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Tuesday, 30 September 2014

Skegness Log: 30-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 91.1 0711  F  Skyrock, Dunkerque/Tour Emery (59) Phone-in, as 106.9  274km
 93.3 0712 HOL Ujala Radio, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) Indian music  320km
 95.2 0726 HOL Slam!FM, Alphen aan den Rijn/Alticom Toren (zho) 82A5 SLAM!F__  312km
 95.4 0731 HOL BNR Nieuwsradio, Gilze/Prinsenbosch (nbr) Jingle ID  358km
 89.4 0947  D  NE-WS 89,4, Düsseldorf/Rheinturm (nrw) Noise free on scatter  488km
103.1 1550  D  Radio ffn, Aurich (nds) ID and ads  478km
103.5 1553  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) OM talk, as web  707km
 97.8 1555  D  NDR 2, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Ad for Subway, jingle ID  pops  477km
 94.3 1621  G  BBC Radio Scotland, Black Hill (SC-NLA) C415 BBC_Scot  405km

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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Sunday, 28 September 2014

Skegness Log: 28-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 89.9 0736 CZE CRo Dvojka, Liberec/Jested (LI) OM, as web  1038km **
 91.4 0739 CZE Radio Impuls, Plzen/Krasov (PL) Ads and ID  947km
101.7 0801 CZE CRo Dvojka, Plzen/Krasov (PL) Choir and YL, as web  947km
 89.2 0808 POL PR 3, Klodzko/Czarna Góra (DS) Adsm as web  1177km **
 99.0 0848 CZE CRo Ostrava, Valasské Mezirící/Radhost (MO) ID and interview  1304km **
 90.6 0904 POL PR 4, Swieradów-Zdrój/G. Stóg Izerski (DS) Adverts, as web stream. Thanks Konrad DX,
               Poland for help.  1053km **

103.8 0915 POL Radio ZET, Klodzko/Czarna Góra (DS) Polish YL talk, brief in pile-up. As web 
               1177km **
100.2 0924 POL PR 3, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) Old blues song, as web  1147km **
 87.6 0929 CZE Radio Impuls, Brno/Kojál (JM) OM and YL, as web  1219km **
102.0 0932 CZE CRo Dvojka, Brno/Kojál (JM) OM, as web  1219km **
104.5 0934 CZE Frekvence 1, Brno/Kojál (JM) OM, as web  1219km **
106.5 0935 CZE CRo Brno, Brno/Kojál (JM) OM and choir, as web  1219km **
 91.1 0948 CZE CRo RadioZurnál, Ceské Budejovice/Klet - CRa (JC) TV Theme. V weak in pile-up 
               1084km **
103.9 0957 CZE CRo Vltava, Liberec/Jested (LI) Presumed. OM, struggling against Suffolk  1038km **
 88.5 1033 CZE CRo RadioZurnál, Trutnov/Cerná hora (KR) YL song, as web  1091km **
 93.6 1042 POL Radio ZET, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) Ad break and pops, as web  1147km **
 97.9 1049 CZE Radio Proglas, Liberec/Jested (LI) Beethoven symphony, as web  1038km **
 95.9 1053 CZE CRo RadioZurnál, Liberec/Jested (LI) YL, as web. Just audible when Humberside dips
               down  1038km **
 90.5 1121 CZE CRo Hradec Králové, Trutnov/Cerná hora (KR) Pops and OM, as web  1091km **
 89.2 1135 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A203. Interesting props. Scatter like signal for
               two minutes. Seemingly not MS or Es. Scatter assisted tropo? Rx tuned by Nick Gilly
               at the time  1261km **


** Personal Skegness 'First'

It's been another of those "Pinch me - did that really just happen?" days. I was lucky to catch some superb ducting to the Czech republic, Austria and Poland - a first timer here. What the reception lacked in signal strength was more than made up for by the reception distances. CRo Ostrava from Valasské Mezirící on 99.0 became the second furthest band 2 tropo catch I have had since living in Skegness.

Videos are available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp As I mentioned yesterday, YouTube may have blocked some of the audio from these videos due to their 'copyright claims' policies. I can re-upload elsewhere if necessary.

I was just too late to catch a nice ID from CRo Ostrava on 99.0, hitting the record button too late, but there is plenty of audio in that video. Hopefully everything is clear enough. Ii included web audio with the weaker signals. PR3 from Wroclaw on 100.2 had a painfully weak signal. If you can hear this against the recording of the web stream then you'll have no problems with any of the other recordings.

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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Saturday, 27 September 2014

