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Thursday 30 April 2015

Skegness Log: 30-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 89.2 1043 ROU Radio Europa FM, Brasov (BV) E299   1995km
 89.5 1043 ROU Radio Brasov Special, Sacele (BV) (40 watts!) SPECIAL_ 89.5_FM_  2004km
 91.1 1043 ROU Kiss FM, Constanta (CT) 515A __SS_F__  2286km **
 91.3 1043 ROU Kiss FM, Buzau/Dealul Istrita (BZ) 515A KISS_FM_ 91.3_FM_  2090km
 91.7 1043 ROU RFI Romania, Cluj-Napoca/Feleac (CJ) E22C 91,7____ RF____uj  1805km
 92.9 1043 ROU C FM, Constanta/Bloc Modern (CT) E06C ____FM__ __92.9__  2287km **
 88.1 1044 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Zalau/Meses (SJ) EE00 RRACTUAL  1745km **
 90.6 1044 ROU Radio ZU, Tulcea/Topolog (TL) E2AA  2228km
 89.1 1045 ROU Pro FM, Târgu Mures (MS) E059 INFO_PRO  1877km
 92.5 1045 ROU Radio Maria România, Zalau/Meses (SJ) E1CC  1745km **
 92.7 1046 ROU Radio 21, Târgu Mures (MS) E05F __DI____  1875km
 97.1 1046 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Miskolc / Avas (BAZ) B203 ____UT__  1541km
 93.6 1047 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Târgu Mures (MS) EE00 RRACTUAL  1877km **
100.2 1049 ROU Radio Europa FM, Gheorghieni/Harghita-Bai (HR) E299 ______FM  1953km **
103.0 1049 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Tulcea/Topolog (TL) EE01 CULTURAL  2228km
 95.8 1057 ROU Radio Audio Delta, Tulcea (TL) Jingle ID Delta  2233km **
 96.5 1057 ROU Radio Trinitas, Galati/Vacareni (GL) E24D TRINIT__  2183km **
 98.9 1057 ROU SRR Radio Târgu Mures, Gheorghieni/Harghita-Bai (HR) EE07 ___MURES  1953km **
 99.1 1057 ROU Magic FM, Galati (GL) E210   2161km **
103.4 1058 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Gheorghieni (HR) EE00 RRACTUAL  1953km **
100.7 1100 MDA Radio Moldova Actualitati, Cahul=Kagul (CH) 1201  2153km **
101.0 1100 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Cluj-Napoca/Feleac (CJ) EE01 CULTURAL  1805km
101.6 1100 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Galati/Vacareni (GL) EE01 CULTURAL  2183km **
102.0 1100 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Mahmudia (Delta Dunarii) (TL) EE01 CULTURAL  2256km **
104.7 1100 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Comanesti/Laposi (BC) EE00 RRACTUAL  2001km **
104.5 1102 ROU Kiss FM, Tulcea (TL) 515A   2234km **
105.9 1102 HNG MR 1 Kossuth Rádió, Fehérgyarmat - Penyige (SSB) B203 KOSSUTH_  1664km **
107.2 1102 ROU Kiss FM, Adjud (VN) 515A KISS_FM_ _107.2__  2072km **
103.9 1103 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Bistrita/Heniu (BN) As 105.0 with co-channel
               echo  1844km

103.9 1103 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Bârlad (VS) As 105.0 with co-channel
               echo  2107km

