Radio Boulevard
Western Historic Radio Museum

 
Vintage Longwave Receivers

~ In Depth Profiles of the Following Receivers ~

 ~  IP-501-A - Radiomarine Corp. of America - 1922  ~

 ~  Type 105-A - Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. - 1932  ~

 ~   RAZ-1, CRM-46092 - Radiomarine Corp. of America - 1941  ~ 

    ~  RAK-7, CND-46155 - RCA-Andrea Radio Co. - 1944  ~

~  AR-8510 - Radiomarine Corp. of America - 1944  ~

~  RBL-5, CNA-46161-B - National Co., Inc. - 1945  ~

 ~  RBA-6, CFT-46300 - RCA-Federal Tele.&Radio Corp. - 1945  ~

  ~  Type 3001-A - Mackay Radio & Telegraph Co. - 1948  ~

~   SP-600VLF-31 - Hammarlund Mfg Co., Inc.- 1958  ~

~  Miscellaneous Other Receivers with MW and LF Coverage  ~

 Using Vintage Longwave Receivers Today
 Signals Below 500kc, Noise, Propagation & Remote Tunable Loop Antenna Plans
600 Meter Amateur Band Proposal, Regens and TRFs vs Superhets on Longwave

USCG  Loran C Master Station"M"- Fallon, Nevada - 2007 Photo Tour 

NBD Stations in Nevada  &  NDB Station Log

by: Henry Rogers WA7YBS

SAQ - Grimeton, Sweden

Nowadays, SAQ is probably the best known Long Wave station since they periodically run the only operational Alexanderson Alternator in the world. The mechanical transmitter produces a 200KW RF signal on 17.2kc. The antenna system uses six 425 ft. tall towers supporting eight horizontal cables with six vertical drops. Each cross arm on each of the towers is 125 ft. across. SAQ was originally going to be built during WWI for communications to Great Britain, however delays postponed SAQ'c completion to1924. Communication to Great Britain and the USA was SAQ's primary use in the twenties and thirties. More radio transmitters were added to the facility over the years and by the late forties, Sweden was considering scraping the Alexanderson Alternator. Fortunately, it was instead preserved and maintained, eventually becoming a museum, as it still is today. SAQ operates twice a year. Once on Ernst Alexanderson's birthday and once on Christmas Eve. It is a challenge to receive SAQ almost anywhere in the USA today. Receiving a radio signal (CW) on 17.2kc requires an excellent location, a substantial antenna and, of course, a first class receiver. For more information on SAQ, go to their website at www.alexander.n.se

photo above: SAQ in 1925. From Radio Broadcast March 1925

Vintage Longwave Receivers

In Depth Profiles of Classic Longwave Receivers

Radiomarine Corporation of America

IP-501-A - MW & LF Receiver-Amplifier

Commercial Shipboard Receiver from 1922

"Listening on longwave with a 1922, battery operated, regenerative receiver? You gotta be kidding!"

One has to remember, the IP-501-A was the commercial shipboard receiver that was built to the highest standards of the day. It was well-known for its superior performance and reliability. It is the "R-390" of the 1920s. This three tube receiver uses a three-circuit tuner with a regenerative detector and two transformer coupled audio frequency amplifier stages - not exactly the norm for a lot of radio receivers in 1922. What really sets the IP-501-A apart from the other three-circuit tuner regen sets is its incredible Antenna Tuner section that is entirely shielded from the main part of the receiver (which is also entirely shielded.) The Antenna Tuner allows exact tuning of the antenna's impedance so the load remains the same on the Secondary circuit. It's like having a built-in pre-selector. The only transference of signal happens by way of the small variable coupling coil located inside the Antenna coil. The fact that the receiver cabinet and front panel are entirely shielded results in no hand-capacity effects when the receiver is operated as an autodyne detector. This makes tuning CW super-easy. The Secondary Tuner has six frequency ranges from 1000kc down to 40kc and the dial is calibrated in meters. The Tickler coil is actually a variometer built into the Secondary coil form and includes load windings from the Secondary inductance to improve regeneration on the lower frequencies. The audio amplifier section is standard and uses two RCA interstage transformers. The audio gain is more-or-less controlled by the filament voltage and the operator can also select how much gain is required by using one of the phone jack outputs. The phone jacks also control the filament voltage to the tubes and only the tubes needed are in operation when that jack is selected. Maximum audio is from the AF2 jack which provides Det + 2 AF stages. In high noise level conditions or for very loud signals, AF1 saves the operator's ears by using just one audio amplifier. If the DET jack is used, only the detector tube is in operation - this would be for receiving local transmissions. Intended audio output is to Hi-Z earphones but the IP-501-A will drive a horn speaker loudly from the AF2 jack. To power the receiver up requires 6vdc at .75A for the filaments, 45vdc and 90vdc for the B+ requirements and -4.5 for C bias. The filament adjustment pot controls the A battery into the receiver and is used to turn off the receiver. Pulling the phone plug from one of the jacks will turn off the tubes but the meter will still show A battery voltage unless the filament pot is turned off. The tubes normally used in the IP-501-A were UX/UV-201A triodes. Operating any radio receiver that uses batteries for its power source can be a hassle and expensive unless you are all ready set-up to run battery receivers. Usually highly-filtered power supplies provide "close to pure" DC voltages to operate these types of receivers. I use a Lambda 6vdc 4A power supply for the A supply, a 1920s RCA Rectron B Eliminator for the B supply and a 4.5vdc battery for the C bias. Hi-Z earphones are necessary for the audio output and I generally us a set of 2200 ohms dc, Western Electric 518W 'phones. The IP-501-A also requires a fairly large antenna worked against a true earth ground for best performance.

photo above: Inside the IP-501-A receiver showing the high quality construction

 I have had this IP-501-A since 1979. A ham friend sold it to me after he had traded a telephone pole for it. I have performed three restorations on the set over the years. The last one in 1984 brought the IP-501A back to full original configuration and appearance internally and very good restored condition externally. I used the receiver back in the 1980s with a 125' EFW antenna and tuned in all the normal AM BC stations one would expect. As far as Airport Non-Directional Beacons (NDB,) the only one I remember tuning in was SPK 251kc, located at the old Reno-Cannon AP. I remember SPK because they used to transmit voice weather with the MCW ID "SPK" in the background. I really didn't know how to get a lot of performance out of the IP-501-A back then. The AM BC performance was fine but listening to AM BC over a horn speaker gets boring after awhile. When I opened the museum in 1994, the IP-501-A was installed in a display case and it stayed in the case for almost 15 years. Lately, I had been thinking about trying something different, as a challenge to the performance capabilities of early regenerative receivers. Since the IP-501-A was the commercial receiver of choice in difficult environments and it had every indication of being the "best" of its day, I decided to give it a try. I used my ham antenna, a 135' tuned dipole, but with the feedline shorted. This would provide a vertical with large capacity hat configuration similar to the large "T" antennas of the twenties. Our initial tests turned up a small problem with the IP-501-A's circuit selector switch. We had no detector plate voltage but it was just a bad contact that needed a bit of cleaning and we were up and operating,...sort of. Lack of audio output was another easy fix. The bias SS power supply had failed and was at -25vdc, definitely in the cut-off region for UX-201As! I sub'd a battery for the bias and then the IP-501-A sprang to life. Before power-up, I had tuned the receiver to around 800 meters as a pre-set and, to my complete surprise, SX 367kc in Cranbrook, BC, Canada was coming in (this was at about 5PM local time in December.) I tuned in a few more NDBs and then decided to wait until about 10PM and try again. At 10PM, I received around 25 more NDBs tuning from 326kc up to 414kc. Best DX was the 2KW transatlantic beacon DDP 391kc in San Juan, Puerto Rico and most difficult was probably ULS 395kc, a 25W marker beacon located in Ulysses, Kansas. Impressive performance from a 1922 regenerative receiver. In a three week period during the winter, I logged over 100 NDBs using just the IP-501-A. Some of the difficult NDBs received were PN 360kc Port Menier, Anticosti Island, Quebec, YY 340kc Mont Joli, Quebec, YKQ 351kc Waskaganish, Quebec and IY 417kc, a 25W marker beacon in Charles City, Iowa.

A history of these early wireless receivers and the companies involved is included in our article "SE-1420, IP-501 & IP-501-A - The Classic Shipboard Wireless Receivers"  - also included is an updated NDB log for the IP-501A that shows the incredible performance that can be achieved with early regenerative receivers - use navigation index at the bottom of this page.

Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company

  MW, LF & VLF Radio Receiver  Type 105-A

Serial No. 32081

Commercial Shipboard Receiver from 1932

built by: Federal Telegraph Company

Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company was founded by Clarence Mackay, son of John W. Mackay, one of the "Big Four of the Comstock" fame in Virginia City, Nevada. John Mackay initially made his fortune in Comstock silver but he later (1883) moved into telegraphic communications. Mackay, along with J. Gordon Bennett Jr., formed several telegraph communications companies to compete with Jay Gould's Western Union. Postal Telegraph Company (1886) was the best known, along with Commercial Cable Company (1884). Eventually, these companies, along with other Mackay-Bennett telegraph companies, had transoceanic cables across both major oceans. When John Mackay died in 1902, Clarence inherited the businesses. Clarence Mackay saw to the completion of the transpacific cable in 1904. Radio was added to the business end of things in 1925 to provide "radiogram" service to every area of the world. Mackay Radio was mainly interested in maritime communications which went along with the maritime radio-telegraph business. By 1928, ITT had merged with most of Mackay's business interests but the Mackay name continued on for  several decades. Mackay Communications is still in business, located in North Carolina.

Federal Telegraph Company started out in Palo Alto, California mainly dealing in arc transmitters. At one time, Lee DeForest worked for the company but Frederick Kolster was the head engineer for most of FTC's history. FTC bought Brandes and created a new division of FTC called Kolster Radio Company specifically for selling consumer radios in the mid-twenties. FTC became involved with Mackay Radio in 1926 when Mackay bought a radio station that had belonged to FTC. When Mackay sold his interests to ITT, then Federal Telegraph was contracted to do most of the Mackay Radio work. Federal Telegraph moved to New Jersey in 1931 when it was purchased by ITT. For awhile ITT tried the consumer radio market with Kolster International but it was a short-lived venture. The name of Federal Telegraph Co. was changed to Federal Telephone and Radio Company in the 1940s.

photo right: The underside of the Mackay 105-A. The lower coils are the Antenna Tuning coils and the upper coils are the Detector Tuning coils.

Update on Mackay Type 105-A Performance: The high noise level of the Type 105-A seemed to be limiting the reception of very weak signals. I finally decided to run the heaters on DC voltage which was a subtle change and hardly noticeable but very weak signal detection was improved. I was able to receive WG 248kc in Winnepeg, MB and RL 218kc in Red Lake, ON. Note that both of these NDBs are in the 200kc - 250kc part of the spectrum - a particularly noisy area. DC voltage on heaters does help on weak signal detection. 

Additional Note on Set-up and Performance: I decided to try an entirely different DC power supply set up using a 6vdc 4A Lambda power supply for the tube heaters and a vintage B eliminator, the RCA Rectron, to test if the noise would be further reduced. The change was amazing! Apparently the old Signal Corps power supply wasn't filtered as well as the Rectron because now the MCW signals from NDBs have no distortion and the tone sounds like a good sine wave. Luckily, there happened to be a true CW station operating on 425kc during my test. This was probably an "events" type of operation of one of the old Point Reyes stations since the signal was very strong and was only "on the air" for about one hour. This CW also was very pure in tone. The operation and performance of the Mackay Type 105-A only seems to improve that closer one gets to operating it on pure DC (as original.) November 21, 2009

Radiomarine Corporation of America

  U.S. NAVY - RAZ-1

 MW, LF & VLF Radio Receiver - 1941   

Serial Number: 65

CRM-46092, CRM-50092, CRM-20096

aka: AR-8503, AR-8503-P, RM-6

The Radiomarine Corporation of America was a division of RCA that specialized in the operation of RCA's Communications Stations and sold RCA-built equipment for both major communications stations and for shipboard installations. The AR-8503 was introduced around 1938 and was designed mainly for shipboard installations. A matching pre-selector was also included, designated as the AR-8503-P. Additionally, an AC power supply was offered, the RM-6. Although in an emergency, the AR-8503 could be operated from a battery pack the preferred method of operation used the RM-6 to supply the required 6 volts for tube heaters, +22 vdc for the detector B+ and +90 vdc for the amplifier plates. Sometime around 1941, the US Navy wanted to install the AR-8503 on some of their smaller ships and a contract was issued for a small number of receivers. "RAZ-1" designated a complete set of equipment that included the CRM-46092 Receiver (AR-8503) with the matching CRM-50092 Pre-selector (AR-8503-P) and the CRM-20096 Power Supply (RM-6.) The contract date was just five days before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec 2, 1941.