Skegness Log: 27-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 90.2 0723  D  NDR Kultur, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Phone in, as web  477km
102.1 0746  D  RPR 1., Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) ID and pops  550km
107.6 0820  D  Antenne Thüringen, Remda (Saalfeld) (thü) Ads, as web  788km
107.9 0821  D  BR Klassik, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) Close to RDS. Classical  732km
107.3 0823  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) OMs talk, as web  729km
106.9 0824  D  Hitradio RTL Sachsen, Leipzig Wiederau (sac) OM and YL lively discussion and jingle
               ID  843km
105.1 0830  D  Hit Radio FFH, Hoher Meißner (hes) ID and weather  684km
104.8 0831  D  hr1, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) OM, as web  729km
107.4 0841  D  Radio Wuppertal, Wuppertal/Westfalenweg (nrw) Probably scatter. Jingle ID 
               508km
105.6 0843  D  MDR JUMP, Remda (Saalfeld) (thü) Pops, as web. Over Donnersberg  788km
104.9 0846  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Ahrweiler/Schöneberg (rlp) Twangy techno, as web  553km
101.7 0848  D  hr4, Hoher Meißner (hes) Pops, as web  684km
101.2 0851  D  Bremen Vier, Bremen-Walle (bre) Web address  565km
 95.0 0857  D  hr-info, Rimberg (hes) OM, as web  678km
 93.8 0859  D  bremen eins, Bremen-Walle (bre) Toh ID and news  565km
 89.5 0902  D  hr3, Hoher Meißner (hes) News, as web  684km
 88.3 0903  D  Nordwestradio, Bremen-Walle (bre) Overriding Sutton Coldfield  565km
 91.8 0914 HOL FunX, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Lively pops, as web  313km
 92.4 0916 HOL PuurNL, Westdorpe/Verkavelingsweg (zee) Lively pops and lively OM DJ, as web  322km
 98.0 0924 HOL Radio Decibel, Amsterdam/Alticom Toren (nho) 86F0 DECIBEL_  320km
107.3 0931 BEL VBRO, Diksmuide/IJzertoren (vlg-wvl) Spandex ad. ID  292km
 89.9 0937 HOL Haarlem 105 Radio, Haarlem/Alticom Toren (nho) PhD song, as web  304kmx
107.7 0955 BEL Radio Plus, Gent/Opgeëistenlaan (vlg-ovl) Jingle ID. On horizontal beam  328km
 93.4 1016  D  Bayern 3, Pfaffenberg (bay) Status Quo song, as web   712km
104.1 1023  D  WDR 4, Olsberg (nrw) Elvis song, as web  592km
106.3 1027  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) Brief. Troposcatter? As web  748km
106.4 1028  D  WDR Eins Live, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) Briefly took over Kiss!!  483km
107.7 1042  D  Antenne Bayern, Hochries (bay) YL ID, phone caller  1034km
 97.2 1058  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) YL, as web  739km
 99.0 1113 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) Pops, as web. Mixing with Hoher
               Meissner  1080km
 94.8 1114 AUT Ö2 - Radio Salzburg, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) Soft pop song, as web  1080km
103.6 1118  D  RPR 1., Kalmit (rlp) Jingle ID between songs  687km
 87.9 1126  D  MDR Figaro, Inselsberg (thü) Passenger song, as web  739km
 90.2 1127  D  MDR JUMP, Inselsberg (thü) OM ID  739km
 91.6 1129  D  SWR3, Koblenz/Dieblich-Naßheck (rlp) Pops, as web  590km
 92.4 1133  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Linz (Rhein)/Ginsterhahner Kopf (rlp) Gloria Gaynor song, as
               web  560km
 95.4 1136  D  SWR2, Bad Marienberg (rlp) Operatic Car song, Nissan Dorma, as web  592km
 99.6 1141  D  hr-info, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) Noise free. OM, as web  612km
102.3 1145  D  BR Klassik, Wendelstein (bay) Classical, as web. 24dB  1024km
107.1 1149  D  B5 aktuell, Ochsenkopf (bay) YL, as 105.3  865km
106.9 1150  D  B5 aktuell, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) Jingle and YL news, as 105.3  942km
 91.7 1206  D  MDR 1 Radio Thüringen, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) Bangles song, as web  793km
 94.2 1209  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) Phone caller, as web  793km
105.4 1211  D  Hitradio RTL Sachsen, Chemnitz/Geyer (sac) Joan Jett song, as web  904km
 91.4 1214  D  Bayern 1, Büttelberg (bay) Light pops and OM ID  812km
 92.8 1218  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen, Chemnitz/Geyer (sac) Rogers and Parton song, as web  904km **
 95.3 1220  D  YOU FM (hr), Hardberg (hes) Pops, as web. Mixing with Essex  712km
 95.8 1222  D  Bayern 3, Grünten (Allgäu) (bay) YL and child phone caller, as web  942km
 98.8 1226  D  NDR Kultur, Osnabrück/Schleptruper Egge (nds) German OM, as web  525km
102.6 1230  D  NDR 2, Stadthagen/Bückeberge (nds) ID and pops  606km
 97.5 1256  D  SWR3, Bornberg (rlp) ID in ad break  640km
106.2 1257  D  hr3, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Ad break, as web  729km
105.9 1258  D  Hit Radio FFH, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) ID and info  647km
105.6 1259  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Donnersberg (rlp) ID and news  656km
103.0 1302  D  BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) BFBS News and ID  564km
102.8 1303  D  Radio Regenbogen, Heidelberg/Königstuhl, DTAG (bwü) YL ID and pops  717km **
 93.0 1310  D  BFBS Radio, Braunschweig/Drachenberg (nds) Pops, as 103.0  712km
 93.7 1311  D  Bayern 1, Wendelstein (bay) German OM, as web  1024km
 94.4 1313  D  hr1, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Sports commentary, as web  647km
101.6 1314  D  hr4, Hardberg (hes) Interview, as 107.3  712km
106.7 1319  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Kalmit (rlp) Pop song, as web. Mixing with Langeberg.
               687km
106.8 1320  D  Hit Radio FFH, Driedorf/Höllberg (hes) Pops, as 105.1  604km
 96.3 1322  D  Bayern 3, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) Pops, as web  732km
 88.0 1323  D  SR 1 Europawelle, Göttelborner Höhe (saa) Pops, as web  629km
 95.2 1334  D  MDR Figaro, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) Piano music, plinking above the noise. As web 
               793km
 95.5 1335  D  hr2, Hoher Meißner (hes) OM, as web  684km
 97.4 1711  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Brocken (san) D220 DKULTUR_ 39dB  712km
101.4 1716  D  Radio SAW, Brocken (san) D3D9 _S_A_W__ 38dB  712km
 94.6 1717  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Brocken (san) D4D1 MDR_S-AN  712km
 89.0 1719  D  89.0 RTL, Brocken (san) D0DB 89.0_RTL  712km
100.9 1726  D  Hit Radio FFH, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Pops and ID  729km
107.8 1732  D  MDR Figaro, Brocken (san) D3C3 __IG__O_. RDSing at 24dB!  712km
 89.5 1806  D  Bayern 2, Wendelstein (bay) Strange OM, as web  1024km
 98.4 1815  D  SWR3, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) Slowly spoken jingle ID. ads  748km
 98.5 1823  D  Bayern 3, Wendelstein (bay) D313 ____RN__  1024km
101.9 1832  D  Antenne Bayern, Heidelstein (Rhön) (bay) ID and adverts  729km
105.7 1838  D  B5 aktuell, Wendelstein (bay) D315 B5_Akt__  1024km
 96.0 1848  D  Bayern 2, Ochsenkopf (bay) OM ID between slow pops  865km
 87.6 1913  D  NDR 2, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) V v weak with Indeep song, as web  650km
 92.1 1919  D  NDR 2, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) D382 _NDR-2__  707km
103.5 1928  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) D210 __DLF___  707km
 98.0 1930  D  NDR 1 Niedersachsen, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) D381 NDR1_NDS  707km
100.3 1935  D  Planet Radio, Eisenberg (Neuenstein) (hes) Planet Club In The Mix  677km
 99.0 1954  D  hr1, Hoher Meißner (hes) D361  684km
106.3 1958  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Torfhaus/DTAG (nds) Jingle ID  707km
 93.6 2007  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) Roy Orbison song and ID  550km
 89.9 2016  D  NDR Kultur, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Classical  707km
107.1 2021  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) ID and phone caller  593km
 97.7 2027  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) Pops and OM, as web  593km
 96.7 2028  D  hr2, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Piano music, as web. Over KLFM  647km
105.6 2104 SUI Radio SRF 3, Säntis (ar) German OM, as web  917km
107.8 2106 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) Italian OM, as web  917km
107.3 2110 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Chasseral (be) Pops, as 107.8  823km
 95.4 2113 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Säntis (ar) OM, as web  917km
 99.5 2133  D  NDR Info, Torfhaus (Harz-West) (nds) Barry White song, as web  707km
104.6 2136 AUT FM 4, Salzburg 1/Gaisberg (ORS) (sal) Drum and bass music, as web  1080km
107.3 2206  D  SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Raichberg (bwü) ID and night service. Producing slight echo
               against Heidelberg  813km
105.0 2208  D  Radio 7, Iberger Kugel (bwü) Pops, as web  922km
 90.7 2211  D  Bayern 1, Ochsenkopf (bay) Pops, as web. 107.1 also in  865km
 91.8 2212  D  SWR2, Raichberg (bwü) Classical, as web  813km
 94.3 2219  D  SWR3, Raichberg (bwü) Pops, as web  813km
 97.3 2226 HOL Shrik Van Gammelke, Weerselo (Ov) Dutch music, as web. On horizontal beam!
105.3 2309  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) OM, as 105.7  732km
 91.5 2315  D  MDR JUMP, Brocken (san) D3C2 M_R_____  712km
103.2 2322  D  Antenne Bayern, Ochsenkopf (bay) Whispered ID between songs  865km
 91.0 2328  D  hr1, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) Robbie Williams song, as web  612km
104.3 2329  D  hr4, Sackpfeife (Biedenkopf) (hes) German song, as web  612km
101.0 2347  D  WDR 2, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) Pops, as web  519km
 87.7 2351  D  MDR Figaro, Chemnitz/Geyer (sac) Classical, as 87.9  904km
100.3 2354  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Ochsenkopf (bay) YL, as web  865km


** Personal Skegness 'First'

This was one of the most bizarre tropos I have known, as the videos should demonstrate. Instead of signals being stable, as you would expect with tropo ducting, they were up and down like yo-yos. A signal might have faded in from nothing, gone up to RDS levels, then back down into the noise in less than half a minute. Brocken and Torfhaus provided the most consistent signal strengths, but even they were subject to this choppiness.

I logged most of the German transmitters I received in this opening to give a complete picture of what happened, but I missed out some NRW transmitters which were also coming in at enhanced levels, such as Langenberg, Aachen, Teutoburger Wald, Bonn & Munster. Other regular continentals from northern France, Belgium and Holland were also up to 40dB most of the time, yet again suffering this strange fluttery effect.

Since my daily Vimeo upload is ten files and I have many more than that, I have uploaded my videos of the pick of today's DX to my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOrAbHyPpIflDXo62HWyOiA I know there is at least one video which has had its audio muted. I hope there aren't any more. If you have any problems hearing the audio please let me know.

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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Friday, 26 September 2014

Skegness Log: 26-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 97.2 0958 HOL NPO Radio 2, Eys/Alticom Toren (lim) Pushing through on the horizontal today. Good
               scatter conditions  462km
 97.8 1052  G  BBC Radio 1, Pendle Forest (EN-LNC) Fading up and down. Never noticed this one
               until now.  188km **
 95.5 1056  G  BBC Radio Lancashire, Hameldon Hill (EN-LNC) North-west issues, as web stream 
               186km **
 98.7 1316 NOR NRK P2, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) Very weak. Probably scatter. OM talk, as web 
               703km
 97.2 2034  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Inselsberg (thü) YL, as web  739km
105.3 2035  D  B5 aktuell, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) YL, as web  732km
107.9 2037  D  BR Klassik, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) Clasical, as web  732km
107.4 2048  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Koblenz/Dieblich-Naßheck (rlp) Nostalgia  OM, as web  590km
107.1 2049  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Haardtkopf (rlp) Jazzy nostalgia, as 107.4  593km
105.9 2051  D  Hit Radio FFH, Großer Feldberg (Taunus)/hr (hes) Pops, as web  647km
105.6 2052  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Donnersberg (rlp) German singer, as web  656km
104.0 2057  D  big fm (Rheinland-Pfalz), Koblenz/Kühkopf (rlp) VJingle ID and rap  590km
 92.4 2104  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Linz (Rhein)/Ginsterhahner Kopf (rlp) OM ID after news  560km
 93.0 2105  D  SWR2, Haardtkopf (rlp) YL, as web  593km
 94.0 2105  D  SWR2, Koblenz/Dieblich-Naßheck (rlp) YL and OM, as 93.0  590km
 93.6 2111  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) Nostalgia, as 107.4  550km
 99.1 2117  D  SWR1 Rheinland-Pfalz, Donnersberg (rlp) Light pops, as web  656km
107.3 2141  D  hr4, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) Instrumental song, as web  729km
104.8 2200  D  hr1, Heidelstein (Rhön) [bay] (hes) News  729km
105.0 2229  D  Hit Radio FFH, Krehberg (hes) ID and traffic report  698km
102.9 2233  D  RPR 1., Bad Marienberg (rlp) Jingle ID between pops  592km
 90.6 2243  D  SWR3, Saarburg/Geisberg (rlp) Pop Nacht, as web  586km
101.6 2250  D  hr4, Hardberg (hes) Traffic beep, as web  712km
 96.3 2253  D  Bayern 3, Kreuzberg (Rhön) (bay) Great oompah mix of Happy pop song, as web  732km
 94.8 2256  D  SWR3, Linz (Rhein)/Ginsterhahner Kopf (rlp) Pops, as web  560km
 89.6 2306  F  France Culture, Villers-Cotterêts/Fleury (02) French song, as 98.0  474km
 91.1 2306  F  France Inter, Villers-Cotterêts/Fleury (02) As 103.7  474km
107.6 2309  G  Vibe FM, Watford/YMCA (EN-HTS) Ad for Fun World in Watford  173km


** Personal Skegness 'First'

The Hepburn forecast might have been a little overzealous regarding the index figures. Tropo to Denmark and Norway was predicted but there was only very weak scatter.

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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Skegness Log: 24-09-14 (MW)

 950 0122 CAN CKNB, Campbellton (NB) 95 CKNB call letters spoken slowly between songs Weak  4583 km
 930 0200 CAN CFBC Country Favorites 93, Saint John (NB) This is 93 CFBC Saint John. Country music Fair  4728 km
1060 0200 USA WQOM, Natick (DC) (MA) Ten Sixty WQOM, your something radio station. Muffled ID in narrow 
              bandwidth due to 1053 splatter Weak  5266 km
1520 0200 USA WWKB ESPN Radio, Buffalo (NY) 1520 AM WWKB Buffalo ID Weak  5697 km
 590 0259 CAN VOCM, Saint John s (NL) VOCM ID Weak  3730 km
 620 0259 CAN CKCM, Grand Falls (NL) VOCM ID Weak  3839 km
 750 0300 CAN CBGY CBC Radio 1, Bonavista Bay (NL) CBC News jingle in splatter Weak  3733 km
 880 0300 USA WCBS WCBS Newsradio 880, New York/High Island (NY) New York news items. CBS News 
              jingle eight seconds after the hour. Obviously WCBS. Weak  5518 km
1010 0300 USA WINS, New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) Dominating CFRB for a change. Ten Ten Wins ID Fair     5543 km
1400 0300 CAN CBG CBC Radio 1, Gander (NL) CBC Radio 1 news jingle penetrating local noise Weak  3774 km

Good DX!

John Faulkner, Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) 1m ASL

Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Receiver: Perseus SDR

Antenna: 10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Skegness Log: 23-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 93.7 1716  D  Bayern 1, Wendelstein (bay) D314 Bayern1S (corrupted PS?).  Suddenly over Holme moss
               at 37dB!! Live listening  1024km

Band 2 Tropospheric:
103.2 1043  D  hr4, Habichtswald (hes) German song. First time via scatter  647km
104.0 1057  D  SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Feldberg (Schwarzwald) (bwü) Soft German pops, as web  799km
107.8 1058 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) Italian OM, as web  917km
105.6 1059 SUI Radio SRF 3, Säntis (ar) Pops, as web  917km
 95.4 1106 SUI Radio SRF 2 Kultur, Säntis (ar) German YL, as web  917km
 88.0 1107  D  SR 1 Europawelle, Göttelborner Höhe (saa) German pops, as web  629km
100.4 1117  D  Radio Regenbogen, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) Pops, as web  748km
 94.0 1118  D  SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Hornisgrinde/SWR (bwü) YL, as web  748km **
 98.5 1633  D  Bayern 3, Wendelstein (bay) OM and YL, as web  1024km
105.7 1638  D  B5 aktuell, Wendelstein (bay) OM, as web  1024km
102.3 1645  D  BR Klassik, Wendelstein (bay) Barely audible between Lincs and an enhanced Heart 
               (102.4) 1024km

Unidentified:
A classical music station which kept appearing on 107.8 throughout the afternoon. It wasn't DLR Kultur or Figaro.


** Personal Skegness 'First'

104.0 SWR4, Feldberg was the first German station to appear via tropo, then followed by Gottelborner Hohe and Hornisgrinde. Signals were very weak throughout this all too brief tropo.

It was a coincidence that Wendelstein suddenly appeared on 93.7 via a good meteor burst while it was being received by tropo elsewhere at that time. I guessed Bayern1S pointed to the Sudbayern service but I see this is listed as "Oberbayern", so I wonder if this is a corrupted PS.

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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Skegness Log: 23-09-14 (MW)

 680 0200 CAN CFTR 680 News, Toronto/Grimsby (ON) Call letters heard in 684 Spanish splatter 
              Weak 5711 km
1010 0300 CAN CFRB Newstalk 1010, Toronto/Oakville (ON) Heard Ten Ten Toronto in 1008 splash
              Fair  5692 km
1540 0300 CAN CHIN Toronto (ON) My ideas still matter! Weak  5668 km


Poor and worse. Struggling to hear the above.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Two Flags For The Price Of One!

Being a greedy DXer I like to have it both ways - I like to have an antenna towards Asia and another towards the Americas. :O) That's not easily achievable at the new QTH. Although we have lots more garden space than at our last QTH, the gardens are narrower. Well, you can't have everything. Or can you?

 
     Asian flag antenna at 028 degrees                 North American feed at 355 degrees    

Flag antennas are usually fixed, with the vertical sections being anchored. Moving the flag is not one of the easiest exercises in the world. OK, it's not the most difficult either, but it takes a good hour or more, Sod's Law permitting, for me to relocate my flag.

Some DXers have constructed their flag antennas on a large wooden frame and plonked them on a rotator. Nice if you have that kind of room. No section of our garden is quite wide enough to achieve that, so I had a good think about how I could have two flags for the price of one. This part was actually quite simple, but I wanted to experiment by having an additional wire connected in order to make the moving part simpler and assess its impact on directivity.

 
'Portable' Asia feed on the left. Fixed resistor box on the right. Click to enlarge

Some basic info to recap. The flag antenna, also called a 'ewe' and sometimes a 'pennant', is a unidirectional antenna with a low reception angle. It's been a must-have for medium wave DXing for me for years and out-performs the loop, the ALA1530 and even has similar reception characteristics to those of a Beverage. The front lobe is fairly wide, accepting a good 50 or so degrees spread, but the rear null is also wide, and usefully consistent across the whole medium wave.

My existing flag was pointing at 28 degrees, based on figures obtained from Google Earth maps. 28 degrees points straight at Japan from here. I needed a second flag at around 300 degrees for west coast North america. Providing I could permanently anchor one end of the flag to the wooden garden fence, I could make the other (feed) end by ensuring it can be lifted from its moorings and carried to another mooring point in the desired direction. That bit was easily achieved. But what about the connections?

The use of a few banana plugs and sockets would make the job much easier, only I didn't have any. Time to call in that infamous duo Bodgitt & Scarper. Connections aside, I wondered if I could have two base wires connected at the same time in order to make the move simpler. The existing 28 degree base wire was buried behind plants and bushes, so I left that in place and affixed an additional base wire to the other anchoring point. This made no difference in the reception and directivity AT ALL! I used my usual checkpoint, semi-local BBC Radio Cambridgeshire on 1026 kHz. I can get this right down in the noise. The null was unaffected by the second base wire. From all measurements and recordings taken I could not see any differences whether the second base wire was connected or not. So now, moving the flag to its North American direction could be easier than ever! All I had to do was lift one end of the flag from its moorings and plonk it in the other. 30 seconds and two simple connections later and my Asiatic flag becomes a North American flag.

A DXer recently asked me what effect the base wire had when it was lifted off the ground and how did this affect reception when the base wire was lying on the ground. Well, the answer is another simple one. It is only the vertical sections of the flag which have the pick-up. The directional effect is achieved by phasing the vertical sections against each other. The horizontal sections are not supposed to receive anything, so it doesn't matter if the top wire sags a little, etc. I tested this further by lifting the base wire slightly above the height of the bottom of the vertical sections and I didn't notice any difference. I even extended the bottom wire so I could direct it in some grooves in the concrete path on the garden so it could be hidden and, again, it made no difference.

Whether there are any differences on paper when making these adjustments to the base wire I do not know. Perhaps somebody could model this. There may be something of course, but I did not observe any detrimental effects while carrying out these experiments. Also bear in mind I am not a 'techie' so my apologies if I have stated anything incorrectly above. I am a Bodgitt & Scarper man and proud of it! If it's help together with sellotape and it works well I don't care too much.

BUT ... since the vertical elements of the flag are the crucial part, ensure these really are properly vertical and straight as this is what helps you achieve those nice deep nulls. You will benefit by NOT employing Bodgitt & Scarper tactics on this part.

Keep the supports absolutely vertical if you can

To clarify, this is one flag antenna and not two. I merely move one side of the flag to a different location in order to make the most of two different directions. 355 and 028 degrees are fairly close for an antenna with such a wide forward lobe, but there is a clear difference in reception, so this has been a worthwhile exercise.

