More unusual logs in bold
PERSONAL
FIRSTS IN OCTOBER: I
have decided to keep the personal firsts for each month at the top of
the page. Too cluttery keeping the whole season at the top each time.
August and September are lumped together. To be truthful, I never expected
so many!!
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY OCTOBER 31st 2008:
I noticed I had my dates a little mixed up for Thursday, and
Wednesday. The logs were dated right though..hi. Welcome to the last
entry in the dx diary for October. I have updated my 2008 dx table showing
all the dx stations heard during Sept, and October. I had thought August
was included too, but I still have that to complete. CLICK
HERE TO VIEW.
My recordings never worked this morning. The hard drive has decided
to call itself a different letter from the night before. So autohotkeys
couldn't find the destination drive. I am not sure if I have missed
much anyway, judging by the high Ks.
Beverage Update: I was out at lunchtime repairing my
beverage that runs west. This has been broken for a few weeks, since
the hedgecutter went through it. So I started yesterday lunchtime, making
use of the scarce daylight. It was when I was walking in the field,
I was thinking that a northerly beverage would be quite easy to construct,
using the coax at the feedpoint of the permanent beverage in the woods.
I have a temp NW beverage, and it beats the wood antenna on much of
the band. So why don't I run a northerly cable from that feedpoint on
a temporary basis to try it. So this is now done, almost 200m I suspect.
David H and myself went out tonight to run the cable. It does cross
the NW bverage. It is not grounded yet, but testing the unterminated
antenna tonight, there is a huge difference compared to the NW facing
antenna. East coast stations will disappear when switched to the north
facing beverage. So now I have to wait for a late opening to see what
it is "really" like. Maybe Alaska will at last come to my
receivers!!.
LOGS: No real logs for tonight at 2200. Missed the top of the
hour at 2300 due to watching a gripping Neil Young documentary on TV.
but I had a local ID on 740 CHCM Country at 2157.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - THURSDAY OCTOBER 30th 2008:
THURSDAY NIGHT: Had WFIF on 1500 at 2200.
I am not sure if this is a personal first. I don't think so.
Other stuff heard... 1660 WWRU, WSYB 1380, WRNI 1290, WBAE Portland
1490, WSAR 1480, 1660 WFNA.
Just as I heard a rare daytimer, the bands crash. 2 days to go to log
the daytimers signing off or reducing power, before they go back an
hour or so. The band at these lattitudes were so poor when I tuned in
last night that I didn't even set any recording. Maybe I should have.
So nothing to report today.
ABOUT 350 NEW AUDIO FILES ADDED: I have uploaded around
350 new audio files to a space on another server. So remember to press
the back button to return here. Click the link on the TADX audio page.
In general, 2008 logs are made on the PERSEUS receiver. Others before
that are made from different receivers. CLICK
HERE FOR THE AUDIO FOLDER.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29th 2008:
Well this past weekend as usual has been very busy, and I have not got
around to updating the logs here. There have been some very strong signals
around, and even some personal firsts.
A rare day timer last night came in well, WKGA Atlanta, GA.
920 14KW by day and 50W at night (well 49!!).
UK ALL TIME LOG LIST - ATTENTION UK DXERS: Are there
any dxers out there who like me, would prefer to see an all time UK
log list on line free to air. I have been in discussion with another
dxer who feels the same, and thus anyone wishing to assist the creation
of a public list of UK all time logs, do get in touch. It is generally
felt that the secrecy surrounding the only other known UK list is quite
ridiculous.
I personally do not like the term UK FIRST, so often used in dx publications.
"UK first" comes with all sorts of suggestions of black and
white first log ever in the UK etc, which is so difficult if not impossible
to prove. UK All Time List is certainly a better term. We all know that
it really means a MW CIRCLE first. "Circle first" may have
been a better choice of phrase, used in only in connection with the
UK contributors. There are other dxers in the country who are not part
of any DX club. I know of some locally who are/ were MW enthusiasts.
There are also others who seem to wish their DX catches to be kept secret
incase anyone else sees them!! Weird but true!!
I am certainly not bringing down the UK all time listings. It is a great
idea keeping a list of what has been heard in this country, so long
as it is kept fairly and accurately. One of my own circle firsts for
example is even credited to another dxer for some reason. One which
was questioned at the time as well for some reason!! Perhaps this is
due to a dispute I had a couple of years ago with the people who run
the outfit. I see this listing as a potential guide to assist in dxing,
and to know what is common and what is rare etc. Not as some kind of
competition!!
The first thing of course we'd have to arrange is to put "our own
house in order". This is difficult at this time of year for me,
as the DX is flowing in full force. I have began to try and keep a decent
list of TADX from this season only, but it is so far only dated as far
as September! My so called all time list which I have is very poor.
