Nothern Utah WebSDR Logo - A skep with a Yagi About the Northern Utah WebSDR

Terms and conditions:  By using the Northern Utah WebSDR, you agree to the Terms and Conditions, below - link.

This WebSDR server is located near Corinne, Utah, at a site previously used for HF propagation research.  As a crow flies, it is about 60 miles (94km) north of Salt Lake City and 14 miles (23km) east of the Golden Spike National Historic - link site where, in 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed, linking the eastern and western United States by rail for the first time:  This railroad was just 0.23 miles (375 meters) from the WebSDR site's location.

"I'm in the area - can I visit the WebSDR site?
 
As a highway passes right by the WebSDR site, you are welcome to stop safely along the road and look at the antenna farm from a distance - but please do not enter the property!

The Northern Utah WebSDR receive site is on private land which is posted "No Trespassing" by the land owner, so please do not enter the property:  Doing so without permission (e.g. trespassing) constitutes a misdemeanor under Utah law.

By agreement with the land owner, only members of the board of the Northern Utah WebSDR's 501(c)3 corporation and volunteers that have been explicitly authorized to do so by the board or land owner are permitted to enter the property.
The main receive antenna at this site is a TCI Model 530 omnidirectional Log Periodic which is (mostly) circularly-polarized and optimized for higher-angle incident waves, having up to 6dBi gain.  Go to the "Technical Info" page for more detail about the gear used at this site.  This WebSDR system was put online at this site on 28 February, 2018 with the help of many local amateurs.

There are several WebSDR systems online at this location offering coverage on all of the U.S. LF, MF and HF amateur bands plus a portion of the 6 meter band and all of the 2 meter band:
 A VHF/UHF-only WebSDR:

In addition to the five WebSDRs at the remote receive site.there is the "Salt Lake Metro" server in the Salt Lake area that provides coverage of all of 2 meters, the upper 4 MHz of the 70cm band (where the repeater outputs are located here in Utah), 6 meters, a portion of the Aircraft band and the Earth<>Satellite portion of the 2 meter amateur band.

KiwiSDRs on site:

Another type of Web-interfaced, multi-user SDR system at this site uses KiwiSDRs that (theoretically) have continuous coverage from 0 through 30 MHz.  For more information about those receivers read the KiwiSDR section on the FAQ page.
 WSPR and the Northern Utah WebSDR:

This WebSDR system also functions as a major monitoring point for WSPRNET activity in North America, receiving and reporting WSPR transmissions on the LF, MF and HF spectrum.  Please read the page "WSPR Monitoring at the Northern Utah WebSDR" for more information.

The Northern Utah WebSDR and the Reverse Beacon Network:

As of August, 2023 the receivers/antennas at the remote Northern Utah WebSDR site have been used for reception of CW transmissions via the "CW Skimmer" software and reporting the observations to the Reverse Beacon Network (link).  As of late September, CW transmissions on the 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meter bands are being monitored, with the possibility of more being added in the future - all using the TCI-530 Omni antenna.

In theory we could add other monitors for modes such as RTTY, FT-8, FT-4, etc. but we need to carefully consider what we do to make sure that we don't over-use computer resources and be sure that any contribution that we might make would not be a duplication of efforts.

Purpose of the Northern Utah WebSDR:

The Northern Utah WebSDR (and its legal entity, the "Utah SDR Group") is dedicated to the proposition that Amateur radio can provide a role in emergency preparedness, emergency communications ("EMCOMM"), fellowship and international goodwill, technical education and development, and the sciences related to the ionosphere and the interaction of the Earth's magnetic fields and atmophere with the sun itself.

"Ham radio includes talking to others - but it isn't just that!"

One of the growing challenges to amateurs that wish to operate on the HF bands - particularly if they are interested in the "EMCOMM" aspects - is that of dealing with the crescendo of QRN at the typical home QTH, largely owing to the proliferation of devices that are, in their own right, power oscillators - namely, devices with switching power converters.  Now ubiquitous, these devices can be found in almost anything that is powered from the AC mains, from appliances to chargers to TV and computers.  Even if one, single device contributes relatively little to one's own receive noise floor on a given band, the sheer number of these devices - both in your residence and those of your neighbors - they can contribute to the overall degradation of your receive capability, masking out weaker signals.

One useful tool that this - and other WebSDRs - provide is the ability to compare your system and its capabillities to others:  If you have a problem that hinders your communications abilities, how bad is it?  As you work to improve your situation, having a basis of comparison is valuel - both as a benchmark, but also as a source of encouragement to help you toward improvment.

No matter your circumstance there are several reasons why you might frequent a WebSDR:
It should be noted that there are some instances where a remote receive system may be of limited benefit - specifically, some contest situations where there may be rules that limit/prohibit the use of a remote/distant receive station.

