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Monday, 25 August 2014

Skegness Log: 25-08-14 (MW)

 738 2200 CHN Xinjiang RGD 738 Zonghe, Ürümqi/Hutubi-XJTS631 (XJ) Presumed with Chinese time
              signal Vweak  6042 km
1359 2200 CHN Chinese time signal Vweak


Yes, these are mostly time signals I can hear, often the only recognisable things which are able to penetrate through the QRM, but things should improve as the season progresses.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Sunday, 24 August 2014

Back To Medium Wave DXing!

Around this time of year I turn some of my radio attentions towards the medium wave band, though I have never started quite this early. Usually it's mid September or even October when I get around to constructing my flag antenna. I just fancied trying things a little earlier this year as we are in a new property and I wanted to know if the band was quiet here. Walking around the garden, listening to a portable radio, my Degen DE1103, showed that the band is very quiet indeed. Will a flag be equally as quiet though?

This season I was thinking about running two flag antennas. One for the North American continent and one for the far east. One corner of the garden seemed perfect for these flags and it was my plan to devise some system where I can have a movable flag. Two pairs of supports could be fixed along two fences which would allow me to lift the flag out of one set and into another. That was the plan.

Nervously, I began to construct the supports for the flag and fixed them to the fence. "Nervous"? Yes, very. It's because I have had so many problems with neighbours in the past that I have become really conscious of my hobby and everything about it when it comes to almost any aspect hobby that I begin to look over my shoulders to see who might be watching. Accounts of my many problems on this matter are documented elsewhere in this blog.

Back to the construction. As I fixed the supports for the North American flag to the fence I spotted something I had missed. A telephone wire, coming down from a telegraph pole outside the front of a neighbouring property and into the roof, was going to be right in the way of the North American flag. This flag would be ten feet high off the ground and would actually touch the cable, running parallel with it for a couple of metres. Would this telephone cable cause any interference? I placed my DE1103 near the wire and listened with disappointment as the radio gave out a horrible growl, right across the whole of medium wave. Bang goes the North American flag!

Undeterred, I proceeded with the construction of the far east flag, which would be about four or five metres away from the telephone cable. I had this up and running in no time and went to the shack to make the final connections. Switching on the Perseus revealed a superbly quiet medium wave band. Long wave was also fabulously electrically quiet. There was no need to insert my ferrite chokes as I was forced to at the previous address due to the excessive electrical noise I experienced there.

Time for a quick tune around the medium wave band. I adjusted the variable resistor to get a null on 1026 kHz, the frequency of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. This transmitter is roughly on the back end of the flag's 'beam' and I managed to eliminate it completely, leaving what I presumed to be Tabriz, Iran, completely dominating the frequency. 1521 had a clear signal from CRI, Urumqi, China. This was actually producing a stronger signal than was my local station, BBC Radio Lincolnshire on 1368!

So far so good. Fingers crossed now that conditions pick up and give us all some good medium wave DX.

Friday, 22 August 2014

Skegness Log: 22-08-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 1156 SRB Radio Novi Sad 1, Novi Sad/Iriski Venac (Voj) D2F3 RTV_RNS1  1668km
 88.6 1156 HNG Lánchíd Rádió, Siklós (Bar) B99F LANCHID_  1523km
 90.0 1157 SRB Radio Marija, Novi Sad (Voj) 61CC R.MARIJA  1659km
 90.2 1157 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Nagykanizsa/Újudvar (Zal) B203 KOSSUTH_  1398km
 90.6 1158 AUT Ö1, Rechnitz/Hirschenstein (bur) A201 __OE_1__  1307km
 91.6 1158 SRB Fokus Radio, Smederevo (Srb) D288 FOKUS___  1768km
 92.2 1158 SRB Radio 021, Novi Sad/Petrovaradin (Voj) D084  1662km
 92.5 1158 SRB Radio B92, Beograd/Torlak (Srb) D25C __B_92__  1739km
 93.4 1159 SRB Radio Boom 93, Pozarevac/Cacalica (Srb) 606F BO___9__ Jingle ID  1788km
 94.3 1200 HNG Ozone FM, Baja / Gabonatároló (grain silo) (BaK) B355 OZONE_FM. Jingle ID 
               1540km
 95.2 1201 SRB Radio AS FM, Backa Topola (Voj) D3AF _AS_FM__  1608km **
 95.8 1201 SRB Radio AS FM, Novi Sad (Voj) YL news over music, as 95.2  1659km **
 97.8 1201 SRB Radio Trend, Backa Topola (Voj) D0EE trend___  1608km **
 87.9 1202 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Rechnitz/Hirschenstein (bur) A203 __OE_3__  1307km
 88.4 1204 HNG Nyugat Rádió, Szombathely / T-Com tower (Vas) Jingle ID  1329km
 88.5 1205 SRB Radio AS FM, Vrbas (Voj) D3AF _AS_FM__  1625km
 89.4 1205 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Csávoly (BaK) B201 _PETOFI_  1551km
 87.6 1208 MNE Antena M, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) 30FE ANTENA_M  1841km
 88.6 1209 MNE Radio D, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) D450  1841km
 88.9 1209 SRB Radio Beograd 1, Subotica/Crveno Selo (Voj) D2FF RTS_BG_1  1591km
 91.3 1210 ROU Pro FM, Timisoara/Urseni (TM) E059 PRO_FM__  1715km