Eg, only the other day I noticed that a log from 2004 of 1350 WGPL VA
was not included in my own list. Watch this space!
LOGS UPDATED: I have been listening to some old files from
a few weeks ago and found the following
20th Sept: Between 0530 and 0535 had the following..
1470 WBKV, 1060 WBIX, 1280 WNAM, 1260 THE PLEDGE.COM, 1150 WHBY, 980
WCUB
30th Sept: 0630 WIND Chicago 560
OCTOBER POOR: I found the month of October to have been a little
miserable compared to September. Yet it seems Martin in the North of
Scotland is picking up all sorts again, AK, HI etc. We are just too
far south at these lattitudes it seems.
LOGS AND MORE LOGS: I seem to have become bogged down with
recordings and in serious danger of becoming a complete recluse, ears
burning, listening through my recordings!! It is still less than a year
ago since I first heard of Perseus. My NRD receiver still works fine,
but seems to have taken early retirement!!
NEW AUDIO FOLDER: I am working on an audio folder which should
allow me just to simply dump files in, rather than create time consuming
links to. THIS
IS NOW AVAILABLE HERE.
LOGS FOR LATE OCTOBER: Logs for this last few days
now, and I shall make a simple freq listing. Dates only where appropriate,
common stns may not have dates. Many more common stations are not even
listed here. Long gone are the days when logs are carefully noted as
in dx magazines, with programme details and sinpo code for each. They
are simply listed here..... and probably wouldn't comply with DX magazine
log formats. But they are logs , and every bit as good as anyone else's,
with the audio files to back them up. All stations listed here unless
otherwise stated, have 100% ids. I don't like listing programme details
such as "country music" or "ESPN" and presume the
station to be something. I have seen this style of logs in many places.
540 CBC FF Reg
540 CBC EE reg
560 WGAN 28/10 2256 Reg
570 Greenland reg but on 26/10 0700 a wee tune hrd, allowing // 720
to be checked
670 WSCR Chicago Superb steady signal, but played past toth!!! 0400
29/10
720 Greenland 26/10 0700 a wee tune hrd. // 570 1st
log on this ch
720 WGN Chicago poor 0400 29/10
760 WJR 24/10 REG
780 WBBM Chicago, 27/10 0600, 0400 29/10
790 WAXY FL 27/10
800 CKLW 0700 24/10, 0400 29/10
800 VOAR Nfld
820 WBAP 0500 27/10, g 0400 29/10
840 WHAS 24/10 0700
850 WEEI 24/10 0700
890 WLS Chicago 0400 29/10
920 WGKA Atlanta 28/10 2300
920 ESPN UNID. Poss CKNX relaying Toronto's 590 ESPN. Hrd this id here
before. // 1070 CHOK
990 ESPN Montreal The Team. 0400 27/10
1000 ESPN Chicago G 0200 27/10, 0400 29/10
1010 WINS/ CFRB both reg and both late fade outs. eg 0926 25/10 still
vg.
1050 CHUM 0600 25/10. Reg mixing with WEPN
1060 WBIX 24/10
1070 CHOK now ann 103.9 0727 26/10
1110 WBT REG
1150 WHBY Kimberly 0600 27/10
1160 WYLL G 0000 28/10 , 27/10 0600
1180 Radio Rebelde, Cuba. Echo ie 2 sites
1180 WHAM
1190 WOWO
1200 CFGO Ottowa. reg, but good call id 27/10 0200
1290 KKAR Omaha 0600 27/10
1300 WOOD, Grand Rapids. 0400 27/10, 24/10 0400 and reg
1310 CIWW Oldies 1310 Ottowa. Has this been qrp? Head it reg again,
after a break, eg 24/10, 25/10. 26/10
1310 WIBA, Madison, WI 27/10
1320 WILS Lancing 29/10 0300
1320 WBOB Jacksonville, FL 27/10 2300, 0500 27/10,
0400 27/10, 0200 27/10, 25/10 0800 + 0700
1320 CJMR The voice of the city, Toronto ID. EE 0402 29/10 hrd reg with
Asian px, or Christian Mx
1330 WFNN The Fan 0700 27/10
1330 WRCA Reg
1350 WOYK York 28/10 0100 27/10
1360 WKAT FL Gd ids 0700 27/10
1370 WDEA Reg
1380 WSYB Rutland, VT 28/10
1380 WTJK South Beloit, IL 0600 27/10
1390 WRIG, WI 27/10 0600
1390 WEGP Dominant reg
1390 WFBL Oldies 13-10 HEARD REG AS WELL eg 0559 25/10
1390 WPLM Plymouth 2300 25/10
1400 CBC Gander. Oftenm great signals early evening. Good not having
QRM this year.