Having the availability of a "good" receiver site - that is, one that is "RF quiet", when coupled with a system such as a WebSDR - can provide a wider benefit to a far larger number of amateurs than a single, dedicated remote receiver.  This system can accommodate a large number of simultaneous users, each independently tuning around and thus benefit the greatest number of users - not only from locations near the WebSDR system itself, but also those across the country and across the world.

In other words:  A system like this can provide a bigger "bang for the buck" and benefit far more people than simple remotely accessible receive system!

The scientific aspects:

The Northern Utah WebSDR is uniquely situated in an RF-quiet environment such that one of the side-benefits is the collection of raw data pertaining to the interaction of the Sun and ionosphere - and other aspects of our geophysical environment.  This raw data, which includes noise data related to such interactions and the measurements of signal levels contribute to a large data set that does - and will, in the future - contribute to our understanding of the still-mysterious effects that the Sun and our space environment have on our planet.  These interactions not only include effects on our natural environment, but they can have impact on things like our power grid, telecommunications, and satellite-based navigation.

While we know of some of the uses to which this data is currently being put, today's contributions - and tommorow's - add to an ever-growing pool of never-before available raw data that may provide insights into the nature of these effects and interactions that we have yet to consider.  For more information read the "WebSDR and Science" page - link.


Terms and conditions of use of the Northern Utah WebSDR:

 The Northern Utah WebSDR system is a free-to-use, publically-available resource  that allows remote reception on the HF and select VLF, LF, MF and VHF bands.  The Northern Utah WebSDR is supported entirely by volunteer effort and donations and any commercial or governmental use that might be ocurring is being done serreptitiously and without our consent.  While best efforts are made to keep the system online and available to everyone, there are no warranties expressed or implied, nor shall there be any liabilities related to the use and usability of the Northern Utah WebSDR for any purposes whatsovever.

Use for emergency communications:

During special events, exercises or emergencies, we'll do what we can to accommodate and maintain the system, but we cannot guarantee that the system will be available - and, of course, any incident dependent on the vagaries of HF propagation is subject to the whims of mother nature.  The Internet, being what it is, can also be adversely impacted, depending on the footprint and nature of whatever event might occur.

Remember:  The Northern Utah WebSDR - or any WebSDR - should NEVER be used as the primary or sole resource for life and safety concerns.  In the event that life-critical communcations are undertaken - via this or any WebSDR, or over the air - IMMEDIATELY contact the appropriate first responder agencies.

By using the Northern Utah WebSDR you agree to acknowledge and abide by these conditions.  If you have any questions about these terms and conditions please refer them to the contact information found at the bottom of this page.

Operational hints:


"Isn't this WebSDR supported by one of the local Utah ham clubs?"

The quick answer is:  No.  For various reasons (practical, legal, tax, liability, etc.) the Northern Utah WebSDR is its own, stand-alone organization and is NOT associated directly with any other amateur radio club.

Having said, that, many members of the local amateur radio clubs have provided assistance and support in the establishment and continued operation of  the WebSDR system and occasionally, one of them throws some money in our direction as a donation.

 
 
How can I help support the Northern Utah WebSDR:

We gratefully accept donations to help support the Northern Utah WebSDR:  To find out how to do that, please visit our How to Donate page.

Who's behind all of this?

The installation and maintenance of this WebSDR system is a joint effort of many amateur radio operators in Northern Utah with many locals offering support by donating equipment, their time and money.  As mentioned above, this WebSDR is not associated with any particular amateur club and is based around a non-profit IRS 501c(3) organization set up specifically to support the WebSDR.

If you were wondering why there isn't a list of supporters here, the answer is that if we did so, we'd inadvertently leave someone out.  We used to have a partial list of volunteers here, but certain people (you know who you are!) used it to send everyone on that list email that they didn't really want (uncool!) - so we removed it.


What are the future plans?

To make it better, of course!  In the future we hope to:

Contact information:

If you wish to find out how you can contribute to this project, or if you have any questions/comments that weren't answered on the "latest news", "FAQ" or "technical info" pages, you may send an email to the following address:

            sdrinfo@sdrutah.org.

Alternatively, you can send email/snail-mail to KA7OEI using the information found at QRZ or the FCC database.

Important:

If you wish to contact us, please avoid using an email service that has one of those "Please fill in this form to reply" type of SPAM filters.  If you really want a reply, please have the courtesy to allow us to do so without having to fill out a form and supply extra personal information to who knows where, etc. - I wasn't planning to sell or give out your email address, anyway!


Additional information:

Go to the Northern Utah WebSDR landing page