 92.6 1212 GRC Akroama FM 92.6, Alexandreia/Meliki (Agathia) (cmc-ima) Pops. Thanks Thanos
               Stauroupoli for help  2176km **

 87.6 1218 GRC Laikos 87.6, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) 00A8 CHALKI__ __8_7_6_  2208km
 88.0 1218 GRC NERIT 1 proto programma, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) 1201  2208km
 89.0 1221 GRC 89 Rainbow, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) 102A  2208km

 89.4 1222 GRC ARENA 89,4, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) Greek phone in. Thanks Thanos
               Stauroupoli for help  2208km
 **
 90.2 1227 SRB Radio K4 Shqip, Goles (Kos) US accented OM ID - "The No Boundaries Station,
               Radio K4"  1927km **

 90.4 1227 GRC 904 Aristera sta FM, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) Greek YL. Thanks Thanos
               Stauroupoli for help  2208km
 **
 90.5 1228 MKD Makedonsko Radio 2 (Vtora prog.), Stip/Turtel (EA) Jingle ID  2071km
 91.6 1229 GRC Diva Radio, Kozani/Metaxas (wmc-koz) Soft Greek music. Thanks Thanos
               Stauroupoli for help  2187km
 **
 93.3 1229 MKD Makedonsko Radio 1 - Radio Skopje, Stip/Turtel (EA) 4201  2071km
 91.1 1230 CZE CRo Radiozurnál, Ceské Budejovice/Klet - CRa (JC) 232F  1084km
 87.6 1233 SRB Bum Radio, Kraljevo (Srb) 8000 *B___M__  1821km
 87.6 1235 BUL BNR Horizont, Lom/RRS Lom (mnt) 8210 __BNR___ HORIZONT  1969km
 87.5 1239 SRB Fokus Radio, Sabac/Cer (Srb) D288 FOKUS___ RADIO___  1685km
 88.5 1243 ROU Pro FM, Resita/Semenic (CS) E059 PRO_FM__  1801km
 89.1 1244 SRB Radio TDI Central, Cacak (Srb) 3034   1789km
 91.1 1245 HNG Sirius Rádió, Kiskunfélegyháza/toronyház (BaK) B955 _V_G__A_ SUVE__S_
               __VETOS_ __SKOLS_   1563km **
 87.6 1246 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Györ /  Szabadhegy (Gyo) B203 KOSSUT__  1368km
 87.9 1246 HNG Európa Rádió, Szeged / Rókus, Telekom tower (Cso) B077_RADIO__  1610km
 88.3 1246 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Mezökovácsháza (Bek) OM, as 87.6  1648km **
 89.3 1247 ROU Radio Europa FM, Arad (AR) E299 EUROPAFM  1685km
 90.3 1248 ROU Radio Trinitas, Timisoara (TM) E24D ______AS  1713km
 91.6 1248 HNG Dankó Rádió, Szentes (Cso) B206 _DANKO__  1596km
 92.0 1248 AUT Ö1, Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie) A201 __OE_1__  1247km
 92.9 1250 AUT Radio Arabella (Wien), Wien 4/Donauturm (wie) AC56 ARAB__LA  1254km **
 93.4 1250 HNG Radio Dabas, Dabas (Pes) B058 DABAS___  1500km
 93.5 1251 SVK Rádio Lumen, Stúrovo/Jesenského 68 (NI) 5343 __ME____  1426km **
 93.6 1251 HNG Gong Rádió, Nagykörös / Water tower (Pes) B996  1537km **
 94.3 1251 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Szolnok / Besenyszögi út (JNS) B203 KO____H_  1558km
