Skegness Log: 24-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 88.1 0532  I  RAI Radio1, Monte Venda (RAI) (pd) 5201  1197km
 89.0 0532  I  RAI Radio2, Monte Venda (RAI) (pd) 5202  1197km
 89.9 0532  I  RAI Radio3, Monte Venda (RAI) (pd) 5202  1197km
103.2 0802  ?  UNID, ? UNID American accented OM ...as case for the number of an emergency ...   
101.8 0833  G  Classic FM, Dover, Morecambe Bay or Hemdean Weather, as 101.5 **

** Personal 'First'

Does anybody know who would carry North American accented news on 103.2?

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 23-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 88.1 0510 S SR P1, Gävle/Skogmur TM (ga) YL, as 89.4  1310km
 89.1 0510 NOR NRK P2, Halden 1/Høyåsmasten (of) F202  958km
 87.6 0532 NOR NRK P1, Nordhue (he) F801  1094km
 92.5 0654  S  SR P2, Kisa (Kinda)/TM (og) E402  1095km **
101.3 0702  S  SR P4, Borlänge/Teracoms mast Idkerberget (da) E224  1204km
101.6 0805  S  SR P4 Uppland, Östhammar/Valö TM (up) E524  1334km
102.5 0855  S  SR P4, Storuman/Norrberg TM (vb) ED24  1618km
103.7 0912 POL PR Radio Gdansk, Gdansk/Chwaszczyno (PM) 309C  1195km
104.1 0912  D  delta radio, Bungsberg/DTAG-Turm (shs) D3E9  694km
104.7 0932 FIN Radio Nova, Tampere-Tammerfors/Kämmenniemi-Vähä - Koveron Tie (pi) 6209  1684km
107.6 0932 FIN Radio Nova, Kristiinankaupunki-Kristinestad/Lapväärtti-Pyhävuo (po)
               English interview, as 104.7  1610km
 88.1 2235 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Multi-tx Possibly Bad Ischl. Pops, as 89.2 **
 89.2 2235 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A203  1261km
 89.4 2235 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Sankt Pölten/Jauerling (nie) Pops, as 89.2  1181km

** Personal 'First'

This is the first time I have used the recording scheduler on the S2 and it worked first time. I programmed in five x one hour long recording slots around sunrise for each 6 MHz portion of the band. What a great feature! I hope this can be built upon in future software updates as I feel some improvements can be made. But as it stands you have to re-programme virtually all the parameters of each recording session manually, however it's not complicated once you've got the hang of it. Too many 'famous last words' here. Let's see if the next recordings come out OK. :O)

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 22-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 97.4 0229  S  SR P2, Gävle/Skogmur TM (ga) E402  1310km **
 95.8 0252  S  SR P3, Vännäs/Granlundsberget TM (vb) E203  1629km **
 98.1 0252  S  SR P3, Sollefteå/Multrå-Flugtjärnshöjden TM (vn) E203  1497km
 96.4 0309 POL PR 3, Poznan/Srem (WP) 3233  1127km
 95.3 0312 NOR NRK P2, Bagn 1/Kjeldeknatten (op) F202  1019km
 95.4 0312  S  SR P2, Lycksele/Knaften-Rålidsberget TM (vb) E402 (Same classical music as
               Norway 95.3)  1629km **
 96.4 0312 NOR NRK P2, Gausta/Gaustatoppen (te) F202  902km
 98.7 0312  S  SR P3, Lycksele/Knaften-Rålidsberget TM (vb) E203 SR_P  1629km **
 96.1 0401 POL PR 3, Plock/Rachocin (MW) 3233  1289km
 97.3 0401 POL Radio ZET, Plock/Rachocin (MW) 3205 05:01  1289km
 97.9 0401 POL Radio ZET, Walcz/Rusinowo (Pila) (ZP) OM news, as 97.3  1060km
 98.5 0401  D  NDR 2, Schwerin (mev) D382  739km **
 98.9 0401 POL RMF FM, Konin/Zólwieniec (WP) 3F44  1211km **
 97.1 0411 FIN SR P2, Sund/Finby-Fejansberg (ah) E402  1434km **
 96.1 0412 POL RMF FM, Gorzów or Legnica Pops, as 95.3 **
 98.6 0413  D  Antenne Brandenburg, Cottbus Calau (brb) D531 Antenne vom_rbb  935km **
 96.1 0800 IRL Midwest Radio, Kiltimagh (MO) Partial ID. Matches top of the hour ID on
               web stream  626km **
 97.1 0800 IRL Midwest Radio, Achill Island/Minaun Heights (MO) Partial ID. Matches top of
               the hour ID on web stream  689km **
 95.2 0920 FIN YLE Radio Extrem, Lapua - Lappo/Simpsiö-Mastiontie (ep) Pops, as 98.6  1704km **
 98.6 0920 FIN YLE Radio Extrem, Kristiinankaupunki-Kristinestad/Lapväärtti-Pyhävuo (po)
               6204  1610km **

