a small transatlantic opening noted here last night on a2 but it didn't come to much but Hugh in Portugal noticed a carrier on 55.225 + - which gave English audio and myself i have never noticed anything that low in frequency and to be honest i have never really looked but since i have the pmsdr i can widen the spectrum and i wont miss it if it does comes in here.
Hugh thinks it might be Guyana which he has emailed the station so hopefully they reply soon. the only other thing that was received here was Belarus on r1 but Paul Farley (south UK) finally id a mystery on r2 which came in last night and that was Novy Kanal Ukraine which can be seen on the following link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZPdPx1Fdk0&playnext_from=TL&videos=5URBvwA9TeQ&feature=sub
it seems there was another solar storm last night / this morning between 23.00 - 04.00 and i really hope this doesn't kill the band yet again as the past week or so has been really boring on band 1 tv and as i said before the end of may / start of June was amazing but it has went really bad here but LOCATION is they key as last night 6 meter ops in the south of the uk were working into Brazil and the carribean and the band was totally dead here in the south west of Scotland.
nothing much else to report and i hope conditions pick up soon as the traditional peak for transatlantic dx is coming and will be going fast and that is my favourite part of vhf tv dx.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Monday, 28 June 2010
28 june 2010...cont
i must mention Guy Atkins who was a late entry in the am v sam mode test and well done Guy you got both correct and your prize is a signed photograph of Ken LOL!
band 1 tv
once again not alot to report as the openings today were very patchy here with NOVA Czech rep and M1 Hungary (r1) & RTL Hungary (r2) with RAI UNO Italy (1a) logged and not much else. after the great start to the season its went downhill rather fast and usually now and the next couple of weeks this should be the peak of transatlantic dx on band 1 tv but the openings are few and far between.
band 1 tv
once again not alot to report as the openings today were very patchy here with NOVA Czech rep and M1 Hungary (r1) & RTL Hungary (r2) with RAI UNO Italy (1a) logged and not much else. after the great start to the season its went downhill rather fast and usually now and the next couple of weeks this should be the peak of transatlantic dx on band 1 tv but the openings are few and far between.
28 june 2010
B2 WORLD RECORD
again well done to Mike Fallon who got the amazing reception of the Dominican republic on band 2 and at just a shade below 7000 km this reception should be talked about for years to come but mike is in the well known yahoo group skywaves and let me say mike has nothing to do with this post i just felt something was needed saying.
just after his amazing catch there wasn't much said about it as he didn't have confirmation from the station but when the station emailed him back and he posted to skywaves it was confirmed was there a mass of congratulations and well done mike was there heck there was a few half hearted well done"s and that was it and its hardly been mentioned again.
the world record holder before mike was Paul Logan in Ireland who did pass on his congratulations to mike but there was one person on skywaves who posted a message that said " don't worry Paul i will give it 2 weeks and you will have the record back " COME ON mike has just got one of the most amazing catches ever on band 2 and all skywaves can come up with is that shit and i am not joking when i said its hardly been mentioned again since he got the reception.
skywaves has become a joke i recently joined again but as my posts were getting ignored i left again and to me its a tight circle and if your face don't fit you are not in and to blatantly ignore such an amazing reception is just a joke. now if you don't believe me just go onto yahoo groups and search for skywaves and the messages are not hidden and just look back to how many times mikes reception was mentioned its a disgrace and they would rather go on about some wailing Arab station which in my opinion they have no chance in finding out who it was. lets just see if any member in the tight skywaves circle breaks mikes record and i bet they talk about it non stop for years to come.
again well done to Mike Fallon who got the amazing reception of the Dominican republic on band 2 and at just a shade below 7000 km this reception should be talked about for years to come but mike is in the well known yahoo group skywaves and let me say mike has nothing to do with this post i just felt something was needed saying.
just after his amazing catch there wasn't much said about it as he didn't have confirmation from the station but when the station emailed him back and he posted to skywaves it was confirmed was there a mass of congratulations and well done mike was there heck there was a few half hearted well done"s and that was it and its hardly been mentioned again.
the world record holder before mike was Paul Logan in Ireland who did pass on his congratulations to mike but there was one person on skywaves who posted a message that said " don't worry Paul i will give it 2 weeks and you will have the record back " COME ON mike has just got one of the most amazing catches ever on band 2 and all skywaves can come up with is that shit and i am not joking when i said its hardly been mentioned again since he got the reception.
skywaves has become a joke i recently joined again but as my posts were getting ignored i left again and to me its a tight circle and if your face don't fit you are not in and to blatantly ignore such an amazing reception is just a joke. now if you don't believe me just go onto yahoo groups and search for skywaves and the messages are not hidden and just look back to how many times mikes reception was mentioned its a disgrace and they would rather go on about some wailing Arab station which in my opinion they have no chance in finding out who it was. lets just see if any member in the tight skywaves circle breaks mikes record and i bet they talk about it non stop for years to come.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
26 june 2010
the is a special date for me as on this day in 2003 i received CBTB in canada on 97.1 mhz here in scotland which will live with me for the rest of my life. this time last year on the same day there was another big transatlantic opening which i received usa and canadian tv but so far it isnt looking too good and as i type conditions are poor.
conditions over the past few days have been very patchy here and again dxers in the south getting it much better than i am up here. i managed a recording of KP4EIT jose in puerto rico on 50.120 on the 24 of june which can be heard below. lets hope for a big transatlantic opening before the day is over.
KP4EIT 50.120
conditions over the past few days have been very patchy here and again dxers in the south getting it much better than i am up here. i managed a recording of KP4EIT jose in puerto rico on 50.120 on the 24 of june which can be heard below. lets hope for a big transatlantic opening before the day is over.
KP4EIT 50.120
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
23 june 2010 cont
after a few hours using winradf i really dont see improvements on the radio receiving side of things but the waterfall might be a little more sensitive for looking for weak carriers but i will need a few more days and band openings to be sure. the graphics have had a major change and for changing frequency etc its much easier than previous versions and the buttons etc are set out in a more user freindly way.
winradf looks much better than previous versions and it doesnt have that silly phasing circle spinning around and it has been replaced by a small one you dont notice. if you fancy a change of looks winradf is working fine but as i said i havent noticed any changes in the receiving as yet and also i would like to see WFM mode in winrad for vhf tv audio or use with a downconvertor.
todays sporadic e had that same old stations feeling today and nothing really exciting happend on the tvdx side of things but this afternoon 50 mhz was very good to the usa which several stations were received on cw using cw skimmer. its a pity b1 tv has gone from the usa and no canadian carriers were noted apart from one that peaked for about 2 mins on 55.260.02.
the difference in conditions in the south of the uk than i get here in the south west of scotland is unreal as there was reports of kenya on e2 and several 2 x hop band 2 openings but it was more or less the usual 1 x hop stations here. anyway lets see what tommorow brings.
winradf looks much better than previous versions and it doesnt have that silly phasing circle spinning around and it has been replaced by a small one you dont notice. if you fancy a change of looks winradf is working fine but as i said i havent noticed any changes in the receiving as yet and also i would like to see WFM mode in winrad for vhf tv audio or use with a downconvertor.
todays sporadic e had that same old stations feeling today and nothing really exciting happend on the tvdx side of things but this afternoon 50 mhz was very good to the usa which several stations were received on cw using cw skimmer. its a pity b1 tv has gone from the usa and no canadian carriers were noted apart from one that peaked for about 2 mins on 55.260.02.
the difference in conditions in the south of the uk than i get here in the south west of scotland is unreal as there was reports of kenya on e2 and several 2 x hop band 2 openings but it was more or less the usual 1 x hop stations here. anyway lets see what tommorow brings.
