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Monday, 27 June 2016

Skegness Log: 2016-06-27 (Es: Portugal)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
  87.6 1241 POR RDS, Seixal (set) 8042 ___RDS__ 1770km
  87.9 1241 POR RDP Antena 1, Serra da Lousã/Trevim (coi) 8201 1588km
  88.1 1241 POR Rádio Comercial, Monchique/Fóia (agv) 8203 1891km
  88.2 1241 POR RDP Antena 1, Viseu / Repeses (vis) OM and YL, as 87.9  1523km
  88.9 1241 POR RDP Antena 1, Monchique/Fóia (agv) OM and YL, as 87.9  1891km
  89.3 1241 POR RDP Antena 2, Serra da Lousã/Trevim (coi) 8202 1588km
  89.9 1241 POR RFM, Arrábida (set) 8231 __RFM___ 1778km
  90.8 1241 POR Rádio Comercial, Serra da Lousã/Trevim (coi) Portuguese song, as 88.1  1588km
  91.4 1241 POR Iris FM, Benavente (san) 801B _IRIS_FM 1723km
  91.7 1241 POR RFM, Serra da Lousã/Trevim (coi) Portuguese song, as 89.9  1588km
  92.8 1241 POR Smooth FM, Figueiró dos Vinhos /Serra de São João (lei) 842F 1594km
  93.2 1241 POR RFM, Lisboa/Monsanto (lis) Portuguese song, as 89.9  1760km
  87.8 1404 POR Rádio Montemuro, Cinfães (vrl) 849C 1483km
  88.7 1404 POR RDP Antena 2, Serra de Montejunto (lis) 8202 1711km
  89.1 1404 POR Rádio Leziria, Vila Franca de Xira (lis) Jingle ID  1732km
  89.5 1404 POR TSF Rádio Notícias, Lisboa/Monsanto (lis) 8343 _T_S_F__ 1760km
  90.0 1404 POR Mega Hits, Coimbra (coi) 844E ????HITS 1586km
  90.2 1404 POR Rádio Renascença, Serra de Montejunto (lis) 8221 __??R___ 1711km
  90.4 1404 POR Rádio Nostalgia, Lisboa/Monsanto (lis) 8059 NS?????? 1761km
  91.6 1404 POR Cidade, Lisboa/Monsanto (lis) Jingle ID  1760km
  92.0 1404 POR Rádio Amália, Odivelas (lis) 8407 _AMALIA_ 1753km
  92.4 1404 POR Mega Hits, Lisboa/Monsanto (lis) 844E MEGAHI?? 1760km
  92.6 1404 POR Rádio Sim, Rio Maior (san) 8467 ????_RM_ 1688km
  93.0 1404 POR M80 Rádio, Leiria (lei) 8332 __M80___ 1650km
  93.3 1404 POR Marcoense FM, Marco de Canaveses (prt) 8015 1470km
  95.5 1405 POR Rádio Cister, Alcobaça (lei) 801A _CISTER_ 1666km
  96.4 1405 POR M80 Rádio, Serra de Montejunto (lis) 8332 __M80___ 1711km

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.

Friday, 24 June 2016

The EU Referendum and "British" politics. Disgusted with the whole thing.


The word which comes to mind here is "concerned", but I would have said the same thing had we voted to stay in the EU. 

I don't vote as I have never taken an interest in politics until recently. Quite simply, I have never felt qualified to vote, plus I have never found any politician or political party body I would want to vote for. "Shame on me" for not voting. Perhaps. But I feel slightly more inclined to want to vote after this fiasco. 

Firstly, our politicians have let themselves down very badly in the way they have behaved in their campaigning concerning Brexit. If our overseas friends don't already know this, our politicians have been using scaremongering tactics and outright lies to scare us into voting one way or the other. That is totally unacceptable, not to mention embarrassing. Telling us that we are all racist if we vote LEAVE is one example of something which is completely wrong. The whole campaign has been manipulative on all sides. 

