DW Wertachtal / Sines 3995 kHz

[carknue]

Hi all,

a bit low SNR, but perfect reception.

[MarkT]

Hi all,

Tonights log for 3995kHz. Good reception at the start but audio started to drop off at the end.

[MarkT]

Hi all,

Tonights results on 3995 kHz, 20 minutes long.

[carknue]

Hi all,

low SNR, but perfect reception.

[radiomann]

Hi all
Todays report below.

Paul

[carknue]

Hi all,

perfect today with good world music .

[carknue]

Again perfect with low SNR.

[Baldo34]

Hi all,
today I logged a morning transmission (German programme) on 3995 kHz, sign off at 0600 UTC.
73, Klaus

[carknue]

Very good sound quality, but bad results over the night.

[carknue]

Hi all,

reception in the evening is much better, than in the night.

[simone]

Hi all,
good results in the last hour of the night transmission early this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[Per]

Hi,

It was several months since I checked this frequency, so I gave it a quick check today at 18:04.
Result? 83 % correct audio after 30 minutes, with 17 kbps and stereo.

73's Per - SM0ITS

[carknue]

The nightly transmissions on 3995 khz are always very bad, while the early evening and early morning transmission are perfect. Late night, I have a yery strong signal S9+20 to S9+60 but the SNR is very poor allthough there is no AM interference. If you wtch the impulse response, the problem becomes clear. There are lots of heavy and strong refelections. The reflecting signals have the same strength than the first signal peak and hurt the guard interval. If this is also outside Germany, then an other transmission Mode should be used in the night. (C or D)

[carknue]

Quite good results this night only in the first hour.

[simone]

Hi all,
good results this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
reception improved after 0430 this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
good reception last night until 0020, see attacjhment
73, Simone

[tacitus-ms]

Bad S/N because of the violation of the maximum delay time defined by the guard intervall. ( It is very usefull to install Dream-Software and the DRM software on the computer. The DRM software is better, if you simply want to listen to the radio, because it receives a little bit better than the Dream software. But the Dream-Software displayes a lot of measurements of the signal. Without the Dream software I would not have any idea why the reception results are so bad.) See screenshot A few weeks ago I already phoned with an employee of DW, and they knew about the problem of the violation of the guard intervall. He told me that due to their own experiences they would switch to another DRM mode (C od D) . But until now they are still using the mode B. Why do they do that?

[Per]

Hi,

This is my result from 18-19 UTC: just 30% correctly decoded audio. What happend at 18:45?

73's Per - SM0ITS

[dk8cb]

Hi,

can someone else please have a look at the current spectrum of T-Systems Wertachtal DRM transmission.

Although the spectrum looks good within the 10 kHz bandwidth, there is also quite some energy below and above on my receiver.
This doesn't seem to come from other sources, because it shows the same regular pattern of propagation-induced minima as the signal within the regular spectrum.

dk8cb

[dk8cb]

And here is a screenshot of the spectrum which shows what I mean.

dk8cb

[dk8cb]

Hi,

here is my report on reception last night. I'm located only 61 kms from Wertachtal, but nevertheless it's always skywave reception here. There are severe reception problems, because the pulse response of the propagation path is longer than the length of the guard interval.

dk8cb

[dk8cb]

Hi,

and here is a typical (estimated) impulse response of the channel, showing the guard interval violations.

dk8cb

[4S7DRG]

From Colombo on 20.06.04


Hi all,

managed to get some signal from DW-Wertachtal in the tropical
4 Mhz band. In case the bit rate would have been lower,
Audio decoding would have been possible as well.

[simone]

Hi all,
here is my overnight report, perfect results all night, I never experience these problems with the violation of the guard interval, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
unusual high SNR for this transmission this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[Richard Beales]

Hi,

There were a series of low-bitrate tests tonight on 3.995.

Here are my results for:

8 July, 23:00 - 0:00 -- 13.7kbps, Mode C

[Richard Beales]

9 July, 0:00 - 1:00 -- 10.88kbps, Mode D

[Richard Beales]

9 July, 1:00 - 2:00 -- 9.06kbps, Mode D

[Richard Beales]

And finally, one last short log...

9 July, 2:00 - 2:15 -- 11.56kbps, Mode B

[simone]

Hi all,
good results with 17.4kb/s this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[Richard Beales]

Hello,

My log of the 16.44kbps Mode C transmission this evening. There were some long audio dropouts.

As always though, the signal was very strong, with minimal fading and no interference - it would sound great in analogue!

[carknue]

Hi all,

Mode C seems to give much better results, but only a bitrate without SBR. Mode and bitrate was changed several times.

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results for last night at different bitrates, from 0400 only AM, see attachment
73, Simone

[carknue]

Very strange Band. Reception is perfekt until it is not dark outside. At night time I often get no audio due to very low SNR, caused by guard interval violations in all modes, even in mode D. Signal is always very strong.

I really would like to see a night time log of this frequency from UK, Sweden or Portugal.

[Richard Beales]

Hi Carsten,

Here is a UK log, 23:00 - 0:30, 11.56kbps Mode B.

The signal was very strong with no interference or fading, but there were lots of audio dropouts and the SNR fell as low as 11db.

This is typical reception for this frequency here.

[carknue]

Hi Richard,

hmm, I really thought that this frequency would work better more far away from Wertachtal. But it doesn't look like.

But again perfect results after local sunrise.

[Per]

Hi,

I was apperently also listening at the wrong time....Starting at 18:35 UTC, when I had a good signal. But too quick it faded out. I will give this frequency a try later in the evening, as requested.

[simone]

Hi all,
as always perfect results in the morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[4S7DRG]

Colombo 07.08.2004

Hi all,
finally DW-Wertachtal on 3395khz / 11,6kbps signal,
radiated with a Quadrant antenna ( omni direc. )
I suppose, managed to deliver a great audio
here in Sri Lanka.
Interesting to observe was the steady rise
in SNR during the greyline zone advancing to the west.

see attachment

[dk8cb]

Hi,

some interruptions of the audio signal from Wertachtal, albeit not shown in the graph, since a "zero" signal was correctly decoded, also a short loss of the complete DRM signal.

dk8cb

[simone]

Hi all,
great results also at nighttime, see results of nearly 7 hours last night in the attachment
73, Simone

[lmaes]

Signal decreasing slowly between 1830 and 2130 UTC. Today in parametric stereo at 17.4 kbps. For a lot of music, this bitrate is good enough but for some classical music items, like for example violins, the bitrate should be higher.

