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Friday, 23 May 2014

Skegness Log: 23-05-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 1005  E  Hit FM, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) E200  1904km
 87.6 1007 MRC Médi 1, Settat/Regraga (cho) 1281 MEDI_1__  2331km
 87.9 1009 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Rabat (SNRT) (rsz) 1202 SNRT-Int  2212km
 87.8 1013  E  Onda Valencina, Valencina de la Concepción (AND-SE) E011  1818km
 90.0 1016 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Casablanca/Merchiche (gcb) 1202 SNRT-Int  2279km
 95.3 1018 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al Amazighia, Casablanca/Merchiche (gcb) 1203 SNRT-Amz  2279km
 92.5 1019 MRC Atlantic Radio, Casablanca/Merchiche (gcb) 1119 ATLANTIC  2279km
 98.6 1020 MRC SNRT Quran, Casablanca/Merchiche (gcb) 1204 SNRT-Cor. 51dBf  2279km
 99.2 1021 MRC Luxe Radio, Casablanca/Merchiche (gcb) 111A __X_____  2279km
 99.4 1025  ?  UNID,  Arabic phone in
 88.2 1026 MRC Medradio, Casablanca/Merchiche (gcb) OM, as web  2279km
 88.0 1039  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Punta Umbría (AND-H) E215 RNE_5-H_  1862km
 87.6 1040  E  COPE, Badajoz/Cansa Burros (EXT-BA) ID heard just before fade  1683km
 89.6 1042 POR RFM, Faro/São Miguel-Goldra (agv) 8231   1893km
 93.4 1043 POR RDP Antena 2, Faro/São Miguel-Goldra (agv) Classical music, as web  1893km
 96.1 1046 POR Rádio Comercial, Faro/São Miguel-Goldra (agv) Portuguese pops, as web  1893km


** Personal Skegness 'First'

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

Aerial:
Körner 9.2, 5.5 metres above the ground. QTH is 3 metres above sea level

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical or horizontal, etc.

New Personal Scatter Distance Record!

Click to listen!
Band 2 General Scatter:
107.6 0826  D  Antenne Thüringen, Remda (Saalfeld) (thü) Ads, ID and pop song. First time
               via scatter!  788km


This was received via scatter today and becomes a new record distance for me via this mode.

I don't have a video to show but the identification was heard and the reception was also confirmed by checking the songs heard against the station's web stream. I will gt a video next time as I am sure this will reappear in the near future.

Antenne Thuringen can be heard peaking noise free on scatter when visiting the nearby high spot of Kenwick Top in the Lincolnshire Wolds, bridging a distance of 817 km (508 miles)!

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

Aerial:
Körner 9.2, 5.5 metres above the ground. QTH is 3 metres above sea level

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical or horizontal, etc.

Thursday, 22 May 2014

Skegness Log: 22-05-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 88.0 1208  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Punta Umbría (AND-H) E215 RNE_5-H_  1862km
 88.2 1209  E  Radio Católica, Almonaster la Real (AND-H) A00B. Religious ranting  1783km
 87.7 1227 POR RDP Antena 1, Serra do Mendro (bej) OM, as web  1770km
 88.9 1240 POR RDP Antena 2, Banática/Almada (lis) Pizzicato violin, as web  1767km **
 87.8 1244 MRC Atlantic Radio, Tétouan/Hafa Safa (ttn) Maria Magdalena pop song, as web 
               2014km
 90.6 1244 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Tétouan/Hafa Safa (ttn) Arabic singing, as web  2014km
 87.9 1250 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Rabat (SNRT) (rsz) 1202 _____Int. English language
               class  2212km
 88.1 1508 ALG Radio Batna, Metlili (5) YL, as web  2033km
 91.2 1510 ALG Radio Biskra, Metlili (5) YL and OM, as web  2033km
 94.4 1512 ALG Chaîne 1, Metlili (5) OM, as web  2033km
 92.1 1518 ALG Radio Ouargla, Ouargla (30) Vocal ID.
               2392km **

