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KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS -THURSDAY 16th JULY 2009:

 

NO DXING THIS WEEKEND/ SEASON SUMMED UP:

I will not be by the receivers this weekend, so there will be nothing to report, unless something exciting is happening this Sunday when I return. The sporadic E seems to have missed me for most of this season. It has been a very poor year, with weak signals or no signals. OK I have had my first TADX, my 1st Belgian log, and a new Italian stn (7 Gold), but the days when there are openings compared to past years, (but not last year) has been disappointing.

I can not personally become worked up when there are weak carriers being detected. My FM and TV DX has always favoured audio and video level signals. Even though I have had receivers capable of SSB at TV freqs for a couple of years, I still must admit I still like to see real video and hear real audio. I do make a lot of movie clips of RDS, but I also prefer a good voice/ jingle audio id, to have an audio clip.

I am not sure if some TV dxers count their carrier level, verified offset signals as the same kind of logs as a video and audio signal. If that were the case, I would be counting the carrier level "down under" signals at the top end of MW in my all time lists. These alleged down under signals appear here in Europe at the right time of year, and at the right time of day, to make them probably Ozzy in origin. I personally would need some audio to be blown away by these possible dx signals though. During the AK openings this past MW season, I had 680 and 780 at audio level, but carriers at the right time of day for AK on other freqs. 970 and 820 AK channels produced only carrier level, which I don't assume as a real log. 1500 had carriers as well, but I certainly did not make any claims of HI in my logs.

Think on the logs MW dxers would have if they assumed carrier level signals as logs. I will demonstrate.

 

CLICK HERE for screenshot of 1400kHz in Jan of the carriers detected!!! It is quite amazing!!

CLICK HERE to see a late fade out of 1400kHz.

 

What is even more amazing, is that there are only two stations regularly heard on 1400kHz. CBC NFLD is dominant, with some regular logs of WOND NJ as a secondary station. I logged another solitary station this last winter for the first time.

Now choose which carrier is the dominant one, and which is the secondary station!!!!

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1476 GONE AS A CLEAR / QRP CHANNEL:

1476 is now officially gone as one of the last clear Euro channels. A transmitter is Spain has been using the freq for some weeks now. This will effect signals of QRP stations like WNKR and Radio Britannia, who use the freq. It is amazing how well QRP (low power) will travel on a clear channel. Another clearish freq which even used to give KENYA at certain times back in the 90's, 1386, has now also been hi jacked by the same Spanish outfit. They never miss a trick, and they don't sign off either. I wish the Spanish would discourage their MW usage. They are such a pain in the life of a MW dxer, and have been ever since I began MW dxing.

Talking of QRP. I was in touch with an enthusiast in Eire that was making a dx test with only 10 watts the other day. I was first advised to check 828, which was detectable as carrier and slight audio at best. A freq change was made to 612, and the results were quite astounding. I had a real good copy, with signals best on the dx antenna, 500m beverage running NW, which also it seems takes in Ireland. I do know that from the signals of 846 Radio North on that antenna, and have used it as a reference for many years. I had no virtually no trace of 612 on my vertical antenna, inverted L type. Radio North is very good on that inverted L. I never checked accurately to compare 1512 at that time. The shorter beverage running due west near enough, had the signal, but it was much better on the 500m aerial.

The person behind the QRP test was equally as enthusiastic of my reception on 612. In fact, frankly amazed. It is good to hear that some enthusiasts are still experimenting with good old fashioned MW. I read on the web that there have been tests on 1512 from a Merseyside pirate station as well recently. Pay close attention to the AM band!!!!

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KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY 10th JULY 2009:

 

MEMORIES AND RADIO MEETINGS:

I have been reading through some old TELEVISION magazines lately, and reading the Roger Bunney articles in particular, about TV dxing. I found an article by Hugh Cocks on F2 TV DX. A very interesting article from 30 years ago!! DECEMBER 1978!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE (600k pdf)

It also got me thinking about the radio meetings I used to attend in Glasgow in the 1980's organised by a WDXC member, a gentleman named John McCarra from Clarkston. We used to go around to his house on a Saturday afternoon sometimes and chat about radio.

John himself had an interest in radio, but could not hear anything of interest on his VEGA SELENA. I used to be regailed with stories of how he could pick up ILR AYR in Glasgow. No mean feat...it was only 20 miles down the road!!!!!

The initial meeting I attended myself I think, where I met John, as well as Don, a TV DXer, and another chap whose name I can't remember. I was chatting to Hugh on the Skype chat today, and he remembers Don's other name as Basnett. I remember Don lived near Pollock football ground, as I was around his place seeing his set up. He was also into UHF dxing, something that living in a river valley prevented me from even trying. True Ulster TV and Border and maybe more would come in a couple of miles away on high ground, but in the valley here it was grim!! Even the local transmitter, only about 6 or 7 miles across the moors at 100kW, was a struggle here at times, due to ghosting, till the beeb eventually put in a repeater for the village here.

I think I met Don only once or twice. I gave him a lift down the road to Kilmarnock, where his girlfriend at the time lived I seem to recall, for which he gave me a busted old Hallicrafters valve receiver. I still have that old set somewhere, surprise surprise. I wonder if Don is still active?

Another active dxer of that time was Fred Dinning. I saw him in the paper in recent years, to do with his work with the electric board. I often wonder if Fred is still active. He was a keen MW as well as TV dxer. At Fred's I first saw the Racal RA17/ 117 series of receivers. I was so impressed with the bandspread on that set that I bought one in 1985 for £125. That was much better than the £1000 needed for an NRD515!!

