KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - SATURDAY 29th SEPTEMBER 2012

LOGS FROM TODAY:

Band a bit noisy today, although signals strong next to the Euros. I mean that there are a lot of channels with mush and no dominant stn. This entry is still being proccessed, but uploaded to correct a typo, cheers Mark..lol

570 CKGL 5-70 News 0558 29/9
930 WBEN Buffalo 0600 29/9 Substantial multi call top of the hour.
1650 KKGM Dallas / Fortworth 0500 29/9 alone on the channel.

 

MEMORIES OF A ROAD:

I had a late night drive last night. Nothing special. Around a 140 mile return trip, 70 miles each way to the Ferry Terminal, to pick up a weary traveller coming home to Scotland after a two month work shift in Ireland.

But that old road. That old bastard of a twisted road. Boy does it bring back some memories. Memories of the road to Ireland and the Irish pirates of yesteryear. Memories of dx peditions to Portpatrick, sitting up on the opposite hillside to Portpartick Radio, listening to the Irish pirate stations on FM. Memories of a very early morning drive to Ireland that my passengers would never have taken if they knew I had been up until about half 3 in the morning at a house party after the pub, and we were leaving at about five!! Never mind what the "Polis" would have made of the whole thing!! The road to Dublin, the road to Belfast, the road to Monaghan, the road to Cork. The road to the great North West 200. The road to Portpatrick. Aye marvelous memories...

Cairnryan was the location of the world famous Ross Revenge when the Radio Caroline Organisation found her. A ship fit for the job of long years at sea. Who knows, I may have unwittingly even passed close to the ship on my travels one day. We will never know.

And what was there to listen to on the long solitary road at 2am?? No Irish pirates. Well none doing live shows. I found LW 234 RTL, the old Radio Luxembourg English language frequency before they used 208!! (A bit before my time I hasten to add) They were running a show called WRTL, like an American country format. It was different, with a consistant signal, and in French, with some English thrown in. Yes, it made a road trip a lot less dull, and I was able to listen to at least something on AM Radio.

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY 28th SEPTEMBER 2012

NOT MUCH TO REPORT TODAY OR YESTERDAY:

A dull day here, but dx neighbour 20 miles up the road on the coast reports all kinds of rare calls I have never heard of. Here, it was my turn for the usual stations to be there on top of the hour at the peak, which is now 0600.

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - WEDNESDAY 26th SEPTEMBER 2012

CONFUSION OVER MULTI CALL STATIONS:

A subject well covered in one of my on line articles, How Accurate Are We In Our MW Dxing, so there is no real need to go into great detail here. But after hearing a couple of new ones in the last days that have multi calls, I mentioned it to "MW dxing in NJ". ( CLICK HERE FOR BLOG ) "He" sent me a very fast recording of a relatively regular catch here in Europe, WMKT 1270. Hearing a weaker signal under bad band conditions could lead to claims of anything!!

wmkt_fast_and_furious_multi_call.mp3

 

WELL APPRECIATED ASSISTANCE, ESPECIALLY WITH SS STATIONS:

I had a detailed e mail from Andra B recently with suggestions, corrections and observations from the logs over the last few weeks. I would say I have been quite distracted with other projects this season so far, and thus the web pages here are not so detailed and up to date as they might be.

I also can be sloppy when someone points out errors of typing or whatever as well. So hopefully at least this time around, I have fixed all the tips from AB. Thanks for the typo corrections with the common logs as well OM....

 

1350 is very likely BBN Panamá with possible mention of BBN at 21’ and “medianoche en Panamá”, time being right for that country.

1470 is definitely Panamá – “La Radio Digital de Panamá, La Primerísima”

1540 – La Voz del Petróleo, Barrancabermeja is the only Caracol station on this channel, but I’m not sure there is an ID here. I listened to their web stream last year and only heard a short jingle for a local ID.

Some corrections / comments:

1240 in August should be WCEM

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - TUESDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2012

A COUPLE OF RARE PERSONAL FIRSTS FOR ME TODAY:

I always like to hear North Americans on the Euro channels. You always feel that the band is getting better when WWVA is sat right on top of all the ILR mess.

A couple of rare personal firsts were heard here today. I have not seen them reported anywhere else I don't think.

630 CFCO ONT 0602 25/9
650 WSM / mix VOCM 0600 25/9
980 WPGA, Perry, GA 0600 25/9 Pers 1st. // 1400 WNEX Macon Tnx Paul C for listening to clip.
1170 WWVA 0600 25/9 Booming at 0600
1270 Unid with id that sounded like KB Radio (like WWKB) at 0600.
1350 WIOU Kokomo, IN. ID in the mush but reasonably clear. Rarity? Pers 1st

 

Short montage of strong stations from today

(680 News, WJR, AM 740, AM 640)

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - MONDAY 24th SEPTEMBER 2012

PERSEUS NOT PLUGGED IN LAST NIGHT:

I seem to have a very annoying habit of forgetting to plug in the Perseus after I have set up the night time recordings!! It has happened so many times so far this season, I am beginning to lose faith in my mind..LOL.. The PC here is such that there are no expansion sockets for a PCI card for example to expand the number of USB ports. One would imagine that 6 ports wiould be enough for anyone, but count them up . Scanner, USB Sound card, USB keyboard and moose, two flying leads for use with external drives, or pens, and a Perseus SDR!! It really isn't a big deal, and I am not sure whether I need an extra hub, or whether to go for memory lessons!!! O yes, and there is the card reader for my camera!! And anything else that I have forgotten about.

