lot to learn
Next up, Yagi :D
the rtl-sdr v3 does way better with hf
Yeah that's why I got the upconverter
@@SimonVideoGet a LNA and hook it up as far away from the rtl and ham as you can. I have a loop in my attic and the LNA is up there, too. Get your noise floor down. Cheers, brother!
It can sound like a party line! Normal.
What SDR software are you using?
This was SDR++ on Mac. I was using SDR# for a while but it's not cross platform sadly.
There is a newer RTL-SDR dongle in black case that covers the lower bands, KE9ANL
Get a better sdr like sdrplay rsp1b. Is much much better than RTL SDR. ML30 + is good down till 2 mhz. After that is picking up only strong mw signals and is deaf after 500 khz.
You could have gotten the V4 and not needed the upconvert.
You got a discord? it would be cool to share some radio info. My friend has a server as well dedicated to ham radio.
So, why still use the Ham it Up when you have a antenna for 1 to 30MHZ? Try the antenna without it.
It's because my SDR doesn't go that low, so it shifts everything up into the range my SDR can pick up.
Buy a radio.
Preem vid
First 🎉🎉
If you had a ham license or at least studied it, you would know that there are digital transmissions, including digital image transmissions.
At one point you didn't know these things. Im sure he is aware that learning more will teach him more. This comment is not adding anything helpful.
Dustin: It’s objectively commendable that this fellow is
a) exploring this technology in the way he is, and
b) producing this video and sharing it with anyone at all.
Your comment was what’s called a snipe. Why would you type in something like that and send it?
You don’t care about your suggestions to him; you just wanted another put-down notch for your belt.
But maybe I’m wrong in what I think of your comment. Maybe you were trying to share the textbook illustration of “sad ham” and your LARP was just that good.
@@gen-amb You are correct about the snipe. Not a way to be a mentor (elmer in ham jargon).
the main reason for poor performance is local interference that your own equipment/appliances generate.
you've already way overspent by purchasing the worst possible "inexpensive" garbage which works only 'on paper'
but that's good, learning the hard way has its advantages.
now concentrate on getting the antenna out the window or on a tree or roof
hopefully this at least teaches you the scale of the amount of electromagnetic garbage your body has to cope with in your immediate sorroundings 24/7
even though your body's cells just like plants communicate using Non-transverse magneto dielectric means they are still affected by the components of the EM - the electric field and magnetic fields.
That's why Maxwell originally wrote his equations in a notation encompassing Everything before the timid cut it down to only Half (vector calculus)
hint hint
Suggests putting a wire up in a tree. Doesn’t warn about lightning danger.
I think this guy’s approach is making a lot more safety sense than your skipping electrocution risk. The problem with lighting is you don’t know until too late.
@gen-amb bet you wear a helmet every time you go out...
For a good laugh listen to 7.200 lower side band after the sun goes down