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Tuesday, 11 March 2014

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.

Monday, 10 March 2014

Skegness Log: 10-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Scatter: 10-03-14:
 87.5 0851  I  Malvisi Network, Strozorand Pellegrino Parmense. Chance vocal ID heard
               while listening live. At least five seconds very steady burst **

Band 2 Scatter: 10-03-14:
102.9 0905  D  RPR 1., Bad Marienberg (rlp) Jingle ID after news, then pops  592km
100.8 0907  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) Light pops, as web.
               Dominating Aachen  606km
106.4 0909  D  WDR Eins Live, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) Lilly Allen song, as 106.7  483km
106.3 0911  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Cliff Richards Power To All
               Our Friends, as web  592km
105.9 0932  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Over Feldberg with
               pops, as web  525km
 99.0 0943  D  hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) ID in promo  684km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

I had just switched on the GTK software, which automatically starts the XDR on 87.5. Completely oblivious to what was happening, I heard a song and then a man say "Malvisi ... ", presumably "Malvisi Network". Then it was gone. I quickly realised that this was a meteor burst, but it was stable and sustained for several seconds. This one was lucky, but I have noticed meteor scatter becoming increasingly regular and stronger over the last week.

General scatter was average again. Still very little tropo around, only a weak lift to some of the regular continental transmitters during the evening.

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.

Sunday, 9 March 2014

Skegness Log: 09-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Scatter: 08-03-14:
 93.5 0941  G  Unity FM Birmingham, Birmingham East (EN-WMD) Asian YLs on conversation
               with mains hum! As web  167km **
 94.0 0944 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Mount Leinster (CW) Gaelic YL, as web.
               Almost noise free beaming SW  480km
 99.2 0958  G  Hermitage FM, Coalville/Hoo Ash Farm (EN-LEI) Horrible song, as web 
               125km
105.9 1002  G  Sunshine Radio, Unlisted News and ID. Weather. Has this moved from 106.2?
 89.4 1341  F  France Musique, Brest/Roc Trédudon (29) Just audible in electrical
               noise  604km
 87.6 1357 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Oudenburg/Zeeweg (vlg-wvl) Almost noise free.
               Rappers Delight song, as web  288km
103.0 1618  D  BFBS Radio,
               Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) BFBS ID and mention of the BFBS app. Becoming
               quite regular at the new QTH with some decent peaks  564km
 93.0 1620  D  SWR2, Haardtkopf (rlp) Jolly piano music, as web  593km


All tropo was inland during the morning. Continental reception was subdued, even though the tropo forecast suggested the opposite. I think the tropo forecast has been downgraded. Even Lille was struggling first thing

I swung the FM5 round to the SW where it had to rest on those poplar trees. The West Midlands was well up in strength with Sutton Coldfield reaching 56dB. Hearing the DX rolling in from inland reminded me not only of how congested the band is there, but how wide and messy a lot of the transmissions are.

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.

Saturday, 8 March 2014

Skegness Log: 08-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Scatter: 08-03-14:
104.9 0935  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) ID and pops after
               ads. Scatter. noise free on peak  553km
106.3 0938  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Brenda Lee song, as web.
               Weak and fluttery  592km
 98.0 0948  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Fluttery but comes
               up to noise free  707km
 95.3 0950  D  YOU FM (hr), Hardberg (hes) V weak. Pops, as web  712km
 94.6 0951  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Brocken (san) Unheilg song, as web. Traffic
               bleep and ID. Noise free peaks  712km
 94.4 0953  D  NDR Kultur, Steinkimmen (nds) Sustained noise free peak on scatter  543km
 89.9 0956  D  NDR Kultur, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Classical, as 90.0  707km
 89.2 0958  D  NDR 2, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Pop rock track, as web. Noise
               free on fluttery peaks  525km
 89.4 0958  D  NE-WS 89,4, Düsseldorf/Rheinturm (nrw) Ad, YL ID jingle and Pink song  488km
 89.0 0959  D  89.0 RTL, Brocken (san) Pops, as web, in asnd out of the noise  712km
103.1 1003  D  Radio ffn, Aurich (nds) YL news, OM weather, ID. Almost noise free  478km
 98.1 1006  D  NDR 2, Aurich (nds) Pops, as web. Not Nordhelle for a change  478km
 92.8 1009  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) German pop song, as web.
               V weak  477km
107.4 1051  D  Radio Wuppertal, Wuppertal/Westfalenweg (nrw) Ultravox song, as web  508km
 93.3 1104  D  WDR 2, Kleve/Bresserberg (nrw) End of news, weather, traffic bleeps
               and ID  420km
101.4 1714  D  Radio SAW, Brocken (san) Nice peak from all Torfhaus' and Brockens.
               German pops  712km
107.7 1719 LUX Den Neie Radio (DNR), Blaschette/Kandel (gld) Just peaking over a very weak
               Kiss with soft pops, as web  557km
105.3 1722  D  NDR Info, Schwerin (mev) OM sports commentary, v weak, as web  739km
 98.7 1725  D  AFN Wiesbaden-The Eagle, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Country
               music chart perhaps. US presenter. Almost noise free peak  647km
105.3 1728  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) Weak but almost noise free peak on
               scatter!! YL speech and vocal ID  732km


Some excellent aircraft scatter again today. This is the first time I have ever received Schwerin and Kreuzberg via this mode here in Skegness. Signals were fluttery and not exactly weak either, but almost noise free when at their best. These used to be regulars on the Suffolk coast.

Brocken and Torfhaus have also been well received and have been reaching noise-free or near-noise-free levels all day on 89.0, 92.1, 94.6, 98.0, 101.4, etc. Again, signals were fluttery, indicating aircraft scatter as opposed to stable tropo conditions.

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.

Friday, 7 March 2014

Skegness Log: 07-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Scatter: 07-03-14:
107.1 1240  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) German YL song, as web  593km
 98.7 1251  D  NDR 2, Morsum (Sylt) (shs) V weak on scatter. YL song, as web  565km
 98.7 1254 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Blasted its way above everything
               else. Sweet song, as web  407km
 99.6 1256 HOL Slam!FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Slamming tunes, as web  407km
 99.1 1257  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Donnersberg (rlp) Ad break, as web  656km
 95.3 1259 HOL L1 Radio, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Ad break, as 100.3  455km
 98.7 1345 HOL NPO Radio 4, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Classical, suddenly on top.
               as web  455km
107.3 1455  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Not quite noise free but a decent
               signal for 729 km. Foundations song, as web  729km
102.3 1722  D  Radio ffn, Steinkimmen (nds) Depeche Mode type song, as web  543km

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.

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Skegness Log: 06-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 04-03-14:
 99.5 0035  D  NDR Info, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Guitar solo, as web  707km **
 99.5 0046  D  Bayern 3, Hühnerberg (bay) Slow pop song, as web  871km **
 99.5 0147  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Löbau/Schafberg (sac) YL conversation, as web.
               Two second burst  1006km **
 99.5 0214 CZE CRo Radiozurnál, Zlín/Tlustá hora (ZL) Czech OM, as web. Three second burst 
               1281km **
 99.5 0323 BEL RTBF Musiq'3, Liège/Bol d'Air (wal-lge) Sudden burst of pan pipes, as web 
               459km **
 99.5 0705  G  BBC Radio 1,
               Black Hill, Wenvoe or Swingate perhaps?  News, as web **
 99.5 0803  D  N-JOY, Schwerin (mev) ID and jingle ID on eight second burst  739km **
 99.5 0804 NOR NRK P2, Jetta/Blåhø (op) Norwegian OM, as web  1108km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via this mode

The most frequent bursters on 99.5 were Bayern 3 from Huhnerberg and NDR Info from Torfhaus. Come sunrise I had a lot of bursts from BBC Radio 1, though it's impossible to know which site/s these were from. Black Hill, Wenvoe and Swingate would be the most likely.

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.

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Skegness Log: 05-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 05-03-14:
102.0 0417 CZE CRo Dvojka, Brno/Kojál (JM) Distinctive music, as web  1219km **
102.0 0449 CZE Radio Impuls, Ústí nad Labem/Buková hora (US) Czech song, as web  991km **
102.0 0455 HRV HRT Radio Split, Biokovo/Sveti Jure (st) Local song, as web  1643km **
102.0 0505 SVN Slovenija 3, Krvavec (lj) Particularly squeaky violin piece, as web  1271km **
102.0 0512 HNG Class FM, Sopron-Dalos hegy (GMS) Roaring Katy, as web  1299km **
102.0 0658 HRV HRT Radio Osijek, Psunj (sb) Maocolm McLaren Buffalo Gals, as web  1500km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via this mode

Very interesting meteor reception overnight on 102.0. I heard a lot of bursts from French and German language stations which I can only assume were very low powered transmitters - I could not find the web streams for these. The loggings above are of high powered transmitters. The stations in the Czech Republic were the most frequent.

Looks like my internet is now continuous, i.e. without any overnight dropping of service. So the computer made up for this by reporting that my hard drive was full - as it occasionally does, then it cancels the recording. I have oodles of GB left on my drives. I am sure these things are sent to try me and me only! ;O)

Not only is the internet continuous, so is my new southerly noise. There is a continuous buzz or white noise, peaking up to 20dB to the south - not as severe as at my last address, plus it dips down to 10dB or so regularly. I am mystified as to what it is. The south-east to the south-west is no good for weak DX. Although Lille and a few others are getting through, I haven't been able to hear many other regulars from other parts of northern France since moving here. These include Caen, Brest, Rennes, etc. So far, I have lost Troyes and Bourges to the noise. Thank goodness other directions are noise free.

There was a German talker on 105.3 via scatter late afternoon when I raised the FM5 to about 6 metres. I think it was Schwerin as there was classical music also in on 89.2. That would be 739km from here, same distance as Inselberg which I haven't had here so far, so this would be my furthest scatter at the new address. Hopefully I can confirm this in due course.

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.

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

Skegness Log: 04-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
104.0 0959  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Koblenz/Kühkopf (rlp) D3A9 Sudden 34dB burst
               while listening to this live on A/S  590km **
104.0 1002 SUI RTS La Première, Monte San Salvatore (ti) French YL with distinctive voice,
               as web stream while listening live  1010km **
102.0 2340  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Lingen most likely. 
               German OM, as web  477km **

Band 2 Aircraft Scatter:
101.9 1207  D  WDR 5, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) OM, as 92.0, Peterborough nulled.
               Not heard for some time.  483km
104.7 1210  F  France Inter, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) YL, as 103.7, despite beaming east
               on FM5  266km
 99.0 1212 BEL Randstad FM, Mechelen/Douaneplein (vlg-ant) Ads and ID  370km
 89.9 1702  D  NDR Kultur, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) News, as web  707km
 92.1 1702  D  NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) News, as web  707km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via this mode

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.

Monday, 3 March 2014

Skegness Log: 03-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 94.6 1000  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Brocken (san) Lene marlin song, full ID and
               YL news. Equal FM mush  712km
 92.1 1003  D  NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Oscars news. OM ID  707km
 97.4 1007  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) German OM, as web  712km
 89.0 1014  D  89.0 RTL, Brocken (san) Pops,as web  712km
103.0 1048  D  BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Better today. Mixing Veronica  564km
102.9 1049 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Schoten (vlg-ant) Elton John  Kiki Dee song,
               as web  354km
103.5 1052 HOL Radio Gelderland, Ugchelen/Alticom Toren (gel) Talking about workshops,
               as web  391km
 97.7 1420  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) German OM, as web, on Manningtree fade 
               593km


Nice scatter conditions again with Brocken and Torfhaus getting through.

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.

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Skegness Log: 02-03-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 92.1 1413 HRV HRT-HR 1, Zagreb/Sljeme (zg) C201 and YL on sudden burst. 26dB  1381km **

Band 2 Tropo/Aircraft Scatter:
 97.3 0921  D  WDR 3, Kleve/Bresserberg (nrw) Clasical, as web. Some tropo this morning  420km
 91.4 0924 HOL NPO Radio 4, Markelo/Alticom Toren (ove) Stable. Classical. Tropo. As 95.0 
               424km
 95.0 0926 HOL NPO Radio 1, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) Stable. Classical. As 91.4 
               318km
 94.6 0927  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Brocken (san) Slades Far Far Away, as web  712km
 89.2 0934  D  NDR 2, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) Just poking through this
               morning. Pops, as web  525km
 92.0 0935  D  WDR 5, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Fairly steady and noise free. Tropo  493km
 92.4 0936  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Linz (Rhein)/Ginsterhahner Kopf (rlp) Almost noise
               free. OM  YL, as web  560km
101.2 0948  D  Bremen Vier, Bremen-Walle (bre) German soft rock song, peaking almost
               noise free  565km
103.0 0950  D  BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) OM and pops, as web  564km
107.2 1025  D  WDR Eins Live, Ederkopf (nrw) Can hear the bassline,, clearly in
               // 106.7  592km
 87.8 1026  D  WDR 2, Schwerte/Sommerberg (nrw) Better today. OM ID caught after pop song 
               525km
 89.8 1037  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Pops, as web  592km
 92.8 1037  D  SWR3, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Phone in, as web  592km
102.9 1038  D  RPR 1., Bad Marienberg (rlp) German OM, as web  592km
106.3 1038  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) German OM, as web  592km
 95.4 1039  D  SWR2, Bad Marienberg (rlp) German OM, as web  592km
 97.4 1224  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) OM interviewing American
               OM, then YL, over Linz  712km
100.4 1227  D  WDR 2, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) Katy Perry. Noiseless!  538km
104.3 1230  D  hr4, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) German YL ID, German song  612km
 95.3 1357 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Zwollerkerspel/Alticom Toren (ove) Dutch OM talk, as web 
               396km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the mode

A little tropo to the nearer parts of Germany today, also some enhanced signals from Holland.

I have now configured my laptop to run the XDR-GTK software, thus removing the noise from my desktop computer.

Unfortunately, noise has found me again. I have noticed some odd and persistent noise to the south. It varies in strength and produces a buzzing noise when at its weakest, then white noise when it increases in strength. The different states in strength last from 15 minutes, but can be longer. The increase/decrease is abrupt and registers 20dB at worst. All other directions remain noise free for now.

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, currently fixed horizontally to the south-east.