The CRM-46092 receiver uses four metal octal tubes in its regenerative circuit. The RF amplifier, detector and first audio are all 6K7 metal octal tubes while the audio output tube is a 6F6. The CRM-50092 preselector uses a single 6SG7 metal octal tube as a tuned RF amplifier. The CRM-20096 uses a 5Z4 metal octal tube for the rectifier. The CRM-50092 pre-selector receives power from the CRM-20096 power supply via a three foot long, three conductor cable that is connected to the power supply ground terminal along with the 6vac terminal and the +90vdc terminal. The CRM-46092 receiver has four tuning ranges covering 15 KC up to 600 KC. Three bandswitches - two on the receiver and one on the preselector - have to be utilized for changing tuning ranges. The National Type-N dials are scaled 0 to 100 and have a 180 degree layout. A tuning chart is provided in the manual to correlate the dial reading to tuned frequency. Coupling, Regeneration and Volume controls are on the front panel and the preselector also has an RF Gain control. Audio output is provided for a single audio stage or for full audio output via two telephone jacks on the front panel. Output is designed for the Western Electric 509W earphones and, although any Hi-Z 'phones will work, the 509W phones seem to give the best immunity to noise. The receiver case is shock mounted and is made of copper plated steel painted a grayish-brown color. The preselector case is made of aluminum and painted to match the receiver although it is not shock mounted. The power supply is a standard steel box painted gray. The front panels of the receiver and the preselector are machine textured aluminum that has been matte chromium plated.

Right photo: The CRM-50092  preselector chassis showing the tuning condenser and the 6SG7 RF amplifier tube. The RF coils are under the chassis.

I first saw this RAZ-1 in 1997 at the home of W3ON, John Ridgway. It was setting next to the SX-28 he was going to sell me (if I could lift it off of the table.) I asked John if he wanted to sell the RAZ-1, to which he replied, "You wouldn't take a longwave receiver away from an old Navy radioman, would you?" John was living in Galena, Nevada at the time but since he was 85 and now alone, he was moving back to Maryland. John lived to the age of 93, becoming an SK in January 2006. To my surprise, in the summer of 2006, I got a 'phone call from an estate agent who said that they had found a letter among John's papers that stated that he wanted his radios and parts to be sent to the "Radio Museum in Virginia City, Nevada." The agent was calling me to see if I really wanted any of "this junk." I told them I did. The estate paid to ship the parts and equipment back out west. The shipping of the 22 boxes was spaced out over about a six week period. In the 21st box was the RAZ-1. Shipping had caused one small problem, one of the largest coils had broken from its mount. The large buss wiring had kept it in place and all that was required was to glue the mount back together and screw the coil form back in place. I acquired the correct shock mounts from N7ID. I did have to replace the filter capacitors in the power supply for quiet reception.

The RAZ-1 is very sensitive and almost any station on LW can be tuned in however the lack of a calibrated dial makes this somewhat difficult if looking for a specific frequency just using the RAZ-1 dial alone for reference. Though I could use a heterodyne frequency meter if it is important to determine the exact frequency being received, I find it is easier to know approximately where I am tuning by listening to known adjacent signals. In other words, if the NDB MOG is zero beat (or being heard in the background) and I'm trying to copy another weaker signal partially obscured by MOG, I know that weak NDB is on 404kc or very close to it, since that is MOG's frequency. I can usually determine an unknown NDB's frequency within 1 or 2 kc by this method. The lack of any kind of limiter is sometimes a problem if local noise is present, however switching to the loop antenna has greatly reduced local noise. To reduce noise to a minimum, the Coupling is set very close to zero (0 to 25% maximum,) the Volume about 25% to 60% advanced, Regeneration right on the oscillation point (autodyne detection) and then signals are peaked with the the Preselector and then slightly manipulated with the Trimmer control. The Preselector gain is usually set to about 85%. These settings usually result in the best response of signal to noise along with the greatest selectivity. Although very strong signals are encountered from local or powerful stations, very weak MCW signals are the norm when searching for DX NDB stations. Usually, with several NDBs on the same frequency it is possible to slightly de-tune the loop antenna to one side or the other of the frequency and enhance one or more of the NDB signals for successful copy. I have logged more NDBs with the RAZ-1 than any other LW receiver. It can always be relied upon to pickup whatever is out there as long as reasonable conditions are present.

A Second RAZ-1 - I was lucky enough to be given a second RAZ-1 in trade for some radio work in 2013. This RAZ-1 didn't have the CRM-20096 power supply but it did have the CRM-50092 preselector. There were a few condition problems that required some unusual cleaning methods to correct. I had to use NaOH (found in Easy-Off Oven Cleaner) to remove the corrosion on the National Type-N dial on the receiver. After cleaning the dial the black nomenclature fill was applied using Artist's Acrylic (Mars Black.) The receiver panel required a fairly hard scrub using a brass brush and Glass Plus. The panel is chromium-plated aluminum so it can take this kind of treatment and come out looking great. At sometime in the past, someone had tried to install a Squelch control - difficult to accomplish with a regenerative receiver that was designed for a headset output. Needless to say, the Squelch modification didn't work and only succeeded in the RAZ then having a hole in the front panel.

I removed the Squelch modification and installed a red jewel pilot lamp housing with lamp into the panel hole. Now the RAZ-1 has a power-on indicator that looks original and provides useful information - something the Squelch didn't. There were a few wiring problems in the preselector due to an unnecessary recap job. The original tub caps were checked and found to be in good condition so the modification was removed and everything put back to original. The cases for both units were cleaned with a brass brush and Glass Plus. This removes all of the dirt out of the convolutions of the wrinkle finish and winds up with the cabinets looking very good. This RAZ-1 works pretty well now - not as well as SN: 65 which is almost all original - but pretty good. photo left: RAZ-1 sn: 226 with Preselector sn: 182 - the red pilot lamp is next to the power input terminals

Radiomarine Corporation of America

Model AR-8510

MW, LF & VLF Shipboard Receiver - 1944

photo above: Under the chassis showing the bee's wax impregnated coils.

The AR-8510 could be provided with a cabinet and shock mounts if it was to be used as a "stand alone" receiver. However, if it was going to be installed into a shipboard communications console (as most were) then the cabinet and shock mounts were not provided. Many AR-8510 receivers were part of the shipboard 3U transmitter console that included a 200W transmitter, an emergency crystal receiver, battery charger switching, clocks and more. The 4U console used the RMCA AR-8506 MW-SW receiver with a larger transmitter. The 5U console had both receivers installed along with transmitters and auxiliary equipment. Mackay Radio and Telegraph Company also supplied Marine Radio Consoles MRU-19 or 20 that had their equipment installed.

The AR-8510 was approved by the FCC for shipboard use in 1942 (concerning minimum radiation from the antenna.) The schematic drawings are dated 1943. It's likely that it was at least 1944 before any AR-8510s were in use and this particular AR-8510 is dated NOV. 1944 (with a serial number of 2774) making it an early example. It seems that most of the installations during WWII were onboard Liberty ships. Post-WWII installations were generally on commercial ships. The AR-8510 found a lot of use and longevity with some receivers still in use onboard some old oil tankers as late as the 1980s.

Unfortunately, most AR-8510 receivers led a pretty hard life and the sea environment didn't help preservation. Most examples have been worked on or have missing parts (or non-original parts.) The AR-8510 shown in the header photo is cosmetically restored with nearly all original parts. The exception is one capacitor under the chassis, the speaker grille and the RCA pointer knobs. The paint job on the front panel is VHT Gray wrinkle finish which is slightly darker than the original RMCA gray.
 

I was given the AR-8510 shown in the photos as payment for some radio repair work. It probably was taken off of one of the Liberty ships that were part of the "moth-balled" fleet that was moored outside of Benicia, California since the receiver originally was obtained from the SF Bay Area. The "as received" condition was fairly good considering how the ships were taken care of - they weren't. Of course, the front panel has been repainted in the past - probably with a brush. The perf-metal grille had more than its share of paint applied (and it wasn't original either.) The receiver came without any type of power supply (the RAZ-1 power unit RM-6 can be used as a power source.)

Performance using a "T" antenna of 98 vertical feet running to a 135 foot horizontal section was very good. Since the AR-8510 was the replacement for the AR-8503, it's fair to compare the two receivers. First, with a direct readout dial there's no need for the charts and graphs necessary for finding where you're tuned on the AR-8503. The preselector is built-in with the AR-8510. Also, only a single band switch is necessary on the AR-8510 while two band switches are used on the AR-8503 plus a band switch on the preselector. Sensitivity on the AR-8510 is about the same as the AR-8503 with preselector. Regeneration action is very similar in that it's a very sharp adjustment between maximum sensitivity (either non-oscillating or oscillating) and any adjustment below either point greatly reduces sensitivity (this is typical of regenerative detectors though.) The AR-8510 seems to hold its adjustments better across the band especially the Trimmers that only require a slight adjustment from one band end to the other. This is expected since it's part of the alignment process. I find that the loudspeaker is actually pretty good for some reception. If you want to use Hi-Z phones, it's better if you leave the loudspeaker on. Without the speaker load the 'phones seem to respond to more noise than signal.

After stripping, I usually give the metal a good scrub with lacquer thinner using a 0000 steel wool pad. Then finish with another wash with lacquer thinner and paper towels. This usually gets the panel ultra-clean and the surface conditioned for the best results using WF paint.

Since both sides of the panel were originally painted with WF, I had to think of how I was going to paint the second side without ruining the first. I could hang the panel and paint but this would make heating a problem. Using the threaded bosses that are for the panel mounting thumb screws, I threaded in long screws that would keep the panel surface raised so the paint job wouldn't be compromised when the back of the panel was painted.  >>>

Grille Board - In order to have the grille cloth have proper support a cardboard grille backing is necessary. I made one out of heavy cardboard that was very similar to the backboard on a paper tablet. Actually, I used cardboard packing dividers but the material is almost exactly the same as that found on tablets. Once the cardboard is cut then the cloth can be mounted. Use either spray adhesive or a light coating of Elmer's Glue just on the edges. Pull the cloth tight and let the glue set up. Use a soldering iron hot tip to burn through the grille cloth at the mounting holes. See photo right for how the grille board and grille cloth look.

Hardware - Almost all of the screw heads were painted over with the dark gray paint. Originally these are nickel-plated brass screws so the paint needed to be removed. This was easily done with the use of a brass "toothbrush." Brass will not scratch the nickel and will remove the paint without damaging the screw. All control nuts and washers were also brass-brushed. The nuts on the phone jacks were replaced because of poor condition.

First, I listened at 11:00PM local time using the 135' CF Inv Vee with the 98' feed line shorted as the antenna. I tuned in several NDBs from the Western US. I also copied NY and XX from BC, Canada. Lightning crashes were coming about every two seconds so copy was difficult. August conditions are very poor for MW signals but the AR-8510 still managed to receive several NDBs. The next morning at 6AM, I tuned in JJY on 40kc coming in fairly strong. On WWVB 60kc or JJY 40kc, you have to greatly reduce the RF Gain in order to hear the pulse encoded signal. Too much gain will allow the noise to overpower the signal. The same is true for NAA and NLK, the USN MSKRTTY stations on 24.0kc and 24.8kc.

All in all, the AR-8510 is a fine performer and should do an excellent job in the coming LF season.

RCA-Andrea Radio Co.

