28th Nov 2021, 11:52 pm | #101 |
Triode
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Warrington, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 26
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
At midday today I could get Caroline on my Roberts R600 and also my Panasonic Rf1105 Portable just with their internal ferrite rod aerials. It was not that strong but you could listen to it well enough. Putting my 70cm MW tuned loop near made a major difference, it was at comfortable strength, very pleasant to listen to.
Before the power increase I could not hear Caroline without the loop, (in the day anyway). With the Murphy B40D and its "long" wire at midday again, Caroline was a good signal with a lot less noise than before the power increase. Last night the signal strength went up so I could listen on the portables without the loop but the signal was subject to fading, even so there were long periods of good signal strength. The loop does not seem to make much difference at night, maybe on deep fades but not much. The same story with the B40D at night. Signal a lot stronger but with fading. Now that they have boosted the power this seems to be very similar to when they were broadcasting from the Ross Revenge back in the 80s. Night time reception might even be better today. William |
29th Nov 2021, 11:05 am | #102 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: 1966-1976 Coverack in Cornwall and Helston Cornwall. 1976-present Bristol/Bath area.
Posts: 2,967
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
I have noticed an improvement with the new 648 KHz transmitter especially during the day. It use to be just on the noise level now it's audible but still weak.
I was listening yesterday afternoon on my 1966 Bush TR130 which would have been impossible before the power increase.
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29th Nov 2021, 11:09 am | #103 |
Octode
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 1,911
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
I got a very decent signal in the car in West Oxfordshire. I don't know how well it would hold up on a long journey, but it was nice to hear.
I love analogue radio and find the idea of getting Caroline on MW exciting.
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29th Nov 2021, 1:39 pm | #104 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 14,005
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Listening around 21:00 yesterday on my 840A and longwire, Caroline was a good strong signal but with a repetitive, choppy fading every second or so - the sort of effect you get when there are two carriers only a Hertz or so apart which are beating together - which rendered it not of entertainment-quality.
My little Sony clock-radio also detected the same effect. Now, it's only just detectable above the noise on the 840A.
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29th Nov 2021, 3:54 pm | #105 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 1,571
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
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29th Nov 2021, 5:50 pm | #106 | |
Pentode
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Cork, Ireland
Posts: 136
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Quote:
Cutting out a relevant capacitor to Gnd can greatly improve AM audio. What the manufacturers were up to I do not know? Audio above 2kHz greatly helps intelligibility of speech in a vehicle with road noise etc, yet the car radio manufacturers choose to attenuate AM audio above 2-3 kHz ! |
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29th Nov 2021, 7:18 pm | #107 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 14,005
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Just tried again with the 840A: Caroline coming in well, though still with the previously-mentioned 'choppy' fast fading and a dose of sideband-splash from adjacent stations. I found that backing-off the RF Gain and then turning the AF Gain to near maximum tended to improve this - am now wondering if there's a lack of AGC action causing overload in either the mixer or the IF amp. Will have to do some AGC-line checkouts!
I also plan on building an experimental tuned-loop antenna using plastic water pipe and 1mm trunking-type 'singles' wire; in days gone by we wound such loops on old orange-boxes or 1-gallon plastic engine-oil containers.
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29th Nov 2021, 9:05 pm | #108 |
Pentode
Join Date: Nov 2021
Location: Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 162
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
I can get Radio Caroline here in Nottinghhamshire, the signal is not too bad
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29th Nov 2021, 9:51 pm | #109 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Croydon, Surrey, UK.
Posts: 7,577
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Quote:
Typically I can't get to the radio as it's part of the dash and also has buttons that control certain functions of the car.......
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30th Nov 2021, 12:30 am | #110 |
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Dukinfield, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,038
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
My thoughts too. It's come up so dramatically here that it sound more like 10 or 12 dB.
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30th Nov 2021, 12:35 am | #111 |
Pentode
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Weymouth, Dorset, UK.
