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Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Skegness Log: 14-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 14-04-14:
100.7 0117 LUX Radio 100,7, Dudelange/Ginsterberg (gld) Classical, as web  573km **
100.7 0147  D  Sputnik (MDR), Klötze (san) Sam Smith song, as web  732km **
100.7 0519  D  WDR 4, Ederkopf (nrw) Beatles Tickt To Ride, as web  592km **
100.7 0614  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Meppen (1kW) or Freiberg Niederschöna (320W) German lady on the phone, as web **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

An interesting meteor session with Dudelange producing the most prominent pings. Klotze was also quite frequent. There were several classical stations too but there were salso networked night services to contend with so not all could be identified. Notably MDR Figaro had the same programming as BR Klassik, and SRF2 Kultur had the same programming as Radio Rumantsch. WDR4 and SWR4 also shared a common service, the same for Sveriges P4 regionals Gavleborg & Blekinge - I definitely heard one of these, but which one?

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Sunday, 13 April 2014

Skegness Log: 13-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 14-04-14:
100.2 0008 POL RMF FM, Bialystok/Krynice (PL) Roxette track, as web  1506km **
100.2 0009  D  Antenne Bayern, Gelbelsee (bay) Yael Naim song, as web  905km **
100.2 0020 SVN Radio Aktual, Krim (lj) Four second burst of Slavic song, as web  1295km **
100.2 0041  D  RBB Kulturradio, Belzig (brb) Sombre classical piece, as web  831km **
100.2 0100  E  RNE Radio 3, Montserrat (CAT-B) Banging techno, as web  1289km **
100.2 0311  D  R.SH, Bungsberg/DTAG-Turm (shs) Godawful Alexandra Burke song, as web  694km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 14-04-14:
 87.6 0926 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Oudenburg/Zeeweg (vlg-wvl) Ads and promos, as web. Just
               about noise free, briefly  288km
100.0 0931  D  WDR 4, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Noise free. Nice scatter today  493km
100.0 0931  D  WDR 4, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) Noise free. Nice scatter today  493km
105.5 0933  D  WDR Eins Live, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw) Noise free. As 106.7  591km
103.0 0935  D  BFBS Radio, Bielefeld/Hünenburg (nrw) Almost noise free on scatter, despite the
               FM5 being 1m above the ground  564km
 93.6 0941 BEL Club FM, Koolskamp/Watertoren (vlg-wvl) Club and pop, as web. Noise free peaks 
               309km
 93.4 0951 HOL Radio Rijnmond, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) Noise free
               peak. Outside Broadcast  313km
 93.4 0952  F  Nostalgie, Lille/Mons-en-Baroeul 1 (59) Ads, as web, suddenly over Rijnmomd  338km
 90.2 1517  D  NDR Kultur, Lingen-Damaschke (nds) Classical music, as web  477km
101.8 1520  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Aurich (nds) YL and OM, as web  478km
105.7 1524  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Steinkimmen (nds) ID and pops  543km

** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

I had decided to let the XDR rest for a few nights so it was bright and fresh for the April Lyrids. Then I realised that meteor activity was quite active just before midnight last night, so I decided to tackle 100.2. Bursts were much more frequent than on previous nights, though things did taper off a bit towards dawn. I guess the earlier increase might be related to the Lyrid meteor shower, which is due to peak over the next week or so.

All MS stations logged above were heard numerous times.

Daytime scatter was good with Bielefeld coming in with the best signal I have had here this year, yet the FM5 is still only 1 metre above the ground.

More info on the Lyrids, taken from the AMS Meteors page: http://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar

Lyrids: Active from April 16th to 25th 2014.

The Lyrids are a medium strength shower that usually produces good rates for three nights centered on the maximum. These meteors also usually lack persistent trains but can produce fireballs. These meteors are best seen from the northern hemisphere where the radiant is high in the sky at dawn. Activity from this shower can be seen from the southern hemisphere, but at a lower rate.

