AND SO ENDS ANOTHER "YEARBOOK'S" WORTH OF LOGS, DXING, GENERAL CHATTER AND OPINIONS, AND GOSSIP. THE FULL YEAR AS A PDF FILE FROM AUGUST TO JULY IS NOW AVAILABLE. CLICK ON THE LOGS INDEX.

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY 14th JULY 2010

MW DXING IN TIME SHIFT:

The once controvertial recorded Perseus files have helped me find even more new personal firsts during the hour or so I have recorded from for example 12/12/09, and 11/11/09. I was glad to find both 790 and 1330, the latter I had never heard of, far less heard. But there it was in the middle of an hour of crazy logs.

I also have another couple of logs from that day. A good recording of AM 10-60 and a possible KDAL id on 610.

 

091212_0859_1060_am_10_60_gd.mp3

091212_0905_610_kdal_pres_poor_sig.mp3

I wonder if some dxers still gripe about us listening to old files?? Not that I care. It is remarkably good fun sitting in mid summer listening to strong signals from across the States and Canada, knowing it has come down that long beverage wire over in the woods.. And not only that, but discovering new firsts too.

 

 

PERSEUS YAHOO GROUP:

There were some strange messages on the Perseus group over the weekend. I was sure they were some kind of "in" joke I was not a part to, between Nico and Nils. Seems not!!

Oh well, sometimes it is good to know little. That seemed to be the contemptuous way in which dxers were described anyway on the same group by "Alberto".

Mind you, like I have said many times about abnoxious characters on message boards, they wouldn't come up to you in the pub and mouth off like that!! And it may be fun if they tried.

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - SATURDAY 10th JULY 2010

MID SUMMER MW DXING:

It is still in theory mid summer here in Scotland, but the skies have turned grey and dull. But this morning I did a recording at 02, 03, and 04. Just to keep my hand in.

Oh there was absolutely nothing exciting heard, but a log list of what does come through on a traditional mid summer here is shown below. If I had stayed with it all and tried harder I may have got a few more common stations, but for what it was worth, the logs are below. These logs are not even in my log book, just here for an example of what is traditionally the quiet dx season.

 

590 VOCM 0200
600 CBC 0300
610 CHNC PRES FF 0300
620 VOCM 0200
640 CBC 0200
670 REBELDE 0302
710 VOCM 0200
730 CKAC PRES FF TK 0300
740 VOCM 0200
750 CBC 0300
800 VOWR 0330
930 CFBC 0259
950 CKNB mx thru 0200 ID 0257
1080 WTIC 0300
1130 WBBR 0200
1140 CBC 0200
1180 REBELDE 0302
1360 WDRC 0300
1370 WDEA 0300
1520 WWKB 0200
1620 REBELDE 0302
1650 WHKT 0300
1660 WWRU 0300

I also have an intermittent break in the beverage somewhere, prob at the feedpoint, so will have to investigate later today. UPDATE: Lucky for me the connection was at the feedpoint. I have meant to go over with the solder and blowlamp, but not got around to it.

Boy there are some amount of beasties over there in the woods after the hot and damp few days we have had here. I was lucky that the break was where it was. The feeder and a lot of the other wires are really buried in a jungle of undergrowth. Big difference from the winter month.

 

UPDATES TO PERSEUS / WINRADIO ARTICLE:

I have been adding to the WINRADIO article today. So apologies if you have already read what I wrote over the last few days. Today I have added a recording from the SSB file that Nigel in Dunoon has put on line. Thanks again Nigel for taking the time to let us use the software with audio. There is also a new SAM / AM recording. . I also have included the audio clips of SAM / AM on the WINRADIO as the link was dead yesterday. Forgot to upload the audio files. I also had a dead link for "newstalk 710 KNUS" at the top of the page. All fixed now. Cheers and tnx to Mark in NJ for pointing out the dead links.

 

 

INTRUSIVE ADS ON YAHOO GROUPS:

Does anyone else think that this kind of intrusive pop up ad is just a bit over the top on the Skywaves Yahoo group?? Right on top of the text!! I am not one for clicking on even exit buttons on these style of ads. You never know what crap you are downloading. I am not sure if Skywaves is the only one I have this type of ad. Not sure. Must keep watch.

 

 

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY 9th JULY 2010

Found on an old flyer from a Skye pub

NOT MUCH TO REPORT:

I have too many distractions during the summer months to be bothered with intense dxing. But I will get back to it.

 

NRD 545 SALE - NO INTEREST:

No interest so far in my NRD545 for sale. Only one possibly dubious looking e mail appeared from South Africa. I am glad I never spent any time investigating air freight prices etc. The geezer never even replied to the initial e mail I sent him back with a few basic questions to see if he was genuine. I did specifically state - NO TIME WASTERS.

I guess I will have to bite the bullet and put it up on e bay, despite their percentage charges. (What is 5% of nothing etc..lol)

Click here for full details

 

 

WINRADIO EXCALIBUR TESTS AGAINST PERSEUS:

 

 

UPDATED VERSION: The initial upload had many typos and errors. I may add to this in the coming days.