1400 WOND 0500 29/10
1410 WPOP ESPN. Reg 24/10
1420 WOC
1420 WHK
1430 CHKT Toronto 0100 27/10, 29/10 0400
1440 WHK 0100 27/10
1440 WRED. New call again for WJAB I believe. reg
1450 WENJ NJ Reg 24/10 0700
1450 CJOY 0100 27/10 Tent log. unclear singing jingle
1460 WHIC Rochester, NY Station of the Cross etc 29/10 0300, 27/10 0200
1470 WBKV 29/10 0400 + 0500,
1470 WLAM reg
1470 WNYY 0200 27/10
1480 WHBC Canton, OH often hrd
1500 WFED
1500 WLQV Detroit. Reg this last few days, eg 0400 +0500 29/10
1510 WWZN The Zone, Boston
1510 WLAC Nashville 28/10 0000, 25/10 0300
1510 KCKK Co. VG 27/10 0600 USB only. WWZN on LSB.
Also 0400 while KGA LSB!!
1510 KGA 0400 27/10 LSB. KCKK ON USB!!
1520 WWKB Buffalo, NY
1530 WCKY Cincinati 28/10 0100
1540 CHIN, Toronto
1540 KXEL Reg
1570 XERF Mexico 0400 27/10
1620 WTAW REG
1620 KOZN, Bellevue, NE "Omaha's ESPN AM 16-20"
27/10 0600
1630 KKGM 0630 27/10 Southern Gospel 0700 27/10
1630 KCJJ Iowa City, Reg
1630 KRND, Fox Farm, WY "La Grande" ids 28/10
0100 27/10 0600
1640 WTNI 28/10 0100 exc id
1640 WKSH Sussex, WI 29/10, 27/10
1650 KCNZ Cedar Falls, 29/10 0100 27/10, 0100 27/10
1650 CJRS Reg
1660 KQWB, West Fargo. VG 0000 28/10, 27/10
1660 WWRU Sometimes very good before farther away stuff fades in
1660 Relevant Radio, FL 27/10 0600
1660 WFNA Charlotte. 25/10 0000 and again 0200
1670 WTDY Madison WI Reg g 27/10 0200
1680 WOKB FL. Reg this last few days
1680 WNSW Newark NY. Is this new call or just asociate station of WTTM??
1690 KDDZ Co. Radio Disney 28/10 0100
1690 CJLO Reg
1690 WVON Chicago 28/10, 27/10
1690 WPTX Lexington Park 0600 25/10
1700 WJCC Miami Springs 0100 28/10
1700 KVNS, Brownsville Reg exc levels 0600 25/10
1700 WEUP AL.. 2300 25/10
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY OCTOBER 24th 2008:
Thursday Night: Had a good ID from WSYB, Rutland, VT.
After chasing WBOB 1320 all morning yesterday after
hearing Paul C's clip, I finally heard a couple of reasonable IDs today.
It really is so frustrating when there are good signals until the top
of the hour, and the whole band just goes onto a fade!! Very frustrating!!
We all know the scenario though.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - THURSDAY OCTOBER 23rd 2008:
Thoughts for the day: Isn't it strange how some months, and
years have different characteristics than others. This season I have
not managed yet to ID anything other than WBBR on 1130, yet some mornings
last season it disappeared, and other stations were dominant on the
frequency. X Band has been relatively quiet in general so far this season
as well. This morning however there were big signals. (Or was it because
I never recorded X band much before the new Perseus software came out?)
Logs: No late opening to the mid west this am. Much
more heard than noted here. Some strong signals around this morning.
Leading up to 0900 UTC the band seemed to be trying to open, and ESPN
Chicago on 1000 was giving good peaks, but it faded out again.
820 WBAP 0700 ABC News
930 CFBC 0656
940 CINW Toronto Still ann the old call. (Did I read about a new call??...They
don't use the old one!!)
970 WZAN 0700 CNN News
1000 WMVP CHICAGO 0700
1020 KDKA VG at toth today 0700
1070 CHOK 0700
1080 WTIC 0700 CBS news
1100 WTAM 0700 FOX News
1160 WYLL Chicago
1290 CJBJ 0700
1300 WOOD 0700
1360 WDRC Hartford, CT 0700
1380 CKPC ONT 0700
1410 WPOP 0700
1420 WHK POOR 0700
1470 WLAM VG multiple station ID
1570 Boomer 0700 and 0705 some good signals
1620 WNRP Gulf Breeze, FL 0700
1640 WTNI, Biloxi 0700
1650 CJRS Booming in at 0700
1660 WWRU
1670 VIVA Ga. Very strong 0700
1680 WOKB FL. FF but EE id 0702 as well as 0602
1690 CJLO 0700
1700 KVNS 0700
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22nd 2008:
Beverage Update: I have had permission from the owner of the
land across the river from me to use the field until February, when
it will be sown with barley. Every winter since my last venture in this
field in 2004, the field has been planted with winter barley. So I was
glad of the opportunity to again build up a long straight beverage antenna.