U.S. NAVY

RAK - 600kc to 15kc, RAL - 23mc to 300kc

Andrea Radio Co. CND-46155,RAK-7 Radio Receiver - 1944

Andrea Radio Co. CND-46156,RAL -7 Radio Receiver - 1944

The Navy wanted more modern LW, MW and SW receivers in the mid-thirties so RCA provided the Navy with the RAK/RAL series. Initially, the designation for the RAL was TBR. These new receivers had to be "bullet and bomb" proof, in other words, the ship had to take a couple of torpedoes, be sinking fast and the radio gear would still be working. The RAK/RAL series is just that - built like the battleships they served on. The construction is something to marvel at - so over-built, so heavy duty with no expense spared - it's no wonder that most RAK or RAL receivers still function with all original parts even though they are pushing seventy years old. The design concept was to provide maximum reliability by simplicity of design - and it paid off since the receivers were in use up until the end of WWII with their last service on board submarines.

 The RAK, (aka CND-46155 by its Andrea/Navy designation, substitute "R" for the "N" for the RCA /Navy designation) covers 15kc up to 600kc in six tuning ranges. The tubes used were large six-pin type, 6D6 tubes for the two RF amplifiers, a 6D6 for the regenerative detector, a 6D6 for the first audio amplifier, a 41 for the audio avc amplifier and another 41 for the audio output. The power supply, CNV-20131, was a separate unit that used a 5Z3 rectifier, an 874 regulator tube and an optional 876 ballast tube. The 876 can be left out of the power supply if the AC power is stable and noise free. An internally mounted switch routes the 120vac to a different tap on the power transformer if the ballast is not required. If the ballast tube is installed it will be on regardless if it is used or not although less current is flowing through it when it is switched out of the circuit. When switched in, the 120vac actually is dropped through the ballast and a different tap on the power transformer is used (~70vac) thus providing the regulation of the AC to the transformer if the line voltage is not stable.

The RAK is designed for CW or MCW only. The receiver has a low pass filter that is permanently connected in the audio circuit to roll off the upper audio frequency at about 1200 hz. An elaborate audio avc circuit allows the user to limit the audio or noise peaks at an adjustable level. This was to allow the receiver to be used in heavy static conditions. Also a selectable audio bandpass filter was provided to enhance CW reception in noisy conditions. Voice can be received but it is severely limited on the higher audio frequencies making copy difficult. The manual states that another receiver should be used if voice reception is required - like the RAL. The tuning of the RAK is heavy duty, gear driven and the tuning dial readout is shown on two circular dial scales of 0 to 10 and 0 to 100. The actual tuned frequency has to be correlated with a graph that is in the manual. The receiver does provide a logging chart on the front panel for a "most used frequencies" reference. A frequency trimmer, an antenna trimmer, sensitivity and regeneration controls on on the lower panel of the receiver. The meters monitor audio output level in db and tube heater voltage. The RAL receiver is almost identical construction but has nine bands covering 300kc to 23mc. Additionally, the low pass filter can be switched out of the circuit for voice reception and a vernier frequency control is provided. Most of the concern about a stable AC line voltage was directed at the RAL receiver which itself can become unstable at high frequencies if the line input varies. Normally, the two receivers operated together through a control box (CND-23073) that allowed the radio op to monitor two frequencies simultaneously. The control box also could be used to switch the AC to the receivers on or off.

photo left: The RAK and RAL in use aboard a US Navy ship. Also, National RBL and RAO receivers far left, LM-7 frequency meter by the telephone handset and a Scott SLR-type receiver below the order binders.

National Co., Inc.

U.S. NAVY

   RBL-5, CNA-46161-B  - MW, LF & VLF Radio Receiver - 1945

This RBL-5 was acquired from a ham neighbor here in Virginia City. It required a little work before it was functioning to its specifications. The tubular antenna connection input that attaches to the box that bolts to the back of the cabinet was shorted internally so essentially whatever antenna was connected was shorted to chassis. Removal of the tubular connector and just running the coax through the box directly to the antenna and ground terminals fixed the problem. Also, there was a soldering job at the audio output transformer that was poorly done. Exactly what the object of the solder job was is not known but it probably was in search of the lack of output that was really caused by the shorted antenna input. Fortunately, no original parts were removed and only the connections to the audio output transformer were moved to incorrect terminals. We just returned everything to the original connections and then the receiver output returned to normal.

photo left: The chassis on this RBL-5 is immaculate and all original. RF section is on the right side of the chassis and the power supply, limiter and audio sections are on the left side.

I have logged a lot of NDBs using this RBL-5 receiver, primarily because the RBL-5 is easy to use, very sensitive, has direct frequency readout and the limiter functions quite well. The limiter makes long sessions of receiving comfortable since the static crashes are reduced to the point where they aren't causing headaches anymore. I take the audio output right from the earphone jack on the front panel running 600 ohm 'phones for best copy on weak signals. The NBDs normally copied are multiple stations operating on the same frequency, with two and sometimes three different CW identifications being heard simultaneously. Using the RF trimmer and the Antenna Compensator controls, it is usually possible to enhance one or the other of the MCW signals and identify the particular NDB, (the RAK and RAZ LW receivers also have this ability to manipulate the signal a little to enhance copy.) The RBL works particularly well with the tuned loop antenna and this provides the ability to add some directional characteristics to the reception. Additionally, the loop can be slightly de-tuned to allow enhancing NDBs that are on one side or the other of antenna resonance which can sometimes help with copy.

photo right: The underside of the RBL-5 is also immaculate and all original. The photo shows the multiple gears that drive the two ceramic bandswitches. Construction is first rate as expected from National Company. Note that the alignment trimmers are all clustered together. The bottom cover has a sliding access panel that allows the receiver to be aligned with the bottom cover installed - probably why the RBL-5 has such an accurate dial readout.

RCA-Federal Telephone & Radio Corporation

U. S. NAVY

CFT-46300, RBA-6 - MW, LF & VLF Radio Receiver - 1945

In the late thirties, it was becoming apparent that a replacement receiver was going to be necessary for the aging RAK series of longwave receivers. The new receiver design was going to blend the advantages of the TRF designs of the RAK receiver but eliminate the regenerative-autodyne detector in an effort to keep the leakage radiation on the antenna to a very low level that prevented enemy direction finding equipment from determining the location of the receiver. Additionally, the low-level of radiation allowed the receiver to operate in the presence of other receiving and transmitting equipment along with radar equipment without interference. In order to allow demodulation of CW signals a frequency tracking beat frequency oscillator (BFO) was incorporated into the design. The BFO design utilized a section of the main tuning condenser so the BFO tuning condenser was ganged to the main tuning. Since the new receiver was not a superheterodyne, the BFO had to track at 1kc above the tuned frequency allowing a 1kc heterodyne to be heard thus allowing CW to be readily copied. There were a couple of very good reasons for not designing the new LF receiver as a superheterodyne. First, was to provide complete coverage of the tuning range of 15kc to 600kc. Most IF amplifier sections utilized around 400kc to 500kc for the intermediate frequency, right in the middle of the most used portion of the medium wave band (as far as the Navy was concerned.) Operation of the IF amplifier at, for example 455kc, would eliminate a section of frequency coverage of about 20kc either side of the intermediate frequency. Some superhet LW receivers moved the IF above the intended tuning range (15kc to 600kc) but there were disadvantages to this solution to the problem. For example, the RBH receiver uses an IF of 1500kc but any transmitting activity around 1500kc will "leak into" the IF section of the receiver and cause heterodynes throughout the tuning ranges. Another problem was that fact that the conversion process in a superheterodyne creates a lot of internal noise in the receiver - not a real problem on HF or SW, but a serious determent to good LF performance. Regenerative and TRF receivers with no conversion required are very quite receivers when it comes to internally generated noise.

At $3000 each cost to the Navy, the new RBA receiver was certainly an expensive receiver but a look inside reveals the incredibly high level of electro-mechanical design and construction. The tuning range is from 15kc up to 600kc in four bands. The illuminated dial readout is direct in kilocycles along with a logging scale that uses two scales - one on the main dial and a separate "units" logging scale. The mechanics of the tuning system design allows for super-smooth operation. The Gain adjustment controls the sensitivity of the receiver but there is also a "tracking" gain control (also called the auxiliary gain control) that is geared to the main tuning. This allows a variable gain compensation to frequency tuned to allow a constant gain level across the tuning range of each band. To protect the operator's ears, since most operation would be via earphones, an Output Limiter circuit allows an adjustment of the maximum output of the receiver based on the setting of the Output Level control. The O.L. can be switched on or off via a toggle switch on the front panel. The O.L. could be used in high level static conditions or for unexpectedly strong local signals. Two meters are provided, one to monitor Audio Output Level in db and one to monitor the B+ voltage.  Two levels of selectivity are provided, Broad selectivity rolls off the audio response at about 1300kc with an internal LP filter and the Sharp position is provided by a 1kc bandpass filter for CW in noisy conditions or in cases of interference. The audio output is 600 ohms Z and is intended for earphones although the RBA will drive a matched loud speaker if necessary. The separate power supply is the CRV-20130, which is the same power supply used for the 15 tube RBB and RBC superheterodyne receivers. The CRV-20130 provides the filament voltage and B+ requirements via an armored cable with heavy-duty connectors. The power supply will easily operate two RBA receivers for emergency conditions and two separate connectors are provided. The power supply has a cold-cathode regulator tube (OC3) and a HV rectifier (5U4.) The RBA uses eight tubes, three 6SK7 RF amplifiers, one 6J5 Triode Detector, one 6SK7 BFO, two 6SJ7 AF amplifiers and one 6K6 AF Output. Early versions of the RBA receiver were identified as C(FT)-46154 (FT would indicate that Federal Tele. & Radio Corp. was the contractor) while the later versions are identified as CFT-46300.

 photo right: The underside of the RBA-6 chassis. Full shielding of each RF section is provided when the bottom cover is installed. The heavy-duty band switch uses ceramic mounts with .25" silver-plated contact buttons. All components are mounted on terminal boards or are mounted directly to the chassis.

I have been using the RBA during the morning hours for late September through most of October 2009 and have found the receiver to be a phenomenal performer. I can usually separate LLD 353kc in Hawaii from local Reno AP NDB NO 351kc and this is using just a wire antenna and not relying on the directional characteristics of a loop antenna. That's amazing selectivity for a TRF receiver. I've probably tuned in well over 100 NDBs but so far only two were new copies and they were West Coast NDBs. The wire antenna I'm using is the 135' center-fed dipole with 43' of open feed line that is shorted together at the receiver antenna terminals. This antenna, while not really something I designed for LW, seems to work quite well with all of the LW receivers. Radio Rossii 279kc is received every morning coming in very strong - Russian LW station located on Sakhalin Island. JJY also can be received every morning on 40kc coming out of Japan. Noise is the only limitation on reception and for better noise reduction I have to run a loop antenna.

January 21,2010 - I finally got the RBA-6 up to the top floor of the house where it can be used with the six-foot loop antenna. I had tried using the loop antenna in the basement but the concrete floor and the rock foundation were a serious detriment to the loop's performance. The top floor of the house is actually about 30 feet above ground level and allows the loop to function quite well even though it is located indoors. The performance of the RBA-6 on the loop is amazing. The signals just jump out of a fairly quite background noise level. Much quieter than running on the wire antenna. Most frequencies seem to have at least three NDBs active and by tuning the loop I can usually enhance one or the other to allow copy. Quite an improvement in performance. November 7, 2013 - QTH is now Dayton, Nevada and the antenna is a 300 foot long end-fed wire up about 50 feet. This antenna works quite well with the RBA-6 although the noise level is probably higher than using the loop. However, the actual ambient noise level is so low in Dayton that the 300 ft wire seems to provide better signal levels than the loop ever did in Virginia City. More info to come,... Nov. 8, 2013 0615 PST tuned in JJY at 40kc, very loud signal.   RBA-1, CFT-46154 - Shown in the photo to the left is the early version RBA, the CFT-46154. This particular RBA has had a common Field Change Contract installed which changes the toggle switches for Reception mode and Output Limiter to knob-type controls. There are additional changes internally. The B+ meter has been replaced on this receiver. Additionally, like many receivers that have gone through a field rebuild, the cabinet is black wrinkle (and for an RBA-1) while the panel has been repainted gray. I acquired this early RBA in May 2014 and it has not been powered up,...yet.

Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company

  Marine Radio Receiver  Type 3001-A

Commercial Shipboard Receiver from 1948

635kc to 15kc

Mackay Radio & Telegraph Company was founded by Clarence Mackay, son of John W. Mackay, one of the "Big Four of the Comstock" fame in Virginia City, Nevada. However, by the time this Mackay Radio receiver Type 3001-A was produced, International Telephone & Telegraph Co. had owned Mackay Radio for a couple of decades. ITT continued to use the Mackay name in their marine radio equipment up until just recently, 2006.

The 3001-A is a Longwave regenerative receiver covering 15kc to 635kc in four bands and although the design dates from around 1948 this receiver was built in 1952. The 3001-A was mainly for commercial shipboard (non-military) use where it could be set up as the main receiver or as the emergency receiver. These receivers were sometimes installed into Mackay MRU-19/20 shipboard radio consoles - two 3001-A receivers were normally used in these set-ups along with transmitters and other auxiliary equipment. The 3001-As were panel mounted when installed in the MRU set-ups. The receiver uses an AC-DC circuit and can operate on 115vac or on batteries. Various filament battery options were available with 6vdc, 12vdc and 24vdc being the most popular. B+ was supplied by standard dry cell B batteries when used. The receiver uses a four pin Amperite ballast tube along with six octal tubes. The cabinet has "knock-outs" all along the back and the bottom-rear to allow routing the various cables necessary for the installation. These would consist of the Main Antenna and Auxillary Antenna, the AC power connections, the DC power connections and an external earphone connection. A small built-in speaker provides for radio room monitoring but earphones would normally have been used by the shipboard radio operator. These type of Mackay receivers were used onboard ship for decades (a few reports indicate that some may still be in use.)

photo right: The under side of the chassis showing the various coils and other components. This receiver was re-capped sometime in the past.

Hammarlund Manufacturing Company, Inc.

SP-600VLF-31

 
 MW, LF & VLF Superheterodyne Receiver from 1958

540kc to 10kc

The 1950s was a time when the radio frequency spectrum below 500kc was brimming with signals that included many voice transmissions and lots of true CW transmissions. Signals that could be tuned included airport beacons (many with voice weather reports,) maritime weather and navigation signals, ship to ship traffic, ship to shore traffic, long wave AM broadcasting from foreign lands to name just a few. Nothing like today's almost entirely data-driven transmissions that defy decoding, unidentifiable signals of all varieties and the rapidly diminishing and displaced airport beacons (Non-Direction Beacons or NDBs.) In the 1950s, the SP-600VLF would have been used in the laboratory, in commercial coastal stations or perhaps onboard ship. It was an expensive receiver that probably wouldn't have interested the average radio amateur or average radio listener. It was mainly for commercial or military users.

Nearly all operation of the SP-600VLF will be with the RF gain throttled back to 5 or 6, Audio gain at about 5 to 7, with the AVC turned off and the BFO on. I've found that Selectivity at 1.3kc gives the best signal to noise ratio. A 600Z ohm headset connected to the 600 Z ohm audio output (not the phone jack) gives the best results for weak signal detection. I'm using a six foot remotely tuned loop antenna. Nearly all of the NDBs tuned in seem to have two or three signals on each frequency. Stations like JJY or WWVB can be received with the AVC on and with the BFO off which lets the Carrier Level meter function. In this set-up you can watch the meter respond to the pulse-encoded signal that either station sends out. NAA and NLK are very strong as are the other MSK-RTTY Navy VLF stations in the 20kc region of the spectrum. My first serious listening session was using my 80M Inverted Vee antenna with the feed line shorted. I logged two newly-heard NDB stations. Not that they were any great DX, being PND 356kc in Portland, OR and BF 362kc in Seattle, WA, but they were new ones (#259 and #260, respectively.) Super smooth tuning with oversize controls only adds to the pleasure of using the SP-600VLF.

photo above: The carrier level meter is unique to the SP-600VLF

photo above: Only four crystal positions are offered in the X option

photo above: Tag between the tuning and logging dials

photo above: The unique side panels of the 600VLF

The SP-600VLF is a "top notch" LW receiver but using it today is a challenge mostly due to the very high noise levels that plague many LF enthusiasts. Special antennas are necessary for practically any receiver that tunes below 500kc and the SP-600VLF is no exception. The user's ability to hear LF signals will benefit greatly by employing a noise-reducing antenna system which generally means using a tuned loop of some kind.

With the tuned loop upstairs and propped up so it was pointing sort of north-south, I tuned in FCH 342kc and peaked the signal using the remote tuner. What I noticed was the gain peak was not as pronounced as it seemed to be with other receivers. Still, there was a peak, so I figured the loop was working. I waited until dark and then positioned the loop east-west. In tuning from around 325kc up to 400kc several NDBs from the US mid-west were received and several Canadian NDBs from Manitoba and Ontario were also received. The improvement over the "ham antenna" with the feed line shorted was dramatic. The only thing noticed was the "peak tuning" of the loop is very broad and not all that much gain change is noticed. I suspect that there may be an impedance mismatch between the loop and the SP-600VLF-31 that will require a little more tweaking. But, for now, I have a nice improvement in signals and some directivity.   November 15, 2014 - Removing one turn on the pick-up loop, which had three turns and is now two turns, has improved the loop performance with the 600VLF. Sharper tuning (higher Q) and seems to have better gain. November 17, 2014

UPDATE: For December 17, 2014 - I've been using the SP-600VLF-31 for about a month now (with the loop) and have logged over 100 NDBs, ten of which are newly heard NDBs. The greatest DX is the not-unexpected DDP in San Juan, Puerto Rico - over 3000 miles away, although DDP is not too difficult to hear since it's a 2KW transatlantic beacon. Performance of the SP-600VLF is exceptional and using only 600 Z ohm 'phones for the audio output and running the bandwidth selectivity at 1.3kc or narrower (and with manipulation of the crystal filter phasing) the ability to copy two or three different NBDs on the same frequency is impressive. The six foot loop has certainly made the difference in the ability to copy very weak signals.

Other Vintage Receivers with Some Medium Wave and Low Frequency Coverage

All of the receivers profiled above were specifically designed for MW, LF and VLF coverage - generally 600kc down to 15kc. Many other receivers were offered in versions that covered a portion of either the MF or the LF spectrum. During the 1930s, many "All Wave" radios for the home tuned down to 150kc because there was so much to listen to then in that part of the spectrum. Also, a few models of communication receivers were offered with limited MW/LF coverage. Some of these versions were excellent performers while others were barely adequate. The following is a short list of some of the more common types of receivers. None of the receivers listed below cover the entire "longwave" spectrum of 600kc down to 15kc. 

Hammarlund SP-200LX aka BC-779 - covers 400kc to 200kc and 200kc to 100kc - Excellent with loop antenna, a bit noisy with long wire antenna. Good dial accuracy. The BC-779 is probably the most popular of the military WWII versions of the SP-200 series. Some BC-779 receivers were built by Howard Radio Co. under contract. Band spread was not provided on the LF frequencies. SP-200LX is the designation used for any pre-WWII or non-military version of the "200 Series" receivers. IF is 465kc on all versions and double preselection is used on all bands.

RCA AR-88LF and CR-91/CR-91A - covers 550kc to 73kc (550kc to125kc on AR-88LF version) with SW coverage above 1.5mc - Excellent with long wire antenna or with a loop. Good dial accuracy. A heavy receiver weighing nearly 100 lbs in the cabinet. All steel construction is why. Stability was what RCA was trying to achieve and these receivers have virtually no drift. The AR-88LF versions were generally sent overseas during WWII and are somewhat difficult to find. The CR-91 is the USA-built replacement for the AR-88LF and is very rare. Most CR-91s are actually the post-war CR-91A receivers that were built in Canada (RCA-Montreal.) IF is 735kc on all LF versions and double preselection is used on all bands.

Signal Corps BC-314 and BC-344 - covers 1500kc to 150kc - Good with long wire, better with loop. No filter for bandwidth. This is a ten tube receiver with two TRF stages (10 tubes when powered by the RA-20 AC power pack in BC-344, nine tubes in the B-314 which is powered by a 12vdc dynamotor.) Great tuning with a lot of gear reduction. IF is 92.5kc. Heavy for its size.

Signal Corps BC-348 (except some A, B and C versions) - covers 500kc to 200kc with SW coverage above 1.5mc - Excellent SW receiver that is pretty good on the MW/LF band if the receiver has been aligned recently. Crystal Filter is available. IF is 915kc on all versions. The original BC-224 and the later original BC-348 receivers didn't cover 500kc to 200kc. This band was added early in WWII and many early versions (A, B and C) were reworked to have the MW/LF coverage. There were a few of the early versions that did escape the rework but these are seldom encountered.

Using Vintage Long Wave Receivers

Some of the Signals below 500KC -  Tuning around below 500kc offers some interesting challenges and a different kind of DXing. Nearly all signals encountered are either CW, MCW, RTTY or some kind of data transmission. There are virtually no voice transmissions except for foreign longwave BC stations. Here are some of the types of signals found below 500kc.

An enjoyable part of listening below 500kc is receiving the many different Non-directional Beacon (NDB) stations that are located at many airports around the world. Airport NDBs operate continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The transmissions are nearly always in MCW using a 400hz tone (1020hz was popular in the USA.) The NDB station will transmit its assigned call letters in International Morse every few seconds. The NDB ID usually is a three-letter combination that often bears some resemblance to the airport location, e.g., CHD in CHanDler, Arizona. US NDBs that use only two letters for an ID are usually "marker beacons" located at the beginning of a runway. Often, marker beacons are not listed on NAV-AID websites and therefore are sometimes difficult to identify. NDB transmitter power is generally around 25 watts in the USA, however there are some US regional NDBs that run up to 400 watts and a few coastal "transoceanic" and Alaskan NDBs that run 1KW to 2KW.

Canadian NDBs will follow their station call with a "key-down" signal until the call is sent again. This makes all Canadian NBDs easy to identify. Also, most Canadian NDBs run substantially more power than the typical 25W US NDB, so their NDBs usually put out strong signals. Sometimes Mexican NDBs will proceed the ID with a "long dash" - not "key down," just a long dash, (I have heard this on GRN several times but not on other Mexican NDBs.) NDBs can be found from 190kc up to 529kc although many NDBs are being displaced by powerful DGPS signals within the same part of the spectrum (generally signals from 290kc up to 325kc and 425kc up to 485kc are predominately DGPS signals.) Since the NDB signals are MCW, a carrier is always present on the assigned frequency. With the receiver BFO on, it is easy to locate the NDB carrier and then ID the station when the call is sent. Nearly always, there are multiple NDBs assigned to the same frequency so listening for different characteristics of the transmitted signal becomes part of the method of identification. Also, due to changing propagation, different DX NDBs assigned to the same frequency, will be heard during different listening sessions. NOTE for 2014: More and more DGPS and other digital data beacons are turning up daily. Expect to find them scattered throughout the normal NDB frequencies.

Once the NBD call letters are known, they can be checked against one of the NAV-AID websites. By entering the station ID, the websites will provide the NDB airport location, assigned frequency and sometimes the transmitter power. A good NAV-AID for USA and some Canadian NDBs is www.airnav.com . For all Canadian NDBs and worldwide NDBs, www.worldaerodata.com is a good source of information. Also, www.globalair.com can provide addition information, such as, nearby NDBs. For Global Air, you will have to know the correct airport name or ID (not the NDB call) and then access "additional navaids" for the nearby NDB information. These websites also provide a "double-check" that the NDB ID heard on a specific frequency is the actual station received since there are usually several NDBs with the same call letters but never are identical IDs transmitting on the same frequency. Eventually, a list will have to be maintained in order to know when "new" NDBs are received.

NOTE: On the future of NDBs - Current US regulations state that if an NDB transmitter fails, the airport is not required to repair or replace their NDB station. Every month, more and more US NDBs are "retired" as obsolete technology since there are other more modern navigation signals available that are more accurate. However, many airports do select to maintain their NDBs as the operation costs are negligible and it provides a safety backup if the pilot has problems with his other air navigation equipment. It's up to the airport to decide if they want to continue to provide their NDB signal as part of a tradition of air navigation.

photo left:   One of our LW receiving stations when in Virginia City - the WWII Navy RAZ-1.

