Category: HF

Multichannel ALE and GMDSS Decoding with Black Cat Systems Software

Black Cat Systems have recently released two new programs that may be of interest to HF monitoring enthusiasts. The first is a multichannel capable ALE decoder and the second is a multichannel GMDSS-DSC decoder. Both programs are not free, with an (introductory) price tag of $29.99 each for three parallel input channels, and $99 for up to 24 parallel input channels.

With an appropriate HF capable SDR, like a SDRplay, Airspy HF+ Discovery, or even an RTL-SDR V3 in direct sampling mode, these programs allow you to set up a home monitoring station. 

ALE or Automatic Link Establishment is a digital RF protocol that enables users to initiate a reliable call over HF frequencies, by automatically choosing the best frequency based on propagation conditions, allowing for telephone like calling operation, and enabling short text messages.

GMDSS or Global Maritime Distress and Safety System is a set of radio protocols that enables digital text communications between ship to ship and the shore, as well as weather broadcasts, and distress beacons. 

Over on his blog Nils Schiffhauer (DK8OK) has been testing these two programs out. In his first post about the ALE decoder, Nils explains ALE in more depth, and demonstrates how he uses the multi-channel capable SDR-Console with Virtual Audio Cable to feed 16 ALE channels into the decoder. He goes on to show how to filter by callsign and provides some tips for best reception. He notes that with ALE you might receive messages from:

... forces, diplomatic services, emergency agencies, police, militia, UN missions, drug enforcement, border control and even amateur radio. It is used from aircraft like AWACS, as from aircraft carriers, from mobile units to fixed stations. 

In his second post Nils tests out the GMDSS decoder noting that it is an "extraordinary sensitive decoder" and "it also includes smart processing of the data – from looking up vessel’s complete data from ITU’s Ship Station List (internet connection needed) to saving all data to a fully-fledged database". His post goes on to explain the GMDSS format in more detail and demonstrate multichannel decoding.

Black Cat Systems ALE and GMDSS Decoders demonstrated by Nils Schiffhauer (DK8OK)

Improving Reception on the Malachite DSP via USB Grounding

Thank you to Mitsonobu Saitou for writing in and sharing with us a product that he has created which improves reception on of the Malachite DSP software defined radio and other shortwave radios by up to 20dB by improving the grounding. It appears to work by using the negative USB line as a ground via a modified USB cable with grounding clip on the other end. The product is available via Amazon Japan with international shipping.

The Malachite DSP is a portable battery powered software defined radio with built in screen. It is popular amongst shortwave listeners.

Saitou writes the following summary, and full details about the product are available on his blog (link uses Google Translate to translate from Japanese to English): 

Today's item is "Dokodemo Earth KUN". This is an item to pull the ground wire from the charging connector of DCL radios and Mlachite DSPs.

The sensitivity of the receiver will be improved by strengthening the grounding. This is how I applied it.

It is easy to connect by pulling out the ground wire from the charging connector instead of the antenna jack.

It can also be used as a loop antenna by connecting the ground to the antenna.

We have confirmed the effectiveness of this product outdoors. Users who have used this item have experienced a significant increase in sensitivity. 

Malachite DSP and SWL Radio USB Grounding Enhancement Cable
Malahit/Malachite DSP+「どこでもアースくん」

 

dumphfdl: A Multichannel HFDL Decoder for SDR

Thank you to Tomasz Lemiech for writing in and sharing with us the release of his new software "dumphfdl". Tomasz is the author of dumpvdl2 and also maintains RTLSDR-Airband. Regarding dumphfdl Tomasz writes:

dumphfdl is a multichannel HFDL decoder for Linux. HFDL (High Frequency Data Link) is a protocol used for radio communications between aircraft and a network of ground stations using high frequency (HF) radio waves. Thanks to the ability of short waves to propagate over long distances, HFDL is particularly useful in remote areas (eg. over oceans or polar regions) where other ground-based communications services are out of range. While many aircraft carriers prefer satellite communications these days, HFDL is still operational and in use.

Available HFDL decoding applications typically run on Windows and take an audio signal on input. The signal has to be delivered to the decoder via a physical cable from an external shortwave receiver or via a virtual cable from an SDR. This makes these apps inherently single-channel. This shortcoming does not apply to dumphfdl which interfaces directly with the SDR, so no pipes or virtual audio cables are needed. The program can decode multiple HFDL channels simultaneously, up to available CPU power and SDR bandwidth (there is no fixed channel count limit).

dumphfdl uses SoapySDR library (https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR) to communicate with the radio. Any HF-capable receiver for which a SoapySDR driver exists, should work. I have tested it briefly with an RTL-SDR v3 dongle in direct sampling mode. While I had a bit of a success with it, HFDL signals are often quite weak, so a real HF radio (like SDRPlay RSP1A or Airspy HF+) gives much better results (more decoded messages).