 94.3 1252 SVK Fun Rádio, Bratislava/Kamzík (BA) 5340 FUNRADIO  1300km
 95.2 1253 ROU Radio Trinitas, Faget (TM) E24D  1762km
 97.5 1253 HNG Mária Rádió, Dabas (Pes) Presumed with typical Maria religious monotony 
               1500km **
 97.9 1254 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Karcag (JNS) B203 KOSSUTH_  1597km **
 98.5 1254 ROU Pro FM, Petrosani/Parâng (HD) E059 __,5_F__  1877km
 98.8 1254 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Szentes (Cso) B201 ______I_  1596km
101.8 1255 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Sibiu/Paltinis (SB) EE00 RRACTUAL  1890km
102.4 1255 ROU Radio Vocea Sperantei, Ineu (AR) E2F8  1707km
103.7 1256 SVK SRo 4 Rádio_FM, Stúrovo/Modrý vrch (NI) 5202 RADIO_FM  1419km **
 88.1 1257 HNG InfoRádió, Budapest - Nagyvárad tér (Bud) B990. OM info. Budapest in elsewhere 
               1468km **
 88.3 1257 HNG Maria R, Komárom or Cegléd B1CC
 89.5 1257 HNG Music FM, Budapest - Széchenyi-hegy (Bud) B418 MUSIC_FM  1460km
 89.9 1257 HNG Dankó Rádió, Komádi / Heréskert (HaB) B206 Presumed site  1649km **
 91.0 1257 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Bihor/Vârful Curcubata Mare (BH) EE00
               RRACTUAL  1760km
 91.2 1257 SVK SRo 1 Rádio Slovensko, Nitra/Zobor (NI) 5201 _SRO_1__  1356km **
 91.7 1257 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Stúrovo/Vrch Belá (NI) 5560 REGINA__  1416km
 92.1 1257 SVK Rádio SiTy, Galanta/ul. Matúskovská cesta s silo (TT) Web address given and
               pops  1341km **
 92.4 1258 ROU Pro FM, Sibiu/Paltinis (SB) E059  1890km **
 92.5 1258 HNG Magyar Katolikus Rádió, Esztergom / Aranyhegy I. (KoE) B0AA KATRADIO  1428km **
 92.7 1258 SVK Rádio Expres, Nové Zámky or Zarnovica 521D ESPRES__ **
 93.6 1259 CZE CRo Brno, Hodonín/Babí lom (JM) 2A0F R-BRNO__  1252km **
 96.1 1300 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Oradea=Nagyvárad (BH) Vocal ID  1677km
 97.1 1300 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Miskolc / Avas (BAZ) B203 KOSSUTH_  1541km
 88.1 1302 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Petrosani/Parâng (HD) EE00  1877km
 88.2 1302 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Lucenec/Blatný vrch (BB) 5960 __EGINA_  1464km
 89.0 1302 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Debrecen / Pallag (HaB) B201 ____OFI_  1626km **
 89.4 1303 ROU Magic FM, Cluj-Napoca (CJ) E210 MAGIC_FM  1798km
 90.7 1303 HNG MR 3 Bartók Rádió, Kékes (Hev) B202 _BARTOK_  1504km
 91.7 1304 ROU RFI Romania, Cluj-Napoca/Feleac (CJ) E22C  1805km
 88.6 1307 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Rosnava/Dievcenská skala (KE) 5D60  1499km
 89.1 1307 ROU Pro FM, Târgu Mures (MS) E059 PRO_FM__  1877km

