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Saturday, 31 August 2013

Another RTL 2832 Dongle (E4000 Variant)

I finally got round to installing my new RTL 2832 (E4000) dongle today. Well, it was 'new' about four months ago but I didn't want to risk upsetting the smooth operation of RDS Spy during the Es season, so I decided to wait until it was all over. But I am sure many people in the UK would agree that this year's Es season is probably far from over! Even at the end of August there are still days of strong and sustained band-wide Es openings.

With a DX trip looming I decided I needed to take action and get this thing working. Amazingly, the installation completed in less than a minute. This is indeed unexpected as the last RTL dongle I installed took many days of trying and failing. That was the FC01 variant. That one was a poor performer though. The gain was poor and there was evidence of overload, though the use of different software applications improved some of the issues to a degree. Knowing that each RTL dongle performed differently gave me some reassurance. What if I had got a bad one? Since they are so cheap to order from online resources such as eBay and Amazon I decided to buy another.

This E4000 variant performs like a dream. There is no overload and the gain is more than adequate. It 'seems' to perform as well as my XDR-F1HD though I haven't done a side-by-side comparison. It's 'very close' at the very least. Whether the E4000 is simply a better performer than the FC01 I have no idea. They will probably all vary no matter which model you choose, but at only a few £s each you don't have much to lose. Buy a few and choose the best one because, if you get a good one of these, you have a very capable DX machine for very little money!

I love being able to tune between the 10kHz steps and slide the IF bandwidth in and out to suit. Digging in between stronger signals becomes easy. You can see all the weak signals on the waterfall scale even though they are just below audio level. I love how easy it is to record a chunk of IF bandwidth too- something which used to drain the resources of the laptop when using the FC01 dongle. That's not a problem anymore. My laptop is only has a simple Celeron mobile chip too and so won't be able to handle too much and it didn't seem keen to run SDR Console v2 smoothly, which needs a lot more processing power. I need to check my settings in case I have something wrong, but SDR# works perfectly for now.

In the future I will experiment with HD-SDR and RDS Spy *IF* my laptop can handle the necessary 192 kHz sampling rate.

The future of FM DXing is looking much brighter with the introduction of these dongles. I wonder what is around the corner?

Skegness Log: 31-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.8 1101  E  Si Ràdio, Torrent/Perentxissa=Calicanto (VAL-V) E504  1527km


I was by the radio for this morning's Es, watching the MUF rising, but this was the only station which made it through in the end.

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Friday, 30 August 2013

Skegness Log: 30-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.6 1647  E  RNE Radio 5, Marbella/Castillejos (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1884km
 88.0 1648  E  RNE Radio 5, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1879km
 87.7 1652  E  Europa FM, Priego de Cordoba (AND-CO) E2ED EUROPAFM  1778km
 87.7 1657  E  Europa FM, Alcalá de Henares (MAD-M) E5ED EUROPAFM. Unattended  1439km
 87.5 1659  E  Dynamis Radio, Alcorcón/Poligono Urtinsa (MAD-M) 7878  1458km
 88.0 1700  E  Radio Nervión, Bilbao=Bilbo/Ganeta (PVA-BI) E343  1130km
 92.7 1701  E  Radio Marca, Fuenlabrada/Polígono Niño del Remedio (MAD-M) B002 R.MARCA_  1463km
 87.6 1720 POR Rádio Popular Afifense, Viana do Castelo (vcs) 80AB AFIFENSE  1446km
 88.0 1720  E  Radio Galega Música, Valga/Monte Xesteiras (GAL-PO) E4E1 RGMUSICA  1338km
 87.5 1721  E  RKM Radio Solidaria, Santiago de Compostela (GAL-C) E240 RKM vocal ID  1315km **
 89.3 1723 POR Rádio Comercial, Esposende (bra) 8203 COMRCIAL  1460km
 89.6 1724 POR RDP Antena 2, Valença do Minho/Monte do Faro (vcs) 8202  1404km **
 90.8 1724  E  Radio Galega Música, Moaña/Monte Faro Domayo (GAL-PO) E4E1 __MU____  1378km **
 88.0 1726 POR RDP Antena 2, Braga/Sameiro (bra) 8202 __TENA__  1445km
 88.9 1728  E  COPE, Soria (CAL-SO) E2CA  1282km **
 89.0 1728 POR Rádio 5, Póvoa de Varzim (prt) 805B RADIO_5_  1467km
 88.9 1729 POR RDP Antena 1, Monchique/Fóia (agv) 8201 ANTENA_1  1890km
 90.4 1730 POR Rádio Nostalgia, Lisboa/Monsanto (lis) 8059 NSTALGIA  1760km
 91.1 1731  E  Radio Líder, Moaña/Monte Faro Domaio (GAL-PO) E304 Vocal ID  1378km **
 92.1 1732  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Moaña/Monte Faro Domayo (GAL-PO) E212  1378km **
 93.3 1733  E  Europa FM, Ourense/Seminario (GAL-OU) E2ED EUROPAFM  1348km
 93.4 1734  E  SER, La Coruña (GAL-C) E4E0  1264km
 93.7 1734 POR Rádio Renascença, Porto/Monte da Virgem (prt) 8221 __RR____  1496km
 93.9 1735 POR RDP Antena 2, Fundão/Serra da Gardunha (cab) 8202  1566km
 94.7 1736 POR RDP Antena 1, Guarda/P.Vento (gua) 8201  1516km **
 95.9 1736 POR Rádio Sines, Sines (set) 80BF _R-S__ES  1830km
 96.8 1738 POR Rádio Comercial, Grândola (set) 8203 __MR__AL  1802km
 87.6 1739 POR RDS, Seixal (set) 8042  ___RDS__  1769km
 87.7 1739 POR Rádio Onda Livre, Macedo de Cavaleiros (bgc) 84D3 ONDALIVR  1403km
 88.1 1740 POR Rádio Comercial, Monchique/Fóia (agv) Jingle ID  1890km
 88.5 1741 POR Rádio Clube de Arganil, Arganil (coi) 84E7  1571km
 89.7 1741 POR RAL-Rádio Antena Livre, Abrantes (san) 807F  1658km
 92.5 1743 POR RCB-Rádio Cova da Beira, Fundão/Serra da Gardunha (cab) 84AE  1566km
 93.4 1743 POR RDP Antena 2, Faro/São Miguel-Goldra (agv) 8202  1893km
 94.1 1744 POR Diana FM, Évora (evo) 808A DIANA_EV  1739km
 99.2 1744 POR RDP Antena 1, Grândola (set) 8201 ANTENA_1  1802km
 90.2 1746 POR Rádio Renascença, Guarda/P.Vento (gua) 8221 ___RR___  1516km
 90.6 1746 POR RDP Antena 2, Grândola (set) 8202 __TEAN__  1802km
 91.5 1747 POR RDP Antena 2, Monchique/Fóia (agv) As 90.2  1890km
 92.6 1748  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Pedrafita do Cebreiro/Alto Poio (GAL-LU) E212 RNE-CLAS  1285km **
 94.7 1750 POR Rádio Voz do Sorraia, Coruche (san) 80EA ____RA__  1716km
 96.4 1751 POR RDP Antena 1, Fundão/Serra da Gardunha (cab) 8201  1566km
 87.5 1752  E  Cadena Nostalgia, Dos Hermanas/Montequinto (AND-SE) FFFF Cadena Nostalgia in radiotext  1824km
 89.2 1754  E  Europa FM, Sevilla (AND-SE) E2ED EUROPAFM  1819km
 87.6 1757 POR Rádio Imagem, Fornos de Algodres (gua) 80C9 IMAGEM__  1512km
 91.6 1758 POR RDP Antena 2, Manteigas (gua) 8202  1535km **
 87.8 1802  E  Onda Valencina, Valencina del Concepción (AND-SE) E011 RV____FM 87.8__FM  1818km
 87.7 1803  E  Hit FM, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) E200 HIT_FM__  1904km
 91.1 1804 MRC Médina FM, Tanger (ttn) 111B MEDINAFM  1991km
 92.0 1808 POR Rádio Beira Interior, Castelo Branco/Castelo (cab) 806B  1596km
 93.9 1810 POR Rádio Mirasado, Alcácer do Sal (set) 80CA  1777km
 94.3 1810  E  Radio Andalucía Información, Valencina del Concepción (AND-SE) E333  1819km
 94.8 1811  E  M80 Radio, Valencina del Concepción (AND-SE) E21E M80RADIO  1819km
 95.3 1811  E  Éxito Radio, La Algaba (AND-SE) 5320   1811km **
 96.7 1812 POR Rádio Tagide, Abrantes (san) 80DB R.TAGIDE  1658km **
 97.1 1813  E  Los 40 Principales, Valencina del Concepción (AND-SE) E035 CUARENTA  1819km
100.6 1814 POR Rádio Amália, Setúbal (set) 8407 _AMALIA_  1773km
100.7 1817  E  Los 40 Principales, Barbate (AND-CA) E072 CO______  1946km
101.6 1819 POR RDP Antena 3, Elvas/Vila Boim (ple) 8204  1690km
103.8 1820 POR RDP Antena 1, Elvas/Vila Boim (ple) Vocal ID  1690km
104.8 1823  E  Onda Cero, Badajoz (EXT-BA) E777 ONDACERO  1682km
106.1 1824 POR M80 Rádio, Faro/São Miguel-Goldra (agv) 8332  1893km
107.1 1824 POR M80 Rádio, Monchique/Fóia (agv) Pops, as 106.1  1890km
107.4 1825 POR TSF Rádio Notícias, Lousã/Trevim (coi) 8343  1588km
105.5 1827  E  Kiss FM, Burgos (CAL-BU) E2EC  1237km **
102.4 1831 POR RDP Antena 3, Serra do Mendro (bej) Rock song, as 105.0  1770km
105.0 1831 POR RDP Antena 3, Montargil (ple) 8203  1694km
 88.0 1833 POR Mega Hits, Sintra (lis) 8011 MEGAFM-S  1759km
 87.9 1835 POR RDP Antena 1, Lousã/Trevim (coi) 8201  1588km
 87.7 1838 POR RDP Antena 1, Serra do Mendro (bej) 8201  1770km

