840 0500 USA WHAS, Louisville (KY) Newsradio 8-40 WHAS ID 6445 km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Monday, 23 September 2013
Skegness Log: 23-09-13 (FM) ... SUPER TROPO !!!
Band 2 Tropospheric:
103.4 0656 F France Info, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) OM and YL, as 105.2 917km
99.8 0658 F France Inter, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) Two bars. As 103.7 917km
105.0 0704 D Radio 7, Iberger Kugel (bwü) ID after news 923km
99.9 0710 SUI RTS La Première, Säntis (ar) OM YL discussion, as web 917km
103.8 0711 SUI Radio SRF 3, Rigi/Kulm (sz) Rap song, as 105.6 892km
93.8 0714 D SWR3, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) D3A3. ID and pops 799km
97.0 0716 D SWR3, Blauen (bwü) ID and pops 793km **
96.6 0724 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Rigi/Kulm (sz) YLs discussion, as web 892km **
106.3 0725 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) OMs, as web 748km
98.5 0732 D Bayern 3, Wendelstein (bay) Weather and ID 1024km **
95.8 0736 D Bayern 3, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Pops, as 98.5 942km
106.8 0738 F France Info, Metz/Luttange (57) National weather and ID, as 105.2 600km
106.9 0738 D B5 aktuell, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) D315 942km
105.7 0739 D B5 aktuell, Wendelstein (bay) YL financial news? 1024km
105.1 0740 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Blauen (bwü) As web 793km **
101.0 0747 D BR Klassik, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Classical, as web 942km
88.7 0749 D Bayern 2, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Political discussion, as web 942km **
89.2 0750 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Blauen (bwü) Pops, as web 793km **
89.5 0750 D Bayern 2, Wendelstein (bay) D312 Bayern_2 1024km
89.8 0752 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) Interviews, as web 799km
98.4 0754 D SWR3, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) Pops, as web 748km
97.9 0755 D SWR2, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) Gregorian chant stylee, as web 799km **
97.2 0758 G Cam FM, Cambridge/University Library (EN-CAM) ID and pops 106km **
104.8 0803 SUI RTS Couleur 3, Bourrignon/Les Ordons (ju) YL news, as web 807km **
100.4 0806 D Radio Regenbogen, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) D308 REGNBOGN 748km
102.3 0808 D BR Klassik, Wendelstein (bay) Classical, as web 1024km
96.2 0825 D SWR2, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) D3A2 748km
92.2 0830 D SWR3, Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) Pops, as web 790km
92.6 0831 D SWR2, Blauen (bwü) Concert, as web 793km
92.9 0832 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Langenbrand (bwü) Cars song, as web 755km
93.5 0834 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) D301 SWR1_BW_. Three bars 748km **
94.2 0836 SUI RTS La Première, Bourrignon/Les Ordons (ju) OM on phone to YL, as web 807km **
107.0 0855 SUI Radio SRF 3, Four low power listed IDs, as web. All 90 watts or less!! **
105.6 0908 SUI Radio SRF 3, Säntis (ar) 43B3 _SRF_3__ 917km104.0 0920 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg,
Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) Schlager, as web 799km
87.7 0924 F France Culture, Strasbourg/TDF Nordheim (67) OMs discussion, as web 709km
88.2 0926 D Bayern 2, Büttelberg (bay) YLs, as web 813km
90.4 0931 F France Culture, Chaumont/Chalindrey (52) OM, as web 694km
106.5 0934 AUT Antenne Vorarlberg, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) Pops, as web 918km **
93.3 0936 F France Musique, Chaumont/Chalindrey (52) OM and YL, as web 694km 95.4 0943 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Säntis (ar) 43B2 _Kultur_ 917km
107.8 0948 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) 43E1 RETE_UNO 917km
98.2 1003 AUT Ö2 - Radio Vorarlberg, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) YL news, as web 918km **
105.8 1010 SUI Radio SRF 3, Beatenberg/Niederhorn (be) German OM on phone, as web 892km **
93.6 1011 SUI Radio SRF 1, Beatenberg/Niederhorn (be) German OM, as web 892km **
97.2 1012 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Beatenberg/Niederhorn (be) German OM, as web 892km **
100.6 1015 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Witthoh (Tuttlingen) (bwü) YL, as web 834km **
100.6 1018 SUI Radio Fréquence Jura, Chaux-de-Fonds/Loge (ne) 1kW! Phone in, as web 818km **
89.0 1026 F France Culture, Vittel/Thuillières (88) OM and music, as 98 684km **
88.4 1029 D Bayern 2, Pfaffenberg (bay) OM, as web 713km
106.7 1135 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Kalmit (rlp) Rap, as web 687km
107.3 1136 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Chasseral (be) ID in speech 823km
101.7 1143 SUI Radio RTN, Chaux-de-Fonds/Loge (ne) 1kW Jingle ID between pops 818km **
97.5 1146 SUI GRRIF, Chaux-de-Fonds/Loge (ne) 500 watts! Very weak pops, as web 818km **
101.4 1202 F France Bleu Besançon, Besançon/Lomont (25) YL news, as web 783km
92.9 1204 F France Musique, Besançon/Lomont (25) Piano piece, as 88.7 783km
96.3 1212 SUI RTS Espace 2, Chaux-de-Fonds/Mont Cornu (ne) Scary operatics, as web 817km **
103.4 1219 SUI RTS Couleur 3, Chaux-de-Fonds/Mont Cornu (ne) Pops, as web. Noise free peaks! 817km **
89.9 1231 D SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Weinbiet (rlp) Vocal ID and traffic 686km
95.9 1238 D SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Weinbiet (rlp) Just above the pile-up. Light pops, as web 686km **
90.7 1241 D Bayern 1, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Light pops, as web 942km
91.6 1256 F France Musique, Mulhouse/Belvédère (68) Piano piece, as web 781km
99.0 1319 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) Pops, as web 1081km
104.6 1338 AUT FM 4, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) Pop song, as web, over Suffolk! Two bars! 1081km **
94.8 1340 AUT Ö2 - Radio Salzburg, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) ID after pops. Almost
noise free 1081km **
107.6 1459 D B5 aktuell, Hühnerberg (bay) Ads, as web 871km
103.3 1504 D Antenne Bayern, Unterringingen (bay) ID and traffic report after news 863km **
103.0 1506 D Antenne Bayern, Pfaffenberg (bay) ID and pops, as 103.3 713km
98.7 1508 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Grünten (Allgäu) [bay] (bwü) Traffic and ID 942km **
100.3 1514 SUI RTS Espace 2, Chasseral (be) Classical and OM talk, as web 823km **
100.7 1518 D Energy Stuttgart, Güglingen (bwü) Pops, as web 759km **
100.8 1520 D SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Kettrichhof (rlp) Pops, as web 674km **
107.7 1524 D Antenne Bayern, Hochries (bay) D318 ANTENNE 1034km
93.7 1526 D Bayern 1, Wendelstein (bay) Old song, as web 1024km **
104.1 1536 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Heidelberg Königstuhl, SWR (bwü) OM and YL info, pops,
as web, beaming east to avoid Suffolk 717km **
104.2 1540 SUI RTS Couleur 3, Chasseral (be) OM and phone caller, as web 823km **
104.2 1541 D Radio TON Ostwürttemberg, Heidenheim a.d Brenz Schmittenberg (bwü) Two v weak pops followed
under RTS. 100% as web stream 849km **
104.7 1544 D RPR 1., Kettrichhof (rlp) Linkin Park, as web 674km **
106.2 1550 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Rigi/Kulm (sz) 43E1 892km
101.5 1553 SUI Radio SRF 1, Säntis (ar) Rod Stewarts Baby Jane, as web. Tacolneston nulled 917km **
101.7 1557 D Radio Salü, Saarbrücken/Schoksberg (saa) D3B8 _SALUE__ 628km
107.2 1600 D SWR3, Kettrichhof (rlp) ID and news 674km **
89.3 1606 F France Culture, Besançon/Montfaucon (25) Woman on phone, as 89.0 774km **
99.4 1627 F France Culture, Sarrebourg/le Donon (57) YL, as web 704km
