Skegness Log: 11-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 11-03-14:
104.8 0014  D  hr1, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Slow pop song, as web  729km **
104.8 0016  D  Ostseewelle, Marlow (mev) Katy, roaring again, as web. No other German
               stations on this frequency in //  813km **
104.8 0018 CZE CRo Vltava, Ostrava/Hostálkovice (MO) Distinctive classical music,
               as web  1287km **
104.8 0054  D  Radio TON Neckar Alb, Reutlingen (bwü) Pink song (as opposed to brown
               or beige) as web. Two second burst  811km **
104.8 0219  D  Radio Hochstift, Büren or Höxter Holzminden-Neuhaus German song,
               as web **
104.8 0629 SUI RTS Couleur 3, Bourrignon/Les Ordons (ju) Manu Chao Clandestina song,
               as web  806km **

Band 2 Scatter: 11-03-14:
106.9 0809  G  Takeover Radio, Sutton-in-Ashfield (EN-NHS) Jingle ID between songs  106km **
104.3 0812  G  BBC Radio Cymru, Llangollen (WA-DBG) C71B BBCymru.  235km
103.2 0815  G  Mansfield 103.2, Mansfield/Fishpond Hill (EN-NHS) ID after Cranberries song 
               104km
103.5 0829  D  RPR 1., Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) ID and news  553km
107.0 0843  D  WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Whispery YL ID jingle between songs  592km
105.7 1018  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen (nds) D389  543km
104.9 1022  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Aurich (nds) Pops, as 105.7  478km
 95.4 1046  D  Nordwestradio, Schiffdorf [nds] (Bremerhaven) (bre) OM on phone,
               as web  554km
 91.2 1047  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Dannenberg Zernien (nds) OM talk, as web. mixing
               Bruxelles  705km
 90.0 1048  D  NDR Kultur, Aurich (nds) Piano concerto. All other Aurichs up  478km
 96.4 1304  D  NDR Info, Aurich (nds) OM, ID, YL, as web. Just about noise free  478km
107.5 1427 HOL Radio Eenhoorn, Menaam/Mieddyk (fri) Dutch song, as web  356km
107.3 1430 BEL VBRO, Diksmuide/IJzertoren (vlg-wvl) VBRO News after ads  292km
107.1 1436 BEL Club FM, Deinze/Gentsesteenweg 204 (vlg-ovl) Rap song, as web  326km
 88.3 1442 HOL 100% NL, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) 83D3 100%__L_  318km **
 90.8 1445 HOL Radio Drenthe, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Phone in, as web  407km
 91.0 1445 HOL Slam!FM, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Presume Tjerkgaast. Pops, as 91.1 
               360km
 91.6 1447 HOL Radio Veronica, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Focus excellent Hocus
               Pocus, as web  320km
107.7 1453 BEL RGR FM, Oostkamp (vlg-wvl) Club mix, as web  296km
105.6 1454 BEL Radio Minerva, De Haan (vlg-wvl) Female crooner, as web  278km **
 98.7 1459 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Ads, as web  407km
 99.6 1500 HOL Slam!FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Presume Smilde. ID in promo  407km
 97.1 1503 HOL NPO 3FM, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) Dutch ads and click bonks!  318km
 97.2 1503  F  RFM, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) French song, as web  299km
 93.3 1510  F  Rire et Chansons, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) French comedy,
               as web  285km
 93.2 1511 HOL Waterstad FM, Jirnsum/Rijksweg (fri) Luke warm Hot Chocolate song, as web 
               365km
 93.0 1513 HOL Radio 10, Westdorpe/Verkavelingsweg (zee) That awful Baby I Love your
               Way song, as 103.8, etc.  322km
 92.0 1516  F  Radio 6, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont d'Herquelingue (62) French song, as web  288km
 88.9 1517 HOL Radio Noord-Holland, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Who Let The Dogs Out
               sample and YL, as 93.9  320km
 87.7 1518  F  RTL, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) OMs talking, as web. Over Radio 10  299km
 87.8 1540  F  France Inter, Paris/Tour Eiffel (75) French OM  YL, then depressing
               classical music, as web  497km
105.5 1544 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Dutch OM talking over jingly music,
               as web  296km
 99.1 1555 HOL 100% NL, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Possibly Tjerkgaast but Enchede
               also here with 10kW  360km
105.5 1600 BEL Topradio, Staden/Stadenberg (vlg-wvl) ID on the hour and pops  299km
 91.0 1613 HOL Omroep Brabant, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) ID in lively chat  334km
 92.8 1616  F  NRJ, Béthune/Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen (62) Dance tune, as web  340km
 93.3 1617 HOL Ujala Radio, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Indian club music, as web  320km
104.0 1619 BEL Bel RTL, Bruxelles/The Hotel (bru) French OMs, as web  377km
107.1 1647  F  France Bleu 107.1, Paris/Tour Eiffel (75) French OM, as web  497km
104.3 1700  F  RTL, Paris/Tour Eiffel (75) Presume Paris, judging by the conditions  497km
103.5 1702  F  Virgin Radio, Paris/Tour Eiffel (75) Pops, as web  497km
107.5 1704 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Local ads, as web  296km
 98.7 2112  G  New Style Radio, Birmingham/Cambridge Tower (EN-WMD) Soul music, as web 
               168km **
 95.4 2115  F  France Inter, Brest/Roc Trédudon (29) French OMs, as web  604km
 89.4 2116  F  France Musique, Brest/Roc Trédudon (29) Piano dirge, as web  604km
 88.0 2253  G  Real Radio, Wrexham-Rhos (WA-WRE) Noise free. Pops, as web  225km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Unidentified:
107.5 1605 HOL UNID Relay of Omroep Zeeland, // 87.9  Jingle and vocal ID after ads

Does anybody know who relays Omroep Zeeland on 107.5?

Another Dutch mystery appeared on 107.1 - a relay of NPO Radio 1. This is an 'old familiar' from the Suffolk days.

Meteor Scatter:
CRo Vltava was today's most consistent 'burster' with HR1 coming in a close second. Ostseewelle was also quite frequent. I was very pleased with the two low power catches - Radio Ton Neckar Alb and Radio Hochstift. All German streams were recorded so there was no mistaking stations which might be relaying a common night service.

Tropospheric:
Some good Dutch DX during the late evening with Belgium and Holland with a few personal firsts. I also logged another 25 watt Birmingham station.

The strongest signals were from Egem which peaked at 39dB. This is a good semi-local signal strength from the FM5 which was just above rooftop level.

I was really surprised to find that there were no continentals coming in on the car radio when I drove into town, close to the sea front, while this lift was in full swing. This bodes very well for the new QTH.

Noise:
My noise to the south was almost undetectable when I put the FM5 vertical yesterday. It's still nowhere near as bad as at the last QTH, but I discovered that I can reduce it substantially when I raised the height of the FM5 another couple of metres. I am wondering if this is coming from the burglar alarm box which is right in the path to the south on the nearest property to us. All other directions remain crystal clear and noise free.

Note: Any reference to 'noise' in my loggings refers to typical background FM mush, which is right down at 4dB or less. All "dB" figures quoted are references to "dBf" in the GTK software. Note also that I do not use the IF/RF boost facilities as I find these increase the general FM background noise.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Triax FM5, five meters AGL.