I don't know who to believe in politics, which is one reason I never vote. Party A says one thing, Party B says the opposite is true. How do I know who is telling the truth? Politicians don't do much more than just have a go at each other. Forget about hearing the the actual facts! 

As I see it, the BREXIT (stupid word! What's the opposite? BRAYIN?) campaigners simply want us to be in control of our own country. Nothing more, nothing less. Also to get rid of some of the restrictive and unfair rules and regulations the EU impose on us. 

Common sense tells me two things. 1. "Better the devil you know". 2, "Strength in numbers" and, hopefully, a willingness for us all to get along together nicely". So my immediate leaning was more towards REMAIN. Then I started to read a bit more into the detail of the EU thing. Some things did not seem to be fair at all. I then started leaning towards LEAVE.  I have no idea what is right and what is wrong. My knowledge is simply insuffcient for me to decide one way or the other.

At the end of it all, I was back to being undecided, but possibly still favouring REMAIN, but I could see good and bad if we stayed in the EU or left. Surely safer to stay as we are for many reasons. 

At the end of the proverbial day, I think all sides need to get their act together and the EU should stop being so controlling in some ways. "Fair's fair", but what is ever fair? The bottom line for me is that something needs to be done with our corrupt political system and my concern is that this exit will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble and that our governments will take even more advantage. 

Just my personal opinions, for what they are worth.

2016 Mid-term Es (& Weather) Analysis

We're about half way through the 2016 Es season, so time to post my personal opinion on this year's Es season. These are my own experiences and differ from other DXer's experiences.

Like last season, this year's Es have been the worst and the best for me. "The worst", based on the sparse number of openings, the lack of intensity/lower MUF of the openings and the number of stations received. "The best" because of the frequent double-hop conditions to Turkey, plus the phenomenal opening to Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East on May 29th! So the contrasts have been quite extreme.

Being on the east coast places me closer to the European action, so I am often lucky to experience some Es openings which don't penetrate further inland.

What I am still struggling to get my head around is the fact that I have received Turkey more than twice as often as I have received Italy this season and almost four times as frequently as I have received Spain! That just doesn't happen .... well, clearly it DOES happen. This is the nature of sporadic E. You just never know what to expect, even when you think conditions are poor. It only takers a few minutes and the Es clouds can develop in the right places. But such DX is rare.

Also, just like last summer, there have been more Es openings in Eastern Europe and which didn't reach this far west, so DXers in eastern parts of Europe may argue that their season has been OK, but even there, you can see that the openings have been less frequent.

There have been many days with no Es at all here. The same could be said for the sun. Yes, I am going to moan about the weather. Cold northerly winds have often dominated our weather here on the Lincolnshire coast. The sun has been quite scarce too, with many days of cloud cover. Unusual for the east coast.

We sometimes use the term "British summer" hee to describe the weather. This is usually taken to mean "two sunny days then a thunder storm". That's about right, but storms never seem to come overhead in Skegness and are drawn into the Fenlands or into the Wolds. We are exposed to many elements in these Islands due to our geographical location. It can be oppressively hot due to high humidity levels sometimes, or the opposite, though we don't really have extremes here. It's a fairly 'temperate' and pleasant climate on the whole. Not too hot and not too cold. Personally, I do not like hot weather.

The eastern side of England usually benefits from drier, sunnier weather than the rest of the UK. Not so this season! Weather systems have been in the wrong place, so we have had a lot of cold northerly winds for most of the British summertime. It's been hard to believe that the east of England has been struggling to reach 9C at times when it should have been more than double this.

So, in conclusion, it's largely "RUBBISH" but with rare and unusually good highlights. The season has a few weeks to redeem itself, but I am not holding my breath.