The direction is similar to my permanent aerial through the woods, but
the new antenna has the advantage of being a bit closer to the shack.
Thus not such a long feeder, it is straight, and on relatively flat
ground.
Well I have done some more work today in straightning out the beverage.
Davie couldn't assist as he had other commitments, but I trudged down
the field and ended up cutting the new straight beverage down a little.
Far from being in the open field once I straightened the cable, I was
heading back to the woods, where the last field beverage terminated
in 2004/ 5. I had to think quickly, as time was limited. Is it better
to have a shorter antenna, and terminate in the open field, or longer
and terminate in thick woods. I took option "a". (Field).
I feel I have shortened the antenna quite a bit. The new length would
be about 420m instead of the round 500m. When it came to the null on
the Czech station of 639, at the back end of the antenna, it didn't
seem quite so pronounced. Maybe it was still too early for the Spanish
station at this point. Later that night there seemed to be a better
back null.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Above are a few photos taken the other day, as well as an aerial shot
courtesy of the image service which is linked to from the links page.
The browser window which opens is to suit 800 by 600 screen sizes. You
can still right click and save target as.
Wed Evening: I returned from my walk and tweaking my temporary
beverage and after a seat for a bit, tried 1400kHz. I was amazed to
hear CBC about 1910 at this stage only on the new beverage. No trace
on the permanent beverage antenna through the woods. Anyway, on tuning
a bit later on, just before 2200, I heard a talk show of some kind,
and a notice for Rutland on 1380, suggesting WSYB.
This was at 2155. There was an AM 1380 jingle, prob unique to the station,
but alas no IDs. By the time TOTH appeared there had been fades and
easy listening music was coming in. This turned out to be WMYF
Portsmouth, NH. Also IDing at 2200 was WEZS, Laconia,
NH as Good Time Oldies and call on 1350.
Wed Morning: October has not really been wonderful so far here,
dx wise, compared to the amazing DX heard during September. Really something
of a disappointment in some respects. The sun has been grumbling away,
and far from the spotless sun we had in much of September, there has
been periods of some activity.
Logs: Had enough of a signal from WBZ 1030 to use the
splatter killer on the Perseus to get rid of ILR Ayr, and catch an ID.
560 WGAN was quite good at 0700, and 2 personal firsts I believe. First
ID from 800 CHRC at 0630, and a good id at the same time from 970 Radio
Formula, Mexico. This is listed as 100kW.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - TUESDAY OCTOBER 21st 2008:
Trying out a slightly larger text to see how it goes.
Beverage Update: The saga continues. Not only is the story
unfinished, but it takes a major turn. No, not the story, but the beverage.
Our direction of straight through the middle of the bushes at the bend
on the river, where there once sat a mill, was slightly out. Lunchtime
today, and I took a walk along the cable, to find out that the leaves
had blown off the trees, and I could now clearly see the bend on the
beverage. So this evening there will be some straightening to do.
LOGS: Well I have at last again started hearing some
good DX and had a long opening. This am, I had the Perseus recording
at 0900. There was a surprise in store, as the following were audible
(amongst others). 680 CJOB, 950 CPAM, 1230 CBC
540 CBC Echo on the English station at 0809, suggesting
possibly SK stn coming in.
550 WGR Buffalo, NY Id as sports radio 5-50, and also
ESPN ids 0627. (My previous unid ESPN stn)
680 CJOB Winnipeg, MB 0900
830 WCRN with both Larry Doyle, and Laars Larson streams I think at
0630
950 CPAM MB with classical music. No IDs today 0900
930 CFBC, NB 0900
1010 CFRB Toronto 0900
1020 KDKA PA 0900
1060 WBIX MA 0900
1180 WHAM Rochester, NY 0900
1200 WOAI, TX 0900
1230 CBC News at toth, suggesting CFFB, NU Which for
me would be a personal first 0900
1280 CFMB Montreal, QC. Pres still on daytime pattern
also hrd last night in FF, SS, AND CC 0735
1300 WJNO Cleveland, OH
1300 WXRL Lancaster, NY
1300 WOOD, Grand Rapids
1320 WILS, Lansing, MI Poor 0700 g 0659!! Typical
1500 WLQV Detroit, MI
1520 2 stations on 1520 at 0730
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - MONDAY OCTOBER 20th 2008:
Anniversary: It is 30 years ago since Radio Mi Amigo closed
abruptly from the MV Mi Amigo, and was never heard on air again from
the ship. Main reason of course could be traced back to simply money,
or the lack of it. With the closure, went the English service of Radio
Caroline on 962kHz, and it remained off air until April 15th 1979.