Unidentifieds:
 89.3 1656  ?  UNID, ? 8930.Light pops
 93.2 1809  E? UNID, ? FFFF
 87.6 1903  ?  UNID, ? E747. Last station to fade out

** Personal Skegness 'First'

A sustained top-of-the-band Es opening to Spain and Portugal today, with a touch of Morocco and Italy thrown in too!

I missed the Baltic Es this morning as I was starting to organise the radio gear for a DX trip.

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Thursday, 29 August 2013

Skegness Log: 29-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.6 1030  E  RNE Radio 5, Marbella/Castillejos (AND-MA) E215 and toh ID  1884km
 87.9 1100  E  RNE Radio 5, Cambil/Sierra Almadén (AND-J) E215 Vocal ID. Presumed site  1740km
 87.7 1112  E  Hit FM, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) E200  1904km
 89.4 1113  E  Los 40 Principales, San Fernando (AND-CA) E235 CUAR____  1905km
 87.6 1119 MRC Médi 1, Settat/Regraga (cho) 1281 MEDI_1__  2331km
 87.6 1136  E  COPE, Badajoz/Cansa Burros (EXT-BA) E2CA __COPE__ Badajoz in radiotext  1683km
 87.7 1136 POR RDP Antena 1, Serra do Mendro (bej) 8201  1770km
 89.1 1137  E  Cadena 100, Badajoz/Cansa Burros (EXT-BA) E2CE _CAD____  1683km
 89.6 1147 POR RFM, Faro/São Miguel-Goldra (agv) 8231 __RF____  1893km
 87.6 1156 POR RDS, Seixal (set) 8042 ____DS__. Unattended  1769km


Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Skegness Log: 28-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.8 1147  I  Ritmo 80, Corato/Monte Ripanno (ba) 5A72 RITMO_80. Unattended  1796km
 87.7 1148  I  Radio Radicale, Monopoli/Contrada Impalata (ba) 5210 ___O____. Unattended  1865km
 87.7 1224  I  Radio Venere, Lecce or Specchia 5B4A R-VENERE. Specchia with this PI?. Unattended
 87.7 1319  E  Europa FM, Alcalá de Henares (MAD-M) E5ED __ROPA__. Unattended  1439km
 87.6 1331  E  COPE, Three sites E2CA __COPE__. Unattended. AFs: 88.6, 91.6, 101.1, 103.6 (Filler)
 87.7 1341 POR RDP Antena 1, Serra do Mendro (bej) 8201. Unattended  1770km
 87.8 1404  F  Radio Star, Orange/le Vieux Télégraphe (84) F440. Unattended  1064km
 87.7 1406  F  Rire Et Chansons, Nice or Cannes F226 _RIRE__
 87.7 1406  F  Le Mouv', Bordeaux/Bouliac (33) F208 LE_MOUV. Unattended  928km **
 87.7 1426  F  France Culture, La Mûre/Château Vieux (38) F202
               __UL__RE. Presumably La Mure with AFs of: 99.0,
               99.1, 87.7, 88.5, 89.2, 90.1, 102.5 (Filler),
               95.0, 96.7, 90.5, 92.7  1005km **
 87.6 1640 BUL BNR Radio Shumen, Shumen/RRTS Venets (shm) 8236 SHUMEN__  2220km

Band 2 Tropospheric:
107.1 0007  F  Rire et Chansons, Abbeville/Huchenneville (80) kool and The Gang, as web  359km
 95.4 0726  F  RTL, Fécamp/les Plantis (76) French pop song, as web  377km **
107.9 0812  G  Jack 2, Oxford/Boars Hill (EN-OXF) Two bars and noise free  193km **


** Personal Skegness 'First'

Seems I missed a good Es opening today. :O( By coincidence I heard the Es just starting as I was about to switch off the radio and go into town. There was no way I could delay my visit so I had to miss the opening. I left RDS Spy running instead and auto-logged a few stations.

Not only was there sporadic E today but I also caught the tail end of the overnight tropo which fizzled out around 09:00 but not before leaving me with another new site in Fécamp.

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Tuesday, 27 August 2013

Skegness Log: 27-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 88.0 0651  F  Horizon, Béthune-Lens/Bouvigny-Boyeffles CV11 (62) YL natter, as web  344km
 88.2 0652  F  Radio Classique, Lille/Fort de Mons-en-Baroeul (59) OM on phone, as web  339km
 89.2 0654  F  RTL 2, Lille/Fort de Mons-en-Baroeul (59) Pops, as web  339km
 92.0 0654  F  Virgin Radio, Lille/Fort de Mons-en-Baroeul (59) Pops, as web  339km
 96.0 0656  F  RFM, Lille/Fort de Mons-en-Baroeul (59) Pops, as 97.2  339km
 93.0 0701 HOL Radio 10 (AVR), Westdorpe/Verkavelingsweg (zee) Jingle ID after ads  323km
102.9 2315  F  Nostalgie, Hesdin/le Quesnoy-en-Artois (62) Jingle ID  334km
104.8 2321  F  Europe 1, Cambrai/Mont Blanc (59) Discussion, as web  384km **
 92.1 2322  F  RTL, Cambrai/Mont Blanc (59) Boz Scaggs song, as web  384km **
 92.8 2323  F  NRJ, Béthune/Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen (62) ID in ads  341km
 98.4 2330  F  RMC, Dunkerque/le Banc Vert (59) OM and YL, as web  275km
101.6 2336  F  RFM, Cambrai/Mont Blanc (59) Murray Head, as web  384km **
101.7 2337  F  Banquise FM, Isbergues/Molinghem (62) Hard club music, as web  318km
106.6 2339  F  Radio Campus Lille, Lille/Cité Scientifique (59) Rap song, as web  342km
106.7 2340  F  Fun Radio, Hesdin/le Quesnoy-en-Artois (62) Phone in, as web  334km
 88.3 2345 BEL Q-Music, Oostvleteren/Elzendamme (vlg-wvl) Q is good for you jingle  295km
 89.9 2350  F  RFM, Douai/LAM (59) Jingle ID and pops  363km **
 91.5 2359  F  Virgin Radio, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) Pops, as web  285km

Unidentified:
104.7 2318 BEL City Music, Unlisted site. Jingle ID and pops. Three bars **


** Personal Skegness 'First'

Some good signals from nearby continentals. At last, Cambrai and Douai logged here for the first time. Could never understand why these two never made it before considering their location.

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Skegness Log: 26-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
107.5 0757 BEL VBRO, Poperinge (vlg-wvl) Dutch music  304km
107.6 0759 BEL Contact Dance, Assenede/Stroomstraat (vlg-ovl) Club music, Vocal ID drop in, ads  316km **
106.9 0804  F  Skyrock, Béthune/Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen (62) F214 SKYROCK_. Three bars  341km
105.0 0819 HOL Origineel FM, Goes/Alticom Toren (zee) U2 song, as web  303km
105.3 0820 HOL Radio 1, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) OM Phone in  455km
 98.4 0824 HOL 538, Goes/Alticom Toren (zee) YL with ID. 50 watts! Nearly noise free  303km **
 93.3 0842 HOL Ujala Radio, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Indian music  321km
 93.6 0843 HOL Wild FM, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Rap song, as web  321km
 93.8 0844 HOL Slam!FM, Megen/Alticom Toren (nbr) Pops, as web  387km
 95.7 0848 HOL Fresh FM, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Had to beam NE to null strong Egem. 321km **
 95.9 0850 HOL Fresh FM, Alphen aan den Rijn/Alticom Toren (zho) As 95.7  313km
 96.1 0852 HOL FunX, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Rap song, as web  321km
 96.6 0919 HOL RADIONL, Leeuwarden/Ceresweg (fri) Local vocal ID  369km **
 98.7 0925 HOL Freez FM, Smilde/Alticom Toren (dre) 8353 Jingle ID  408km
100.5 0928 HOL Q-music, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) Presumed site. Belmont nulled  318km **
101.8 0932 HOL Waterstad FM, Leeuwarden/Ceresweg (fri) Michael Jackson song, as web  369km **
102.1 0936 HOL 538, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) As others  342km
103.5 0939 HOL Radio Veronica, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) Police, as 103.0  334km
 90.1 1011 HOL Slam!FM, Wieringermeer/Robbenoordbos (nho) OM talking about Knightrider, as web  318km
104.0 1200 HOL Radio 10 (AVR), Haarlem/Alticom Toren (nho) Ads, ID on hour. Only on H beam!  305km **
107.6 1855 BEL Hit FM, Koksijde (vlg-wvl) 6334  276km
 88.9 1907 BEL Club FM, Diksmuide (vlg-wvl) Pop song, as web  294km **
 99.7 1913  F  Radio Métropolys, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) Jingle ID between pops  299km **
102.3 1927  F  NRJ, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) F220  299km