Monday, 20 June 2016

Preview: Skegness Log: 2016-06-20 (Es: Baltic)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 92.1 1100 LVA Super FM, Ošani (Sla) 949A 1662km
 88.5 1102 LTU XFM, Rinkuškiai/LRTC Biržu RRS (Bir) FFF2 -XFM-___ 1596km
 89.4 1102 LTU LRT Radijas, Radikiai/LRTC Joniškio RRS (Jon) C321 __LRT___ and scrolling PS
               1525km **

 87.5 1103 LTU LRT Klasika, Rinkuškiai/LRTC Biržu RRS (Bir) C322 __LRT___ Klasika_ 1596km
 90.7 1103 LTU M-1, Raseiniai/LRTC Raseiniu RRS, Vilniaus g. 1 (Ras) CA01 __M-1___ 1495km
 92.8 1103 LTU M-1, Dovydiškiai (Ked) CA01 __M-1___ 1528km
 88.3 1104 LTU Relax FM, Naujasodis/LRTC Utenos RRS (Ute) CA72 ??LA???? 1649km
 93.3 1104 LTU LRT Radijas, Mažeikiai/LRTC Mažeikiu RRS, Žemaitijos g. 36 (Maz)
               C321 1449km

 94.7 1106 LVA Radio Skonto Vidzeme, Jekabpils (Jek) 906C _SKO???? 1671km
 95.4 1106 LVA TOPradio, Kalna Titini (Pla) 924A TOPradio 1648km
 95.8 1106 LVA Latgolys Radeja (Latgales Radio), Jekabpils/Zilani,
               Sporta iela 1 (Jek) 9407 1671km

 98.8 1107 LTU LRT Radijas, Visbutai/LRTC Taurages RTS (Tau) C321 Scrolling PS 1440km
103.1 1108 LTU Lietus, Visbutai/LRTC Taurages RTS (Tau) C265 1440km **
102.9 1109 LTU LRT Radijas, Visaginas/ LRTC Visagino RTS, Taikos pr.1 (Vis) C321 1702km
100.9 1110 LTU LRT Radijas, Bubiai/LRTC Šiauliu RTS (Sia) C321 1497km
 88.2 1112 LTU ZIP FM, Bubiai/LRTC Šiauliu RTS (Sia) CA94 ??IP???? 1497km
 88.6 1112 LVA Radio 88,6 Jumor FM, Riga/Agenskalns, Nometnu iela 62 (Rig) 8860 JUMOR_FM
               __88,6__ 1561km

 90.6 1113 LVA LR 1, Daugavpils/ LVRTC Daugavpils RTS, Drujas iela 38a (Dau) 9211 1708km
 91.1 1114 LVA LR 4 Doma Laukums, Viesite/LVRTC Viesites NRTS, A. Brodeles iela 40a (Vie)
               9244 1647km

 89.2 1116 LVA Radio SWH Rock, Riga/Zakusala/LTV, Zakusalas krastmala 3 (Rig)
               9007 SWH_???? 1564km

 89.5 1117 LVA Radio TEV, Aizpute (Azp) 906A 1409km
 90.7 1117 LVA LR 1, Riga/Zakusala/LVRTC Rigas RTS, Zakusalas krastmala 1 (Rig)
               9211 __LR-1__ 1565km

 91.5 1117 LVA LR 2, Riga/Zakusala/LVRTC Rigas RTS, Zakusalas krastmala 1 (Rig)
               9222 __LR-2__ 1565km

 92.4 1119 LVA Kurzemes Radio, Tukums (Tuk) 9705 1508km **
 93.9 1121 LVA Radio Baltkom, Riga/Agenskalns, Nometnu iela 62 (Rig) 9390 BALTKOM_ 1561km
 91.1 1122 LVA LR 1, Dundaga/LVRTC Dundagas RTS (Dun) 9211 __LR-1__ 1466km
 91.2 1122 EST Raadio Elmar, Valgjärve (Plv) 2322 ELMAR___ 1718km
 92.0 1123 LVA LR 3 Klasika, Kuldiga (Kul) 9233 1434km **

** 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

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.