Radiant: 18:04 +34° - ZHR: - Velocity: 30 miles/sec (medium - 48.4km/sec) - Parent Object: C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Friday, 11 April 2014

Skegness Log: 11-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 11-04-14:
 93.6 0046  I  RAI Radio2, Trieste/Monte Belvedere (RAI) (ts) Distinctive female vocals,
               as web  1278km **
 93.6 0103 SUI Radio SRF 1, Beatenberg or Port Valais Hall and Oates song, as web **
 93.6 0122 POL Radio Zet, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) Eighties syndrum track, as web  1147km **
 93.6 1056  D  SWR4 Rheinland-Pfalz, Scharteberg (Eifel) (rlp) Soulful German YL song,
               as web  550km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

There was another marked increase in meteor activity overnight, though most of it was only micosecond pings. "3205" had lodged itself onto the XDR-GTK display when I awoke.

RAI Due and Radio Zet were the chief bursters on 93.6 overnight, with Radio SRF1 taking a close third place.

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Thursday, 10 April 2014

Skegness Log: 10-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 10-04-14:
 92.2 0026 SVK SRo 1 Rádio Slovensko, Poprad/Králová hola (PO) Poprad Presumed. Rock guitar,
               as web. Three second burst  1459km **
 92.2 0048  D  SWR3, Stuttgart/Hoher Bopser (bwü) Peter Bjorn and John song, as web  789km **
 92.2 0217  F  France Musique, Nice/Mont Chauve (06) Presumed Nice. Violin concerto, as web 
               1160km **
 92.2 0450 SUI Radio Cité Genève, Mont Salève/Téléphérique [F 74] (ge) Three second burst of
               sad French song, as web  885km **
 91.4 2122  F  France Musique, Troyes/les Riceys (10) Chance burst while listening to
               Troyes via scatter  643km **

Band 2 General Scatter: 10-04-14:
 91.0 2002  F  Le Mouv', Lille/Mons-en-Baroeul 1 (59) ID after promo  338km
 88.0 2003  D  WDR 5, Bonn/Venusberg (nrw) OM news, as 90.6  538km
104.7 2004  D  WDR Eins Live, Nordhelle (nrw) Pops, as 106.7  553km
 93.2 2006 HOL Waterstad FM, Jirnsum/Rijksweg (fri) Soft rock track, as web  365km
 89.6 2119  D  WDR 5, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) German OM, as web  519km
 91.4 2121  F  France Musique, Troyes/les Riceys (10) French OM and gentle music, as 88.7 
               643km
102.8 2126 BEL Zen FM, Gent/Opgeëistenlaan (vlg-ovl) Jazzy stuff, as web  328km
100.7 2127 LUX Radio 100,7, Dudelange/Ginsterberg (gld) Operaticals, as web. Noise
               free  573km
 99.5 2128 BEL RTBF Musiq'3, Liège/Bol d'Air (wal-lge) Orchestra, as web  459km
 97.6 2129 HOL Radio Decibel, Rotterdam/Alticom Toren (Waalhaven) (zho) 86F0 DECIBEL_  313km


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

Meteor Notes:
* Lots of bursts tonight.
* SRo 1 Radio Slovensko was the most regular burster.
* There were lots of interesting Slavic languages here.
* I recorded a 28 streams in total, which I think is more than I have ever done simultaneously.
  It was a bad night for web streams switching off however. About eight to ten of them did so.

Other than that, I moved the FM5 to the opposite side of the bungalow this evening, at the most northerly corner, trying it one metre above the ground and then at five metres. It made very little difference to reception as that side of the garden is more 'open' and has slightly more distance between us and the nearest property. It also has a better take-off across the middle of some long gardens gardens between neighbouring streets.

What I also noticed is that there is a reduction in the noise I get to the south and this has almost gone now. I am tempted to install the 9.2 on this side of the bungalow, but I think it would be more out of the way where I had originally planned - on the south-west side. I still don't have the necessary written permission to install this yet, but I have been assured it will be with me next week. We'll see!

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Skegness Log: 09-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 09-04-14:
106.0 1114  D  Hitradio RTL Sachsen, Auerbach/Schöneck (sac) Distinctive music, as web 
               881km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

106.0 proved to be a difficult channel as Tournai had improved and blocked the channel for a good part of the night.

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Skegness Log: 08-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 08-04-14:
106.5 0239 AUT Antenne Vorarlberg, Bregenz 1/Pfänder (vor) OM with distinctive voice,
               as web  917km **
106.5 0301 CZE CRo Brno, Brno/Kojál (JM) Squeaky voiced OM news, as web  1219km **
106.5 0554  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt, Leipzig Wiederau [sac] (san) New Seekers song,
               as web  843km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

Bregenz 1 was the frequent burster during the earlier part of the morning. This was less frequent by sunrise with Brno and Leipzig Wiederau taking over.