NB: I write the following observations from a MW dxers point of view, and I have no interest whatsoever in using an SDR for ham radio operating.

Nils from the Perseus group had some files up on line of Perseus at it's best and Excalibur at it's best, but the Perseus recordings are made with AGC off for some reason, and there is much cracking and banging induced. Def not Perseus at it's best. . The recordings are mainly of SW stuff though, so no MW to compare.

I have yet to see and hear any decent audio clips of MW TADX, but I had the opportunity to test a small file apparently recorded here in Scotland by a radio ham. The small file was a short recording around 810 MW. I was surprised by the poor signal of Radio North, considering the guy was seemingly in Dunoon. Maybe he used his 20m aerial to record, as the signals were very low in general. But well done whoever you are for uploading the first excalibur file for us to test. (UPDATE - The chappie who provided the file was GM8PZR Nigel in Dunoon, and he was only using a whip antenna for the MW band..)

I look forward to trying full files from one of the MW dxers that awaits delivery. My good friend from the Skype MW Chat, Maurits in Belgium expects a knock at the door any day now!!

My first impressions are pretty much as I expected when I saw the screenshots of the software. Screen is very very busy, and software seems very clumsy to operate compared to the Perseus.

But then I have reservations about using WINRAD, as I find it very clumsy to operate, with the double frequency displays, and spinning things. And as for Linrad, I have NEVER managed to get any noise from this command driven piece of software, and I have never managed to even play back a file!!! I spent some time a couple of weeks ago trying to get LINRAD to work. I must try and get back to it.

I found the Perseus to be very user friendly and easy to get into from the first trials after I first bought the unit in late 2007. Maybe that has caused "the blinkers" effect, and everything else is going to be a poor second. I am therefore maybe not the right person to make an unbiased comparison between PERSEUS and EXCALIBUR.

But I do wonder if the WINRADIO may have something exciting to offer that the Perseus does not. And I surely can not pass judgment after listening to a very small low signal level file. It will require Maurits, or Bjarne to make an in depth review when their hardware arrives, with a full mw band file connected to a good aerial.

I may have answers, or opinions to a few questions that dxers may have with regards to the EXCALIBUR.

 

 

1. Where is the playback bar?

It is hidden behind a drop down arrow, and only visible by clicking the red arrow below and right of the freq. The playback bar is tiny, short, and although there is no "howling" like the Perseus had for a couple of years, the playback bar because of it's size, is going to be less user friendly than the long time scale bar on the Perseus. The playback start, pause etc buttons are also tiny. I may have missed it, but I don't see the recorded file time stamp anywhere. So if you playback a random file, there is no date and time displayed. Unless it is under another hidden panel I haven't found yet.

 

 

2. How do I tune the receiver?

UPDATE: As I state often here, I am only on a learning curve here. The HELP file is pretty extensive, and holding shift and then mouse over the freq display changes the freq. Also other arrow up and down keys change the frequency.

There are arrows at the right hand side, next to the steps to click up and down. There does not seem at first glance to be much use of the "mouse over" and "mouse wheel" tuning system that makes the Perseus so user friendly. (So long as you have a mouse with a wheel that is). Mouse over the right hand window steps frequency up by 1khz. I have not found a way to change that to 10 or 9khz.

The basic and primary function of any receiver is the ability to change frequency with ease, and I just love the large primary screen on the Perseus that allows mouse over and the mouse wheel to change frequency with ease. In the same way, mouse over the frequency readout changes each digit independently. Not so on the Excalibur. NB: But if you press shift and mouse over the freq display, it will change. The graphic below shows what happens when shift and mouse over is used to change frequency display.

The tuning knob simulation for me is a no go area. I see no point on that kind of pretend tuning knob on an SDR.

I also notice that when the buttons AUDIO, MEMORY, NOTCH etc are selected, they open up other related buttons, and the main tuning options are completely hidden!!

The Perseus secondary "magical" window is still streets ahead for manipulating the filter to suit (from what I have seen so far). Again the powerful "mouse over" option with mouse wheel adjustments to the bandwidth filter make Perseus stand out on it's own.

 

 

3. Can I listen to a file in DEMO mode without a receiver, so I can try the software??

Yes, no problem. Download the software from the WINRADIO EXCALIBUR site, and off you go.

http://www.winradio.com/home/download-g31ddc.htm

The following file has been uploaded by GM8PZR Nigel in Dunoon, which will playback fine with the software without a receiver.

http://rapidshare.com/files/405695521/Rec-1.5MHz.ddc.html

This is an issue that Perseus inventor Nico seemed to view with real contempt initially with his software. Personally I would have thought that being able to try the software before buying a receiver, to see if you like it, would be a huge plus point for a company, not keeping the software secret. I know of people that held off buying a Perseus on the grounds of the strange attitude of secrecy. That was perhaps not the best sales and marketing ploy I have heard of. Imagine trying to sell a house or a car, but you only allow the customers to see it in a magazine!!!!