23 june 2010
andrea Vigarani from italy has come up with a version of winrad called winradf it has graphics changes and i will give a report when i have tested it out more as i have only just tried it.
the below image is winradf and my pmsdr centered on rtp portugal video carrier
WINRADF
the below image is winradf and my pmsdr centered on rtp portugal video carrier
WINRADF
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
22 june 2010
SAM V AM
out of 14 who have downloaded the two clips only 3 responded and well done to mark borthwick who got them correct. the answers were
WRDW AM THEN SAM
WBT SAM THEN AM
as i have said before i cant hear much difference if any between SAM and AM but some dxers will have a better ear than me BUT !!! where were all the dxers going on about how SAM is much more better than AM maybe they were not confident enough to put their ears to a simple test. as i said in a previous post i am not having a go at the mode its when dxers go on and on and on about something then when the chance comes along to prove its correct where are they.
not alot to report on b1 tv i had the regualars yesterday ie mtv rtl rtp hrt e21 rai but not what i would call real dx and i must admit i mostly look forward to the transatlantic openings and even after all these years i still get a huge buzz when it happens. i am up bright and early this morning so lets see what today brings dx wise
out of 14 who have downloaded the two clips only 3 responded and well done to mark borthwick who got them correct. the answers were
WRDW AM THEN SAM
WBT SAM THEN AM
as i have said before i cant hear much difference if any between SAM and AM but some dxers will have a better ear than me BUT !!! where were all the dxers going on about how SAM is much more better than AM maybe they were not confident enough to put their ears to a simple test. as i said in a previous post i am not having a go at the mode its when dxers go on and on and on about something then when the chance comes along to prove its correct where are they.
not alot to report on b1 tv i had the regualars yesterday ie mtv rtl rtp hrt e21 rai but not what i would call real dx and i must admit i mostly look forward to the transatlantic openings and even after all these years i still get a huge buzz when it happens. i am up bright and early this morning so lets see what today brings dx wise
Monday, 21 June 2010
21 june 2010
it seems i have been missing some great openings on b1 and b2 and all due to watching the world cup i am ashamed to say. i did catch a wee bit of jordan on e3 yesterday but again due to watching football i missed the peak as ken said it came up to good levels.
i will post the answers of the SAM V AM mode quiz tommorow and thanks to ken mark and john for having a listen but not surprisingly the dxers who say xxx is better didnt bother to give it a try.
anyway i wait all year for the sporadic e season so i better start dxing or it will go past quick and i wont receive anything lol.
i will post the answers of the SAM V AM mode quiz tommorow and thanks to ken mark and john for having a listen but not surprisingly the dxers who say xxx is better didnt bother to give it a try.
anyway i wait all year for the sporadic e season so i better start dxing or it will go past quick and i wont receive anything lol.
Saturday, 19 June 2010
19 june 2010 cont
SAM V AM
i have also decided to do a little test on the so called differences between SAM and AM and as ken had little feedback on his quiz i will see if i can get a few reply"s here. i am hoping for the dxers who say SAM mode is so much better than AM just to listen to the two clips and tell me which is which. there is no trick questions both stations played twice is in either SAM or AM and reply in the box below which is which
copy and paste the following links into your browser
clip 1 http://www.4shared.com/audio/FCb3fyS8/wrdw.html
clip 2 http://www.4shared.com/audio/bl0ozuIb/wbt.html
both recordings were on the perseus sdr and indoor flag antenna
i have also decided to do a little test on the so called differences between SAM and AM and as ken had little feedback on his quiz i will see if i can get a few reply"s here. i am hoping for the dxers who say SAM mode is so much better than AM just to listen to the two clips and tell me which is which. there is no trick questions both stations played twice is in either SAM or AM and reply in the box below which is which
copy and paste the following links into your browser
clip 1 http://www.4shared.com/audio/FCb3fyS8/wrdw.html
clip 2 http://www.4shared.com/audio/bl0ozuIb/wbt.html
both recordings were on the perseus sdr and indoor flag antenna
19 june 2010
not alot to report tv dx wise there was a small opening to the west yesterday afternoon but it only produced weak fluttery pictures and audio. i think there was another big flare at some point during the week in the early hours which has killed the band.
i was chatting to mike fallon on skype yesterday and he was showing me is new band 2 yagi kindly made by paul farley. its a 15 element on a 3.73-metre boom and It uses five reflectors, a
horizontal folded dipole, and a halfwave coaxial balun which as seen below looks amazing and i look forward to his report with it.
i was chatting to mike fallon on skype yesterday and he was showing me is new band 2 yagi kindly made by paul farley. its a 15 element on a 3.73-metre boom and It uses five reflectors, a
horizontal folded dipole, and a halfwave coaxial balun which as seen below looks amazing and i look forward to his report with it.