** Personal 'First'

I am especially pleased with the Irish meteor scatter this morning. The first time I have received Irish local stations this way. What other mode of propagation would allow such reception? Very unlikely via tropo at this location and certainly too short for E skip. Incredibly, this reception came in while my beam was looking to the north-east!

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 21-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 99.7 0143  S  SR P3, Emmaboda/Eriksmåla-Bälshult TM (ka) E203  1051km **
101.8 0143  S  SR P4, Emmaboda/Eriksmåla-Bälshult TM (ka) E724  1051km **
100.8 0144  S  Mix Megapol, Södertälje/Ragnhildsborg TM (st) E243  1260km **
102.5 0148  S  SR P4, Storuman/Norrberg TM (vb) E224  1618km **
 99.5 0244 FIN YLE Radio Vega, Anjalankoski/Kouvola-Liikkala, Sopasenpolku 40 (ky)
               6205  1808km **
100.9 0245 LTU LRT radijas, Bubiai (Sia) C321 LRT  1497km
103.4 0245 LTU LRT Klasika, Bubiai (Sia) C322  1497km
101.0 0247  D  Radio Brocken, Dequede (san) D3D8  761km
101.3 0247  D  Antenne MV, Schwerin (mev) D378  739km **
 99.2 0305  S  SR P3, Sundsvall/Södra Stadsberget TM (vn) Pops, as 99.0  1429km **
 99.9 0431  G  Classic FM, Sandale (EN-CUM) As others  288km **
 99.1 0445  S  SR P3, Bäckefors (Mellerud)/Grönehög TM (vg) E203  969km
 99.6 0456  S  SR P3, Ånge/Alby-Snöberg TM (vn) E203  1363km **
 99.8 0456 NOR NRK P2, Hemnes/Vettahaugen (no) F202 N  1628km **
103.1 0456  S  SR P4, Ånge/Alby-Snöberg TM (vn) E224  1363km
 88.0 2141 NOR NRK P1, Gulen/Bråsviksåta (sf) F201 N  923km **
 89.4 2141 NOR NRK P1, Nordfjordeid (sf) Gentle music, as 88.0  1030km **
 89.5 2233 NOR NRK P1, Gausta/Gaustatoppen (te) F201  902km **
 91.3 2233 NOR NRK P1, Kongsberg/Jonsknuten (bu) Norwegian OM, as 89.5  918km **
 91.7 2233 NOR NRK P1, Bagn 1/Kjeldeknatten (op) Norwegian OM, as 89.5  1019km **
 91.1 2236 NOR NRK Petre, Jetta/Blåhø (op) F203  1108km **
 87.8 2256 NOR NRK P1, Hovdefjell (aa) Norwegian OMs, as 88.2  805km **
 88.2 2256 NOR NRK P1, Skien 1/Vealøs (te) F201  889km
 88.7 2256 NOR NRK P1, Oslo/Tryvann (os) Norwegian OMs, as 88.2  987km **
 89.8 2256 NOR NRK P1, Kongsvinger/Holtberget (he) Norwegian OMs, as 88.2  1054km **
 89.8 2314  S  SR P1, Helsingborg/Olympia TM (sn) OM, as 90.0  859km **
 90.0 2314  S  SR P1, Norrköping/Kolmården-Krokek Orrbergen TM (og) E201 SR_P1  1174km **
 91.6 2314  S  SR P1, Multi-tx OM, as 90.0 **

** Personal 'First'

A night of longer bursts and stronger signals. Beaming north by north-east.