93.3 1631 LUX RTL Radio, Dudelange/Ginsterberg (gld) News, as web 574km
98.1 1639 D SWR3, Aalen/Braunenberg (bwü) Shanice song, as web 835km
106.9 1648 D Hitradio RTL Sachsen, Leipzig-Wiederau (sac) Sylvester song, as web 844km
87.9 1650 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Sankt Chrischona [SUI bs] (bwü) Leo Sayer song, as web 810km **
103.6 1704 D RPR 1., Kalmit (rlp) ID and info 687km
105.0 1714 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Neunkirchen (Saar)/Kuchenberg (saa) OM and YL talks,
as web 637km **
105.9 1717 F France Info, Charleville-Mézières/Sury (08) YL and OM, as 105.2 479km **
88.4 1727 F France Culture, Bar-le-Duc/Willeroncourt (55) OM, as 88.5 607km
104.5 1729 F France Info, Bar-le-Duc/Willeroncourt (55) Phone caller and YL, as web 607km
90.0 1754 F France Inter, Besançon/Lomont (25) YL, as web 783km
97.0 1823 LUX RTL Radio, Hosingen/Banert (gld) Pops, as web 530km
95.2 1826 D MDR Figaro, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) Soft rock or folk Concert, as web 793km
95.0 1827 D hr-info, Rimberg (hes) OMs, as web 678km
94.2 1828 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) Soft YL vocals and piano, as web 793km
94.0 1830 F France Musique, Vittel/Thuillières (88) Screechy violins played with saws, as 88.7 684km
93.6 1834 F France Musique, Forbach/Kreutzberg (57) Screechy, twangy, violin music, as 88.7 637km **
90.1 1836 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) German Schlager, as web 790km **
90.8 1837 D DasDing (SWR), Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) Pops, as web 790km **
94.7 1838 D Bayern 3, Hoher Bogen (bay) Rock track, as web 976km
103.0 1933 D SWR3, Grünten (Allgäu) [bay] (bwü) Pops, as web 942km
103.2 1935 F France Bleu Berry, Bourges/Neuvy (18) F205 BLEU.BER 672km
103.4 1943 D Antenna 1, Raichberg (bwü) ID between pop and rock 813km
93.3 2317 AUT Ö1, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) Operatics, as web 918km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Unlisted:
91.6 1757 F RTL, Unlisted site Lively OM, as web
Wow!! Let me reiterate more strongly ... WOW!!!
This was the best tropo I have personally experienced in terms of quality, as opposed to quantity, but I was lucky with both today. Almost half the above are personal firsts! I have omitted the more usual tropo suspects.
There were stunning signals from Switzerland and a few rare Baviarian transmitters. Many produced full RDS too. I was also blown away by the low powered Swiss reception - something I never thought I would here. It just shows you the power of tropo. Signals were very largely noise free from many of these low powered transmitters as you will hear on my recordings. Austria put up a terrific show too with noise free signals at times. Did it all really happen?
Recordings:
One or two of the weaker signals do not contain IDs, so I have used web stream comparisons as confirmation. You will also hear me switching between receivers on a few recordings to demonstrate the differences in audio quality between the XDR and the KT6040 (which I used in conjunction with the Conrad RDS Manager and RDS Spy to obtain the PI codes). The audiophile KT6040 clearly has superior audio. You shjould know which receiver is which quite easily. The clue is that the KT6040 produces more hiss due to it having less gain than the XDR-F1HD. It's still surprising how well the XDR-F1HD can somehow 'appear' to clean up the audio from stations which use high compression levels and actually make them sound brighter than the KT6040. This is clever stuff on Sony's part.
I am wondering whether I should elaborate on this point. Putting it simply, the XDR knows how to make the best of a bad job in such cases, but put the XDR-F1HD's audio through true audiophile equipment (as I have in the past) and the many flaws in the audio immediately become obvious. I hope that makes sense.
107.8 Rete Uno, Santis 0720 23-09-13
107.7 Antenne Bayern, Hochries 1525 23-09-13
107.6 B5 Aktuell, Hühnerberg 1500 23-09-13
107.3 Rete Uno, Chasseral 1136 23-09-13
107.2 SWR3, Kettrichhof 1600 23-09-13
107.0 Radio SRF 3, Four low power sites, 90W or less 0902 23-09-13
105.8 Radio SRF 3, Beatenberg 1223 23-09-13
105.6 Radio SRF 3, Santis 0907 23-09-13
105.0 Radio 7, Iberger Kugel 0704 23-09-13
104.8 RTS Couleur 3, Bourrignon 0803 23-09-13
103.4 RTS Couleur 3, Chaux De Fonds (Mont Cornu) 1218 23-09-13
103.4 Antenne 1, Raichberg 1943 23-09-13
103.3 Antenna Bayern, Unterringingen 1504 23-09-13
103.2 NRJ, Leglise 0916 23-09-13
103.2 France Bleu Berry, Bourges 1215 23-09-13
101.7 Radio Salu, Saarbrucken 1557 23-09-13
100.6 Frequence Jura, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1515 23-09-13
100.6 Frequence Jura, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1015 23-09-13
100.4 Radio Regenbogen, Hornisgrinde 0806 23-09-13
99.0 Hitradio O3, Salzburg 1335 23-09-13
99.0 Hitradio O3, Salzburg 0859 24-09-13
98.7 SWR1, Grunten 1507 23-09-13
98.5 Bayern 3, Grunten 0732 23-09-13
97.5 GRRIF, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1200 23-09-13
97.5 GRRIF, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1156 23-09-13
97.2 Cam FM, Cambridge University Library 0758 23-09-13
95.4 Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Santis 0942 23-09-13
94.8 Radio Salzburg, Salzburg 0803 24-09-13
94.2 RTS La Première, Bourrignon 0836 23-09-13
93.8 SWR3, Feldberg 0712 23-09-13
89.9 SWR1, Weinbiet 1231 23-09-13
89.5 SWR1, Feldberg 0752 23-09-13
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD (tropospheric)
Kenwood KT6040 (sporadic E & meteor scatter)
Icom IC7000 (OIRT)
Conrad RDS Manager
Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator
Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com
103.4 0656 F France Info, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) OM and YL, as 105.2 917km
99.8 0658 F France Inter, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) Two bars. As 103.7 917km
105.0 0704 D Radio 7, Iberger Kugel (bwü) ID after news 923km
99.9 0710 SUI RTS La Première, Säntis (ar) OM YL discussion, as web 917km
103.8 0711 SUI Radio SRF 3, Rigi/Kulm (sz) Rap song, as 105.6 892km
93.8 0714 D SWR3, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) D3A3. ID and pops 799km
97.0 0716 D SWR3, Blauen (bwü) ID and pops 793km **
96.6 0724 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Rigi/Kulm (sz) YLs discussion, as web 892km **
106.3 0725 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) OMs, as web 748km
98.5 0732 D Bayern 3, Wendelstein (bay) Weather and ID 1024km **
95.8 0736 D Bayern 3, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Pops, as 98.5 942km
106.8 0738 F France Info, Metz/Luttange (57) National weather and ID, as 105.2 600km
106.9 0738 D B5 aktuell, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) D315 942km
105.7 0739 D B5 aktuell, Wendelstein (bay) YL financial news? 1024km
105.1 0740 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Blauen (bwü) As web 793km **
101.0 0747 D BR Klassik, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Classical, as web 942km
88.7 0749 D Bayern 2, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Political discussion, as web 942km **
89.2 0750 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Blauen (bwü) Pops, as web 793km **
89.5 0750 D Bayern 2, Wendelstein (bay) D312 Bayern_2 1024km
89.8 0752 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) Interviews, as web 799km
98.4 0754 D SWR3, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) Pops, as web 748km
97.9 0755 D SWR2, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) Gregorian chant stylee, as web 799km **