Monday Night: CBC 1400 and WEGP 1390 were both piling in around
2100. Greenland was also rather good on 570. At 2151 I heard some bible
stuff, but alas, faded before the IDs. 1280 CFMB pres on Daytime antenna
pattern, as signals bombing in.
Monday Morning: Kind of an average morning here. Not
much of interest logged.
Another couple of technical blunders. A carrier only station this morning,
in the shape of AM 600 CBC station. There were 2 separate SS stations
coming in behind, and one being well off channel. There was a station
on 1690 with stuck audio, like a CD stuck. It was also like having a
very small loop on the perseus when sampling a section of your recordings.
540 CBC FF sce. VVG 0700
560 WGAN 0633
570 Radio Reloj, Cuba 0633
850 WEEI 0600
1450 WENJ 0700
1480 WSAR 0630
1570 Boomer with dogs barking etc 0700
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - SUNDAY OCTOBER 19th 2008:
This morning I had a few logs.. A little on the average side
I thought, but there was a personal first.
1300 WFFG Marathon, FL @ 0706 ish. Tnx to Paul C for
the tip.
Other stuff at 0700:
610 WIOD FL 0704
850 WFBL FL/ WEEI Boston 0704
900 W Mexico
940 Unid SS. Mexico?? Punto.. and like Servicia Radio mentioned. My
SS terrible, so no idea.
960 WEAV The Zone
1290 CJBK
1310 WLOB
1350 Unid Sports Stn, The First in Sport. Too many to choose from. No
ids.
1400 WOND
1440 WHK
1450 WENJ NJ
1470 WLAM
1480 WSAR
1500 WFED
1580 CKDO Exc 0701
1600 unid ss ads. Prob WUNR
1620 WTAW
1640 UNID Ann as "Live from Washington,we are the Voice of Freedom,
The Voice of Liberty, The Voice of Nationalism" Odd for WTNI.
1660 WCNZ Relevant Radio FL
1680 WOKB Winter Gardens, FL
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - SATURDAY OCTOBER 18th 2008:
Not much to report today. Radio Reloj 570 at 0652, WRNI 1290
0700, WLOB 1310 0700, Relevant Radio 1660 0700, Radio Boomer 1570 0557
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY OCTOBER 17th 2008:
WBAL BALTIMORE AGAIN: The band
has been very poor this morning, but a little surprise was WBAL Baltimore
in the clear, as Talk Radio on 1089 has been carrier only since at least
0730 local, 0630 GMT. Not sure why, but it is still off air as I type
this at 0752 GMT. Came on later in the day from a back up studio. Amazed
they couldn't get a spare studio of some kind in a shorter space of
time.
WBAL is still coming in, though the band is very depressed. Unfortunately
the very morning of the break down or whatever has happened, is a very
bad morning for DX, and there is nothing else really coming through,
bar a small fluttery time around 0630. But at least I have a few very
nice IDs from WBAL, which I have not heard like this in years.
<selfish dxer side of me> It would have been
nice if 1089 was gone for good!! </selfish
dxer side of me>
BEVERAGE UPDATE: Well after being connected up and used again
on an all be it depressed band, I am still finding the same results,
that the Euro splatter is greater, especially on the LF part of the
band.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - THURSDAY OCTOBER 16th 2008:
BEVERAGE UPDATE: David H and myself took a walk to
the end of the new beverage this evening, and instead of the fixed resistor
I had inserted the previous night, which was 660 ohms, I took a volume
control. I was kinda looking around for the right value of control the
night before, but couldn't find one in time. Looked a bit harder tonight!!
I pretuned a receiver in the shack to 639, a Czech station, which is
off the back end of the beverage. Maybe I was too optimistic about getting
rid of 1008 NL. For the first time ever, I had a back end null on a
beverage using the resistor. Using a radio link, were able to remotely
monitor the volume control's effects. Of course there was no access
to the signal meter back at the shack, but the Czech station almost
disappeared, leaving only Spanish. But when I checked later at night
when the first Newfounlanders were coming in, there was still the problem
of the Euro splatter.
Possible Problems: So why is a nice straight, well
laid out beverage in roughly the same direction as the permanent wood
beverage performing worse on the lf part of the band? Above say 1300
it seems better though.