Sunday, 19 June 2016

Skegness Log: 2016-06-19 (Es: Turkey & The Balkans)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.5 1105 TUR Damla FM - Istanbul, Istanbul/Camlica (mam-ist) YL singing, as web  2534km
 88.0 1106 TUR Radyo 34 - Istanbul, Istanbul/Camlica (mam-ist) Turkish music, as web  2534km
 88.4 1107 TUR Lalegül FM - Istanbul, Istanbul/Camlica (mam-ist) Chanting or singing, as
               web  2534km

 87.7 1848 HRV HRT-HR 1, Licka Plješivica (gs) C201 HRT-HR_1 1456km
 88.1 1848 BIH BH Radio 1, Livno/Tušnica (k10) F201 BHRADIO1 1615km
 88.4 1848 BIH RSG Radio, Bihac (usk) F091 RSG_____ 1459km
 90.0 1848 HRV HRT-HR 1, Skrad/Kupjacki Vrh (ri) C201 HRT-HR?? 1357km **
 90.5 1848 HRV HRT-HR 2, Licka Plješivica (gs) C202 HRT-HR_2 1456km
 91.1 1848 SVN Radio 94 / Radio NTR, Logatec (lj) 9309 RA????94 1282km **
 91.3 1848 HRV HRT-HR 1, Mirkovica (ri)   C201 HRT-HR_1 1374km
 92.5 1848 BIH Federalni Radio, Livno/Tušnica (k10) F209 1615km
 93.3 1848 BIH Radio Studio N, Ivovik/Borova glava (k10) F493 STUDIO_N 1613km
 92.9 1911 ALB Radio Klan, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) 5E0F KLAN____ 92.9_MHz 1964km

** Personal First

Yet more Turkish reception. Turkey is being heard more frequently than Spain and Italy this season!

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.

Saturday, 18 June 2016

Skegness Log: 2016-06-18 (Es: Various Central & South-East Europe)

OIRT Sporadic E:
 70.91 1353 RUS Radio Rossii, Roslavl/RTPS (SM) OM, as web  2134km **
 68.54 1358 RUS Radio Rossii, Smolensk/RTPS (SM) Radio Roman ID? As web stream anyway so 
                local programme perhaps  2065km
 69.86 1839 RUS Radio Rossii, Dedovichi (PS) Music and YL, as web  1922km
 67.10 1846 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Pinsk/RTPS Posenichi (BR) YL and choir  1729km
 69.08 1847 BLR BR Radio Brest/OIRT, Pinsk/RTPS Posenichi (BR) Pops, as web  1729km
 71.30 1848 UKR UR 2 Radio Promin', Kyiv/KFKRRT, vul. Dorogozhyts'ka, 10 (KC) Pops, as web  
                2077km