 89.0 1310 GRC Radio Drininoupoli, Ioannina/Liggiades (epi-ioa) Commercial break, including
               religious ad. Thanks Thanos Stauroupoli for help  2159km
 **
 89.1 1310 SVK SRo 1 Rádio Slovensko, Stará Lubovna/Kotník (PO) 5201  1472km
 87.6 1322 GRC Radio Stagon, Kalampaka/Koromilia (the-tri) 6000 __STAGON  2198km **

 89.2 1322 GRC Rhythmos FM, Kalampaka/Koromilia (the-tri) Dance pops. Thanks Thanos
               Stauroupoli for help  2198km
 **
 89.0 1325 ALB New Planet Radio 89 FM, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) 5400  1964km
 88.3 1326 GRC Energy 88.3, Veria/Rahi (cmc-ima) 1083 Energy jingle  2165km
 90.2 1327 GRC Pavlios Logos, Veria/Rahi (cmc-ima) OMs, as web  2165km
 89.1 1330 GRC Kozmos, Kozani/Metaxas (wmc-koz) Kozmos ID. Thanks Thanos Stauroupoli for help
               2187km **

 88.2 1334 ALB Radio 7, Fier (fie) 4D7F  1999km
 88.1 1343 GRC Radio Enigma, Florina/Kleidi (wmc-flo) Greek pops. Thank you Thanos Stauroupoli
               for help  2111km **

 87.9 1348 GRC Kosmos, Patra/Panahaiko (wgr-akh) Presume Patra tx. Kosmos jingle ID. Thanks
               to Janpeter for help  2336km **

 88.5 1349 GRC Iera Mitropoli Patron, Patra (wgr-akh) Choir. Thanks Thanos Stauroupoli
               for help  2332km **

 89.4 1349 GRC Skai Patras, Patra (wgr-akh) Greek OM talk. Thanks Thanos Stauroupoli for help
               2332km **

 88.3 1351 HRV Radio Dalmacija, Dubrovnik/Velika Petka (du) C31E DALMATIA  1756km
 88.1 1356 BIH BH Radio 1, Tuznica (k10) F001  1615km
 89.1 1357 BIH Federalni Radio, Capljina/Crno brdo (hgn) F209 __DIO-__. New PI?  1693km **
 89.5 1357 HRV HRT Radio Dubrovnik, Gruda/Sveti Ilija (du) C315 __DUBROV  1785km
 89.9 1357 MKD Radio Slobodna Makedonija, Ohrid/Gorenicka Cuka (SW) 4223 jan_____ Thanks
               Janpeter van Dijk. for help  2027km 92.5 1359 BIH Federalni Radio, Tuznica (k10)
               F209 RADIO-F.  1615km **
 92.9 1359 ALB Radio Klan, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) 5E0F KLAN____ 92.9_MHz  1964km
 95.0 1400 ALB Top Albania Radio, Cardhak (kol) Vocal ID  2078km **
 96.4 1401 ALB Radio Spektrum, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) Vocal IDs in ad break. Presume
               former Radio Real  1964km **
 97.7 1402 ALB Radio 7, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) 4D7F Radiod-_ __16:0__ POSITIVE 
               1964km **
 99.5 1403 ALB Radio Tirana, Tiranë (Tirana)/Dajt (tir) 5158 ____RE__  1964km

105.1 1404 GRC NERIT Kosmos, Florina & Kastoria/Vitsi (wmc-flo) Reggae music. Thanks Thanos
               Stauroupoli for help  2105km **

105.4 1404 MKD Kanal 77, Ohrid/Gorenicka Cuka (SW) 42C9 __DI*__ French Nostalgie jingle. Thanks
               to Janpeter for help  2027km **