105.0 1103 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Tulcea/Topolog (TL) EE00   2228km
 87.9 1104 ROU SRR Radio Cluj / Kolozsvári Rádió, Satu Mare (SM) EE03 R_CLUJFM  1696km **
 88.0 1104 ROU Kiss FM, Bârlad (VS) 515A  2107km
 88.2 1104 ROU Rock FM, Bistrita (BN) E057 RO______  1839km
 90.0 1104 ROU Radio Europa FM, Bistrita (BN) E299  1839km **
 91.4 1104 ROU Pro FM, Gheorghieni/Harghita-Bai (HR) E059  1953km
 92.8 1104 ROU Kiss FM, Galati (GL) Pops, as 88.0  2161km **
 88.4 1105 ROU Radio Trinitas, Onesti/Cruce Dealul Perchiu (BC) E24D  2034km **
 88.4 1105 ROU Pro FM, Varatec (MM) E059 INFO_PRO  1778km
 89.4 1105 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Negresti-Oas (SM) EE00 RR______  1729km
 90.5 1105 ROU Radio Europa FM, Baia Mare (MM) E299  1747km **
 90.6 1105 HNG Szent István Rádió, Sátoraljaújhely / Magas-hegy (BAZ) B4A3  1581km
 91.2 1105 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Varatec (MM) EE00 ____TU__  1778km
 92.0 1105 ROU Kiss FM, Bistrita/Heniu (BN) Dance track, as 88.0  1844km **
 93.4 1105 ROU National FM, Bistrita/Heniu (BN) 9250 National  1844km
101.4 1105 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Comanesti/Laposi (BC) EE01 __LTURAL  2001km **
 87.7 1117 SVK Fun Rádio, Košice/Dubník (KE) 5340 FUNRADIO  1544km
 89.2 1117 SVK SRo 2 Rádio Regina, Trebišov/Bánovce nad Ondavou - silo (KE) 5D60   1580km
 90.8 1117 ROU SRR Radio Iasi, Câmpulung Moldovenesc/Rarau (SV) EE03 IS_90.8_  1890km
 92.9 1117 ROU Kiss FM, Roman (NT) 515A _KISS_FM _92.9_FM  2001km **
 88.3 1119 ROU Magic FM, Roman (NT) Jingle ID  2001km **
 93.2 1119 ROU Radio Smile, Negresti (VS) MO ID as Smile FM  2046km **
 89.9 1122 MDA Hit FM, Leova (LV) Simple OM vocal jingle ID Hit FM  2123km **
 92.7 1122 ROU Radio Trinitas, Iasi/Dealul Paun (IS) FFFF TRINITAS  2047km **
 96.3 1125 ROU SRR Radio Iasi, Iasi/Pietrarie (IS) EE03 IS_96.3_  2046km **
 97.1 1125 ROU Radio 21, Suceava/Mihoveni (SV) E05F  1917km **
 88.2 1128 ROU Radio Europa FM, Botosani (BT) E299 EUROPAFM  1947km
 88.2 1136 MDA Jurnal FM, Telenesti (TL) 1001 JURNALFM 88,2__Hz  2071km **
 88.1 1154 GRC NERIT 2 Deutero programma, Orestiada/Pythio (Petradhes) (emc-evr)
               YL discussion, as web  2356km **

 89.0 1202 ROU Radio ZU, Bucuresti (BU) E2AA  2107km
 89.1 1205 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Baneasa/Dobrogea Sud (CL) EE01  2237km
 91.0 1207 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Bihor/Vârful Curcubata Mare (BH) EE00   1760km
 90.7 1213 HNG MR 3 Bartók Rádió, Kékes (Hev) B202  1504km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Unidentified:
87.6 unid 1128 30-04-15. Croatian? https://app.box.com/s/ce11c5qzhyg070cpm0mal61clk98zj4k Possible jingle ID and ads with phone numbers, so lots of potential clues.

I spotted this opening just as I was about to go out, so it was another day of playing back recordings later in the day. I was surprised by the number of low power Romanian station I received with full RDS. For instance, 89.5 Radio Brasov Special is listed with only 40 watts. The Galati transmitter is 50 watts and Adjud is 80 watts.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Wednesday 29 April 2015

Skegness Log: 29-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 96.4 1092 POL PR 3, Poznan/Srem (WP) 3233  1127km
 91.1 1113 CZE CRo Radiožurnál, Ceské Budejovice/Klet - CRa (JC) 232F  1084km
 89.1 1126 CZE CRo Radiožurnál, Plzen/Krašov (PL) 232F  947km
 90.4 1156 AUT Hitradio Ö3, Klagenfurt 1/Dobratsch-Villacher Alpe (kae) A203  1199km
 87.9 1157 FIN YLE Radio Yksi, Espoo - Esbo/Saunalahti-Tillinmäki (uu) 6201 YLE_YKSI  1665km
 91.7 1239  D  MDR 1 Radio Thüringen, Sonneberg/Bleßberg (thü) D6F1 ____THUE  793km
 89.2 1310  D  SWR2, Ulm/Kuhberg (bwü) D3A2  859km
 92.6 1310  D  SWR1 Baden-Württemberg, Ulm/Kuhberg (bwü) D301 SWR1__W_  859km
 90.3 1324 POL PR 3, Opole/Chrzelice (OP) 3233 W_______  1229km
 92.8 1858  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen, Chemnitz/Geyer (sac) D5C1 __R_SA__  904km
 97.2 1858 SVK SRo 3 Rádio Devín, Žilina/Krížava (ZA) 521B DEVIN___  1363km
 97.4 1858 CZE Frekvence 1, Pardubice/Krásné (PA) 2205 ____97__  1127km
 92.3 1902 POL PR 1, Poznan/Srem (WP) 3211 ____:0__  1127km
 94.6 1902 POL RMF FM, Poznan/Srem (WP) 3F44 __AK____  1127km
 93.3 2020 HRV HRT-HR 1, Beli Manastir (os) C201  1552km
 93.5 2027  I  RAI Radio1, Multi-tx.  5202 Plose (Bolzano) listed with 4kW, then all
               others low power  