"Lowfer" is a nickname for the LF enthusiasts that transmit 1 watt signals to 50 foot antennas in the 190kc to 160kc band. A license is not required to operate these transmitters because their effective radiated power (EIRP) is so low. The limitations have resulted in very clever ways of extracting very weak signals out of the noise in that particular region of the spectrum. QRSS, or very very slow CW, is one method used. It is so slow that a computer usually monitors the signal for several hours (all night) to assure that copy is possible. Other computer programs are also used to make possible copy of these extremely weak signals. Sometimes, when conditions are favorable, two-way human CW contacts do occur. Those are usually referred to as "Real Morse Communications" since so much on this particular band is computer driven and monitored for transmission and reception.

In other countries, 136kc is an amateur frequency that can be used for fairly high power transmissions. The limitations are not nearly as strict as in the "Lowfer" band. In the USA, 22 experimental licenses have been issued under the call WD2XSH/xx. These are licensed individuals that are carrying out experimental transmissions around 500kc (usually 508kc.) The limitations are 20 watts EIRP. About half of the 22 licensees have not gotten "on the air" but some signals can usually be found. In the West, WD2XSH/22 in Sweethome, Oregon is very strong and easy to copy. These signals are CW, not MCW.

Other LW signals are WWVB (60kc) and JJY (40kc,) both pulse encoded time transmissions. JJY will identify their transmissions in CW at 15 and 45 minutes after each hour. WWVB provides no identification. All Loran C stations used to transmit on 100kc. They were precisely timed signals used for determining position based on the propagation delay. All Loran-C stations were shutdown in 2010 in what was mainly a political move that eliminated the last terrestrial-based, long-distance navigation system in favor of satellite-based GPS navigation (USAF vs USCG who ran Loran-C.)

There are several computer programs available that will demodulate many of the data transmission-type LF signals and allow the user to "view" what kind of information is being transmitted. In some cases, weather maps and weather reports can be printed out from NAVTEX. SeaTTY is one such computer program.

SAQ, the Alexanderson Alternator located in Grimeton, Sweden, operates twice a year. Once on Ernst Alexanderson's birthday and once on Christmas Eve. The mechanical transmitter produces a 200KW RF signal on 17.2 kc and operates in the CW mode. Messages transmitted are usually greetings to listeners and relate to whether it's Alexanderson's birthday or Christmas. SAQ is difficult to receive anywhere in the USA. Upper East Coast USA is about the only location that generally can receive the transmissions, although one report of reception did occur in the Central Midwest one time. The difficulty has to do with the 17.2 kc frequency which to successfully receive requires a superbly quite location and an excellent-efficient antenna. Mostly, it's the noise and the fact that SAQ is a third of the way around the world that makes reception impossible in the Western USA.

GOOD NEWS! - 600 Meter Amateur Band Proposal - As of February 2012, there is a proposal to create a world-wide amateur band dubbed "600 Meters." Actually, the proposal is for 7kc between 472kc and 479kc. Initially 1 watt effective radiated power was proposed but there is some indication that maybe that will be raised to 5 watts EIRP - essentially the effective power radiated from the antenna. Since nearly all of the antennas that would be possible for most amateurs to construct would be short in relation to the wavelength, the efficiency of those antennas would be compromised. Therefore, even though the EIRP might be 5 watts, because of antenna inefficiency it might take 100 watts of RF input to achieve 5 watts of EIRP. There are other restrictions that mostly involve other countries where interference with NDBs might be a problem. Also, at the moment there doesn't appear to be any details about the modes of transmission that can be used. Likely, due to the nature of the wavelength, transmissions will be restricted to CW or data transmissions - similar to the 30 meter amateur band in the HF range. The whole proposal has to still go through several steps to become official so it looks like the earliest that amateurs might be able to use "600 Meters" will be early 2013.

As usual,...there seems to be a lot of opposition to having US amateurs operate below 1800kc. Here it is 2014 and still the 600M band is going nowhere here in the US. Canada has approved its use. I'm afraid that 600M is going to end up like the 500kc operations - only a few licenses for a few individuals - if even that. -  H.Rogers July 2014

Terminology

Longwave, or LW, is a general term used to identify wave lengths longer than 600 meters, or all frequencies below 500kc. However, to be more accurate, this region of the radio spectrum is divided into three sections. They are:

 Medium Wave (MW) = 300kc to 3000kc
 Low Frequency (LF) = 300kc to 30kc
 Very Low Frequency (VLF) = 30kc to 10kc

Dealing with the Noise

The Longwave part of the RF spectrum can be very noisy with intense static making copy difficult. In an extreme RF noise generating environment maybe all that will be heard is intense "buzzing" any where you tune. These factors can pose problems when using modern equipment to tune in LW signals but what about vintage gear? How vintage LW gear responds is dependent on the noise environment and the antenna used. Most WWII LW equipment will have some kind of noise limiter and also some filtering though they may be of little use against the types of noise encountered today. Fortunately, most of the noise found on LW is originating from our own houses. Light dimmer switches are notorious for producing an intense "buzzing" RFI on LW. Certain kinds of controllers that have neon pilot lamps (the orange glowing light) can also create RFI noise. Florescent lighting, certain types of illuminated clocks, computers and monitors also can produce RFI noise. Cleaning up our own houses for RFI noise is the first step towards successful receiving of LW DX.

Another noise producer are street lamps - not when they are operating correctly but when they are malfunctioning. Usually before the street lamp goes out altogether it will cycle on and off with a time interval of about 30 seconds to one minute on the start-up cycle. During this time intense RFI is emitted. It's amazing how far away the malfunctioning street lamp can be and still create RFI at your location. Expect intense RFI from a street lamp within your block. Fairly intense RFI from two to three blocks away and nuisance RFI from four to five blocks away. Some receiver noise limiters can reduce the interference but early LW receivers with no filters are useless during the lamp's start-up cycle. Most of the time the failing street lamp will cycle on and off every couple of minutes, all night long. Normally, if you call the power company they will come out and replace the failing lamp. You will have to have the street lamp ID number that is located on the underside of the assembly by the lens and also the street location (the ID number is visible from the ground looking up.) Fortunately for LW listening, the most intense RFI from street lamps is located in the frequency range from about 450kc up to about 4000kc.

Propagation 

The time of the year and hour of the day are important to successful DXing on LW. Although in theory LF and VLF propagation is generally considered to be mainly ground wave, most NDBs are actually in the medium wave band (MW) which is 300 kHz up to 3000 kHz. MW does have both ground wave and substantial sky wave propagation characteristics. About the only NDB DX reception is going to happen at night and up to just before local sunrise. Below 100 kHz, ground wave makes up the majority of the signal propagation, however losses due to absorption are highest during the daytime so best signals are usually a nighttime occurrence. Sometimes sky wave will still happen in the LF part of the spectrum and this also adds to nighttime's advantage for better reception. Although you can receive the Navy RTTY VLF stations running around 20 kHz day or night, weaker LF stations, like JJY at 40 kHz, can only be received just before local sunrise and night west across the Pacific to Japan.

Due to the sun's position, its affect on the ionosphere and the intense noise generated by the sun's activity, winter nights are always best for reception on LF and MW (in the Northern Hemisphere.) Summer is plagued with countless thunderstorms that add intense noise to the LW spectrum - day and night. Usually by mid-September, the LW signals are getting better and the summer noise is becoming less bothersome. By mid-May, the noise is again increasing to the point where only the strongest signals can be heard. Therefore the LW listening "season" is usually considered to be between the Autumnal equinox and the Vernal equinox. Also, low noise LW conditions generally occur during sunspot minimum during the 11 year sunspot cycle. Increased solar activity, usually favored for HF DX, increases the band noise on LW. VLF is not usually affected by much of anything which is why it is used for 24 hour, worldwide military communications. The US Navy RTTY stations located around the world are always easy to receive with equipment that can tune low enough - 20kc up to about 50kc.

Regenerative TRF Receivers vs Superheterodynes on Longwave



photo above:   1922 RMCA  IP-501-A during a LW performance test. The digital frequency counter is used to provide an accurate frequency readout by coupling the autodyne signal that is on the receiver's antenna lead-in. This set-up only works while the detector is oscillating (autodyne.) The IP-501-A is tuned to local NDB "NO" from the Reno-Tahoe Intn'l AP (NOTE: NO 351kc "off the air" 2013.)

Regenerative receivers have some advantages over the typical superhet receiver on LW. For example, receiver noise - regen sets are quiet and don't add much noise to an already noisy part of the spectrum. The frequency conversion required in the superheterodyne creates substantial internal noise in the receiver that limits its weak signal ability on longwave. Also, since a minimal number of tubes are used in regen sets, thermal noise is at a low when compared to a large tube-count superhet. The regen set's ability to be set-up as an Autodyne Detector, that is to produce an oscillating condition without a BFO, is also an advantage. With a superhet it is necessary to use the BFO to set-up a condition where the carrier can be heard however the BFO in a superheterodyne can sometimes mask weak signals. Though most BFOs are very lightly coupled in early superhet receivers to prevent "masking" this is not always the case in modern receivers. Additionally, when the regenerative set is oscillating, it is doing so at the tuned frequency while a superhet, using a BFO, is actually providing an audible heterodyne by injecting an oscillator signal at the detector that is somewhere near the IF frequency. It is the level of the injection that is important to weak signal copy. Lack of Automatic Volume Control (AVC) in the regen sets is also an advantage as a high noise level can capture the AVC and decrease sensitivity. Normally, with vintage superhet receivers, most CW listening is done with the AVC off  for that very reason. Most superhet communications receivers will provide switchable AVC. However, some modern receivers, especially SWL portable types, do not have a switchable AVC provision leaving the listener at the mercy of atmospheric noise. 

An interesting variation of the typical non-superheterodyne longwave receiver is the RBA series built for the Navy during WWII and later. These receivers use three cascade TRF amplifiers feeding a non-regenerative triode detector followed by three audio amplifiers - in essence, the typical TRF receiver of the late twenties. However, that's where the similarity ends. The RBA also uses a "tracking" BFO that tunes via an additional ganged section of the five-gang tuning condenser. This allowed the BFO to always be 1kc above the tuned frequency and provide the heterodyne necessary to demodulate CW. Also, the RBA featured a "tracking" auxiliary gain control that was gear-driven from the tuning mechanism and kept the gain level constant throughout the tuning range. The RBA was used by the Navy for about two decades and its superior performance illustrates what can be accomplished in TRF design when cost was not an issue - the RBAs sold to the Navy for $3000 a piece in the 1940s.

Now, all of this isn't saying that a vintage superheterodyne can't do a good job on LW reception. When specifically designed for LW, with low noise tubes and circuits, a superhet can perform quite well on LW when used with the proper antenna. However, many superhets just added a portion of a LW band to a receiver that was really designed for HF. These types of superhets are common and their LW performance is usually rather poor. There are exceptions with the National HRO (using G, H and J coil sets,) the Hammarlund SP-200LX (aka BC-779) and the RCA AR-88LF (aka CR-91) being noteworthy as high performance superhets that do a fine job on their LW bands. Also, there are quite a few really high-end, designed specifically for LW, receivers that were made for the military and for the laboratory. The Hammarlund SP-600VLF is one that has interested LW listeners since it has continuous coverage from 10kc up to 540kc. Unfortunately, it is a rather rare and expensive version of the SP-600 and, while the VLF version is an exceptional performer, it does require a low-noise antenna and it helps to have a low-noise location. The Collins R-389 LW receiver is so rare and expensive that it is really more of a collector's receiver than anything else. The R-389 performance is usually reported as adequate but not phenomenal however I've never had the chance to operate an R-389 to compare its performance to other LW receivers. It's also likely that many of the R-389 "Collins Collectors" haven't had access to other high-end LW receivers and may expect too much from the R-389. In reality, most "high-end" LW receivers have about the same abilities and superior performance is more dependent on the operator, the antenna and the location rather than the receiver. If the LW superhet user runs his receiver with a tuned loop antenna, he will find the signal to noise ratio is greatly improved and many times with these types of antenna, the superhet performs really quite well. The superhet limitations would be due to excessive BFO injection (required for good SSB demodulation) and AVC operation that can't be switched off which allows the receiver's gain to be controlled by the noise level. Most of the time, these functions are found on some types of modern communications receivers and on shortwave portables, not on vintage receivers.