Monday, 22 September 2014

Skegness Log: 22-09-14 (MW)

 730 0400 CAN CKAC Radio Circulation, Montréal/Pointe-Calumet (QC) CKAC ID on the hour Weak 
              5203 km


Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Saturday, 20 September 2014

Skegness Log: 20-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 88.9 ???? HRV HRT-HR 1, Dubrovnik/Srd (du) YL as 87.7  1758km
 91.3 ???? HRV HRT-HR 1, Labinstica (st) C201 HRT-HR_1  1578km
 87.6 1356 HRV Podravski Radio, Durdevac/Micetinac-Veliki Kostanj (kc) Unattended. C440  1436km

 87.7 1356  I  RAI Radio1, Poggiu Rasu/Caprera - La Maddalena (RAI) (ot) Presumed site. Heard here
               before and fits with conditions. RAI 1 bumper. Thanks FM Franco for help  1495km

 87.9 1357  I  R101, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (ag) 5215 _R_-_101  2007km
 89.0 1358  I  RAI Radio1, Alcamo/Monte Bonifato (RAI) (tp) Presumed site. Fits conditions. Thanks
               FM Franco for help  1949km

 91.1 1358  I  RAI Radio1, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (RAI) (ag) Football commentary. Thanks
               FM Franco for help.   2007km

 89.5 1400  F  France Culture, Cervione/Alistro (20B) As 98.0  1389km
 89.5 1401  I  RTL 102.5, Cammarata/Monte Cammarata (ag) 5218 RTL102.5  2007km
 91.8 1401  I  RTL 102.5, Mango/Frazione San Donato (cn) As 89.5  1102km **
 88.0 1404  E  RNE Radio 5 Todo Noticias, Punta Umbría (AND-H) E215 RNE_5-H_  1862km
 88.4 1406  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Almonaster la Real (AND-H) Presumed with mentions of RNE  1783km
 87.6 1407  E  COPE, Badajoz/Cansa Burros (EXT-BA) E2CA __COPE__. Badajoz in radiotext  1683km
 87.9 1407  E  Canal Extremadura Radio, Mérida/Cerro de San Serván (EXT-BA) E30A Canal_EX  1670km
 89.8 1425  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, San Marco in Lamis/Monte Celano (fg) 5225 KISSKISS  1711km **
 87.9 1426  F  France Culture, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) As 98.0  1449km
 90.2 1426  F  RMC, Porto Vecchio/Punta di a Varra (20A) Ads, as web  1449km
 88.1 1434 BIH BH Radio 1, Tuznica (k10) F001 BHRADIO1  1615km
 89.0 1434 ALB New Planet Radio 89 FM, Tiranë (Tirana)/Fushë Dajt (tir) 5400 -_ANET__ RADIO___
               89_FM___ THE_BEST RADIO___ FOR_____ CLASSIC_ ROCK..._  1964km
 87.7 1435 HRV HRT-HR 1, Licka Pljesivica (gs) C201 HRT-HR_1  1456km
 89.5 1435 HRV HRT Radio Dubrovnik, Gruda/Sveti Ilija (du) C315 R_DUBROV  1785km
 88.5 1436 HRV Radio Dalmacija, Celevac (zd) C31E DALMATIA  1499km
 89.6 1436 HRV HRT-HR 1, Promina/Cavnovka (si) YL, as 87.7  1547km
 97.5 1438 HRV HRT-HR 2, Otocac/Stipanov Gric (gs) C202 HRT-HR_2  1439km
 90.5 1439 HRV HRT-HR 2, Licka Pljesivica (gs) C202 HRT-HR_2  1456km
 98.5 1439 HRV HRT-HR 2, Dubrovnik/Srd (du) C202 HRT-HR_2  1758km **
 91.0 1445 ALB Radio Tirana, Shkodër/Tarabosh (shk) 5158 09-2__1_ PRRANAMI (Corrupted PS)  1882km
 90.4 1448 ALB Albania FM, Tiranë (Tirana) (tir) Vocal ID and Arabic music! Thanks Reijo Alapiha
               for help  1960km **
 92.0 1449 HRV Narodni Radio, Celevac (zd) C206 NARODNI_  1499km

 93.6 1449  I  RAI Radio2, Trieste/Monte Belvedere (RAI) (ts) OM. Thanks FM Franco for help
               1278km **

 95.2 1450 ALB Radio Maria Italia, Tiranë (Tirana)/Dajt (tir) Presumed. Ave Mavis  1964km **
 95.8 1450  I  RAI Radio3, Trieste/Monte Belvedere (RAI) (ts) Thanks FM Franco  1278km **
 98.1 1451 HRV HRT-HR 2, Celevac (zd) C202 HRT-HR_2  1499km **
 98.9 1451 HRV HRT-HR 2, Biokovo/Sveti Jure (st) C202 HRT-HR_2  1643km
107.9 1452 HRV HKR-Hrvatski Katolicki Radio, Biokovo/Sveti Jure (st) C205 -_HKR_-_  1643km
102.0 1453 HRV HRT Radio Split, Biokovo/Sveti Jure (st) C31A R-SP____  1643km **
 89.1 1455 BIH Federalni Radio, Capljina/Crno brdo (hgn) F209 RADIO-F.  1693km
 92.5 1456 BIH Federalni Radio, Tuznica (k10) F209  1615km
 89.1 1458  I  Radio Fantasy, Sagrado/Frazione San Martino del Carso-Monte San Michele (go)
               Vocal ID  1247km **
 89.2 1500 HRV Radio Otok Krk - O.K., Krk/Kras (ri) C456 RADIO-OK  1366km
 90.6 1500 SVN Radio 1, Sempeter pri Gorici (go) 9357 RADIO_1_  1250km **
 93.2 1501 HRV Otvoreni Radio, Gruda/Sveti Ilija (du) Vocal ID  1785km **
 90.7 1503  I  RAI Radio1, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (RAI) (le) 5201
               __RAI___ _RADIO1_  1982km
101.0 1503 HRV HRT Radio Split, Labinstica (st) C31A  1578km **
102.3 1503  I  RTL 102.5, Muggia/Strada per Chiampore (ts) Vocal ID  1281km **
 93.7 1504  I  RTL 102.5, Monopoli/Contrada Impalata (ba) Jingle ID  1865km **
 88.4 1505  I  Radio Romantica, Muggia/Strada per Chiampore (ts) 561E ____NTIC  1281km
 88.6 1505 HRV Radio Sibenik, Sibenik/Kamenar (si) C314 SIBENIK PI:C314 PS:_SIBENIK 1549km

 89.4 1505  I  Radio Deejay, Muggia/Strada per Chiampore (ts) Brief Deejay ID I missed the first
               time. Thanks FM Franco for help  1281km

 91.2 1507 SVN Radio Ognjisce, Tinjan (kp) 942F OG__ISCE  1289km
 93.3 1507 HRV HRT-HR 2, Mirkovica (ri) C202 HR__HR_2  1374km
 93.6 1507 HRV Totalni FM, Labinstica (st) C30B ____LNI_  1578km
 90.8 1508  I  Radio Dara-inBlu, Brindisi-centro (br) Presumed. Possible ID amid fade. Ads 
               1923km
 87.8 1510 HRV Radio Dalmacija, Brac/Vidova Gora (st) Info and ID. RDS not working today  1625km
 88.2 1529 ALB Radio 7, Fier (fie) 4D7F  1999km

 91.0 1531 HRV Radio 057, Zadar/Bili brig (zd) Presumed. Zadar promo. Zadar mentioned three
               times. Thanks FM Franco for help  1482km **

 92.4 1537 HRV HRT-HR 2, Lastovo (du) C202 HRT-HR_2  1682km
 92.7 1537 HRV HRT-HR 1, Murter/Raduc (si) C201 HRT-HR_1  1525km **
 87.6 1541 HRV HRT-HR 2, Ugljan/Sv. Mihovil (zd) C202 HRT-HR_2  1481km
 89.3 1542 HRV Novi Radio, Ugljan/Sv. Mihovil (zd) C30C  1481km **
 90.5 1543 HRV Nautic Radio Vis, Vis-Komisa/Sveti Duh (st) Jingle ID  1618km
 93.8 1548 GRC NERIT 3 trito programma, Kerkira/Mt. Pantokratoras (ion-ker) NERIT Sport ID -
               confirmed by Arvid Husdal - thanks  2098km **
 90.4 1554  I  Radio Deejay, Brindisi-centro (br) 5214 _DEEJAY_  1923km
 92.8 1555  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Brindisi-centro (br) 5264 *_RDS_*_  1923km
 97.5 1557  I  Studio 100 Radio, Brindisi-centro (br) Vocal ID in promo  1923km **
 89.4 1602  I  Kiss Kiss Italia, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le) 531F
               KKITALIA  1982km
 89.9 1603  I  Radio Maria, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le) 51CC R.MARIA_ 
               1982km
 87.9 1605  I  Radio 105 Network, Bari/Piazza Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi, 24 (ba) 5211
               __105___  1824km
 88.3 1605  I  Radio 24, Martina Franca/Monte Trazzonara-Strada Carbonico Zona H (ta) 5245 
               1894km
 89.1 1605  I  RAI Radio1, Martina Franca/Masseria Trasconi (ta) 5201 __RAI___  1885km
 91.1 1607  I  RAI Radio2, Martina Franca/Masseria Trasconi (ta) 5202 _R__IO2_ __RAI___  1885km
 91.7 1607  I  Radio Venere (Puglia), Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le)
               5D4A ______RE  1982km
102.0 1610  I  Ciccio Riccio, Mesagne (br) Vocal ID  1920km
104.1 1610  I  Radio 24, Santeramo in Colle/Contrada Iazzitello (ba) 5245  1848km **
105.3 1611  I  Radio 105 Network, Corato/Monte Ripanno (ba) Vocal ID  1796km
108.0 1612  I  Love FM, Corato/Monte Ripanno (ba) Simply Red song, as web  1796km
104.1 1613  I  Virgin Radio, Brindisi (br) 5241  1921km **
103.6 1614  I  Radio Capital, Brindisi (br) Jingle ID  1921km **
 97.3 1615  I  TRBC - Tele Radio Buon Consiglio, Santeramo in Colle/Contrada Iazzitello (ba)
               5263 __NS____  1848km
 99.5 1615  I  Radio Capital, Bari/Via Alessandro Maria Calefati, 95 (ba) 5219 _CAPITAL. AFs
               suggest Bari, as opposed to Andria  1823km **
 95.5 1616  I  RAI Radio2, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (RAI) (le) 5202
               _RADIO__  1982km
 97.0 1616  I  Radionorba, Corato/Monte Ripanno (ba) 5353 Presuming Corato, usually heard here.
               Could be Bari also  1796km
 93.9 1617  I  Mondoradio Tutti Frutti, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio (le)
               5A99 _RADIO__ _RUTTI__. Jingle ID  1982km **
 94.2 1617  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Molfetta (ba) Noisy signal due to co-channel QRM.
               Pops as 94.5.   1802km
 94.5 1617  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Parabita/Contrada Terrisi-Serra di San Eleuterio
               (le) 5264 *_RDS_*_  1982km
 92.5 1618  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Alberobello/Contrada Curcio Rubini (ba) Vocal ID 
               1873km
 90.8 1619  I  Radionorba, Alberobello (ba) 5353 R-NORBA_  1871km
 87.6 1622  I  Radio Capital, Cassano delle Murge/Contrada Pozzo Maccheroni (ba) Jingle ID  1848km


Unidentified:
 94.7 1617  I  UNID, ? 5B3B. Low modulation Coldplay (the lower the better!)
 92.2 1446  ?  Arabic.
 89.8 1506  ?  Arabic


** Personal Skegness 'First'


Did that really happen? Not only was this an out of season opening, it wouldn't have been out of place in the middle of summer! It's the best out of season Es opening I have personally known, but it was an odd opening at the start. I first realised that Es were around when I noticed C440 on 87.6 on my display at 1356. Snippets of Italy appeared on 87.6, then it jumped to Spain, then back to Italy again, gradually improving and spreading back to the Balkans.


Videos:
Sporadic E. 2014-09-20 1356 (Croatia, Italy & Spain)
Sporadic E. 2014-09-20 1425 (Italy)
Sporadic E. 2014-09-20 1433 (Balkans & Arabic)
Sporadic E. 2014-09-20 1527 (Italy & Balkans)

There is one more video, showing a few remaining Italians, which I am unable to upload it due to exceeding my weekly Vimeo upload limit.


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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Friday, 19 September 2014

Skegness Log: 19-09-14 (MW)

 600 0400 CAN CBNA CBC Radio 1, Saint Anthony (NL) Programme promo and news jingle Weak  3714 km
1130 0400 USA WBBR Bloomberg 1130, New York/Carlstadt [NJ] (NY) From the financial capital of the
              world - this is WBBR New York Fair  5538 km
1200 0400 CAN CFGO Ottawa (ON) CFGO letters heard in local noise Weak  5334 km
1320 0400 CAN CJMR Oakville (ON) Indian music across the hour. Has to be CJMR Weak  5703 km
1510 0400 USA WUFC Yahoo Sports Radio 1510, Boston (Waverley) (MA) TOH ID Weak  5245 km


Conditions haven't been great lately with geomagnetic activity being almost constantly at unsettled to active levels. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/alerts/k-index.html This is a great shame as we are now at the equinox period.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Skegness Log: 16-09-14 (MW)

1134 2100 KOR HLKC KBS 3 Radio, Hwaseong (gye) Call letters heard, time pips and music. Equal Euros on channel Weak  8724 km
Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Monday, 15 September 2014

Kenwick Top DX Trip: 15-09-14


It's been a week of teasing tropo. True enough there were some good catches, but the conditions reminded me of this summer's sporadic E season: Just when reception starts to build, it falls away again! Kenwick Top had been calling out my name for a while but I wanted to wait until all hints of tropospheric activity had passed. I wanted conditions to be just right as my plan is make more regular trips to this summit, so the band needed to be as flat as possible in order to assess how things are up there in a worst case scenario.

First things first. No radio trip would be complete without one or two famous Faulkner fiascos and this trip had its fair share. I forgot several cables, the all-important antenna clamp. antenna base, a couple of plugs and sockets, etc. Yes, it was a familiar Faulkner field trip, full of foul-ups and faux-pas. Perhaps I could be excused on this occasion ...

A couple of hours before leaving home I developed a migraine. My second within a week. I have been a life-long sufferer and my migraines always lead to loss of vision with those infamous nauseating zig-zag light displays in my eyes. Sometimes I suffer numbness in my limbs and once I even lost the ability to speak. Migraines are, after all, mini strokes. Thankfully, a dose of soluble co-codamol tablets stop those evil headaches and I can sometimes continue with regular activities within an hour of taking the medicine, though it feels like my head is in a bowl of pea soup.

A brief rest left me with little time to pack the equipment in the car, connect and test it, as I usually do before playing radio. This way I forget a lot less. I was on the verge of calling it off, but I did not want to let down my friend Phil who was coming along with me to get first hand experience of my radio activities. Phil is not a radio enthusiast but I knew he would at least find it half-interesting as he too is a self-confessed geek.

Now quite late, I dropped Jane, my wife, into town to meet her friend Emma, then Phil and I sped to Kenwick Top. With a bit of luck we would have at least half an hour to do some listening before I had to dash back home.

Kenwick Top is a local high spot, some 20 miles north-west of my home in Skegness and a half-hour drive. It is on the edge of the beautiful Lincolnshire Wolds and has a sea view from north-east through to south-east. Although it's hardly mountainous at only 91 metres above sea level, it is one of the highest spots for miles around and the take-off makes it a prime DX hotspot with superb reception in all directions. The only drawback is its close proximity to the Belmont mast, just a few miles to the west, and the signal levels will de-sensitise some receivers.

After bodging up my receiving station (and that's no exaggeration!) everything was working 100%. Phew! My foresight into taking along copious amounts of gaffa tape was commendable, though I say so myself, as it held together so many things which would otherwise have fallen apart. Time to fire up the XDR-GTK software and Bandicam (screen recording software) so I can record the whole session.

With conditions well below average and this being an evening DX session (aircraft scatter is usually less frequent during the evenings) I was more than pleased with the results. Some of the regular nearer continental stations were struggling or absent altogether, while some of the more distant scatter stations were received quite well. You can hear Antenna Thuringen from Remda on 107.6 very clearly. You can also hear HR4 from Heidelstein in Bavaria on 107.3 and Brocken's MDR1 is clear on 94.6, plus many other continental goodies. There is also a tentative BB Radio from Berlin on 107.5 (currently seeking verification of this), which will be a Kenwick Top aircraft scatter distance record if confirmed.

One minor drawback with Kenwick Top is the additional stations from inland which can be heard there. The band has more English activity than at my home location.

The video above contains over half an hour of pure unadulterated DX footage. But let this serve as a warning to those DXers who are brave enough to venture to new heights to get their DX kicks - things just aren't the same when you return home to your domestic DX dial. Oh, if only they were!

John Faulkner
Kenwick Top, Lincolnshire. 91m asl

Equipment: 
Receiver: Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification
Software: Konrad XDR-GTK
Aerial: Triax FM5 on 10m mast

Skegness Log: 15-09-14 (JF)

 819 2000 KRE KCBS Chosun Jungang Pangsong, Pyongyang (pyo) Presumed but based on time signal alone
              My recording: https://app.box.com/s/5t8i4x6j1cnc2mj0828v Compare with this: 
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQ1gNQYUkI. The time signals are identical.
              V weak  8493 km **

1350 2000  J  JOER RCC Chugoku Hoso, Etajima/Okimi (chg-hir) Distinctive time signal equal weak
              co-channel pile-up.  
V weak  9252 km
 972 2058 KOR HLCA KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, Dangjin (ccg) Equal and perhaps even slightly stronger
              than Germany 
before the hour Good  8740 km
1413 2100  J  JOIF KBC-Kyushu Asahi Hoso, Fukuoka (kyu-fuk) Distinctive time signal still
              piercing through the pile-up.  Weak  9225 km

1566 2100 KOR HLAZ FEBC, Jeju=Cheju (jej) Stunning S7 signal Fair  9067 km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

A new country for me today on medium wave. North Korea! It's almost certain, but I am basing my logging on the time signal alone. I really need to get a better recording of this but, after hearing a recording on YouTube of KCBS 819. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQ1gNQYUkI and comparing this with my own recording I can hear that the time signals are identical. If you have a musical ear you will also be able to tell that the fourth pip is very slightly 'flat', giving it quite a distinctive sound. I will log this as 'presumed' for now but I think there is no doubt that this is the KCBS time signal on my recording. I just need a bit more signal next time to catch the vocals.

