Acceptable registrations in the queue through March 16 at 11:00a ET have now been activated. Enjoy! -M.W.

Terms of Use have been amended effective October 6, 2019. Make sure you are aware of the new rules! Please visit this thread for details: https://www.mibuzzboard.com/phpBB3/view ... 16&t=48619

Mini DXpedition 2020

The technical side of broadcasting. Think IBOC is a sham? Talk about it here! How about HDTV? Post DX reports here as well.
User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:34 pm

Every fall I pick a day and head out into the country for a few hours to do some DXing on the short wave bands. I take along a radio or two and some wire for erecting an antenna I go to the same location every year. It's a conservation area, about 35 miles from the city, about ten miles inland from Lake Huron. The area is perfect. There are no power lines or any other source of man made noise around. There are trees around so I can get an antenna up off the ground.

It's becoming a little more of a challenge every year, because, one by one, the big international broadcasters are shutting down. The challenge will be greater this year because we're still deep in the trough between solar cycles

I'd like to try some MW DXing. I used to do a lot of that. But these days it hard to get an ID from them and they all sound the same.

I always pick a day in early November, after we have reverted to standard time. This allows me to take advantage of the earlier darkness. I arrive there around 4:00 PM. This gives me enough time to get set up before it gets dark. I stay there for 4 or 5 hours

One important element could be missing this year. At the end of the evening, I always head for the nearby Tim Horton’s up there and warm up with a hot bowl of chili before driving home. This year, due to the virus, Many of the Tim Horton's are open for drive thru business only. Might have to forego that part of it

The day I've picked for this year is Monday, Nov 9. The weather can be unreliable at that time of year, but in the twelve years I've been doing it, I've never had bad weather. Indeed, on one or two occasions, it's been balmy, Indian summer weather.

I'm looking forward to it.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

k8jd
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Commerce, MI

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by k8jd » Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:06 pm

Have fun at your DX spot. I usually take my Tecsun portable for the SW and the big old GE superradio for AM DX.. We go to MI State Parks run campgrounds and the noise levels are getting pretty bad with terrible radiating power converters in the big campers.
Some times I have to get away from the campers and maybe to the shore of a lake or into the woods to get away from all that noise.
It sure is a shame that the international broadcasting is winding down .
My being a BCB DXer then a SWL got me interested in radio and electronics and international knowledge at a very young age, eventually led me to a lifelong career , first in Broadcast engineering and then mobile radio service work that lasted 45 years.



User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:38 am

MW DXing was more fun in the old days. They did regular IDs and if you were still uncertain you could get clues from their local ads or local weather. Now it's just hours of syndicated talk shows that could be coming from anywhere.

I have lots of QSLs from AMs from both the east and west coasts and from everywhere in between.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

k8jd
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Commerce, MI

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by k8jd » Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:23 am

When I was a teenager I got a 3 tube Granco tuner that I used with a xtal headset I rescued from the trash in school language lab. Made a dipole from
TV twinlead and pinned it to my wall.
Back in the early 60s , there was lots of open space on the FMBC band and the Wx front DX rolled in from Ohio, Ontario and Indiana.
I sent repors to several stations and got cards and letters back from some chief engineers :D



User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Mon Nov 02, 2020 10:03 pm

So, I'm all set for Nov 9, one week from today. The weather is looking to be perfect. Sunny +20 deg C. That's about 70 deg F.

I've been doing this every year for a lot of years and I've always lucked out with the weather. But never that worm.

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/14 ... o/parkhill


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Tue Nov 10, 2020 10:42 pm

Well, it was Monday. The perfect weather compensated for the not so perfect reception. There aren't a lot of SW Broadcasters around any more, so some of my loggings were just Utility Stations

Anyway it was a good day.

3330 KHZ - CHU

6070 KHZ – CFRX Toronto

6170 KHZ – Radio Romania International

6195 KHZ – VOA (VOA used to be one of the dominant players on the SW bands. Today it’s a rare catch.)

6501 KHZ USB U.S. Coast Guard Command, Norfolk VA (Marine weather)

9995 KHZ - Radio Argentina

9980 KHZ – WRMI Miami

9690 KHZ – REE Spain

3485 KHZ – Gander Radio VOLMET

2749 KHZ – Canada Coast Guard, Newfoundland - Marine Weather

3413 KHZ – Shannon Air Radio VOLMET Shannon Ireland

5450 KHZ – RAF VOlMET, Britain

6030 KHZ – Radio Marti US anti Cuban Radio

5850 KHZ – Radio Slovakia

6180 KHZ – China Radio International


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

k8jd
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Commerce, MI

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by k8jd » Wed Nov 11, 2020 11:50 am

You picked the right freq range for low sunspot DX !
Now summer is over the lightning noise is much less troublesone and clear listening is easy.
I suggest buiding a large multiturn portable loop and tuning it for the long waves. I have been following the long wave Airport beacons . If you can copy SLOW Morse , there are 3 letters and sometimes a digit on the station ID. I have received them as far as Winnipeg, MB. I just use my 160 M dipole and it picks up a lot of power line noise and I still plan on trying to build a big loop for the MW/LW band.
Have fun !
Last edited by k8jd on Wed Nov 11, 2020 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.



k8jd
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Commerce, MI

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by k8jd » Wed Nov 11, 2020 11:53 am

Turkeytop wrote:
Tue Nov 10, 2020 10:42 pm
Well, it was Monday. The perfect weather compensated for the not so perfect reception. There aren't a lot of SW Broadcasters around any more, so some of my loggings were just Utility Stations

Anyway it was a good day.



6030 KHZ – Radio Marti US anti Cuban Radio


6180 KHZ – China Radio International
CRI is broadcast from transmitters in Cuba !
I have driven by the R. Marti site in Marathon Key FL, they have 4 towers for the AM station aimed at Cuba and a lot of other SW antennas, there.



User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:20 pm

I realize CRI is from a Cuban relay. It disappeared for a couple of years and I thought it was gone for good. I was surprised to hear it back again.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

User avatar
audiophile
Posts: 8546
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2004 9:21 pm
Location: Between 88 and 108 MHz.

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by audiophile » Wed Nov 11, 2020 5:23 pm

CRI has a big signal.

I always wondered where it came from


Ask not what your country can do FOR you; ask what they are about to do TO YOU!!

User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Wed Nov 11, 2020 7:12 pm

Strangely, the signal from CRI is always superior to that of Radio Havana.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

k8jd
Posts: 603
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 3:35 pm
Location: Commerce, MI

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by k8jd » Wed Nov 11, 2020 8:44 pm

R. Havana has had some audio problems for some time now.



User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Wed Nov 11, 2020 8:47 pm

I wonder if CRI sends over their own engineer to maintain the equipment.

Arnie Coro, the engineer at Radio Havana is over 80 years old and has health problems.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

User avatar
Turkeytop
Posts: 8854
Joined: Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Re: Mini DXpedition 2020

Post by Turkeytop » Fri Nov 13, 2020 7:28 pm

Before packing up to go home, I tried my luck with LW Beacons.


276 KHZ – YEL Elliot Lake ON

278 KHZ – ADG Adrian MI

332 KHZ – PH Port Huron MI

346 KHZ – YXL Sioux Outlook ON

350 KHZ – D7 Kinkardine ON

351 KHZ – YKQ Port Rupert Quebec

362 KHZ – SB Sudbury ON

366 KHZ – YMW Maniwaki Quebec



Also, some photos from the day.

Image

Image

Image

Image


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic