The Hack Green HF WebSDR is a great way to listen to radio hams via the internet, especially if you’re unable to erect HF aerials at home. The SDR is really easy to operate and allows users to listen to any of the amateur bands from 160M (Topband) all the way to 17Meters. There is also a VHF version that covers 70cm, 2m, 4m and 10 meters.
When you access the webpage, it normally brings you to a frequency on 160M (1910 KHz) but this is easily changed. To the left of the screen, below the waterfall, there the a series of buttons to adjust the band as well as some +/- keys to adjust the frequency. You’ll probably find, on a PC, that the easiest way to adjust the frequency is to click on the centre of the yellow cursor and drag it left or right to tune.
Another great feature of the WebSdr is the ability to see what bands and frequencies people are tuned in to. You can see the radio activity on all of the bands and can usually work out where best to listen out. You can also see a list of radio amateurs who are listening, if they’ve entered their call signs, into the little box above the waterfall display.
The site is located at the Nantwich Secret Nuclear Bunker and it’s website address is http://hackgreensdr.org:8901/
What is an SDR?
It stands for Software-defined radio and is essentially a computer controlled electronic device connected at a radio aerial. The received signals are converted into sound just like a conventional radio receiver.
A WebSDR is one that’s connected to the internet. It allows multiple users to access it and they can all control control their own virtual receivers independently of each other.
You can find a list at http://websdr.org
Monitoring Hubnet
If there’s not much to listen to on the HF WebSDR, I tend to switch over to the VHF/UHF WebSDR and have a listen around. There’s a fair amount of traffic on the 70cms repeaters and at least one of them appears to be linked to Hubnet, it’s on 433.150MHz..