Skegness Log: 25-09-15 (MW)

 930 0033 CAN CFBC Country Favorites 93, Saint John (NB) Country music, as web V weak
              4728 km
1070 0354 CLM HJCG Radio Santa Fé, Bogotá D. C. (bdc) "Escuchar .... _ _ _ Radio,
              ____ musical _____ Radio Santa Fe". Thanks Mauricio Molano and Mike Shcherbakov
              at RealDX for 
              help.  V weak  8563 km
1390 0502 USA WEGP, Presque Isle (ME) EWTN reference. Religion, etc.  Weak  4760 km
 891 1800 TWN BCC Local Tainan, Tainan (TN) Interval signal in noise V weak  9753 km
 972 1800 KOR HLCA KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, Dangjin (ccg) Clear time signal aid ID -
              in English too! Fair  8740 km
1071 1800 IND All India Radio GOS, Rajkot (GJ) Indian music, mixing Iran Fair  6716 km
1566 1800 KOR HLAZ FEBC, Jeju=Cheju (jej) Sung FEBC jingle, time signal and ID Good  9067 km

Recordings:
972 HLCA KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, Dangjin 1800 25-09-15 https://app.box.com/s/19tyyhbika7sikgzlg2wxzxr5q10hxk1
1566 HLAZ FEBC, Cheju Island 1800 25-09-15 https://app.box.com/s/ar4hwecko8hkmaqjr3aj0kq1y5lmlf2w


Some observations:

1800
612 RTI presumed - time signal
639 Chinese time signal
738 Chinese time signal
891 Taiwan BCC Local, Tainan
963 Oriental time signal
981 Chinese time signal with Beijing ID, multi-tx
1044 Chinese time signal
1107 Chinese time signal
1134 Oriental time signal, maybe HLKC
1143 Oriental language and time signal - possiby not related
1305 Chinese time signal
1350 Oriental time signal. JOER Etajima?
1359 2 x Chinese time signals. Clear Beijing IDs (echo)
1377 Chinese time signal under Lille
1395 Oriental time signal
1494 Chinese time signals (echo) multi-tx
1521 CRI, Urumqi - thumping!
1539 Oriental time signal. Clear Beijing ID
1566 HLAZ, Cheju Island. Thumping!

1900
1098 Chinese time signal and clear Beijing ID

Signals from the far east were mostly squashed by 1900 was mostly dominated by Spanish stations at 1900.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 300 and 030 degrees

Skegness Log: 22-09-15 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 91.6 1702 GRC ERA 1 Proto Programma, Parnitha ERA (att)
               ERA News jingle, YL, etc. as 88.6  2445km
 92.5 1702 GRC ERA Diktyo Peloponisou - Patra, Patra/Panahaiko (wgr-akh)
               ERA News, as 88.6  2336km
 87.7 1705 ALB Radio Travel, Fier (fie) 9499  1999km
 88.6 1705 GRC ERA 1 Proto Programma, Florina & Kastoria/Vitsi (wmc-flo)
               OM correspondent, as 92.8  2105km
 89.3 1705 ALB Radio Kontakt, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) Two vocal IDs  1964km
 92.2 1705 ALB Radio 1, Mide (shk) FFFF RADIO_1_ NASER_EL KITTAMI_ _Er_Rad_  1906km
 92.8 1705 GRC ERA 1 Proto Programma, Volos/Mt. Pilion (the-mag) 1201 ER____A1  2303km
 94.8 1706 GRC ERA 2 Deutero Programma, Volos/Mt. Pilion (the-mag) 1202  2303km
 87.6 1711 GRC Laikos 87.6, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) 00A8  2208km
 88.0 1711 GRC ERA 1 Proto Programma, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (ERT Tower) (cmc-tsk)
               1201  2207km
 95.5 1712 GRC Metropolis 95,5, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) OM ID  2208km
 97.3 1712 MKD Makedonsko Radio 1 - Radio Skopje, Veles/Crn Vrv (VA)
               4201 _RADIO__ MAKEON-_ __SKA___ __PRVA__  2027km
102.7 1712 SRB Play Radio, Bitovik (Srb) D25C __B_92_  1804km
 99.1 1713 BIH BN Radio, Rogatica/Tmor (srp) F222 _RTV_BN_  1720km
101.3 1713 MKD Makedonsko Radio 3 (Treta prog.), Veles/Crn Vrv (VA)
               4203 MAKEDON- J.P.____ PROGRAMA TRETA___  2027km
 90.2 1714 SRB Radio K4 Shqip, Golesh=Goleš (Kos) D201 RADIOK4_  1927km
 88.3 1722 GRC Energy 88.3, Veria/Rahi (cmc-ima)
               That's Entertainment Weller song, ID  2165km

This was a real surprise! Sporadic E in late September! Distances reached 2445 km with the Parnitha transmitter from Greece being received on 91.6. Patra and Volos also appeared at 2336 km and 2303 km, respectively.