 91.1 1524 ALG Radio Djelfa, Sbaa Mokrane (17) Arabic music, as web  2081km
 93.9 1529 ALG Chaîne 2, Aflou (3) OMs, as web  2120km
 87.6 1530 ALG Radio Laghouat, Aflou (3) OM over music, as web  2120km
 87.7 1531 ALG Radio Chlef, Aïn N'sour (48) OMs, as web  1913km
 88.7 1532 ALG Radio Soummam, Akfadou (6) OM, as web  1867km
 89.4 1532 ALG Chaîne 1, Tiaret - Gzoul (14) Husky voiced OM, as web  1976km
 90.2 1533 ALG Chaîne 1, Dirah (10) OM, as 88.7  1915km
 90.7 1534 ALG Chaîne 1, Aflou (3) OM, as 90.2  2120km
 91.8 1535 ALG Chaîne 2, Akfadou (6) Music, as web  1867km
 92.6 1536 ALG Chaîne 1, approx. 50km east of Algiers Prayer, as web  1843km
 94.0 1536 ALG Chaîne 1, Aïn N'sour (48) Prayer, as web  1913km
 95.4 1539 ALG Radio Batna, Batna (5) OMs, as web  2010km **
 96.5 1540 ALG Chaîne 2, Dirah (10) North African music, as web  1915km **
 88.0 1542 ALG Chaîne 2, Tizi Ouzou - Belloua (15) North African music, as web  1848km **
 90.4 1543 ALG Radio Setif, Meghriss (19) OM, as web  1911km **
 91.0 1543 ALG Chaîne 1, Bordj El Bahri (16) OM, as web  1833km
 93.5 1544 ALG Chaîne 1, Meghriss (19) OM, as web  1911km
 98.0 1548 ALG Radio Laghouat, Hassi R'Mel (3) OM and music, as web  2256km **
 87.8 1551 ALG Chaîne 1, Mecheria (45) North African music, as web  2177km **
 89.0 1552 ALG Radio Ghardaia, Berriane (47) OMs, as web  2277km **
 87.6 1558 ALG Chaîne 3, Kef El Akhal (25) French ads, as web  1927km
 90.7 1559 ALG Chaîne 1, Kef El Akhal (25) Ad break, as web  1927km
 89.2 1619 MRC MFM Oriental, Béni-Mellal/Tazerkounte (tda) 1283 __MFM___  2397km
 89.4 1620  E  Cadena 100, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E2CE CAD-100_  1879km
 90.4 1621 POR Antena Sul, Almodôvar/Pico do Mu (bej) 84DE ANT._SUL  1871km
 90.6 1622 POR Rádio Campanário, Vila Viçosa (evo) 80C1 CAMPNARI  1705km
 91.1 1622 POR RDP Antena 2, Serra do Mendro (bej) Classical  1770km
 88.1 1624 POR Rádio Comercial, Monchique/Fóia (agv) 8203 COMRCIAL  1891km
 88.3 1624  E  Canal Fiesta Radio, Tajo de las Escobas/Sierra de la Luna (AND-CA) E331 ______T_ 
               1951km
 88.9 1625 POR RDP Antena 1, Monchique/Fóia (agv) Vocal ID  1891km
 92.0 1631 POR Rádio Comercial, Serra do Mendro (bej) 8203 COMRCIAL  1770km
107.6 1708  E  UNID,  E06B ROCIANA_
106.9 1709  E  UNID,  E287
105.5 1710  E  Cadena 100, Sevilla (AND-SE) E2CE CAD-100_  1821km
104.6 1713 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al Amazighia, Rabat (SNRT) (rsz) 1203  2212km
104.8 1713  E  Canal Fiesta Radio, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) Jingle ID  1904km
103.5 1714  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) E211
               RNE_1___  1904km
 89.9 1716 POR RFM, Arrábida (set) 8231 __RFM___  1778km
 88.4 1717  I  RAI Radio1, UNID low powered relay, but which one? 5401 __ADIO__ **
 87.6 1718 TUN RTT Radio Tataouine, Zarzis (med) 7205 TATAOUIN  2342km
 87.7 1723  I  Radio Italia Anni 60, Itri (lt) 5495 R.ITALO_  1643km
 87.8 1723  I  R101, Tramonti/Monte Sant'Angelo (sa) 5215 _R_101__  1755km
 87.5 1724  I  Radio Capital, Vittoria/Contrada Cava Giumenta (rg) 5219 _CAPITAL  2111km
 89.5 1727  I  RAI Radio1, Bologna/Colle Barbiano (RAI) (bo) 5201 56dB!!!  1256km
 88.1 1728  I  RAI GR Parlamento, Milano/Corso Sempione, 27-Torre Rai (mi) 5206 RAIGRPR_ 60dB.
               Strong  1065km **
 88.4 1729  I  Radio Globo, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na) 5E29 _GLOBO__ 67dB!!! 
               1730km **
 89.4 1730  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Perdifumo (sa) 5335 KISSKISS  1811km
 91.7 1731  I  RAI Radio2, Bologna/Colle Barbiano (RAI) (bo) 5202 __RAI___  1256km
108.0 1732  I  Radio Studio Emme, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na) 5023 _STUDIO_,
               etc.  1730km
 89.2 1734  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Valstagna/San Martino (vi) Presumed site.
               5264 *_RDS_*_  1149km **
102.0 1734  I  Radio 105 Network, Seven sites listed 5211 **
 97.3 1735  I  UNID,  50FE
 87.5 1737  I  Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na)
               5220 R_ITALIA  1730km
 87.5 1737  I  Radio Subasio, Sigillo/Monte Columeo (Monte Cucco) (pg) 53FD SUBASIO_  1423km
 88.0 1738  I  Radio Maria, Augusta (sr) 51CC R.MARIA_  2109km
 90.7 1739 TUN RTT Radio Culture, Zarzis (med) OM sounding like an Arabic version of Zippy
               from Rainbow, as web  2342km
 88.0 1741 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Djebel Zaghouan (zag) 7211 ZITOUNA_  2016km  
 89.9 1742 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Sfax/El-Ghraba (sfa) 7211 ZITOUNA_  2183km  
 90.2 1743 TUN Radio Zitouna, Unlisted site OM, as 89.9. Definitely Not Radio Jeunes
 92.0 1745 TUN RTT R.Tunis Chaîne Int., Djebel Zaghouan (zag) 7202 RTCI____  2016km
 93.0 1745 TUN RTT Radio Jeunes, Sfax/El-Ghraba (sfa) Arabic YL, as web  2183km
 87.7 1749 TUN RTT Radio Culture, Djebel Trozza (kai) 7212 CULTURE_  2086km
 88.2 1749  I  RAI Radio1, Sant’Antioco/Sa Scrocca Manna (RAI) (ci) 5201  1681km
 88.5 1751 TUN RTT Radio Sfax, Kerkennah (sfa) OM, as web  2222km
 89.5 1752 TUN RTT Radio Culture, Bizerte/Djebel Kochbata (biz) Arabic music, as web  1933km
 89.6 1753  I  Radio Planargia, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (or) 56F9  1576km
 90.6 1753 TUN Shems FM, Monastir (mon) Jingle ID  2100km
 91.0 1754 TUN MFM Tunisie, Ksour-Essaf (mah) Phone in, as web  2142km
 91.3 1754  I  RAI Radio1, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (RAI) (or) 5201 __RAI___
               _RADIO1_  1575km
 91.7 1755  I  Radio Margherita, Sassari/Monte Oro (ss) 5242 MARGHRTA  1513km
 92.1 1757  I  RTL 102.5, Rocca di Papa/Monte Cavo (rm) Pops, as 92.4  1569km
 92.4 1757  I  RTL 102.5, Rocca di Papa/Monte Cavo (rm) 5218 RTL102.5  1568km
 92.5 1758 TUN RTT Radio Jeunes, Ksour-Essaf (mah) 7201 JEUNES__  2142km **
 92.7 1759  I  RAI Radio2, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (RAI) (ca) 5202 __RAI___ (RADIO2)  1678km
 93.0 1759  I  Radio 105 Network, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (ca) 5211  1678km
 93.9 1802 TUN RTT Radio Jeunes, Zarzis (med) French YL, as web  2342km
 88.3 1803 ALG Radio El Tarf, Oum Ali (36) Distorted OMs, as web  1934km
 89.4 1804 TUN Jawhara FM, Kairouan=Al-Qayrawan (kai) 7210 JAWHARA_  2089km
 90.5 1805  I  Radio Studio 2000, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (or) 5499  1576km
 93.3 1806  I  RAI Radio2, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (RAI) (or) 5202 __RAI___
               _RADIO2_  1575km
 93.8 1807  I  Radio Internazionale, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (ca) 56D7 ____RN__  1678km
 87.5 1808  I  Radio Planet Music, Santa Flavia/Monte Solunto (pa) 507E  1959km