Ludo

[dk8cb]

Hi,

not so good results last night, a very strong skywave signal from
Wertachtal, 61 kms away, but violations of the guard interval.
The screenshot was taken at around midnight local time.

dk8cb

[lmaes]

Log file of today's reception. Quite similar to yesterday's log.

Ludo

[lmaes]

Today's log is very similar to the one from yesterday and the day before. When using Carsten's excellent DRMcalc, you notice the same SNR level during the 3 consecutive days, lowering slowly when time progresses.

Ludo

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results of 3 hours this evening
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
some results from early this morning, maybe the bitrate change should have been an hour later, see attachment
73, Simone

[lmaes]

An overnight reception report for Deutsche Welle on 3995 kHz from 1800 to 0500 UTC. We have to come to the same conclusion as Simone, it would perhaps be better to stick to the lower bitrate an hour longer, it is up to 0400 UTC.

Ludo

[VE3MEO]

Just checking during the DRM to N.America quiet period of 0200-0300 which happened to be 11kbps. Not much audio decoding success - 1%!

73, Tom

[dk8cb]

Hi,

here is my report for part of today's transmission from Wertachtal, 61 kms away.

The combination of stereo and classical music at this low bitrate didn't sound too well.

dk8cb

[simone]

Hi all,
low SNR last night and why do they increase the bitrate at the time of the lowest SNR of the whole transmission, I still believe this should be done an hour later, see attachment
73, Simone

[carknue]

I think, that this frequency is not usable for nightime DRM transmissions. Signal is always very strong, no interference, but very low SNR. DW should continue with AM transmissions on this frequency. But maybe they use a wrong antenna in Wertachtal.

[carknue]

The darker , the worser becomes the reception....

[dk8cb]

Hi,

quite good in Munich. Not as many violations of the guard interval as on other days.

Roland

[VE3MEO]

Improving towards 03:00 but then the shift from 11kbps to 14.5kbps raised the hurdle too high. Very strong signal s9+20.

Tom

[simone]

Hi all,
here is an overnight report, using a telescopic antenna indoors.
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results from early this morning, again I think the bitrate change should be later.
73, Simone

[midre]

Hi DRMs,

here are my reception results on 3995 kHz; - again taken by the >elektor rx< .
Nearly perfect results over a time of 2,5 hour. Nice program; - but its sounds a
little bit strange. It seems, thats not the best mode for classic music......

regards, michael

[chemclouds]

Hi everyone,
I thought I would drop by. It finally came through. I actually heard some old Rock & Roll.
Marvin Gay, I heard it through the grapevine. You are speaking German and playing American Rock & Roll. Cool ! Here is only 7 minutes. I will try a much longer log soon. Keep up the Rock & Roll.

Where is everyone ? I have uploaded 3 reports this evening. I have seen no members or no visitors. That is very unusual. I am here all alone. HELLO WORLD !! I must be in the Twilight Zone. Maybe you guys are in the Twilight Zone. I think I will go to bed. This must be a dream.
Later,
Carl

[hsseppo]

Hi!

Here is my report 3995 kHz at 18:26 - 19:24 UTC.

...Seppo

[chemclouds]

02:21 TO 03:22 UTC

Hello,
Not bad, not bad at all. Your sation is beginning to be my favorite DRM station. I enjoy your programming. 14.5 kbs seems to be a good choice to use for this distance. I receive an extremely high number of Audio dropouts if you use a higher data rate. The audio was quite good with a surprisingly good amount of Audio Dymamic Range. Although it was in mono, it was still very good.

I had to return to make a correction. The data rate was 11.6 not 14.5 kbs.

Good old Rock & Roll. Keep it up, I like it.
Carl

[simone]

Hi Carl,
concerning the bitrate, you were not wrong, during the time you listened they increased the bitrate at 0300 UTC to 14.5kbps, later they use 17.4 kbps.
73, Simone

[VE3MEO]

Carl, it's encouraging to see you are now pulling in Wertachtal with some decent results. This is about par for the course for me. Probably suffering from a higher local noise level or receiver overload.

Tom

[chemclouds]

Hi Simone,
Thanks for the info. You were very observant. Unfortunately I had very poor results tonight. SNR too low. Somehow I need to decrease this noise, maybe a loop antenna, I don`t know. I will give it some thought. Interesting I had less noise last night than I did tonight. A loop antenna may do the job. Any recommendations ?
Carl

[chemclouds]

Hi,
Unfortunately I had undeserved bad luck. Hey, you guys come over here with a Atmospheric Noise Cleaner. I did want to let you know that I tried. I thought the reason I received your signal the other night was due to the low bit rate, maybe in part that was true. It`s the noise. Here is a 2 hour dismal report. I am not giving up! Somehow I am going to clean up this noise. I like your programming. It`s so cool ! We have a large Hurricane coming this way, with winds in excess of 238 Kilometers/Hour. Want to see it in real time ? Click on this. http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/float2-ir4-loop.html

Here is my dismal report.
Carl

[dk8cb]

A loop antenna may do the job. Any recommendations?

Why not build one yourself? It's easy!

The larger the diameter, the better. A circular shape gives optimum results, because the ratio of enclosed area to wire length (and thus resistance) is optimized. A thicker wire is better than a thin one. More turns (wires NOT closely spaced) are better than more capacitance, but always use the largest physically possible diameter first.

Programs to calculate inductance may be found on the Internet.

My mediumwave loop (0.8 m diameter) has 6 turns on a hoola hoop and a 2 x 450 pf capacitor. At the moment, it can only be tuned down to about 750 kHz and it still needs a few more turns to cover the entire band, but I ran out of wire.
As an initial guess, for a 4 MHz loop of the same size you would need about 2 turns and a few hundred picofarads.