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 1058 SRB Radio Novi Sad 1, Novi Sad/Iriški Venac (Voj)  D2F3 1668km
 88.3 1100 HRV HRT-HR 1, Vinkovci/Borinci (vu)  C201 HRT-HR_1 1590km
 90.0 1100 HNG Mária Rádió, Várpalota / Tési-domb (Ves) Maria Radio ID  1425km **
 90.5 1100 SRB Radio Novi Sad 2 (Újvidéki Rádió), Novi Sad/Iriški Venac (Voj)  D2F0 1668km
 92.9 1100 SRB Radio S1, Fruška Gora/Brankovac (Voj)  D249 RADIO_S_ 1661km **
 93.3 1100 HRV HRT-HR 1, Beli Manastir/Belje-Banovo Brdo (os)  C201 HRT-HR_1 1552km
 87.7 1101  D  Bayern 1, Passau/Kühberg (bay)  D311 Bayern_1 1051km **
 88.5 1102 SRB Radio AS FM, Vrbas/Vital silos (Voj)  D3AF ??????Hz 1624km
 92.2 1103 SRB Radio 021, Novi Sad/Bulevar oslobodenja 81 (Voj)  D084 021_____ 1659km
 88.5 1104 ROU Digi FM, Resita/Semenic (CS)  E059 Digi_FM_ 88,5_FM_ 1801km
 89.4 1105 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Csávoly (BaK)  B201 ??ET???? 1553km
 89.9 1107 AUT Radio Wien, Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie)  AC0C RADIO-W_ 1247km
 91.1 1107 HNG Sirius Rádió, Kiskunfélegyháza/toronyház (BaK)  B955 1563km
 91.3 1107 ROU Digi FM, Timisoara/Urseni (TM)  E059 Digi_FM_ 91,3_FM_ 1715km
 91.7 1107 HNG Magyar Katolikus Rádió, Kiskörös / Petöfi Sándor sq. 3. (BaK)  B0AA 
                KATRADIO 1534km
 92.0 1107 AUT Ö1, Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie) Classical, as 87.8  1247km
 92.5 1107 SRB Play Radio, Beograd/Torlak (Srb)  D25C 1737km
 97.9 1107 AUT Radio Niederösterreich, Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie)  A602 RADIO-N_ 1247km
 93.9 1108 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Kab-hegy (Ves)  B201 1405km
 94.3 1108 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Nagykanizsa/Újudvar (Zal)  B201 ????OF?? 1398km
 95.3 1108 AUT Radio Wien, Wien 2/Himmelhof (wie) Dross, as 89.9  1247km **
 96.5 1108 HNG Gong Rádió, Kecskemét / High-rise, Megyeháza (BaK)  B996 __GONG__ 1541km
 96.8 1108 HNG Rádió 7, Makó / ATI-VIZIG tower (Cso) B9BB 1634km **
 97.0 1108 AUT Ö1, Sankt Pölten/Jauerling (nie)  A201 1181km
 97.2 1108 SRB Hit FM, Fruška Gora/Brankovac (Voj)  5000 1661km
 97.6 1108 HNG Rádió 7, Hódmezövásárhely / High-rise, Kistópart str. 3. (Cso) Ads, as 96.8  
                1613km
 98.2 1108 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Vasvár - Hegyhátsál (Vas) Pops, as 98.8  1349km
 98.8 1108 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Szentes (Cso)  B201 _PETOFI_ 1596km
103.8 1108 AUT FM 4, Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie) A213 __FM4___ 1247km **
 87.8 1109 AUT Ö1, Wien 2/Himmelhof (wie)  A201 1247km **
 99.9 1109 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie)  A203 __OE_3__ 1247km
100.1 1109 HNG Györ+ Rádió 100,1, Györ - Erzsébet-liget, water tower (Gyo)  B35F 1366km
100.7 1109 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Timisoara/Urseni (TM)  EE01 CULTURAL 1715km
101.3 1109 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Wien 2/Himmelhof (wie) Pops, as 99.9  1247km **
102.5 1109 AUT Radio Ö24 (Wien), Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie)  AC41 __?????? 1247km **
 87.6 1116 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Györ /  Szabadhegy (Gyo)  B203 1368km
 91.0 1117 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Bihor/Vârful Curcubata Mare (BH)  EE00 1760km
 88.2 1131 BUL BNR Hristo Botev, Belogradcik/RRTS Karneva livada [NURTS Belogradchik] (vdn)  
                8220 HR_BOTEV 1950km
 87.6 1138 BUL BNR Horizont, Lom/RRS Lom (mnt) Maybe Lom 8210 __BNR___ HORIZONT 1969km
 88.2 1210 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Lucenec/Blatný vrch (BB)  5960 REGINA_S 1464km

** 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

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.

Friday, 17 June 2016

Skegness Log: 2016-06-17 (OIRT Es: Italy & The Balkans)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.6 2035 GRC Laikos 87.6, Thessaloniki/Hortiatis (cmc-tsk) 00A8 2207km
 88.5 2038 ROU Digi FM, Resita/Semenic (CS) E059 Digi_FM_ 1801km
 91.3 2038 ROU Digi FM, Timisoara/Urseni (TM) Pops, as 88.5  1715km
 88.1 2039 BIH BH Radio 1, Tušnica (k10) F201 ????DI?? 1615km
 91.4 2039 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Drobeta-Turnu Severin/Balota (MH)
               EE00 RRACTUAL 1888km

 87.5 2043  I  Radio Radicale, Martina Franca/Monte Trazzonara (ta) 5210 1894km
 87.8 2044  I  Ritmo 80, Corato/Contrada Murgetta (ba)   5A72 1797km
 88.0 2045  I  Radio Studio 24, Ancona/Forte Montagnolo-Via del Golfo (an) 55D6 1435km

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.

