I am in the process of adding "Labels" and re-naming post titles, plus a bit of general spring cleaning. This should make it easier to search for specific topics, such as propagation modes and individual bands. My recent attempts to do this by including this information in the post title is somewhat long-winded and unnecessary. I hope this will streamline the blog to some degree.
In many respects, I am a novice when it comes to blogging. I set this up this one as a kind of diary and backup facility for personal use, but it's become a useful side to the hobby. There are now a few hundred posts here so I thought I should organise it a bit better.
32,000 hits have been recorded so far and I have received many comments from fellow DXers. True enough, most of those visitors are probably web bots, but I realise now what a great way this is to communicate the hobby to the world.
Monday, 19 May 2014
Sunday, 18 May 2014
Skegness Log: 18-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Sporadic E:
87.6 1625 ALG Radio Laghouat, Aflou (3) Arabic phone in, as web 2120km
90.7 1626 ALG Chaîne 1, Aflou (3) Arabic OM, as web 2120km
Band 2 Tropospheric/Scatter:
107.3 1322 D hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) German OM talk in outside event, as web 729km
91.8 1340 D WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) Pops, as web 544km
97.1 1528 HOL NPO 3FM, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) ID and pops, as 96.8 318km
95.3 1534 HOL L1 Radio, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Pops, as web 455km
103.4 1537 BEL Joe FM, Genk, Antwerpen or Brussel Pops, as 104.1
103.9 1539 HOL NPO 3FM, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Screechy guitar song, as web 455km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
The briefest of brief sporadic E openings on FM today, plus a new station on 103.9 for me via scatter - not sure why I haven't heard this one before.
My gut feeling for the 103.4 transmitter of Joe FM is Genk since this transmitter comes through well on several other frequencies, but impossible to be certain.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
87.6 1625 ALG Radio Laghouat, Aflou (3) Arabic phone in, as web 2120km
90.7 1626 ALG Chaîne 1, Aflou (3) Arabic OM, as web 2120km
Band 2 Tropospheric/Scatter:
107.3 1322 D hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) German OM talk in outside event, as web 729km
91.8 1340 D WDR 2, Hohe Warte (nrw) Pops, as web 544km
97.1 1528 HOL NPO 3FM, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) ID and pops, as 96.8 318km
95.3 1534 HOL L1 Radio, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Pops, as web 455km
103.4 1537 BEL Joe FM, Genk, Antwerpen or Brussel Pops, as 104.1
103.9 1539 HOL NPO 3FM, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Screechy guitar song, as web 455km **
** Personal Skegness 'First'
The briefest of brief sporadic E openings on FM today, plus a new station on 103.9 for me via scatter - not sure why I haven't heard this one before.
My gut feeling for the 103.4 transmitter of Joe FM is Genk since this transmitter comes through well on several other frequencies, but impossible to be certain.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Saturday, 17 May 2014
Skegness Log: 17-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Tropospheric/Scatter:
97.2 0740 DNK DR P3, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) Scatter. Discussion about
blow jobs !!! As web 617km
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
97.2 0740 DNK DR P3, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) Scatter. Discussion about
blow jobs !!! As web 617km
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Meteor Scatter DXing: A New Approach
Meteor Scatter DXing, using WaveLab's "Montage" window
The Foreword:
For the last five months I have been trying to put together a video to demonstrate the system I use for my band 2 meteor scatter DXing. After being attacked by various audiol problems I am just going to wrote this text version. It should suffice, but the video would have been useful to demonstrate the method I use, actually live, in action.
The History:
I used to do well with meteor scatter when I lived in Nottinghamshire, but I have had a lot of problems with noise levels since moving to Skegness, more so at the first address here, so I wondered how I might have more success with meteor scatter in terms of identifying these fleetingly brief signals. It all came about by accident.
The Idea:
At the end of last year, 2013, I had an idea. I recorded an empty frequency on the FM broadcast band while simultaneously recording the web stream of a station which used that frequency, via its internet web stream. I couldn't receive that particular station, but I hoped that it might suddenly pop up via meteor scatter. Simple! In theory. But this gave me a minior problem. I only had one audio channel available on the computer. This was stereo of course, so the audio from my XDR would be fed to one channel, let's say the left side of the stereo channel, while the web audio would come in on the right side. It's easy enough to split these via your sound card mixer control panel. I would record the empty channel, together with the web stream, overnight.
Come the following morning, I would playe back my two recordings. I use WaveLab to do this. WaveLab has multi-channel playback via its "Montage" facility and can accommodate up to 256 channels, not that I am ever likely to use that many. With the audio from my XDR on one montage channel, and the web audio on another, I can toggle between the two, or play them back simultaneously.
I can quickly locate each meteor burst by scanning along the visual waveform. This is useful as it means I don't need to play all eight hours of recorded audio to hear the meteor bursts. I can actually see them. So scanning through eight hours of recorded audio can often be done in a matter of minutes.
