Crystal controlled for each frequency in a channelized format like 163 khz ch1, 169 khz ch2, 175 khz ch3, 181 khz ch4 or something along those lines using 6khz am modulation more channels when using 3khz ssb (not sure if ssb works in claas e mode) or cw.
I just so happen to have access to several used 55 gallon drum barrels that I plan to weld together in a stack to create the 15 meter radiator. It will sit on a cement slab and have a ground radial system consisting of 15 meter long radials, about 16 total.
Then again I may just do the "Mail Box" antenna and stack these to create the 15 meter radiator. 😉
RFB
The Crow has suggested 162kHz as the primary channel for the long wave network and 180kHz as the secondary.
But for the transmitter I like the idea of the channelized design allowing actual use of any LW channel, the same way Part 15 AM transmitters are usually designed to cover the entire medium wave spectrum.
From me there is no knowledge about SSB on LW, but it will be interesting to hear what gets said by the others.
Let's look at this from the audience prospective...aka general public and not specialized interest groups equipped so well that SSB, AM, FM, CW would not matter.
Most of the available radios that can tune the LW band, like those found on the Wal Mart shelves, Radio Shack shelves etc, are set up so they receive the LW band in AM mode. For this reason, my LW station will operate A3E 99.9 percent of the time.
Having a channelized setup is not a bad idea. I believe that this should be up to each of the stations so they can select a frequency not plagued with noises or cause interference. The two frequency standards called for so far...ie 162Khz and 180Khz may not be the best choice in some locations.
I do know that both of these frequencies are very clear in my area, hopefully the same will be true in other areas.
RFB
Heres how I see it,
most Americans have no idea what Longwave is,
most Americans do not have a longwave radio.
The chance of a regular American Purchasing a Longwave Radio with SSB is slight.
The chances of him knowing how to tune SSB correctly is even lower.
The chances of him putting up with the poor Fidelity of SSB is extremely low.
Therefor I would discourage the use of SSB.
(despite it being more efficient)
As for frequencies, keep in mind most digital Tuners use 9khz steps on the Longwave band.
The available frequencies between 160 and 190 are
162 171 180 and 189.
I fully concur with Crow. If we are to re-introduce this "Lost Band" to the general public, then we must make it incredibly easy for the general public to be able to tune in and listen.
Of course any of the stations may choose which mode of operation they want to operate with. One mode will work better than another..aka efficiency factor. But does the listening public care about how efficient we can make our transmission, or would they be more concerned about being able to tune in easily and being able to actually understand the audio without all the swish swash wahh wahh?!
And as Crow pointed out....the average person has no idea what SSB is, or even what CW is. They are quite familiar with what AM is and what FM is.
So with that..why not stick with what works in the public's mind and ear.
RFB
I think it is great that this group is working
on longwave AM. Nobody is doing that,
and we can see what it is really like.
There is one thing. As you probably remember,
WTIC, the 1080 kHz 50,000 watt flamethrower
is 3 mies from me. I'm not sure why this is,
but on some of my radios that cover longwave,
there is a very strong "image" of WTIC on 180 kHz,
or around there. I suppose we will have to take
a look at that problem that some receivers exhibit.
The Dog Radio Studio 2 computer - an old piece of
junk that I used just for music files - died.
So my station has no computer at all. I have plans
to try to make the computer operational again with
LINUX, but for me, everything talkes time.
Best Wishes,
Dog Radio Studio 2
Sorry to hear about that computer. One of my automation computers power supply decided to take a dive overnight a couple months ago. I was able to repair it and restore that computer the next day. The junk pile sure does come in handy for those sudden situations.
Indeed that 1080Khz station may pose a real challenge for setting up a LW on 180Khz. You might have to settle with 162Khz.
RFB
KRLD on 1080 is also heard on 180 khz Down here as well.
By the way, I have heard KRLD up here
in Connecticut on many occasions
when WTIC was off for equipment servicing.
I understand that the chief engineers of
both KRLD and WTIC have gotten to be pretty
good friends over the years, even though
they are far apart.
If I ever get into the Longwave thing, you'll
be seeing me on 162 kHz, although the
LW station from France does come in on
that freq. now and then.
