The ACURA website just got a new feature worth checking out. It’s a live, fully interactive HF software-defined radio receiver, built right into the site. Head to the SDR Receiver page in the menu above, and you won’t find a demo or a recording there. Instead, you’ll tune a real receiver and hear real signals in real time.
What it actually is
The ACURA SDR Receiver is a software-defined HF receiver. Its antennas sit in Milford, Pennsylvania, up in the Pocono Mountains, which gives it excellent reach up and down the East Coast. It tunes the full 0–30 MHz range, so it covers the entire AM broadcast band. It also covers every amateur band from 160 meters down through 10 meters, all from one console on the page.
Every control on screen actually works — none of it is just decoration. You can spin the main tuning dial, use the +/- step buttons, or click the frequency readout and type in an exact frequency. That gives you instant, precise tuning. Band buttons also let you jump straight to 160M, 80M, 40M, 20M, 17M, 15M, 12M, or 10M. From there, you can switch modes and adjust receiver settings just like you would on a physical rig.
What’s built into it
A few things set this console apart from a typical web SDR:
- Live spectrum and signal display — an S-meter and real-time readout show exactly what the receiver hears as you tune.
- Station tag badges — as you tune across a frequency, a badge pops up beneath the display and tells you what’s there. That includes WWV/WWVH time signals, well-known AM broadcast stations up and down the coast, and 159 popular HF amateur nets. These nets are regular on-air gatherings for traffic handling, emergency communications, ragchews, and special-interest groups from across the country. So it’s also a great way to stumble onto a net you never knew existed.
- A live view of Atlantic City — instead of a traditional waterfall display, the console shows a live video feed of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. So you get a real-time look at the Jersey Shore while you listen.
- A running UTC clock and receiver status readout, so you always know exactly what you’re tuned to and when.
Why it’s there
A lot of “SDR” pages online are just static screenshots or pre-recorded audio. This one isn’t. Every signal you hear comes off a real antenna, right now. That makes it a genuinely useful tool for members — whether you’re checking propagation before a net, listening for a specific station, or just exploring the bands when you don’t have a rig of your own handy.
Give it a listen
Head over to the SDR Receiver page, click Listen Live, and start tuning. And if you know of a major net or AM broadcast station that isn’t tagged yet, just email the ACURA webmaster at [email protected]. Send us the band, frequency, and the name of the net or station, and we’ll add it to the list.
73, and happy listening.
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