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Skegness Log: 2016-06-14 (OIRT Es: Belarus)

OIRT Sporadic E:
 72.11 1732 BLR BR Radius FM, Minsk/RTPS Kolodischi (MI) Jingle ID  1805km
 72.89 1732 BLR BR Radio Stalitsa/OIRT, Minsk/RTPS Kolodischi (MI) Rock, as web  1805km
 71.69 1735 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Brest/RTPS Rakitnica (BR) Classical, as web  1593km
 71.54 1736 BLR BR Radio Grodno/OIRT, Geranyony/RTPS (HR) Offensive dance track,
                as web  1658km

 66.02 1737 BLR BR Radio Mogilev/OIRT, Bobruysk (Babrujsk)/RTPS Yasny Les (MA) Local
                pops, as web  1922km

 71.45 1737 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Bobruysk (Babrujsk)/RTPS Yasny Les (MA) Local
                music, as web  1922km

 66.20 1738 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Grodno (Hrodna)/RTPS (ul. Gorkogo, 85) (HR) YL,
                as web  1551km

 66.98 1739 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Grodno (Hrodna)/RTPS (ul. Gorkogo, 85) (HR) Pops,
                as others  1551km

 67.07 1740 BLR BR Radio Stalitsa/OIRT, Berezino (Berazino)/RTPS (MI) ++ Local music,
                as web  1883km

 67.25 1740 BLR BR Radio Mogilev/OIRT, Kostiukovichi (Kastsiukovicy)/RTPS (MA)
                Local pops, as web  2092km

 67.76 1741 BLR BR Radio Grodno/OIRT, Grodno (Hrodna)/RTPS (ul. Gorkogo, 85) (HR)
                Local music, as web  1551km

 68.03 1741 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Kostiukovichi (Kastsiukovicy)/RTPS (MA)
                Classical, as web  2092km

 68.39 1742 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Geranyony/RTPS (HR) Casslcal, as others  1658km
 68.90 1742 BLR BR Radio Stalitsa/OIRT, Grodno (Hrodna)/RTPS (ul. Gorkogo, 85) (HR) Local
                song, as others  1551km

 68.96 1743 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Bobruysk (Babrujsk)/RTPS Yasny Les (MA) YL, as
                web  1922km

 69.26 1743 BLR BR Radio Stalitsa/OIRT, Geranyony/RTPS (HR) YL ID  1658km
 69.38 1743 BLR BR Radio Stalitsa/OIRT, Kostiukovichi (Kastsiukovicy)/RTPS (MA)
                YL, as others. Audio fault  2092km

 70.43 1744 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Minsk/RTPS Kolodischi (MI) Piano music, as web  1805km
 70.79 1744 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Berezino (Berazino)/RTPS (MI) OM and pops, as web
                1883km

 70.91 1745 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Brest/RTPS Rakitnica (BR) Pops, as web  1593km
 71.03 1746 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Zhlobin/RTPS (ul. Marksa 1a) (GO) YL, as web  1973km
 71.33 1747 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Minsk/RTPS Kolodischi (MI) Pops, as web  1805km
 71.96 1750 BLR BR Kanal Kultura/OIRT, Mogilev (Mahilyow)/RTPS Polykovichi (MA) YL, as
                web  1968km

 72.32 1751 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Geranyony/RTPS (HR) YL, as web  1658km
 72.74 1751 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Mogilev (Mahilyow)/RTPS Polykovichi (MA) YL, as
                web  1968km

 66.47 1756 BLR BR Pershy Kanal/OIRT, Kostiukovichi (Kastsiukovicy)/RTPS (MA)
                YL, as web  2092km


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.

