Hunting For NDBs In CLE242

Online KiwiSDR Network

CLE242 runs this weekend and is a bit different than most. This time, listeners are required to use an online remote receiver to do their beacon-hunting.


There are many parts of the world where beacons have yet to be recorded to the database and this will be a great opportunity to find and report them.

Over the past few years, the number of online SDRs has grown immensely, as has their ease of use. Although there are several online systems, my favorite is the KiwiSDR network, where one can normally find over 400 receivers available at any time. As well, every one of them has the same familiar intuitive interface ... figuring out how to tune them and make them behave the way you want only takes a few moments.

When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020Hz tone approximately.

For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.

Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.

Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.

All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.

From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, come details via the The NDB List Group:

Hello all 

Our 242nd listening event starts this Friday.   The last time everyone
listened via remote receivers was 40 CLEs and over 3 years ago. Since
then the receivers have improved enormously – easier to use, better
design and a much greater choice of sites Worldwide for you to use.

If you don’t like the idea of remote listening we urge you to at least
please give it a try.  I predict that several of us who ‘have a go’ in this
CLE will be very pleased to discover a fascinating new world of NDBs.
You only need a modest PC and a slow internet connection - and the
ability to read slow Morse!   (Even a tablet is sufficient, though a bit
difficult to use without a mouse)

  Days:    Friday 22 March - Monday 25 March
  Times:  Midday on Friday to Midday on Monday, local time AT THE REMOTE RX
  QRG:    Normal LF/MF frequencies (190 - 1740 kHz)
  NDBs:   A MAXIMUM of 100 normal NDBs (not DGPS, Navtex, Amateur)
               (that’s not intended to be a target to reach!)

Choose any ONE receiver, remote from you, for all your CLE listening.
Remember that reception conditions will depend on the local time of
day/night at the receiver (no through-the-night listening for us this time?)

The ‘biggest and best’ of the remote receivers is probably still the SDR
at the University of Twente at Enschede in the east of Holland.
Several hundred listeners use it, all at the same time and all unaware
of each other.   Its PA0RDT mini-whip aerial high above the metal roof
of the building allows it to receive well on the NDB range of frequencies.
Just enter http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ into your browser.
In seconds you should see details of the receiver and advice on how to
use it.

If you want to choose a different location, or an easier-to-use receiver
with fewer facilities, the Kiwi receivers are also SDRs.  They are mostly
in radio enthusiasts homes and they usually only support a handful of
simultaneous users.
Go to https://sdr.hu
To display the Worldwide map use the button on the right side of the screen
- experiment with (multiple) use of the + and – buttons.
Some sites of any kind have aerials that are quite unsuitable for NDB
listening, but others are excellent.  Some of our members have been busy
recently researching them and their suggested ‘best ones’ are listed below.

For each receiver, whatever its kind, do read the helpful advice carefully
before using it.  There is no charge and you don’t register or 'log in', but
you may be invited to type your chosen identification in a 'Name’ or
‘Callsign' box.  There may be a time limit for each user (e.g. 2 hours in
any 24 hours) and ‘late comers’ may temporarily have reduced facilities.

Seeklists?   The REU/RNA/RWW Website can help a lot if you enter the
Locator of your chosen receiver in the From GSQ box there.
To avoid getting details of thousands of NDBs, initially set the DX limit
to something small and/or enter one or two nearby states or countries.


LOGS  (Please read CAREFULLY):

Please show the LOCATION details and the TYPE OF REMOTE RECEIVER
clearly  (and your own location to help us identify you).
Include on EVERY LINE of your log:

  #   the UTC date  - e.g. ‘2019-03-22' (or just '22')
       and UTC time  (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
  #   kHz   - the nominal, published, frequency.
  #   Call Ident.

Show those main log items FIRST.  Any other, optional, details such as
the NDB's location, etc., must go LATER on the same line.
You could include any UNIDs - e.g. separately if you already have 100
identified loggings.

As this is a special CLE, any extra comments in your log on your listening
experience (whether good or not!) will certainly be of interest.