 95.2 1808 TUN Cap FM, Unlisted site 7222 CAP_FM__ **
 88.2 1809  I  Radiolina, Capoterra/Poggio dei Pini (ca) 544B RD____NA. Cagliari ads  1689km **
 88.4 1809  I  Radio Margherita, Ravanusa/Poggio Rotondo (ag) 5242  2057km
 90.4 1810  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Villasimius/Monte Minniminni (ca) 5264 *_RDS_*_ 
               1700km
 88.2 1811 TUN RTT Radio Kef, Djebel ech Chambi (kas) 7208 KEF_____  2100km
 90.0 1811 TUN RTT Radio Kef, Medhrene (elk) 7208  1991km **
 90.3 1812 TUN RTT Radio Kef, Aïn Draham/Djebel Al-Bi'r (jen) Jingle ID and music, as 90.0 
               1934km
 87.9 1814  I  R101, Sant'Antioco/Località Batteria/Monte Cresia (ci) 5215 _R_101__  1684km
 88.0 1814  I  Radiolina, Sassari/Monte Oro (ss) 544B RDIOLINA  1513km
 89.9 1815  I  Radio Studio One, Cagliari/Palazzo Griffa (ca) 5495 ST__IONE  1688km
 98.0 1815  I  Radiolina, Cagliari/Castello (ca) 544B RDIOLINA  1688km
 87.5 1820  I  Radio Maria, Sant'Antioco/Località Batteria/Monte Cresia (ci) 51CC R.MARIA_ 
               1684km
 87.6 1821  I  R101, Cagliari/Palazzo Griffa (ca) Ads, as 87.9  1688km
 91.7 1822  I  R101, Four sites listed 5215 _R_101__ **
 92.2 1822  I  Radio 24, Villacidro/Loc. Giarranas (md) 5245 RADIO_24  1652km **
 88.7 1823 TUN Shems FM, Gafsa/Djebel Biadha (gaf) 7213 SHEM____  2197km
 91.8 1825 TUN RTT Radio Gafsa, Gafsa/Djebel Biadha (gaf) Arabic music, as web  2197km
 92.9 1826 TUN Mosaïque FM, Kef-Errand (nab) Arabic pops, as web. Jingle ID  1988km
 93.4 1827 TUN RTT R.Tunis Chaîne Int., Aïn Draham/Djebel Al-Bi'r (jen) 7202  1934km
 95.0 1827 TUN RTT Radio Jeunes, Gafsa/Djebel Biadha (gaf) Phone in, as web  2197km **
 97.5 1830 ALG Chaîne 2, Doukhane (12) Arabic football comentary, as web  2071km
 87.9 1832 ALG Radio Tébessa, Doukhane (12) YL, as web  2071km
 89.2 1833  I  Radio Iglesias, Carloforte (ci) 50FA IGLESIAS  1673km
 89.8 1834 TUN RTT Radio Nationale, Kef-Errand (nab) Arabic OM on phone, as web  1988km **
 89.0 1837 TUN RTT Radio Sfax, Skhira (sfa) 7204 SFAX____  2230km
 91.5 1840 TUN Radio Cap FM, Kef-Errand (nab) Lively Arabic pops, as web  1988km **
 92.2 1841 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Gorraa (bej) 7211 ZITOUNA_  1976km
 93.3 1841 TUN RTT Radio Culture, Gabès (gab) Instrumental Arabic music, as web  2284km
 93.7 1842 TUN Shems FM, Sousse (sou) 7213 SHEMS_FM  2087km
 93.8 1843 TUN RTT R.Tunis Chaîne Int., Bizerte/Djebel Kochbata (biz) 7202 RTCI____  1933km
 94.0 1843 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Djebel Trozza (kai) Koran, as web  2086km
 94.2 1844 ALG Chaîne 1, Doukhane (12) Echoey OM, as web  2071km **
 94.3 1844 TUN RTT Radio Nationale, Djebel Zaghouan (zag) 7207 NATIONAL  2016km
107.0 1845 TUN Shems FM, Kairouan=Al-Qayrawan (kai) 7213 SHEMS_FM  2089km
103.0 1847 TUN RTT Radio Culture, Sfax/El-Ghraba (sfa) 7212 CULTURE_  2183km
101.3 1848 TUN RTT Radio Culture, Maktar/Souk Jomaa (kas) 7212 CULTURE_  2039km
100.4 1849 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Aïn Draham/Djebel Al-Bi'r (jen) Koran, as web  1934km **
 98.5 1850 TUN RTT Radio Monastir, Sidi Abdessalem (nab) OM on phone, as web  2015km **
 97.8 1851 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Maktar/Souk Jomaa (kas) 7211 ZITOUNA_  2039km
 97.2 1857 ALG Chaîne 2, Kef El Akhal (25) Arabic football commentary, as web  1927km