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Monday, 7 April 2014

Skegness Log: 07-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 07-04-14:
 97.5 0012 AUT Ö1, Linz 1/Lichtenberg (obe) Classical music, as web  1111km **
 97.5 0038  D  SWR3, Bornberg (rlp) German OM over song, as web  640km **
 97.5 0452 DNK DR P4, Næstved - Øverup/Køgevej 291 (sjl) Simply Red song, as web  782km **
 97.5 0748  D  MDR Info, Suhl/Erleshügel (thü) German OM talk, as web  768km **


** Personal Skegness 'First' by the respective mode

97.5 was tonight's chosen frequency. There was a big increase in the number of MS pings too. Unsurprisingly, regular bursters were Ö1 from Linz (100kW) and SWR3 from Bornberg (25kW), often appearing together in the same burst! Next to that, 5kW MDR Info from Suhl was also quite regular.

There were quite a few bursts from unidentified German language stations which I hadn't recorded. I can only presume that they were low powered Austrian or Swiss transmitters. Germany, Switzerland and Austria has become of particular interest lately and I endeavour to record all German language streams to be certain I am logging the correct station, but all Swiss station's web streams simultaneously dropped out after only eight minutes of recording on this occasion - at precisely 00:13:35 GMT in fact. I also tend not to record the stations with flea powered transmitters, i.e. 50 watts or less. Perhaps I should.

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Sunday, 6 April 2014

Skegness Log: 06-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 06-04-14:
 96.5 0028  D  SWR3, Waldenburg (bwü) Maroon 5 song, as web  786km **
 96.5 0105  F  France Culture, Carcassonne/Pic de Nore (11) Presumed Carcassonne. French
               OM, as web  1093km **

 96.5 0122  F  France Inter, Rouen or Chaumont Unusual singing, as web  **
 96.5 0237  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Helpterberg (mev) Raucus brass music, as web  881km **
 96.5 0804  D  Bayern 2, Brotjacklriegel (bay) OM and musical bed, as web  1021km **

Band 2 Scatter: 06-04-14:
 99.0 1623 BEL Randstad FM, Mechelen/Douaneplein (vlg-ant) Presumed. Dutch ads with .be
               web addresses.   370km

102.8 1625  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Wesel-Büderich (nrw) German OM, as 101.8  456km
104.6 1626 BEL RTBF Classic 21, Tournai/Froidmont (wal-hnt) 6354 BONAMASS (corrupted scrolling
               PS) Good peak.  351km

104.8 1628 HOL NPO Radio 1, Roermond/Alticom Toren (lim) Noise free. Dutch OM  443km
 89.5 1630 BEL VRT Klara, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Classical, as 89.9  376km
 89.9 1630 BEL VRT Klara, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Classical, as 89.5  431km
 97.9 1631 BEL VRT Radio 2, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Pops, as 98.6. Dominating Sutton
               Coldfield  431km


** Personal Skegness 'First'

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Saturday, 5 April 2014

Skegness Log: 05-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 05-04-14:
 95.5 0012  D  SR 3 Saarlandwelle, Göttelborner Höhe (saa) Bee Gees song, as web  629km **
 95.5 0629  D  BR Klassik, Büttelberg (bay) Piano concerto, as web  812km **
 95.5 0706  F  France Musique, Clermont-Ferrand/Puy-de-Dôme (63) YL news, as web.   842km **
 95.5 0721  D  hr2, Hoher Meißner (hes) Talking about Baroque music, as web  684km **

Band 2 Scatter: 05-04-14:
102.5 1613 BEL Q-Music, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Suddenly over Radio 538  431km
102.5 1613 HOL Radio 538, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) Dutch OM, as web  360km
102.9 1614 BEL Nostalgie Vlaanderen, Schoten (vlg-ant) Commodores Brick House, as web  354km
100.8 1629  D  WDR 2, Aachen/Stolberg (nrw) ID and verkehrsservice  483km
101.0 1630  D  WDR 2, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) Verkehrsservice, as 100.8  519km
105.5 1631  D  WDR Eins Live, Bärbelkreuz (Eifel) (nrw) Pops, as 106.7  519km
103.1 1635 BEL Q-Music, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Pops, as web  376km
103.5 1649 HOL Radio Veronica, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) Briefly over Essex with
               pops, as web  334km
103.5 1655 HOL Radio Gelderland, Ugchelen/Alticom Toren (gel) End of song and OM ID  391km
 99.8 1656  D  NDR 2, Steinkimmen (nds) Fade in. Soft rock song, as web  543km
 93.5 1657  D  WDR 2, Nordhelle (nrw) Marillion song, as web  553km
 90.6 1659  D  WDR 5, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw) German OM, as web  591km
 93.2 1659  D  WDR 2, Teutoburger Wald/Bielstein (nrw) Marillion song, as 93.5  591km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via MS

95.5 was interesting overnight in that the overwhelming majority of pings and bursts were from SR3, Gottelborner Hohe. Of the few which were not SR3 (four or five pings) they were from a mystery classical music station and one I did not record. Other transmitters started to come in after 0600, France Musique being the most consistent, very likely the Clermont Ferrand transmitter.

All general scatter was received with the FM5 horizontal. I re-positioned this vertically during the afternoon but it killed off all the scatter, with the exception of Langenberg. Back in horizontal again and the Dutch scatter returned. When my one metre high FM3 and FM5 were vertical at the last QTH I noticed the same lack of scatter. Vertical really does not work well on band 2 when low down.

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.

Friday, 4 April 2014

Skegness Log: 04-04-14 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter: 04-04-14:
 94.0 0037  F  France Musique, Vittel/Thuillières (88) Jazzy classical piece, as web 
               684km **
 94.0 0238  D  Bayern 3, Lindau/Hoyerberg (bay) Michael Sembellos Maniac, as web  907km **
 94.0 0256  F  France Culture, perhaps Bergerac. Strange twangy music, as web **
 94.0 0800  G  BBC Radio 4, Limavady most likely off the back. Corrie Corfield reading
               the News **

Band 2 Scatter: 04-04-14:
 91.7 0846 BEL VRT Radio 1, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw/Norkring Toren (vlg-vbr) Nice noise free
               peak. OM talking about chocolate!  376km
 97.5 0857 BEL VRT Radio 2, Schoten (vlg-ant) Dutch OM, as web  354km
 97.8 0857 HOL NPO Radio 2, Westdorpe/Verkavelingsweg (zee) Ad break  322km
 99.5 0858 BEL RTBF Musiq'3, Liège/Bol d'Air (wal-lge) Classical music, as web  459km
100.0 0858  D  WDR 4, Münster/Baumberg (nrw) German OM ID in ads  493km
100.3 0858 HOL L1 Radio, Roermond/Alticom Toren (lim) Punt NL web address in ad  443km
102.0 0859 BEL VRT MNM, Genk/VRT Zendmast (vlg-lim) Dutch ads  431km
 90.2 0900 HOL 100% NL, Roosendaal/Alticom Toren (nbr) ID and news  334km
 90.7 0900 HOL SubLime FM, IJsselstein/Gerbrandytoren-Alticom (utr) Fiat ad, punt NL
               address, ads running over the hour  344km
 90.8 0901 BEL RTBF Classic 21, Profondeville-Rivière/Sart à Soile (wal-nam) ID - RTBF
               Classic 21 Ecoutez Original. Noise free  440km
 91.0 0902 HOL Slam!FM, Tjerkgaast/Alticom Toren (fri) OM ID. Not the usual Omroep Brabant 
               360km
 91.1 0903 HOL Slam!FM, Hilversum/Media Park-Alticom (nho) Fast talking OM news, as 

               91.0  341km
 91.4 0903 HOL NPO Radio 4, Markelo/Alticom Toren (ove) Classical music  424km


** Personal Skegness 'First' via the respective mode

Another "one metre high DX session"! Maybe I should class this as an ultralight log? It was quite a rapid-fire session though with lots of Dutch stations coming up very suddenly on aircraft scatter, some leaping out well above the noise. I have noticed a scatter good peak around this time before.

Good DX!

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

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

Aerial:
Triax FM5, one meter AGL, fixed south-east.