Please post your log to NDB List, preferably as a Plain Text email
(not in an attachment) using 'CLE242' and ‘FINAL’ in its title.  We will
send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 21:00 UTC on Tuesday
so you can check that your log has been found OK.
(NB:  that is 3 hours later than usual)

Do make sure your log has arrived on the List by 09:00 UTC on Wednesday
27 March at the very latest.  Joachim and I hope to finish making the main
combined results later on that day or soon after.

REMINDERS:
    Only ONE remote receiver of your choice.
    Not more than 100 loggings
    Start and End at midday at the receiver.

Enjoy!
  Brian
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From:       Brian Keyte G3SIA        ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location:   Surrey, SE England       (CLE Coordinator)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------


To help you with your choice of a remote receiver, below are recommendations
and/or advice provided by from some of our members:

To help you with your choice of a remote receiver, below are recommendations

and/or advice provided by from some of our members:

The stations in yellow are among the ones that disable the waterfall when there are more than two users - 
they can still be used and are still excellent stations.


Advice about their own and other Kiwis have been given in emails to NDB List,
mostly in the last few days:

Roelof B:  His KiwiSDR is making all four channels available for the CLE

Tony C:  Has added his openwebrx NDB receiver to SDRHU.  3 or 4 users

Bill S:   Email to NDB List on 4 Feb  (A list of USA and CAN SDR's that may 
         be useful, compiled by Dave AB5S and posted on the Boatanchor List)

Joe N5PYK: The West Texas KiwiSDR welcomes CLE participants. 

We are grateful to all the above.

Any further advice about suitable remotes will be welcome. 
Do you fancy using something really basic for the CLE?  The Global Tuners
still exist – we used 6 of them successfully in CLE202.  There are usually
about 50 of them on-line and many are older traditional receivers that
support only one user and are seldom suitable for the NDB frequencies.
But there might still be a gem or two among them:
https://www.globaltuners.com/   (You need to sign up for a free account
and provide an email address for a password to be sent to you)

These listening events serve several purposes. They:

• determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date

• determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range

• will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations

• will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working

• give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed

Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event.


The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.

You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers. 

Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!

Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.

Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.

Have fun and good hunting!

The KiwiSDR Online Network

Online SDRs (Software Defined Radio) continue to grow in numbers and popularity.

Listening on a receiver that is running in another state, province or country can fulfill a number of functions for you, depending on your particular interest.

The network that I have explored several times and one that works nicely with most web browsers (no software to download or 'extras' required) is the SDR.HU network of Kiwi SDRs ... just choose your receiver and away you go in a matter of seconds. It's all very slick and if you have never played with an SDR before, it affords a nice introduction to this amazing technology. Although it won't work with my ancient version of Internet Explorer running on Vista, it did fine with Firefox and even worked very well on my old I-Pad! Here is a 30-second YouTube video to give you an idea of what it looks like.



There are a huge number of choices from all over the world available on the Kiwi network. As I write this, there are presently 199 receivers online! Any particular receiver can support a maximum of four users at a time so if the one you want is full, simply check back later or go to your second choice.

Although all receivers have the same appearance online, not all will offer the same performance. Although most seem to cover 0-30MHz, I see at least one that is limited to the VHF range and several that don't go all the way to the bottom of the VLF band. The antennas used seem to favor wideband loops, both large wire styles and smaller active versions as well as active e-probes.

The best way to determine any particular receiver's operating performance is to try it out using test target signals that might indicate good performance from that location. If you're interested in BCB capability, test some of the European ones to see if they can hear any TA signals around sunrise in Europe. Many SWLs will use these receivers to compare what they are hearing at home with a receiver located closer to the suspected DX target signal. I myself found the network particularly handy for listening to my Tri-Tet-Ten transmitter on 10m CW a couple of years ago when the muf was much higher than it is nowadays. I'll be trying a few of them out this winter, listening for my 630m CW signal, at various locations.