Man... I wish I still had that Longwave 1 watt
tube transmitter.
Bruce, Dog Radio Studio 2
Here in Casper we have KTWO AM 1030, a clear channel 50Kw dual stick setup for the night pattern. Their signal does not image down into the LW band, but boy they sure do have one right on top of KVOC's frequency at 1230, which comes through as if KTWO had two AM frequencies when KVOC is off for maintenance.
The entire 160-190 LW band is clear here with no imaging going on.
RFB
Often I meet someone who owns a SW radio and many SW radios have LW, but I bet those people never try LW more than once because there is never anything to hear. Point is, the radios are around.
Same is true for SW. People who remember the good days are now disappointed that so little can be found on SW.
This LW project is great. The news from Radio8Z that Big Talker might be adaptable to LW is fantastic, because the diagrams and test models of the SW transmitter already exist. As soon as more data is available I'll post something to accompany this project.
I just wrapped up Low Power Hour # 14, but it isn't posted online yet, I still have to proof it to check for mistakes, which will be a streaming premier tonight at 10:15 PM CDT on KDX1.
There will be a whole LPH devoted to LW coming soon.
I made a 50 foot vertical out of aluminum downspout conductor (pipe) which is roughly 2.5 X 3.5 inches X 10 feet each.
I used it on the 160 meter Ham band.
It sat in a plastic bucket full of sand. I had a homebrew tuner at the base.
It was guyed at the top and middle.
Stayed up for about 6 months, came down in a bad winter wind storm.
It was meant to be a temporary experiment so no big loss.
Was an inexpensive way to go and with the right tuner would work VLF.
At 1.6 MHz, the radiation resistance of a 3 m vertical antenna is about O.1 ohm, and the capacitive reactance is about 3000 ohms. At 185 kHz, where most of the "Lowfer" activity is, radiation resistance of a 15 m vertical antenna is about 0.04 ohms, with a capacitive reactance of about 7000 ohms. The 1 W input power that is allowed effectively increases the radiation restance to 0.4 ohms. A big loading coil is needed to tune out the antenna capacitance. Ground radials? Forget it. You don't have the real estate and you can't afford the copper--miles of copper. Ground rods and cold water pipes at least give you some place to connect the ground lead. Elevated antennas? Well, never mind. Fortunately, the groundwave propagation is better at the lower frequency than in the AM band.
Atmospheric noise is very high at 185 kHz. Summer is hopeless because of the many worldwide lightning strikes. Winter is better.
Forget about AM or SSB. Slow speed Morse code is the mode for Lowfers. Despite the severe limitations of the LF band, contacts of several hundred miles have been reported.
Well, you're right!
All the LOWFER guys are using cw and
other digital protocols. And it is
absolutely amazing what they are doing.
And they are able to do it because of
those modes.
The challenge of going on AM down there
is incredibly HUGE. MUCH more than we
have ever experienced here on medium wave.
Going from the AM BCB down to Longwave is
like going from the Redstone booster to the
Saturn 5.
However, I am still curious to see what the AM
would do. It would sort of wrap up the
experiments my friends and I did with AM on Part 15 LW in
1976.
But, yes, it's a gigantic task. It's my estimation that
if everything is exactly right you would probably only get
1/4 to 1/2 a mile of range. And in that, you might get
500 to 1000 feet of good signal.
That's why I am really really trying to find that book -
The Low And Medium Freq. Experimenters Scrapbook.
Because Ken Cornell, W2IMB, did run AM down there,
and he said how much range he had and I don't remember
what it was. And as I mentioned, my group of guys ran 1 watt AM on 185 kHz
and got no reception reports. Heck we should have set up the
Drake longwave receiver up at a neighbors house to see if it was
getting out at all. I don't know why we didn't try that. Maybe because
we were 22 in 1976 and there were too many girls around.
We were trying to figure out what they were trying to tell us
and they were trying to figure out what we were trying to tell
them. THAT was difficult. But maybe not as difficult as getting
a transmitter to work on Longwave Part 15.
At least if we look at what the LOWFERS are doing, it might help
us to built better circuits for medium wave.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, Dog Radio Studio 2