I made a recording of the YouTube video and my recording of the time pips, side by side: https://app.box.com/s/n1bjxxd1z865zug7qoo9

Here is South Korea making a mess of Germany on 972: https://app.box.com/s/ounzqrjk7z26b8c3roes

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Sunday, 14 September 2014

Skegness Log: 14-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.6 1215  S  SR P1, Multi-tx YL, as web
 
Band 2 Tropospheric:
107.8 1235 SUI RSI Rete Uno, Säntis (ar) Pops, as web. Just audible when Future Radio fades  917km


Some out-of-season Es yesterday. Well, a single out-of-season E no less. I have the video of this but the signal was trailing away once I got Bandicam recording. It wasn't strong enough for RDS but I can say without doubt this was an E and not MS.

The tropo to Switzerland was a surprise. I heard the station playing pop music, very weakly, when Norwich's Future Radio dropped out.

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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Wednesday, 10 September 2014

Skegness Log: 10-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 89.6 2259  G  Tru Flavas, London pirate 1037 T_FLAVAS and loads of scrolling PS **
 92.2 2255  G  Metro Love Radio, London pirate 0900 metro___ love____ *MLR*___ www.____
               metro___ love___ .com____
 92.4 2254  G  USD FM, London pirate Jazzy soulful stuff, asweb
 95.6 1045 IRL South East Radio, Mount Leinster (CW) OM, as web  480km
 96.4 2236  G  96.4 The Eagle, Guildford/Hog's Back (EN-SUR) Eagle Radio jingle and ads  223km
100.3 1051 IRL Nova 100, Three Rock Mountain (D) Country song, as web  437km **
102.7 1213 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Clermont Carn (LH) Thanks to BBC Leeds being on a fade.
               Gaelic, as 94.0  450km **
104.6 2239  G  BBC Surrey, Guildford/Hog's Back (EN-SUR) BBC South programme  223km
104.8 1101 IRL iRadio, Slieve Glah (CN) Twangy guitar song, as web  511km **
105.6 2247  G  Playback UK, London pirate Drum and treble, as web **
105.7 0658  G  Ipswich Community Radio, Ipswich/Suffolk College (EN-SFK) Talking about food
               allergies, as web  134km
105.8 0702 BEL Radio Kompas, Koekelare (Ichtegem/Vinkensveldstraat) (vlg-wvl) Newsreader over long
               drone, as web  295km
105.8 0704  G  Absolute Radio, London/Crystal Palace (EN-GTL) Riding over Capital  194km **
106.0 1058 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Three Rock Mountain (D) OM, as 107.4  437km
106.8 2243  G  Jack FM, Oxford/Boars Hill (EN-OXF) Jacktivities promo "on Jack Oxfordshire"  193km


** Personal Skegness 'First'


The unstable tropo continues.

Another nice lift to Ireland during the late morning and to the London area during the late evening, but it's a strange tropo this time. Signals are good for a short time, then they dip right back and stay at low level for most of the time. RDS has been a struggle too, requiring more signal than usual. In the same way we've had a teasing E season this year, this has been a teasing tropo.


A few videos:
 89 6 Tru Flavas, London Pirate 2300 10-09-14
 
91 8 Live FM UK, London Pirate 2306 10-09-14

 95 6 South East Radio, Mount Leinster 1046 10-09-14
 96 4 Eagle Radio, Guildford 2236 10-09-14
102 5 Galaxy, London Pirate 2303 10-09-14

104 8 iRadio, Slieve Glah 1135 10-09-14


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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Skegness Log: 10-09-14 (MW)

 891 2000 TWN BCC Local Tainan, Tainan (TN) Jingle before news Vweak  9754 km
1296 2100 TWN BCC News Network, Tainan (TN) Top of the hour jingle Vweak  9754 km


Two unexpected signals in this evening.

Recordings here:
 891 BCC Local, Tainan 2000 10-09-14
1296 BCC News Network, Tainan 2100 10-09-14


Headphones needed
. You are listening for the jingly thing. That is the standard jingle heard on the hour on these stations. You can hear this on their web streams.

Tainan is in locator PL03BC.

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Tuesday, 9 September 2014

Skegness Log: 09-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 88.2 0909 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Truskmore (SO) OM, as 91.8  587km
 89.0 1723 HOL 89,3 Radio West, Den Haag/Alticom Toren (zho) Familiar pop song, as 89.3  296km
 89.1 1215 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Kippure (WW) OM, as 89.6  444km
 89.6 0823 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Mount Leinster (CW) RTE GA8 sports promo  480km
 90.0 1144 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Mullaghanish (CO) OMs and pops, as 89.6  653km
 91.3 0823 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Kippure (WW) OM, as 91.8  444km
 91.8 0756 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Mount Leinster (CW) Breakfast Republic on 2FM  480km
 92.2 1150 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Pops, as 91.8  653km
 92.6 0908 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Truskmore (SO) Irish phone caller, as 94.0  587km
 93.5 0822 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Kippure (WW) Gaelic child, as 94.0  444km
 94.4 1152 IRL RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, Mullaghanish (CO) Irish YL phone caller, as 94.0  653km
 95.2 0814 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Clermont Carn (LH) Bolero, as 99.2  450km
 95.5 0855  G  BBC Radio York, Olivers Mount (EN-NYK) Not another royal baby (their quote not mine), as web  133km
 95.6 1207 IRL South East Radio, Mount Leinster (CW) YL news, as web. Funeral news. ID  480km **
 95.8 1142 IRL LM FM, Collon/Mount Oriel (LH) Pops, as web. Underneath Merseyside  458km **
 96.0 0817  G  BBC Radio Derby, Buxton (EN-DRB) What do you want to demolish in Derby? As 95.3  150km **
 96.0 0849  G  BBC Radio 4 FM, Divis (NI-ANT) As 93.1, etc.  446km **
 96.1 0838  G  BBC Radio Cumbria, Morecambe Bay (EN-CUM) royal something or other. Who cares? As web  258km
 97.0 1205 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Clermont Carn (LH) YL news, as 91.8  450km
 97.3 0806  G  Kohinoor FM, Leicester (EN-LEI) Indian music, as web  112km
 97.3 0853  G  Forth 1, Craigkelly (Edinburgh) (SC-FIF) Storm Queen song, as web  397km
 97.8 0908 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Truskmore (SO) Classical, as 99.2  587km
 98.7 1119 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Kippure (WW) Classical, as 99.2  444km
 99.2 0824 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Mount Leinster (CW) Country song, as web  480km
 99.6 1151 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Operaticals, as 99.2  653km
100.0 1121 IRL Today FM, Truskmore (SO) Alan Partridge ID  587km
101.4 0825 IRL Today FM, Mount Leinster (CW) royal baby. Whoopie doo!  480km
101.8 1146 IRL Today FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Silly radio ad and ID  653km
102.4 0829  G  Touch FM, Burton-on-Trent (EN-SFS) Tony Hill on Touch FM  135km **
103.4 0836  G  Sun FM, High Haining (EN-NBD) Sunderland area whats ons, as web  222km **
103.5 0922  G  Star Northallerton, Northallerton (EN-NYK) Pops, as web  176km **
105.2 0800 IRL TXFM, Three Rock Mountain (D) TX FM News  437km **
105.5 0805 IRL Today FM, Clermont Carn (LH) Talking about health services in Ireland  450km
105.7 1244  G  Heart, Presely (WA-PEM) Presumed tx. Cardiff area ads. Beam was clearly SW and not W  363km **
106.4 1112  G  High Peak Radio, Buxton (EN-DRB) Jingle ID between pops  150km **
106.5 1106  G  Signal 107, Shrewsbury/Shelton Water (EN-SHP) Jingle ID between pops  215km
106.8 1202 IRL Radio Sunshine, Three Rock Mountain (D) ID and YL news  437km **
106.9 0914  G  BFBS, Catterick/Garrison (EN-NYK) BFBS IDs  192km **
107.2 0942 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Mount Leinster (CW) Interview  480km
107.4 0940 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Truskmore (SO) Interview  587km
107.4 1152 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Mullaghanish (CO) Burbling against Truskmore  653km
107.5 0911  G  Smooth Radio, Fenham (EN-TYW) Simply Red, as web  241km

** Personal Skegness 'First'


Very pleased with today's haul. Tim Bucknall still has the credit of hearing Radio 4 from Divis on 96.0 here while tuning my XDR remotely a week or two ago. I heard and logged it for the first time myself today. BBC Radio Ulster from Divis on 94.5 has no chance here with such a strong signal from Peterborough when beaming west-ish.