1) Is the height too great. I used approx 7 foot poles to support the
wire. In the woods the height is more like 5 foot, although it is up
and down.
2) I have no balun on the wood beverage until the coax reaches the shack.
Then there is a balun going to the receiver. There is a balun on the
new beverage where the antenna meets the coax. Are the balun windings
maybe different to the desired spec??
3) I am using worse quality coax. I don't have any more of the really
thick low loss stuff I fell in with years ago. (Saved it from the "scrappie's")
Do I need an earth rod at each junction on the coax lead. Remember I
am using a rather long piece of coax, perhaps 100m or more.
4) Who knows!!!!! There is still plenty room for improvement.
LOGS:
550 Radio Nacional Columbia, 0700 and
what sounds like LV something mixing. ids 0633. My Spanish not good,
so must get a second opinion.
560 WQAM FL. VG at 0700
610 WIOD good pks 0703
680 R Nac Columbia
830 WCRN Usual 2 audio feeds!! 0616
960 WEAV
1010 CFRB
990 Montreal
Other common stuff, heard but not logged
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15th 2008:
BEVERAGE UPDATE: David H and
myself were putting the finishing touches to the beverage in the field
at lunchtime and tonight. It was connected up for lunchtime. The coax
was joined and fed across to the shack, much of it up in the air to
avoid dog walkers etc. The coax was coiled up in a mess when we arrived
on the site, not exactly where I had left it last night. In the evening
when we were back at the aerial, a neighbour I met on the way told me
he had fallen on his backside after tripping over the wire in the dark,
while walking his dogs!! LOL.. Wish I had seen it..
By day the signals on 846 Radio North were up. Also 531 Faroes, but
981 Star was as Davie predicted, a little down, hopefully because of
the new antenna being more directional.
But bad news was to come. After dark and the early Canadians started
to fade in, it was obvious the new antenna also brought in much more
European QRM, and splatter. This I find odd. Of course it is also a
little disappointing.
One would normally think that a beverage through the woods would be
blown away by a new very straight, and well made beverage. The older
aerial running through the thick woods has the following disadvantages.
1) Running wildly up and down steep 80ish foot banks
2) Probably not that straight due to losing sight of the cable after
10m
3) A much longer coax feeder is needed to reach the antenna. This has
also been shredded by hedgecutters and rejoined a few times, to add
to the number of "wee bits" that make up the length anyway!!
4) Main aerial cable has been rejoined many times through the years
when trees and branches blow down through them. Some still need soldering!!
LOGS: Had a new one this am. 540 WFLA FL.
Also hearing Faroes play their little int sig at 0700 on 531, WGAN 560,
CHNC 0700 610, and unid Radio Disney station on 620. I have only one
thought about this. Could it have been an ad?? Does Disney sponsor any
sports events?? Could it have been the FL sports stn, with an ad for
some sporting event, the same way WEGP 1390 will advertise the WRKO
REDSOX team?? Also had 750 WSB, and new one on me,
WDJO 1160 0700. WSAR FALL River also hrd on 1480
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - TUESDAY OCTOBER 14th 2008:
BEVERAGE UPDATE: David H and myself
set out the sticks for holding the new beverage up tonight in the twilight.
All the cable is now up in the air, and joined, and terminated at the
far end. Tomorrow we shall connect up the coax and give it a try.
LOGS: Well a surprise this morning on an otherwise
very average day. WQAM 560 FL. Looks like 560 CHVO
is def off air. There was no sign of it this am when checking the recordings.
Overslept, so wasn't up live dxing. Noted WDRC with something like KT
Radio News. I think I may have assumed this was WKAT for one log in
Sept. Must check. .
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - MONDAY OCTOBER 13th 2008:
I have the cable available to be able to put a feeder across to the shack, and keep the antenna in the woods undisturbedl. I should be able to do an A - B switch over, and see any advantage or otherwise the new antenna has over the older one.
Tonight David H and myself were rolling out cable in preparation for the sticks going in tomorrow. I like to work in twighlight, in the hope none of the local kids see the work being done, so we got a little of the work done before darkness beat us. Update tomorrow.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY OCTOBER 10th 2008:
CHVO 560 - FINALLY GONE : Maybe this is to do with the west
coast conditions etc, but this last two days I have not been hearing
CHVO 560, or KIXX 103.9 as it is known. WGAN is now dominant, or at
least it has been this last couple of days. Is the much hailed move
to FM finally complete?? Unlike CJCH 920 who switched off suddenly and
virtually unannounced, KIXX has been relaying the FM service for a long
time now.
As I type this, I have had an e mail from the station staff, and assuming
it is a knowledgeable person that replied, does confirm that the AM
is off air. I just hope it is not someone who knows nothing about radio,
and just thinks it is off because they announce FM. .... lol....