(This in addition to silly time out software used by Microtelecom was what some dxers had serious issues with. PRO users certainly wouldn't want software stopping suddenly, especially after paying £700 for a receiver..)

 

 

4. What about the difference between AM and SAM?

When I tried to record using the low level signal file, I was finding that the bandwidth with AM is maxed at the 10kHz mark. Any stretching of the filter in the right hand window made no difference beyond 10kHz. The Filter could be stretched beyond 10kHz for SAM.

(After I reset to factory defaults, I couldn't repeat this oddity)

The clip below is of AM then SAM, using 10kHz settings for both recordings. There is a much bigger difference between SAM and AM on the WINRADIO than on the Perseus, on which debatably there is virtually NO difference. I am not sure though if the SAM is better on the WINRADIO, or it is just the AM that is inferior??? I am not sure if I hear a good beefy AM OPTIMOD style sound on AM. I have been trying a Rapidshare file that Maurits put me on to. A larger 180 MEG file than the 64 meg file I tried first. The second file is a better example of fading on 1458kHz.

Below a Perseus file that shows fading on the same frequency, but it is a bit unfair when it is not the same recording made at the same time using the same antenna.

excalibur_am_sam_810khz.mp3

excalibur_am_ams_test_1458khz.mp3

100710_0300_1458_am_then_sam_perseus.mp3

 

 

5. Can I change that horrible "ACID ROCK" blue background that WINRADIO advertise their product with?

A welcome YES. There are ten different "skins" similar to the way WINAMP has skins. I have reproduced the default, another 60's style "acid rock" background, and a couple that are more easy on the eye.

 

Click for full res. These two horrendous colour schemes are like something from 60's acid era!! I don't mind this kind of wild and wonderful colour schemes on a T Shirt, but not when you have to use it everyday....

 

These two skins in grey and black are more suited to my dxing, and easier to see the buttons mixed in with all the colours!! In each shot I may add, that I have stretched the screen a little, so that the third wide waterfall window is almost non existent. The MILITARY skin is also quite easy on the eye as well.

 

 

 

6: What are the arrows either end of the PLAYBACK BAR for??

I have no idea, but I wonder if they navigate forward and back through sets of recorded files???

 

 

7. How does the WINRADIO sound in SSB

I hear a lot of rasping and rough noise on strong signal peaks from the recording supplied by the ham fella in Dunoon. I wonder what I am doing wrong?? Please find a recording below from LSB on 40m.

UPDATE: Again Maurits to the rescue. Seems the volume control has to be sitting around 20. Much higher and the volume is too high. The volume control is hidden till VOLUME mode is selected in the right hand command area.

excalibur_ssb_test.mp3

excalibur_ssb_good.mp3

 

Below is a link to the source 180 meg wideband file for WINRADIO EXCALIBUR.

http://rapidshare.com/files/405807912/Rec-7.1MHz.ddc.html

 

 

SUMMARY:

From what I have seen so far, as a Perseus owner, would I rush out and buy a WINRADIO?

Answer - No.

But I am all ears and willing to be converted if there is a good reason that I have missed to buy a unit. I see no point in spending that kind of money to do no better than I do at the moment with the Perseus.

But the answer to the question would have been a resounding YES if the WINRADIO was released three or four years ago, prior to the Perseus. Then of course it would have been the market leader in wide band recording, which is the exclusive selling point from a MW dxers point of view.

Remember I write the above observations from a MW dxers point of view, and have no interest whatsoever in ham radio and SDR's.

 

 

NEW MW STATIONS HEARD:

710 KNUS DENVER CO 5000 5000 DA-2 NEWS / TALK

Thanks to Mark in NJ USA for drawing my attention to a station I had missed on the Perseus file for 12/12 at 0900. KNUS Denver, CO. I also heard a better ID at 0906, see top of page. That makes three extra personal firsts in the last couple of weeks by looking through the old files. Not bad. I wonder what other gems lie undiscovered.

 

 

 

PC SPEC:

I have never been sure exactly the spec of the PC I am using. I initially thought it was a dual core, as I see 2 processors in the device manager.

 

 

But somewhere I saw that it wasn't a true dual core. So what was it?? Dual processors?? I have never taken the large heat sink system off to have a look. Who knows, but one of the pieces of software I was experimenting with the other day gave me the following spec. (I don't recall which software it was)

 

OS: Windows XP Professional, SP2
CPU: Genuine Intel, Intel Pentium 4, MMX @ 5690 MHz

 

No wonder I have the Perseus running with much room to play with on this PC. The old 2.8gig single core Athlon PC ran fine, but only just, at full 1600kHz recording.

Considering the main PC I use now was rescued from the skip, I have done OK!!!!! All that was wrong was the need of a £20 power supply, which I had kicking around anyway.

 

 

SPORADIC E:

Still rumbling away here on and off, but no amazing dx catches in the last weeks. Good images from Slovakia the other day on R2.