Videos:
 88 2 RTE Radio 1, Truskmore 1100 09-09-14
 90 0 RTE Radio 1, Mullaghanish 1136 09-09-14
 95 4 BBC Newcastle, Pontop Pike 0905 09-09-14
 95 6 South East Radio, Mount Leinster 1211 09-09-14
100 0 Today FM, Truskmore 1121 09-09-14
101 8 Today FM, Mullaghanish 1146 09-09-14
103 4 Sun FM, High Haining 0918 09-09-14
103 5 Star Radio, Northallerton 0923 09-09-14
105 3 Seaside Radio, Withernsea 0930 09-09-14
106 4 High Peak Radio, Buxton 1111 09-09-14
106 8 Radio Sunshine, Three Rock Mountain 1202 09-09-14
106 9 BFBS, Catterick Garrison 0914 09-09-14



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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Thursday, 4 September 2014

Skegness Log: 04-09-14 (MW)

1098 1900 CHN CNR 11, Golmud/SARFT916 (QH) Impressive signal with standardised vocal ID  7136 km

Recording:
1098 CNR11, Golmud 1900 04-09-14

Good DX!

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

Receiver: Perseus SDR
Antenna:  10ft x 25ft flag at 28 degrees
Software: Perseus v4.1a; Mestor

Skegness Log: 04-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 97.1 1015  G  Carmarthenshire FM, Carmel (WA-CAR) Very weak and fluttery on scatter. As web  332km
 97.2 0853 DNK DR P3, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) Danish OMs  617km


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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Skegness Log: 03-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 97.5 2333  S  SR P3, Skövde/Billingen TM (vg) 30 second burst. Pops, as web. Live listening
               1023km **

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 88.0 2239 NOR NRK P1, Gulen/Bråsviksåta (sf) AC DC song, as web  923km
 91.8 2234 NOR NRK Petre, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) Royksopps Eple. Petre jingle  703km
 92.0 1917  F  Radio 6, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont d'Herquelingue (62) Ad break, promo, ID  288km
 92.7 1920  F  Skyrock, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Fringhem (62) OMs conversation, as 96.5 and 106.9 
               289km
 93.3 1909  F  Rire et Chansons, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) Elton John song and French
               humour  285km
 93.8 1921  F  Contact, Saint-Omer/Tatinghem (62) Ads and local Saint Omer ID  297km
 94.2 2319 NOR NRK P1, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) Oldie, as web  703km
 94.6 1013  G  BBC Radio Berkshire, Henley-on-Thames (EN-OXF) OM interview, as web  198km
 94.8 2237 NOR NRK P1, Halden 1/Høyåsmasten (of) Norwegian OM song, as web  958km
 96.5 1924  F  Skyrock, Saint-Omer/Asdoit (62) Promo and IDs  295km
 98.7 2350 NOR NRK P2, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) F202 _NRK_P2_  703km
 99.8 1914  F  Mona FM, Lille/Fort de Mons-en-Baroeul (59) YL announcement, as web  339km
104.7 1911  F  France Inter, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) F201 __INTER_  266km
105.3 1902 BEL Urgent.fm, Gent/UG Complex Ledeganck (vlg-ovl) Guitar wanking, as web  330km
105.8 1743 BEL Radio Kompas, Koekelare (Ichtegem/Vinkensveldstraat) (vlg-wvl)
               63E9 __OM_____ Jingle ID  295km **
106.2 1806  F  France Bleu Nord, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) F20A BLEUNORD  266km
106.5 0748  G  Signal 107, Shrewsbury/Shelton Water (EN-SHP) Lionel Richie song, as web  215km
107.3 1903 BEL VBRO, Diksmuide/IJzertoren (vlg-wvl) Brugge adverts  292km
107.6 0753  G  107.6 Juice, Liverpool/Anglican Cathedral (EN-MER) Tweeting while sat on the
               toilet! As web  221km
107.6 1855 BEL Stadsradio I.R.O, Izegem/Lendeleedsestraat (vlg-wvl) Echoey OM phone in, as web 
               318km
107.6 1857 BEL Hit FM, Koksijde (vlg-wvl) Hit FM News  276km


Unidentified:
101 7 unid French adverts 2026 03-09-14


I first thought this was Bel RTL from Oignies-en-Thiérache but what I heard did not quite match up to the web stream, although it was very close. I am still not convinced either way. It was definitely not Banquise FM from Isbergues. Any help appreciated. Hopefully there will be some clues in the adverts. There is an ID in here too but the narrowing of the XDR made it difficult to hear.

** Personal Skegness 'First'

The tropo still doesn't match up to the tropo maps in terms of intensity.


Videos:
 92 0 Radio 6, Boulogne Sur Mer 1016 03-09-14
 92 7 Skyrock, Boulogne Sur Mer 2020 03-09-14
 93 3 Rire Et Chansons, Dunkerque 2009 03-09-14
 93 8 Contact, St Omer 2021 03-09-14
 96 5 Skyrock, St Omer 2024 03-09-14
 98 6 VRT2, Egem 1840 03-09-14
104 7 France Inter, Calais 2011 03-09-14
105 8 Radio Kompas, Koekelare 1754 03-09-14
106 2 France Bleu Nord, Calais 1906 03-09-14
107 3 VBRO, Diksmuide 2002 03-09-14
107 6 Hit FM, Koksijde 1959 03-09-14


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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