** Personal Skegness 'First'


Recordings:
99.7 Radio Metropolys, St Omer 1913 26-08-13
https://app.box.com/s/2jt4t7uixxjj0llv6ecm

96.6 Radio NL, Leeuwarden 0919 26-08-13
https://app.box.com/s/ax8oywia13mc47yct8n2

98.4 Radio 538, Goes (50 watts) 0824 26-08-13
https://app.box.com/s/8vj2b7riuan5t61blhat

107.6 Contact Dance, Assenede 0759 26-08-13
https://app.box.com/s/x6ppt07w17h0f8pnukpm


It's called "tempting fate". I shout "NOISE" and it disappears. But of course it returned an hour or two later and killed the tropo, yet it's as if the XDR has lost sensitivity.

As per OFCOM's readings, the noise begins around 50 MHz, peaks very strongly between 74 and 75 MHz then gradually reduces in strength and finally disappeares just below 300 MHz. But that was the original noise. I have more now.

It's possible that the noise could be radiating from the old lady's house two doors away as I was able to check with our immediate neighbours this morning who hadn't changed a thing, i.e. they had been running their BT PLT, computer and plasma TV before and after the noise came on. I need to do some snooping with a portable.


Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Saturday, 24 August 2013

Skegness Log: 23-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Scatter:
105.5 1401  D  WDR Eins Live, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw)  591km
105.6 1402  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Donnersberg (rlp)  657km
106.7 1403  D  WDR Eins Live, Langenberg/Hordtberg (nrw)  505km
105.7 1404  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen (nds)  543km
107.0 1405  D  WDR Eins Live, Olsberg (nrw)  592km
107.9 1407  D  WDR Eins Live, Münster/Baumberg (nrw)  494km
 88.0 1409  D  WDR 5, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw)  538km
 90.6 1410  D  WDR 5, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw)  591km
 91.1 1410  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen (nds)  543km
 92.0 1411  D  WDR 5, Münster/Baumberg (nrw)  494km
 92.1 1411  D  NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds)  707km
 92.4 1411  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Linz/Ginsterhahn (rlp)  560km
 93.2 1412  D  WDR 2, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw)  591km
 93.5 1413  D  WDR 2, Nordhelle (nrw)  554km
 94.6 1415  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Brocken (san)  713km
 95.9 1417  D  WDR 3, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw)  484km
 96.5 1418  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Langenberg/Hordtberg (nrw)  505km
 97.0 1418  D  WDR 3, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw)  591km
 97.3 1419  D  WDR 3, Kleve/Bresserberg (nrw)  421km
 97.4 1419  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Linz/Ginsterhahn (rlp)  560km
 98.1 1421  D  WDR 3, Nordhelle (nrw)  554km
 98.7 1422  D  AFN Wiesbaden-The Eagle, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes)  648km
 99.0 1423  D  hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes)  684km
 99.2 1423  D  WDR 2, Langenberg/Hordtberg (nrw)  505km
 99.6 1424  D  hr-info, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes)  612km
 99.8 1424  D  NDR 2, Steinkimmen (nds)  543km
100.0 1424  D  WDR 4, Münster/Baumberg (nrw)  494km
100.8 1426  D  WDR 2, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw)  484km
101.0 1426  D  WDR 2, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw)  520km
101.3 1426  D  WDR 4, Langenberg/Hordtberg (nrw)  505km
102.3 1428  D  Radio ffn, Steinkimmen (nds)  543km
102.5 1428  D  hr4, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes)  648km
102.8 1428  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Wesel-Büderich (nrw)  456km
103.3 1431  D  Funkhaus Europa, Langenberg/Hordtberg (nrw)  505km
103.8 1431  D  WDR 4, Nordhelle (nrw)  554km
104.7 1432  D  WDR Eins Live, Nordhelle (nrw)  554km


The noise dropped a notch or two yesterday afternoon and I could hear some weak Germany scatter again when beaming to the east/south-east, but it didn't last. White noise appeared suddenly and squashed the German scatter, arriving in two stages. One bar of noise to begin with, then the noise becoming stronger after two seconds. Maybe it's a computer firing up and bringing in different bits of circuitry in stages.

Yesterday, I discovered I have at least TWO new noise sources. One to the north (a white noise/mush type) and a regular clicking noise (audible over fully quieting stations) to the south-east to compliment my other south-easterly white noise/mush type. Oh, I mustn't forget the various growls, drifting carriers and whistling noises which appear at various points across the band.

Even our neighbours shouted us this morning to report a loss of digital television signals due to interference. They have my Televes DAT45 on their rooftop, pointing straight at Belmont, which is line of sight and visible. Time to bring in OFCOM again. They have already visited me FOUR times this year. Perhaps we can now get something done. The problem is, all these noises are intermittent, so I won't hold my breath.

I started listening at around 09:00 this morning and German stations were coming in well again thanks to a reduction in noise. I was tuned to a near noise free SWR3 from Linz on 94.8 for five minutes when a sudden howling/whistling noise appeared, taking it out completely, along with any other German scatter.
So I am now having interference interfering with the existing interference. Beat that!

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Friday, 23 August 2013

What ... more noise?

(Is this getting boring yet?)

How much interference can the average DXer handle?

There was some minor tropo to Belgium around 10:00 today and German troposcatter seemed pretty good too, but I hadn't got time to listen then. At around 14:00 I seized a window of opportunity to tune across the band as the German scatter was still pretty good. Or was it possible because my noise levels had subsided a little?

After a few minutes listening I heard a clicking sound. A kind of clicking white noise with regular clicks less than a second apart. "New noise" I thought, "This should go nicely with the other new noise I discovered yesterday morning - some 'mush' I now have when beaming to the north.

The clicking was weak, fortunately, yet still irritating and could be heard with good clarity, over the top of one bar, noise free signals. I persevered and conducted a scan of the German stations while they were still audible, but the scatter had already started to decrease in strength. Luckily, I managed a decent scan of the entire band, logging the known signals before an even stronger 'mush' decided to appear. It arrived in two stages roughly two seconds apart, beginning with a very obvious white noise effect, but then increasing in strength a couple of seconds later, obliterating not only the German scatter, but also the clicking noise. Nice! So I now have interference which interferes with my interference!

Good DX all!

John

Wednesday, 21 August 2013

Skegness Log: 21-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 1129 AZR RDP Antena 3 Açores, Pico da Barrosa (RDP) (smg) Portuguese pop song, as RDP3 web. V weak  2616km


Amazing, almost out of season Es! When will it end?

Possible Canaries reception again on 88.0 with a suspected Radio Sintonia, though I couldn't find a working web stream.

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

The 2013 Es Season in Skegness

It's all quiet on the eastern front! The Es have probably finished for the season, apart from the occasional stray opening here and there perhaps. Now we await the tropo season.

So, after my mid-term analysis, it's time to evaluate the overall Es season here on the east coast.

April
An excellent start at the end of the month - easily as good as your typical mid-season Es!

May
Amazing at the beginning! Day after day of good Es, some very strong, lasting several hours. It wouldn't be difficult to argue that this end-of-April/beginning-of-May period was the peak of the season! Conditions seemed to taper off a little by the end of the month, though there were still some good openings.

June
Another excellent month, but still continuing the gradual tapering, but you wouldn't turn your nose up at the conditions, which were still better than most Es seasons but, despite some good days of Es, you couldn't help notice the number of days when the Es were absent, probably because I have been spoilt by the conditions in previous weeks. The Es still continued in other parts of Europe, so just the luck of the draw playing its part.

July
As June really. Very good days and lots of them, but still with a gradual weakening trend.

August
What's happening? This is like April and May again! Conditions shot up, producing some of the strongest and most sustained Es of the season! But at the time of writing, the 20th August, there have been several E-less days, so I am guessing the season is finally fizzling out, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more good openings over the next couple of weeks.

Double Hop
Er, I don't think I had any. Unless you count Libya, the Canaries and the Azores as double hop. Some of these are often thought to be traditional single-hop Es with a tropo extension at the end of them though. Conditions are the time of these had high pressure in exactly the right place, so this theory holds up well, in which case I didn't have any double hop :O( Oh, and I had a presumed Turkish station right next to the Greek border, but that was probably just within the realms of single hop.