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 20-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 89.9 0346 CZE CRo Dvojka, Liberec/Ješted (LI) 232E  1038km **
 91.7 0348  E  Radio Euskadi, Bilbao=Bilbo/Ganeta (PVA-BI) E302  1130km
 88.1 0418  F  France Inter, Multi-tx YL, as 91.3 Marseille **
 90.5 0446 CZE CRo Hradec Králové, Trutnov/Cerná hora (KR) 280A R-HK  1091km
 90.5 0517  D  NDR 1 Radio MV, Helpterberg (mev) D371  881km
 99.1 0914 NOR NRK Petre, Melhus/Vassfjellet Vassfjellvegen (st) F203 N  1265km **
100.2 0914 NOR Radio Norge, Reinsfjell (mr) Norwegian pops, as 101.1  1174km
100.6 0914 NOR Radio Norge, Lønahorgi (ho) Norwegian pops, as 101.1  916km
101.1 0914 NOR Radio Norge, Melhus/Vassfjellet Vassfjellvegen (st) F21A  1265km **
102.0 0914 NOR Radio Norge, Førde (sf) Norwegian pops, as 101.1  979km **
102.4 0914 NOR Radio Norge, Kopparen/Vallersund (st) Norwegian pops, as 101.1  1302km **
101.3 0921  S  SR P4, Borlänge/Teracoms mast Idkerberget (da) E224  1204km
 99.0 0938  S  SR P3, Nässjö/Teracom mast Berg (jo) E203  1031km **
 99.9 0938  S  SR P3, Finnveden (Gislaved)/Bredaryd Skyttebo TM (jo) OM and YL, as 99.0  961km
103.6 0938  S  SR P4, Kisa (Kinda)/TM (og) Very likely Kisa. E224 SR_P1  1095km **

** Personal 'First'

Following a full wipe of my hard drive and a fresh re-installation of Windows 7/64 I had hoped my computer problems had gone away. Not a chance! All the annoying quirks I had hoped to get rid of are still present. In fact things are worse as I have a virus called Vosteran. Don't ask me how this got on my computer as I have been extremely careful not to install software from the wrong sites, so Firefox, Chrome, ets. all came from the correct location and I did not click on an advert. In fact nothing at all was amiss when I was going through the installation processes. No dodgy toolbars. Yet my browsers have been hijacked and things are just not working well at all.

I still have the same sound card problems. Bandicam will not see my soundcard no matter what I do, so no DX recordings are possible at the moment - only silent video.

I have installed and tried all the main free antivirus packages, excluding Norton, and none of them see this virus. So there is no point in me doing a System Restore or further wipe/re-installation as the problem will only recur. I know the virus exists on other drives where I have important files, so my hands are tied for now. This is a great pity as the re-installation of Windows 7.64 went so smoothly i had to pick myself up off the floor several times.

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 19-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
103.4 0356 EST Raadio 2, Orissaare (Saa) 22E2  1533km **
105.9 0356 EST Vikerraadio, Orissaare (Saa) 22E1  1533km **
107.8 0356 EST Klassikaraadio, Orissaare (Saa) 22E3  1533km **
104.7 0408 POL Radio Maryja, Bialystok/Krynice (PL) 3232  1506km **
106.2 0408 POL Radio Maryja, Lidzbark Warminski/Dabrowskiego (WM) Religious song,
               as 104.7  1334km **
106.3 0408 POL Radio Maryja, Klodzko, Plock or Lezajsk Religious song,
               as 104.7  **
107.6 0424 FIN Radio Nova, Kristiinankaupunki-
               Kristinestad/Lapväärtti-Pyhävuo (po) 6209  1610km **
103.8 0812 NOR P4 R Hele Norge, Mosvik/Skavlen (nt) F214  1329km
103.7 0833 FIN YLE Puhe, Espoo - Esbo/Saunalahti-Tillinmäki (uu) 6207  1665km
103.9 0833 FIN Radio Nova, Turku - Åbo/Kaarina-Kuusisto, Vuolahdentie 137 (vs)
               Pops, as 106.2  1553km
106.2 0833 FIN Radio Nova, Espoo - Esbo/Saunalahti-Tillinmäki (uu) 6209  1665km
103.3 0839  S  SR P4 Västerbotten, Lycksele/Knaften-Rålidsberget TM (vb) ED24  1629km **
103.9 0839  S  SR P4 Västerbotten, Skellefteå/Prästfäbodsberget TM (vb) Jazzy vibes,
               as 103.3  1736km **
107.2 0839 FIN The Voice, Kruunupyy - Kronoby/Alaveteli-Saarukantie (po) 62AB  1772km **
103.6 0846  G  BBC Radio 4 FM, Rosemarkie (SC-HIL) C204  570km
104.9 1428  G  BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, Rosemarkie (SC-HIL) C316  570km

** Personal 'First'

An early one here!