 

MW LOGS FROM THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS:

1060 Radio Education Mex thru the hour, id 0602ish 23/9
1300 WXRL Lancaster / Buffalo 0600 23/9
1320 WJAS Pittsburgh, PA 0600 23/9 Very loud and dominant on the channel. 7 or 3.3 kW??
1590 WHGT Maugansville, MD 22/9 2200 Pers 1st (Tip Paul C) Last time Paul hrd this there was no sign. Loud tonight. 15kW, or 58Watts?? What do you think..lol.

 

1590 HET:

We have been monitoring a het on 1590 LF around 1589.7ish most of this past week. Trying to get audio and more importantly, ids, before it is repaired. No luck here so far despite fair signals. (WASB Brockport / Rochester)

 

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY 21st SEPTEMBER 2012

BETTER MW CONDITIONS:

On Wednesday morning I have heard a couple of rarer stations at 0600UTC. WCAT VT 1390, and WILK news radio 980, Wilkes-Barre, PA 5000 / 1000. WCAT I have heard before in 2009 as an ESPN station at the time. WOND was also alone on the channel of 1400 at 0600. It is good when the right fade happens at the right time, and the common stations are on a fade. I have noticed, thanks to the Perseus SDR that the chances of more than one station across the band on that unusual fade are quite reasonable. Again, I take the opportunity to use these pages as my log book, saving the double work. One day I may regret not taking notes on paper, but when time is tight as "Booker T etc" used to say, it saves time.

 

LOGS FROM THE LAST DAYS:

820 Radio Ciudad, Habana Cuba 0559 21/9 // 980 (820 tip Paul C)
980 Radio Ciudad, Habana Cuba 0559 21/9 // 820
980 WILK Wilkes-Barre, PA. unusual stn here. unusual city name. 0600 19/9
1060 0601 unid ss - not sure what this is.
1250 WDVA Daneville, VA 0602 21/9 call given a few times. pers 1st
1270 CJCB 0601 21/9
1390 WZHF Arlington / DC area Vo Russia ids 0600 21/9
1390 WCAT Burlington, VT 0600 19/9 Multi call inc WRSA St Albans 1420 , WIFY 93.7, WFAD 1490, ABC CRUIZIN 93.7
Listen to web stream clip to compare
1490 Tent WXTG VA. 0600 21/9 .. been listening to similar sounding streams. distinctive ann.. toth
(Update - no doubt that I have logged WXTG Hamden, VA, click here for web stream clip)

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MW DX BLOG IN NEW JERSEY:

A new MW dxing blog in NJ has started, and may become a good resource for Euro mw dxers, as the owner of the site is a keen mw dxer, and does dx his home American stations.

CLICK HERE FOR BLOG

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VINTAGE WIRELESS:

Again, we are in a position here to update the site with old radio magazines from the 30's and even the 20's. A friend of old, has dropped off a prized collection of vintage magazines, photographs below. These are a fascinating insight to radio in the 30's. They will be pdfed shortly and uploaded. Keep checking the updates.

There are Radio Pictorials from the 1930's, World Radio, the magazine that was produced by the BBC, old Luxembourg publications from later days, and some others.

I have also included a few interesting pages from a few of the old mags.

Article about the FLYING SQUAD (THE COPS) fitting radios in vehicles!!! Click image for full article.

 

Below are a few pages at random for the moment. As I say the full magazine pdfs will be available shortly.

 

I also love the old cartoons in some of them as well..

Heath Robinson is a name associated with chewing gum and croc clip types of home made radio equipment. But I have never investigated who Heath Robinson actually was until now. He was at the very least a clever artist, who has some nice old cartoons in the early BBC Yearbooks.

 

 

 

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A FEW ITEMS I HAVE BEEN BUYING RECENTLY:

MOORSIDE EDGE, OLD POSTCARD WON RECENTLY

Vintage RTE QSL from the 1950s

An item LOST in 2012 on auction sites

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - THURSDAY 13th SEPTEMBER 2012

MW DXING:

Still recording MW most mornings, except the days when I forget to reconnect the Perseus after using the USB socket. Haven't got the pers 1st's totaled yet, but will get to it. A few audio clips here from the last days, inc rarer 1340 signal which is swamped by Ulster on 1341.