** Personal Skegness 'First'. Underlined stations are unidentified.

The first good Es opening of the season, starting with fleeting appearances of Spain around midday. Portugal and Morocco soon followed. Then there was a decent opening into Algeria with a few new ones. Italy popped up late afternoon and then there was a good opening to Tunisia.

Italy reached an impressive 67 dBf at 1729 courtesy of Radio Globo from Ercolano-Vesuvio on 88.4. This is the strongest signal I have observed so far with the GTK software. Again, no boost was used.

I thought I might have had Libya once or twice while Tunisia was dominating. 87.9 and 97.7 had Arabic stations which did not seem to be from Algeria or Tunisia. I ruled them all out with web parallels but, as luck would have it, the Libyan web streams did not work.

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.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Skegness Log: 21-05-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 1019  E  Europa FM, Unsure which site E2ED. Unattended. 16dBf
 87.6 1109 ALG Radio Laghouat, Aflou (3) YL, as web  2120km
 90.7 1111 ALG Chaîne 1, Aflou (3) YL, as web  2120km
 88.1 1118  E  Onda Cero, Chinchilla de Monte Aragón (CAM-AB) E2EE ONDACERO  1590km
 87.7 1119  E  Radio Canela, Sierra de Carrascoy (MUR-MU) 5158  1708km
 87.9 1127  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Cambil/Sierra Almadén (AND-J) E215 RNE___J_  1740km
 88.2 1133 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Tata (ges) Arabic music, as web  2691km
 87.6 1159  E  COPE, Granada (AND-GR) E2CA __COPE__ Granada in radiotext  1800km
 88.0 1204  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA)
               E215 RNE_5-MA  1879km
 87.7 1205  E  Europa FM, Alcalá de Henares (MAD-M) E5ED  1439km


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.

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Skegness Log: 20-05-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.6 1734 MRC Médi 1, Settat/Regraga (cho) French OM, as web. Fleeting appearances and very weak.   2331km
 87.9 1736 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Rabat (SNRT) (rsz) French OM on phone to YL, as web  2212km
 87.7 1912 ALG Radio Chlef, Aïn N'sour (48) Arabic music, as web  1913km
 90.8 1913 ALG Radio Relizane, Aïn N'sour (48) Arabic OM, as web  1913km
 87.6 1915 ALG Radio Laghouat, Aflou (3) Presume. Web stream down  2120km


A weak and intermittent Es opening to North Africa today

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.