I had to go out a couple of times today, so I left the FDM-S2 recording in the hope of catching any sporadic E. Nothing materialised, but I thought I may as well look at the files and see if there was any interesting meteor scatter. Here's a record of everything which came though. Not bad for daytime MS.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Sunday 26 April 2015

Skegness Log: 26-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 89.5 1203  I  RTL 102.5, Casacalenda/Contrada Cerro del Ruccolo (cb) 5218 RTL102.5  1671km
 89.9 1203  I  Radio Italia Anni 60, Matera/Contrada Murgia Trasano (mt) 52DD R_______  1851km
 90.4 1203  I  Radionorba, Gravina in Puglia (ba) 5353 R-NORBA_  1828km
 90.6 1203  I  Radionorba, Matera/Contrada Tempa Rossa (mt) 5353 R-NORBA_  1850km **
 92.4 1203  I  Radio Laser-inBlu, Matera/Contrada Murgia Trasano (mt) 1203  1851km
 93.3 1203  I  Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana, Gravina in Puglia (ba) 5220 __ITALIA
               1828km

 87.9 1204  I  Love FM, Canosa di Puglia (bt) 5A71 LOVE_FM_  1774km
 92.9 1204  I  Radio Deejay, Gravina in Puglia/Murgia di Serraficaia (ba) 5214  1828km
 87.6 1205  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Pomarico/Contrada Serra (mt) 5264  1861km **
 87.8 1205  I  Ritmo 80, Corato/Contrada Murgetta (ba) 5A72  1797km
 88.3 1205  I  Radio Deejay, Corato/Monte Ripanno (ba) 5214  1796km
 92.7 1205  I  RAI Radio2, Pomarico (RAI) (mt) 5202 _RADI_2_  1858km
 90.0 1206  I  Radio Delta 1, Vasto (ch) 535E __DELT__  1629km
 93.9 1207  I  Radio Cuore (Marche), Senigallia/Via delle Cone (an) 522F __CU__E_  1407km **
 95.4 1207  I  Radio Cuore (Marche), Montecosaro-Castellano (mc) 522F __CU__E_  1468km **
 97.9 1207  I  Virgin Radio, Bernalda (mt) Jingle ID  1878km **
 87.7 1209  I  Radio Capital, Pesaro/Frazione Novilara-Strada Leccia (pu) 5219 _CAPIT__
               1384km **

 87.9 1209  I  R101, Fano/Località Metaurilia-Monte Schiantello (pu) 5215 and vocal ID  1396km **
 88.1 1209  I  Radio Linea Numero Uno, Pineto/Colle Morino (te) 5388 __NEA_n1  1549km
 88.6 1209  I  Radio 105 Network, Pesaro/Frazione Novilara-Strada Leccia (pu) 5211 __105___
               1384km **

 89.2 1209  I  Radio Esmeralda, Fano/Eremo di Monte Giove (pu) 5077 __MERA__  1391km
 89.2 1209  I  RAI Radio1, Pescara/San Silvestro (RAI) (pe) 5801 _R______  1576km **
 89.5 1209  I  Radio Cuore (Marche), Pesaro/Frazione Novilara-Strada Leccia (pu) 522F
               __CU____  1384km **

 92.3 1209  I  RAI Radio3, Sirolo/Monte Conero (RAI) (an) 5203 _RAD__3_  1445km **
 92.4 1209  I  Arancia Network, Martinsicuro/Colle Marzio (te) 5571  1519km **
 92.9 1209  I  Arancia Network, Pesaro/Frazione Novilara-Strada Leccia (pu) 5571 __an____
               1384km **

 87.5 1210  I  Radionorba, Casacalenda/Contrada Cerro del Ruccolo (cb) 5353 R-NORBA_  1671km
 88.3 1210  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Volturino/Contrada Monte Guardia (fg) 5264
               1705km **