What I can report though is my best Es season ever, with 3783 individual Es loggings! Click to see  Still there is nothing concrete on my target country of Turkey, but I added the Aaland Islands, Monaco and Malta to my personal all-time log.

Thursday, 15 August 2013

Recent Skegness Perseids & Troposcatter Logs

Band 2 Perseids MS:

2013-08-09
 87.7 1023 SVK Fun Radio, Kosice/Dubník (KE) 5340. 20 second live burst  1545km **

2013-08-10
 87.6 2344  S  SR P1, Visby, Hudiksvall or Storumen E201 SR______. Unattended

2013-08-11
 87.6 0330 NOR NRK P1, Nordhue (he) F201. Unattended  1094km **
 87.9 1628  S  SR P1, Malmö, Örebro or Östersund E201 Unattended **
 87.7 2005 SVK Fun Radio, Kosice/Dubník (KE) 5340 FUNRADIO. Unattended  1545km
 88.3 2347 POL PR 1, Opole or Siedlce 3211. Unattended
 88.0 2355 POL PR 1, Krosno/Sucha Góra (PK) 3211. Unattended  1530km

2013-08-12
 88.3 0003 POL PR 1, Opole or Siedlce 3211. Unattended
 88.3 0148 POL PR 1, Opole or Siedlce 3211. Unattended
 87.6 1642 NOR NRK P1, Nordhue (he) F201. Unattended  1094km


Recent Band 2 Troposcatter:

 87.7 1023 HOL Radio 10 (AVR), Lelystad/Alticom Toren (fle) New. Jingle ID, pops, etc.  351km **
103.6 1024 HOL Radio 10 (AVR), Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) New. Jingle ID, pops, etc.  321km **
103.8 1024 HOL Radio 10 (AVR), Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Presumed tx. Maybe others here too.  313km **
 93.0 1032 HOL Radio 10 (AVR), Westdorpe/Verkavelingsweg (zee) Pops, ads and jingles, as others  323km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the mode


Firstly, my recent MS DX attempts with the Perseids meteor shower. Shame about the number of muilti-tx possibilities. and secondly, a recent scan to look for new Dutch network stations.


Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Tuesday, 13 August 2013

Skegness Log: 13-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 88.6 1756  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Confrides/Aitana (VAL-A) E212 RNE-CLAS  1613km
 89.4 1757  E  Cadena 100, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E2CE CA______  1879km
 90.5 1757  E  SER, Orihuela/Cabezo Hurchillo (VAL-A) E0FE ORIHUELA  1682km
 94.2 1759  E  Los 40 Principales, València (VAL-V) EC35 and vocal ID  1526km **
 94.8 1803  E  Star FM, Madrid/Círculo de Bellas Artes-Calle Alcalá 42 (MAD-M) E2DC _TEMAZOS  1448km **
106.8 1804  E  RNE Radio 5, Herencia Navajo (CAM-CR) EC15 RNE_5-CR  1565km **
106.5 1810  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Vilaplana/Coll de les Saleres-La Mussara (CAT-T) E211 RNE_1___  1325km **
106.2 1811  E  Canal Sur Radio, Alcalá la Real/Camuña (AND-J) E332 ______ur  1771km
106.5 1812  E  esRadio, Guadalajara (CAM-GU) E287 AQUI____ SU______ PUBLI___ esRadio_   1419km
104.6 1817  E  Canal Sur Radio, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E332  1879km **
104.5 1818  E  SER, Valdepeñas (CAM-CR) E739 ___SER__. Presumed site  1621km **
102.8 1819  E  Los 40 Principales, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E235  1879km **
101.0 1822  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Herencia Navajo (CAM-CR) E211 RNE_1___  1565km
100.0 1824  E  SER, La Guardia/Peña de San Cristóbal (AND-J) E439  1741km **
 99.5 1825  E  Europa FM, Granada/San Gabriel (AND-GR) E2ED EUROPAFM  1800km **
 95.7 1828  E  Yes FM, Molina de Segura (MUR-MU) A0EF. Blank carrier  1683km **
 95.8 1828  E  RNE Radio 3, Navacerrada/Bola del Mundo (MAD-M) OM, as 96.0  1412km
 94.6 1831  E  RNE Radio 3, Hornos de Moncalvillo/Serradero (RIO-LO) E213 RN______  1223km **
 94.5 1832  E  RNE Radio 3, Herencia Navajo (CAM-CR) E213  1565km
105.4 1837  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Cambil/Sierra Almadén (AND-J) E211 RNE_1___  1740km
105.1 1839  E  Locactiva Radio, Las Pedroñeras (CAM-CU) A017 LOCATIV_  1541km **
103.3 1841  E  COPE, La Guardia/Peña de San Cristóbal (AND-J) E2CA  1741km
102.7 1842  E  esRadio, Albacete (CAM-AB) FFFF ESRADIO_  1584km **
103.2 1842  E  Radio Andalucía Información, Almería (AND-AL) E333 ____A.I.  1827km **
101.6 1844  E  Europa FM, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E2ED EUROPAFM  1879km
101.3 1846  E  Radio Alhendín FM, Cerro de las Eras (AND-GR) E088 ALHENDIN  1810km
 98.0 1851  E  Onda Cero, Madrid/Torrespaña (MAD-M) E2EE  1447km **
 98.1 1851  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) 0000 RNE_____ 1879km
 97.2 1853  E  Top Radio Latina, Madrid/Torrespaña (MAD-M) E2E7 ____AD__  1447km **
 94.7 1856  E  Onda Cero, Guadalajara (CAM-GU) E6EE   1416km **
 94.9 1856  E  Los 40 Principales, Linares/La Esperanza (AND-J) E435 ______TA  1699km
 93.8 1857  E  Radiolé, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) Jingle ID  1879km
 91.6 1859  E  Radio Andalucía Información, Cambil/Sierra Almadén (AND-J) E333 Vocal ID  1740km
 91.4 1901  E  Radio Surco, Tomelloso (CAM-CR) E206 _SU___O_  1579km
 89.6 1903 MRC Médi 1, Nador (otl) 1281  2016km
 87.9 1910 POR RDP Antena 1, Lousã/Trevim (coi) 8201 ANTENA_1  1588km
 87.7 1911  E  Europa FM, Priego de Cordoba (AND-CO) E2ED  1778km
 87.5 1912  E  Dynamis Radio, Alcorcón/Poligono Urtinsa (MAD-M) 7878 DYNAMIS_  1458km
 89.3 1913 POR RDP Antena 2, Lousã/Trevim (coi) 8202 _______2  1588km
 88.6 1914  E  Onda Cero, Baza (AND-GR) E2EE  1759km
 87.9 1917  E  RNE Radio 5, Cambil/Sierra Almadén (AND-J) E215 RNE_5-J_  1740km
107.7 1929  E  Socuéllamos FM, Socuéllamos (CAM-CR) E000 MUNICIPAL  1560km
108.0 1929  E  Onda Color, Ceutí (MUR-MU) C019 __COLOR__ 108.0_FM  1682km
107.3 1931  E  Onda Esencia Radio, La Murada de Orihuela (VAL-V) E305 __ONDA__ _ESENCIA VegaBaja  1521km
106.0 1933  E  Cadena Dial, Vejer de la Frontera (AND-CA) E114 DIAL____ DI_JANDA   1942km **
105.5 1937 MRC Médi 1, Meknès/Jebel Zerhoune (mkt) Mysterious Arabic music, as web  2175km **
107.5 1940  E  Radio Castro, Castro del Rio (AND-CO) E0EF OLA_____ R.CASTRO  1759km
 87.7 1942 POR RDP Antena 1, Serra do Mendro (bej) 8201 ANTENA_1  1770km
103.7 1944 MRC Médi 1, Tétouan/Hafa Safa (ttn) Deep Arabic music, as web  2014km
 98.6 1948  E  Radio Castilla La Mancha, Valdepeñas/Cabeza de Buey (CAM-CR) E396  1637km
 96.9 1949 MRC Medi 1, Saidia or Boumalne-Dadès  1281
 88.0 1951  E  RNE Radio 5, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1879km
 96.4 1951  E  Radio Sierra, La Puerta de Segura/El Yelmo (AND-J) FFFF R_SIERRA  1672km **
 91.1 1953  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Illora/Monte Parapanda (AND-GR) E212  1791km
 97.5 1954 MRC Médi 1, Boukhouali (otl) Arabic music, as web  2104km **
 90.3 1956 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al Amazighia, Boukhouali (otl) YL, as web  2104km
 91.5 1957 MRC Aswat, Boukhouali (otl) Arabic OM, as web  2104km
 87.6 2000  E  RNE Radio 5, Marbella/Castillejos (AND-MA) OM, as 87.9 and 88.0  1884km


** Personal Skegness 'First'


Unidentifieds:
107.9 1808  E  Rafio FM?, Catalunya? 2185 
106.6 1814  E  ?, ? E437 __E___FM
 96.0 1827  E  RNE 3, ? E213 RNE_+,__ RNE_3___
 98.5 1848  E  UNID, ? E099


Another good 'un!


Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Monday, 12 August 2013

Skegness Log: 12-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 88.5 1046  F  France Musique, Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano (20A) F203. Seemingly via Es  1432km **
 88.0 1054  F  France Musique, Ajaccio/Coti-Chiavari Chialone (20A) F203  1414km
 88.5 1056  E  Máxima FM, Toledo/Cerro de los Palos (CAM-TO) E236  1516km **
 88.2 1057  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Madrid/Torrespaña (MAD-M) E211  1447km
 88.4 1058  E  Cadena Dial, Córdoba/Sierra de Córdoba (AND-CO) E237 __DIAL__  1738km
 89.0 1147  E  Onda Melodía, Torrent/Perentxissa=Calicanto (VAL-V) E2DA  1527km
 90.5 1152  E  SER, Orihuela/Cabezo Hurchillo (VAL-A) E0FE __SER___ ORIHUELA  1682km
 90.7 1153 MRC Cap Radio, Nador (otl) 1301 CAPRADIO  2016km
 91.5 1153 MRC Aswat, Boukhouali (otl) 1116 ASWAT___  2104km **
 92.4 1155  E  Radio Nacional, ? 0000 RNE_____ Actual PI and PS
 93.3 1156  E  Radio Castilla La Mancha, Alcaraz (CAM-AB) E396 RCM___LM  1626km **
 87.6 1157  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Alcaraz (CAM-AB) E711 RNE1_CLM  1626km **
 88.6 1159  E  Onda Cero, Baza (AND-GR) E2EE ONDACERO  1759km
 89.2 1202  E  SER, Baza/Cerro del Jabalcón (AND-GR) E239 SER_BAZA  1750km **
 89.8 1209  E  Radio Andalucía Información, Granada/Cerro del Sombrero (AND-GR) E333  1800km
 94.5 1231  E  RNE Radio 3, Herencia Navajo (CAM-CR) Percussion piece, as web  1565km **
 89.8 1232  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Herencia Navajo (CAM-CR) E212  1565km
 88.0 1234  E  RNE Radio 5, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1879km
 87.9 1254  E  RNE Radio 5, Cambil/Sierra Almadén (AND-J) E215 RNE_5-J_. Unattended  1740km
 87.9 1312  E  RKM Radio Solidaria, Oliva/Tossal Gros (VAL-V) 1000 __RKM___. Unattended  1584km **
 87.9 1335 POR RDP Antena 1, Lousã/Trevim (coi) 8201 ANTENA_1. Unattended  1588km
 87.9 1344  E  Kiss FM, Ares (GAL-C) E2EC KISS_FM_. Unattended  1250km
 87.9 1405  I  Radio Camaldoli Stereo, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na) 5006. Unattended  1731km


** Personal Skegness 'First'


Unidentifieds:
 89.2 1059  E? UNID, ? AA45 89.2____
 88.4 1158 MRC MFM, unid site. 1283 __MFM___


I am still struggling to get the frequencies on the MFM webiste to display correctly in Chrome, Firefox and IE so this will have to be listed as UNID site for now.

France Musique from Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano (20A) was s nice surprise. I am pretty sure 91.8 was there too but I couldn't give this my full attention as I was on the phone at the time sorting out (and getting very frustrated with) Sky, trying to sort out their regular overcharging tactics.

So, another good day of Es but one where I had to miss lots of it while I spent two hours on the phone trying to find a decent alternative to Sky (phone, TV and narrowband) and failing. How do we manage to put up with the dreadful level of service we get from our media providers in this country?