 88.2 1406 HRV HRT Radio Dubrovnik, Rota (Peljesac) (du) C315  1691km
 88.4 1406 MNE Radio Prva, Ulcinj/Mosura (UL) D2DE __VA____. Vocal ID  1877km
 90.5 1407 BIH Kupreski Radio, Listani, Kupres or Travnik F077 KUPRESKI
 90.7 1407 MNE Atlas Radio, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) D222 _ATLAS__  1841km
 91.0 1407 ALB Radio Tirana, Shkodër/Tarabosh (shk) 5158 __DIO___ Radio Tirane Online ID  1882km
 93.3 1408 BIH Radio Studio N, Ivovik/Borova glava (k10) F493 STUDIO_N  1613km
 89.2 1413 GRC NERIT 1 proto programma, Kavala/Mt Pangaion (emc-kav) Kalispera ... Proto
               Programma ID, as 88.6  2239km
 87.8 1416 BIH BH Radio 1, Capljina/Crno brdo (hgn) Pops, as 88.1  1693km
 91.4 1419 BIH Radio Herceg Bosne, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje/Zekina gruda (sbs) F01B RADIO-HB  1629km

 91.6 1420 GRC NERIT 1 proto programma, Parnitha (ERA/NERIT) (att) Greek music. Thanks
               Thanos Stauroupoli for help  2445km **

 92.5 1428 MNE Radio Delfin, Savnik/Krnovska glavica (SN) 620D -DELFIN-  1793km **
 88.6 1434 MNE Radio D, Podgorica/Sjenica (PG) D450  1841km
 88.6 1434 GRC NERIT 1 proto programma, Florina & Kastoria/Vitsi (wmc-flo) Ads, as web  2105km **
 98.1 1436 HRV HRT-HR 2, Celevac (zd) Traffic news in English, as 98.9  1499km **
 98.9 1436 HRV HRT-HR 2, Biokovo/Sveti Jure (st) C202 ____HR_2 Zagreb traffic news in English 
               1643km **
 87.8 1437  I  Radio Maria, Lappano/Timparello (Contrada Chiano) (cs) Choir  1959km **
 88.5 1437  I  RAI Radio1, Unsure which site 5201
 96.5 1437  I  Radio 105 Network, Lappano/Timparello (Contrada Chiano) (cs) 5211 __105___.
               AFs point to this site  1959km **

 90.6 1444 GRC NERIT 3 trito programma, Florina & Kastoria/Vitsi (wmc-flo) YL and Greek music,
               as 88.6. Thank you Thanos Stauroupoli for help  2105km **

 89.4 1449  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Luzzi/Serra Filetta (cs) Vocal ID  1960km **
 89.5 1449  I  Radio Radicale, Bergamo or Vitulano-Camposauro? 5210 RADIO_*_
 92.2 1450 BUL BNR Hristo Botev, RRTS Botev vrah (pld) 8220 ______EV  2152km
 88.1 1451 SRB Radio Beograd 1, Ovcar (Srb) D2FF RTS_BG_1  1779km
 88.2 1451 BUL BNR Hristo Botev, Belogradcik/RRTS Karneva livada (vdn) Jazz, as 92.2  1950km
 90.4 1452  I  Radio Potenza Centrale, Unlisted site 530B RP__EN__ **
 87.6 1453  I  Radio Potenza Centrale, Rapone or Savoia di Lucania 530B RPZCENTR
 89.9 1454 BIH RTRS Radio Republike Srpske, Udrigovo (srp) F042  1645km
 92.6 1456  I  Radio Studio 5, Unsure which site Vocal ID
 92.8 1501 BIH RTRS Radio Republike Srpske, Trebinje/Leotar (srp) Vocal ID  1763km **

104.0 1504 GRC Kanali 3, Florina/Kleidi (wmc-flo) OM  YL in ads, as web. Thank you Thanos
               Stauroupoli for help  2111km **

 92.1 1506 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Bjelasica/Zekova glava 63C1 RCG1____  1830km
 88.3 1507 HRV HRT-HR 1, Vinkovci/Borinci (vu) C201 HRT-HR_1  1590km
 88.0 1513 SRB AFN Balkans, Pristina (Kos) Presume, with AFN ID  1930km **
 92.5 1517 MNE Radio Fatih, Podgorica (PG) 3417 92____Hz  1841km
 92.9 1518 BUL BNR Hristo Botev, Sofia/Kopitoto-KRTTS Vitosa (sfg) 8220  2056km
 87.6 1519 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Savnik/Krnovska glavica (SN) Gentle song, as 88.0  1793km
 88.0 1519 MNE Radio Crne Gore 1, Niksic/Tovic-Sudina Glava (NK) 63C1  1795km
 88.1 1526  I  Radio Linea Numero Uno, Pineto/Colle Morino (te) 5588 LINE__n1  1549km **
 89.5 1526  I  RTL 102.5, Casacalenda/Contrada Cerro del Ruccolo (cb) 5218 RTL102.5  1671km