If I hear a burst, I quickly toggle to the web audio track to see if I hear the same audio, allowing for internet lag of course. If there is a match, then it *may* be safe to assume the identity of the station heard via the recorded meteor burst. This is exactly the same thing many of us do when listening to tropo or E skip where we check the audio against that of the web stream.
StreamWriter. Multiple web stream recording!
The Software:
What if I could record more than web stream? Could I identify more than one station? Was there any software which would enable me to do this? I began to look into this and, to begin with, I looked at Virtual Audio Cable, but I had trouble configuring it to work with multiple instances of VLC Player. It would have been necessary to configure each VLC channel to play back different web streams. How could this be simplified? It didn't seem like an ideal solution. I began searching the internet for other software which might do the same thing, but more simply. Luckily, I found several programmes which did the job, but which one was best? Eventually I settled with StreamWriter. Let's say this was the least problematical of those that I tried. It seemed to do the job pretty well, so I stuck with it. I just need to make sure that all streams begin recording at the same time. StreamWriter is able to do this.
On to the next problem. StreamWriter renders the recorded audio to different formats. Some of these are not compatible with WaveLab. What to do now?
Any Audio Converter. Free audio conversion software
Any Audio Converter came to my rescue! All the formats which were incompatible with WaveLab could be converted to mp3. In fact, Any Audio Converter is able to process virtually any audio format intoany other audio format! I chose to convert all incompatible format to mp3, which was more than acceptable for this purpose. But then, some of the StreamWriter files had different bitrates and sample rates. No fear, Any Audio Converter can handle this too and in a single batch conversion!
The Playback:
Next, I load all the converted files, including the off-air recording, into a WaveLab Montage. This is time-consuming to say the least. Since I typically record 20 to 30 web streams simultaneously, sometimes more. These recored files can be as much as nine or ten hours long. I end up with a lot of data which takes a lot of time to convert and import. Thankfully, you can let the computer get on with this itself while you can go and do something more useful, like mow the grass or paint the living room. Yes, it can take an hour or two to load in all the files.
The Bandwidth:
A problem for some will be the enormous amount of bandwidth used when recording all these files. Typically, I transfer 500GB of data. or more, each month, but my unlimited Sky broadband package can handle this.
The Benefits and Pitfalls:
Once all the files are loaded into the montage, I simply play all the recordings simultaneously and toggle between each track. This helps me listen to each individual recorded stream. I can see if I have a match.
By using this method of meteor scatter recording, it ensures you can rule out sporadic E being responsible for your catches as you will be seeing and hearing the DX as it happens, so you'll know instantly if a station came in via Es or meteor scatter.
- Since Wavelab shows you a visual representation of the audio, you can zoom straight to the meteor bursts without needing to play through the whole duration of the recording, making the task of listening very quick and simple.
- Beware of popular songs, which can often be layed by more than one station on the frequency. The great things about meteor scatter is that you are sometimes able to hear the same station pop in and out several times in each recorded session, which adds weight to any logging claim.
- Beware of shared programming on overnight networks which can carry the same programming. Using Germany as an example, but you should be able to record ALL web streams from Germany in this example so you can be sure you have the identification correct.
- Meteor scatter can bring in stations which are not typically received via any other propagation mode. Some FM DXers describe a 'gap' between the outer limits of tropospheric propagation and the shorter distances associated with E skip. From my location, just about all of those big transmitters in eastern parts of Germany have been received.
- I have discovered that it is also possible to regularly receive very low power transmissions via meteor scatter, in the order of less than 100 watts.
- You don't need an elaborate antenna for this. My three element beam just one metre above the ground, and even an old home-made FM loop, have provided very good reception of meteor scatter propagation, even to RDS levels.
- A small drawback is the learning curve: It seemed quite daunting at first, but I quickly developed a knack and a system which simplified all the above processes.
The Conclusion:
So, that's the theory. Now here's the practice. And this is where my poor quality video work comes in, but I think you'll see clearly enough what's happening in the following video.
These are short recorded samples of me using the various software to identify meteor scatter. Both examples used are brief, but the second example was used more to demonstrate a meteor burst which was probably too short to be of use. User discretion is advised.
I hope this explanation is useful and may encourage other DXers to try their hand at meteor scatter DXing using multiple-channel stream recording.
Your comments and questions are welcome. I am happy to answer any questions.
Enjoy! This is John signing off.
Friday, 16 May 2014
Video: Today's Sporadic E Opening to The Balkans, Czech Republic & Poland
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The log for this opening can be found here:
Note: The audio to this video has been blocked to some countries. I don't know which, but blame YouTube and their ridiculous rules regarding copyright.