Monday, 13 June 2016

Skegness Log: 2016-06-13 (Es: Iceland)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 97.1 1152 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Vestmannaeyjabær/Vestmannaeyjar-Klif (sl)  A201 _RUV_R1_ 1648km **
 88.0 1557 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Stykkishólmsbær/Stykkishólmur-símstöð (ve) Jazz, as 89.8  1844km **
 99.9 1557 ISL RÚV Rás 2, Esju/Skálafell (ho) A202 RUV_R2__ 1745km **
100.9 1557 ISL Bylgjan, Stykkishólmsbær/Stykkishólmur-símstöð (ve)  A203 BYLGJAN_ 1844km **
101.7 1557 ISL FM957, Stykkishólmsbær/Stykkishólmur-símstöð (ve)  A205 _FM957__ 1844km **
102.9 1557 ISL Lindin, Kópavogur/Vatnsendi (ho) Pops, as 103.9  1750km **
104.3 1557 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Árborg/Selfoss-símstöð (sn) YL, as others  1707km **
104.5 1557 ISL Kiss FM, Reykjavík/Geitháls (ho)  F999 KISSFM__ 1747km **
104.7 1557 ISL Bylgjan, Þingvellir (sl) Pops, as 100.9  1732km **
105.1 1557 ISL Lindin, Árborg/Selfoss-símstöð (sn)  A20D  __LINDIN 1707km **
106.6 1557 ISL RÚV Rás 2, Árborg/Selfoss-símstöð (sn) Presume with same YL as on RAS1. Only 
               Icelandic listed on frequency  1707km **
 92.9 1559 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Mýrum/Miðhús-Girðisholt (ve)  A201 _RV__R1_ 1787km **
103.9 1559 ISL FMX Klassik, Reykjavík (ho)  A666 FMX_____ 1756km **
105.5 1559 ISL Útvarp Boðun, Kópavogur/Vatnsendi (ho) OM ID before the toh  1750km **
 88.1 1603 ISL RÚV Rás 2, Vestmannaeyjabær/Vestmannaeyjar-Klif (sl)  A202 _RUV_R2_ 1648km **
 90.1 1603 ISL RÚV Rás 2, Kópavogur/Vatnsendi (ho)  A202 1750km
 92.4 1603 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Esju/Skálafell (ho)  A201 RUV_R1__ 1745km
 93.3 1605 ISL Suðurland FM, Vestmannaeyjum (sl)  A219 SUDURLAN 1647km ** 
 89.1 1604 ISL Hringbraut Útvarp, Reykjavík (ho) Tentative. Probably this station based on 
               conditions.A2B2  1755km **
 93.5 1605 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Kópavogur/Vatnsendi (ho) Vocal ID. As 93.8  1750km **
 93.8 1605 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Háfell (sn)  A201 _R?????? 1590km **
 94.5 1605 ISL Bylgjan, Háfell (sn)  A203 BY?????? 1590km **
 95.3 1605 ISL RÚV Rás 2, Borgarbyggð/Borgarfjörður-Skáneyjarbunga (ve) Vocal IDs  1813km **
 96.3 1605 ISL Suðurland FM, Vestmannaeyjabær/Vestmannaeyjar-Klif (sl) Pops, as 93.3  1648km **
 97.7 1605 ISL X-ið 977, Kópavogur/Vatnsendi (ho) Presumed. Icelandic OM, as 90.4  1750km **
 98.7 1605 ISL RÚV Rás 2, Háfell (sn)  A202 _RUV_R2_ 1590km **
103.5 1605 ISL BBC World Service, Mosfellsbær/Víðines (ho)  A204 BBC_WS__ 1752km **
 99.1 1606 ISL Útvarp Saga, Árborg/Selfoss-símstöð (sn) Confirmed by Icelandic friend Geir 
               Flóvent Jónsson in Reykjavík  1707km **
 99.9 1606 ISL RÚV Rás 2, Esju/Skálafell (ho)  A202 RUV_R2__ 1745km **
 89.5 1607 ISL Retro 895, Reykjavík/Geitháls (ho) Presumed with this PI code. PI not listed 
               in FM List. A252  1747km **
 89.8 1607 ISL RÚV Rás 1, Borgarbyggð/Borgarfjörður-Skáneyjarbunga (ve) Jazz, as web  1813km **
 90.4 1607 ISL X-ið 977, Vestmannaeyjabær/Vestmannaeyjar-Klif (sl)  A206 __X-ID__ 1648km **
 99.4 1609 ISL Útvarp Saga, Reykjavík/Hús verslunarinnar-Kringlan 7 (ho)  YL, as 99.1  1756km **

Unidentified:
 89.1 1604 ISL UNID A2B2 ( I included this in the log above as "Hringbraut Útvarp" as it's almost certain this was the Reykjavik station. 

