WNJC test and the CC Skywave

WNJC in Washington Township, New Jersey, has been running tests the past three weekends on 1360 kHz. Despite WDRC on the same frequency only 16 miles away, I managed to easily hear WNJC as I wrote here two weeks ago and again last weekend. I assumed that I would be able to hear them again last night when I powered up the ICOM IC-R8600 at 0402 UTC and I did.

I wondered if I could hear it on my CCrane Skwave SSB receiver too, so I tuned the Skywave to 1360 at 0406 UTC and heard the WNJC voice ID followed by their Morse Code ID.

Needless to say, I was a little surprised that I was able to hear WNJC with the Skywave indoors using its internal antenna, but their signal was solid and was on equal footing with WDRC. I did not have to twist and turn the Skywave for best reception; the signal was good no matter where I positioned the Skywave.

Keurig in the Log

I have not been on the radio the last few days (lots of yard work before and after Hurricane Isaias), so when I finally got back in the shack again, I was surprised to find strong interference on the AM broadcast band between 550 and 1250 kHz, peaking at 20 over 9 on 860 MHz kHz! I could only hear the strongest radio stations through the noise.

Maybe a neighbor acquired a new gadget that was spewing out the noise, so I grabbed my C.Crane Skywave SSB, took it outdoors and walked around the perimeter of my little acre.

All I heard were crickets. However, when I walked closer to my house, the noise came back, so I went back indoors and searched for the noise inside.

I checked all the usual suspects, but did not find the source. However, as I walked through the kitchen, the noise was very strong and I discovered the source: our new Keurig K-Cup coffee maker! Unplug the Keurig and the noise disappeared.

Our old Keurig(s) never caused radio interference, so I was disappointed that our new unit did. I called Keurig customer service, explained the problem and they put me on hold for about 10 minutes.

When the service rep came back, she admitted that they did not have a troubleshooting procedure for my problem. They assume that the unit was bad out of the box, so they are shipping me a new unit at no cost.

I will let you know how the replacement unit performs after I receive it and plug it in. In the meantime, I will keep the Keurig unplugged unless I want a cup of Joe.

CC Skywave SSB: Second Impressions

What's in the box: clockwise from top left, the box, instruction manual, earbuds, radio, carrying pouch, and SW reel antenna.

After spending Friday afternoon playing with my new C.Crane CC Skywave SSB receiver, I tried it out after dark and logged a new station at 0210Z: WFUN on 970 kHz in Ashtabula, Ohio, transmitting 1 kW, 404 miles to the west broadcasting the Cleveland Cavaliers game.

With nightime conditions, the Skywave SSB performs like the original Skywave. Like the original, the SSB was able to pull out stations on 1070 despite the slop from 50-kW WTIC on 1080, 12 miles away. Using the SSB mode, I was also able to dig out a station on 980 from under the slop from WPRX on 990, 4 miles away.

IMHO, the sensitivity and selectivity of the Skywave SSB and original Skywave is about the same on AM, FM, SW, and WX bands. Also, I found the SSB to be more sensitive on the Air band.

The addition of the SSB option on the AM and SW bands makes the Skywave SSB a better radio.

CC Skywave SSB: First Impressions

I ordered the new C.Crane CC Skywave SSB AM/FM/WX/Air/SW radio online Wednesday morning. I had a 15% discount coupon, so the radio only cost $127.49 plus $12.40 for Priority Mail shipping. The USPS delivered the radio late this morning and these are my first impressions.

Despite some scuttlebutt I’ve read on the Internet, the SSB mode does work on the AM band as well as the SW bands.

Compared to the original CC Skywave, the SSB has a longer telescoping antenna by 2.5 inches.

The SSB is colored grey, whereas the original is black.

The SSB and accessories come in a nice cardboard box, whereas the original Skywave came in a clear plastic package.

I compared the SSB and original Skywave side-by-side on the air on each band this afternoon for about two hours and I noted the following:

The SSB is more sensitive on the Air band than the original Skywave.

The sensitivity and selectivity of the SSB and original Skywave are about the same on the WX and FM bands.

The sensitivity of the SSB and original Skywave are about the same on the SW and AM bands.

Note that these are first impressions over a few hours out of the box, so my opinion may change over a longer period of use.