Selective Level Meters and Wave Analyzers as Longwave Receivers

Selective Level Meters and Wave Analyzers are test instruments that incorporate a tunable sensitive receiver with selectable filters and attenuators to drive a calibrated analog meter. These instruments are used for a variety of purposes such as measuring leakage or unwanted signal levels on transmission lines, testing response of various kinds of amplifiers, some types even provide a built-in signal generator for test signals. None of these type of instruments are designed specifically as Longwave receivers, however, some of them actually perform quite well in that function. I have used two Selective Level Meters as LW receivers, a Sierra Model 125B and a model made by Cushman. The Sierra 125B was a vacuum tube model and was fully operational with a good set of tubes and I had performed a full alignment. However, that particular model did not have a BFO to help locate weak NDBs. This made the Sierra 125B very limited in its usefulness as a LW receiver. I also had loan of another selective level meter made by Cushman. This was a solid-state model that did have an on-board BFO with USB and LSB capabilities. It didn't matter, I couldn't pick up any signals using it. The set's owner was also disappointed with the Cushman's performance as a LW receiver and he eventually sold it on eBay. By far, the best instruments for use as longwave receivers are some of the Hewlett-Packard Wave Analyzers.

I happen to have the HP 310-A version in which the receiver tunes from 1kc up to 1500kc. The 310-A also has selectable USB or LSB and AM detection along with 200Hz, 1000Hz and 3000Hz selectable bandwidths. Lowest scale sensitivity is 10uv FS meter reading (maximum signal level) although using this sensitivity depends on how much atmospheric noise is present. With a tuned loop antenna, 10uv FS meter can almost always be used. During high noise periods with a wire antenna, 30uv FS provides better noise immunity. In the "Relative" measurement position the sensitivity is adjustable for best response versus noise. The HP 310-A is a late sixties to early seventies vintage instrument with a mechanical counter providing the digital frequency readout.

photo right: The Sierra Model 125B Frequency Selective Voltmeter. The drum dial scale is at a "slant" because it is continuous tuning that has the scale spiral up as the drum is turned about four turns to go from 1kc up to 620kc. Lack of a BFO on the Sierra is a severe limitation for using it as a LW receiver

Tuned Loop Antennas or End-Fed Wires

Though LW stations can be tuned in using almost any type of antenna, the "Tuned Loop" provides the user with low noise reception due to its high Q, high selectivity. Another advantage is the ability to null out noise if it is from a particular direction. Most man-made noise will be directional and can be nulled out. The selectivity of the loop will help with atmospheric noise by increasing the receiver's response to the tuned frequency and increasing the signal to noise ratio. The End-Fed Wire is generally any wire antenna that has no feed line - one end of the antenna connects directly to the receiver antenna input. Usually, EFW antennas are between 75 and 150 feet in length due to physical limitations of the user's property size. Much longer than 250 feet and the EFW might begin to exhibit "long wire" characteristics of improved directional gain off of the ends although this actually depends on the frequency that the antenna is being used to receive. Below 500kc, most EFW antennas are going to be "short" and exhibit none of the advantages of typical "long wires" used on HF. However, long (that is a few hundred feet long or so) EFW antennas do provide better signal to noise performance than the typical short EFW and in some quiet locations might out-perform a tuned loop used in a poor location. Extremely long, "Beverage antennas*" perform entirely different (much better) than the typical, short (for LW) End Fed Wire. The EFW's advantage is ease of installation and, even if the antenna is not tuned, it will still give a fairly consistent response throughout the receiver's tuning range. However, because of this wide response and lack of a feed line, it's susceptible to all kinds of noise - made man and atmospheric. While it's interesting to compare the two antennas, I have found that almost without exception a well-designed tuned loop antenna will always outperform a moderately short end-fed wire. This is especially true with more modern receivers - the newer the receiver's design, the better it usually works with a tuned loop antenna. Very early three-circuit tuner regenerative receivers (1920s) seem to be much happier with long wire antennas of various configurations rather than relatively small tuned loop antennas. However when using WWII or later vintage receivers, either regenerative or superhet, the tuned loop antenna provides the low noise and higher signal strength necessary for successful DX NDB station copy. Be sure to read the section below "Using a 300 ft. Long End-fed Wire up 50 ft." for performance evaluation of a long EFW.

*The Beverage antenna (developed by Harold H. Beverage of RCA) is a one to two wavelength long antenna that is terminated to ground on its far end with a 450 ohms non-inductive load resistor. The Beverage antenna is mounted fairly close to the ground with 3 meters specified, although not too much difference in performance is noted with heights from 6 to 15 feet above the ground. Any higher and the antenna will begin to pick up noise. Beverage antennas are directional off of the terminated end. If the 450 ohm resistor is removed the antenna will become bi-directional off of the ends. Beverage developed the antenna for low noise reception and competitive performance. Two wavelengths is the specified maximum length according to Harold Beverage.

Remotely Tuned Loop Antenna Design

 

photo above: The 6' loop (measured across the diagonal) uses a 3/4" pine board center piece to hold the four 3' long arms that are made of 1x2 redwood. The gray box contains the varactor diode board. The gray cable is the bias supply from the remote box at the receiver location. The black cable is RG-58U routing the pick-up loop signal to the receiver. Cables can be any reasonable length but since this loop is near the receiver, the cables are about 20' long. The loop has a base (not shown) to allow it to free-stand and be pointed in any direction. The "diamond" shape orientation seems to work better than the "square" mounting by providing slightly lower background noise and slightly stronger signals.

 My first tuned loop antenna was a ten foot in diameter octagon with 12 turns of 20 gauge stranded wire remotely tuned with variable bias supplied to MVAM-108 varactor tuning diodes. The bias control, or tuning, was located at the receiver position for ease of operation and the bias voltage ran to the antenna via RG-58U coax cable. Tuning range was from 135kHz to 400kHz and by shorting out a turn on the loop the upper end of the range was increased to 500kHz. A 9' diameter single turn pick-up loop was mounted inside the 10' loop and was fed directly to the receiver's antenna input via RG-58U coax. This antenna performed very well with WWII vintage regenerative TRF receivers. Though the 10' loop antenna provided great signals it had a couple of problems. First, due to its size it was non-directional. That might be considered an advantage since I didn't have to provide any method of changing where it pointed. Second, due to its size it had to be located outdoors where it was highly susceptible to strong wind damage. After repairing the wind-broken 10' loop several times, I decided to rebuild the loop into a smaller configuration. This would result in a stronger antenna and would also result in some directional characteristics. The new loop is a square with four foot sides and six feet across the diagonal. 17 turns are used in the antenna portion of the loop. A separate pick-up loop couples the signal energy from the tuned antenna where it is then routed to the receiver. I initially tried a single turn pick-up loop but found the signals were too weak. This was probably because of the very low impedance of the single turn, its physical length only being about 16 feet. I ended up using a three turn pick-up loop and found this gave much better performance. The pick-up loop is fed with RG-58U and connects to the receiver in use. The loop itself is connected to a small plastic box that contains the varactor diode board, connectors and a switch that selects the tuning range. The loop is tuned by varying the bias voltage (0 to +9vdc) on the varactor diodes. The frequency range is from approximately 195kc up to 440kc in two tuning ranges. This loop antenna is very directional and strong stations that are perpendicular to the antenna axis can almost be nulled out. Since this loop is relatively small, I have it indoors in the same room as the receivers. This location has eliminated the wind damage issue. Rotation is manual and since the upstairs floor is wood, I can set the antenna on the floor with no noticeable losses. In operation, signals received on this indoor 6' loop with a three turn pick-up are just about as strong as the outdoor 10' loop was and since it is directional it has the added advantage of increased signal strength when pointed towards the signal source.

Loop Details: The spacing of the loop wires is not especially critical. About .25" seems to work fine. If the wires seem to get tangled, again, this doesn't really seem to affect antenna performance much. The combs that keep the wires separate are made of .25" thick oak and have sawn notches for the wire mounting. The combs are held in place at the arm's end with glue and screws. To achieve two tuning ranges, I use switched parallel varactor diode sets. The capacitance for a single set is about 30pf to 300pf and a parallel set is about 60pf to about 500pf. The switch is located at the antenna box which would be inconvenient if the antenna wasn't indoors. I use a 9vdc transistor battery as the bias voltage source and a ten turn, 10K pot with some limiting resistors to control the bias voltage to the varactor diode junctions.
 

To increase the lower end of the tuning range it is possible to switch in a fixed 500pf silver mica capacitor in parallel with the loop terminals. This will reduce the overall tuning spread but will lower the frequency bottom end by about 40kc or so. As shown, the loop tunes 240kc up to 440kc. With a parallel cap switched in, the low frequency is 195kc. If the parallel cap is added a double switching arrangement can be used for better isolation. A higher value cap can be installed to lower the bottom end frequency more if desired but the variable tuning range will decrease as the frequency is decreased. A three position switch (with an off position, too) could be installed to allow a selection of 500pf, 1000pf and 1500pf fixed value capacitors to allow loop tuning to go down to about 150kc or so.

Using a 300 ft. long End-Fed Wire Antenna up 50 ft.

UPDATE - Summer 2013: Since moving out of Virginia City with its severe RF noise and physical limitations on antenna size, I have now erected a 300 foot long EFW antenna that is about 50 feet high here in Dayton. I hope to use this for many types of reception but I'm especially looking forward to its LW performance. Since I got the antenna up in July 2013, I won't be able to really test how effective it is on LW until November or December 2013. I can say that on shortwave (75M and 40M) it provides about a 2 S-unit increase in signals over a 25 ft. high (at the apex) Inverted Vee antenna. I'll update this information during the winter LW season 2013-2014.

UPDATE - Oct. 2013: As of October 2013, with the LW season getting underway, I've started listening with the RAZ-1 receiver and the 300' EFW. The first listening session was testing from 600kc down to 20kc. Navy stations NAA and NLK were both "bombing in" here on 24.0kc and 24.8kc at about 5PM. It was still too early for any NDBs except FCH 342kc in Fresno and PBT 338kc in Red Bluff. Reno NDB NO 351kc has been off the air for several months now and may not be returning. The next morning at 6:30AM, I logged a new NDB within five minutes. DPY 365kc from Deer Park, WA was coming in fairly strong for a 25 watt marker beacon. We still have to check JJY at 40kc, Radio Rossii 279kc and a few other "test stations" to evaluate how the 300' EFW is working, but so far it seems to pull in signals pretty well with the signals well above ambient noise levels. I'm positive that the Dayton location is very quite compared to "noisy" Virginia City.

UPDATE - Nov 2013: As of November 6, 2013, I've switched receivers and I'm now using the Navy RBA-6 receiver with the 300' EFW. Another new NDB the first listening session, ICL on 353kc - a 25W marker beacon in Clarinda, Iowa. More to come,...

UPDATE - Mar. 2014: I had to take the 300 ft EFW antenna down. During high winds, which are common in Nevada, the static build-up was intense. I didn't have a good earth ground upstairs and could only ground the antenna to the house ground. When I saw the end of the antenna, which was connected to an end fed wire tuner, arcing to the case of the receiver it was setting on,...well, that was enough. I took down the antenna and will re-erect it for the shop where I do have a substantial earth ground system installed. From the shop I can also use the antenna for transmitting. I tried that with the first installation upstairs but with the RF field so close to the house the heating system turned on whenever I transmitted.

USCG - Loran-C  Master Station 'M'  - 100 kHz - Fallon, Nevada

NOTE:  As of February 8, 2010 the Loran-C system will begin its permanent shut down

On February 8, 2010, I tuned in Loran-C Master Station 'M' at 8:30AM PST and it was operating as usual. Tuning in later in the afternoon, at 5:15PM PST, Master Station 'M' had ceased operating. In August 2010, it was noted that Station 'G,' the last remaining West Coast Loran signal, was not transmitting.

Consider all Loran-C operations "OFF THE AIR"

Fortunately, we toured Master Station "M" in July, 2007 and were able to take several photos of the station including the Megapulse Transmitter and the Control Room - photos and description below...
 