Some of the receivers appear to offer good, low noise reception on LF, MF and the BCB but the vast majority are not DX machines oriented for this part of the spectrum ... this was the opinion of one notable BCB DXer who checked many of those in eastern NA as well as western EU. The jury is still out on the westerern NA receivers and those in the Pacific / Far East ... a worthwhile listening project when there is some spare time. Even though the receivers used on these lower frequencies did not usually offer stellar performance, they may be real workhorses within the ham bands or on the international shortwave bands.

It would be worthwhile to see some form of 'performance rating' or feedback page for each individual receiver. Although there is a 'vote' tally associated with each receiver it's not clear what this actually represents as receivers that have been online for longer periods would naturally have a higher tally.

A lot of additional information about the KiwiSDR network can be found here.

No doubt you can think of your own good reason to have a remote listen to some of the network's growing list of online receivers and put them to the test ... there may be some real treasures to be found.

Worldwide SDR's Online

The University of Victoria online SDR from SDR.hu

A posting today on Yahoos' ndblist Group by Geir, LA6LU, pointed to a list of online SDR receivers at various locations around the globe. I have seen similar lists like this in the past, only to be disappointed when finding many of the receivers impossible to get operating or arriving at a dead link. This list appears to be up-to-date as a quick check of four random receivers saw all four come to life quickly!

The site is run by Andras Retzler, the author of the OpenWebRX software that enables these SDR's to be made seamlessly available online through your web browser. Since all of the sites use the same software, all receivers appear the same, thus providing a very short operational learning curve. At the time of this posting, there were 76 online SDRs, a number that fluctuates slightly throughout the day. Conveniently, the site also indicates how many users are currently using any individual receiver.

I can think of several very handy uses of such a resource, from checking your own on-air signal to confirming, in real time, a suspected DX catch that you might be hearing from your own location. You may even be interested in putting your own SDR online for others to share. It really is a very useful resource and while there, check out the rest of Andras's interesting site.

What Mode Is That?

'JT-9' - courtesy: http://www.sigidwiki.com/

A recent link posted on the ON4KST 2200/630m chat page brought up a very helpful web site.

The  Sigidwiki site lists examples of the various transmission modes being used from LF to UHF, along with examples of what these signals look like on a waterfall display.

With the proliferation of digital modes found on-the-air today, it's often fairly baffling, trying to figure out what you are hearing. The main database page contains a staggering 272 different identified modes of transmitting information, in one way or another ... no wonder it's hard to keep track!

Clicking on any of the modes will bring up more details about the mode, sometimes with links to the decoding software and further reading.

'PICCOLO' - courtesy: http://www.sigidwiki.com/

I'm sure there are more that aren't on the list (is WSPR there or did I just miss it?) but it's still an impressive and helpful collection for those that use a waterfall display on their receivers.

CLE 199 Results

courtesy: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

With the recent mammoth coronal hole finally rotating out of view earlier last week, geomagnetic activity dropped to the lowest level it has been for some time. The K index as well as the DST, couldn't have picked a better weekend to improve, just in time for CLE 199. Conditions below the broadcast band proved to be better than normal in what has been a rather poor month of October propagation. It may be short-lived, as another large coronal hole is now rotating into view on the sun's eastern limb, along with a new active sunspot region ... good news for 10m fans this time of the year, but not so good for LFers.

courtesy: http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dst_realtime/presentmonth/index.html

:Issued: 2015 Oct 27 0010 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
#
#          Geophysical Alert Message
#
Solar-terrestrial indices for 26 October follow.
Solar flux 106 and estimated planetary A-index 3.
The estimated planetary K-index at 0000 UTC on 27 October was 0.
No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours.
No space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.
 
                              =-=-=-=- Trends -=-=-=-=-=--
Date 25   25   25   25   25   26   26   26   26   26   26   26   26   27
UTC  0900 1200 1500 1800 2100 0000 0300 0600 0900 1200 1500 1800 2100 0000
SFlx 106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106  106
A-in 11   11   11   11   9    8    8    8    8    8    8    8    3    3
K-in 3    2    3    2    1    1    1    0    1    1    0    0    0    0
Current Solar information 
available at http://www.am-dx.com/wwv.htm

                 **************************************
The following NDB stations were logged here using the Perseus SDR along with my inverted-L and 10' x 20' loop. CLE 199 was an 'A-B-C' event, calling only for countries or states / provinces beginning with those letters.

Time    Freq   ID       Location
24 13:00 209 CYT Yakataga Apt, ALS
24 13:00 212 CGL Coghlan Island - Juneau, ALS
24 13:00 223 AFE Kake Apt, ALS
24 13:00 229 AKW Klawock Apt, ALS
24 13:00 233 ALJ Hinchinbrook Island, ALS
24 13:00 245 HNS Haines, ALS
26 12:00 251 OSE Bethel Apt, ALS
24 13:00 266 ICK Annette Island, ALS
26 13:00 275 CZF Cape Romanzof LRRS Apt, ALS
24 14:00 281 CRN Sparrevohn LRRS, ALS
26 14:00 338 CMQ Campbell Lake (Anchorage), ALS
26 13:00 341 ELF Cold Bay, ALS
24 13:00 350 VTR McGrath, ALS
26 13:00 355 AUB King Salmon, ALS
24 13:00 358 SIT Sitka, ALS
24 13:00 372 FPN Petersburg, ALS
24 13:00 376 PVQ Deadhorse, ALS
26 14:00 379 IWW Kenai, ALS
24 13:00 382 JNR Unalakleet, ALS
24 11:00 385 OCC Yakutat, ALS
24 13:00 390 HBT Sand Point, ALS
24 13:00 390 AES Northway, ALS
24 13:00 391 EEF Sisters Island, ALS
24 13:00 394 RWO Kodiak, ALS
24 13:00 396 CMJ Ketchikan IAP, ALS
24 14:00 404 GCR Cordova, ALS
24 13:00 414 IME Sitka Apt, ALS
24 13:00 429 BTS Dillingham, ALS
24 14:00 525 ICW Nenana, ALS
24 13:00 529 SQM Big Level Isl, ALS

24 04:00 207 PY Fort Chipewyan, AB, CAN
24 04:00 215 ZAB Edmonton (Intl Apt), AB, CAN
24 14:00 221 QU Grande Prairie, AB, CAN
26 12:00 225 X5 Vegreville, AB, CAN
26 00:20 227 9X Brooks Apt, AB, CAN
24 04:00 230 VG Vermilion, AB, CAN
26 12:00 234 3Y Donnelly, AB, CAN
24 04:00 239 OJ Footner Lake, AB, CAN
24 04:00 241 YLL Lloydminster, AB, CAN
24 04:00 248 QL Lethbridge, AB, CAN
24 04:00 254 ZYC Calgary, AB, CAN
24 04:00 266 XD Edmonton, AB, CAN
26 09:00 272 YLB Lac La Biche, AB, CAN
24 04:00 287 PE Peace River, AB, CAN
24 04:00 292 ZET Edmonton, AB, CAN
24 04:00 295 8C Fairview, AB, CAN
24 04:00 299 TV Turner Valley, AB, CAN
24 04:00 304 FH Mc Leod, AB, CAN
24 04:00 305 Z1 Three Hills, AB, CAN
26 12:00 307 M5 Manning, AB, CAN
24 04:00 308 ZZD Edmonton, AB, CAN
24 04:00 311 9Y Pincher Creek, AB, CAN
24 04:00 328 5J Coronation, AB, CAN
24 04:00 329 X2 Athabasca, AB, CAN
24 04:00 332 XH Medicine Hat, AB, CAN
24 04:00 334 P2 Wetaskiwin, AB, CAN
24 04:00 338 ZU Whitecourt, AB, CAN
24 04:00 343 YZH Slave Lake, AB, CAN
26 04:00 344 YOP Rainbow Lake, AB, CAN
26 00:29 344 YC Calgary, AB, CAN
24 04:00 353 5F Chevron, AB, CAN
26 05:00 361 E3 Wabasca, AB, CAN
24 04:00 362 6T Foremost, AB, CAN
24 04:00 379 ZEG Edmonton Intl, AB, CAN
24 04:00 385 3M Drayton Valley, AB, CAN
24 04:00 388 MM Fort Mc Murray, AB, CAN
24 04:00 388 JW Jumping Pound Creek, AB, CAN
24 04:00 398 YOD Cold Lake, AB, CAN
24 04:00 405 9G Sundre, AB, CAN
24 04:00 405 2K Camrose, AB, CAN
24 04:00 408 Z7 Claresholm, AB, CAN
26 08:00 414 8M Elk Point, AB, CAN

24 13:00 206 SOW Show Low, AZ, USA
24 12:00 338 RYN Tucson, AZ, USA
24 13:00 403 AZC Colorado City, AZ, USA
24 11:00 410 DAO Sierra Vista, AZ, USA

26 04:00 376 ZIN Matthew Town, BAH

24 04:00 200 YJ Sidney Island, BC, CAN
26 08:00 200 YDL Dease Lake, BC, CAN
24 04:00 200 UAB Anahim Lake, BC, CAN
24 04:00 203 ZKI Kitimat, BC, CAN
24 04:00 203 YBL Campbell River, BC, CAN
24 04:00 206 EF Castlegar, BC, CAN
24 04:00 214 LU Abbotsford, BC, CAN
24 20:38 218 PR Prince Rupert, BC, CAN
24 04:00 223 YKA Kamloops, BC, CAN
24 04:00 227 CG Castlegar, BC, CAN
26 00:33 230 YD Smithers, BC, CAN
24 04:00 236 YZA Ashcroft, BC, CAN
24 04:00 242 ZT Port Hardy, BC, CAN
24 20:42 242 XC Cranbrook, BC, CAN
26 00:34 246 ZXJ Fort St. John, BC, CAN
24 20:46 248 ZZP Queen Charlotte Is, BC, CAN
24 04:00 250 2J Grand Forks, BC, CAN
24 04:00 251 YCD Nanaimo, BC, CAN
24 04:00 257 LW Kelowna, BC, CAN
24 04:00 260 ZXS Prince George, BC, CAN
24 04:00 260 YSQ Atlin, BC, CAN
24 04:00 261 D6 Fairmont Hot Springs, BC, CAN
26 00:15 266 VR Vancouver, BC, CAN
24 04:00 269 YK Castlegar, BC, CAN
24 04:00 272 XS Prince George, BC, CAN
26 13:00 278 1U Masset, BC, CAN
24 04:00 290 YYF Penticton, BC, CAN
24 04:00 293 MB Mill Bay, BC, CAN
24 04:00 302 6K Vernon, BC, CAN
24 04:00 312 UNT Naramata, BC, CAN
24 04:00 325 YJQ Bella Bella, BC, CAN
24 04:00 326 XJ Fort St. John, BC, CAN
24 04:00 326 DC Princeton, BC, CAN
24 04:00 332 XT Terrace, BC, CAN
24 04:00 332 WC White Rock, BC, CAN
24 04:00 344 XX Abbotsford, BC, CAN
24 04:00 350 NY Enderby, BC, CAN
24 04:00 356 ON Penticton, BC, CAN
24 04:00 359 YQZ Quesnel, BC, CAN
24 04:00 359 YAZ Tofino, BC, CAN
24 04:00 364 4D Helmet, BC, CAN
24 04:00 368 ZP Sandspit, BC, CAN
24 04:00 368 SX Cranbrook, BC, CAN
24 04:00 374 EX Rutland, BC, CAN
24 04:00 378 AP Mayne Island, BC, CAN
24 04:00 382 YPW Powell River, BC, CAN
24 04:00 382 YE Fort Nelson, BC, CAN
24 04:00 385 WL Williams Lake, BC, CAN
24 04:00 389 YWB Kelowna, BC, CAN
24 04:00 394 DQ Dawson Creek, BC, CAN
24 04:00 400 QQ Comox, BC, CAN
24 04:00 414 YZK Harper Ranch, BC, CAN

24 13:00 203 TCY Tracy, CA, USA
24 13:00 205 COR Corcoran, CA, USA
24 13:00 209 HGT Hunter Liggett - Tusi AHP, CA, USA
24 13:00 233 LG Seal Beach, CA, USA
24 13:00 335 CC Concord, CA, USA
24 13:00 344 FCH Chandler, CA, USA
24 10:00 370 PAI Pacoima - Whiteman Apt, CA, USA
24 11:00 374 LV Livermore, CA, USA
24 11:00 385 MR Pacific Grove, CA, USA
24 11:00 397 SB San Bernardino, CA, USA
24 11:00 404 MOG Montegue, CA, USA

24 04:00 415 CBC Cayman Brac, CYM

24 13:00 209 ITR Burlington, CO, USA
24 07:00 260 AP Sedalia, CO, USA
24 07:00 329 TAD Trinidad, CO, USA
26 11:00 373 TF Pueblo, CO, USA
24 11:00 392 BAJ Sterling, CO, USA
24 11:00 400 FN Fort Collins, CO, USA
24 11:00 407 CO Fountain, CO, USA

Using Remote SDR's

A recent post to Yahoo's Perseus SDR Group posed some interesting questions.

Lasse, SM5GLC, operates an online remote Perseus and made the following comments:

Over the past few weeks/months I have see some "power-users" on my Perseus server... and my plan was to dissect the server log to investigate the usage percentage of my server... and found that already in May the log is 240 kb and growing fast. It seems impossible to analzye by hand.

Now I do notice one user, not too far away (only some 200 miles or so), seems to spend 2-3 hours per day using my server. Mostly just use all allotted time and then get back on asap. I know my antenna is nothing to write home about and the performance is mediocre if any... so this makes me wonder. What on earth do this user do with all the time??

Do others see similar behaviour??

By browsing the log it seems most, user time,70-80 per cent, are from Russia. Most others stay only for a very short period of time, up to a few minutes.

Has anyone tried to hack a script that would automatize the log analysis?? 
A few Q's that I do have are:
Is the server abused by some?
What is the optimal allowed time? and then the drop-out time?
What usage load would be best to shoot for??

Don, VE6JY, a long-time remote owner added:

I notice similar patterns here.  Obviously some are listening to a single frequency for the entire time, others stop by for a few seconds to see if a certain target is being propagated.  And then some just tune around and see what there is to hear and see. And I'm sure some fall asleep until it times out. These are all things I have done when I am using the remote side.  One thing we need to remember, an antenna that is mediocre to one person may be a window to the world for someone living in the urban noise jungle.  And consider this - if there were enough remotes to choose from, scattered all over the globe,  even a poor antenna would cover their locals and fill in the gap.  Unfortunately, the number of remotes seem to be dwindling, esp here in N AM.  Maybe summer coming and lightning season but still, even this winter, choices were fairly meagre. 

I'm not too concerned about the usage aspect - it's not a big drain on my internet and I see enough different names, many of whom I know personally who use it so I think most get a fair chance to see if whatever signal they're looking for makes it to my part of Alberta.  Both of mine are set to 62 mins on with the minimum 2 minute reconnect time.

The only "abuse" if it really is, I see sometimes is from the amateur radio side, people wanting to hear a station better in order to work a rare one or have an unfair advantage in a contest. What does annoy me is users who can't be bothered to put in their proper name or callsign or even a lat/long. And then there's a few servers that get the lat/long wrong or reversed so they wind up in a rare portion of the world and for a moment we all get excited!!

Both operators raise some interesting questions!

If you have used a remote SDR or do so with some regularity, how did you find the experience? What types of things did you listen or look for? How much time would you typically spend on the site? What do you think the limits on time should be?

I have used a remote once or twice in the past, to listen for my Tri-Tet-Ten's chirpy, low power signal, and found it very useful but I've never used one for general listening.

What are your experiences?