Monday, 14 June 2010
14 june 2010
i was watching the italy game on tv but had one eye on the water fall on the pmsdr which was tuned to 55.249 which nothing of real interest was coming in but a wee voice in my head told me to check a3 and low and behold there was a carrier on 61.250.028 which came up enough to record the below reception. its probably canada but without a decent id from an advert or logo it will go down as an unid.
it goes to show you have to check for offsets as on a2 as far as i could see there was no ta carriers but there was on a3 higher in the band ... lets hope for some better peaks
unid a3 61.250.028
it goes to show you have to check for offsets as on a2 as far as i could see there was no ta carriers but there was on a3 higher in the band ... lets hope for some better peaks
unid a3 61.250.028
Sunday, 13 June 2010
13 june 2010 cont
a little bit of a mystery on 60.500 which i was alerted to by paul farley which is the distinctive video carrier heard below and let me say it is NOT the french station which is normally received and we are thinking it might be a spur from the Italian private station Antenna Blu below E2 which i will check the next time it comes in.
13 june 2010
this season seems to be the case of what i am receiving but NOT wanting. again yesterday the band was open to the middle east and while the audio was not bad the video was either RTP portugal or E21 italy and its very frustraiting.
there was a big opening to canada in the uk last night BUT!!! not into scotland as i think i was under the Es cloud and it was going over my head. Paul Farley down south again got some great footage of NTV Newfoundland on A4 (67.250 mhz) which can be seen here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvLpH7o8YCE
at the time of his reception i was checking a2 ( rtp portugal was s9 +++ ) and a3 a4 and not one transatlantic carrier was seen so it seems my qth was in the wrong path for that opening but also at the same time i was watching the england goal keeper making a complete fool of himself so that cheered me up LOL!
KENS SAM & AM QUIZ
since the perseus was made i have heard over and over again that SAM mode is much better than AM mode for audio from various dxers and some in the mw chat on skype as well so ken came up with a small quiz with a few recordings on am and on sam and you had to guess which was which and i must admit i didnt listen because when i had the perseus i could not tell the difference so i left it to the other guys who shout about SAM
well no need to guess that the dxers singing the praises of sam mode were either afraid to sit the quiz or just didnt bother and GUY ATKINS how did you manage 60% i thought you were as deaf as a post lol! but well done. i am not having a go at SAM mode but personally i cant tell the difference but i get a little anoyed when dxers say something like oh sam is much better than am but when the chance to prove it comes along well you have read above.
if you have not tried the quiz why not have a go and see if you can tell the difference and answers on a post card to ken who i am sure will have a big cash prize to the winner LOL!
http://www.ayrshirehistory.eu/tadx/perseus_sam_am_quiz.html
there was a big opening to canada in the uk last night BUT!!! not into scotland as i think i was under the Es cloud and it was going over my head. Paul Farley down south again got some great footage of NTV Newfoundland on A4 (67.250 mhz) which can be seen here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvLpH7o8YCE
at the time of his reception i was checking a2 ( rtp portugal was s9 +++ ) and a3 a4 and not one transatlantic carrier was seen so it seems my qth was in the wrong path for that opening but also at the same time i was watching the england goal keeper making a complete fool of himself so that cheered me up LOL!
KENS SAM & AM QUIZ
since the perseus was made i have heard over and over again that SAM mode is much better than AM mode for audio from various dxers and some in the mw chat on skype as well so ken came up with a small quiz with a few recordings on am and on sam and you had to guess which was which and i must admit i didnt listen because when i had the perseus i could not tell the difference so i left it to the other guys who shout about SAM
well no need to guess that the dxers singing the praises of sam mode were either afraid to sit the quiz or just didnt bother and GUY ATKINS how did you manage 60% i thought you were as deaf as a post lol! but well done. i am not having a go at SAM mode but personally i cant tell the difference but i get a little anoyed when dxers say something like oh sam is much better than am but when the chance to prove it comes along well you have read above.
if you have not tried the quiz why not have a go and see if you can tell the difference and answers on a post card to ken who i am sure will have a big cash prize to the winner LOL!