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Friday, 9 August 2013

Skegness Log: 09-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.5 0941  I  Radionorba, Casacalenda/Contrada Cerro del Ruccolo (cb) 5353 R___RB__  1672km
 95.6 0945  I  Radio Marte Stereo, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 547B *MARTE**  1752km **
 95.9 0946  I  Radio Subasio, Terni/Miranda (tr) 53FD SUBASIO_  1494km **
 95.9 0946  I  Kiss Kiss Italia, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 531F KK______  1752km **
 96.5 0947  I  Virgin Radio, Terni/Miranda (tr) 5241  1494km **
 96.8 0948  I  Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 5220  1752km
 97.1 0948  I  Onda Libera (Palestrina), Segni (rm) 54C7 333.222_ *_www._* *_onda_* *libera* *_.it__* etc.  1587km
 97.4 0950  I  Radio Galileo, Calvi dell’Umbria/Monte San Pancrazio (tr) 5499 _GALILEO  1500km
 97.5 0952  I  Radio Capital, Montecompatri / puntato a sud (rm) 5219   1565km **
 97.5 0954  I  Radio Meridiano 12, Frascati/Villa Tuscolana (rm) 5100 MERID.12 TEL._06_ 7480006_  1563km **
 97.5 0956  I  Radio 24, Riomaggiore/Monte Verrugoli (sp) 5245  1220km **
 98.1 0957  I  Radio19, Isola del Cantone/Monte Cagnola (ge) 5396 RADIO_19  1135km **
 87.9 0958  I  R101, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (ag) 5215 _R-101__  2008km
 89.4 0959  I  RAI Radio3, Marciana/Monte Perone (li) 5203 RADIO3__  1369km
 93.6 0959  I  RAI Radio1, Marciana/Monte Perone (li) 5201 RADIO1__  1369km **
 87.8 1000  I  R101, Tramonti/Monte Sant'Angelo (sa) 5215 ___1____  1755km
 89.2 1002  F  France Culture, Bastia/Serra di Pigno Towercast (20B) F202  1343km **
 87.7 1040  E  Europa FM, Priego de Cordoba (AND-CO) E2ED EUROPAFM  1778km
 91.1 1040  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Illora/Monte Parapanda (AND-GR) E212  1791km **
 87.6 1047  E  RNE Radio 5, Marbella/Castillejos (AND-MA) E215  1884km
 87.9 1054 MRC SNRT Chaîne Inter, Rabat (SNRT) (rsz) 1002 SNRT-INT  2212km
 88.0 1057  E  RNE Radio 5, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1879km
 88.9 1059  E  Talk Radio Europe, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E0D1 _COSTA__ DEL_SOL_ __EAST__ _T.R.E._  1879km
 88.5 1226 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Assa (ges) Arabic song, as web  2844km
 88.2 1235 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Tata (ges) Arabic singing, as 88.5 and web  2690km **
 87.9 1729  F  BFM Business, Toulon/Cap Sicié (83) F227 and vocal ID  1195km
 87.8 1731  F  Durance FM, Manosque/Mont des Espels (04) F4A5 DURANCE_  1109km
 88.2 1731  F  Métropole Radio, Brignoles/Frémont (83) F482 METROPOLE  1159km
 87.6 1732  F  RTL, Draguignan/le Malmont 2 (83) F211 __RTL___  1158km **
 87.5 1739  I  Radio Maria, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) 51CC R.MARIA_  1684km
 88.2 1740  I  RAI Radio1, Sant’Antioco/Sa Scrocca Manna (RAI) (ci) 5201 _RADIO1_  1681km
 92.0 1742  I  RTL 102.5, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) 5218  1684km
 92.4 1743  I  Radio Sintony, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) 54A4   1684km
 94.7 1743  I  Radio Deejay, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) 5214 _DEEJAY_  1684km
 87.6 1751  I  R101, Cagliari/Palazzo Griffa (ca) 5215 _R-101__  1688km
 88.0 1751  I  Radiolina, Sassari/Monte Oro (ss) 544B RDIOLINA  1513km
 87.9 1752  F  Europe 1, Saint-Raphaël/Bois-du-Grand-Défens (83) F213 EUROPE_1  1181km
 88.7 1752  F  France Culture, Saint-Raphaël/Pic de l'Ours (83) F202  1180km **
 89.5 1753  F  Mosaïque FM, Saint-Raphaël/50 rue de la Montagne (83) F999 MOSAIQUE  1179km **
 89.9 1753  F  RFM, Saint-Raphaël/Bois-du-Grand-Défens (83) F212 __RFM___  1181km **
 90.3 1754  I  Virgin Radio, Villacidro/Loc. Giarranas (md) 5241 _VIRGIN_  1652km
 90.8 1754  F  Kiss FM, Saint-Raphaël/Bois-du-Grand-Défens (83) F438 _KISS___  1181km **
 91.2 1755  F  Virgin Radio, Saint-Tropez/Saint-Peire (83) F219  1186km
 91.4 1755  F  France Inter, Solliès-Pont/Chapelle Notre-Dame (83) F201  1186km
 92.0 1756  I  RTL 102.5, Cagliari/Palazzo Griffa (ca) 5218 RTL102.5  1688km **
 87.9 1817  E  RNE Ràdio 4, Alpicat (CAT-L) E314   1277km
 88.3 1818  I  Radio Maria, Civitavecchia/Monte Paradiso (rm) 51CC R.MARIA_  1500km
 88.1 1819  I  Radio Radicale, Monte Argentario/Il Predicatore (gr) 5210 RADI____  1439km
 87.6 1820  I  Radio Maria, Riomaggiore/Monte Verrugoli (sp) 51CC R.MARIA_  1220km **
 89.3 1822  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Benicàssim/El Bartolo (VAL-CS) E211 RNE_1___  1453km
 89.6 1823  F  RFM, Ajaccio/Coti-Chiavari Pinselli (20A) Vocal ID  1414km
 89.9 1824  I  RDF 102.7, Capannori/Monte Serra (lu) 5A77 RDF102.7  1286km
 91.0 1827  I  Radio Maria, Tempio Pausania/Monte Limbara (ot) 51CC R.MARIA_  1521km
 91.1 1827  I  RAI GR Parlamento, Pietra Ligure/Gorra-Bric Castellino (sv) 5206 __I-GR__  1155km **
 91.5 1828  F  Radio Azur, Cannes-Vallauris/Centre Héliomarin (06) F441 R._AZUR_  1173km
 92.7 1829  I  RAI Radio2, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (RAI) (ca) 5202 _RADIO2_  1678km
 93.9 1831  F  Nostalgie, Malijai/le Vallas (04) Old French song, as web  1098km **
 93.7 1832  F  Nostalgie, Toulon/Cap Sicié (83) F218 NOSTALGI. As 92.9  1195km
 94.8 1833  F  Grimaldi FM, Puget-Théniers/crête des Trénières (06) Vocal and jingle ID  1130km **
 94.8 1834  I  Radio 105 Network, Sassari/Monte Oro (ss) 5211  1513km
 96.7 1836  F  Europe 1, Digne-les-Bains 2/les Fourches (04) F213 EUROPE_1  1097km **
 98.2 1840  F  Beur FM, Toulon/Cap Sicié (83) F229 Asian music  1195km **
 98.8 1841  F  Rire et Chansons, Toulon/Cap Sicié (83) ID after comedy sketch  1195km
 87.7 1846  I  TRBC - Tele Radio Buon Consiglio, Napoli/Camaldoli-Eremo (na) 5263 T_R_B_C_  1719km
 88.7 1848  F  Jazz Radio, Bastia/Pietra Mala (20B) F841  1342km
 92.4 1850  I  RTL 102.5, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (ca) 5218 RTL102.5  1678km
 93.0 1850  I  Radio 105 Network, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (ca) 5211 _105_FM_  1678km
 92.6 1851  I  Radio Antenna 2000, Sassari/Monte Oro (ss) 5258 _A_2000_  1513km
 93.3 1852  I  RAI Radio2, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (RAI) (or) 5202 _RADIO2_  1575km
 93.5 1853  F  RTL 2, Ajaccio/Coti-Chiavari Chialone (20A) F215  1414km **
 94.2 1854  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Porto Torres/Monte Alvaro (ss) 5264 *_RDS_*_  1501km
 94.5 1854  F  RCF, Ajaccio/Coti-Chiavari Chialone (20A) F851 ____CF__  1414km **
 95.3 1855  I  RAI Radio2, Tempio Pausania/Monte Limbara (RAI) (ot) 5202 _RADIO2_  1521km
 95.3 1856  I  Radio Luna, Cagliari/Palazzo Griffa (ca) __LUNA__ PI 6DFF possibly corrupt  1688km **
 96.3 1856  I  RAI Radio3, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (RAI) (ca) 5203 __RAI___ RADIO3__  1678km
 97.3 1857  I  RAI Radio3, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (RAI) (or) 5203 __RAI___ RADIO3__  1575km
 98.2 1858  I  Radio Sintony, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (ca) 54A4  1678km **
 98.5 1858  I  Radio Maria, Sennori/Su Lotto (ss) 51CC  1510km **
 98.5 1858  I  R101, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (ca) 5215  1678km **
 98.9 1901  F  France Musique, Porto Vecchio/Col de Mela (20A) F203  1438km **
 98.9 1901  I  Radio Bellavita, Sassari/Piazza Castello (ss) 5FC1 __LLAV__  1514km
 87.9 1902  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Bunyola/Alfabia (BAL-ML) E212 RNE-CLAS  1503km
 87.7 1903  E  RAC 1, Barcelona/Collserola (CAT-B) E251 _RAC1___  1311km
 89.6 1905  I  Radio Planargia, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (or) 56F9  1576km
 89.8 1905  E  COPE, Barcelona/Collserola (CAT-B) E1E2 __COPE__  1311km
 89.9 1905  I  Radio Studio One, Cagliari/Palazzo Griffa (ca) 5495  1688km
 90.3 1907  E  RNE Radio 5, Madrid/Torrespaña (MAD-M) E215 RNE_5___  1447km
 90.3 1909  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Burgos/San Bartolomé (CAL-BU) E212  1240km **
 91.2 1909  E  RNE Radio 3, Burgos/San Bartolomé (CAL-BU) E213  1240km **
 94.4 1916  F  Rire et Chansons, Toulouse/château d'eau de Moscou (31) F226 _RIRE__  1066km **
 91.1 1917  F  Totem, Saint-Affrique/Puech Loudi TDF (12) F631  1039km **
 90.5 1920  I  Radio Studio 2000, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (or) 5499 ST__2000  1576km
 88.0 1923 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Djebel Zaghouan (zag) 7211 ZITOUNA_  2016km
 89.6 1924 POR Rádio Renascença, Serra de Bornes (bgc) 8221 ___RR___  1413km
 88.1 1930  F  Virgin Radio, Cannes/Mont Pezou Towercast (06)  F219 **
 87.9 1934  E  Latina FM, Zaragoza (ARA-Z) FF00  1281km
 89.4 1935  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Inogés/Sierra de Vicor (ARA-Z) E211RN______  1317km **
 92.5 1935  E  RNE Radio Clásica, Zaragoza/Cuarte Torrero (RNE) (ARA-Z) E212 RNE-CLAS  1285km
 89.3 1938  E  Kiss FM, Pamplona=Iruña/El Perdón (NAV-NA) E2EC KISS_FM_  1168km **
 89.0 1939  F  France Inter, Bayonne/la Rhune (64) F201  1104km
 87.9 1940  E  Cadena 100, Pamplona=Iruña/El Perdón (NAV-NA) Vocal ID  1168km **
 87.6 1953  E  Radio Castilla La Mancha, Almadén/Cerro de la Virgen del Castillo (CAM-CR) E396 RCM_____  1647km

** Personal Skegness 'First'


Unidentifieds:
 97.5 0955  I  UNID, 5059 
 97.5 0956  I  R Babboleo, 5E7A Genova, Lavagna and Sarzanna listed **
 87.9 1001  I  Radio Deejay, Several sites listed 5214 _DEEJAY_ **
 87.6 1002  I  Virgin Radio, Several sites listed 5241 _VIRGIN_ **
 88.4 1240  E  UNID, E067
 90.8 1825  I  Radio Pulce, 5327 Camaiore or Buti **
 95.8 1835  F  France Inter, F201 **
 95.9 1836  F  France Culture, F202 ____TURE **
 98.5 1841  I  UNID, 5BE0
 88.1 1930  F  Virgin Radio, F219 - probably Cannes ** (Cannes was logged today but nothing from Nice, as far as I am aware)


I have included some positively ID'd stations with my unids if they had multiple sites in case anybody knows more regarding the correct/actual site. I think my Virgin on 88.1 was very likely from Cannes, despite being much lower power than the co-channel, higher-powered Nice since Cannes was logged elsewhere during this opening and I am unaware of anything coming in from Nice throughout the opening.

This was indeed a superb and widely-spread opening and possibly the best day of the season. I had to miss most of it but still bagged a fair number of stations, including many personal firsts.

Some signals were STRONG. RDS became difficult when this happened.

The opening was frequently up to the top of the band though I found myself concentrating on lower parts where it seemed easier to determine the transmitter sites. Still many got away though.

I love the Es opening to France. The paths can get quite short at times and it was fun to pick out lots of stations from St Raphael and the Côte d'Azur.


Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Wednesday, 7 August 2013

Skegness Log: 07-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 0830  I  Radio Potenza Centrale, Spinoso/Serra di Spinoso (pz) 530B Vocal ID  1858km
 92.5 0833 GRC ERA Diktyo Peloponisou - Patra, Patra/Panahaiko (wgr-akh) 1411  2336km
 88.3 0837 GRC Radiofono Xiromerou, Agrinio/Kouvaras (wgr-ait) YL, as web  2332km
 94.0 0839 GRC Radio Gamma 94 FM, Patra (wgr-akh) Greek pops, as web  2332km **
 96.9 0840  I  Radio Selene, Brindisi (br) 5A49 ____EN__  1921km **
 89.4 0842  I  Kiss Kiss Italia, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le) 531F ______IA  1982km **
 89.1 0843  I  RAI Radio1, Martina Franca/Masseria Trasconi (ta) 5201 _RADIO1_  1883km
 89.9 0844  I  Radio Maria, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le) 51CC  1982km
 90.1 0844  I  Radio Deejay, Martina Franca/Monte Trazzonara-Strada Carbonico Zona H (ta) 5214 _DEEJAY_  1894km
 90.4 0844  I  Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le) 5220  1982km **
 90.4 0845  I  Radio 24, Fasano/Frazione Selva di Fasano-Contrada Aratico (br) 5245  1872km
 91.1 0845  I  RAI Radio2, Martina Franca/Masseria Trasconi (ta) 5202 _RADIO2_  1883km
 91.5 0845  I  Radio Evangelo (Bari), Bari/Via Magna Grecia (ba) 3000  1825km
 93.8 0846  I  Radio Maria, Bari/Strada vicinale San Giorgio Martire (ba) 51CC R.MARIA_  1823km
 95.2 0847  I  Radio Margherita (Radio TaGi One), Capurso (ba) 5242  1832km **
 97.3 0847  I  TRBC - Tele Radio Buon Consiglio, Santeramo in Colle/Contrada Iazzitello (ba) 5263  1848km
 87.6 0849  I  Radio Capital, Bari/Via Adolfo Omodeo, 51-Grand Hotel Ambasciatori (ba) 5219 _CAPITAL  1825km
 89.6 0851  I  Radio Italia Anni 60, Bari/Viale Kennedy (ba) 52DD. Presumed site. Ritmo 87.8, etc. absent at this time  1823km **
 96.0 0853  I  Radio Mater, San Marco in Lamis/Monte Celano (fg) 5158 R._MATER. Tentative site  1711km **
 99.5 0856  I  ARC Rete 101, Guardia dei Lombardi (av) 5478 Te__fono  1757km
 89.2 0858  I  RLB Radio Libera Bisignano, Dipignano/Località Tessano (cs) 5F50 _*______  1961km
 91.1 0904  I  Radio Maria, Tramonti/Monte Sant'Angelo (sa) 51CC R.MARIA_  1755km
 91.5 0904  I  Radio FM Music, Tramonti/Monte Sant'Angelo (sa) 5297 CHIAMA66  1755km **
 90.0 0905  I  Radio Maria, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 51CC  1752km
 90.2 0905  I  Radio Nuova San Giorgio, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na) 20FB  1731km **
 89.0 0906  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Napoli/Camaldoli-Eremo (na) 5225  1719km
 87.9 0907  I  Radio Camaldoli Stereo, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na) 5006  1731km
 92.3 0908  I  Radio Deejay, Napoli/Camaldoli-Eremo (na) 5214  1719km **
 90.0 0910  I  Radio King International, Palmi/Monte Sant’Elia (rc) 5158 K_I_N___  2030km **
 91.3 0911  I  R101, Monte Argentario (gr) 5215 ____01__  1439km
 91.5 0911  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Calanna (rc) 5264  2040km
 92.5 0912  I  Radio Gamma Non Stop, Fortino di Pentimele (rc) 53A9 *GAMMA*_  2043km
 93.6 0913  I  RSC Radio Studio Centrale, Trizzino di Terreti (rc) 5D99 _R.S.C._  2047km
 88.3 0919  I  Radio 24, Martina Franca/Monte Trazzonara-Strada Carbonico Zona H (ta) 5245 RADIO_24  1894km
 87.5 0920  I  Radio Radicale, Villa Castelli/Monte Fellone (ta) 5210 RADICALE  1901km
 88.5 0920  I  m2o, Bari/Via Principe Amedeo (ba) 5233  1823km
 88.1 0921  I  Radio Selene, Bisceglie/S.S. 16 bis (via Lama di Macina)-Zona Industriale (bt) Vocal ID  1796km
 87.8 0922  I  Ritmo 80, Corato/Monte Ripanno (ba) 5A72 RITMO_88  1796km
 88.3 0922  I  Radio Margherita, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le) 5242  1982km
 90.7 0923  I  RAI Radio1, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (RAI) (le) 5201  1982km
 89.8 0925  I  Radio Italia Anni 60, Cassano delle Murge (ba) 52DD  1839km **
 91.6 0926  I  Radio Maria, Corato/Monte Ripanno (ba) 51CC R.MARIA_  1796km
 93.9 0935  I  Radio Delta 1, Bomba/Monte Pallano (ch) 575E   1619km **
 93.3 0936  I  Radionorba, Volturino/Contrada Monte Guardia (fg) 5353  1705km **
 92.7 0937  I  RAI Radio2, Pomarico (RAI) (mt) 5202  1858km **
 88.4 0940 GRC Radio Lefkada, Lefkada (ion-lev) Jingle ID after ads  2230km
 90.5 0941 GRC Studio Lefkatas, Lefkada (ion-lev) 1107 ALL_TIME STUDIO__ LEFKAT__  2230km
 91.6 0943  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Bomba/Monte Pallano (ch) 5264 *_RDS_*_  1619km **
 91.3 0944  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Maybe Rionero in Vulture but Foggia also possible 5264 **
 91.6 0944  I  Radio Aut Marche, Cingoli/Trentavisi (mc) 501C RADIOAUT  1443km
 92.6 0944  I  Radio Studio 5, Bomba/Monte Pallano (ch) 533D  1619km **
 93.3 0945  I  Radio 105 Network, Pretoro-Maiella/Località Mirastelle (ch) 5211 _105_FM_  1596km
 90.4 0947  I  Radio Deejay, Monte Argentario (gr) 5214  1439km
 92.0 0947  I  Radio Maria, Vieste/Strada vicinale della Chiesida (fg) 51CC R.MARIA_  1720km **
 92.8 0948  I  Radio Salentina, Martano (le) 5022  1978km **
 95.4 0956  I  Radio Argento - La radio attiva, Monopoli/Contrada Impalata (ba) 5A65 ARGENT__  1865km **
 95.4 0956  I  Radio Mater, Bari/Strada Santa Teresa (ba) 5158 R.MATER_  1828km
 90.6 0958  I  TRBC - Tele Radio Buon Consiglio, Palo del Colle (ba) 5263 __ADIOIO  1822km
 88.1 1008  I  RAI Radio1, Abriola/Monte Pierfaone (RAI) (pz) 5201 _RADIO1_  1824km **
 90.1 1009  I  RAI Radio2, Abriola/Monte Pierfaone (RAI) (pz) 5202  1824km **
 87.5 1010  I  Radionorba, Casacalenda/Contrada Cerro del Ruccolo (cb) 5353  1672km
 88.2 1021  I  Radio 105 Network, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 5211  1752km
 89.4 1022  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Perdifumo (sa) 5225 KISSKISS  1811km
 90.5 1023  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na) 5264   1731km
 91.8 1023  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Bomba/Monte Pallano (ch) As others  1619km **
 92.7 1024  I  Radionorba, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 5353 R-NORBA_  1752km
 96.4 1027  I  Radio Margherita, Ercolano-Vesuvio/Area Osservatorio (na) 5242  ** 1731km
 96.6 1028  I  R101, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 5215  1752km **
 97.2 1029  I  Radio Radicale, Enna/Monte Salvo-Via Spirito Santo (en) 5210 RADICALE  2040km **
 96.8 1030  I  Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 5220  1752km **
 95.4 1032  I  Radio Stereo 5, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 5398  1752km
 91.7 1035  I  Extra Radio, Gorga or Boville 5E55
 97.0 1036  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Vico Equense/Monte Faito (na) 5225  1752km
 99.9 1045  I  RAI Radio3, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (RAI) (ag) 5203  2007km
100.0 1047  I  R101, Rocca di Papa/Monte Cavo (rm) 5215  1568km
100.3 1048  I  Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana, Brindisi (br) 5220 __ITAL__  1921km **
 95.9 1049  I  RAI Radio2, Bari/Via Eroi di Dogali (RAI) (ba) 5202 _RADIO2_  1822km **
 92.2 1051  I  Radio Deejay, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (ag) 5214  2008km
 92.2 1051  I  Radio Nostalgia, Genova/Monte Fasce (ge) Tentative site. Vocal ID  1161km **
 87.9 1052  I  R101, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (ag) 5215 _R-101__  2008km
 92.3 1053  I  Virgin Radio, Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (tp) 5241 _VIRGIN_  1950km
 94.3 1054  I  RAI Radio3, Monte Argentario (RAI) (gr) 5203  1441km
 96.9 1054  I  RAI Radio2, Palermo/Monte Pellegrino (RAI) (pa) 5202  1944km
 97.8 1055  I  Radio Azzurra Marsala, Marsala/Madonna dell'Alto Olivo (tp) 5001 _30_ANNI _RADIO__ _AZZURRA  1945km
 98.5 1056  I  Radio Piombino, Piombino/Il Semaforo (li) 55EE _RADIO__ PIOMBINO  1364km
 99.2 1056  I  RTL 102.5, Monte Erice vetta/Piana delle Forche (tp) 5218 RTL102.5  1927km
 91.5 1105  I  Radio Amica Stereo, Partinico/Monte Gradara (pa) 5045  1949km
 92.4 1106  F  France Inter, Ajaccio/Coti-Chiavari Chialone (20A) F201  1414km
 92.6 1107  F  France Inter, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) F201  1450km
 88.9 1108  I  RAI Radio1, Tempio Pausania/Monte Limbara (RAI) (ot) 5201  1521km
 90.2 1109  F  RMC, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) OM conversation, as web  1450km
 87.7 1110  F  Rire et Chansons, Nice/Mont Vinaigrier (06) Comedy, as web  1168km
 89.8 1113  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, San Marco in Lamis/Monte Celano (fg) 5225  1711km **
 88.0 1114  I  Radio 105 Network, Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (tp) 5211  1950km
 88.3 1116  F  NRJ, L'Ile Rousse/Capu Corbinu (20B) French rap song, as web  1335km **
 89.4 1116  I  RTL 102.5, Tempio Pausania/Monte Limbara (ot) 5218  1521km
 91.3 1117  I  RAI Radio1, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (RAI) (or) 5201  1575km
 93.3 1118  I  RAI Radio2, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (RAI) (or) 5202  1575km
 95.3 1118  I  RAI Radio2, Tempio Pausania/Monte Limbara (RAI) (ot) 5202  1521km
 88.0 1119  F  France Musique, Ajaccio/Coti-Chiavari Chialone (20A) F203  1414km
 92.7 1122  I  RAI Radio2, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (RAI) (ca) 5202  1678km
 94.6 1123  F  France Musique, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) F203  1450km
 99.6 1124  F  Europe 1, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) Vocal ID  1450km
100.0 1124  F  RTL 2, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) F215  1450km **
100.2 1125  I  RTL 102.5, Sciacca/Monte San Calogero (Monte Kronio) (ag) 5218  1999km **
100.4 1126  F  France Info, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) YL and OM, as web  1450km
101.8 1127  I  Dimensione Suono Roma, Arzachena/Monte Moro (ot) 5E65  1505km
 88.6 1129  F  Skyrock, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) F214 SKYROCK_  1450km
 91.0 1130  I  Radio Maria, Tempio Pausania/Monte Limbara (ot) 51CC R.MARIA_  1521km **
 91.4 1131  F  France Inter, Solliès-Pont/Chapelle Notre-Dame (83) F201  1186km **
 90.8 1132  F  Radio Vitamine, Solliès-Pont/Chapelle Notre-Dame (83) French dicso song, as web  1186km **
 92.4 1135  I  RTL 102.5, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (ca) 5218 RTL102.5  1678km
 87.5 1136  I  Radio Maria, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) As others  1684km
 89.2 1144  F  RFM, Marseille/Grande Etoile (13) F212  1149km
 89.4 1145  F  Radio Orient, Toulon/Cap Sicié (83) Vocal ID  1195km
 90.2 1146  F  Radio Star, Toulon/Cap Sicié (83) F440 __STAR__  1195km
 93.7 1147  F  Nostalgie, Toulon/Cap Sicié (83) F218 __ST____  1195km **
 88.1 1148  I  Radio Studio 2000, Arbus/Conca 'e su Monti (md) 5499  1640km
 90.3 1149  I  Virgin Radio, Villacidro/Loc. Giarranas (md) 5241  1652km
 90.5 1149  I  Radio Venere (Sardegna), Alghero/Monte Ladu (ss) 561E  1522km **
 90.5 1150  I  Radio Studio 2000, Santu Lussurgiu/Punta Badde Urbara (or) 5499  1576km
 90.7 1151  I  RAI Radio1, Sinnai/Monte Serpeddi (RAI) (ca) 5201 _RADIO1_  1678km
 92.0 1152  I  RTL 102.5, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) 5218 RTL102.5  1684km
 92.4 1153  I  Radio Sintony, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) 54A4  1684km
 94.7 1153  I  Radio Deejay, Sant’Antioco/Monte Cresia (ci) 5241 _VIRGIN_  1684km
 87.9 1155  F  France Culture, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) OM, as web  1450km
 89.4 1156  F  France Inter, Vivario (20B) OMs. as 103.7  1381km
 89.5 1158  F  France Inter, Allemagne-en-Provence (04) Presumed site. OMs, as 89.4 with echo  1122km **
 88.0 1658  E  RNE Radio 5, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1879km
 88.8 1703  E  Cadena 100, La Guardia/Peña de San Cristóbal (AND-J) Vocal ID  1741km
 89.0 1703  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Antequera (AND-MA) E211 RNE_1___  1833km
 89.4 1704  E  Cadena 100, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E2CE CAD-100_  1879km
 90.8 1704  E  Onda Cero, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) Vocal ID  1879km
 91.2 1705  E  COPE, Pozoblanco (AND-CO) E1E2 ____BL__  1689km
 87.7 1709  E  Europa FM, Priego de Cordoba (AND-CO) E2ED EUROPAFM  1778km
 88.0 1716  E  SER, Tarancón (CAM-CU) E239 __SER.._  1483km
 87.9 1726  E  RNE Radio 5, Cambil/Sierra Almadén (AND-J) E215 RNE_5-J_  1740km