97.2 0758 G Cam FM, Cambridge/University Library (EN-CAM) ID and pops 106km **
104.8 0803 SUI RTS Couleur 3, Bourrignon/Les Ordons (ju) YL news, as web 807km **
100.4 0806 D Radio Regenbogen, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) D308 REGNBOGN 748km
102.3 0808 D BR Klassik, Wendelstein (bay) Classical, as web 1024km
96.2 0825 D SWR2, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) D3A2 748km
92.2 0830 D SWR3, Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) Pops, as web 790km
92.6 0831 D SWR2, Blauen (bwü) Concert, as web 793km
92.9 0832 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Langenbrand (bwü) Cars song, as web 755km
93.5 0834 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) D301 SWR1_BW_. Three bars 748km **
94.2 0836 SUI RTS La Première, Bourrignon/Les Ordons (ju) OM on phone to YL, as web 807km **
107.0 0855 SUI Radio SRF 3, Four low power listed IDs, as web. All 90 watts or less!! **
105.6 0908 SUI Radio SRF 3, Säntis (ar) 43B3 _SRF_3__ 917km104.0 0920 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg,
Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) Schlager, as web 799km
87.7 0924 F France Culture, Strasbourg/TDF Nordheim (67) OMs discussion, as web 709km
88.2 0926 D Bayern 2, Büttelberg (bay) YLs, as web 813km
90.4 0931 F France Culture, Chaumont/Chalindrey (52) OM, as web 694km
106.5 0934 AUT Antenne Vorarlberg, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) Pops, as web 918km **
93.3 0936 F France Musique, Chaumont/Chalindrey (52) OM and YL, as web 694km 95.4 0943 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Säntis (ar) 43B2 _Kultur_ 917km
107.8 0948 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) 43E1 RETE_UNO 917km
98.2 1003 AUT Ö2 - Radio Vorarlberg, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) YL news, as web 918km **
105.8 1010 SUI Radio SRF 3, Beatenberg/Niederhorn (be) German OM on phone, as web 892km **
93.6 1011 SUI Radio SRF 1, Beatenberg/Niederhorn (be) German OM, as web 892km **
97.2 1012 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Beatenberg/Niederhorn (be) German OM, as web 892km **
100.6 1015 D Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Witthoh (Tuttlingen) (bwü) YL, as web 834km **
100.6 1018 SUI Radio Fréquence Jura, Chaux-de-Fonds/Loge (ne) 1kW! Phone in, as web 818km **
89.0 1026 F France Culture, Vittel/Thuillières (88) OM and music, as 98 684km **
88.4 1029 D Bayern 2, Pfaffenberg (bay) OM, as web 713km
106.7 1135 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Kalmit (rlp) Rap, as web 687km
107.3 1136 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Chasseral (be) ID in speech 823km
101.7 1143 SUI Radio RTN, Chaux-de-Fonds/Loge (ne) 1kW Jingle ID between pops 818km **
97.5 1146 SUI GRRIF, Chaux-de-Fonds/Loge (ne) 500 watts! Very weak pops, as web 818km **
101.4 1202 F France Bleu Besançon, Besançon/Lomont (25) YL news, as web 783km
92.9 1204 F France Musique, Besançon/Lomont (25) Piano piece, as 88.7 783km
96.3 1212 SUI RTS Espace 2, Chaux-de-Fonds/Mont Cornu (ne) Scary operatics, as web 817km **
103.4 1219 SUI RTS Couleur 3, Chaux-de-Fonds/Mont Cornu (ne) Pops, as web. Noise free peaks! 817km **
89.9 1231 D SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Weinbiet (rlp) Vocal ID and traffic 686km
95.9 1238 D SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Weinbiet (rlp) Just above the pile-up. Light pops, as web 686km **
90.7 1241 D Bayern 1, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Light pops, as web 942km
91.6 1256 F France Musique, Mulhouse/Belvédère (68) Piano piece, as web 781km
99.0 1319 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) Pops, as web 1081km
104.6 1338 AUT FM 4, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) Pop song, as web, over Suffolk! Two bars! 1081km **
94.8 1340 AUT Ö2 - Radio Salzburg, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) ID after pops. Almost
noise free 1081km **
107.6 1459 D B5 aktuell, Hühnerberg (bay) Ads, as web 871km
103.3 1504 D Antenne Bayern, Unterringingen (bay) ID and traffic report after news 863km **
103.0 1506 D Antenne Bayern, Pfaffenberg (bay) ID and pops, as 103.3 713km
98.7 1508 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Grünten (Allgäu) [bay] (bwü) Traffic and ID 942km **
100.3 1514 SUI RTS Espace 2, Chasseral (be) Classical and OM talk, as web 823km **
100.7 1518 D Energy Stuttgart, Güglingen (bwü) Pops, as web 759km **
100.8 1520 D SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Kettrichhof (rlp) Pops, as web 674km **
107.7 1524 D Antenne Bayern, Hochries (bay) D318 ANTENNE 1034km
93.7 1526 D Bayern 1, Wendelstein (bay) Old song, as web 1024km **
104.1 1536 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Heidelberg Königstuhl, SWR (bwü) OM and YL info, pops,
as web, beaming east to avoid Suffolk 717km **
104.2 1540 SUI RTS Couleur 3, Chasseral (be) OM and phone caller, as web 823km **
104.2 1541 D Radio TON Ostwürttemberg, Heidenheim a.d Brenz Schmittenberg (bwü) Two v weak pops followed
under RTS. 100% as web stream 849km **
104.7 1544 D RPR 1., Kettrichhof (rlp) Linkin Park, as web 674km **
106.2 1550 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Rigi/Kulm (sz) 43E1 892km
101.5 1553 SUI Radio SRF 1, Säntis (ar) Rod Stewarts Baby Jane, as web. Tacolneston nulled 917km **
101.7 1557 D Radio Salü, Saarbrücken/Schoksberg (saa) D3B8 _SALUE__ 628km
107.2 1600 D SWR3, Kettrichhof (rlp) ID and news 674km **
89.3 1606 F France Culture, Besançon/Montfaucon (25) Woman on phone, as 89.0 774km **
99.4 1627 F France Culture, Sarrebourg/le Donon (57) YL, as web 704km
93.3 1631 LUX RTL Radio, Dudelange/Ginsterberg (gld) News, as web 574km
98.1 1639 D SWR3, Aalen/Braunenberg (bwü) Shanice song, as web 835km
106.9 1648 D Hitradio RTL Sachsen, Leipzig-Wiederau (sac) Sylvester song, as web 844km
87.9 1650 D SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Sankt Chrischona [SUI bs] (bwü) Leo Sayer song, as web 810km **
103.6 1704 D RPR 1., Kalmit (rlp) ID and info 687km
105.0 1714 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Neunkirchen (Saar)/Kuchenberg (saa) OM and YL talks,
as web 637km **
105.9 1717 F France Info, Charleville-Mézières/Sury (08) YL and OM, as 105.2 479km **
88.4 1727 F France Culture, Bar-le-Duc/Willeroncourt (55) OM, as 88.5 607km
104.5 1729 F France Info, Bar-le-Duc/Willeroncourt (55) Phone caller and YL, as web 607km
90.0 1754 F France Inter, Besançon/Lomont (25) YL, as web 783km
97.0 1823 LUX RTL Radio, Hosingen/Banert (gld) Pops, as web 530km
95.2 1826 D MDR Figaro, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) Soft rock or folk Concert, as web 793km
95.0 1827 D hr-info, Rimberg (hes) OMs, as web 678km
94.2 1828 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) Soft YL vocals and piano, as web 793km
94.0 1830 F France Musique, Vittel/Thuillières (88) Screechy violins played with saws, as 88.7 684km
93.6 1834 F France Musique, Forbach/Kreutzberg (57) Screechy, twangy, violin music, as 88.7 637km **
90.1 1836 D SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) German Schlager, as web 790km **
90.8 1837 D DasDing (SWR), Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) Pops, as web 790km **
94.7 1838 D Bayern 3, Hoher Bogen (bay) Rock track, as web 976km
103.0 1933 D SWR3, Grünten (Allgäu) [bay] (bwü) Pops, as web 942km
103.2 1935 F France Bleu Berry, Bourges/Neuvy (18) F205 BLEU.BER 672km
103.4 1943 D Antenna 1, Raichberg (bwü) ID between pop and rock 813km
93.3 2317 AUT Ö1, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) Operatics, as web 918km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Unlisted:
91.6 1757 F RTL, Unlisted site Lively OM, as web
Wow!! Let me reiterate more strongly ... WOW!!!
