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Thursday, 2 May 2013

Skegness Log: 02-05-13

Tropospheric:
101.0 1354 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Oostvleteren/Elzendamme (vlg-wvl) Steady signal. Noise free  295km
101.4 1354 BEL VRT Studio Brussel, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Now clear at the side of Tacolneston  431km
100.1 1356 BEL VRT Radio 2, Egem (vlg-wvl) Noise free and clear of Sutton Coldfield!  309km
 88.6 1359 HOL 3FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) Ads before news  408km
105.5 1410 BEL Topradio, Staden/Stadenberg (vlg-wvl) Clonking dance music! (Thats what it sounds like to me anyway)  299km
105.7 1411 BEL Club FM, Oostkamp (vlg-wvl) Just lifting out of the noise, as web  297km
106.2 1412  F  France Bleu Nord, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) ID in promo  266km
107.3 1413 BEL VBRO, Diksmuide/IJzertoren (vlg-wvl) Who needs a lift when the QRN stops!  292km
107.6 1415 BEL Costa FM, Koksijde (wvl) ID. Listed Hit FM on FM List  276km
106.9 1428  F  Skyrock, Béthune/Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen (62) Noise free stereo  341km
103.1 1524 BEL Q-Music, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Pops, as 103.0  376km
102.9 1525 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Schoten (vlg-ant) Oldies, as 101.0  354km
102.3 1528  F  NRJ, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) French pops, as web stream  299km
100.4 1530 HOL Q Music, Numerous sites Ad break, as 100.7
100.6 1530 BEL VRT Studio Brussel, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Pops, as 102.1  376km
 98.9 1533 HOL Radio 1, IJsselstein/Gerbrandytoren-Alticom (utr) Devoid of Holme Moss!  344km
 98.2 1534 HOL Radio 4, Loon op Zand/Alticom Toren (nbr) Easy now neighbouring Belmont reduced to one bar  366km
101.1 1647 BEL RTBF Pure FM, Wavre (wal-bra) Very little Holme Moss off the back now  397km
105.9 1650  D  Hit Radio FFH, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Rap track, as Steinkimmen 104.7  648km
104.9 1652  D  Big FM (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) Banging rap tune, as web  554km
107.9 1655  D  WDR Eins Live, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Pops, as 106.7  494km
101.7 1702  D  Radio Salü, Saarbrücken/Schoksberg (saa) Just getting out of the noise. As web stream  628km
103.0 1707  D  BFBS Radio 1, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Rock track just lifting out of the noise, as web  565km
 92.7 1715  F  Skyrock, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Fringhem (62) Rap track and OM ID  289km
 92.0 1716  F  Radio 6, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont d'Herquelingue (62) Pops, as web  288km
 91.7 1717 BEL VRT Radio 1, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Alone on frequency  376km
 90.7 1719 HOL SubLime FM, IJsselstein/Gerbrandytoren-Alticom (utr) Alone on frequency. As 90.7  344km
 91.0 1719 HOL Omroep Brabant, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) Fiction Factory song, as web stream  334km
 90.0 1720 HOL 100% NL, Loon op Zand/Alticom Toren (nbr) Long time no hear! As 90.2  366km
 90.2 1720 HOL 100% NL, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) No Peterborough splatter anymore!  334km
 89.8 1722  F  RDL-Radio Dallas Loisirs, Dunkerque/le Banc Vert (59) Easier to dig out now. As 89.6  275km
 89.4 1723  F  France Musique, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) OMs discussion, as web  285km
 88.6 1725 HOL Slam!FM, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Just audible in noise. As 88.4  313km
 89.3 1725 HOL Radio West, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) This was a suprise! Over Holme Moss  313km
 87.6 1734 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Oostende/Residentie De Mast (vlg-wvl) Oldies, as web  278km
 87.7 1734  F  RTL, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) YL on phone, as web stream  299km
 89.0 1739 BEL VRT MNM, Schoten (vlg-ant) English artist interview, as web  354km
 92.2 1814 HOL Omrop Fryslân Radio, Jirnsum/Rijksweg (fri) Another Long time no hear  365km
 92.9 1816 HOL Radio 2, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) No BBC R2 QRM now!  318km
 95.0 1817 HOL Radio 1, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) What BBC Lincolnshire splatter?  318km
 96.6 1838 BEL RTBF Pure FM, Anderlues/Mont-Sainte-Geneviève (wal-hnt) Mixing unid hardcore techno  409km
 98.0 1917 HOL Radio Decibel, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Club tracks, as 97.6  321km
104.7 2007  F  France Inter, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) Almost noise free  266km
 98.7 2013 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) (Formerly Arrow Rock). As web  408km **
 98.5 2014 HOL Freez FM, Groningen/Gideonweg (DVB-T Mast) (gro) Barely audible. Same rock song as 98.7  420km **
 93.9 2019 HOL Radio Noord-Holland, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) Solid stereo on peak. Two bars  318km
 93.2 2020 HOL Waterstad FM, Jirnsum/Rijksweg (fri) Acoustic track, as web stream  365km
 91.6 2021  F  Europe 1, Dunkerque/le Banc Vert (59) OM chat, as web stream  275km
 90.6 2023 BEL Joe FM, Oud-Turnhout/Watertoren Pidpa (vlg-ant) Curtis Stigers track, as web  376km
 88.9 2032 HOL Radio Noord-Holland, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Music, as web  321km
100.8 2039  F  Contact FM, Lens, Valenciennes or Maubeuge Bangin Beats, as web

** Personal Skegness 'First'


I think I scared away my QRM today by mentioning OFCOM to it! I was just about to begin the process of making the initial complaint to Ofcom when the noise suddenly abated. It's not gone completely but I would say it's 50% better. Some frequencies still have some noise and others don't. I took advantage of this and had several sessions tuning around band 2, mostly with the 9.2 vertical as horizontal was still quite noisy. Full credit to the designers of the 9.2 for its superb directivity which opened things up beautifully! There were several new (to me) stations down in the noise which I need to identify but hopefully I will identify them soon. Conditions are still below average with transmitters like Egem and Lille dropping out completely at times.

The notes included with the loggings above show the improvements the 9.2 has given me. Other notable points include stations like my local pest Lincs FM on 102.2 can now be almost completely eliminated when beaming SSE when vertical. There was little underneath though, apart from a very weak Croydon, but Lincs FM can now be reduced to "very noisy at zero bars" on the XDR-F1HD. I even had BBC Radio 1 98.3 right down to zero bars, allowing easy access to neighbouring Loon Op Zand on 98.2! The null isn't tight either, there are a good few degrees either side which contain the null. That is impressive!

Today was the first time that I have been able to hear local Belgian stations at the top of the band here without needing a lift to get them! There were actually times when I felt I was DXing on the Suffolk coast as many continentals were peaking above the noise in perfect stereo.

Next job on the cards is to add a little extra height to the 9.2 if I can find somebody locally with a set of roof ladders and no fear of heights. I tried to climb on the roof myself this evening using smaller stepladders but gave up quickly when I reached the third rung (honestly!)

May the noise continue to weaken and stay away permanently. I'm sure things won't be so simple so I will proceed with the report to Ofcom.

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) Approx. 1m ASL
skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
NOTE: skywaves.info website and associated email addresses have closed.

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD (tropospheric)
Kenwood KT6040 (sporadic E & meteor scatter)
Icom IC7000 (OIRT)
Conrad RDS Manager

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v0.99  

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