Posts: 135
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
After some checks I can report Caroline is good in the nite but unfortunatley no trace of a signal indoors in the day tomorow il try it in the shack on the 817 see how well it comes in on that. I apologise I couldn't go up there today not feeling up to it
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1st Dec 2021, 12:19 pm | #112 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 1,571
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Had a listen to Caroline last night and, though stronger than previously, had the 0.5 second beat ‘choppy’ effect referred to above that I have noticed regularly in the past, and that, frankly, makes it unlistenable. This is far more irritating than the long fades and phase distortion we used to put up with years ago.
Occasionally, under the previous 1kW it was good in the evening but this has probably been down to propagation with the skywave from the co-channel stations reduced. |
1st Dec 2021, 12:29 pm | #113 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,957
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Here, I find it much more listenable in the day than after dark - the daytime signal is weak, but fairly clean.
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1st Dec 2021, 2:00 pm | #114 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 1,571
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
With 1kW driving the quarter wave vertical the daytime signal here (distance: 150 miles) has been quite acceptable for listening. The improvement with the change from the original standby umbrella was noticeable.
Listening today it is good and strong and for most listeners who want a bit of company rather than a hi-fi experience it would be more than acceptable. I read elsewhere the antenna has a bit of a null. This might be due to the other masts. Perhaps that Ordfordness is ESE of me and in the days of the World Service I would be precisely on the back of the beam has something to do with it. |
1st Dec 2021, 6:53 pm | #115 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 14,005
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Today I had to drive East from my abode and so got to see what daytime/Dusk reception of Caroline was like in the car.
I went as far East as Maidenhead at lunchtime - Caroline was a good signal except for some total noise-wipeouts when driving under power-lines. Coming home along M4 around dusk, reception was a lot worse - a mix of slow and fast fading and general QRM. Daytime fading is tolerable because the signal-fade is replaced by relatively-innocuous low-level 'mush' - at night the fade seems to be replaced by loud QRM! [the above was received using a standard-fit 2018 MW/LW/FM/DAB Meridian car-radio fed from the standard-fit 'sharks-fin-with-integrated-amplifier' roof antenna] I'll be giving Caroline another listen this evening on my 840A - and have a WWII-era Pye PCR in the lab undergoing a capacitor-transplant - will be interesting to see how well that works at getting Caroline!.
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1st Dec 2021, 9:32 pm | #116 | |
Pentode
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Cork, Ireland
Posts: 136
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Quote:
I suspect the aerial is printed on a window. Try holding a smartphone (with the display on) around the outside of the car (with the car radio on a weakish AM station) and see where its AM interference peaks! |
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1st Dec 2021, 11:33 pm | #117 |
Tetrode
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Chulmleigh, Devonshire, UK.
Posts: 88
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Im in north devon ive just managed to pick up caroline for the first time, my Hacker Herald and Roberts R303 picked it up fairly well it was fading in and out a bit but listenable. Anybody else in devon picking it up ok.
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2nd Dec 2021, 12:52 pm | #118 |
Pentode
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 132
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Caroline on 648kHz clear and listenable in daytime on a Goodmans Module 150 dating from 1978, here on the 'wrong' side of Beeston hill in Leeds. Signal path entirely over land at a range of 175 miles.
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4th Dec 2021, 2:16 pm | #119 |
Octode
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: West Midlands, UK.
Posts: 1,571
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Interesting brief article with pictures on the Radio Caroline site. It states that the DX25 is running into the reserve umbrella antenna. This might be part of the method of achieving 4kw ERP given that the Tx has had to be modified as in standard state its lowest power output is 10kW. The umbrella will also not be suffering from the null. 648 remains a good signal here.
Scroll down below the reception report: http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/#home.html |
5th Dec 2021, 8:07 pm | #120 |
Pentode
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Northwich, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 206
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Re: Radio Caroline Power Increase
Received quite audibly here in Limoges after dark on the car radio
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