This was the best tropo I have personally experienced in terms of quality, as opposed to quantity, but I was lucky with both today. Almost half the above are personal firsts! I have omitted the more usual tropo suspects.
There were stunning signals from Switzerland and a few rare Baviarian transmitters. Many produced full RDS too. I was also blown away by the low powered Swiss reception - something I never thought I would here. It just shows you the power of tropo. Signals were very largely noise free from many of these low powered transmitters as you will hear on my recordings. Austria put up a terrific show too with noise free signals at times. Did it all really happen?
Recordings:
One or two of the weaker signals do not contain IDs, so I have used web stream comparisons as confirmation. You will also hear me switching between receivers on a few recordings to demonstrate the differences in audio quality between the XDR and the KT6040 (which I used in conjunction with the Conrad RDS Manager and RDS Spy to obtain the PI codes). The audiophile KT6040 clearly has superior audio. You shjould know which receiver is which quite easily. The clue is that the KT6040 produces more hiss due to it having less gain than the XDR-F1HD. It's still surprising how well the XDR-F1HD can somehow 'appear' to clean up the audio from stations which use high compression levels and actually make them sound brighter than the KT6040. This is clever stuff on Sony's part.
I am wondering whether I should elaborate on this point. Putting it simply, the XDR knows how to make the best of a bad job in such cases, but put the XDR-F1HD's audio through true audiophile equipment (as I have in the past) and the many flaws in the audio immediately become obvious. I hope that makes sense.
107.8 Rete Uno, Santis 0720 23-09-13
107.7 Antenne Bayern, Hochries 1525 23-09-13
107.6 B5 Aktuell, Hühnerberg 1500 23-09-13
107.3 Rete Uno, Chasseral 1136 23-09-13
107.2 SWR3, Kettrichhof 1600 23-09-13
107.0 Radio SRF 3, Four low power sites, 90W or less 0902 23-09-13
105.8 Radio SRF 3, Beatenberg 1223 23-09-13
105.6 Radio SRF 3, Santis 0907 23-09-13
105.0 Radio 7, Iberger Kugel 0704 23-09-13
104.8 RTS Couleur 3, Bourrignon 0803 23-09-13
103.4 RTS Couleur 3, Chaux De Fonds (Mont Cornu) 1218 23-09-13
103.4 Antenne 1, Raichberg 1943 23-09-13
103.3 Antenna Bayern, Unterringingen 1504 23-09-13
103.2 NRJ, Leglise 0916 23-09-13
103.2 France Bleu Berry, Bourges 1215 23-09-13
101.7 Radio Salu, Saarbrucken 1557 23-09-13
100.6 Frequence Jura, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1515 23-09-13
100.6 Frequence Jura, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1015 23-09-13
100.4 Radio Regenbogen, Hornisgrinde 0806 23-09-13
99.0 Hitradio O3, Salzburg 1335 23-09-13
99.0 Hitradio O3, Salzburg 0859 24-09-13
98.7 SWR1, Grunten 1507 23-09-13
98.5 Bayern 3, Grunten 0732 23-09-13
97.5 GRRIF, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1200 23-09-13
97.5 GRRIF, Chaux De Fonds (Loge) 1156 23-09-13
97.2 Cam FM, Cambridge University Library 0758 23-09-13
95.4 Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Santis 0942 23-09-13
94.8 Radio Salzburg, Salzburg 0803 24-09-13
94.2 RTS La Première, Bourrignon 0836 23-09-13
93.8 SWR3, Feldberg 0712 23-09-13
89.9 SWR1, Weinbiet 1231 23-09-13
89.5 SWR1, Feldberg 0752 23-09-13
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD (tropospheric)
Kenwood KT6040 (sporadic E & meteor scatter)
Icom IC7000 (OIRT)
Conrad RDS Manager
Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator
Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com
Sunday, 22 September 2013
Skegness Log: 22-09-13 (MW)
820 0300 USA WBAP Fort
Worth (TX) WBAP Fort Worth ID on the hour. Not alone
7624 km **
1060 0500 USA WQOM Natick) (MA) Heard WQOM Natick, very weak. Then Gregorian
chant 5269 km
1470 0500 CAN CJVB Vancouver (BC) Very poor Fairchild Radio ID, confirmed by
the three distinctive time pips. Chinese after that. 7453 km
1180 0600 CUB Radio Rebelde, Oodles of sites to choose from ID and cuckoo **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
7624 km **
1060 0500 USA WQOM Natick) (MA) Heard WQOM Natick, very weak. Then Gregorian
chant 5269 km
1470 0500 CAN CJVB Vancouver (BC) Very poor Fairchild Radio ID, confirmed by
the three distinctive time pips. Chinese after that. 7453 km
1180 0600 CUB Radio Rebelde, Oodles of sites to choose from ID and cuckoo **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
Skegness Log: 22-09-13 (FM)
Band 2 Tropospheric:
90.2 0839 G BBC Radio 2, Pendle Forest (EN-LNC) As other BBC R2s 187km **
90.0 0840 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Mullaghanish (CO) Irish info, as 89.2 652km
99.6 0845 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Choral piece, as 99.2 652km **
107.4 0849 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Irish phone-in 652km
107.6 0850 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Three sites listed As 107.4 **
89.2 0852 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Three sites listed As 89.6 **
93.6 0856 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Three sites listed As 94.0 **
104.8 0856 G BBC Radio 4 FM, Llwyn-Onn (WA-GWY) Talk, as 93.1 295km **
92.6 0858 G BBC Radio 3, Pendle Forest (EN-LNC) Classical, just audible 187km **
92.2 0900 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Mullaghanish (CO) 2FM News. Noise free 652km
91.4 0901 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Three sites listed 2FM News **
107.8 0908 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Two sites listed Presume Cork but Kilduff Mountain also listed
107.0 0917 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Wicklow or Woodcock Hill? Three sites listed Discussion, as 107.2 **
101.0 0926 G Kiss FM, Mendip (EN-SOM) Anti-white (c)rap music, as web 292km
94.4 0929 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Mullaghanish (CO) Gaeilc, as 94.0 652km
107.8 1619 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) Italian OM and YL, as web 917km
95.0 1647 F France Inter, Mantes-la-Jolie/Maudétour [95] (78) YLs, as 103.7 463km
94.6 1648 F France Inter, Chartres/Montlandon (28) YLs, as 95.0 531km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Very little in the way of German tropo made it here today. Just the usual Langenberg and weak signals from Haarddtkopf, Koblenz and Donnersberg during the early evening. Radio Salu on 101.7 was weak around 10pm local but we had company so I wasn't able to listen much. I kept checking the band at regular intervals though.
There was much more in the way of northern and central France than my log would suggest with Bourges and Troyes at two bars on the XDR-F1HD.