Monday, 19 May 2014

Skegness Log: 19-05-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 88.4 1741 MRC MFM Oriental, Taourirt (otl) 1283 __MFM___  2102km
 88.1 1743  E  Onda Cero, Chinchilla de Monte Aragón (CAM-AB) E2EE ONDACERO  1590km
 88.4 1743  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Caravaca de la Cruz (MUR-MU) E212  1680km
 91.3 1745 MRC SNRT Al Amazighia, Unlisted site 1203 SNRT-Amz **
 87.9 1747  E  Plus FM, Unknown location. plusfmradio.es 3000 PLUS_FM_ **
 89.1 1748  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Jumilla (MUR-MU) E211 RNE_1__.  1642km **
 89.2 1750  E  COPE, Lorca (MUR-MU) E2CA __COPE__. Murcia ID  1729km
 89.4 1750  E  Cadena Dial, Yecla (MUR-MU) E274 YECLA___ CAD-DIAL  1622km
 91.0 1752  E  Radio María, Murcia/Pico del Relojero (MUR-MU) 509B _R.MARIA  1698km **
 92.1 1753  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Sierra de Carrascoy (MUR-MU) E216 RNE_5-MA  1706km
 92.1 1754  E  Metropolis FM, Unlisted site E0D8 METROFM_ Metropolis FM de Murcia ID **
 92.9 1755  E  Onda Cero, Murcia/Pico del Relojero (MUR-MU) E2EE ONDACERO  1698km
 93.5 1756  E  Cadena 100, Lorca (MUR-MU) E2CE _CAD-100  1731km
 87.7 1757  E  Radio Canela, Sierra de Carrascoy (MUR-MU) 5158  1708km
 87.9 1758 MRC Medina FM, Unlisted site 111D MEDINAFM **
 89.9 1802  E  Big FM, San Fulgencio (VAL-A) 1000 _Big_FM_  1674km
 90.5 1803  E  SER, Orihuela/Cabezo Hurchillo (VAL-A) E0FE __SER___ ORIHUELA. 51dBf  1682km
 89.1 1807  E  Bay Radio, Orihuela/Sierra de Hurchillo (VAL-A) E985 BayRadio  1682km **
 91.8 1809  E  SER, Mojácar (AND-AL) E239 __SER.._ 53dBf  1789km
 93.2 1810  E  esRadio, Sierra de Carrascoy (MUR-MU) E4F5 liidad (Corrupted PS)  1708km **
 93.8 1811  E  Onda Cero, Torrevieja (VAL-A) E222 ONDA____  1686km **
 87.5 1812  E  Spektra FM, Torrent/Perentxissa=Calicanto (VAL-V) E0F0 SPEKTR__  1527km **
 87.5 1813  E  Revive FM, Murcia/Puente Tocinos (MUR-MU) E022 DESICA__  1689km
 87.7 1813  E  Radio Torre Pacheco, Torre-Pacheco (MUR-MU) E079 RADIO___ TORRE___ PACHECO_ 
               1717km
 88.3 1814  E  COPE, Santomera/Cabezos Ásperos (MUR-MU) (Presumed - ??)  A21F Beni__.m
               (Corrupted PS)  1676km

 89.2 1815  E  Kiss FM, Alicante/Castillo San Fernando (VAL-A) E2EC KISS_FM_  1647km
 89.4 1815  E  COPE, Cartagena (MUR-MU) E2CA __COPE__   1728km
 90.4 1818  E  Radio Rusa, Alicante=Alacant (VAL-A) A0BF Russian songs.  1647km **
 91.7 1819  E  SER, Alicante/Castillo San Fernando (VAL-A) EEAA  1647km
 91.1 1822  I  RAI Radio1, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (RAI) (ag) 5201 __RAI___ _RADIO1_  2007km
 88.0 1823  I  Radio 105 Network, Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (tp) 5211 _105_FM_  1949km
 87.6 1824  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Benidorm/Serra Gelada (VAL-A) E211 RNE_1___. Guessing this is
               the Benidorm tx  1623km

 87.9 1825  I  R101, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (ag) 5215 _R_1____  2007km
 88.6 1826  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Confrides/Aitana (VAL-A) E212 RNE-CLAS  1613km
 89.0 1827  I  RAI Radio1, Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (RAI) (tp) 5201 __RAI___ _RADIO1_  1949km
 89.2 1828  I  RAI Radio1, Presume low power Sicilia tx OM on phone, as 89.0 **
 89.6 1830  I  Radio Cuore (Hobby Network), Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (tp) Jingle ID  1949km **
 88.0 1832  I  Radio Maria, Augusta (sr) Tentative site. 51CC R.MARIA_  2109km **


** Personal Skegness 'First'

Almost an hour's worth of sporadic E this evening to Spain, Morocco and a tiny bit of Sicily.

I have listed presumed sites and anything unidentified/tentative in bold lettering.

Here is the log in frequency order.