** Personal 'First'

Nice to have Iceland in again and almost to the top of the band!

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.

New Web Hosts - 1&1 Internet. Here We Go Again! :O(

Some years ago, a good friend told me that all web hosting companies are, more or less, exactly the same. The message he was putting across said that any one was equally as bad as the next. They all have their problems and they all offer a level of customer support which can best be described as poor or worse. In my own experience, his comments were completely correct.

My first experience of a web hosting company was with Web Mania. Their service was unreliable at times and their customer support was a joke. I stuck with them for a few years, but I decided to move to new hosts when things went from bad to worse. They literally refused to let me go and ignored all my attempts to migrate to new hosts.

The last straw with Web Mania was taken when I realised that they were trying to steal the top level domain I owned at that time, which was hosted with them. I had to get NOMINET (the OFCOM of the web world) to force them to release me. NOMINET were excellent and sorted out all the problems in less than one hour - something I had failed to achieve in six weeks.

Next came Dataflame. To be fair, I had several years of fairly reliable service with them, with the odd hiccup. then a couple of CMS websites I had been running were hacked. One day, my hobby domain, g1vvp.co.uk was hacked and turned into an illegal Lloyds TSB Bank login page. It was quite a shock to find that my domain suddenly became what looked like the front page of Lloyds TSB's customer website. Dataflame threatened me with the police over this, but a little digging told me that it was their servers which had been hacked, yet that didn't stop them trying to pin the blame on me. There was no apology.

Earlier this year, I chose to leave them, but they insisted on billing me for excessive amounts of money I did not owe. Luckily, I managed to sort that out myself.

Dataflame's service had collapsed. about two weeks after I left Dataflame, I received an email to say that Dataflame were no more and that a new company were taking over.

After some research, I moved to 1&1 Internet. A company which did not have a good reputation for customer support, but they are a large and established company, which told me that they should at least have the power to deliver. But only a few weeks into the contract and I find that their system is failing me spectacularly. My FTP accounts have not worked for about six weeks, despite phone calls to their hopeless telephone support service, based in the Philippines.

Following my last telephone call to them yesterday regarding my FTP problems, their operators demonstrated once again just how clueless they really are and sent me 'around the houses' for an issue I did not have - email. I don't have problems with their email service, only with FTP access. I had to abandon the phone call due to serious language barrier issues. My message was not getting through to the girl who took my call. She would not listen to a word I said, talking over me all the time. I hung up.

Another problem I have is that my g1vvp account has disappeared from my Control Panel. They deny that I have ever had one! Well look here www.g1vvp.co.uk I most certainly do!

My initial problem, six weeks ago, was a simple case of losing access to my FTP accounts. After a telephone call to their operators, I discovered that my FTP password had been changed. I had definitely NOT changed this myself.

Complaining to 1&1 Internet is far from simple. It took me an hour to research who to contact.

Why am I complaining about this here? Because I am going to need some muscle in getting this sorted. 1and1 Internet do not like their customers making their problems public. So I may be writing yet another blow-by-blow account of the shoddy service I have been receiving from yet another useless, 'don't-give-a-shit' company I have encountered.

I will add more as I go along as necessary.

To get the ball rolling, I submitted an email of complaint yesterday to their complaints department at complaints@1and1.co.uk It's about 12 hours since I contacted them and I have not received an acknowledgement as I had expected. That is fairly customary with these companies, but nothing so far. Next I will write to their head of support at m.wolf@1and1.co.uk