But if you can go for a larger diameter, do so.
Coupling to the receiver should be done by means of a smaller loop of approx. 1/10 of the diameter.

Also look for the terms 'build loop antenna' on Google, you will find a lot of interesting links.

Roland

[chemclouds]

Hi Roland,
Your recommendation on the loop is appreciated. I will construct one. I constructed a MW Loop. It is rather large but it`s operation is superb. It tunes from around 540 to 1700 KHZ. Here is 3 images of it taken from diffferent angles. My next report on 3995 will be received from the new SW Loop Antenna.
Thanks Roland,
Carl

[dk8cb]

Hi,

here is a report on close distance, nevertheless skywave reception.

Roland

[simone]

Hi all,
here is my report of last night, again problems at 0330- 0400, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
some results from early this morning, good reception after 0425, see attachment
73, Simone

[VE3MEO]

Abysmal results! Again the strength of the DRM hiss from the AM demod was such that AM reception would have been usable.

Carl, how'd your loop do?

73, Tom

[chemclouds]

Tom,
Loop is doing too good, maybe too bad.
Heavy interference from amateur radio operators. I am receiving good signal strength 10 to 15 db. It`s the amateur radio operators.
Carl

[VE3MEO]

Originally posted by chemclouds
Tom,
Loop is doing too good, maybe too bad.
Heavy interference from amateur radio operators. I am receiving good signal strength 10 to 15 db. It`s the amateur radio operators.
Carl

Good SNR! Good enough for 11.64 kbps. I'm getting around 7dB. I just got a little burst of audio at 14.56 kbps and the interference is not as bad as the first hour but I've stopped logging. Going to bed.

We really can't complain about the ham QRM. Actually, from our perspective, it's DW interfering with ham operations in our ITU region.

73, Tom

[chemclouds]

02:33 TO 03:15

Hi DW Radio,
I am still trying. Whoever is responsible for the programming of your station in my opinion is doing a fine job. No interference from the Ham Operators tonight. Propagation not in my favor.
Each night I try to receive your station. I will submit a report only of I receive some audio. What type of antenna pattern are you emitting ? What direction is your signal beamed ? If necessary I will make a 7 meter loop to pull your station in. That should give me about 85% efficiency on 3995 compaired to around 9% with the current 2 meter loop. I did copy a few bits of audio. Here is the report.
Carl

[dk8cb]

Originally posted by chemclouds
f necessary I will make a 7 meter loop to pull your station in. That should give me about 85% efficiency on 3995 compaired to around 9% with the current 2 meter loop.

Hi Carl,

But increasing the antenna to such a size that will "only" give a 10 dB gain in signal strength and it will increase any interference by the same factor. I don't think that you will obtain better reception on such a big thing. If you were to use it for transmitting, it would be different. But it will not improve detectability, unless there is no noise now and detectability now only suffers because signal strength is just too low, which I believe, it isn't.

The only thing that might still help is a Beverage antenna. Got a few hundred meters of free space in the direction to Germany and enough wire? If so, put one up.

Roland

[chemclouds]

Hi Roland,
Thanks for recommending the beverage antenna. Sounds like that is the way to go. Unfortunately I do not have the room at my present location for one. I do own land about 56 kilometers west of here where there is plenty of room but it is not developed. Been thinking about selling my present home and having a new home built there. At this time I don`t know when.
I do like this loop antenna though. Even on AM I have noticed a big improvement in noise reduction. Any further suggestions will be welcome. I will try anything within reason.

I had to return to add a few comments and ask a couple of questions. You may ask, why the great interest in DW Radio on 3995 ? Well, It is an unusual radio station. Allow me to explain.
This station`s programming is old Rock & Roll. I like it. That in itself in not ususual, what is, is the announcers speaks in German and airs American Rock & Roll. I don`t understand German but I like how it sounds. I have heard no other station on the planet that does it, even in the US. Now, here is the question. How did you Germans learn English so well ? Is it required teaching in schools ?
Did you all teach yourself ? Do you all have a translator connected to your computers ? I understand this comment and my questions are not related to DRM, But I would like to know.
Thank you,
Carl

[dk8cb]

I will try anything within reason.

If it's more signal strength that you want, add a second turn to your loop, but do not mount it closely spaced to the first turn, leave a few centimeters in between the turns.

No, I do not use a translation programme or the help of another "connected" human translator, it's all live, but it took a few years to learn.

Roland

[chemclouds]

Roland,
Signal strength is not the problem. Signal strength is good, always. It is the noise level. The loop has helped a lot. As I stated earlier and, as you know, propagation will always play an important part. I`ll tell you what, design an antenna with high gain, and low noise, that requires little space. We will name it the "Roland Antenna". This seems to me a good name for a "high tech" antenna. Your antenna will then be known world wide.

How about this:

The antenna for the professional SWL - " ROLAND - IT CAN`T BE BEAT" - available soon at your local SW dealers.

Sounds expensive, doen't it?

For only a few years of English study, your Englist is excellent!
(time well spent)
Carl

[dk8cb]

Hi,

nobody can beat physics. Highly directional antennas always require space. The larger the wavelength, the more space is required. If the antenna is also supposed to be efficient, it becomes even larger.

The noise is not produced by the antenna, it is induced into it, it comes from all around you. The only thing that would help is a highly directional antenna system which is not easy to erect for this frequency.

I think you have to live with the fact that you are just a few thousand kilometers too far away from the target area of this transmission. Better try to listen on some other DRM frequency or to a satellite transmission.

Have you tried horizontal mounting? If so, how were the results? (I know that it produces much less signal then.)

Roland

[chemclouds]

No, I haven`t tried horizontal mounting. Weather conditions have not been in my favor, due to the storm. At the moment weather conditions are not to bad. At least it is not raining heavily. I will do it today and post my results here. I will start the recording tonight at 02:00 UTC, with loop mounted in a horiaontal plane.
I am not giving up !!
Thanks,
Carl

[chemclouds]

Hi Roland,
Loop is now in a horizontal plane. I will start recording at 01:05 and submit the log at 02:00. Oh, by the way, I am aware noise is not produced by an antenna unless you have a noisy transmitter connected to it.
Carl

[chemclouds]

01:28 TO01:39

Hi,
I have been monitoring 3995 since 01:06 UTC with loop in a horizonal plane. Software Radio would not lock into signal.
I started recording at 01:28 to 01:39 UTC. It would do very little good to continue logging. Signal strength on the receiver was between 8 to 9 db. good for AM. I did notice this. No problems with Ham Operators. Even if DW radio changed their format, I am not going to give up !! This is a challenge. Here is the worthless log report. This was only a test. I will not submit another log until I have audio.
Carl

[VE3MEO]

Hi Carl, best time might be 0200-0300 when bitrate is lowest (11.64 kbps) and ionisation mid-Atlantic should be lowest. I'm getting S9 and intermittent locking with 3-4dB SNR. I've seen better. I see ham SSB below DW in freq and spikes popping up from time to time within the DRM spectrum. But I agree with you - DRM DX'ing is pretty boring without the audio.

73, Tom

Originally posted by chemclouds
01:28 TO01:39

Hi,
I have been monitoring 3995 since 01:06 UTC with loop in a horizonal plane. Software Radio would not lock into signal.
I started recording at 01:28 to 01:39 UTC. It would do very little good to continue logging. Signal strength on the receiver was between 8 to 9 db. good for AM. I did notice this. No problems with Ham Operators. Even if DW radio changed their format, I am not going to give up !! This is a challenge. Here is the worthless log report. This was only a test. I will not submit another log until I have audio.
Carl

[VE3MEO]

No audio decoded - just the hiss and interference on the AM demod. Boring.

Tom

[VE3MEO]

S7 to S9 +20 signal strength with S1-S3 noise in nearest quiet zone. S7-S9 ham signals below 3990.

Carl, I saw your post and then it disappeared! I'm working on making a shielded box for my downconverter which I will then reassemble on a new pcb - still dead bug ugly but shielded.

Tom

[chemclouds]

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know, I`m still hanging in there.
I caught a few sounds tonight.
Carl

[chemclouds]

Tom,
What type of interference is the downconverter causing for you to install it in a shielded enclosure?

Yep, my post did disappear. It was weird.
Carl

[VE3MEO]

Originally posted by chemclouds
Tom,
What type of interference is the downconverter causing for you to install it in a shielded enclosure?



There's a mix product with a local MW station, 1430kHz, that ends up around 20 kHz. I can see the carrier and hear the modulation with DReaM in AM mode. In all probability, there is more crap from outside that is not so obvious. I have a preamp and filter ahead of the mixer but this station is so strong, it always gets into things.

73,

Tom

[Bob]

Hi,

Very good reception late night in UK.

regards
Bob

[midre]

Hi DRMs,

good conditions from Wertachtal on 3995 kHz over a time
of 4 hours.
In the attachment you will find the comparison between
the last 2 nights.

regards, Michael

[chemclouds]

02:17 TO 02:59


HI,
Thanks for dropping by this evening. Although you were running in and out, more out than in.
It was a pleasure to have you here from such a distance.
Carl

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results from last night, no audio decoding at 0300- 0500, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results of last night, the bitrate change was done too early, see attachment
73, Simone

[chemclouds]

Hi,
I`m still hanging in there. I dropped over here to deliver a short report. It`s about 12 minutes worth at 80.3%. When you switched to a higher bit rate I could not receive audio.
I should have started recording earlier. You may have this :) because you traveled from such a great distance.
Carl

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results for a period of 6hours early this morning.
73,Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
again problems before sunrise, see attachment
73, Simone

[VE3MEO]

Here's a short log using two receivers with converters swapped:

1st DX-394A tapped at 2nd mixer (and disconnected from rest of radio so no AGC or loading by parallel 2nd IF filter) into a wideband NE612 converter

2nd DX-394B with AGC tapped at 2nd mixer into a preamp'd and filtered NE612 converter

Amazingly, #1 outperformed #2 in successful audio and max/avg SNR. Seems like its poor image rejection was not an issue tonight for DRM but it is unacceptable for AM. #2 has much better image rejection but may be suffering from some overload distortion in the preamp to or the NE612 converter itself.

Best success I've had so far with DW on this freq. Actually got some idea what the program was about.

Regards,

Tom

[simone]

Hi all,
no audio decoding from 0400 - 0500, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
better resuls last night, but the bitrate change is still an hour too early in my opinion, see attachment
73, Simone

[Owdjim]

Hi All

3995 kHz was detectable for a few minutes before sign-off at 06:00 today. Too poor for any audio decoding. I guess I'll either have to get a much longer antenna, or an air ticket to Europe to decode this one ;-)

Cheers, Chris

[simone]

Hi all,
quite good results last night, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results of the last 2 hours this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
same problems early this morning, see comparison with yesterdays results attached
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
here is my report of 6 hours early this morning
73, Simone

[F5NSL]

Attached log. Very good here. At 22h changing from aac sbr param stereo 17.4 to aac mono 14.5.

Rx: Sangean ATS909 + dipole 2x 5m

[F5NSL]

Log attached

[radiol]

Hi,
My report of 6 hours this night (22UTC-4:00UTC). 99.3% audio. Successful mode change at 23UTC (worth seeing)

[carknue]

This frequency works much better during daylight. Perfect from 6-10 UTC

[simone]

Hi all,
here is my report of 10 hours starting at 0000 UTC last night, the big dropout at 0600 was due to a problem at the Tx after the bitrate change, see attachment
73, Simone

[F5NSL]

Log attached

[radiol]

Hi all,
Last night on 3995 kHz -> 21:00 - 6:00 UTC, 98.8%.

[simone]

Hi all,
good results last night, but like in radiols report, a weak period at 0430-0530 this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[F5NSL]

Log attached

[simone]

Hi all,
the bitrate changes worked perfectly last night, see attachment
73, Simone

[F5NSL]

Log attached

[radiol]

Hi all,
I join reception results form teh last 9 hours. Really good reception till 6:00 UTC and the bitrate change.

[simone]

Hi all,
the actual bitrate changes work perfectly, see attachment
73, Simone

[radiol]

Hi Simone,
I use Dream software receiver and maybe the implementation of the protection level change doesn't work as well as in your software, or maybe just the SNR was better in your place on 3995 kHz.
regards,
radiol

[simone]

Hi radiol,
this morning I compared DReaM and the DRM SWR, same results with both softwareradios, see attachment
73, Simone

[dk8cb]

Hi,

here is a report from my location just 60 Kms away from the TX but nevertheless with skywave reception, which was clearly obvious from the impulse response.

Roland

[simone]

Hi all,
lots of bitrate/ mode changes last night, most of them worked quite well, see attachment
73, Simone

[hsseppo]

Hi!

This is my report of 3995 kHz 18:52 - 20:15 UTC. 98.6%

Seppo

[F5NSL]

Log attached (aac mono 14.5 till 22h, then 11.6kbps)

[F5NSL]

Log attached (AAC mono 14.5 until 22h, then 11.6kbps until 01h, then 14.5kbps)

[radiol]

Perfect reception this evening. Bit rate change at 19:00UTC, but practically 100% audio elsewhere during 4-hour reception.

[midre]

Hi DRMs,

here are a 10 hour logfile from Wertachtal on 3995 kHz taken by
elektor rx and sony an1 antenna.
98 % decoded audio all over the time....

regards, Michael

[dk8cb]

Hi,

on this frequency, when you are too near to the transmitter as I am, there comes a moment, when propagation conditions become just unsuitable for mode B. Note that the signal was still quite strong when the decoding result fell to zero.

Roland

[VE3MEO]

The latest DReaM 1.1.4c is doing the best I have experienced on this frequency. The low bitrate (11kbps) and DReaM's expanded tolerance to impulse delay or spread really help. I terminated the log to check RTL DRM2 on 5990 - much lower success due higher bit rate (14kbps) and interference. As I write this 03:08, DW still decoding most of the time and DReaM usually fast fades the outages - only the occasional belch!

73, Tom

[VE3MEO]

Continuing at a DXer satisfying decoding rate for another 36 minutes. Logging off now to retire for the night. Well done, DReaM 1.1.4c! And DW-Wertachtal, too!

73, Tom

[carknue]

Here is my night log. Really worse conditions in the night.

[simone]

Hi all,
really bad conditions last night, like a blackout on all bands when I started, see 10 hours comparison with DReaM attached.
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
some results from this evening, again a comparison with DReaM
73, Simone

[F5NSL]

Log attached. Propagation disturbances today.

[simone]

Hi all,
good conditions early this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[carknue]

Wow, a total waste of energy. 200kw for nothing. DW please use another frequency from another site during nighttime!

[dk8cb]

DW please use another frequency from another site during nighttime!

Wouldn't the current nighttime propagation conditions be quite suitable to test Mode D?

Roland

[carknue]

No, DW already tested Mode C and D earlier on this frequency without success. The Impulse response is often much wider than any DRM mode can handle. Mode C and D also need a higher SNR for a lower bitrate.

But today the IR is not the problem, tonight there is only a very weak signal here. That seems to happen more often in wintertime.

Only solution for me, if they want to stay on this frequency, is 20 khz Mode B with at least a SBR bitrate (17 or 20 kbps).

[arniek]

Originally posted by carknue
Wow, a total waste of energy. 200kw for nothing. DW please use another frequency from another site during nighttime!

what can DW do against a magnetic storm ? Most of the time 3995 is working fine so i see no reason to change frequency. Check out DW on 6075 kHz in AM mode. Also very bad reception during the last few days.

regards,

Arne

[carknue]

Magnetic storms seem to be quite often on this frequency. But even if there is no magnetic storm, I have not seen any nighttime logs with more than 10-15 dB SNR so far. 11.6 kbps are not acceptable for european stations. AM sounds much better than DRM on this frequency. Only +/-2 hours around sunrise and -set this frequency works fine, the rest is a disaster.

[arniek]

Maybe you live too close to the transmitter site ? Here in Münster the reception on 3995 is very stable most of the time.
Also local noise can be a very deteriorating factor especially on low sw bands. The regulated power supply of my notebook doesn't produce any noticeable noise above ~ 5 MHz, but very strong noise below.

However, i agree with you that AM sounds better than 11.6 kbps, especially when using synchronous demodulation.

[hsseppo]

Hi!

Just a short report today 3995 kHz, 19:41 - 20:16 UTC 99.7%

Seppo

[lmaes]

Hi Carsten,


3995 kHz works good for Belgium. Enclosed is a report from 1900-0600 UTC, with an overall result of 99,8%.

But we do not like the bitrate of 11 kbps either. As good as the audio quality is at 17.6 kbps parametric stereo, as bad it gets when the switch to 11.5 kbps is made.


Ludo

Originally posted by carknue
Magnetic storms seem to be quite often on this frequency. But even if there is no magnetic storm, I have not seen any nighttime logs with more than 10-15 dB SNR so far. 11.6 kbps are not acceptable for european stations. AM sounds much better than DRM on this frequency. Only +/-2 hours around sunrise and -set this frequency works fine, the rest is a disaster.

[hsseppo]

Hi!

3995 kHz at 18:05 - 20:12 UTC 99%

Seppo

[simone]

Hi all.
good results last night, with mode D DRMSWR wins the battle;), see attachment
73, Simone

[radiomann]

My log from this evening, very relaxing music they play, makes a nice change to hear.

[carknue]

Wow, I'm really impressed. Mode D and 10 kbps. Must be 3.5 khz audio Bandwidth. Telephoneline quality with 200kW.

Currently I get a proper 7 dB SNR on this frequency. Let's reduce Bitrate to 5 kbps, perhaps that works better.... I'm still dreaming of a 30 dB p-stereo signal from Sines in the 49m band on a clear frequency......

[midre]

Hi DRMs,

here are my last night results from DW/ Wertachtal on 3995 kHz.
In the attachment you will see a comparison between
dream and drmswr. Dream did a slightly better job , especially
on difficult conditions.....

equipment : elektor rx + Sony AN1 antenna

regards, Michael

[lmaes]

This morning, still using the Dream 1.1.1 version, Dream performed less good then DRMSWR.

However, after installing the latest Dream 1.1.6, the performance of Dream exceeds that of DRMSWR.

Enclosed the comparison between the 2 on 3995 kHz. Where DRMSWR scores 95%, Dream goes for 99%.

Ludo

[carknue]

As there is nothing else in the night, here is another DWT & wire log. Notebook power suply was on.

[midre]

Hi DRMs,

here are my 10 hour reception logfile from DW/ Wertachtal on 3995 kHz.
Good result with the current equipment.

regards, Michael

[VE3MEO]

Surprisingly solid when I first tuned in. 98.5% audio over the first 12 minutes using the receiver identified as Rx#2 in the heading of the attached. Much better results than for RTL at same time on 5990 - they use a higher bit rate 14.56 vs 10.84 kbps. After 03:00, there seems to be more interference affecting Rx#2 more than #1.

73, Tom

[VE3MEO]

Just noticed that the text message occasionally states "Julich Transmitter". Is DW now sending 3995 from a different site? Is it targetted any differently?

73, Tom

[chemclouds]

DW RADIO 03:30 TO 03:59

Hello,
Well, you made it here tonight. It`s always a challenge trying to receive your broadcast.
I also noticed a multimedia transmission, I have included it with this log. I don`t expect good audio quality at this low bitrate but the audio level was extremely low. Here is my report.
86.8% audio received.
Carl

[simone]

Hi all,
after the bitrate change they now use 13.7 kbps with multimedia (Journaline), see attachment
73, Simone

[radiol]

Hi all,
100 minutes of reception. Correct results during first hour then degradation.

[chemclouds]

0:34 TO 03:58


Hello again,
I thought you would be interested in another one. I was not as successful in audio reception in this log as I was in my last report. However, I did receive 58.9% audio tonight. Here is my report.
Carl

[VE3MEO]

Last night there was no multimedia stream and the identity returned to DW Wertachtal. The previous night had a Journaline feed and the identity was DW DRM with a text message indicating that it was the Julich Transmitter.

Does anybody know what's going on?

73, Tom

[Per]

Hi,

It's many months ago since I gave this DW frequency a try. A pleasant result: 99.6 %. Time: 19:00 - 19:55 UTC.

[hsseppo]

Hi,

Good results today. This is the report of 17.46 kbps at 17:57 - 18:59 UTC 100 %

73, Seppo

[hsseppo]

Hi,

Here is the next part of the 3995 kHz report. Bitrate 14.56 kbps at 19:00 - 20:10 UTC. 100% decoded audio.

Seppo

[VE3MEO]

I let the receivers run through the night. 97% over the ist hour logged when the bitrate was 11.64kbps. 95% for the next hour when the bit rate jumped. Petered out to 59% in the third hour. Still synching some of the time until 7:25 but no audio decoded, then nothing after that.

73, Tom

[Baldo34]

3995 and 7265 are in AM this morning. :confused:

[hsseppo]

Hi,

My report today is at 19:41 - 20:15 UTC, 99%

Seppo

[carknue]

This frequency works better with daylight. Here is a long log.

[G3VRF]

Very much a consistent signal from DW on 3995kHz these past 2 hours. Log is attached.

Antenna is a square 85cm tuned loop in the attic space approx 11 metres above ground. Home brew receiver using an AD9852 DDS synthesiser as a local osc.

John
G3VRF

[radiomann]

Hi John,
I get good reception on this frequency but you do better, where did you get your antenna, I really have antenna problems, I could do with one like yours any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks
Paul

Originally posted by G3VRF
Very much a consistent signal from DW on 3995kHz these past 2 hours. Log is attached.

Antenna is a square 85cm tuned loop in the attic space approx 11 metres above ground. Home brew receiver using an AD9852 DDS synthesiser as a local osc.

John
G3VRF

[chemclouds]

02:14 TO 02:30

You made it here again tonight. After the first 4 minutes it began breaking up. Not bad though, considering. Here is a report for you.
Carl

[G3VRF]

Paul

I have sent you an e-mail with a sketch of the antenna.

John
G3VRF

==============================================

I get good reception on this frequency but you do better, where did you get your antenna, I really have antenna problems, I could do with one like yours any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks
Paul

==============================================

[hsseppo]

Hi,

3995 kHz at 17:37 - 20:06 UTC 149 minutes. 98.6%
The new SNR Spectrum is really a nice feature to see interferences.

Seppo

[G3VRF]

Approx 3 hrs of DW this evening and consistent. The drop outs were of my making apart from when DW changed mode.

Regards

John
G3VRF

[carknue]

Once again, a night of wasted energy, at least for my location.

[carknue]

Better results last night.

[G3VRF]

A 12 hour overnight log for DW 0n 3995kHz.

Antenna is a square 85cm tuned loop in the attic space approx 11 metres above ground.


Regards

John
G3VRF

[FritzWue]

The lower bitrate is more reliable, but the audio quality is a joke. For me even a.m. sounds better.

[FritzWue]

Good condx tonight

[Per]

Hi,

It started with perfect reception at 18:45 UTC. But at 19:45 the signal was more or less gone?! But in total 94 % correct audio.

[FritzWue]

Good signal this morning.

[VE3MEO]

Futile effort tonight and looking to be in decline altho' I just got a burst of audio as I typed that!

73, Tom

[hsseppo]

Hi!

Here is my report of 3995 kHz.

Seppo

Correct QTH is:
Latitude=60°12'N
Longitude=24°57'E
TX distance 1629 km

[hsseppo]

Hi!

Today 3995 kHz was quite a good reception. Audio was 99.9% during 135 minutes.

Seppo

[chemclouds]

Hello,
For the first six minutes I received 61% audio, and then I lost it in the ether. Here is my short report.
Carl

[simone]

Hi all,
here is my report for last night, bad results in the morning with an unusual weak signal from 0845, see attachment
73, Simone

[Baldo34]

Hi all,
the label reads "DW Julich" on Wednesday morning, not Wertachtal.
See screenshot.
73, Klaus

[dk8cb]

Originally posted by Baldo34
... the label reads "DW Julich" on Wednesday morning, not Wertachtal.

At my location, at 60 kms distance from Wertachtal, where the signal is usually very strong, only a weak signal can be received today. For most of the time, SNR is too low to decode audio.