Skegness Log: 16-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Sporadic E:
87.6 1231 BUL BNR Radio Shumen, Shumen/RRTS Venets (shm) 8236 _SHUMEN_ (Approximate time)
2220km
89.4 1401 ROU Magic FM, Cluj-Napoca (CJ) Presume Cluj. E210 MAGIC_FM 1798km **
88.2 1404 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Lucenec/Blatný vrch (BB) 5960 _REGINA_ 1464km
89.1 1405 ROU Pro FM, Târgu Mures (MS) E059 89,1_F__ 1877km
88.1 1406 BIH BH Radio 1, Tusnica (k10) F001 BHRADIO1 1615km
88.4 1407 MNE Radio Prva, Ulcinj/Mozura (UL) D2DE RADIO___ PR______ 1877km **
89.0 1408 ALB New Planet Radio 89 FM, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) 5400 RADIO___ CLASSIC_
NEW_____ etc. 1964km
89.5 1408 HRV HRT Radio Dubrovnik, Gruda/Sveti Ilija (du) C315 R-DUBROV 1785km **
87.6 1409 MNE Antena M, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) 30FE ANTENA_M 1841km
87.7 1409 HRV HRT-HR 1, Licka Pljesivica (gs) C201 HRT-HR_1 1456km
88.0 1411 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Niksic/Tovic-Sudina Glava (NK) 63C1 Tovic___ Niksic__ 1795km
97.4 1412 MNE Star FM, Cetinje D455 STAR_FM_ **
91.7 1416 BIH Federalni Radio, Mostar/Fortica (hgn) F012 RADIO-F_ 1685km **
91.0 1417 ALB Radio Tirana, Shkodër/Tarabosh (shk) 5158 Scrolling RDS 1882km **
90.5 1418 HRV HRT-HR 2, Licka Pljesivica (gs) C202 HRT-HR_2 1456km
90.7 1418 MNE Atlas Radio, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) D222 _ATLAS__ 1841km **
90.0 1419 BIH Radio Kalman, Mostar/Fortica (hgn) F0F2 *KALMAN* 1685km **
88.7 1420 BIH RTRS Radio Republike Srpske, Sarajevo/Trebevic (sar) F042 1684km
88.0 1421 SVN Slovenija 1, Krim (lj) 9201 and vocal ID 1295km
102.8 1423 BIH Bobar Radio, Sarajevo/Trebevic (sar) F0A3 *BOBAR*_ 1684km **
103.0 1423 SVN Radio Aktual, Trdinov Vrh (nm) 944E 1356km **
107.8 1425 BIH Radio Kalman, Several transmitters listed F0F2 KALMAN*B **
107.6 1426 ALB Radio Jehona, Shkodër/Tarabosh (shk) 959B O_JEHONA 1882km **
104.6 1428 BIH Soundset Studio 88, Mostar/Fortica (hgn) 1000 STUDIO88 1685km **
105.7 1428 MNE TDI Radio, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) D246 T__D__I 1841km **
89.3 1431 BIH Federalni Radio, Vlasic (sbs) F012 1600km **
95.7 1436 BIH Federalni Radio, Sarajevo/Hum (sar) F012 1676km **
96.8 1437 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Pljevlja/Tvrdas (PV) 63C1 ___RCG1_ 1775km **
97.2 1437 HRV Radio Kaj, Ivanscica 2 or Japetic C31F __KAJ___ **
98.7 1439 BIH Radio M, Sarajevo/Grdonj (sar) F079 RADIO_M_ 1678km **
100.1 1440 BIH Radio Breza, Breza/Kolovaj (sar) F064 R.BREZA_ 1654km **
100.3 1440 BIH BH Radio 1, Konjic/Lisin (hgn) F001 BHRADIO1 1661km **
101.0 1441 BIH Radio Bugojno, Bugojno/Gladov (sbs) RBUGOJNO 1612km **
87.6 1442 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Savnik/Krnovska glavica (SN) 63C1 ___R__1_ 1793km
91.4 1444 BIH Radio Herceg Bosne, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje/Zekina gruda (sbs) F01B RADIO-__
1629km **
88.1 1451 MNE Radio Cool / Glas Rusije, Podgorica (PG) FFFF SRPSKI__ 1841km **
91.2 1451 BIH Radio Kalman, Konjic/Lisin (hgn) F0F2 ____AN__ 1661km **
87.5 1525 POL PR 1, Czestochowa/Wreczyca (SL) 3211 ____NK__ 1291km
87.9 1526 POL PR 2, Walbrzych/G.Chelmiec II (DS) 3222 eleci_lu wadzi_lu 1117km
87.8 1527 HRV Radio Zabok, Zabok/Grdenci (kr) C46C _ZABOK__ 1371km
88.0 1528 POL PR 1, Krosno/Sucha Góra (PK) 3211 JEDYNKA_ 1530km
90.5 1528 POL PR Radio Rzeszów, Krosno/Sucha Góra (PK) 3417 kultur__ 1530km
88.1 1529 HRV HRT Radio Sljeme, Zagreb/Sljeme (zg) C31C R-SLJEME 1381km