Above: The Loran C antenna from main gate. The mast is 625 feet tall with each side measuring about six feet across. The capacity hat is about 900 feet diameter and is formed by the 24 top cables drooping down to large isolators. The size of the installation can be compared to the street lamps near the base of the antenna and just visible is the roof of the station house.

Just outside of Fallon, Nevada is the U.S. Coast Guard Loran-C Station which provides a navigation utility for the Pacific Ocean and the West Coast. Loran-C is part of a world-wide system of navigation mostly used for sea going craft. The Fallon station is designated 'M' since it is the Master Control station for the other three West Coast stations designated 'Y' in Searchlight, Nevada, 'X' in Middletown, California and 'G' in George, Washington. These three stations along with the master station in Fallon allow navigators to determine their position by use of a special Loran C receiver that accurately measures the pulse characteristics of the received signal to determine station ID and then accurately measures the time delay of the precisely timed signal (based on a Cesium atomic clock standard) to determine the receiver's distance from the transmitter. By using the master station signal and at least one slave station signal, the receiver position is determined by timing the two wave fronts to determine their intersection point in reference to the receiver's location. If another slave station can be received then the calculation of intersection point becomes more accurate and likewise the receiver's position. Various corrections are incorporated into the computations to allow for skywave propagation (if any,) terrain (over land or over water) and other minute interferences. Three HP Cesium atomic clocks keep the accuracy of the system constant since correct timing to the nanosecond is essential for determining true position. The best accuracy of Loran C is about 50 to 150 feet.

 The transmitter is running 400KW at 100 kHz. The antenna mast is 625 feet tall and 24 top conductors drooping down to large isolators form the enormous capacity hat for the system. The signal consists of a rapid, continuous "tick-tick tick..." centered at 100 kHz. The signal is actually a pulse train made up of eight pulses from each Loran C station. The Master 'M' station has an extra pulse in the train for identification as a "master." Timing is critical as every Loran C station is on 100 kHz and each station has to send its pulses at a precise time for the system to maintain accuracy.

 The Fallon Loran C is easy to receive anywhere in the west. It is particularly strong in Virginia City as we have "line of sight" to the Loran-C antenna, even though it is nearly 60 miles away. This is because VC is on the east slope of Mt. Davidson at 6200 feet elevation and looking 60 miles east is Fallon at 3980 feet elevation. You can see Mt. Davidson from the Fallon Loran-C Station. The USGC station and antenna are located West of Fallon at the end of Soda Lake Rd. with a right turn onto Loran Rd. to the site.

Below are some photos taken at the station in July 2007.

Above: The Control Room with Signal Generators, three Cesium atomic clocks, signal and transmitter monitoring, alarms, communications with slave Loran stations. Everything has a duplicate for redundancy.

Left: The Loran C 400 KW transmitter built by Megapulse. Most of the transmitter consists of sixteen drivers (eight panels on each side) that shape the final output signal. The station can operate with up to two drivers not working. Past the drivers is the output stage followed by the output coupler. The output coupler attaches to the feedline via two large cables. The incredibly large switching load on the transmitter power supplies results in a very loud audible representation of the transmitted signal.

Right: Looking into the rear of the transmitter bay. The red tags remind the technicians that 30,000 volts is present when the transmitter is operating. Also note the yellow sign regarding the noise present around the transmitter.

Right: The output coupler stage. The loading inductance is adjusted with a special tool that fits onto the eccentric knob on the shaft. This allows adjustment with the panel installed and the transmitter operational. Below are the massive capacitors that allow the use of smaller inductors. For size reference, the inductor is about 10 inches diameter.

NOTE: These photos were taken of the standby units. The access doors to the operational units cannot be removed while the transmitter is running without causing a system shutdown. Even removing these standby unit access doors would have triggered an alarm had it not been bypassed in the Control Room prior to opening.

Thanks to USCG ET1 Chris Shanks for the tour of the facility. 

Non-Directional Beacon Stations

 NDBs in Nevada

Ah,...the good old days when there were loads of NBDs everywhere,...even in Nevada. Today (2014,) there are no active NDBs in the state. Here's information and some photos of the last two NDBs in operation in Nevada. Both have gone "off the air" in the past few years - AEC 209kc (OTA 2009) and NO 351kc (OTA 2013.) Additionally, I've added information on some of the older NDBs that were operating here in Nevada in the past.

"NO" - 351 Khz - Reno, Nevada - NDB for Reno-Tahoe International Airport

Located on 351 KC is the NDB for Reno-Tahoe International Airport. "NO" runs 25 watts and is a marker beacon physically located at the north end of the airport, in an empty lot, across the street (Mill Street) from the beginning of runway 16R. The antenna is only about 15 feet of vertical radiator with a capacity hat that is about 15 feet off the ground and about 150 feet long. The capacity hat is strung between two "not very tall" telephone poles. The transmitter and climate control equipment are located in and around a small building below the center of the capacity hat. The feed actually enters on the west side of the building through an underground conduit. Coverage is quite good considering the low power of the transmitter and the small antenna. Since "NO" is a marker beacon, it usually isn't listed on any of the NAV-AID sites - but it is operating 24 hrs a day, on 351 KC. About once a year, "NO" is "off the air" for a period of 2-3 weeks. Whether this is due to failures or scheduled maintenance is not known - the signal always seems to return after a few weeks.

NOTE:  As far as I can tell, "NO" was the last operational NBD in Nevada.

"OFF THE AIR"

NO has been off the air for over three months now. This is the longest shutdown yet. Hopefully, NO will return to the air pretty soon. When in Reno last (end of Oct.2013) I drove over to Mill St. to look at the NO site. Everything is still there, the shack, the antenna. Everything appears normal but as of November 7, 2013, NO is still OTA.

No change as of July 1, 2014. Consider NO "Off The Air."

photo above: Full view of the "NO" site from Mill Street looking North.  

photo above: Close-up of the "NO" shack

photo left: Taken from the rear of an auto dealership looking NE. John Ascuaga's "Sparks Nugget" towers are in the background.

AEC 209kc has been Off the Air since Sept.2009

Consider AEC "OFF THE AIR"

"AEC" - 209 kHz - NDB for Base Camp, Nevada

AEC is on 209 kc and can be received here day or night, indicating that the transmitter might be running power higher than the 25 watts normal for NDBs. AEC is located near Warm Springs, Nevada on Hwy 6 about 60 miles east of Tonopah, Nevada. The site is called Base Camp. The antenna is an "inverted L" configuration with the shack located at one end near the pole support. From aerial photos it appears that there are a number of ground radials running out from a central location between the two poles. At one time AEC transmitted voice weather along with the MCW ID, however nowadays just the CW ID is transmitted.  Base Camp is a US government controlled, fenced air field with a maintained runway and some minor support buildings. Though the runway was recently repaved, there are large "X"s painted at each end of the runway to indicate "as viewed from the air" that it is closed and not in use. Apparently no hangers are at the site. What the exact use of Base Camp is remains unknown, although once it was part of the Tonopah Test Range. Though some speculate it now has some connection with Groom Lake/Area 51, this is highly unlikely. AEC is not listed on any of the NAV-AID sites yet it is in operation 24 hours a day, everyday. It is listed on LF websites that show logs of received stations. As of September 2009, AEC is off the air.

photo left: AEC at Base Camp, NV - this great photo is by Steve McGreevy N6NKS, from www.auroralchorus.com

Other Nevada NDBs (Inactive)

EMC - 375kc - Winnemucca, NV - Off the air since 2002

MCY - 326kc - Mercury, Nevada was operated by the US Air Force & the DOE at Desert Rock. Location was north of Las Vegas, near Beatty. Listed on several NAV-AID sites. Latest online information suggests that the NDB is active and is located at the Beatty, NV Airport - info is dated Nov '08. MCY has not been received here and although it is on the same frequency as the powerful Canadian NDB DC, Princeton, BC, it should still be an easy copy. Consider MCY inactive.
 
PYD - 414kc - Groom Lake, Nevada (Area 51) Sometimes listed on NAV-AID sites but has been off the air for several years.

SPK - 251kc - Sparks, Nevada has been off the air for at least 25 years. The location was at the old Reno-Cannon Airport (now Reno-Tahoe Int'l AP.) This station had continuous voice weather along with MCW "SPK" ID.

XSD - 278kc - Tonopah Test Range - Inactive

NDB Station Log 2006 to 2014

From Virginia City - Most of  the following are NDB stations that I copied from Virginia City, Nevada using only vintage, tube-type receivers. I logged most of these NDBs using the 1941 RAZ-1 receiver, but I have also logged quite a few with the 1945 RAK-7 and 1944 RBL-5 receivers in the past. I also logged some "newly heard" NDBs with the 1920 SE-1420, the 1922 RMCA IP-501A, the 1955 Collins R-390A (485-530kc only) and the 1940 Hammarlund SP-200-LX receivers. For the 2009-2010 season we added the 1945 RBA receiver, the 1952 Mackay 3001A receiver and the RCA CR-91 receiver. The first antenna was a 10' diameter remotely tuned loop that was destroyed by wind. Now, the main antenna is a 6' remotely tuned loop located indoors (as of Nov'08.) I also found some new NDBs using various wire antennas. These NDB stations were received during the 2006 to 2012 seasons. Stations are listed alphabetically along with frequency, location and power of the transmitter, if known. Total was 252 NDBs received from Virginia City 2006 up to 2012.

From Dayton, Nevada, the new QTH beginning in 2012  We are now in Dayton, Nevada. The antenna used is now a 300 ft. long end fed wire up about 50 feet. New NBDs for 2012/13 and 2014 seasons are shown in Navy Blue. Receiver is the RBA.

For 2014 antenna is 98ft of 450Z ladder line shorted together with 135ft long "T" up 30ft. This is actually my 80M tuned dipole with the feed line shorted together and fed to the antenna input of the receiver (RBA receiver.) 

2014-2015 Season - Nov. 2014, started using Hammarlund SP-600VLF-31 receiver. New NDBs heard with the SP-600VLF are in Maroon. Changed to 6' Remote-tuned Loop Nov.15, 2014. If RBA receiver is used in 2014 then the listed will be in Yellow.

Total as of DEC. 2014 is 270.