 87.5 1812  E  Spektra FM, Torrent/Perentxissa=Calicanto (VAL-V) E0F0 SPEKTR__  1527km **
 87.5 1813  E  Revive FM, Murcia/Puente Tocinos (MUR-MU) E022 DESICA__  1689km
 87.6 1824  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Benidorm/Serra Gelada (VAL-A) E211 RNE_1___. Guessing this is
               the Benidorm tx  1623km
 87.7 1757  E  Radio Canela, Sierra de Carrascoy (MUR-MU) 5158  1708km
 87.7 1813  E  Radio Torre Pacheco, Torre-Pacheco (MUR-MU) E079 RADIO___ TORRE___ PACHECO_ 
               1717km
 87.9 1747  E  Plus FM, Unknown location. plusfmradio.es 3000 PLUS_FM_ **
 87.9 1758 MRC Medina FM, Unlisted site 111D MEDINAFM **
 87.9 1825  I  R101, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (ag) 5215 _R_1____  2007km
 88.0 1823  I  Radio 105 Network, Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (tp) 5211 _105_FM_  1949km
 88.0 1832  I  Radio Maria, Augusta (sr) Tentative site. 51CC R.MARIA_  2109km **
 88.1 1743  E  Onda Cero, Chinchilla de Monte Aragón (CAM-AB) E2EE ONDACERO  1590km
 88.3 1814  E  COPE, Santomera/Cabezos Ásperos (MUR-MU) (Presumed - ??)  A21F Beni__.m
               (Corrupted PS)  1676km
 88.4 1741 MRC MFM Oriental, Taourirt (otl) 1283 __MFM___  2102km
 88.4 1743  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Caravaca de la Cruz (MUR-MU) E212  1680km
 88.6 1826  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Confrides/Aitana (VAL-A) E212 RNE-CLAS  1613km
 89.0 1827  I  RAI Radio1, Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (RAI) (tp) 5201 __RAI___ _RADIO1_  1949km
 89.1 1748  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Jumilla (MUR-MU) E211 RNE_1__.  1642km **
 89.1 1807  E  Bay Radio, Orihuela/Sierra de Hurchillo (VAL-A) E985 BayRadio  1682km **
 89.2 1750  E  COPE, Lorca (MUR-MU) E2CA __COPE__. Murcia ID  1729km
 89.2 1815  E  Kiss FM, Alicante/Castillo San Fernando (VAL-A) E2EC KISS_FM_  1647km
 89.2 1828  I  RAI Radio1, Presume low power Sicilia tx OM on phone, as 89.0 **
 89.4 1750  E  Cadena Dial, Yecla (MUR-MU) E274 YECLA___ CAD-DIAL  1622km
 89.4 1815  E  COPE, Cartagena (MUR-MU) E2CA __COPE__   1728km
 89.6 1830  I  Radio Cuore (Hobby Network), Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (tp) Jingle ID  1949km **
 89.9 1802  E  Big FM, San Fulgencio (VAL-A) 1000 _Big_FM_  1674km
 90.4 1818  E  Radio Rusa, Alicante=Alacant (VAL-A) A0BF Russian songs.  1647km **
 90.5 1803  E  SER, Orihuela/Cabezo Hurchillo (VAL-A) E0FE __SER___ ORIHUELA. 51dBf  1682km
 91.0 1752  E  Radio María, Murcia/Pico del Relojero (MUR-MU) 509B _R.MARIA  1698km **
 91.1 1822  I  RAI Radio1, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (RAI) (ag) 5201 __RAI___ _RADIO1_  2007km
 91.3 1745 MRC SNRT Al Amazighia, Unlisted site 1203 SNRT-Amz **
 91.7 1819  E  SER, Alicante/Castillo San Fernando (VAL-A) EEAA  1647km
 91.8 1809  E  SER, Mojácar (AND-AL) E239 __SER.._ 53dBf  1789km
 92.1 1753  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Sierra de Carrascoy (MUR-MU) E216 RNE_5-MA  1706km
 92.1 1754  E  Metropolis FM, Unlisted site E0D8 METROFM_ Metropolis FM de Murcia ID **
 92.9 1755  E  Onda Cero, Murcia/Pico del Relojero (MUR-MU) E2EE ONDACERO  1698km
 93.2 1810  E  esRadio, Sierra de Carrascoy (MUR-MU) E4F5 liidad (Corrupted PS)  1708km **
 93.5 1756  E  Cadena 100, Lorca (MUR-MU) E2CE _CAD-100  1731km
 93.8 1811  E  Onda Cero, Torrevieja (VAL-A) E222 ONDA____  1686km **


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.

Blog Updates

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.

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.

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.

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. 
My guess is that there will be better and more appropriate software in the future, plus you may already know an easier way to accomplish the above and develop a simpler or better system than the one I have described here.


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.