89.0 1530 CZE Radio Impuls, Ostrava/Hostálkovice (MO) 2203 _IMPULS_ 1287km **
89.0 1530 POL PR Radio Wroclaw, Bogatynia/G.Wysoka (DS) 3403 1033km **
89.9 1530 BIH Vikom Radio, Bosanska Dubica/Gig (srp) B080 Z_KOM__C 1510km **
89.9 1531 BIH RTRS Radio Republike Srpske, Udrigovo (srp) F042 RTRS-RRS 1645km
88.3 1533 POL PR 1, Opole/Chrzelice (OP) 3211 JEDYNKA_ 1229km
Band 2 Tropospheric:
93.0 0904 D SWR2, Haardtkopf (rlp) Classical, as web 593km
104.9 0905 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) Pops, as 104.0 553km
99.0 0907 D hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) Pops, as web. Almost noise free on peak 684km
107.4 0923 D Radio Wuppertal, Wuppertal/Westfalenweg (nrw) IDs between songs. Radio
Wuppertal, 100% Wuppertal. Almost noise free 508km
107.6 0929 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Bornberg (rlp) Pops and YL, as 104.0 640km
107.0 0936 D WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Decent peaks today. Almost noise free. As 106.7
592km
95.3 0956 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Zwollerkerspel/Alticom Toren (ove) Dutch OMs, as 95.4
396km
98.7 0958 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Ad break, as web 407km
107.3 1036 BEL VBRO, Diksmuide/IJzertoren (vlg-wvl) IDs galore, then Dutch music 292km
107.5 1037 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Dutch music, as web 296km
107.1 1039 HOL Radio Schouwen-Duiveland, Zierikzee/Silo Vissersdijk (zee) V weak,
but pops, as web 296km
107.2 1046 BEL Radio Bingo, Roeselare/Zilverberg (vlg-wvl) Vocal ID after ad break 313km
107.9 1049 BEL VBRO, Torhout (vlg-wvl) Phone caller, as 107.3. Presume Torhout 297km
88.4 1103 HOL Slam!FM, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) 82A5 SLAM!FM_ 334km
89.3 1104 HOL 89,3 Radio West, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) ID after
news 313km
91.8 1105 HOL FunX, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Jingle ID 313km
Unidentified:
92.9 1413 MKD Radio Antena 5?, Unlisted site 4221 St__io__ **
92.5 1415 ? UNID, 3417 92______
100.4 1421 ? UNID, F078
101.7 1424 ? UNID, "Arabesque" said as if ID or programme name. Exotic sounding. Thought
it was Arabic at one point.
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I had to go out this morning and missed most of the opening. I watched remotely, helpless as TeamViewer software just froze while Bulgaria was coming through. This was extremely annoying. After several attempts I finally managed to get CamStudio (I hate it with a passion) t record what was coming in on 87.6. An hour or two later, still connecting remotely, I stopped CamStudio to save the file. Of course it crashed and I lost the lot. So I swore (I did, believe me!) that I would invest in a full and registered version of Bandicam, so I did. That's the last time CamStudio messes up my DXing!
Luckily, my return home saw the Es opening still in progress and it was a decent top-of-the-band opening to the Balkans with quite a few personal firsts, some of which were less than 1kW. A bit of detective work solved most of my unids, though a few remain. Signals were very good, reaching 50dBf at best, without RF or IF boost!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I made a YouTube video of the highlights at: Click here to watch
There were a few interesting station in there, notably:
11:28 92.5. Mono unid language? PI 3417. Partial PS 92______
15:44 89.9. ??
18:23 101.7. Arabic or similar?
31.19 90.7 Arabic?
The times above are references to the position of the video. Actual times are displayed in the GTK window. Help with these would be really appreciated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
87.6 1231 BUL BNR Radio Shumen, Shumen/RRTS Venets (shm) 8236 _SHUMEN_ (Approximate time)
2220km
89.4 1401 ROU Magic FM, Cluj-Napoca (CJ) Presume Cluj. E210 MAGIC_FM 1798km **
88.2 1404 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Lucenec/Blatný vrch (BB) 5960 _REGINA_ 1464km
89.1 1405 ROU Pro FM, Târgu Mures (MS) E059 89,1_F__ 1877km
88.1 1406 BIH BH Radio 1, Tusnica (k10) F001 BHRADIO1 1615km
88.4 1407 MNE Radio Prva, Ulcinj/Mozura (UL) D2DE RADIO___ PR______ 1877km **
89.0 1408 ALB New Planet Radio 89 FM, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) 5400 RADIO___ CLASSIC_
NEW_____ etc. 1964km
89.5 1408 HRV HRT Radio Dubrovnik, Gruda/Sveti Ilija (du) C315 R-DUBROV 1785km **
87.6 1409 MNE Antena M, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) 30FE ANTENA_M 1841km
87.7 1409 HRV HRT-HR 1, Licka Pljesivica (gs) C201 HRT-HR_1 1456km
88.0 1411 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Niksic/Tovic-Sudina Glava (NK) 63C1 Tovic___ Niksic__ 1795km
97.4 1412 MNE Star FM, Cetinje D455 STAR_FM_ **
91.7 1416 BIH Federalni Radio, Mostar/Fortica (hgn) F012 RADIO-F_ 1685km **
91.0 1417 ALB Radio Tirana, Shkodër/Tarabosh (shk) 5158 Scrolling RDS 1882km **
90.5 1418 HRV HRT-HR 2, Licka Pljesivica (gs) C202 HRT-HR_2 1456km
90.7 1418 MNE Atlas Radio, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) D222 _ATLAS__ 1841km **
90.0 1419 BIH Radio Kalman, Mostar/Fortica (hgn) F0F2 *KALMAN* 1685km **
88.7 1420 BIH RTRS Radio Republike Srpske, Sarajevo/Trebevic (sar) F042 1684km
88.0 1421 SVN Slovenija 1, Krim (lj) 9201 and vocal ID 1295km
102.8 1423 BIH Bobar Radio, Sarajevo/Trebevic (sar) F0A3 *BOBAR*_ 1684km **
103.0 1423 SVN Radio Aktual, Trdinov Vrh (nm) 944E 1356km **
107.8 1425 BIH Radio Kalman, Several transmitters listed F0F2 KALMAN*B **
107.6 1426 ALB Radio Jehona, Shkodër/Tarabosh (shk) 959B O_JEHONA 1882km **
104.6 1428 BIH Soundset Studio 88, Mostar/Fortica (hgn) 1000 STUDIO88 1685km **
105.7 1428 MNE TDI Radio, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) D246 T__D__I 1841km **
89.3 1431 BIH Federalni Radio, Vlasic (sbs) F012 1600km **
95.7 1436 BIH Federalni Radio, Sarajevo/Hum (sar) F012 1676km **
96.8 1437 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Pljevlja/Tvrdas (PV) 63C1 ___RCG1_ 1775km **
97.2 1437 HRV Radio Kaj, Ivanscica 2 or Japetic C31F __KAJ___ **
98.7 1439 BIH Radio M, Sarajevo/Grdonj (sar) F079 RADIO_M_ 1678km **
100.1 1440 BIH Radio Breza, Breza/Kolovaj (sar) F064 R.BREZA_ 1654km **
100.3 1440 BIH BH Radio 1, Konjic/Lisin (hgn) F001 BHRADIO1 1661km **
101.0 1441 BIH Radio Bugojno, Bugojno/Gladov (sbs) RBUGOJNO 1612km **
87.6 1442 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Savnik/Krnovska glavica (SN) 63C1 ___R__1_ 1793km
91.4 1444 BIH Radio Herceg Bosne, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje/Zekina gruda (sbs) F01B RADIO-__
1629km **
88.1 1451 MNE Radio Cool / Glas Rusije, Podgorica (PG) FFFF SRPSKI__ 1841km **
91.2 1451 BIH Radio Kalman, Konjic/Lisin (hgn) F0F2 ____AN__ 1661km **
87.5 1525 POL PR 1, Czestochowa/Wreczyca (SL) 3211 ____NK__ 1291km
87.9 1526 POL PR 2, Walbrzych/G.Chelmiec II (DS) 3222 eleci_lu wadzi_lu 1117km
87.8 1527 HRV Radio Zabok, Zabok/Grdenci (kr) C46C _ZABOK__ 1371km
88.0 1528 POL PR 1, Krosno/Sucha Góra (PK) 3211 JEDYNKA_ 1530km
90.5 1528 POL PR Radio Rzeszów, Krosno/Sucha Góra (PK) 3417 kultur__ 1530km
88.1 1529 HRV HRT Radio Sljeme, Zagreb/Sljeme (zg) C31C R-SLJEME 1381km
89.0 1530 CZE Radio Impuls, Ostrava/Hostálkovice (MO) 2203 _IMPULS_ 1287km **
89.0 1530 POL PR Radio Wroclaw, Bogatynia/G.Wysoka (DS) 3403 1033km **
89.9 1530 BIH Vikom Radio, Bosanska Dubica/Gig (srp) B080 Z_KOM__C 1510km **
89.9 1531 BIH RTRS Radio Republike Srpske, Udrigovo (srp) F042 RTRS-RRS 1645km
88.3 1533 POL PR 1, Opole/Chrzelice (OP) 3211 JEDYNKA_ 1229km
Band 2 Tropospheric:
93.0 0904 D SWR2, Haardtkopf (rlp) Classical, as web 593km
104.9 0905 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) Pops, as 104.0 553km
99.0 0907 D hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) Pops, as web. Almost noise free on peak 684km
107.4 0923 D Radio Wuppertal, Wuppertal/Westfalenweg (nrw) IDs between songs. Radio
Wuppertal, 100% Wuppertal. Almost noise free 508km
107.6 0929 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Bornberg (rlp) Pops and YL, as 104.0 640km
107.0 0936 D WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw) Decent peaks today. Almost noise free. As 106.7
592km
95.3 0956 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Zwollerkerspel/Alticom Toren (ove) Dutch OMs, as 95.4
396km
98.7 0958 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Ad break, as web 407km
107.3 1036 BEL VBRO, Diksmuide/IJzertoren (vlg-wvl) IDs galore, then Dutch music 292km
107.5 1037 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Dutch music, as web 296km
107.1 1039 HOL Radio Schouwen-Duiveland, Zierikzee/Silo Vissersdijk (zee) V weak,
but pops, as web 296km
107.2 1046 BEL Radio Bingo, Roeselare/Zilverberg (vlg-wvl) Vocal ID after ad break 313km
107.9 1049 BEL VBRO, Torhout (vlg-wvl) Phone caller, as 107.3. Presume Torhout 297km
88.4 1103 HOL Slam!FM, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) 82A5 SLAM!FM_ 334km
89.3 1104 HOL 89,3 Radio West, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) ID after
news 313km
91.8 1105 HOL FunX, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Jingle ID 313km
Unidentified:
92.9 1413 MKD Radio Antena 5?, Unlisted site 4221 St__io__ **
92.5 1415 ? UNID, 3417 92______
100.4 1421 ? UNID, F078
101.7 1424 ? UNID, "Arabesque" said as if ID or programme name. Exotic sounding. Thought
it was Arabic at one point.