Skegness Log: 02-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 87.5 1912  G  UK Raw, London pirate Dance music, as web **
 87.5 1913  G  Sala Al Hawa, London pirate. Presumed, with Arabic music **
 87.7 0751  F  RTL, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) OM, as web  299km
 87.8 1708 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Clermont Carn (LH) Financial talk, as web  450km
 88.0 1915  G  Pulse88, London pirate Jingle IDs an a raggamuffin ting. Now ere dis! **
 88.4 1851  G  Vision, London pirate C358 and vocal ID
 89.0 0917  G  BBC Radio 2, Blunsdon (EN-WLT) As 89.1  224km **
 89.6 1721 IRL RTÉ Radio 1, Mount Leinster (CW) 2201 RTE_R1__. 40dB without amplification!! 
               480km
 89.8 0744 HOL Amor FM, Den Haag/Alticom Toren (zho) Indian music, as web  296km
 90.0 0923  G  BBC Radio 2, Morecambe Bay (EN-CUM) As 90.1  258km **
 90.2 2003  G  Point Blank FM, London pirate Club music, as web
 91.2 0917  G  BBC Radio 3, Blunsdon (EN-WLT) Almost noise free. as 91.3  224km **
 91.8 1716 IRL RTÉ 2 FM, Mount Leinster (CW) 2202 RTE_2fm_  480km
 91.8 1917  G  Live FM UK, London pirate Dance mix, as web
 92.0 2001  G  Nusound, London-Newham/Forest Gate (EN-GTL) News and jingle ID  179km **
 92.1 1854  G  Desire UK, Essex pirate Vocal ID. Ex 92.0
 92.2 0924  G  BBC Radio 3, Morecambe Bay (EN-CUM) Noise free  258km **
 92.2 1959  G  Metro Love Radio, London pirate ID and reggae
 92.8 2119  F  NRJ, Béthune/Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen (62) Reggaeton style track, as web  340km
 93.4 0916  G  BBC Radio 4 FM, Blunsdon (EN-WLT) As 93.5  224km **
 93.7 0841  F  Contact, Montreuil/le Bois-de-Sel 2 (62) Dance track, as web  302km
 93.7 1957  G  Vibes FM, London pirate Reggae. Ex 93.8
 93.8 0746 HOL Slam!FM, Megen/Alticom Toren (nbr) Dance music, as 88.4  387km
 94.0 1702 IRL RTÉ Radió na Gaeltachta, Mount Leinster (CW) 2204 RTE_RnaG  480km
 94.2 0750  F  Europe 1, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) OMs political discussion, as web. Noise free 
               299km
 94.4 0924  G  BBC Radio 4 FM, Morecambe Bay (EN-CUM) As 94.5  258km **
 94.4 2013  G  Flames Radio, London pirate. Booyakasha! **
 94.7 0717  G  BBC Hereford & Worcester, Hereford/Ridge Hill (EN-HER) Promo for Sunday mornings 
               232km
 94.9 1817  G  BBC London 94.9, London/Crystal Palace (EN-GTL) CC11  194km
 95.4 0910  G  BBC Radio Wales, Wrexham-Rhos (WA-WRE) OM, as 103.9  225km
 95.4 2011  G  UK Roots FM, London pirate Reggae, as web
 95.5 0715  G  BBC Somerset, Mendip (EN-SOM) Emma Britten on BBC Somerset  293km
 95.5 0819  F  France Bleu Nord, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) YLs, as web  285km
 95.5 1920  G  On Top FM, London pirate Reggae, as web. On top!
 96.0 0732  G  BBC Radio Shropshire, The Wrekin (EN-SHP) Cricket news, as web  200km
 96.1 0708  G  BBC Solent 96.1, Rowridge (EN-IOW) C814  299km
 96.3 0713  G  Heart, Bristol/Dundry (EN-BRI) Madonna song. As network  281km
 96.3 1808  G  Heart, South Benfleet (EN-ESX) C364 Heart_SX  179km
 97.0 0838 BEL VRT MNM, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Rap song, as web  376km
 97.1 0905  G  Capital FM, Storeton (EN-CHE) Capital jingle  224km **
 97.2 0710  G  Heart, Blunsdon (EN-WLT) C366 Heart___  224km
 97.6 0711  G  Free Radio, Hereford/Ridge Hill (EN-HER) Are you the Free Radio Phantom?  232km
 98.6 0918  G  BBC Radio 1, Blunsdon (EN-WLT) Rap song, as 98.3  224km **
 99.2 1727 IRL RTÉ Lyric FM, Mount Leinster (CW) 2203 RTElyric  480km
 99.3 1830  G  Select UK Radio, London pirate Vocal ID and techno **
 99.6 0925  G  BBC Radio 1, Morecambe Bay (EN-CUM) As 99.7  258km **
101.0 0903  G  Kiss FM, Mendip (EN-SOM) Pops, as 106.4  293km
101.3 1956  G  Spice Radio 1, London pirate Ragga, as web **
101.4 1709 IRL Today FM, Mount Leinster (CW) 2205 Today_FM  480km
101.6 0922  G  Classic FM, Colwyn/Great Ormes Head (WA-CON) As 101.5. Almost noise free 
               279km **
101.8 0922  G  Classic FM, Morecambe Bay (EN-CUM) As 101.9  258km **
102.0 0719  G  Touch FM, Lark Stoke (EN-WAR) Jingle ID  183km
102.2 1815  G  Smooth Radio, London/Croydon TV Tower (EN-GTL) C787 Smooth__  196km
102.3 0754  F  NRJ, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) French dance song, as web  299km
102.5 2007  G  Galaxy, London pirate Reggae, as web
102.8 0722  G  Free Radio, Malvern (EN-WOR) Get to freeradio.co.uk for your car sticker  213km
103.3 0818  F  France Inter, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) Over Heart  285km
103.7 1857  G  Kane FM, Guildford/Hog's Back (EN-SUR) Club music, as web  223km **
103.9 1858  G  Muzik Radio, London pirate Reggae music, as web **
104.0 0724  G  BBC Hereford & Worcester, Malvern (EN-WOR) OMs, as 94.7  213km
104.3 0724  G  BBC Radio Wiltshire, Naish Hill (EN-WLT) Wiltshire traffic news  253km
104.3 1731  G  BBC Radio Cymru, Llangollen (WA-DBG) C71B BBCymru.  235km
104.5 0721  G  BBC Sussex, Heathfield (EN-ESU) OM ID  242km
104.7 0755  F  France Inter, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) Noise free  266km
104.7 1903  G  Pozitif, London pirate News in Turkish and ID **
104.8 0820  G  BBC Sussex, Burton Down (EN-WSU) Phone in, as web  258km
104.8 2006  G  Biggles FM, Potton/Sutton Mill Road (EN-BEF) Jingle ID and pops  120km
105.2 1907  G  Release FM, Berkshire pirate Dance music, as web **
105.4 0856  G  Heart, Cardiff/St Hilary (WA-CDF) Heart ID, as Heart South Wales web stream 
               316km **
105.5 0800  G  Swindon 105.5, Swindon/Football Stadium (EN-WLT) Swindon 105.5 News  227km
105.5 0822 BEL Topradio, Staden/Stadenberg (vlg-wvl) Ads and jingle ID  299km
105.5 0929 IRL Today FM, Clermont Carn (LH) Irish OM, as web  450km
105.9 0806  G  City Talk, Liverpool/Allerton Park (EN-MER) News, as web  215km
106.0 0823  G  KMFM, Canterbury/Rough Common (EN-KNT) Kents something or other. Local ads 
               212km
106.0 0945 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Three Rock Mountain (D) Irish news, as web, briefly over Gem 
               437km **
106.2 0824  F  France Bleu Nord, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) Phone in, as 95.5  266km
106.5 1908  G  Project Radio, London pirate Techno/House music, as web
106.9 0931  G  Takeover Radio, Sutton-in-Ashfield (EN-NHS) Awful rap song, awful audio, as web 
               106km
107.0 0808  G  Heart, Redruth (EN-CNW) Simply Red and Cher back to back, as web  504km
107.0 0808  G  Jack FM, Reading/Tilehurst Water Tower (EN-BER) Pops, as web  211km
107.0 0941  G  Spark FM, Monkswearmouth (Sunderland) (EN-TYW) We are Spark FM jingle and
               alternative pops  225km **
107.2 0825  G  KMFM, Thanet/Broadstairs (EN-KNT) Ad for Thanet. Brief  213km
107.2 1704 IRL Newstalk 106-108 FM, Mount Leinster (CW) Financial news  480km
107.4 0935  G  Tempo FM, Wetherby (EN-NYK) Vocal ID. Great songs from the heart of Yorkshire 
               142km
107.5 0937  G  Smooth Radio, Fenham (EN-TYW) Johnny Bristol song, as web. Very weak  241km **
107.6 0825  G  Banbury Sound, Banbury/Farthinghoe (EN-NHA) This is Banbury Sound, for Banbury,
               Brackley and Bicester  162km
107.7 0920  G  Signal 107, Wolverhampton/Mander House (EN-WMD) Spin Doctors and Signal 107 ID 
               176km **
107.9 0848  G  Jack FM 2, Oxford/Boars Hill (EN-OXF) Jacktivities  193km


** Personal Skegness 'First'

A nice inland tropo, spreading out in almost all directions and the best of its kind since I moved to the east coast. I love inland tropo events.


Videos:
 88 4 Vision, London Pirate 1950 02-09-14
 89 6 RTE Radio 1, Mount Leinster 1822 02-09-14
 91 8 RTE 2FM, Mount Leinster 1823 02-09-14
 92 0 NuSound Radio, Newham 2101 02-09-14
 92 1 Desire UK, Essex pirate 1954 02-09-14
 94 0 RTE Radio Na Gaeltachta, Mount Leinster 1802 02-09-14
 95 5 BBC Somerset, Mendip 1906 02-09-14
 96 3 Heart, South Benfleet 1911 02-09-14 (With local PS name)
 99 2 RTE Lyric FM, Mount Leinster 1826 02-09-14
 99 2 Today FM, Mount Leinster 1828 02-09-14
102 2 Smooth, Croydon 1914 02-09-14
103 9 Muzik Radio, London pirate 2000 02-09-14
104 1 BBC Berkshire, Hannington 1905 02-09-14
104 7 Pozitif, London pirate 2002 02-09-14
105 9 City Talk, Allerton Park 1902 02-09-14
107.0 Spark FM, Monkswearmouth 1126 02-09-14
107 2 Newstalk, Mount Leinster 1804 02-09-14



What a bizarre slogan on City Talk, Liverpool's TALK station "Now... City Talk's Greatest Hits, the Biggest Songs on the Planet".

I have been careful to include as little music as possible in these videos so YT don't block them.


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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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

Monday, 1 September 2014

Skegness Log: 01-09-14 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric
 87.6 1000 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Oudenburg/Zeeweg (vlg-wvl) Nostalgie jingle and long promo 
               288km
 87.8 0853  F  UNID, ? French phone-in. Not France Bleus, Inter, Culture, Courtoisie or Le Mouv
 87.9 0824  F  France Inter, Toulouse/Pic du Midi (65) French OM, as 103.7. V weak  1136km
 91.1 0827  F  France Inter, Villers-Cotterêts/Fleury (02) French OM, as web  474km
 94.6 0935 BEL Radio Maria, Brussel/Albertplein Toren=Bruxelles/Place Albert
               (Tour) (bru) Phone-in, as web  378km
 95.3 0921 HOL L1 Radio, Hulsberg/Emmaberg (lim) Muddy Waters song, as 100.3  455km
 97.7 0926 HOL Radio Veronica, Arnhem/Kema Toren (gel) Ad break, as web  397km **
 99.6 0922 HOL Radio Gelderland, Zaltbommel/Hulpweg (nbr) Phone in, as web  367km
100.3 0920 HOL L1 Radio, Roermond/Alticom Toren (lim) Muddy Waters song, as web  443km
103.9 0918 HOL MIX724, Hoorn/Electronweg (nho) 70s soul song behind Suffolk, as web  325km
104.0 0945 BEL Bel RTL, Bruxelles/The Hotel (bru) Sad French song, as web  377km
104.5 0942 BEL VBRO, Oostende/Residentie De Mast (vlg-wvl) Dutch music, as web  278km
105.0 0822  F  France Bleu Touraine, Tours/Chissay [41] (37) French YL, as web. V weak  646km
105.5 0855 HOL Scheldemond FM, Oostburg/Watertoren (zee) Beach Baby song, as 107.5  296km


** Personal Skegness '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:
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c modification

Aerial:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.

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