Unable to record any videos due to the continuing breakdown of Windows. Now to get that re-installation started. Wish me luck! Hopefully I'll be back before the year's out.

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 18-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
105.4 0133  I  Südtirol 1, Brenner=Brennero/Zirog Alm=Zirago (bz) 5F51  1052km
105.6 0141 ROU SRR Radio Resita, Resita/Semenic (CS) EE03  1801km
104.3 0153  I  Radio Subasio, Campello sul Clitunno or Città di Castello (pg) 53FD **
102.8 0154 HRV HRT Radio Osijek, Beli Manastir (os) C317  1552km
104.1 0200  D  delta radio, Bungsberg/DTAG-Turm (shs) D3E9  694km
102.0 0210 HRV HRT Radio Osijek, Psunj (sb) C317  1500km
103.1 0213 POL Radio ZET, Solina/G.Jawor II (PK) Pops, as 103.4  1591km **
103.6 0213 POL Radio RDN Malopolska, Tarnów/Lichwin (MP) 3508 -R_D_N- PI:3507 PS:_R_D_N__ 1465km **
101.7 0214  D  Radio Salü, Saarbrücken/Schoksberg (saa) D3B8  628km
103.4 0221  F  France Info, Lyon/Mont Pilat (42) F206  917km
103.3 0235  D  Antenne Bayern, Unterringingen (bay) D318  863km
102.9 0236  D  Radio PSR, Leipzig Wiederau (sac) D3C8  843km **
 88.4 0713  F  France Culture, Bar-le-Duc/Willeroncourt (55) F202  607km
 89.4 0713 SUI Radio Fribourg, Sorens/Gibloux (fr) 4F1C  864km **

** Personal 'First'

It looks like Südtirol 1 from Brenner on 105.4 is going to be one of those transmitters which gets out well via meteor scatter. I also had it a couple of times via sporadic E this year. So it's probably not the rarity I was expecting it might have been.

I have mentioned about the FDM-S2's ability to decode RDS accurately and at low signal levels, but there is a really useful thing you can do to enhance this feature even more. Providing the signal is strong enough you can loop a meteor scatter signal, over and over again if necessary, and the software should be able to extract a little bit more of data with each pass. This method often teases out the RDS PI and sometimes PS information where one single pass isn't quite enough. Here is a video to demonstrate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcUE34MDHhM The station is Radio RDN Malopolska from Tarnów.

Now then, there is no audio on this video, I just realised that Windoze has lost my soundcard. This has been acting up for a while and I have to keep installing the drivers. I am having so many problems with Windoze at the moment that the full wipe of the hard drive and re-installation is looming very close now. Hopefully tomorrow if I get the time.

Here's another one from today - Radio Fribourg from Sorens on 89.4: http://youtu.be/mCmOzcWMPMA No audio again, but the PI code is there.

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 17-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
103.8 0447 POL Radio ZET, Klodzko/Czarna Góra (DS) 3205  1177km
104.1 0447 POL Radio ZET, Kraków/Choragwica (MP) Pops, as 103.8  1406km
102.6 0458  D  Radio TON Heilbronn, Schwäbisch Hall (bwü) Vocal ID  795km
103.5 0458 HRV HKR-Hrvatski Katolicki Radio, Zagreb/Sljeme (zg) C204  1381km
103.0 0513  I  RAI Radio1, Menconico/Monte Penice (RAI) (pv) 5201 RADI  1136km
104.1 0521 CZE Frekvence 1, Plzen/Krasov (PL) 2205 F1  947km
100.3 0524 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Kosice/Dubník (KE) 5D60  1544km **
104.0 0524 SVK Fun Rádio, Banská Bystrica/Suchá hora (BB) 5340  1392km
100.9 0527 POL PR Radio Merkury, Poznan/Srem (WP) 3755  1127km

** Personal 'First'

Virtually nothing in the way of meteor scatter until later in the morning, but I was lucky enough to catch a vocal ID from Radio TON from the 3kW Schwäbisch Hall transmitter in Baden-Württemberg.