** Personal Skegness 'First'
I had to go out this morning and missed most of the opening. I watched remotely, helpless as TeamViewer software just froze while Bulgaria was coming through. This was extremely annoying. After several attempts I finally managed to get CamStudio (I hate it with a passion) t record what was coming in on 87.6. An hour or two later, still connecting remotely, I stopped CamStudio to save the file. Of course it crashed and I lost the lot. So I swore (I did, believe me!) that I would invest in a full and registered version of Bandicam, so I did. That's the last time CamStudio messes up my DXing!
Luckily, my return home saw the Es opening still in progress and it was a decent top-of-the-band opening to the Balkans with quite a few personal firsts, some of which were less than 1kW. A bit of detective work solved most of my unids, though a few remain. Signals were very good, reaching 50dBf at best, without RF or IF boost!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I made a YouTube video of the highlights at: Click here to watch
There were a few interesting station in there, notably:
11:28 92.5. Mono unid language? PI 3417. Partial PS 92______
15:44 89.9. ??
18:23 101.7. Arabic or similar?
31.19 90.7 Arabic?
The times above are references to the position of the video. Actual times are displayed in the GTK window. Help with these would be really appreciated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Video: Live FM DXing During Sporadic E Event: 16-05-14
This is the first time I have made a recording of a live DXing session during a sporadic E event. I thought I would add it to my blog for others to see.
This was a good opening to the Balkans and possibly Turkey, including reception of Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Also heard were the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Albania, Romania and Poland. This was quite a haul and I received many personal 'firsts', including several low powered local stations.
Some unusual reception was experienced during this opening when conditions may have extended into Turkey. Note the Turkish language on 92.5 at 11 minutes and 28 seconds in the video. The PI code of 3417 would appear to confirm that this was a Turkish station, but the PI code is not known and so the station remains unidentified.
Apologies to those who are unable to hear the audio in this recording as YouTube have blocked it in certain countries due to brief instances of 'copyright' music appearing.
This was a good opening to the Balkans and possibly Turkey, including reception of Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Also heard were the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Albania, Romania and Poland. This was quite a haul and I received many personal 'firsts', including several low powered local stations.
Some unusual reception was experienced during this opening when conditions may have extended into Turkey. Note the Turkish language on 92.5 at 11 minutes and 28 seconds in the video. The PI code of 3417 would appear to confirm that this was a Turkish station, but the PI code is not known and so the station remains unidentified.
Apologies to those who are unable to hear the audio in this recording as YouTube have blocked it in certain countries due to brief instances of 'copyright' music appearing.
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Skegness Log: 15-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Sporadic E:
97.0 0655 S SR P3, Hörby/Sallerup TM (sn) Lively Swedish YL, as web 913km **
91.8 0702 NOR NRK Petre, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) YL news over music, as web 703km **
97.2 0724 S SR P3, Uddevalla/Herrestad TM (vg) Lively OM YL, as web 922km **
97.2 0733 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) OM ID jingle 739km **
87.9 0813 S SR P1, Malmö, Örebro or Östersund. OM YL banging around, as web
89.6 0849 S SR P1, Nässjö/Teracom mast Berg (jo) Swedish YL and music, as web 1031km **
Band 2 Tropospheric:
93.3 0550 DNK DR P1/DR P2, Aalborg-Frejlev/Svenstrupvej 25 (njy) OM phone caller, as web
740km
91.8 0554 NOR NRK Petre, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) V weak on scatter. YL pop song,
as web 703km
98.7 0648 NOR NRK P2, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) Norwegian YL, as web. Scatter at 703km 703km
97.0 0654 NOR NRK Petre, Greipstad/Eidsåvegen (va) OM phone in, as web. Tropo or scatter?