I started taking a couple of other radio friends along, one from Glasgow, and one from Kilbirnie. In the end it was only us three desperado's that were left going to the meetings!!

John was not a well man, but tried his best. (And so did we..!!). My collegues and I had an interest in the Irish pirates of the 80's. John had no interest and wanted to steer us to discuss ILR and BBC local stations all the time. For me these stations were simply worthless QRM on MW from a dxers point of view, and even worse from a programming point of view!! They used to close at night and jam the MW with an annoying test tone instead of signing off properly. According to a note from one of the IBA stations, the reason was that the IBA "must remain on air to prevent piracy". They openly admitted this!! (I wish they only had a tone now though!!! All 24 hours full modulation!!!

I recall making John his first MW loop, and used it to make his portable radio "do things". He said once in about 1984 or 85 that LASER 558 couldn't be heard, but of course with a tweak of the loop, it was audible, miraculously!! I even stuck a line of sticky paper along his tuning dial so he could find stations, marking off frequencies and radio stations. At the next meeting the sticky "analogue frequency counter" had been ripped off!!!! It was not worth bothering trying to help after that!!

Sadly none of us ever took any group photos. Maybe for the better...lol

Radio as a source of entertainment and also for dxing seemed very interesting and forever changing. In Ireland in those days, radio was finding it's own market place, and had really settled down to become city stations and country stations. Then it was all gone. For the last 20 years or so, the radio scene has really stagnated, and if anything, has become simply unlistenable as far as entertainment is concerned. DXing signals is a completely different thing than dxing and listening to signals. Visit the audio download pages on this site, and look for Radio Nova recordings from mid 1984 for example. Have a listen to it, and then have a listen to some of the current ILR dross we have around. See what you think sounds the better of the two.

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY 8th JULY 2009:

 

BELGIUM SNEAKS IN ON E3:

I have finally managed a log of RTB Belgium on E3. It is often the thorn in the side of Benelux dxers, and even South of the UK, but it is too far from me for tropo, and too close for sporadic e, till today. For the first time ever, I have a log of RTB E3!! (Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Czech are probably the most common countries seen here) I saw my first TVDX in 1979, and therefore if the laws of probabilities are true, it will be 2039 before I see Belgium again!!!

I am beginning to wonder if my r2 log from last week was in fact e3, when there was an unid logo, which I thought might have been a bird, but the photo looks quite like RTB. It may well have been E3. I did notice that the tuner was at the hf end of E3 to resolve the picture. Maybe this is why I thought it was R2 the other day. Or maybe it was something different. R2 photo is in yesterdays entry.

Below are three bad photos from RTB from a movie I made. I never realised VLC player's screen captures were such poor res. I will work on a better one!! The photos with the normal camera were poor, because of fast fading so I decided to take a movie. A strong French audio channel drew my attention to this bicycle race. I wondered what it was initialy.

Oddity time: Davie up the road about 100 - 150 yards away, was getting RTP Portugal belting in at this time!!!

 

 

UPDATED TVDX EQUIPMENT PAGE, AND BEVERAGE PAGE:

I have added some new photos to the TVDX equipment page (fm_band2_dx.html) as well as to the beverage page.

fm_band2_dx.html

equipment_antennas_etc.html

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KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - TUESDAY 7th JULY 2009:

 

TVDX YESTERDAY:

It has been a slow year for us here in SW Scotland for TVDX this season. Yet there have been the surprises. My first TADX from Canada and Also an unid Stateside station on A2. Yesterday there were some other stations I haven't seen this year yet. Here are my logs in freq order.

E2 TVE (Spain)

R1 NOVA (Czech)
R1 M1 (Hungary)

1A RAI (Italy)

E3 RTP (Portugal)
E3 E21 (Italy)

R2 RTL (Hungary)
R2 NOVA (Czech)
R2 STV (Slovakia)
R2 ETV (Estonia)
R2 UNID caption top right like poss Eagle/ bird. Too fast fade in and out. (Also quite like Slovenia's old logo).

L3 CANAL PLUS (France)

E4 HTV (Croatia)

 

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MID SUMMER IN BONNIE SCOTLAND:

Mid summer is traditionally the time of year for spending less time at the dx receivers and more time outside before eventually developing a fear of the great outdoors.. hi. For once here in Scotland, and the first time in a few years, we have had a summer. This last week has been so very hot and clammy, that nights were very uncomfortable. I couldn't complain. Last summer I could count on one hand the days I managed to wear the shorts!! It is always a traditionally light time of the year at these lattitudes. I took the following snap of the Northern skyline at midnight local time on 24th June. It never really gets completely dark at this time of year, although it is not too long before you begin to notice the nights getting longer again!! Up north it is so much lighter than here.

It is such a nice time of year when the weather is good. It makes even walking home from the pub at 2am or whatever, somewhat nicer than normal..!!

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SUMMER CONCERTS IN SCOTLAND:

As well as seeing ACDC when they were playing here in Scotland on 30th June, I went to see the Eagles on 4th July. They were just superb as ever. A great night. I also managed back from Glasgow in time for a pint in my local pub, and then a stroll back over the road, see above..!! So now you see why there have been no entries on these pages in a week!!

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KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY 1st JULY 2009:

ACDC GIG LAST NIGHT - AWESOME: