SAQ transmissions on July 1st, 2018

[AlexanderSAQ]

Grimeton Radio / SAQ Transmission on July 1st, 2018.

The annual transmission on “Alexanderson Day” with the Alexanderson alternator on VLF 17.2 kHz with the call SAQ will take place Sunday, July 1st, 2018.
This year, three transmissions are scheduled as follows:

1. Startup of tuning at 10:15 (08:15 UTC) with a transmission of a message at 10:45 (08:45 UTC).
2. Startup of tuning at 12:15 (10:15 UTC) with a transmission of a message at 12:45 (10:45 UTC)
3. Startup of tuning at 14:15 (12:15 UTC) with a transmission of a message at 14:45 (12:45 UTC)

All three transmission events will be broadcasted live on our YouTube Channel.

Amateur Radio Station with the call “SK6SAQ” will be QRV on the following frequencies:
– 7.035 kHz CW or
– 14.035 kHz CW or
– 3.755 kHz SSB

Two stations will be on the air most of the time.

QSL-reports to SAQ and SK6SAQ are kindly received via:
– E-mail to: info@alexander.n.se
– or via: SM bureau
– or direct by mail to: Alexander – Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner,

Radiostationen
Grimeton 72
SE-432 98 GRIMETON
S W E D E N

The station will be open to visitors between 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

WELCOME!

World Heritage Grimeton Radio station and The Alexander Association

For further details, se grimeton.org or alexander.n.se

Topic

[Mark]

Dear guys in Grimeton,

thank you very much for posting my receiving equipment (telegraph) on your webpage !
That motivates me to try new, crazy things for SAQ receiving experiments.

Received your XMAS transmission with good signal and the telegraph was used again
for writing the CW signs on a strip of paper.

You made my XMAS

BR,
Markus
DL1DSN

[Juan Jose de Onate, M0WWA]

Interesting to notice the frequency drift around 17.2 kHz while calibrating RPM of the alternator generator.

Video clip update of the first July 2018 SAQ transmission.

Interesting to notice the frequency drift around 17.2 kHz while calibrating RPM of the alternator generator.

Kind Regards,

Juan, M0WWA

[Axel61]

Hello,

12:45 UTC:

Very good Signal in Wittenburg/Germany. Locator JO55MM
RST: 587

RX: russian SW-Receiver “P-326″ and
danisch Marine-Reciver “Sailor 16T”
VLF-Converter with NE602,
Antenna: VLF-Loop 110 cm dia and MiniWihp
Decoder: Software “Fldigi”

Big thanks to the SAQ team

73 Axel

[Gerhard Kreuzer (OE3GKC)]

Hi,

thank you so much to be on air again.
Locator: JN88bg, 15km NW of Vienna
Q5, Q5, Q4, 20db, 20db, 10db above noise. My glass-fibre mast collapsed partly before the third Transmission and I didn’t recognice- So the antanna was 13m above ground and later on only 9m.
Rig: MidiWhip and PC and two different sound Interfaces under test as well as SAQrx and SpectrumLab.

Thanks a lot, and I am waiting for the Chrtismas Eve Transmission(s) to continue testing.

73

Gerhard
OE3GKC

[Mark]

Dear Grimeton SAQ Team,

you made our day at the amateur radio club station DF0SAX near Dresden ! 3 successful transmissions – amazing.
Several people brought their equipment and we received your signal with 5 different antenna types and several
receivers. More details may follow. Just for now:
signal was always well above noise (after we switched off all noise sources around us) and we could receive
your signal with all used antennas:
– resonant loop
– non-resonant loop
– 26m vertical antenna
– ferrite rod antenne
– Mini-whip (electrical field antenna)
with different receivers.
One of the highlights was writing down the Morse code with 2 telegraphs which are much older than the transmitter in Grimeton !

1) German telegraph Gebr. Naglo
2) German telegraph W. Gurlt telegraph
both from around 1880 !

We were able to get the Morse code with ink on the paper clear and readable – no problems ! I will send you the paper strip with the 1st message by mail.
The only issue came up at the end of the 1st message when your TX was drifting and the signal was going down.
I think you noticed this also on your side.

Some impression in the following video (I hope the link works):
SAQ at DF0SAX – some impressions

[Yves]

Today was my first tentative to receive the Grimeton signal here in Switzerland. I’ve been visiting the radio station a few weeks ago, therefore very interested to listen to the signal once back at home!
My equipment is a home-brew active E-field antenna based on the design published by DL1DBC (with a TL082 instead of TL07, because that’s what I had in the drawer…) and an Airspy+Spyverter connected to a PC running SDR#

The QTH was in a large public park right in the middle of the city of Lausanne, JN36HM. By chance the QRM was not as high as I could have expected.

This RX tentative was for me a “quick and dirty” project. I built the antenna only a few days ago and have not tested it properly. Today I had no time to prepare myself in advance during the “tune” phase, and could only listen for a few minutes to the transmission at 12h45 local swiss summer time (10h45 UTC). I was very surprised to catch a visible CW signal on the waterfall display right at power on! My CW knowledge is not good enough to have decoded the transmission (read “was to fast for me!”). I got only a few letters but I am almost sure that this was the wanted signal. In the VLF band, QRM looks and hear differently than CW.
I lost the signal after maybe 1-2 minutes. I don’t know how long the transmission duration was planned. Maybe this was simply the end of the transmission.

I was unfortunately not available for the 2 other transmissions of the day.

Now that I know my setup is working, I’ll give me a chance to listen to one of the next transmissions in the coming month, from my home QTH in Neuchâtel JN36LX.

Thanks to all the team for this interesting event.

Yves / HB9DTX

[gerard pe1bbi]

Dear people

I did recieve your transmission via sdr.hu (kiwisdr)
Good reception on PA0RTD and in lisbon and Athenes.
More surprising was the reception in Qatar with good visible on the screen
and in audio.Distance to Qatar is 4697 km.
Strength was S1-S2 Q3
Tried a lot of other SDR.hu in Japan, USA, Brasil, Bonaire, Canary Islands
Tasmania but no reception.
73 Gerard PE1BBI

[Burkhard]

Hi guys,

nice reception of all 3 transmissions here in JN49BU. My setup for this day:

Transmision #1: airspy HF+, SDR console V3, MiniWhip (5m above ground), RST 549
Transmision #2: SDRplay RSP2, SDR console V3, MiniWhip (5m above ground), RST 569
Transmision #3: SDRplay RSP2, SDRuno, MiniWhip (5m above ground), RST 559

SNR 5 to 8 db during all transmissions.

Will there be QSL cards to be sent?

Thanks and 73,
Burkhard

[ALEX DELIGIANNIS SV8QG]

The 1st transmission from SAQ on 17,2 KHz was noise free (16 DB above noise) The 3rd transmission at 12:45 UTC the signal was weaker and the noise higher but the audio was readable. thank you for another transmission from thw Old Lady.
73s Alex SV9QG

[Bernd]

My first reception from SAQ was on 1 May 2018 on the Baltic Sea. in about 200 km distance to the station. Today I was able to receive SAQ near Berlin (locator JO62TN). The distance was about 510Km. I had to go to a field to have less interference. My receiver is a homemade. This is a direct mixer. Ferrite antenna. The disturbances were strong. But I could hear SAQ well.
73 55 and good luck.
Bernd

[DL2XY]

QSL 599 at JO43xu on all 3 Transmissions

[Bernd]

Hallo
Thank you SAQ Team for the QSL card. I received the card on 28th July. May the station SAQ work for a long time.
Regards Bernd

[Wim Ton]

Very good reception in Switzerland, JN47CL with an active antenna. I had to reduce HF gain to a minimum.

[Giuliano]

Too much noise in city but readable,in JN61EW with Perseus SDR and PA0RDT mini whip antenna.

[Jaap Last]

Hello friends,
Reception here in the NE of the Netherlands today: 20 dB above noisefloor. Tnx for all the effort and have a nice day there in Grimeton

’73 de Jaap PA0T

[John G4HPW]

Received a good signal today both tuning and message.
Using my Kiwi sdr and datong active antennae in loft space

[Alexander Hahn]

SAQ tuning heard here at Kitzbühel 528 now with my SDRIQ
and the Grahn GS5-SE magnetic active
antenna and the VLF2 “Alexanderson” module.
Alex – DH2ID

[Bill Gruffman]

The Alexanderson day transmission at 10:45 clearly heard in Tumba south of Stockholm.

Again congratulation to your great work gentlemen.
/Bill

[SWLJO43]

Hello,

i (SWLJO43) heard SAQ today on 17,2 kHz RST 465 here at Asendorf/Germany near Hamburg

Thanks Dirk

[Ian Harling G7HFS.]

Hi.
Great transmission this morning.I was using my FT-817nd and Spectrum Communications VLF converter.
I am at a portable noise free qth near Eastbourne uk.Jo00ds.
73.
Ian G7HFS.

[Coloru]

Hi!
Nice transmission in JN55XI, light QRM but good signal. Antenna Quad Loop connected via mic input to software HDSDR.
I’ll wait 2nd TX…
’73 de IW3IAB – Andrea

[Carl, SM4HYG]

Hi all, SAQ recieved on active 1m loop at -94dBm in 300 Hz on ELAD DUO in JP70NR. Both tune-up and message without QSB or QRN.
Thanks for keeping the station going ! Carl / SM4HYG.

[Alexander Hahn]

Hello dear friends,

I heard SAQ today on 17,2 MHz RST 539 here at Kitzbühel/Austria
My location is at 47°27.43′ N 12°22.38′ E
My equipment: SDR-IQ by RFspace, Grahn GS-5-SE active antenna
with the VLF2 “Alexanderson” ferrite module.

vy 73, Alex – DH2ID

[Whitham D. Reeve]

What is the planned duration of each transmission during the 1 July commemoration?

The transmission start at 0845, 1045 and 1245 UTC. How long will each one last?

Thanks!

Whit

[Walter, DL6HAK]

It exists a newer Version of saqrx

https://sites.google.com/site/swljo30tb/

for download: click “FILES” at the end of the page or

https://sites.google.com/site/swljo30tb/home/files

[Lars Hammarström]

One way to Receive the transmission:
https://sites.google.com/site/sm6lkm/saqrx/

[Author]

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