734km
97.2 0725 DNK DR P3, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) OMs, as web. Via scatter
617km
87.9 0852 D MDR Figaro, Inselsberg (thü) Piano music, as web 739km
87.9 1444 D NDR Info, Heide Welmbüttel (shs) Jingle ID and info 599km
100.1 1504 D RPR 1., Haardtkopf (rlp) OM ID after news 593km
102.1 1718 DNK R.24/7, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) Danish OM. Seemingly via
scatter. 617km
98.0 2029 HOL Radio Decibel, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Housey Housey, as 97.6 320km
107.5 2031 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) V weak. Light pops, as web 296km
105.5 2034 BEL Topradio, Staden/Stadenberg (vlg-wvl) Bang bang thump thump techNO thank you,
as web 299km
99.4 2036 BEL Topradio, Gent/IVAGO Proeftuinstraat 43 (vlg-ovl) Bang bang, as web 333km
96.1 2039 HOL FunX, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Reggae, as web 320km
96.3 2039 HOL Radio Veronica, Loon op Zand/Alticom Toren (nbr) Phone caller, as 96.6 365km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
This morning's meteor scatter was done live. Bursts were frequent so it quickly became clear which stations or transmitters were coming through.
It seems that the morning tropo from Denmark and Norway was not tropo at all, but aircraft scatter, no doubt helped along by the high pressure, but it continued for the rest of the day, up and down, apart from the Norwegians, which fizzled out completely by mid-afternoon.
There was an enhancement come the evening, however, with Belgium and Holland increasing in strength slightly.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
97.0 0655 S SR P3, Hörby/Sallerup TM (sn) Lively Swedish YL, as web 913km **
91.8 0702 NOR NRK Petre, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) YL news over music, as web 703km **
97.2 0724 S SR P3, Uddevalla/Herrestad TM (vg) Lively OM YL, as web 922km **
97.2 0733 D Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) OM ID jingle 739km **
87.9 0813 S SR P1, Malmö, Örebro or Östersund. OM YL banging around, as web
89.6 0849 S SR P1, Nässjö/Teracom mast Berg (jo) Swedish YL and music, as web 1031km **
Band 2 Tropospheric:
93.3 0550 DNK DR P1/DR P2, Aalborg-Frejlev/Svenstrupvej 25 (njy) OM phone caller, as web
740km
91.8 0554 NOR NRK Petre, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) V weak on scatter. YL pop song,
as web 703km
98.7 0648 NOR NRK P2, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) Norwegian YL, as web. Scatter at 703km 703km
97.0 0654 NOR NRK Petre, Greipstad/Eidsåvegen (va) OM phone in, as web. Tropo or scatter?
734km
97.2 0725 DNK DR P3, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) OMs, as web. Via scatter
617km
87.9 0852 D MDR Figaro, Inselsberg (thü) Piano music, as web 739km
87.9 1444 D NDR Info, Heide Welmbüttel (shs) Jingle ID and info 599km
100.1 1504 D RPR 1., Haardtkopf (rlp) OM ID after news 593km
102.1 1718 DNK R.24/7, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) Danish OM. Seemingly via
scatter. 617km
98.0 2029 HOL Radio Decibel, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Housey Housey, as 97.6 320km
107.5 2031 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) V weak. Light pops, as web 296km
105.5 2034 BEL Topradio, Staden/Stadenberg (vlg-wvl) Bang bang thump thump techNO thank you,
as web 299km
99.4 2036 BEL Topradio, Gent/IVAGO Proeftuinstraat 43 (vlg-ovl) Bang bang, as web 333km
96.1 2039 HOL FunX, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Reggae, as web 320km
96.3 2039 HOL Radio Veronica, Loon op Zand/Alticom Toren (nbr) Phone caller, as 96.6 365km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
This morning's meteor scatter was done live. Bursts were frequent so it quickly became clear which stations or transmitters were coming through.
It seems that the morning tropo from Denmark and Norway was not tropo at all, but aircraft scatter, no doubt helped along by the high pressure, but it continued for the rest of the day, up and down, apart from the Norwegians, which fizzled out completely by mid-afternoon.
There was an enhancement come the evening, however, with Belgium and Holland increasing in strength slightly.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Skegness Log: 14-05-14 (FM)
Band 2 Sporadic E:
87.6 1740 CZE Radio Impuls, Brno/Kojál (JM) 2203 _IMPULS_ 1219km
88.1 1742 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Petrosani/Parâng (HD) FF00. Presume Petrosani
1877km
89.0 1742 ROU Radio ZU, Bucuresti (BU) E2AA Radio_ZU 2107km
91.2 1744 ROU Magic FM, Three sites. Probably Alexandria. E210 MAGIC_FM
87.6 1746 BUL BNR Radio Shumen, Shumen/RRTS Venets (shm) 8236 ___BNR__ _SHUMEN_ 2220km
91.8 1750 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Alexandria (TR) Jingle ID 2091km **
88.4 1808 MRC MFM Oriental, Taourirt (otl) Vocal ID 2102km
91.6 1809 MRC Radio Mars, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) ID in ad break 2397km
92.9 1810 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) Arabic OM, as web 2397km **
94.0 1812 MRC Aswat, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) Phone caller, as web 2397km
89.2 1813 MRC MFM Oriental, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) 1283 __MFM____. Jingle ID too!