There were many Greek stations I could not identify as they were below the RDS threshold.

No personal firsts can be given at the moment as I still have the rest of my summertime Es files to check.

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:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter and sporadic E)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is approximately 3 metres asl, 1km from the sea.
Fringe Electronics 20dB pre-amp.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

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

Skegness Log: 21-09-15 (MW)

1140 0400 CUB Radio Rebelde, Multi-tx National Anthem and Havana ID V weak
1180 0400 CUB Radio Rebelde, Multi-tx National Anthem and Havana ID Fair
1620 0400 CUB Radio Rebelde, Multi-tx National Anthem and Havana ID V weak

Dismal! And it was a struggle to hear these!

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 225 degrees

Skegness Log: 20-09-15 (MW)

1200 0324 USA WXKS Bloomberg 1200, Newton (MA) Bloomberg Radio ID Fair  5251 km

 750 0330 VEN YVKS RCR 750 Radio Caracas, Caracas (dcf) Mention of Trasnocho Hípico, 
              etc. Thanks Andrew Brade for help.  V weak  7574 km **

1470 0339 USA WLAM r:WLVP 8-70 News, Lewiston (ME) Good Time Oldies 14-70 WLAM ID 
              Weak  5069 km

1430 0400 USA WKOX Mia 1430, Everett (MA) Muffled 14-30 WKOX ID. Listed only 1kW 
              at night. https://app.box.com/s/3iuk0xxcmapdg455z5ohgjdf7lijeicn V weak  
              5236 km

1190 0424 CLM HJCV Radio Cordillera, Bogotá D.C. (bdc) OM shouting ID between Latin 
                   songs Weak  8566 km **

** Personal First in Skegness

Not a bad night at all with many frequencies yielding a second North American station. Of note were 1010 1130 1500 and 1520.

I didn't start recording until well after 0300 so I don't know what conditions were like before this. Two solar shocks were received overnight, the second one around 0420, roughly the time conditions strarted to take a dive. North America had started to disappear by this time and there was brief influx of South American signals with some fair levels from a Latin music station in the Spanish language on 890, usually a difficult channel. 1060 had a lively Latin station, as did 1070 - almost certainly Radio Santa Fe with IDs mentioning Bogota.

By 0430, ALL reception, including European, took a dive, maybe because of the solar shock. It was like a partial short-wave fade-out. Nothing was left on transatlantic routes by 0500. I didn't bother to check the Asiatic path later in the afternoon because of the now badly deteriorated conditions.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 225 degrees

Graveyard DXing

St Helen's Church, West Keal, Lincolnshire

Ah, of course! You're thinking I am talking about DXing 'the graveyard channels' on medium wave. Right? Wrong!

OK then, it's got to be something to do with a 'graveyard shift' perhaps? Nope!

So what have I been up to involving graveyards? Well, of course you can rule out actual DXing inside a graveyard, yes? WRONG! I am officially laying claim to being the first DXer who has put up a band 2 beam in a graveyard! It's true. The question is .... am I really the first?

It took me several attempts to pluck up the courage to do this, but I eventually I just had to try it. Why? Because one of my nearest DX hilltops happens to have a church on it. Churches are open to the public? OK, the vicar might have been curious, maybe even dismayed had he seen me putting up a Triax FM3 in his grounds, which is exactly what I did.

All this happened under the cover of darkness, which wasn't actually planned. I was late getting to the church and the last dregs of daylight had almost disappeared. I had planned to arrive sooner, but other things took precedence. I didn't stick around for long though. it was just too dark and I couldn't even see the antenna after a while. The wildlife around the church grounds was indeed quite creepy and various creatures were squawking and fluttering in the trees around me. Surprisingly, this did not deter me. I have been to this location many times before and have sometimes heard an absolute racket from the wildlife in the nearby wooded areas.

The location, St Helen's Church in West Keal. This has to be one of the best VHF DX locations around here. It sits part way down a hillside at the southern end of this ridge of the Lincolnshire Wolds. Reception of France is simply stunning, with virtually the whole of the northern half of France coming through on band 2 - main transmitters of course, but there are also plenty of vertical, low power stations too from the northern tip of France and beyond which come through. I could imagine very regular reception of the Paris area up there but I need to clean up my power supply situation in order to dig deep for those very weak signals. This has been a long-standing problem and one which has been getting worse. The current mains inverter throws out too much noise across band 2, even with the antenna being 20 metres away from it, so I really need to find a quieter one and probably even stick a choke inline, should any of the noise be travelling down the outside of the coax feed from the antenna. Reception to the west, north and east, is blocked by the hills here, plus the church itself, so this definitely is the place to be should Spanish tropo spring up.