LOGS:

780 Radio Coro poor 12/9 0530
870 Cuban Warbler 0530 12/9
920 CKNX 0504 12/9 - not been particulerly common so far this season
930 CFBC Booming 0530 13/9
940 WINZ The Sports Animal, FL. One of those stupid American ads about public safety. 12/9 0530
950 CKNB 0530 13/9 Back to full audio after silent carrier yesterday
950 WTLN Orlando, FL 0500 12/9 (950 CKNB carrier only 05, 0530 and 06)
950 Radio Reloj Cuba time signals etc 0533 12/9
1050 WEPN NY pres. All ss now ESPN Deportes 0500 12/9
1140 WQBA Booming 12/9 0500
1160 (UPDATE: Mark In NJ heard the same ad on WYLL and therefore I guess it must be them) UNID like news then AM-11-60 singing jingle and into an ad for Univercity of California. 0500 12/9 (I have never noticed the common WYLL with a singing AM 11-60 jingle before.)
1230 WCMC Wildwood, NJ 0500 13/9
1290 WJNO FL 0533 12/9
1300 WFFG Marathon, FL 0459 6/9
1310 WLOB Mix with 13-10 News 0530 13/9
1340 WMID Mother stn, see // 1230 singing jingle 0528 13/9
1350 Unid Yahoo Sports id 0530 13/9 WOYK?
1440 WGIG, Brunswick, GA 0200 13/9 (PERS 1ST)
1510 Boston with SS, and an obvious disclaimer during an ad!! 9/9

 

14166 VK3MO BOOMING:

Paul C alerted me to a booming VK station (Australian) on 20m last night, VK3MO. It was so good to hear the 20m band wide open across the world. I quite like listening in to ee speaking stations having a QSO, and not just the loggers that give radio checks. Listen to the difference when he brings the beam back towards Ireland!! When you look him up on QRZ.com, he has a substantial aerial system.

 

BBC STATIONS LEAVE THE AIR:

It is good to see the back of some of the BBC stations on MW over the last days. (Selfish dxers point of view to help free up channels)

There have been four stations chosen to leave the MW band as an experiment, to see how many calls they received from people unable to find the station. The stations were BBC Radio Notts, 1584, (1521 left the air some time ago), BBC Kent 774 (+ 1602??), BBC Merseyside 1485, Radio Lincolnshire 1368. I wonder what the true figures were for calls received.

The BBC have in the past left their 405 line TV transmitters on air for years and years after the last viewer changed over. I wonder how many calls were received when the 405 txers went off air in the mid 80's. 1984 I think???

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - FRIDAY 7th SEPTEMBER 2012

MW DXING DEAD LOSS LAST TWO MORNINGS:

MW was even worse for me this morning. I forgot to reconnect Perseus, after using the USB socket. You would think that 6 USB sockets on a PC would be enough for anyone..lol

RECORDINGS FROM THE LAST DAYS:

120906_0500_1140_wqba_miami.mp3

120903_0502_1250_w_cucuta_columbia.mp3

120904_0359_1290_rpp_noticias_peru_tent.mp3

120903_0500_1350_poss_panama_mention.mp3

120903_0502_1470_poss_panama_mention_radio_digital_de_panama.mp3

120903_0500_1540_unid_radio_constantino_caracol_id_also.mp3

120903_0500_1560_lv_esperanzo_panama_qrm_disney.mp3

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - THURSDAY 6th SEPTEMBER 2012

MW DXING DEAD LOSS LAST TWO MORNINGS:

MW conditions over the last couple of mornings have been rather poor to say the least. This morning even WBBR powerhouse was not noted, but next door on 1140, WQBA Miami was dominant. Yesterday after some serious listening to weak ss sludge, I finally pulled out Paul C's RPP Noticias from 1290!! Peru.

 

VINTAGE WIRELESS AGAIN:

Absolutely fascinating reading has again been found recently on ebay. I recently bought a copy of two weekly magazines. Amateur Wireless and Popular Wireless. Both are now reproduced as pdf files and in the public domain. click here.

 

KEN'S DX DIARY AND LOGS - TUESDAY 4th SEPTEMBER 2012

MW DXING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS:

680 WRKO Boston 05 3/9
820 WNYC NY 0500 3/9 poor in mush
830 WCRN Boston 50k signal, but not heard this season till now, 0500 3/9
1250 La W, Cucuto, Columbia 0500 3/9
1350 unid ss. snds like Panama mentioned on the hour 05 3/9(Update - AB thinks BBN Radio, Panama)
1470 unid ss sounds like a mention of Panama in the ann. 0502 3/9 (Update - AB says def La Radio Primerisima, Panama)
1540 Turbo Mix, Peru s/off 0500, with a Caracol Radio station heard after close carrier. Also snds like Radio Constantino id immediately after close down. 0500 3/9
1560 SS LV Esperanza Panama. David H and Paul C investigated this. Initially thought Radio Disney too dominant, but squeezed it out, just before Disney jingle. 0501 3/9