AA – 365kc - Fargo, ND – 100W

ADT – 365kc – Atwood, KS

AEC - 209kc – Base Camp, NV

AL - 353kc - Trina, WA

AM – 251kc – Amarillo, TX – 400W

ANR – 245kc – Andrews, TX

AOP – 290kc -Rock Springs,WY-100W

AP – 260kc – Denver, CO – 100W

AP - 378kc - Active Pass, BC, CAN

ATS - 414kc - Artesia, NM - 25W

AVQ - 245kc - Tucson, AZ

AZC – 403kc – Colorado City, AZ

BBD - 380kc - Brady, TX - 25W

BF - 362kc - Nolla-Seattle,WA

BKU – 344kc – Baker, MT – 80W

BO – 359kc – Boise, ID – 400W

BR - 233kc - Brandon, MB, CAN

BWR - 412kc - Alpine, TX - 25W

CC – 335kc – Buchanan AF, CA  25W

CEP- 278kc – Ruidoso, NM – 25W

CG – 227kc - Castlegar, BC, CAN

CHD - 407kc - Chandler, AZ

CII – 269kc – Choteau, MT – 50W

CIN - 397kc - Carroll, IA - 25W

CKP - 423kc - Cherokee, IA - 25W

CL - 515kc - Port Angeles, WA

CLB - 216kc - Wilmington, NC - 1KW

CNP – 383kc – Chappell, NE – 25W

CRR - 245kc - Circle, MT - 100W

CRZ - 278kc - Corning, IA - 25W

CSB - 389kc - Cambridge, NE - 25W

CUH - 242kc - Cushing, OK - 25W

CVP – 335kc - Helena, MT – 150W

CY – 353kc – Cheyenne, WY

CYW – 362kc – Clay Center, KS  25W

DAO - 410kc - Ft. Huachuca, AZ

DB–341kc–Burwash Landing,YK,CAN

DC – 326kc – Princeton, BC, CAN

DDP - 391kc - San Juan, PR – 2KW

DIW - 198kc - Dixon, NC - 2KW

DN - 225kc - Dauphin, MB, CAN

DPG – 284kc – Dugway Prov Gnds, UT

DPY - 365kc - Deer Park, WA - 25W

DQ - 394kc - Dawson Creek, BC, CAN

DWL - 353kc - Gothenburg, NE - 25W

EC - 217kc - Cedar City, UT - 25W

EKS – 286kc – Ennis, MT – 25W

EL – 242kc – El Paso, TX – 400W

ELF - 341kc - Cold Bay, AK - 1KW

ENS – 400kc – Ensenada, Mexico

ENZ – 394kc – Nogales, AZ – 100W

ESY - 338kc - West Yellowstone, MT - 100W

EUR - 392kc - Eureka, MT - 100W

EX – 374kc – Kelowna, BC, CAN

FCH – 344kc – Fresno, CA – 400W

FIS – 332kc – Key West, FL

FMZ - 392kc - Fairmont, NE - 25W

FN – 400kc – Ft. Collins, CO

FO - 250kc - Flin Flon, MB, CAN

FOR - 236kc - Forsyth, MT - 25W

FQ - 420kc - Fremont, MN - 25W

FS – 245kc – Sioux Falls, SD – 100W

FS - 375kc - Ft. Simpson, NWT, CAN

GC – 380kc – Gillette, WY

GDV – 410kc – Glendive, MT – 100W

GEY – 275kc – Greybull, WY

GLS – 206kc – Galveston, TX – 2KW

GNC - 344kc- Seminole, TX - 25W

GRN - 382kc - Guerrero Negro, Mexico

GUY – 275kc – Guymon, OK – 25W

GW - 371kc - Kuujjuarapik, QC, CAN

GYZ - 280kc - Guernsey, WY - 50W

HAU - 386kc - Helena, MT

HDG – 211kc – Gooding, ID – 50W

HE – 245kc – Hope, BC, CAN

HIN – 275kc – Chadron, NE - 25W

HJH - 323kc - Hebron, NE - 25W

HLE - 220kc - Hailey, ID - 50W

HQG – 365kc – Hugoton, KS – 25W

IB - 209kc - Atikokan, ON, CAN

ICL - 353kc - Clarinda, IA - 25W

ID - 324kc - Idaho Falls, ID

IKY - 429kc - Springfield, KY - 25W

ILT – 247kc –Albuquerque,NM 400W

INE – 521kc – Missoula, MT – 400W

IOM – 363kc – McCall, ID – 25W

IP - 201kc - Mobile, AZ

ITU – 371kc – Great Falls, MT – 100W

IY - 417kc - Charles City, IA - 25W

JHN - 341kc - Johnson, KS

JW - 388kc - Pigeon Lake, AB, CAN

K2 – 376kc – Olds-Didsbury, AB, CAN

LAC - 328kc - Ft. Lewis, WA - 25W

LBH – 332kc – Portland, OR – 150W

LD - 272kc - Lubbock, TX

LFA – 347kc – Klamath Falls, OR

LGD – 296kc – LaGrande, OR – 25W

LLD - 353kc - Lanai City, HI - 2KW

LLN - 266kc - Levelland, TX

LU – 213kc – Abbotsford, BC, CAN

LV – 374kc - Livermore,CA – 25W

LW – 257kc – Kelowna, BC, CAN

LWT – 353kc – Lewiston, MT – 400W

LYI – 414kc – Libby, MT – 25W

LYQ - 529kc - Manchester, TN

MA – 326kc – Midland,TX – 400W

MA - 365kc - Mayo, YK, CAN

MDS - 400kc - Madison, IA - 25W

MEF – 356kc - Medford, OR

MF – 373kc – Rogue Valley, OR

MKR – 339kc – Glascow, MT – 50W

ML - 392kc - Charlevoix, QC, CAN

MLK - 272kc - Malta, MT - 25W

MM –388kc–Fort McMurray,AB,CAN

MNC – 348kc – Shelton, WA

MNZ - 251kc - Hamilton, TX - 25W

MO - 367kc - Modesto, CA

MOG – 404kc – Montegue, CA – 100W

MR - 385kc - Monterey, CA

MW – 408kc – Moses Lake, WA

NA - 337kc - Orange County AP, CA

NM - 278kc - Matagami, QC, CAN

NO - 351kc - Reno, NV – 25W

NY – 350kc, Enderby, BC, CAN

ODX – 355kc – Ord, NE – 25W

OEG – 413kc – Yuma Prov. Gnds., AZ

OEL – 381kc – Oakley, KS – 25W

OIN - 341kc - Oberlin, KS - 25W

OJ - 239kc - High Level, AB, CAN

OKS - 233kc - Oshkosh, NE - 25W

OLF - 404kc - Wolf Point. MT - 100W

ON - 356kc - Penticton, BC, CAN

ONO – 305kc – Ontario, OR

ORC - 521kc - Orange City, IA - 25W

OT – 378kc – Bend, OR

OUN - 260kc - Norman, OK - 25W

OWU - 329kc - Woodward, OK

PA - 396kc - Snohomish/Ritts, WA

PA - 347kc - Prince Albert, SK, CAN

PBT – 338kc - Red Bluff, CA – 400W

PBY – 259kc – Kayenta, AZ

PD – 230kc – Pendelton, OR – 400W

PDG - 327kc - Watsonville, CA - 25W

PG - 353kc - Portage, MB, CAN

PI – 383kc – Tyhee, ID

PN - 360kc - Port Menier, QC, CAN

PNA – 392kc – Pinedale, WY - 25W

PND - 356kc - Portland, OR

POH - 428kc - Pocahontas, IA - 25W

PPA - 450kc-Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

PRZ - 407kc - Portales, NM - 25W

PTT - 356kc - Pratt, KS - 25W

PYX - 266kc - Perryton, TX - 25W

QD - 284kc - The Pas, MB, CAN

QQ – 400kc – Comox, Van.Is., BC

QT – 332kc – Thunder Bay, ON, CAN

QV - 385kc - Yorkton, SK, CAN

RA - 254kc - Rapid City, SD - 100W

RD - 367kc - Redding Muni, CA - 25W

RD – 411kc - Redmond, OR – 400W

RG - 350kc-Will Rogers World AP, OKC,OK

RL - 218kc - Red Lake, ON, CAN

RMD – 204kc – McDermitt, OR – 25W

RNT - 353kc - Renton, WA - 25W

RPB - 414kc - Belleville, KS

RPX – 362kc – Roundup, MT – 25W

RWE – 528kc – Camp Roberts, CA

RYN – 338kc – Tuscon, AZ – 400W

SA – 356kc – Sacramento,CA

SAA – 266kc – Saratoga, WY – 25W

SAK – 515kc – Kalispell, MT – 25W

SB – 397kc - San Bernadino,CA

SB - 362kc - Sudbury, ON, CAN

SBX – 347kc – Shelby, MT – 25W

SC – 271kc - Stockton,CA

SDY – 359kc – Sidney, MT – 25W

SF - 379kc-San Francisco Intn'l AP, CA

SG – 341kc – Santa Fe, NM

SIR – 368kc - Sinclair, WY

SKX – 414kc – Taos, NM – 25W

SL – 266kc – Salem, OR

SLB - 434kc - Storm Lake, IA - 25W

SM - 230kc - Metre/Sacramento, CA

SOW - 206kc - Show Low, AZ - 25W

SRL - 270kc - Santa Rosalia, MEX

STI – 333kc – Mt. Home, ID

SWT - 269kc - Seward, NE - 25W

SWU - 350kc - Idaho Falls, ID

SX – 367kc – Cranbrook, BC, CAN

SYF – 386kc - St. Francis, KS - 25W

SYW - 428kc - Greenville, TX - 25W

TAD – 329kc – Trinidad, CO

TF - 373kc - Pueblo, CO

TH - 244kc - Thompson, AB, CAN

TQK - 256kc - Scott City, KS - 25W

TV – 299kc – Turner Valley, AB,CAN

TVY – 371kc – Tooele, UT – 25W

TW - 389kc - Twin Falls, ID

U6 - 360kc - Creston, BC, CAN

UAB –200kc–Anahim Lake, BC,CAN

UK – 371kc – Kearn, CA

ULS – 395kc – Ulysses, KS – 25W

UVA – 281kc – Uvalde, TX – 25W

VC - 317kc - LaRonge, SK, CAN

VQ - 400kc - Alamosa, CO

VR – 266kc - Vancouver, BC, CAN

VT - 332kc - Buffalo Narrows, SK, CAN

WG – 248kc – Winnepeg, MA,CAN

WL – 385kc - Williams Lake, BC, CAN

XC – 242kc – Cranbrook, BC , CAN

XD - 266kc - Edmonton, AB, CAN

XE - 257kc - Saskatoon, SK, CAN

XH – 332kc – Medicine Hat, AB, CAN

XJ - 326kc - Fort Saint John, BC, CAN

XS – 272kc – Prince George, BC, CAN

XT - 332kc - Terrace, BC, CAN

XX – 344kc – Abbotsford, BC, CAN

YAT - 260kc - Attawapiskat, ON, CAN

YAZ – 359kc – Tofino,Van.Is., BC, CAN

YBE – 379kc – Uranium City, SK, CAN

YBL - 203kc - Campbell River, BC, CAN

YBV - 370kc - Berens River AP, MB, CAN

YC – 244kc – Cranbrook, BC, CAN

YCD-251kc–Nanaimo, Van. Is, BC, CAN

YD - 230kc - Smithers, BC, CAN

YE - 382kc - Fort Nelson, BC, CAN

YEL - 276kc - Elliot Lake, ON, CAN

YHD - 413kc - Dryden, ON, CAN

YHN - 329kc - Hornepagne, ON, CAN

YJQ - 325kc - Bella Bella, BC, CAN

YK – 269kc – Castlegar, BC, CAN

YKA – 223kc – Kamloops, BC, CAN

YKQ - 351kc - Waskaganish, QC, CAN

YL – 395kc – Lynn Lake, MB, CAN

YLB - 272kc - Lac la Biche, AB, CAN

YLD - 335kc - Chapleau, ON, CAN

YLJ – 405kc – Meadow Lake, SK, CAN

YMW - 366kc - Maniwaki, QC, CAN

YPH - 396kc - Inukjuak, QC, CAN

YPL – 382kc – Pickle Lake, ON, CAN

YPM - 274kc - Pikangikum, ON, CAN

YPO - 401kc - Peawanuck, ON, CAN

YPW - 382kc - Powell River, BC, CAN

YQA - 272kc - Muskoka, ON, CAN

YQF - 320kc - Red Deer, AB, CAN

YQK - 326kc - Kenora, ON, CAN

YQZ – 359kc – Quesnel, BC,CAN

YSQ – 260kc – Atlin, BC, CAN

YTL - 328kc - Big Trout Lake, ON, CAN

YWB – 389kc – West Bank, BC, CAN

YWP - 355kc - Webequie, ON, CAN

YXL – 346kc – Sioux Lookout, ON, CAN

YY - 340kc - Mont Joli, QC, CAN

YYF – 290kc – Penticton, BC, CAN

YYU - 341kc - Kapuskasing, ON, CAN

YYW - 223kc - Armstrong, ON, CAN

YZA – 236kc - Ashcroft, BC,CAN

YZE - 245kc - Gore Bay, ON, CAN

YZH – 343kc – Slave Lake, AB, CAN

ZF - 356kc - Yellowknife, NWT, CAN

ZQ - 404kc - Sir Wilfred Laurier CCGS, BC, CAN

ZP – 368kc - Queen Charlott Is, BC, CAN

ZRG - 414kc - Regina, SK, CAN

ZSJ - 258kc - Sandy Lake, ON, CAN

ZSS - 397kc - Yellowhead-Saskatoon, SK, CAN

ZT - 242kc - Port Hardy, BC, CAN

ZU – 338kc – Whitecourt, BC, CAN

ZXE - 356kc - Saskatoon, SK, CAN

Z5 - 274kc - Vulcan, AB, CAN

Z7 - 408kc - Claresholm, AB, CAN

3Z - 388kc - Taber, AB, CAN

6T - 362kc - Foremost, AB, CAN