This is one of the most stunning church locations around here with superb views across the Fens to the south. It's definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

Skegness Log: 19-09-15 (MW)

1400 0300 CAN CBG CBC Radio 1, Gander (NL) CBC promo, News jingle Fair  3775 km

Lots of North American signals overnight, but they all faded just right for their top of the hour IDs. Typical!

I'm sure I hear CBC Radio on 1140. I thought they had moved to FM and vacated their MS outlet in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Can anybody advise?

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 225 degrees

Skegness Log: 18-09-15 (MW)

 750 0300 CAN CBGY CBC Radio 1, Bonavista Bay (NL) CBC Radio news jingle in noise Vweak  3733 km
1510 0500 USA WMEX, Boston (Waverley) (MA) Fifteen Ten WMEX Boston ID Weak  5245 km
1520 0500 USA WWKB ESPN Radio, Buffalo (NY) ESPN Radio IDs Weak  5697 km
1540 0500 CAN CHIN, Toronto Island (ON) Usual Your Ideas Matter ID Weak  5669 km

Transatlantic signals were best around midnight, then signals gradually tapered off. I wasn't aware of this at the time but there was a minor blow-out around midnight, which was probably responsible for briefly beefing up the reception at that time before gradually reducing it.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 225 degrees

Skegness Log: 17-09-15 (MW)

1575 1700 THA Voice of America/Radio Saranrom, Ban Phachi/Rasom (pay) Yankee Doodle
              signature tune well down in the noise V weak  9410 km
1071 1753 IND All India Radio GOS, Rajkot (GJ) OM in Indian language and Indian
              song. Good signal! Good  6716 km
 590 2306 CAN VOCM, Saint John s (NL) Phone-in, as web V weak  3730 km
1560 2312 USA WFME Family Radio, New York/Queens (NY) Jesus Christ, etc.
              As web Weak  5538 km
1660 2319 PTR WGIT Faro de Santidad, Canóvanas (PR) OM lively shouting, presume
              with sports, as web Fair  6806 km **
1600 2321 USA WUNR, Brookline (MA) Spanish music, as web Weak  5251 km
1130 2332 USA WBBR Bloomberg 1130, New York/Carlstadt [NJ] (NY) Dow news Weak  5539 km
1010 2337 USA WINS 1010 WINS, New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) NY ads and phone-in,
              as web Weak  5543 km

** Personal first

The first North American reception in this very disturbed season and this after about two weeks of listening! I doubt things will be quiet for long but hopefully we'll get a few days of this.

Asiatic DX was also starting to surface in the afternoon with many familiar oriental time signals being heard in the noise.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 300 degrees

Skegness Log: 14-09-15 (MW)

1190 0300 ARG LR9 Radio América, Buenos Aires (df) National anthem.
              Plenty of Once Noventa America IDs. Clear with fair peaks between
              0200 and 0400+. Fair  11286 km
1270 0301 ARG LS11 Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, La Plata (ba) ID and news
              jingle Weak  11285 km **

** Personal first

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 225 degrees

Skegness Log: 11-09-15 (MW)

1400 0300 GRD Harbour Light of the Windwards, Carriacou/Tarleton Point (cpm)
              Presumed with the usual religious programming Weak  7032 km

1610 0300 AIA Caribbean Beacon, The Valley (tvy)
              Presumed with usual religious programming Weak  6629 km

1190 0400 ARG LR9 Radio América, Buenos Aires (df) Tentative.
              Very weak but "America" heard in ID sequence. Not 100% sure as several
              things happening on the frequency. Vweak  11286 km **

1540 0400 BAH ZNS-1 Radio Bahamas, Nassau/South Beach (npr) Presumed with a mention
              of the constitution of The commonwealth of The Bahamas ... Vweak  7003 km

1290 0402 VEN YVLF Radio Puerto Cabello, Puerto Cabello (cbb) Vocal ID Weak  7637 km

** Personal first

Radio Buenos Aires was again heard clearly on 1350 between 0300 and 0400. Several snippets of south American audio were heard on other frequencies too, including 980, 1200 and 1380.

I have never concentrated my efforts on the South American continent since living in Skegness, always focusing on North America and the far east.

What was of more interest this morning was the Argantine national anthem, heard on 1190 at 0300. This may be Radio America again, but Henrik Klemetz at Real DX suggested it 'might' be Radio Nacional Tucuman. There were two stations on the frequency at the time. I will have to watch this frequency more closely.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 225 degrees