Hopefully I will have more time to listen tomorrow.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD (tropospheric)
Kenwood KT6040 (sporadic E & meteor scatter)
Icom IC7000 (OIRT)
Conrad RDS Manager
Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator
Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com
90.2 0839 G BBC Radio 2, Pendle Forest (EN-LNC) As other BBC R2s 187km **
90.0 0840 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Mullaghanish (CO) Irish info, as 89.2 652km
99.6 0845 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Choral piece, as 99.2 652km **
107.4 0849 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Irish phone-in 652km
107.6 0850 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Three sites listed As 107.4 **
89.2 0852 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Three sites listed As 89.6 **
93.6 0856 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Three sites listed As 94.0 **
104.8 0856 G BBC Radio 4 FM, Llwyn-Onn (WA-GWY) Talk, as 93.1 295km **
92.6 0858 G BBC Radio 3, Pendle Forest (EN-LNC) Classical, just audible 187km **
92.2 0900 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Mullaghanish (CO) 2FM News. Noise free 652km
91.4 0901 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Three sites listed 2FM News **
107.8 0908 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Two sites listed Presume Cork but Kilduff Mountain also listed
107.0 0917 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Wicklow or Woodcock Hill? Three sites listed Discussion, as 107.2 **
101.0 0926 G Kiss FM, Mendip (EN-SOM) Anti-white (c)rap music, as web 292km
94.4 0929 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Mullaghanish (CO) Gaeilc, as 94.0 652km
107.8 1619 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) Italian OM and YL, as web 917km
95.0 1647 F France Inter, Mantes-la-Jolie/Maudétour [95] (78) YLs, as 103.7 463km
94.6 1648 F France Inter, Chartres/Montlandon (28) YLs, as 95.0 531km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Very little in the way of German tropo made it here today. Just the usual Langenberg and weak signals from Haarddtkopf, Koblenz and Donnersberg during the early evening. Radio Salu on 101.7 was weak around 10pm local but we had company so I wasn't able to listen much. I kept checking the band at regular intervals though.
There was much more in the way of northern and central France than my log would suggest with Bourges and Troyes at two bars on the XDR-F1HD.
Hopefully I will have more time to listen tomorrow.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD (tropospheric)
Kenwood KT6040 (sporadic E & meteor scatter)
Icom IC7000 (OIRT)
Conrad RDS Manager
Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator
Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Skegness Log: 21-09-13 (FM)
Band 2 Tropospheric:
98.4 0916 F France Culture, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) YL talk, as 98.0 842km
95.5 0926 F France Musique, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) French nostalgia, as 88.7 842km
95.8 0926 F France Culture, Orléans/Traînou (45) OM YL, as 98.0 590km
90.4 0927 F France Inter, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) OM, as 95.0 842km
95.0 0928 F France Inter, Mantes-la-Jolie/Maudétour [95] (78) OM, as 103.7 463km
94.3 0940 F France Bleu Creuse, Guéret/Signal du Maupuy (23) Traditional French music, as web. Not as 94.7 785km
92.2 0941 F France Musique, Tours/Chissay [41] (37) Gaelic song, as 91.8 646km
90.8 0943 F France Musique, Guéret/Signal du Maupuy (23) OM, as 88.7 785km
88.2 0945 F France Culture, Ussel-Meymac/Mont Bessou (19) OM, as 98.0 853km
103.4 0950 F France Info, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) OM and YL, as 105.2 917km
99.8 0952 F France Inter, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) OM over music, as web 917km
100.7 1000 F France Inter, Guéret/Signal du Maupuy (23) ID on the hour 785km
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD (tropospheric)
Kenwood KT6040 (sporadic E & meteor scatter)
Icom IC7000 (OIRT)
Conrad RDS Manager
Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator
Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com
98.4 0916 F France Culture, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) YL talk, as 98.0 842km
95.5 0926 F France Musique, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) French nostalgia, as 88.7 842km
95.8 0926 F France Culture, Orléans/Traînou (45) OM YL, as 98.0 590km
90.4 0927 F France Inter, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) OM, as 95.0 842km
95.0 0928 F France Inter, Mantes-la-Jolie/Maudétour [95] (78) OM, as 103.7 463km
94.3 0940 F France Bleu Creuse, Guéret/Signal du Maupuy (23) Traditional French music, as web. Not as 94.7 785km
92.2 0941 F France Musique, Tours/Chissay [41] (37) Gaelic song, as 91.8 646km
90.8 0943 F France Musique, Guéret/Signal du Maupuy (23) OM, as 88.7 785km
88.2 0945 F France Culture, Ussel-Meymac/Mont Bessou (19) OM, as 98.0 853km
103.4 0950 F France Info, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) OM and YL, as 105.2 917km
99.8 0952 F France Inter, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) OM over music, as web 917km
100.7 1000 F France Inter, Guéret/Signal du Maupuy (23) ID on the hour 785km
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD (tropospheric)
Kenwood KT6040 (sporadic E & meteor scatter)
Icom IC7000 (OIRT)
Conrad RDS Manager
Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator
Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com
Friday, 20 September 2013
Skegness Log: 20-09-13 (MW)
1400 0500 USA WOND Pleasantville (NJ) "Newstalk Fourteen Hundred WOND" ID. AP Network
news jingle after this though unclear if this belonged to WOND (I
thought they took CBS news ?) 5673 km
Surprised to here this given the poor conditions.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
news jingle after this though unclear if this belonged to WOND (I
thought they took CBS news ?) 5673 km
Surprised to here this given the poor conditions.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Skegness Log: 18-09-13 (MW)
1590 0500 USA WAKR Akron (OH) Only the gong heard at the toh in the v weak pile-up 5991 km
1640 0500 USA WTNI Biloxi (Gulfport) (MS) WTNI ID and sports 7293 km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Poor conditions here overnight. I thought I'd log the Cubans just to get them in the log but I struggled even with them! The Cuban on 1620 identified as "Desde Habana, Cuba" but no obvious ID other than "La Una". I wondered if this was Radio Bayamo as I didn't hear any of the familiar Rebelde cuckoo sounds.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
1640 0500 USA WTNI Biloxi (Gulfport) (MS) WTNI ID and sports 7293 km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Poor conditions here overnight. I thought I'd log the Cubans just to get them in the log but I struggled even with them! The Cuban on 1620 identified as "Desde Habana, Cuba" but no obvious ID other than "La Una". I wondered if this was Radio Bayamo as I didn't hear any of the familiar Rebelde cuckoo sounds.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
Monday, 16 September 2013
Skegness Log: 16-09-13 (MW)
620 0158 CAN CKCM
Grand Falls (NL) VOCM ID and ads. Not alone 3839 km
1410 0200 USA WPOP Fox Sports Radio, Hartford (CT) 0200:38 - WPOP Hartford ID.
Mostly under presumed CJWI. 5393 km
1500 0200 USA WFED Federal News R., Washington (DC) Federal News Radio Fifteen
Hundred AM and federalnewsradio.com ID 5860 km
1410 0204 CAN CJWI CPAM 1410, Saint-Constant (QC) Ici Emanuel Joulou(?). Vouz
ecoutez CPAM Radio Union pont com. C-Pam. C-pam tu(?) 5191 km **
760 0300 USA WJR Detroit (MI) Newstalk 7-60 WJR ID 6009 km
1300 0300 USA WJMO Praise 1300, Cleveland (OH) Presumed with Gospel over the hour
5981 km
1300 0300 USA WOOD Grand Rapids (MI) Your official weather station Newsradio Wood
(spoken as a word) Thirteen Hundred and 106.9 FM. Fox News.
6111 km
1280 0400 USA WNAM Neenah-Menasha (WI) WNAM, Neenah Menasha. A Cumulus Station. ABC
News 6178 km
1430 0400 CAN CHKT Fairchild Radio, Toronto Island (ON) Two IDs. First by OM, then
YL. AM 14-30 CHKT, Fairchild, Radio Toronto 5668 km **
640 0500 CAN CBN CBC Radio 1, Saint John s (NL) CBC Radio One news jingle. Mixing
second NA 3731 km
860 0500 CAN CJBC SRC Première Chaîne, Toronto/Meadowvale (ON) CBC Premiere Chaine
news jingle and OM 5698 km
890 0500 USA WLS Chicago/Tinley Gardens Park (IL) WLS letters spoken slowly in 891
splatter. Mentioning Chicago. Sung WLS jingle ID. A Cumulus Station
6334 km
900 0500 ? UNID North American accented English OM under Spain. V difficult copy
920 0500 CAN CKNX Wingham (ON) Mid Western Ontario's .... CKNX ID heard vweak in
noise 5771 km
1000 0500 USA WMVP Chicago (IL) You're listening to the all new ESPN One Thousand.