 88.6 1210  I  RAI Radio1, Motta Montecorvino/Monte Sambuco (RAI) (fg) 5201  1698km
 89.1 1210  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Bari/Viale Unitá d´Italia 17 (ba) 5214 _DEEJAY_
               1824km

 89.1 1210  I  Radio Deejay, Volturino/Contrada Monte Guardia (fg) 5214 _DEEJAY_  1705km
 89.3 1210  I  Radio Deejay, Ripacandida (pz) 5214 _D____Y_  1787km **
 90.7 1210  I  RAI Radio2, Motta Montecorvino/Monte Sambuco (RAI) (fg) 5202 __RAI___ _RADIO2_
               1698km **

 91.1 1210  I  Radio Cattolica-inBlu, Volturino (fg) 4000 CATOLICA _RADIO__   1705km **
 91.3 1210  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Foggia (fg) 5264  1729km **
 91.4 1210  I  RDS - Radio Dimensione Suono, Borrello/Località Fornesca (ch) 5264 _DEEJA__
               1625km **

 92.4 1210  I  RTL 102.5, Volturino/Contrada Monte Guardia (fg) 5218 RT____.5  1705km **
 92.5 1210  I  Radio Subasio, Giulianova/Via Amendola (te) 53FD  1532km **
 92.8 1210  I  Radio Studio 5, Pescara/San Silvestro (pe) 533D STUDIO_5  1575km **
 93.3 1210  I  Jonica Radio, Colobraro (mt) Presumed site 5396 JONICA_R  1885km **
 90.5 1211  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Molfetta (ba) 5225 KISSKISS  1802km **
 91.4 1211  I  Radio Deejay, Casacalenda/Contrada Cerro del Ruccolo (cb) 5214 _DEEJAY_  1671km **
 92.6 1211  I  Radio Studio 5, Bomba/Monte Pallano (ch) 533D  1618km
 93.3 1211  I  Radionorba, Volturino/Contrada Monte Guardia (fg) 5353  1705km
 87.7 1212  I  Radio Potenza Centrale, Spinoso/Serra di Spinoso (pz) 530B  1858km
 88.1 1212  I  RAI Radio1, Bomba/Monte Pallano (Archi) (RAI) (ch) 5201 ____I___  1618km
 88.3 1212  I  Radio Amicizia-inBlu, Rutigliano/S.S. Rutigliano Conversano-Area Produttiva (ba)
               5353  1842km **

 89.6 1212  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Foggia/Via G. Calvanese, 35 (fg) 5225   1728km **
 90.3 1212  I  Radio Radicale, Teramo/Colle Izzone (te) 5210 RA______  1531km **
 90.7 1212  I  Radio Kiss Kiss, Rossano (cs) 5225 KISSKISS  1953km
 92.1 1212  I  RAI Radio3, Bomba/Monte Pallano (Archi) (RAI) (ch) 5203  1618km **
 88.6 1214  I  Radio Delta 1, Roccamorice-Maiella-Fonte Tettone (pe) 545E ___79_IL  1594km
 93.3 1217  I  Radio 105 Network, Pretoro-Maiella/Località Mirastelle (ch) 5211  1595km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Unidentified:
 87.5 1210  I  Radio Ascona, Unlisted Clear vocal ID in pile-up

As explained elsewhere, I had only two 'live' loggings from this opening, but all 20 minutes or so were recorded for later playback, where I discovered the rest of the stations. There were also the usual "multi-tx" catches, which I omitted.

I won't be recording and playing back many openings this way as this one took me almost four hours and it was only a meagre opening compared to a mid-season frenzy. It would be sensible to concentrate on recording only the more interesting openings, unless time permits.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Friday 24 April 2015

Skegness Log: 24-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Sporadic E:
 87.7 1912 TUN RTT Radio Culture, Djebel Trozza (kai) Chinese music! As web. Arabic
               YL presenter  2086km

 88.0 1914 ALG Radio Algeria International,  IDs in English  
 87.0 1923 TUN RTT Radio Gafsa, Kebili=Qibili (keb) 7206 GAFSA___  2265km

The first Es of the season here! Possibly the earliest I have heard Es, though I can't remember if I had some one year at the end of March? I think I might have done. Such is my memory.

It was very much a mediocre 'bottom of the band' opening, with only three stations heard intermittently, lasting about 15 to 20 minutes overall. I am guessing the Radio Algeria International on 88.3 will be Radio El Tarf as this site was in the vicinity of the opening.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

FM DXing: Looking To The Future

2015 will be the first season I have used an SDR receiver on band 2 for sporadic E DXing and this new technology slightly fills me with dread. DXing won't be the same. It will be better, potentially, as I will see more of the band and hopefully miss less, but there are a few things which need consideration.

The Elad FDM-S2 SDR Receiver

When I look back at "Medium Wave DXing Before Perseus", things were simple. DXing was done on one single frequency. DXing was dramatically improved when I got my Perseus. Suddenly I could see the entire medium wave band and DX every single frequency at the top of the hour, resulting in not just more loggings, but more exotic loggings as I wasn't missing anything. My logbook grew enormously, and so did the amount of time I needed to go through all those files. That's not so bad though as you tend to develop your own strategies for analysing and playing back the files, so I got quicker at it over time.

Now I have the Elad FDM-S2 SDR receiver which is capable of recording more than three times the bandwidth of the Perseus. I have already seen my meteor scatter logbook grow dramatically in size as I am able to analyse almost a third of the band at once. I usually record six or seven hours of band 2 overnight, in four stages. SDR Console's File Analyser software makes reasonably short work of the playback by displaying each 90 minute recording in a long jpg file, so I can see the meteor bursts and jump straight to them, saving a huge amount of time.

So come the sporadic E season, when the band can literally fill up with countless stations, I am going to have a lot of data to go through if I decide to record the band and play back the recordings later. This is not helpful to other DXers as I won't be adding anything to my FM List logbook in realtime. This means there will be no indication on the FM List Visual Logbook that an opening is in existence. At least, not unless I (a) send out DX alerts to the groups, or (b) if I don't log at least a few stations 'live' when I first notice an opening. It is my aim to alert other DXers when an opening occurs, but playing back a recording later isn't going to of any use to other DXers. Hopefully (a) and (b) will rectify that issue. But will I have time for that? Sending out alerts takes time.

Recording DX may be a thing of the past, unless I hear something unusual or exotic. I don't think I'll have the extra time for these things.

These days we have the superb FM List where we can manage our logbooks. This simplifies and organises the data in ways which can speed up the logging process. But, in the same way the Perseus increased the number of loggings on medium wave, the FDM-S2 is going to do the same for FM DX but, potentially, on a much bigger scale. I can see DXers getting hundreds of individual loggings in a single opening this way. With this much extra data, we are going to need an even quicker method of entering those loggings into FM List. Automated logging is the answer, which we now have to a degree, but I worry this will take away the fun of DXing as the hobby will then be more about collecting data as opposed to the thrill of chasing the DX.

Being able to DX 60+ channels simultaneously is going to reveal a lot of DX and I like to log everything as this highlights the precise area of an opening on the map with a nice visible footprint. So I need to find a quicker way to add those logs into FM List. Do I simply enter a station in the FM List logbook without including RDS data or programme details? That will speed things up, but at the expense of not providing useful information which, not only provides useful information about a station, but also verifies what I have received. Perhaps I should leave out signal strength and the time too while I'm at it. No, this is not the way to DX. It's all necessary information. I always do my best to assess the signal strength as accurately as possible in my loggings. Programme information is essential. So what ways are there to speed up the logging process?

It would be nice to have a log entry created from the data received by the SDR receiver itself, or from related software. This could automatically go into a log, ready to upload to FM List later, or maybe even uploaded live as a DX cluster. You'd need to create filters and set parameters in order to make sure that not every single station is reported over and over again. I don't like to see too much repetition in loggings.

This highlights the dilemma. Looking back to last year's E season, (yes, the one which almost everybody described as the worst they'd experienced) I used a method of rapid tuning, staying on a frequency long enough to get the RDS, then quickly moving to the next frequency. I recorded lots of videos, some of which are on my Vimeo page. This method resulted in my biggest ever annual Es logbook! And this was the worst season on record! I was about three weeks behind with my logbook at one point. Now look at how many of us have SDRs. Oh dear! Suddenly, things are going to get more complicated.

Of course, we can keep it simple and DX live, one frequency at a time. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact I am almost tempted to stick to that, but I know curiosity will get the better of me and I will want to record the DX. I know it's not all about quantity, as I have often banged on about, but it's also about not missing that brief exotic opening which might is going to be camouflaged in among the regular stuff. SDRs are definitely a step forward in our DX hobby, but at what expense? I think it's time to take stock and decide which way to go. What will the future of DXing look like?

Did I mention the additional drive space and processing power we are going to need? There's only so much we can record, unless we have an endless supply of hard drives.