** Personal Skegness 'First'


Unidentifieds:
 91.8 1152  I  UNID, ? 5496  



I don't know how much of this opening I missed but I certainly caught a heck of a lot of it. At the beginning I only heard the weakest of signals, as if low-level MS and seemingly all Greek. Lots of them too, but it qickly became apparent that it was all E skip. I had to wait some time before signals were strong enough to produce RDS, by which time Italy had appeared and mostly took over for the duration. I had to go out at 1200 with the opening in full swing. 100% the best August Es I have ever known.


Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Skegness Log: 06-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 1818 HRV HRT-HR 1, Licka Pljesivica (gs) C201  1456km
 88.5 1824 HRV Radio Dalmacija, Celevac (zd) C31E  1499km
 87.6 1825 HRV Soundset Trsat, Krk/Kras (ri) C468  1367km
 87.6 1826  E  RNE Radio 5, Marbella/Castillejos (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1884km
 88.0 1826  E  RNE Radio 5, Alhaurin el Grande/S. Mijas/Mte Viego (AND-MA) E215 RNE_5-MA  1879km
 90.3 1827  E  Radio Estilo, Pizarra/Raja de Ancha (AND-MA) 0001 RADIO___  1863km


Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com

Monday, 5 August 2013

Skegness Log: 05-08-13 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.9 1637 HRV Narodni Radio, Nova Gradiska or Velika C206 NARODNI_
 89.9 1639 BIH RTRS Radio Republike Srpske, Udrigovo (tuz) F042. Mention of Srpske  1645km
 90.2 1640 SRB Radio Cer, Lipolist (Srb) D025  1679km
 88.1 1648 ROU Radio România Actualitati, Petrosani/Parâng (HD) FF00 RRACTUAL  1877km
 88.2 1700 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina Banská Bystr., Lucenec/Blatný vrch (BB) 5960 _REGINA_  1465km
 90.6 1700  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Civitavecchia/Monte Paradiso (rm) 5264 *_____*_  1500km
 90.6 1701 ROU Radio ZU, Tulcea/Topolog (TL) Jingle ID  2229km
 88.3 1703 HRV HRT-HR 1, Vinkovci/Borinci (vu) C201  1590km
 90.1 1704  I  Radio Deejay, Martina Franca/Monte Trazzonara-Strada Carbonico Zona H (ta) 5214  1894km **
 87.5 1707  I  Radio Radicale, Villa Castelli/Monte Fellone (ta) 5210 RADICALE  1901km
 87.7 1707  I  Radio Radicale, Monopoli/Contrada Impalata (ba) OM, as 87.5  1865km
 88.3 1708  I  Radio 24, Martina Franca/Monte Trazzonara-Strada Carbonico Zona H (ta) 5245 __DIO___  1894km
 91.2 1716  I  RAI Radio2, Rocca di Papa/Monte Cavo vetta (RAI) (rm) 5202 _RADIO2_  1568km
 92.9 1718 BUL BNR Hristo Botev, Sofia/Kopitoto-KRTTS Vitosa (sfg) 8220 _1__IAEV  2056km
 89.2 1719 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A203  1262km
 94.5 1727 SRB Radio Beograd 1, Crveni Cot (Voj) D2FF  1659km
 95.3 1727 SRB Radio Beograd 1, Beograd/Avala (Srb) D2FF  1740km
 96.1 1728 SRB Radio Beograd 2/3, Tupisnica (Srb) Classical, as 96.5  1912km **
 96.5 1728 SRB Radio Beograd 2/3, Crveni Cot (Voj) D2F6  1659km
103.0 1730 BUL BNR Horizont, Sofia/Kopitoto-KRTTS Vitosa (sfg) Music, as web  2056km
104.0 1731 SRB Radio Beograd 202, Beograd/Avala (Srb) Rock music, as web  1740km

** Personal Skegness 'Firsts'

Unidentified:
104.8 1733  ?  UNID, ? 0004. The PI is correct. Serbian station?


Well, I couldn't resist it. After checking my emails and reading Sleeper's sporadic E alert I found a nice band-wide Es event to parts of Italy and the Balkans but very little of it reached RDS levels.

Good DX!

John, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1.7m (5'9") ASL.
Website: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Personal All Time VHF Logbooks: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/vhf-band-2-logs
VHF Band 2 DX Recordings: https://sites.google.com/site/skegnessdx/skegness-vhf-band-2-fm-dx-recordings

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

Aerials:
Rooftop Körner 9.2, 8m AGL www.box.com/s/h1a5z3bu94vppln3zsfn
Yaesu G-5500 azimuthal/elevation rotator

Software:
RDS Spy v1.00r2 www.rdsspy.com