The program may log decoded messages to a file or send them over the network for external processing and storage.

HFDL messages often contain diagnostic data accompanied with aircraft position information. The program may extract this data from decoded messages and provide a positional data feed for external plane tracking apps (eg. Virtual Radar Server). An example screenshot from VRS is attached - taken after about 2 hours of decoding eight HFDL channels spread across three HFDL subbands: 6.6, 8.9, and 10.0 MHz with two dumphfdl instances on two radios - RSP1A and Airspy HF+. Definitely a nice way to expand the coverage of a home ADS-B radar :-)

Refer to the README.md file in the project repository for more details. The program is still under development, so new features and further improvements might be expected in subsequent releases.

dumphfdl - decoded aircraft positions plotted on a map

SignalsEverywhere: Decoding HF WEFAX Weather Fax with an Airspy HF+ Discovery SDR

Over on YouTube Sarah is back this week with a new video on her channel SignalsEverywhere. In this video she shows how to decode HF WEFAX (weather fax) images using an Airspy HF+ Discovery software defined radio with a YouLoop antenna. HF weather faxes are daily weather chart images transmitted as an analogue signal over the HF bands by coastal stations. They are mostly used by ships at sea.

First Sarah shows where to find a lists of WEFAX frequencies and schedules for her area, and then goes on to demonstrate a WEFAX signal being received and decoded using SDR#, VB-Audio Cable and the FLDIGI decoder.

Decoding HF WEFAX Weather Fax with SDR Software Defined Radio | Airspy HF Discovery

TechMinds: Testing the RadioBerry an HF SDR Transceiver Raspberry Pi Hat

The RadioBerry is a HF transceiver board designed to be used as an add on 'hat' for the  Raspberry Pi. It uses the same AD9866 chip as the Hermes Lite 2 SDR which gives it a 12-bit ADC with one RX and one TX channel, a maximum bandwidth of up to 384 kHz, and an operating frequency range of 0 to 30 MHz. 

In the video TechMinds shows how to connect and setup the Radioberry software on the Pi and how to stream from the Pi to SDR-Console V3 on a PC. He goes on to demonstrate the Radioberry receiving HF signals, noting that the performance is good, although he uses an Ethernet connection and Pi 4 for best performance.

TechMinds notes that he will test the transmit functionality in a future video, once he receives a preamp designed to be used with the Radioberry.

RADIOBERRY - HF SDR TRANSCEIVER PI HAT

Decoding HFDL ACARS with a WebSDR and PC-HFDL

In the previous episode Rob from the Frugal Radio YouTube channel showed us how to decode HF ACARS using PC-HFDL and an HF capable SDR such as the Airspy HF+. In that episode he mentioned that it is possible to decode HF ACARS using a WebSDR as well.

In this weeks episode, Rob shows us how to do just that, making use of WebSDR receivers and the PC-HFDL software. Like the previous episode we see how to plot the aircraft HF ACARS position data on Google Earth and how to read and interpret some example messages received.

Decoding HFDL ACARS with a WebSDR and PC-HFDL

Frugal Radio: HFDL HF ACARS Decoding Tutorial

In Rob's latest episode of his excellent aviation communications series on his Frugal Radio YouTube channel he shows how to decode aircraft HF ACARS (HFDL) using a software defined radio. HFDL is short for "high frequency data link", and is a method aircraft use for sending text and data communications to ground stations. It is an alternative to VHF or satellite ACARS communications methods.

In the video he shows how he's been able to receive HFDL from all over the world using a simple HF dipole antenna and an Airspy HF+ Discovery. He goes on to show how to find HFDL signals, and how to decode signals using SDR# and the PC-HFDL software. Finally he shows examples of aircraft received, and how to interpret some of the information being received, including location information.

How to decode HF ACARS (HFDL) free with your SDR - Monitoring Aviation Communications Episode 8

Frugal Radio: Turning Scrap Wire into an Effective HF Dipole

In this weeks video Rob from his Frugal Radio YouTube channel shows us how he's turned an old piece of scrap electrical extension cord into an effective HF antenna for his Airspy HF+ SDR. The scrap wire is combined with a US$15 NooElec 9:1 balun which helps improve the impedance match of the antenna. He then stretches the dipole out through his backyard and then hooks it up to his Airspy HF+.

The results show good reception across the 20m, 80m, 40m amateur radio bands, as well as on HF ATC aircraft communications, US coast guard weather information broadcasts and the AM broadcast band.

I made an HF Dipole for free! Reception was good on my AirSpy HF+ Discovery SDR!