This is WMVP Chicago 6322 km
1040 0500 USA WHO Des Moines/Mitchellville (IA) WHO call letters heard. ABC News
6648 km
1450 0500 USA WPGG Atlantic City (NJ) You're home for .... WPGG .... Atlantic City
weak in 1449 splatter 5670 km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Conditions about the same as yesterday.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
1410 0200 USA WPOP Fox Sports Radio, Hartford (CT) 0200:38 - WPOP Hartford ID.
Mostly under presumed CJWI. 5393 km
1500 0200 USA WFED Federal News R., Washington (DC) Federal News Radio Fifteen
Hundred AM and federalnewsradio.com ID 5860 km
1410 0204 CAN CJWI CPAM 1410, Saint-Constant (QC) Ici Emanuel Joulou(?). Vouz
ecoutez CPAM Radio Union pont com. C-Pam. C-pam tu(?) 5191 km **
760 0300 USA WJR Detroit (MI) Newstalk 7-60 WJR ID 6009 km
1300 0300 USA WJMO Praise 1300, Cleveland (OH) Presumed with Gospel over the hour
5981 km
1300 0300 USA WOOD Grand Rapids (MI) Your official weather station Newsradio Wood
(spoken as a word) Thirteen Hundred and 106.9 FM. Fox News.
6111 km
1280 0400 USA WNAM Neenah-Menasha (WI) WNAM, Neenah Menasha. A Cumulus Station. ABC
News 6178 km
1430 0400 CAN CHKT Fairchild Radio, Toronto Island (ON) Two IDs. First by OM, then
YL. AM 14-30 CHKT, Fairchild, Radio Toronto 5668 km **
640 0500 CAN CBN CBC Radio 1, Saint John s (NL) CBC Radio One news jingle. Mixing
second NA 3731 km
860 0500 CAN CJBC SRC Première Chaîne, Toronto/Meadowvale (ON) CBC Premiere Chaine
news jingle and OM 5698 km
890 0500 USA WLS Chicago/Tinley Gardens Park (IL) WLS letters spoken slowly in 891
splatter. Mentioning Chicago. Sung WLS jingle ID. A Cumulus Station
6334 km
900 0500 ? UNID North American accented English OM under Spain. V difficult copy
920 0500 CAN CKNX Wingham (ON) Mid Western Ontario's .... CKNX ID heard vweak in
noise 5771 km
1000 0500 USA WMVP Chicago (IL) You're listening to the all new ESPN One Thousand.
This is WMVP Chicago 6322 km
1040 0500 USA WHO Des Moines/Mitchellville (IA) WHO call letters heard. ABC News
6648 km
1450 0500 USA WPGG Atlantic City (NJ) You're home for .... WPGG .... Atlantic City
weak in 1449 splatter 5670 km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Conditions about the same as yesterday.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
Sunday, 15 September 2013
Skegness Log: 14/15-09-13 (MW)
14-09-13:
927 1930 TJK NHK Radio Japan/Voice of Russia, Dushanbe/Yangiyul (dsb) Voice of Russia IDs 5329 km
15-09-13:
1020 0259 USA KDKA Pittsburgh/Allison Park (KDKA Drive) (PA) Rapidfire Newsradio
Ten Twenty KDKA ID heard 5929 km
970 0300 USA WZAN Portland/Sunset Park (ME) WZAN Portland heard in harsh 972 splatter
5104 km
1010 0300 CAN CFRB Newstalk 1010, Toronto/Oakville (ON) This is Newstalk Ten Ten Toronto
5692 km
1030 0300 USA WBZ Boston/Nantasket Beach (MA) WBZ ID heard in mess 5232 km
1200 0300 CAN CFGO The Team 1200, Ottawa (ON) Sportsradio The Team Twelve Hundred ID
5334 km
1290 0300 VEN YVLF Radio Puerto Cabello, Puerto Cabello (cbb) OM lively ID 7637 km
1360 0300 USA WDRC Hartford (N) (CT) Lots of calls in the toh ID, including WDRC. Not alone
on channel 5381 km
1560 0300 USA WQEW Radio Disney, New York/Queens (NY) Radio Disney ID 5537 km
650 0354 USA WSM Nashville/Blaw-Knox Mast (TN) This is the golden ... of ... on 6-50 AM
WSM 6710 km
590 0358 CAN VOCM Saint John s (NL) VOCM's Openline, Backtalk and Nightline. Join The
conversation. Be heard, on the VOCM/CFCB Radio Network 3730 km
680 0400 CAN CFTR 680 News, Toronto/Grimsby (ON) Weather for Ottawa and Niagara Falls.
6-80 News 5711 km
710 0400 USA WOR New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) Mentions of WOR in 711 splatter 5542 km
930 0400 CAN CFBC Saint John (NB) You can sing along with every song, 93 CFBC 4728 km
1130 0400 USA WBBR Bloomberg 1130, New York/Carlstadt [NJ] (NY) Financial news on Bloomberg
Eleven Three Oh 5538 km
1200 0400 USA WXKS Talk 1200, Newton (MA) This is WXKS News. Another call mentioned too.
5251 km
540 0500 CAN CBT CBC Radio 1, Grand Falls (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle 3837 km
580 0500 CAN CFRA Ottawa (ON) Ottawa's only news ... CFRA ID 5332 km
600 0500 CAN CBNA CBC Radio 1, Saint Anthony (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle 3714 km
650 0500 CAN CKGA Gander (NL) Red hot from the VOCM Newsteam, at 5-90 VOCM 3775 km
660 0500 USA WFAN New York/High Island (NY) The Bear. Sports Radio 66 and 1019 FM. WFAN and
WFAN FM, New York. ID 5518 km
700 0500 USA WLW Cincinnati/Tower Drive (D) (OH) Newsradio Seven Hundred WLW ID 6292 km
730 0500 CAN CKAC Radio Circulation, Montréal/Pointe-Calumet (QC) Radio Circulation ID
5203 km
750 0500 CAN CBGY CBC Radio 1, Bonavista Bay (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle
3733 km
770 0500 USA WABC New York/Lodi [NJ] (NY) Ads. Presumed with ABC news. Bad 774 splatter
5535 km
830 0500 USA WCRN Worcester (MA) WCRN letters heard in 828 splash 5301 km
850 0500 USA WEEI Boston/Starr Ridge (MA) Personal First! WEEI heard in 855 splatter
5257 km
880 0500 USA WCBS New York/High Island (NY) WCBS Newstime ID and CBS News jingle 5518 km
930 0500 USA WBEN Newsradio 930, Buffalo/Grand Island (NY) WBEN, it's one o' clock. CBS
News 5689 km
1010 0500 USA WINS New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) This is Ten Ten News. New York's one and
only all news station 5543 km
1080 0500 USA WTIC Hartford (CT) ID - The news never stops. This is the only place to hear
local news twice an hour every hour. WTIC Newstalk 10-80 and wtic.com.