This is really good news for dxers, but a little sad in some respects
that one of the regular stations has moved to FM. It was always a marker,
along with the other Nfld stations. CHVO was last heard here on Wed
8th October 08.
Here is a question for dxers. Has anyone actually heard any
anouncements that these MW signals will leave the air on any of the
stations?? I know I haven't. I would have thought public awareness of
a frequency move would have been desirable for a commercial station.
I am going to use the public awareness phrase again in today's entry
in my observations/ dx diary.
TADX STATIONS WITH MUFFLED/ WHISPERED ID'S: This morning WCKY
Cincinnati 1530 was sitting on top of the Euros with Brother Stair.
Unfortunately they chose a very muffled ID at 0600, of the strange type
many stations have now, inc 660. I don't know why some stations seem
to prefer muffled quiet, almost like a telephone quality ID. I thought
they are all commercial and desire listeners and public awareness!!
I'm not sure muffled / whispered ids are the way to go!!
WHAM LOW AUDIO: I note that WHAM 1180 Rochester seems to be
one of these stations that has problems with automated feeds too. A
few times recently there has been a distinct lack of audio, or very
low audio. Again, as I have said here, this is good for DXers. Sometimes
an unusual station may well come over the carrier, which wouldn't normally
come over full audio. Other stations I have observed with silence recently
are 1200 CFGO, 1130 WBBR. WCRN 830 also has serious technical issues
with their unmanned automated system. They are currently broadcasting
two completely different audio feeds at the same time. I assume the
station is unmanned at this hour, as surely no one would allow this
to go on like it has been ....
LOGS FOR TODAY: You really cant tell for sure what the band
is going to be like until you tune it. That's my philosophy. I was hopeful
for a repeat of yesterdays west coast opening today, but nothing doing.
Besides the usual suspects, I did notice that there was no sign of CHVO,
only WGAN, see above.
560 WGAN Good ids before toth at 0558
1000 Def ESPN and another English and one music station here at times.
Pres Mexico and KOMO. Neither IDed.
1530 WCKY was well over the Euros at 0558 and ID toth.
Many more common stations which I will try and list later tonight.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - THURSDAY OCTOBER 9th 2008:
WCRN 830 DUAL AUDIO FEEDS: Someone should really tell WCRN
830 that they have a faulty automated audio feed. Often I have heard
them with two audio feeds at the same time. Is there so few listeners
locally that no one has told them already, and none of the station staff
have even rumbled??? But as I have said before in these pages, dodgy
automated stuff can sometimes give us blissful silence on a dominant
station. So for that reason, I am not going to be the one to tell them.
What a selfish DXer I really am!!
AUDIO CLIPS ADDED: I have just added 13 new audio clips
to the "TADX audio page".
1700 XEPE San Diego, CA/ Mexico
1660 KQRB Fargo/ Moorhead, ND
1650 KCNZ Cedar Falls, IA
1630 KRND LA GRANDE, WY
1520 KOKC, OK
1510 KGA, WA
1290 WKBK Keene, NH
1080 WTIC Hartford
1050 WEPN, NY
970 WDAY, Fargo/ Moorhead, ND
960 KMA
670 WSCR, Chicago
550 WSAU, WI
LOGS: Band open to the West Coast. KOMO
was in and out over the next 30m or so over music and sport, pres WMVP
and Mexico. At 0627 ad a superb ID from KGA. Like a
local sat on top of Boston. I actually mistook it for Boston, and was
trying to hear what was below it!!
After listening to my recordings I had my first CA station, even though
it is really across the border in Mexico. Freq listing is incomplete
for this am. Spent time adding audio clips etc..
550 The ESPN station on is still elusive. Never peaking at ID time,
and always has national ESPN stuff when peaking. Finally ided on 21st
Oct and as expected, it is WGR.
560 WGAN seemed dominant on this am. Pres KIX is still on air.
1000 KOMO
1140 AM Alberta
1380 CKPC
1410 CFUN id as talk 14-10
1510 KGA
1630 KNRD La Grande in WY
1630 KKGM
1650 KCMX Cedar Falls, and as well as Texan.
1660 KQWB 1660 Fargo/ Moorhead,
1700 XEPE, San Diego's AM 1700.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 8th 2008:
Band seems to be improving. Had stations on
980 and 1600 but no ids so far. 1350 had a phone in. 640 had ss. At
0706 WSM Nashville 650 was good and at 0630 during
a VOCM fade, had some nice ids from WEZE Boston 590.
