Nothern Utah WebSDR Logo - A skep with a Yagi Northern Utah WebSDR
Frequently-asked questions


Here are a few questions that have/may come up, and some answers.  They may not be good answers, but they are answers nonetheless.  If you have a question about the WebSDR, check out the Q&A below to see if it's already been answered.   Below are just some of the topic headings - click on one to jump to it - or just peruse the entire page.

- Supporting the Northern Utah WebSDR - Weird noises and other things on the bands - Features of the WebSDR
- Computer and usability issues - "Why is it this way?" - "Why don't you support (put a mode or feature here)?"
- System quirks and a few random things KiwiSDRs at this site - "What's with the 10 meter CW beacon?"
- "Why can't I hear audio from the WebSDR?" - "Why doesn't "CatSync" work properly?"  - "How do I stop the echo when I transmit?"
- "Why don't you guys run OpenWebRX?" - "Why can't I use 'Pocket TX/RX' with the Utah SDR?" - "What are the things marked as "HFT Triggers?"




Supporting the Northern Utah WebSDR:


Weird noises and other things on the bands:

Figure 1:
Left:
 What the 40 meter waterfall on the WebSDR can look like when there are severe thunderstorms about, taken on 22 August, 2018 at about 1500MDT.  The light, horizontal streaks are loud static crashes - and since they are broadband, they occupy the entire band at the same time!
Right:  A real-time lightning map (blitzortung.org) taken at the same time of the western U.S. showing the very high lightning activity within normal "skip" range of the daytime 40 meter band.
The left-hand picture shows only one obvious signal and two other weaker ones.  Why was the band so devoid of activity?  Would you want to be on the air with weather (and the band) behaving like this?  (Do you really have to ask?)
Click on either picture for a larger version.
Static crashes on the WebSDR waterfall The
Figure 2:
This is an example of IMD showing up on a "clean" 40 meter signal.  The signal is peaking about 10dB over S-9 with a little bit of QSB.  The noise floor is about S-4 meaning that the peaks of this signal are about 40dB above the noise.  Just to the right of the signal (between 7250 and 7251) one can see some energy that is related to voice peaks.  Because the waterfall can represent a wide range of signal amplitudes it is quite typical for a transmitter with good IMD specs to appear to have some splatter - but careful comparison of the waterfall's color and brightness will reveal that in this particular case, that IMD is really quite weak.
There are two other signals in the waterfall above:  A weak LSB signal at approximately 7253.5 kHz and a carrier with modulation on either side at 7245 that is likely China Radio International.
Several weak horizontal streaks from distant lightning storms can also be seen.
Click on the picture for a larger version.
Static crashes on the WebSDR waterfall


Features of the WebSDR:



Computer and usability issues:

"Why is it this way?":




"Why don't you support (put a mode or feature here)?":


System quirks and a few random things:

KiwiSDRs at this site:

Important:  Please use the WebSDR and not the Kiwis on frequencies/bands that are already covered by the WebSDR for casual use.  Read on to find out why.

See also the KiwiSDR FAQ - link
The KiwiSDRs have many more features than can possibly be covered here - please read the KiwiSDR FAQ at this web site as well as the  KiwiSDR Quick start guide (link) and follow some of the links within for more information than you probably want.



Additional information:
Back to the Northern Utah WebSDR landing page