WTIC. WTIC HD Hartford 5390 km
1100 0500 USA WTAM Cleveland (OH) WTAM Newsradio ID heard 5978 km
1120 0500 USA KMOX Saint Louis (MO) Presumed. Sports news. Late CBS News jingle. Possible ID
buried in local 1107 splatter. 6690 km
1140 0500 CAN CBI CBC Radio 1, Sydney (NS) CBC Radio 1 News jingle 4297 km
1180 0500 USA WHAM Rochester/Brook Road (NY) News, weather ... Wham Eleven Eighty 5605 km
1190 0500 USA WLIB New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) This is 11-90 WLIB and WBLS (822?) New York
5543 km
1290 0500 CAN CJBK NewsTalk 1290, London (ON) We are 12-90 CJBK. Canadian Press news
5836 km
1310 0500 CAN CIWW 1310 News, Ottawa (ON) Long list of presenter's names. Ottawa's only all
news radio station. This is Thirteen Ten News. 5332 km
1320 0500 CAN CJMR Oakville (ON) You're listening to .... finest radio stations. CJYE AM
12-50 and CJMR am 13-20 5703 km
1370 0500 USA WDEA Ellsworth (ME) This is AM 13-70 WDEA Ellsworth heard with other network
calls. Rare as right next to local BBC Lincolnshire 1368 4929 km
1390 0500 USA WEGP Presque Isle (ME) WEGP AM 13-90 Presque Isle 4760 km
1400 0500 CAN CBG CBC Radio 1, Gander (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle 3774 km
1430 0500 USA WENE The Team, Endicott (NY) PERSONAL FIRST! 14-30 The Team heard in pile-up
5572 km
1510 0500 USA WUFC NBC Sports Radio Boston, Boston (Waverley) (MA) WUFC NBC Sports Radio
5245 km
1520 0500 USA WWKB ESPN Radio, Buffalo (NY) Buffalo's home for the number 1 brand in
worldwide sports. ESPN 15-20 AM WWKB 5697 km
1540 0500 USA KXEL Waterloo (D) (IA) Newstalk 1540 KXEL Waterloo, Cedar Falls 6546 km
1570 0500 CAN CJLV Radio Laval 1570, Laval (QC) French ID ... soixante-Dix, Laval 5194 km
1610 0500 AIA Caribbean Beacon, The Valley (tvy) Presumed with Caribbean accented
presenter and Gospel music 6629 km
950 0501 CAN CKNB Campbellton (NB) Your community, classic ..... 95 CKNB 4583 km
1690 0501 CAN CHTO Toronto/Scarborough (ON) CHTO and Toronto heard very weakly 5657 km
890 0503 USA WLS Chicago/Tinley Gardens Park (IL) Presumed with ABC news, over Latin station
6334 km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I re-built my flag yesterday, with one or two minor modifications, paying particular attention to keeping the two vertical wires as straight and vertical as possible. It seems to have paid off too with some very deep nulls. The direction is currently 350 degrees.
I was surprised to hear how clean the band was too, despite the antenna pointing to the south-west corner of the bungalow. The last three seasons here saw S9+10dB of noise across the whole MW. This time it's barely detectable with a noise floor of -120dB. I still found that sticking a couple of chokes inline made a small improvement, removing a little bit of that background 'growl' and eliminating the need for additional noise filtering for the first time.
Conditions were better than I had expected and the whole band was alive with TA signals, extending as far west as Wisconsin with a tentative WNAM on 1280 with ABC News.
I downloaded the latest version of HDSDR and found I could hear more IDs with its cleaner audio than with Perseus. I wish it were possible to loop the playback on HDSDR though - the one really useful thing that's missing.
Notes:
Chicago was in on 780, 890 and 1000 though they weren't logged as I didn't catch any IDs. The respective formats would have been correct though.
There was a second English station on 1130 shortly before 0500. Maybe KWKH judging by the conditions.
Perhaps that's KDHL I am hearing on 920 at 0500 - it's very weak.
1040 had a newstalk station at 0430, presumably WHO. Not bad going considering the conditions!
Even 1230 is producing audio!
There was so much more too. It's all nice and early in the season and I don't think conditions were generally regarded as being anything great either, going by other DXer's reports.
As last year, I will log all TA stations I hear in order to build a complete logbook, though I will only log the common east coasters once.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
927 1930 TJK NHK Radio Japan/Voice of Russia, Dushanbe/Yangiyul (dsb) Voice of Russia IDs 5329 km
15-09-13:
1020 0259 USA KDKA Pittsburgh/Allison Park (KDKA Drive) (PA) Rapidfire Newsradio
Ten Twenty KDKA ID heard 5929 km
970 0300 USA WZAN Portland/Sunset Park (ME) WZAN Portland heard in harsh 972 splatter
5104 km
1010 0300 CAN CFRB Newstalk 1010, Toronto/Oakville (ON) This is Newstalk Ten Ten Toronto
5692 km
1030 0300 USA WBZ Boston/Nantasket Beach (MA) WBZ ID heard in mess 5232 km
1200 0300 CAN CFGO The Team 1200, Ottawa (ON) Sportsradio The Team Twelve Hundred ID
5334 km
1290 0300 VEN YVLF Radio Puerto Cabello, Puerto Cabello (cbb) OM lively ID 7637 km
1360 0300 USA WDRC Hartford (N) (CT) Lots of calls in the toh ID, including WDRC. Not alone
on channel 5381 km
1560 0300 USA WQEW Radio Disney, New York/Queens (NY) Radio Disney ID 5537 km
650 0354 USA WSM Nashville/Blaw-Knox Mast (TN) This is the golden ... of ... on 6-50 AM
WSM 6710 km
590 0358 CAN VOCM Saint John s (NL) VOCM's Openline, Backtalk and Nightline. Join The
conversation. Be heard, on the VOCM/CFCB Radio Network 3730 km
680 0400 CAN CFTR 680 News, Toronto/Grimsby (ON) Weather for Ottawa and Niagara Falls.
6-80 News 5711 km
710 0400 USA WOR New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) Mentions of WOR in 711 splatter 5542 km
930 0400 CAN CFBC Saint John (NB) You can sing along with every song, 93 CFBC 4728 km
1130 0400 USA WBBR Bloomberg 1130, New York/Carlstadt [NJ] (NY) Financial news on Bloomberg
Eleven Three Oh 5538 km
1200 0400 USA WXKS Talk 1200, Newton (MA) This is WXKS News. Another call mentioned too.
5251 km
540 0500 CAN CBT CBC Radio 1, Grand Falls (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle 3837 km
580 0500 CAN CFRA Ottawa (ON) Ottawa's only news ... CFRA ID 5332 km
600 0500 CAN CBNA CBC Radio 1, Saint Anthony (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle 3714 km
650 0500 CAN CKGA Gander (NL) Red hot from the VOCM Newsteam, at 5-90 VOCM 3775 km
660 0500 USA WFAN New York/High Island (NY) The Bear. Sports Radio 66 and 1019 FM. WFAN and
WFAN FM, New York. ID 5518 km
700 0500 USA WLW Cincinnati/Tower Drive (D) (OH) Newsradio Seven Hundred WLW ID 6292 km
730 0500 CAN CKAC Radio Circulation, Montréal/Pointe-Calumet (QC) Radio Circulation ID
5203 km
750 0500 CAN CBGY CBC Radio 1, Bonavista Bay (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle
3733 km
770 0500 USA WABC New York/Lodi [NJ] (NY) Ads. Presumed with ABC news. Bad 774 splatter
5535 km
830 0500 USA WCRN Worcester (MA) WCRN letters heard in 828 splash 5301 km
850 0500 USA WEEI Boston/Starr Ridge (MA) Personal First! WEEI heard in 855 splatter
5257 km
880 0500 USA WCBS New York/High Island (NY) WCBS Newstime ID and CBS News jingle 5518 km
930 0500 USA WBEN Newsradio 930, Buffalo/Grand Island (NY) WBEN, it's one o' clock. CBS
News 5689 km
1010 0500 USA WINS New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) This is Ten Ten News. New York's one and
only all news station 5543 km
1080 0500 USA WTIC Hartford (CT) ID - The news never stops. This is the only place to hear
local news twice an hour every hour. WTIC Newstalk 10-80 and wtic.com.