Thursday 23 April 2015

Skegness Log: 23-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 96.2 0332 HOL NPO 3FM, Markelo/Alticom Toren (ove) Pops, as 96.8 and 97.1  424km **

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 87.8 1002  F  Décibel, Dinan/Barrière (22) Decibel jingle and French pop  550km
 91.4 1007  F  France Culture, Cap-de-la-Hague/Omonville-la-Petite (50) YL, as web  415km
 95.9 1007  F  France Musique, Cap-de-la-Hague/Omonville-la-Petite (50) YL, as web  415km
 99.8 1027  F  France Bleu Cotentin, Cap-de-la-Hague/Omonville-la-Petite (50) Phone in, 
               as web  415km **
101.6 1032  F  RTL, Saint-Malo/Les Bergeons (35) ID and web sddress  527km **
103.5 1036  F  Fun Radio, Dinan/le Clos Gastel (22) Im An Albatraoz song, as web  550km **
107.5 1042  F  RTL, Cherbourg-Octeville/la Glacerie (50) Discussion, as web  415km **
107.3 1043  F  VFM Radio, Vire/la Besnardière (14) French love song, as web  488km **
106.7 1044  F  Europe 1, Cherbourg-Octeville/la Glacerie (50) Phone caller, ID  415km **
105.3 1047  F  France Info, Granville/Donville (50) Presumed site, in accordance with the 
               conditions. As 105.5  496km **
 87.6 1049  F  RMC, Le Havre/Harfleur (76) Phone in, as web  406km
 98.4 1050  F  France Inter, Cap-de-la-Hague/Omonville-la-Petite (50) OM and YLs 
               Discussion, as web  415km
 92.6 1111  G  Radio Verulam, Saint Albans (EN-HTS) Community info, as web  162km
 92.8 1115  G  Release FM, Pirate, unknown location ID **
 95.4 2206  F  RTL, Fécamp/les Plantis (76) Jingle ID and oldies show  377km
 89.2 2208  F  NRJ, Fécamp/les Plantis (76) French OM, as web  377km
107.1 2218  F  BFM Business, Caen/Colombelles (14) Phone caller, OM, as web  442km
102.3 2229  F  NRJ, Avranches/la Butte (50) Lively phone in, as web  510km **
 96.5 2233  G  Dem Radyo, London pirate Jingle ID and Turkish music **
 87.8 2251  F  Mouv', Caen/Colombelles (14) Obscure Jack Michaleson song, as web  442km
 98.7 2258  F  Radio FG, Caen/Colombelles (14) Fucking Good Music ID! Lets see what the 
               profanity filter makes of this!   442km **
103.2 2301  F  Radio Cristal, Caen/Colombelles (14) French disco song, as web  442km **
105.0 2303  F  RTL, Caen/Colombelles (14) Vous ecoutez RTL, etc  442km **
105.5 2304  F  France Info, Caen/Colombelles (14) Presume. Distortion indicating Info 
               pile-up.   442km **
 96.3 2305  F  Fun Radio, Caen/Colombelles (14) Lively phone in, as web  442km **
105.9 2320  F  Europe 1, Caen/Colombelles (14) OM, as web  442km
100.2 2321  F  Tendance Ouest, Caen/Colombelles (14) French YL song, difficult in 
               pile-up  442km **
 99.0 2331  F  Radio Classique, Dieppe/la Côte Enragée (76) Jolly piano music, as web  364km **

** Personal Skegness 'First'

I did it! I won a Gold Star award for Outstanding Incompetence. Regarding my comment yesterday about fouling up my overnight recordings three mornings in a row ... well, this morning I actually remembered to plug the antenna into the correct receiver, but I forgot to delete the previous day's recordings, so my hard drive filled up after a few minutes worth of recordings. I think that definitely qualifies for the Gold Star award.

I know the conditions were appalling for a meteor peak as I was awake half the night and I was only aware of one brief meteor ping which affected only one frequency. That's all my MS DXing for a while as I want to be prepared for the Es now. I didn't manage to get the five remaining frequencies for MS: 94.5 98.3 99.3 99.4 & 101.5. Hopefully later in the year when meteor activity improves.
Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Skegness Log: 22-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
105.6 1019  I  Retesport, Rocca di Papa (rm) 5148 __RETE__  1568km
107.1 1019  I  Antenna Uno, Rocca di Papa/Monte Cavo (rm) 5E84 AN______  1568km
105.3 1020  I  Dimensione Suono Due, Rocca di Papa/Monte Cavo (rm) 5E49  1568km
102.4 1138 POL PR 1, Warszawa/Raszyn (MW) 3211 JEDYNKA_  1388km
104.6 1138  S  NRJ, Mora/Eldris TM (da) E220 __NRJ___  1211km **
107.4 1138  S  NRJ, Rättvik or Sundsvall Advert, as 104.6 **
103.2 1201 POL PR Radio Olsztyn, Olsztyn/Pieczewo (WM) 39A1 ______n_  1334km
103.0 1202 POL Radio Zlote Przeboje, Gdansk/Komin EC Gdansk II (PM) 32CC  1208km **
104.3 1233 CZE Hitrádio Faktor, Ceské Budejovice/Klet II. (u rozhledny) (JC) 2550  1084km