So it really seems to come from Juelich.

Roland

[dk8cb]

Hi,

while I was receiving 3995 kHz, suddenly the signal became very strong (at around 09:46 UTC) and the label now reads "DW-Wertachtal".
Reception is now perfect with good SNR.

Are they running both transmitters in a same frequency network?
But shouldn't the labels be equal then?

Roland

[simone]

Hi all,
quite confusing this morning with the different labels, before 0600 good reception, perfect decoding, then a very weak signal for the rest of the transmission, unlike in Roland´s location, things were not back to normal at 0946, no idea what was going on, see attachment
73, Simone

[carknue]

No decoding possible after 19 UTC. Before quite good.

[df8uo]

Quite stable signal for 4.5hours except some dropouts between 18h to19h UTC.

Daniel

[VE3MEO]

Left the radio logging overnight - looks pretty good. Achieved 96% over a two hour period, 91% over 4 hrs until band dropped off, 61% over the entire 6 hrs logged. This was with my newly modified DX-394A - added a buffer after the 2nd LO for improved freq stability with changing RF Gain/AGC.

73, Tom

[VE3MEO]

43% over 2 hours, 28% over 3 hours, starting from 05:02. Looks like an audio encoder dropout at 0600.

73, Tom

[df8uo]

Nearly perfect decoding for 2h
73
Daniel

[radiomann]

This has to be the best frequency for me, seems good every time I tune in.

Paul

[VE3MEO]

The 11kbps came in well for 1hr 40m - 97%; 14kbps fell to 79% over the same duration immediately following until MSC became rare. Should have started logging earlier to see when path opened.

73, Tom

[df8uo]

Today weak signal. Starting from 17h17 no audio decoding possible.

73
Daniel

[simone]

Hi all,
perfect results at nighttime, see attachment
73, Simone

[carknue]

Strange results, as usual on this frequency.

[simone]

Hi all,
lots of changes last night, good results also at higher bitrates, again problems for about 30min around 0600 this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[VE3MEO]

Simone's log explains in part why decoding was zip prior to 03:00 - too high a bitrate. The other part must be that the early promise of audio starting at 00:08 was tarnished by declining propagation or interference. Anyway, the 03:00-03:59 low bitrate period came through fairly well for DX - 94%.

73, Tom

[FritzWue]

After a long stable period at 14kbps even switching to 11kbps does not help when there are no conditions any more.
Wonder who is expected to listen to classical music at that bitrates.

[carknue]

A total disaster at night this frequency :-(

[Rene Schmitz]

Hi all,

here are my results for the early evening. After 17:12 I wasn't able to get a lock on the signal anymore. I've looked somewhat later again, but there was no signal visible.

Cheers,
Rene

[carknue]

In this automatic log, we can see when this frequency becomes usable.

[simone]

Hi Carsten,
you stopped recording the log too early, here is how it developped until 1000 ;)
73, Simone

[carknue]

Hi Simone,

yeah, I needed to stop for RTL. But at 8 UTC starts Sines, so no problem. But at nighttime we have no alternative to 3995 khz.

[VE3MEO]

23% from 03:09-08:00. Over 90% for only 15 minutes or so. I'm sure AM would have been listenable....

73, Tom

[carknue]

Hey, belive it or not I got some audio in the night on this frequency:D

[carknue]

Morning time is gold for this frequency, but why was SNR limited to 16 dB???

[radiomann]

Hi Carsten,
I have never used this frequency late at night I will log it tonight and put the report up tomorrow, I think domeone else said this time of the evening why drop the bitrate with Classical music? They could use a higher rate this time of the evening.

Paul

[radiomann]

Oh I forgot my short post from this evening, the dropout was the bitrate change.

Paul

[radiomann]

I don't believe I did that again:D

[radiomann]

My long over night log.

Paul

[carknue]

Hey, the morning began earlier today ;-)

[carknue]

And again this strange SNR limitation after 7:10 UTC

[simone]

Hi Carsten,
I also got exactly 16dB SNR for that period, like yesterday, alos again results got worse from 0800, see attachment
73, Simone

[FritzWue]

somehow mixed results:

[VE3MEO]

Adequate signal strength for AM when I first tuned in but not a whit of audio decoded.

[dk8cb]

Hi,

occasional problems yesterday, as always, when it is a problem of impulse response length, Dream did a better job.

Roland

[chemclouds]

DW Radio 00:48 TO 01:36

Hello again,
It`s been a while. Happy New Year to you, and thanks for dropping by. I haven`t been abe to receive you for some time now. What I have here is a DRM Log and a image of the Icom R75 display. The percentage of audio decoding was 64.4%. The signal level varied from 0 to 2 db, as indicated in this image. Considering the distance and the signal level, I think that wasn`t bad. :)
See this report.

PS: I returned to add this. For the bitrate the audio quality was good. I stopped recording immediately after Jimmy Hendrix song, Hey Joe. I like the music you air here. It is cool !! :cool:
Carl

[radiomann]

A few hours this evening quite good as usual, but if your going to play Classical music a higher bit rate would be good.

Paul

[df8uo]

Hello together
DRM is also possible with a 5€ receiver (not including the PC ;-). This afternoon i soldered a direct mixer according to the proposal in

http://www.b-kainka.de/bastel96.htm#rtl2

with a slight modification of the antenna circuit.

Find attached the log for 3995 kHz. As antenna i used my dipole antenna for the 20m band (2x5m). Max SNR was 23 dB and 84% audio with this real simple configuration.
73
Daniel

[chemclouds]

DW Radio 04:01 TO 04:38


Hello again,
After installing a new antenna and a new coax cable today I am getting much better reception.
If memory serves me correctly, I havent`t sent a report to you after 03:00 because you increase your bit rate at that time, and when you up the bit rate I haven`t been able to receive your signal, until tonight. The Icom receiver is displaying a signal strength of 10 db !! That`s much better than my last report of 1 db. The audio was good and it sounded clean and clear. I have a 37 minute log report for you. 69.3% audio decoded at this bit rate.
Carl

[FritzWue]

That's how it slowly died tonight.....

[chemclouds]

DW Radio 03:03 TO 03:30


Hi DW,
What happened to the audio frequency response? Lot of midrange but no low frequencies.
I would estimate the response to be 200 hz to 4 khz. Also the audio was not clean. It sounded as though it had fair amount of distortion. In the past when I have listened, it sounded quite good but not tonight. For this bit rate I would think it should be flat from at last 20 to 5 khz. What happened ?? Don`t settle for nothing but the best audio quality regardless of the bitrate. Better fix it !! Set a good example of high quality audio. :)
Carl

[chemclouds]

Deutsche Welle DRM

I give you a pat on the back !! The audio quality is back as it was and it sounds good. clap, clap, clap.
The frquency response is good. The dymanic range is good and it sounds clean an clear. Good work guys !!
I don`t have a log right now because the bitrate is a little high and I am having lots of dropouts but what I can hear
sounds good. Here is a image of the Icom LCD display I took at 21:40 showing a signal level of 10 db.
I knew you would get that audio quality back where it should be. GO DW !! :)
Carl

[jimbo]

Well, I got my Digital World Travller today but I am very disapointed.

I can only receive ONE DRM signal - DW on 3995. And that is only at around 19db at midnight, and 12 dB in the evening.

I have tried 1440 tonight and can get nothing. The radio itslef seems to get interferance which I do not get on my ordinary analogue radio - a bit like a RCB on a digital radio interfering with the audio. When I plug the wire areal in I get an FM tyle interferance on SW. Reception tonight generally is very poor as we have had very cold weather locally. However, if I cannot get any more than just 3995 I have a good mind to send the equipment back to Coding Technologies as to me it is practically useless. Is it bad reception elsewhere tonight? I look forward to hearing from people. :(

[chemclouds]

DW Radio 3995

Hi DW Radio,
I feel I must correct an error on my previous reoprt. I reported a time of 21:40. That was an error. The 21:40 was my local time. I should have entered 02:40.
My apology for the error. I`m receiving a good signal here but unable to upload a log report. Interference from Ham Radio. What I have here is a image of the Software Radio that controlls the R-75 receiver.
Check it out, you may find it interesting. It`s much better than the camera shot of the R-75 display.


Sorry to hear your misfortune, Jimbo. I hope you find a satisfactory solution.
Carl

[chemclouds]

DW Radio

Hi,
Just thought I would let you know that you are making it across the Atlantic Ocean pretty well tonight. However, I am still having problems with Ham Operators. If it wasn`t for them I would estimate I could decode aroung 80% of audio this evening. The best I can give you is a image of the Software Radio that controls the R75 showing 20db of signal and other stuff.
Carl

[chemclouds]

DW RADIO

I mentioned in my last report I was receiving 20db of signal. I also stated due to interference from Hams I was unable to send a report. At 03:00 I received no interference. Your signal is still at 20 db. This is the best audio decoding I have received from your station. 95.3% !! Across the Atlantic.
Carl

[chemclouds]

Hi DW Radio,
It would be nice if you could or would move your frequency up because I have problems with Ham Operators on this frequency. I am receiving 30 db of signal from you over here. The best I can do tonight is give you a image of the controlling software for the IC-R75 showing a strong 30 db of signal. I understand your signal isn`t beamed in my direction. However, I thought you may be interested. Good signal over here though.
Carl

[simone]

Hi all,
pretty good results early this morning, see attachment
73, Simone

[chemclouds]

DW RADIO 02:43 TO 03:17


Hi,
You are still making it here pretty well, with a 20 db of signal. At 03:12 I began losing audio. I waited a few minutes to see if it would come back up, but it didn`t. Therefore, I stopped recording at 03:17.
Here is my 30 minute log report. Oh, no interference from amateur operators tonight.
Carl

[FritzWue]

Good reception tonight, the dropout occured when they switched the bitrate.

[radiomann]

Originally posted by FritzWue
Good reception tonight, the dropout occured when they switched the bitrate.


Hi Fritz, I feel they could keep the higher bitrate longer, with it being Classical music as well. But I usually get a good performance from this frequency.

Paul

[FritzWue]

Hi Paul,

yes, same feeling here, although the impulse response looks terrible.
17.46 sounds much better than 14.56!

[Rene Schmitz]

Hi all,

heres a log from last night.

Very good performance. Practically no dropouts during the low bandwidth mode. And only very short ones with the higher.

Cheers,
René

[chemclouds]

DW RADIO 01:52 TO 02:31

Hi DW,
Right before 02:31 I began getting interference from amateur radio again. Here is a report with audio decoding at 80.2%. I am aware I am not in your target area but these reports may be of value.
Until next time,
Carl

[simone]

Hi all,
here is my report from last night, as mentioned before the bitrate change at 0400 remains a problem.
73, Simone

[simone]

Hi all,
here is my overnight report, showing some problems in the early morning
73, Simone

[Baldo34]

Hi Simone,
have a look at the time plot for 3995 kHz considering the path Wertachtal-Frankfurt.
73, Klaus

[hsseppo]

Hi all,

Here is my report of 3995 kHz. At 18:21 - 20:01 UTC. Stable and strong signal.

Seppo

[tradio99]

full test of 21.02.2005 transmission, yes, period from 18-20 UTC was better, than others

[radiol]

Hi all,
I join my reception report from today's listening. You'll find about 3-hour record starting from 20:10 UTC this evening.

[simone]

Hi all,
here is another overnight report, no dropouts in the morning like the past days, see attachment
73, Simone

[radiol]

Hi,
You'll find in the attachement a short report from this evening listenig.

[simone]

Hi all,
here are my results from last night 1700-1000
73, Simone

[df8uo]

Hi all,

attached my unattended log from last night (18h00-8h00)
73
Daniel

[carknue]

Hi all,

I made a 1000 minutes log last night. Seems towork quite good these days. I wonder if at least at at my location, a 24h reception would be possible? It looks so.

[hsseppo]

Hi,

My report today is at 16:57 - 18:24 UTC. 94%

Seppo

[hsseppo]

Hi!

Today like yesterday 93.7% at 19:24 - 20:08 UTC.
...Seppo