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

Skegness Log: 16-12-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
101.7 0255 POL Katolickie Radio Podlasie, Siedlce/Losice (MW) 3F65 PODLASIE  1512km **
104.1 0306 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Oradea=Nagyvárad (BH) EE00 RR  1677km
102.9 0316 AUT FM 4, Klagenfurt 1/Dobratsch-Villacher Alpe (kae) A213  1199km
103.6 0316 AUT FM 4, Spittal (Drau) 1/Goldeck (kae) Alternative music, as 102.9  1175km
104.0 0316 AUT FM 4, Linz 1/Lichtenberg (obe) Alternative song, as 102.9  1111km **
104.0 0316  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Koblenz/Kühkopf (rlp) D3A9  590km
102.0 0349 HRV HRT Radio Split, Biokovo/Sveti Jure (st) C31A R-SPLIT  1643km
 97.7 0457 HRV HRT-HR 3, Papuk/Kapovac (vt) C203  1523km **
 99.1 0457 AUT Antenne Steiermark, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A943  1261km
 96.5 0513 DNK DR P4 København, København-Gladsaxe/Isbanevej 4 (hvs) 9602  836km **
 97.7 0513  S  SR P3, Karlskrona/Vämö-Bryggareberget TM (bl) E203  1036km **
 98.7 0514  D  SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Grünten (Allgäu) [bay] (bwü) D301  942km **
 90.5 0729 POL PR Radio Rzeszów, Krosno/Sucha Góra (PK) 3417  1530km
 92.8 0808  I  Radio Studio Delta, Cesena/Frazione Borello-Via Luzzena 5366P-Monte 
               Cavallo (fc) Vocal ID by male presenter  1328km
 93.3 0823 CZE CRo Vltava, Plzen/Radec (PL) 232D  993km **

** Personal 'First'

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

Receiver:
Elad FDM-S2

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

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

The (In)Famous Faulkner FM Loop Antenna!

Yes, that's how it has come to be known. I didn't design it. I didn't invent it. But I did create this scribble of a diagram in Micro$oft Paint. Yes. Try not to laugh too hard. The story behind this antenna goes back to the 50s or 60s when a DXer called Frank Smales published an article in the Medium Wave News called "A Loop Antenna for FM?" It is based on the design of a cubical quad. But the beauty of this simple folded loop is that it has a reasonable amount of gain over a half wave dipole. I have seen quotes of up to 5.5dB, but we can probably expect it to be somewhat less than that. Let's very roughly compare it to a three element Yagi in terms of gain.

What I do not want to do in this article is delve into anything technical. This is a simple antenna which is easy to throw together using "Bodgitt & Scarper" techniques and ... it actually works very well!

It's not a big antenna. It's less than a metre square. It works well indoors and out and, because this design is not easily de-tuned by being close to nearby objects, it even works quite well when I've had it leaning against a wall on the living room floor.

I have been singing the praises of this design for years and I often recommend this little antenna to newcomers to the hobby since they are so simple (Not the newcomers!) to put together and cost next to nothing. This is the reason it has come to be known as the Faulkner Loop Antenna. Oh well, it's a small claim to fame. It's amazing what you can do with an old piece of coax. That's right! It's a piece of coax. The design in the original MWN article recommended the use of a length of coax to form the loop itself. Make sure you twist the inner core and outer braiding together though.

To resonate in the centre of our FM band (98 MHz) the loop needs to be about 30 inches square, that's 78cm in European. Add or subtract six inches to resonate at either end of the band if you want to experiment, but this is fairly forgiving antenna and should cover the entire band very well.

Note the connection points A and B in the centre of the bottom part of the loop. If you have the coax fed at this particular point then you have a horizontal loop. rotate the loop 90 degrees so the feed is on one side and you have a vertical loop. If you connect in one of the lower corners then you have a loop of mixed polarisation, but since I haven't tried such a configuration I am unable to comment on how useful the performance is when this way. A 'slant' dipole doe not seem to be a good idea as you have a degree of 'loss' from both planes, so concentrate on horizontal or vertical. I do not know if the same is true of this loop antennas.