I have heard this station a few times this season, yet only once ever
before, which was earlier this year. I always had VOCM too strong. Perhaps
I always assumed this, but Perseus allows you to notice these things
easier. Rather than sit on a channel you know is dominant with a strong
signal and waiting for a fade, I used to look for dx on a more realistic
channel. There were a few stragglers left at 0900utc this am. Looks
like late openings starting! Can't be bad.
KEN'S
DX DIARY AND LOGS - TUESDAY OCTOBER 7th 2008:
WEB SITE UP AND RUNNING YET AGAIN:
Well hi there again, after over a week since the old server went off
line unexpectedly. Thanks to the advice from LASSE on the Perseus users
group, I now have this and my local history site back on line. This
will be the permanent address of TADX, and I won't be changing it again,
unless something happens at this server. If anyone wishes to e mail
me direct, I also have a new working e mail address. Click the contact
button to see the details. I really must thank all those folks with
links to these pages. Many of you have changed links already.
NEW 2008 FREQUENCY TABLE:
Predictably, I have not kept the frequency table I tried to keep at
the bottom of the August and September pages up to date. It takes a
little more time to keep these tables up to date, rather than simply
scribble logs on a diary style entry. So I am going to adopt a different
approach again!! Let's try producing a 2008-2009 table. I know the 2007
table is still unfinished, but I shall strive to carry on with the 2008
- 9 table. Click here
to view. It is linked from the logs index anyway.
DAVIE'S CORNER: My DX neighbour, up the road from me,
David Hamilton has written a few items for these pages. The link is
under other items, or click here for David
Hamilton's Corner.
LOGS FOR 1st - 7th OCTOBER 2008:
October so far has been disappointing after the amazing band conditions
in September. Lots of higher Ks etc haven't exactly killed the band,
but the logs have came back down to earth, and have been of more common
stations than the unusual ones.
OCTOBER 7th 2008 (Tuesday):
Has SS on 560 at 0627. Around the same time had ids from 930 CFBC, 1060 an all too rare id from Radio Education, Mexico, 970 SS, 940 Montreal, and 1130 had silence!! Carrier only around 0630, but nothing significant heard beneath. On 1000 I checked after an alert of FF from Paul C, but only heard the Mexican.
OCTOBER 6th 2008 (Monday):
Still chasing the ESPN station of 550. Unsure if it is sports radio 550 WGR which is now ESPN or carries some content, or something else. Heard at 0627. One of those crazy (perhaps idiotic) ad disclaimer heard on WTIC at 0605. Long and totally unable to hear a word!! Apart from this, I dont hear much else of note so far.
OCTOBER 5th 2008 (Sunday):
Again, the band not like it was a few weeks ago sadly. But highlights of the morning were 0630 WKBK Keane 1290, NH. This is the best ID I have ever had from this station. Completely alone on the channel for a change. WCRN was vg at 0630, as was Radio Rebelde 570. Unid SS on 580, prob PR. At 0604 I had a great ID from WSAR Fall River1480.
OCTOBER
4th 2008 (Saturday):
Pretty average, with SS on 600, and a WHKW id on 1440 at 0600. Not really
spent much time on the recording. Band depressed.
OCTOBER
3rd 2008 (Friday):
Poor day again, with only common stations across the band, but a peak
on 580 @ 0600 produced good ids from WMCA NY. 1020 @0600 had SS. Poss
ids, and 1140 had vg ids from WQBA LV de Miami on 1140.
Great local CBC id for 1400 at 2158 Friday evening, but recording not
on!!
OCTOBER
2nd 2008 (Thursday):
Wed night I have noted common station WDEA 1370 @2240. Not
such a great morning. French dominant on 800 at 0632, but still not
had any kind of an id from this one. Heard it for years as well!! Noticed
a jingle on 660 between tracks in SS at 0618. At 0600 I had a really
nice peak from WEPN 1050 with multi station ids. Other common stuff
760 WJR, 770 WABC, 780 KIX, 840 WHAS, 850 WEEI, 900 W (Mexico), 940
Montreal, 960 WEAV, and also heard TEAM 9-90 Montreal, and CKLW at 0634.
OCTOBER
1st 2008 (Wednesday):
All around 0600UTC
530 Still unid playing long easy listening style tunes. Radio Cultural
id one day
540 FF CBC stn very strong
570 WMCA NY
670 WCSR Chicago. The Score VG
900 CHML
920 CKNX ONT vg @ 0555
960 KMA
1010 CFRB like a local
1180 WHAM VG 0605
1200 WOAI @ 0632
1270 WTSM
1640 Radio Disney
Many of the common stations were coming in today as well, not listed
here. Since the Perseus sdr has been used in anger this year, I seem
to have a new list of common stations which I would not tend to log
in the log book every day. Some used to be classed as worth while logs!!!