Unidentified/Unlisted:
 89.0 1330 GRC Kosmos, unlisted. Jingle ID
 87.9 1348 GRC Kosmos, unlisted. Jingle ID
 89.9 1357  ?  UNID, ? 4223 jan_____
105.4 1404  ?  Nostalgie, ? 42C9 __DI*__ French Nostalgie jingle
 88.6 1417 BIH UNID, Relay of BH Radio 1 (Does Omladinski Radio X relay BH Radio 1?)
 91.2 1432  ?  UNID, F28A


** Personal Skegness 'First'


My overnight MS recording became corrupted when saving, reducing the file length from 8 hours to just 50 minutes. Nothing could be matched up, other than shared overnight German programming.

On the Es front though, WOW! What a day! The propagation maps looked like something from the middle of summer! Signals lasted a good three hours plus with the Balkan countries dominating most of the time. Slovakia made a good presence at times and the Czech Republic and Austria poked their way through.  Greece and Albania also kept trying to take control and there was one moment were Albanian signals took over across the band. But there was very little RDS and the Greek stations were mostly impossible to trace due to a shortage of web streams. Arabic signals were heard at times and one can only wonder where they were coming from. Double hop from the Middle East? There certainly weren't many Tunisian or Algerian possibilities. Conditions didn't really seem to swing that way anyway. Certainly this was one of the more interesting Es openings of the whole season!


Videos of the above DX:
Sporadic E. 22-08-14 1223 (Austria, Balkans, etc): https://vimeo.com/104180509
Sporadic E. 22-08-14 1443 (Balkans): https://vimeo.com/104180510


Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Thursday, 21 August 2014

Skegness Log: 21-08-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 93.0 0043  S  SR P1, Emmaboda/Eriksmåla-Bälshult TM (ka) Overnight running water
               effects  1051km **
 93.0 0207  D  BFBS Radio, Braunschweig/Drachenberg (nds) Presumed with English OM
               talking about "forces world"  712km **
 93.0 0219 POL RMF FM, Katowice/Kosztowy (SL) Pitbull song, as web  1333km **
 93.0 0232  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen, Hoyerswerda (sac) Andre van duin  Luv song, as web  967km **


** Personal Skegness 'First'

There was a 90 second long burst at 05:15:13 this morning. A separate (leader?) burst also occurred at 05:15:09. During the longer burst I heard FR David's "Words" and various other bits and pieces, but nothing was in parallel with any of the recorded web audio streams. MS can be so contrasting and challenging sometimes. You can have a really long burst like this and identify nothing, yet a brief snippet of an oldie or an unusual song you recognise can bring forth a result or two.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Wednesday, 20 August 2014

Skegness Log: 20-08-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 92.9 0109 SVN Slovenija 1, Nanos (po) Slovenian cover of Edwin Collins song, as web  1284km **
 92.9 0132 POL Radio ZET, Gryfice/Trzyglowska (ZP) YL soft rock song, as web  985km **
 92.9 0140 POL RMF FM, Wroclaw/Zórawina (DS) Chris Reas Road To Hell, as web. Part of 18 second
               MS burst.   1164km **
 92.9 0140  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Eisleben (san) German pop song, as web. In middle of
               18 second burst  781km **
 92.9 0149  G  BBC R4, Unsure which site Frequent bursts. BBC WS "Click" programme, as podcast. Rothesay? **
 92.9 0410 DNK DR P3, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) Modern soul track, as web 
               644km **
 92.9 2141  F  France Musique, Besançon, Chamonix or Montpellier Jazz, as web **

** Personal Skegness 'First'

92.9 used to be a good frequency for meteor scatter when I lived in the North Midlands. It's the first time I have tried it here and there were many, many bursts and pings all night. France Musique was the most frequent burster. I don't know which transmitter was being received as there are three main possibilities. The France Musique stream switched off early overnight so I had to wait until this evening to hear that. Montpellier would be the most likely candidate.