The reason I built a loop antenna back in the 90s was because I had just moved into a property and did not have an outdoor antenna at the time. The loop really surprised me as I discovered that it had sufficient gain in order to resolve full RDS from meteor scattered signals. The loop was only resting on the bedroom floor and leaning against the wall at the time! With this level of performance I have always wondered why there aren't more of us using these simple antennas.

I soon began using an FM loop when DXing mobile in the Derbyshire hills. The resulting logs were impressive, even when conditions were about as flat as the loop itself! The loop would be resting on a tree branch about eight feet above the ground.

This loop receives 'front and back' with its figure of eight pattern and the the side nulls are very deep. You can also make this loop more directional by adding "reflector" and "director" loops of an appropriate size. But as with all antennas, the best results will be achieved if it is mounted outdoors and clear of nearby objects.

The next paragraphs are taken from my original article so please excuse any repetition:

The construction bit
This antenna uses Bodgitt & Scarper technology.  It is so simple even I knocked one up in a matter of minutes.  You don't need to rely on my design, however, you may wish to make the construction a lot more sturdy, but the purpose of this article is to show how you can achieve good results with the simplest of constructional effort.  If you are going to use the loop externally for an extended length of time then it would benefit by being made more sturdy and suitably waterproofed.

I constructed the loop quickly to use in mobile situations where I just throw the loop up into a tree or hang it on a branch. I will get round to constructing something more solid one day - perhaps!  This is what I used ...

*  Square wooden doweling around 2 cm thick (around half an inch). Enough for four x
    78 cm lengths = 312 cm total (or 4 x 30 inch lengths = 120 inches total).
    half an inch square).
*  At least 15 metres (50 feet) of good quality 75 ohm coax cable
*  Screw terminal blocks
*  Sticky tape - duct / gaffer variety Alternatively, you could construct the loop out of plumbers
    copper pipe instead of coax and some 90 degree corner joints.  Make sure you insulate the copper
    though with thick tape though if you intend to hang the loop on tree branches.  Any physical
    contact *may* degrade performance.

The receiving element itself is a 30 inch (78 cm) square loop of the coax, so you will need to construct a suitably sized wooden frame, say 10 mm (half an inch) less each side of the wooden doweling around which you will wrap the coax - this is just to make allowances for the coax which will then be the correct size. You could of course fix the coax to the face of the wooden frame.

The coax needs to have a feed point half way along the bottom of the frame so cut coax to a 10 feet, 2 and a half inches (312 cm) in length and wrap this around the frame ensuring the inner core and outer (braid) are connected together, each end going into separate connections on a small electrical screw terminal block.  The remainder of the coax will be used for the downlead - you can vary the length accordingly.  Connect the two ends of the loop to either side of the coax downlead via the terminal block, either way around, it doesn't matter.

The impedance of the FM Loop is 75 ohms.  There has been much debate about this but this fact has been stated in older ARRL and RSGB publications. I cannot comment. Also, recent computer modelling has given the impedance as 75 ohms at resonance too.

The loop should be positioned broadside to the transmitter for best pick-up, while the nulls can be found endways on.  The loop also seems to have other quirky attributes, exhibiting a slightly unidirectional pattern at times. The coax download is probably playing a part.

So, in conclusion, this is antenna is 'very' easy to construct. It is very efficient and seriously outperforms my vertical FM whip with several extra dB of signal. As I have said, this loop has a big advantage in that it works well indoors and doesn't seem to mind too much where it is located. This and the constructional aspects make it an ideal antenna for beginners. No, it 'doesn't' look like much of a DX antenna, but I have been very surprised by the reception I have had and it has become an essential part of my mobile DX setup.

Used indoors at home I have been able to eliminate local Lincs FM on 102.2 and leave the frequency free for Galaxy from Birmingham at noise-free listenable strength - something none of my other yagis or rooftop beams have ever been able to achieve.

Finally, for further reading, you can find out more about these antennas at http://pa0fri.home.xs4all.nl/Ant/Quad/quadeng.htm

Good DX!

John