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Current Issues

and
Latest News
       


Ongoing (long term) issues:

  •  Power line noise noted on some bands on WebSDR #5.
    • As WebSDR #5's antenna is a northwest-pointing beam which is aimed at these power lines, emissions of noise from these lines will be noticed there, first.  We have - for years - been working with the power company to mitigate this noise issues but it is a slow process on this very old (circa 1960s) power line hardware.
  • Known interference source on site - the new UPS.
    • We observed with the replacement of the UPS that a "new" interference source appeared.  This usually takes the form of an intermittent noise - most clearly seen in the low frequencies (<25 kHz) on KiwiSDRs 1-3.
    • During the 21-22 September, 2024 site visit a mains line filter was added which seems to have quashed HF noise, although it (expectedly) had only a slight effect on the energy <100 kHz.
    • In early November, 2024 we are switching to another UPS scheme so this will "change" the nature of the RF environment - but we have yet to know how.  As we have already implemented input/output filtering, we don't expect any impact on HF -but VLF/LF and MF remains to be seen.


Recent events and resolved issues:
Upcoming testing of newer WebSDR software:

We are looking into the possibility of migrating to a platform other than the PA3FWM WebSDR currently in use.  While there are several options out there, the most prominent is the "Phantom WebSDR". This has the advantage of using simpler hardware (and RX-888 or similar) to receive HF bands, presenting the user with a single interface for the entire HF spectrum - much like the KiwiSDR or even the University of Twente WebSDR, also operated by PA3FWM.

While we have not yet "spun up" a test server running Phantom WebSDR (it's on our "to do" list) we are in communications with others who have done so and have also been trying out a few of them that are online - but this has led us to a few observations:
  • It's not stable.  Reports from others who have been testing it have reported that it's a bit of a fight to get it going - and it requires a bit of babysitting to to keep it working properly.  In contrast, the PA3FWM WebSDR is extremely stable and robust.
  • It's a bandwidth hog.  Whereas each, individual user of the PA3FWM WebSDR need consume only 40-50kbps of bandwidth for audio, waterfall and control, the typical configuration of the Phantom WebSDR results in each user requiring 400-500 kbps.
    • To support just 200 users - which is a common load for the Northern Utah WebSDR - would require approximately 100 megabits of Internet bandwidth, and that is simply not available at the remote Northern Utah WebSDR receive site at this time.  The reason for this seems to be (unnecessarily?) high audio encoding rates and an inefficient means of conveying the waterfall display as currently implemented in Phantom WebSDR.
    • Requiring nearly a half megabit of also strains the connectivity of many individual users - particularly those who may have tenuous or "metered" Internet connections (e.g. mobile devices and satellite connections, poor connectivity overall, etc.).
  • Potentially marginal performance of a single, wide-band receiver coving all of HF.  
    • Simply connecting a single, wideband receiver - like a KiwiSDR, RX-888, Web-888, Red Pitaya or similar to an antenna will likely result in mediocre performance - particularly if this system is located in an area with a very low noise floor - the result being that performance of the receive system, particularly on the upper HF amateur bands, will be rather poor compared to a typical amateur receiver in terms of sensitivity and the ability to handle large signal levels.
    • This issue is solvable - and articles on doing this (which may well involve constructing specialized hardware that isn't available commercially) may be found in the "Technical" pages of the Northern Utah WebSDR and other places - but the need and means of doing this may not be known to many who attempt to use this hardware.
If you peruse the Northern Utah WebSDR's web sites you'll note that we do cover all of HF on some receivers (KiwiSDRs) as well as a number of the shortwave broadcast bands.  Further investigation will reveal that these resources get relatively little use compared to the amateur band receivers.  Between these observations as well as results of surveys and correspondence with users indicate that most users do NOT really care about frequencies other than amateur bands for the most part - and that there's something to be said about simplicity of operation when one can simply select an individual amateur band rather than have to pick it out from a 30 MHz wide display..

We expect that Phantom WebSDR - and possibly others - will eventually mature to the point where they are both stable and suitable for large numbers of users - but that day is not today.

Making a tension measurement on one of the guy wires for the tower supporting the two Log Periodic beam antennas at the Northern Utah WebSDR's remote receive site.
Click on the image for a larger version.
The tower deaman having pulled out slightly


For "less-recent
" (earlier) events, go to the "Latest News Archive" page - link.



Issues currently being investigated:


Miscellaneous quirks (e.g. "It's supposed to be that way!"):



If you notice some issues that are unrelated to those listed above feel free to use the contact info on the About page to let us know about it.

Additional information:
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