Skegness Log: 09-05-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
102.6 0017 EST Raadio 2, Koeru (Jae) Lively pop track, as web. Two second burst  1708km **
102.6 0023 SVK SRo 3 Rádio Devín, Banská Stiavnica/Sitno (BB) Piano music, as web. Two
               second burst  1402km **
102.6 0045  D  Radio TON Heilbronn, Schwäbisch Hall (bwü) Belinda Carlisle, as web  795km **
102.6 0310  F  France Bleu, Multiple sites. Likely Mulhouse. This tx has been heard frequently
               via MS on 88.6 (France Culture). OM with phone number. Tnx Cédric, Stuart
               and Jean-Louis for help with this **
102.6 0559  D  RBB Fritz, Berlin/Alexanderplatz (brb) Pops, as web  880km **
102.6 0602  D  Radio ffn, Cuxhaven Otterndorf (nds) FFN own news with OM over music, as web.
               Four second burst  571km **
102.6 0602  D  NDR 2, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) Pops, as web. Three second burst  606km **
102.6 0649  D  MDR Info, Weimar-Ehringsdorf (thü) YL talking to OM, as web  791km **
102.6 0659 EST Raadio 2, Koeru (Jae) In again with distinctive guitar playing, as web.
               Two second burst  1708km
 87.6 1000  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Multi-tx Top of the hour jingle. Live listening **
 88.6 1125 CZE CRo Vltava, Klatovy/Doubrava (PL) 232D R-______. Live listening  984km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

A good night for MS. I chose 102.6, a frequency usually dominated by Tournai, but putting the aerial at 70-80 degrees meant that it was much less of a problem. This bearing also probably helped bring in Raadio 2 from Koeru. Radio TON and RBB Fritz were regularly heard on pings.

Estonia is one of three new countries I have received this week via MS. Latvia and Lithuania are the other two, but then my antenna has been pointing slightly further north than usual at 70 or 80 degrees. Even so, the Spanish reception on 87.6 just shows that anything is possible. 

People are asking where the Es have gone. 1. We were spoilt by last year's phenomenal Es season in England. 2. We were sent an early teaser on the 26th with a brief band 2 opening. This was unusually early. Don't write off this year's season yet! We don't usually expect band 2 Es until the end of May, so anything before then is a bonus.

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk

Receivers:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification & XDR-GTK software.

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 at 5.5 metres AGL. Yaesu G-5500 elevation/azimuth rotator.