WTIC. WTIC HD Hartford 5390 km
1100 0500 USA WTAM Cleveland (OH) WTAM Newsradio ID heard 5978 km
1120 0500 USA KMOX Saint Louis (MO) Presumed. Sports news. Late CBS News jingle. Possible ID
buried in local 1107 splatter. 6690 km
1140 0500 CAN CBI CBC Radio 1, Sydney (NS) CBC Radio 1 News jingle 4297 km
1180 0500 USA WHAM Rochester/Brook Road (NY) News, weather ... Wham Eleven Eighty 5605 km
1190 0500 USA WLIB New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) This is 11-90 WLIB and WBLS (822?) New York
5543 km
1290 0500 CAN CJBK NewsTalk 1290, London (ON) We are 12-90 CJBK. Canadian Press news
5836 km
1310 0500 CAN CIWW 1310 News, Ottawa (ON) Long list of presenter's names. Ottawa's only all
news radio station. This is Thirteen Ten News. 5332 km
1320 0500 CAN CJMR Oakville (ON) You're listening to .... finest radio stations. CJYE AM
12-50 and CJMR am 13-20 5703 km
1370 0500 USA WDEA Ellsworth (ME) This is AM 13-70 WDEA Ellsworth heard with other network
calls. Rare as right next to local BBC Lincolnshire 1368 4929 km
1390 0500 USA WEGP Presque Isle (ME) WEGP AM 13-90 Presque Isle 4760 km
1400 0500 CAN CBG CBC Radio 1, Gander (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle 3774 km
1430 0500 USA WENE The Team, Endicott (NY) PERSONAL FIRST! 14-30 The Team heard in pile-up
5572 km
1510 0500 USA WUFC NBC Sports Radio Boston, Boston (Waverley) (MA) WUFC NBC Sports Radio
5245 km
1520 0500 USA WWKB ESPN Radio, Buffalo (NY) Buffalo's home for the number 1 brand in
worldwide sports. ESPN 15-20 AM WWKB 5697 km
1540 0500 USA KXEL Waterloo (D) (IA) Newstalk 1540 KXEL Waterloo, Cedar Falls 6546 km
1570 0500 CAN CJLV Radio Laval 1570, Laval (QC) French ID ... soixante-Dix, Laval 5194 km
1610 0500 AIA Caribbean Beacon, The Valley (tvy) Presumed with Caribbean accented
presenter and Gospel music 6629 km
950 0501 CAN CKNB Campbellton (NB) Your community, classic ..... 95 CKNB 4583 km
1690 0501 CAN CHTO Toronto/Scarborough (ON) CHTO and Toronto heard very weakly 5657 km
890 0503 USA WLS Chicago/Tinley Gardens Park (IL) Presumed with ABC news, over Latin station
6334 km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I re-built my flag yesterday, with one or two minor modifications, paying particular attention to keeping the two vertical wires as straight and vertical as possible. It seems to have paid off too with some very deep nulls. The direction is currently 350 degrees.
I was surprised to hear how clean the band was too, despite the antenna pointing to the south-west corner of the bungalow. The last three seasons here saw S9+10dB of noise across the whole MW. This time it's barely detectable with a noise floor of -120dB. I still found that sticking a couple of chokes inline made a small improvement, removing a little bit of that background 'growl' and eliminating the need for additional noise filtering for the first time.
Conditions were better than I had expected and the whole band was alive with TA signals, extending as far west as Wisconsin with a tentative WNAM on 1280 with ABC News.
I downloaded the latest version of HDSDR and found I could hear more IDs with its cleaner audio than with Perseus. I wish it were possible to loop the playback on HDSDR though - the one really useful thing that's missing.
Notes:
Chicago was in on 780, 890 and 1000 though they weren't logged as I didn't catch any IDs. The respective formats would have been correct though.
There was a second English station on 1130 shortly before 0500. Maybe KWKH judging by the conditions.
Perhaps that's KDHL I am hearing on 920 at 0500 - it's very weak.
1040 had a newstalk station at 0430, presumably WHO. Not bad going considering the conditions!
Even 1230 is producing audio!
There was so much more too. It's all nice and early in the season and I don't think conditions were generally regarded as being anything great either, going by other DXer's reports.
As last year, I will log all TA stations I hear in order to build a complete logbook, though I will only log the common east coasters once.
Good DX!
John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com
Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna: 3m x 7m flag at 350 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; HDSDR v2.63; Mestor
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Another RTL 2832 Dongle (E4000 Variant)
I finally got round to installing my new RTL 2832 (E4000) dongle today. Well, it was 'new' about four months ago but I didn't want to risk upsetting the smooth operation of RDS Spy during the Es season, so I decided to wait until it was all over. But I am sure many people in the UK would agree that this year's Es season is probably far from over! Even at the end of August there are still days of strong and sustained band-wide Es openings.
With a DX trip looming I decided I needed to take action and get this thing working. Amazingly, the installation completed in less than a minute. This is indeed unexpected as the last RTL dongle I installed took many days of trying and failing. That was the FC01 variant. That one was a poor performer though. The gain was poor and there was evidence of overload, though the use of different software applications improved some of the issues to a degree. Knowing that each RTL dongle performed differently gave me some reassurance. What if I had got a bad one? Since they are so cheap to order from online resources such as eBay and Amazon I decided to buy another.
This E4000 variant performs like a dream. There is no overload and the gain is more than adequate. It 'seems' to perform as well as my XDR-F1HD though I haven't done a side-by-side comparison. It's 'very close' at the very least. Whether the E4000 is simply a better performer than the FC01 I have no idea. They will probably all vary no matter which model you choose, but at only a few £s each you don't have much to lose. Buy a few and choose the best one because, if you get a good one of these, you have a very capable DX machine for very little money!
I love being able to tune between the 10kHz steps and slide the IF bandwidth in and out to suit. Digging in between stronger signals becomes easy. You can see all the weak signals on the waterfall scale even though they are just below audio level. I love how easy it is to record a chunk of IF bandwidth too- something which used to drain the resources of the laptop when using the FC01 dongle. That's not a problem anymore. My laptop is only has a simple Celeron mobile chip too and so won't be able to handle too much and it didn't seem keen to run SDR Console v2 smoothly, which needs a lot more processing power. I need to check my settings in case I have something wrong, but SDR# works perfectly for now.
In the future I will experiment with HD-SDR and RDS Spy *IF* my laptop can handle the necessary 192 kHz sampling rate.
The future of FM DXing is looking much brighter with the introduction of these dongles. I wonder what is around the corner?
With a DX trip looming I decided I needed to take action and get this thing working. Amazingly, the installation completed in less than a minute. This is indeed unexpected as the last RTL dongle I installed took many days of trying and failing. That was the FC01 variant. That one was a poor performer though. The gain was poor and there was evidence of overload, though the use of different software applications improved some of the issues to a degree. Knowing that each RTL dongle performed differently gave me some reassurance. What if I had got a bad one? Since they are so cheap to order from online resources such as eBay and Amazon I decided to buy another.
This E4000 variant performs like a dream. There is no overload and the gain is more than adequate. It 'seems' to perform as well as my XDR-F1HD though I haven't done a side-by-side comparison. It's 'very close' at the very least. Whether the E4000 is simply a better performer than the FC01 I have no idea. They will probably all vary no matter which model you choose, but at only a few £s each you don't have much to lose. Buy a few and choose the best one because, if you get a good one of these, you have a very capable DX machine for very little money!
I love being able to tune between the 10kHz steps and slide the IF bandwidth in and out to suit. Digging in between stronger signals becomes easy. You can see all the weak signals on the waterfall scale even though they are just below audio level. I love how easy it is to record a chunk of IF bandwidth too- something which used to drain the resources of the laptop when using the FC01 dongle. That's not a problem anymore. My laptop is only has a simple Celeron mobile chip too and so won't be able to handle too much and it didn't seem keen to run SDR Console v2 smoothly, which needs a lot more processing power. I need to check my settings in case I have something wrong, but SDR# works perfectly for now.
In the future I will experiment with HD-SDR and RDS Spy *IF* my laptop can handle the necessary 192 kHz sampling rate.
The future of FM DXing is looking much brighter with the introduction of these dongles. I wonder what is around the corner?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)