2397km **
89.8 1813 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) French OM talking about
Morocco 2397km
90.6 1814 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Boumalne-Dadès (smd) Arabic OMs, as web
2475km **
91.1 1816 MRC Médina FM, Tanger (ttn) Phone in, as web 1991km
91.7 1841 MRC Radio Mars, Tétouan (ttn) Arabic OM, as web 2007km
Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
106.9 1107 D B5 aktuell, Grünten (Allgäu) or Brotjacklriegel OM ID
98.7 1308 G BBC Radio 1, Perhaps Melvaig. Snippet of BBC R1 presenters, as 98.3 **
87.7 1903 E Europa FM, Alcalá de Henares (MAD-M) E5ED 1439km **
Band 2 General Scatter:
103.5 0504 D RPR 1., Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) ID and pops 553km
106.3 0510 D SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) SWR4 ID sung in song 592km
107.6 0512 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Bornberg (rlp) YL in ads, as web 640km
103.0 0517 D BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) OM ... Call, text or email BFBS 564km
107.3 0538 D hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) german YL song, as web 729km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Mixing the propagation modes today!
I have uploaded some more videos to my YouTube channel, demonstrating scatter from stations like HR4, Heidelstein on 107.3.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
87.6 1740 CZE Radio Impuls, Brno/Kojál (JM) 2203 _IMPULS_ 1219km
88.1 1742 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Petrosani/Parâng (HD) FF00. Presume Petrosani
1877km
89.0 1742 ROU Radio ZU, Bucuresti (BU) E2AA Radio_ZU 2107km
91.2 1744 ROU Magic FM, Three sites. Probably Alexandria. E210 MAGIC_FM
87.6 1746 BUL BNR Radio Shumen, Shumen/RRTS Venets (shm) 8236 ___BNR__ _SHUMEN_ 2220km
91.8 1750 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Alexandria (TR) Jingle ID 2091km **
88.4 1808 MRC MFM Oriental, Taourirt (otl) Vocal ID 2102km
91.6 1809 MRC Radio Mars, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) ID in ad break 2397km
92.9 1810 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) Arabic OM, as web 2397km **
94.0 1812 MRC Aswat, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) Phone caller, as web 2397km
89.2 1813 MRC MFM Oriental, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) 1283 __MFM____. Jingle ID too!
2397km **
89.8 1813 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) French OM talking about
Morocco 2397km
90.6 1814 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Boumalne-Dadès (smd) Arabic OMs, as web
2475km **
91.1 1816 MRC Médina FM, Tanger (ttn) Phone in, as web 1991km
91.7 1841 MRC Radio Mars, Tétouan (ttn) Arabic OM, as web 2007km
Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
106.9 1107 D B5 aktuell, Grünten (Allgäu) or Brotjacklriegel OM ID
98.7 1308 G BBC Radio 1, Perhaps Melvaig. Snippet of BBC R1 presenters, as 98.3 **
87.7 1903 E Europa FM, Alcalá de Henares (MAD-M) E5ED 1439km **
Band 2 General Scatter:
103.5 0504 D RPR 1., Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) ID and pops 553km
106.3 0510 D SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bad Marienberg (rlp) SWR4 ID sung in song 592km
107.6 0512 D big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Bornberg (rlp) YL in ads, as web 640km
103.0 0517 D BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) OM ... Call, text or email BFBS 564km
107.3 0538 D hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) german YL song, as web 729km
** Personal Skegness 'First'
Mixing the propagation modes today!
I have uploaded some more videos to my YouTube channel, demonstrating scatter from stations like HR4, Heidelstein on 107.3.
Good DX!
John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA
Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.
Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.
Denmark & Norway Via Scatter
I always assumed it must be possible from this coast, but until this morning I had never heard it myself, though I once briefly had Norway via aircraft scatter at my previous Skegness address.
Here are three recordings of this morning's scatter. Unfortunately, the web audio did not come through in the Norwegian videos, but you should be able to hear the Norwegian presenters quite clearly.
Here are three recordings of this morning's scatter. Unfortunately, the web audio did not come through in the Norwegian videos, but you should be able to hear the Norwegian presenters quite clearly.
Danmarks Radio 3, Rangstrup. Distance 617 km
NRK Petre, Bjerkreim. Distance 703 km
NRK Petre, Bjerkreim. Distance 703 km
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