http://www.ayrshirehistory.eu/tadx/perseus_sam_am_quiz.html
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
9 june 2010
another good day for sporadic e and this morning some scottish stations worked japan on 50 mhz. again E21 in italy was a pain as i was getting arabic audio on e3 but once again the video from E21 was the stronger and E21 is supposed to be closing down soon i wish it was tommorow lol.
the regulars were good as well ie HRT M1 RAI etc etc but i was focused on the middle east but no luck today. i had a tune around 81 - 86 mhz again and heard a host of pmr stations and had a quick listen on band 2 which at the time italy and presumed tunisia and algeria were strong but a little later ken told me on skype b2 was good to austria and germany.
i have changed the tv dx receiving setup a little and instead of using the jvc 610 i feed the d500 directly into my SAA7134 tv card which at the moment it " seems " to lock quicker and get pictures at a lower level than the jvc especially using the free run mode.
below is a recording i made as the arabic audio faded on e3 and E21 is supposed to be only a 200w tx yes italian 200w more like a few kw lol.
E21 ITALY E3
the regulars were good as well ie HRT M1 RAI etc etc but i was focused on the middle east but no luck today. i had a tune around 81 - 86 mhz again and heard a host of pmr stations and had a quick listen on band 2 which at the time italy and presumed tunisia and algeria were strong but a little later ken told me on skype b2 was good to austria and germany.
i have changed the tv dx receiving setup a little and instead of using the jvc 610 i feed the d500 directly into my SAA7134 tv card which at the moment it " seems " to lock quicker and get pictures at a lower level than the jvc especially using the free run mode.
below is a recording i made as the arabic audio faded on e3 and E21 is supposed to be only a 200w tx yes italian 200w more like a few kw lol.
E21 ITALY E3
Monday, 7 June 2010
7 june 2010
the bands have been wide open here but nothing new as yet. the regular stations have been coming in well and i grabbed a little of POCCNR (russia) on r1 today and i also recorded some PMR radio which i have been told the first reception sounds swedish and the second sounds german.
this morning was frustrating as hell has when i switched on there was very strong arabic audio on e3 on the uniden but when i switched on the tv all i was getting was E21 from italy which is low power which makes it even more frustrating.
as the season comes along and if they are good and strong i will add clips of the regulars but for the moment i am looking for new ones and what i would call dx stations.
POCCNR R1
PMR receptions
this morning was frustrating as hell has when i switched on there was very strong arabic audio on e3 on the uniden but when i switched on the tv all i was getting was E21 from italy which is low power which makes it even more frustrating.
as the season comes along and if they are good and strong i will add clips of the regulars but for the moment i am looking for new ones and what i would call dx stations.
POCCNR R1
PMR receptions
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
2 june 2010
BAND 2 SPORADIC E RECORD
what can i say about the start of this sporadic e season AMAZING and well done to mike fallon in Saltdean East Sussex who received La Voz de la Luz, a religious station
on 88.7 from Salvaléon de Higüey, Dominican Republic which is 6925 Km from his home qth and its not even at the traditional peak of the season yet what else does this season have in store for us.
yesterday i had one of those days everytime something good was happening i had to go out or i had visitors and a few times ken called me on the radio ie arabic on e2 good russians on r1 etc etc and i had to leave the shack so yesterday was a bit of a disaster for me. one of the few times i managed to get in the shack i had a listen around the oirt band which i havent done for ages and it was packed full of russians which i recorded the below reception
unid 68.240
lets see what today brings and i think i will put a do not disturb sign outside the shack
what can i say about the start of this sporadic e season AMAZING and well done to mike fallon in Saltdean East Sussex who received La Voz de la Luz, a religious station
on 88.7 from Salvaléon de Higüey, Dominican Republic which is 6925 Km from his home qth and its not even at the traditional peak of the season yet what else does this season have in store for us.
yesterday i had one of those days everytime something good was happening i had to go out or i had visitors and a few times ken called me on the radio ie arabic on e2 good russians on r1 etc etc and i had to leave the shack so yesterday was a bit of a disaster for me. one of the few times i managed to get in the shack i had a listen around the oirt band which i havent done for ages and it was packed full of russians which i recorded the below reception
unid 68.240
lets see what today brings and i think i will put a do not disturb sign outside the shack
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