There was an 18 second burst at 0140 in which three stations were identified after matching them to their web streams: RMF FM from Wroclaw; MDR 1 Radio Sachsen Anhalt from Eisleben and Radio Zet from Gryfice. Interesting to note that none of these transmitters were exactly inline with each other as I had expected.

I was surprised how often BBC Radio 4 was heard via MS. Since most of the transmitters are too close, I have to assume that Rothesay looks like a good bet. This was mostly heard with BBC World Service programming and I caught a BBC Radio 4 ID during one burst around 0800.

Many more stations were heard whose streams I didn't record, including a couple of unidentified German language stations. Since these didn't match up with the recorded streams (I recorded all streams from Germany itself) I have to assume they must have been flea powered transmitters from Austria or Switzerland.

I think I'll try 93.0 tonight.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Thursday, 14 August 2014

Skegness Log: 14-08-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 89.0 1054 CZE Radio Impuls, Ostrava/Hostálkovice (MO) Jingle ID  1287km

Band 2 General Scatter:
100.5 0911  G  Classic FM, Meldrum (SC-ABS) Classic FM programming in brief Belmont
               power cut  501km **
 95.3 1641  D  YOU FM (hr), Hardberg (hes) Pops, as web  712km
107.3 1642  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Jeanette song, as web  729km

** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

This is my rather feeble Perseids effort for 14th, plus a few bits of scatter I had, unexpectedly, because scatter conditions are dire at the moment.

My time for DXing the Perseids today was cut short due to 1: Daughter and family visiting (good!). 2: A radio friend visiting, none other than Ian Kelly and family (also good) and 3: Acquiring a lodger, somewhat unexpectedly (not sure at this point!). So it was a busy day and great to see family and radio friends alike.

Yesterday, I also raised the 9.2 to its maximum height, which is about a meter higher than it ever has been here. I had originally lowered this right down this week due to the strong, gusty winds we've had. I didn't get any real chance to try the 9.2 at its new height though as the winds suddenly returned to their strong gusty levels again. Funny that, the pathetic excuse of a met orifice told us yesterday that we would have a ridge of high pressure settling things down over England. Oh, it was going to be dry too! Being used to their gross inaccuracies we just expected the opposite to happen - which it did! Their corrected forecast for today has dumped the high pressure in favour of a low pressure system (they really didn't see this coming? !!!) adding in gusty winds and thundery downpours. Oh what a total surprise I never saw that one coming! (Sorry, another attack on our useless met orifice is long overdue). I actually thought I might have coined the term "met orifice" but it looks like other's got there first. Some interesting reading here folks!

http://www.mtbbritain.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=12876
https://twitter.com/Metorifice
http://mickysmuses.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/uk-met-orificeand-pacific-sea-level.html
http://angryexile.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/talking-through-the-met-orifice/

Oh, here's one I did a while ago:
http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=Met+Orifice

I am beginning to wonder if the met orifice just copy what they read in the daily epxress.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Skegness Log: 12-08-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 88.9 0009 LUX RTL Radio Lëtzebuerg, Dudelange/Ginsterberg (gld) Pops, as web  573km **
 88.9 0014 SRB Radio Beograd 1, Subotica/Crveno Selo (Voj) Local music, as web  1591km **
 88.9 0034  S  SR P1, Skövde/Billingen TM (vg) Running water. Very likely this site. Frequent
               bursts.  1023km **
 88.9 0039  D  Bayern 1, Dillberg (bay) Fairground Attraction, as web  878km ** **
 88.9 0700  G  BBC Radio 2, Oban/Pulpit Hill (SC-AGB) Moira Stewart with the news. Oban
               most likely  519km **
 98.6 1617 SVK Jemné Melódie, Kosice/Dubník (KE) 5354 JEMNE___ with radiotext  AFs  1544km
 87.6 1717 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Györ /  Szabadhegy (Gyo) B203. 36dB  1368km
 87.5 1719 POL PR 1, Czestochowa/Wreczyca (SL) 3211 JEDYNKA_  1291km **
 88.8 1928 CZE CRo Sever, Ústí nad Labem/Buková hora (US) Garfunkel - Mrs Robinson song,
               as web  991km **
 93.1 1944  G  BBC Radio Scotland, Meldrum (SC-ABS) YL talking about the Edinburgh Festival,
               suddenly over Belmont  501km **
102.2 2003 POL PR Radio Lublin, Lublin/Piaski (LB) 3900. News  1548km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

The Perseids seem to be livening up with lots of longer bursts overnight. Focussing on 88.9, Radio Belgrade 1 from Subotica was the most consistent visitor, appearing almost every minute at times. Bayern 1, Dillberg was also regularly heard. Even RTL Letzebuerg appeared frequently via meteor scatter.

There were many other stations received which I couldn't identify. It's not easy to record all the appropriate web streams, but with 30 streams recorded ( just about the maximum number of streams I dare before things get too complicated) it was easy to know which station was which due to the regular activity and web stream checks. As always, I recorded all German streams so as to keep a check on shared overnight programming, and tonight I didn't have one single dropout, very different to yesterday when streams dropped out repetitively. The streams to Switzerland kept failing at the same time, for instance.

In addition to the above log I am sure I heard Radio Maria from Italy on numerous occasions. It's impossible to know which site was coming in of course. I assume Poland's PR1 was one of the regulars but I am usually unable to record Polish streams due to them using the asx format - StreamWriter doesn't like this format.

Come the afternoon, meteor scatter was not only frequent but was also becoming much stronger. This gave me the incentive to attempt to null down local Belmont frequencies as much as I could by tilting the 9.2 into various slanted angles. This only reduced the signals down to a fluctuating 10dBf and 25dBf (XDR-GTK scale), but this was weak enough to allow some of the big Perseid bursts to topple Belmont. Here's an example, demonstrating Lincs FM 102.2 being toppled by Radio Lublin: https://app.box.com/s/zwh0mqdngdplvmygmj28 Lublin was identified by its PI code in this case.

I am still aiming to positively identify meteor activity on all band 2 frequencies. The current total stands at 127 out of a possible 206 frequencies. Whether I will achieve this goal remains to be seen. There is certainly some way to go.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Monday, 11 August 2014

Skegness Log: 11-08-14 (FM)

Band 2 Scatter:
 94.6 0804 BEL Radio Maria, Brussel/Albertplein Toren=Bruxelles (bru) Unexpected fade-in for ten
               seconds or so, mixing Brocken. 9.2 in H. Echoey OM, as web. 9.2 lowered at the
               moment due to high winds  378km
102.6 0815  D  NDR 2, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) Jingle ID and OM after pops  606km

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 90.8 0003  D  DasDing (SWR), Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) Avicii song, as web  789km **
 90.8 0004  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Cottbus Calau (brb) OM news, as web. (Not // other
               Germans). Long burst  935km **
 90.8 0016 ROU SRR Radio Iasi, Câmpulung Moldovenesc/Rarau (SV) Michael Buble song, as web 
               1890km **
 90.8 0021  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Bornberg (rlp) Pops, as web  640km **
 94.6 0805 POL RMF FM, Poznan/Srem (WP) ID and Pink song. Live listening  1127km
 97.8 0816  D  NDR 2, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Sudden burst while listening to live scatter 
               477km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

Scatter really struggling this morning due to the current spell of unsettled weather and my 9.2 has been lowered because of high winds.

There has only been a minor appearance of the Perseids though. 90.8 was chosen for my overnight recording where Bornberg was the most persistent burster by some margin. Cottbus was also quite frequent.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Sunday, 10 August 2014

Skegness Log: 10-08-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.6 1018 ALG Chaîne 3, Kef El Akhal (25) French OMs. Presumed as web stream not working  1927km
 87.9 1022 ALG Radio Tébessa, Doukhane (12) OMs. Presumed as web stream not working  2071km
 87.6 1033  E  COPE, Badajoz/Cansa Burros (EXT-BA) E2CA __COPE__. Badajoz in radiotext  1683km


Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Saturday, 9 August 2014

Skegness Log: 09-08-10 (FM)

OIRT Meteor Scatter:
 66.02 0832 RUS Radio Rossii, Kaliningrad/RTPTS (KA) YL, as web  1327km **


** Personal Skegness 'First'

My second Kaliningrad station via meteor scatter.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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