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 92.7 0859  S  SR P1, Bäckefors (Mellerud)/Grönehög TM (vg) OM and YL interview, as web  969km
 94.2 0901 NOR NRK P1, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) OM news  703km
103.7 0904  G  BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, Forfar (SC-ANG) Gaelic OM and Scottish music  430km
 92.7 0905  G  BBC Radio Scotland, Forfar (SC-ANG) BBC Radio Scotland weather  430km
 93.8 0906  G  BBC Radio Scotland, Durris (SC-ABS) ID and YL host  461km
 95.0 0916 NOR NRK Petre, Lyngdal/Kalåskniben (va) YL and pops, as web  696km
101.0 0923 NOR Radio Norge, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) Jingle ID and oldie  703km
104.9 0926 NOR P4 R Hele Norge, Greipstad/Eidsåvegen (va) Guitar song, as web. Brief, swamped by 
               BBC Radio Leicester World Service  734km
 91.6 0942  G  BBC Radio 3, Durris (SC-ABS) Classical, as 91.5, etc.  461km
 88.7 0945  G  BBC Radio 2, Meldrum (SC-ABS) As 88.8, etc.  501km
 97.3 1654 NOR NRK P2, Bokn/Grønnestadvegen (ro) F202 _NRK_P2_  745km
 96.0 1655 NOR NRK P1, Stord/Kattnakken (ho) YL and OM, as web  811km
 94.8 1657 NOR NRK P2, Bergen/Ulriken (ho) OMs, as web  860km
 92.6 1700 NOR NRK Petre, Stord/Kattnakken (ho) Jingle ID and news  811km
 90.2 1701 DNK DR P2, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) Piano music, as web  644km
 97.6 1703 NOR NRK Petre, Gulen/Bråsviksåta (sf) Jingle ID after news  923km
100.1 1705 NOR Radio Norge, Greipstad/Eidsåvegen (va) Genesis Mama, as 101.0  734km
102.0 1706 NOR Radio Norge, Lyngdal/Kalåskniben (va) Genesis Mama, as 101.0  696km
102.5 1706 NOR Radio Norge, Bergen/Ulriken (ho) Genesis Mama, as 101.0  860km
102.7 1707 DNK Radio 24 syv, Aalborg-Frejlev/Svenstrupvej 25 (njy) OMs chat, as web  740km
102.8 1707 NOR P4 R Hele Norge, Bokn/Grønnestadvegen (ro) F214 P4_NORGE  745km
 88.0 1709 NOR NRK P1, Gulen/Bråsviksåta (sf) Pops, as web  923km
 99.6 1714 NOR NRK P2, Stord/Kattnakken (ho) African music, as web  811km
101.4 1715 NOR Radio Norge, Gulen/Bråsviksåta (sf) Pops, as 101.0  923km
 89.1 1743 NOR NRK P1, Bergen/Ulriken (ho) YL, as web  860km
 90.3 1744 NOR Radio Norge, Bokn/Grønnestadvegen (ro) Pops, as web  745km
 91.1 1745 NOR NRK Petre, Bokn/Grønnestadvegen (ro) F203 _NRK_P3_  745km
 91.8 1745 NOR NRK Petre, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) F203 _NRK_P3_  703km
 98.7 1746 NOR NRK P2, Bjerkreim/Urdalsnipa (ro) F202 _NRK_P2_  703km
101.8 1747 NOR Radio Norge, Stord/Kattnakken (ho) Pops, as 90.3  811km
 98.1 1805 DNK DR P4, Aalborg-Frejlev/Svenstrupvej 25 (njy) 9F02 DRP4_NR_  740km
 97.7 1806 DNK DR P4, Ølgod/Baunshøjvej 7/Baunshøj (sdk-sjy) Pops, as 98.1  608km
 99.0 1807 NOR NRK Petre, Bergen/Ulriken (ho) Pops and OM, as 91.8  860km
 99.2 1807 DNK DR P3, Thisted/Hanstholmvej 46 (njy) Danish YL and OM, as web  680km
103.4 1808 DNK Nova, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) 9205 __NOVA__  644km
105.6 1810  D  delta radio, Flensburg Freienwill (shs) Pops, as web  626km
 88.3 1811 NOR NRK P2, Lyngdal/Kalåskniben (va) Danish OM, as 98.7  696km
 89.6 1811  D  NDR 1 Welle Nord, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) Pops, as web  627km
 90.5 1812  D  NDR 1 Welle Nord, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) Pops, as 89.6  599km
101.4 1812  D  R.SH, Flensburg Freienwill (shs) Nickelback song, as web  626km
 96.3 1815  D  NDR 2, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) Lionel Richie song, as web  599km
 96.1 1816  D  NDR Kultur, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) OM, as web  627km
 98.5 1820 DNK DR P4, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) 9502 DRP4_M/V  644km
 93.3 1822 DNK DR P1/DR P2, Aalborg-Frejlev/Svenstrupvej 25 (njy) Classical, as web  740km
 93.5 1822 NOR NRK P1, Bokn/Grønnestadvegen (ro) Coldplay song, as 94.2  745km
 92.9 1823 DNK DR P3, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) 9203  644km
 93.2 1823  D  NDR 2, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) Pops, as web  627km
 91.7 1827 DNK DR P3, Århus/Søsterhøj/Ny Moesgårdsvej 61 (mjy) Pops, as web  715km
 97.0 1831 NOR NRK Petre, Greipstad/Eidsåvegen (va) YL and OM, as 91.8  734km
 87.7 1835  D  NDR Info, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) OM and YL, as web  627km
 87.9 1835  D  NDR Info, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) OM and YL, as 87.7  599km
102.4 1859  G  Yorkshire Coast Radio, Bridlington/Buckton Barn (EN-NYK) Appeared while 
               beaming at Norway. ID then ads  114km **
 99.4 1906  S  SR P3, Göteborg/Brudaremossen 100/Brudaremossen TM (vg) Pops, as web  894km
 92.7 1908  D  NDR Info, Morsum (Sylt) (shs) OMs talking, as web  565km
 88.7 1910 DNK DR P1/DR P2, Ølgod/Baunshøjvej 7/Baunshøj (sdk-sjy) English conversation, 
               as web  608km
107.1 1914 NOR Radio Lyngdal, Raumsland (va) Sombre sounding OM, then pops, as web  696km
100.4 1954  D  delta radio, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) Pops, as 105.6  599km
102.4 1955  D  R.SH, Kiel/Fernsehturm (shs) Pops and jingle ID  656km
103.8 1958  D  R.SH, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) News, as web  599km
 89.0 1959 DNK DR P2, Sønder Højrup/Sdr. Højrupvejen 21 (sdk-fyn) Piano music, as web  700km
 99.4 2001  D  NDR Kultur, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) OM, as web  599km
100.2 2003  D  R.SH, Bungsberg/DTAG-Turm (shs) Pops, as web  694km
104.6 2007  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Cuxhaven Otterndorf (nds) Jingle ID  571km
 98.7 2019  D  NDR 2, Morsum (Sylt) (shs) ID and pops  565km
104.2 2207  G  BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, Meldrum (SC-ABS) C316 BBC_Gael  501km
106.8 2209  G  Original 106, Durris (SC-ABS) Soft rock song, as web  461km
 99.0 2210  G  BBC Radio 1, Durris (SC-ABS) As 98.3  461km
 95.3 2211  G  BBC Radio 4 FM, Meldrum (SC-ABS) C204 BBC_R4__  501km
 96.8 2218 DNK DR P4, Sønder Højrup/Sdr. Højrupvejen 21 (sdk-fyn) Natradio ID, pops  700km
105.7 2230 DNK Klubben, Aarup/Mørkmoselundsvej 10/Ormehøj (sdk-fyn) Pops with jingle ID 
               insert  677km
105.0 2235 DNK VLR, Haarby/Jordløse Møllevej 27A (sdk-fyn) Pops with jingle ID insert  679km
107.6 2243 DNK Radio Skive, Vinderup/Skovhusvej 10 (mjy) Pops, as web  656km
104.7 2258 DNK Radio Limfjord, Nordmors - Flade/Salgerhøjvej (njy) Rock song, as web  680km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Once again, it's a big pat on the back to me for forgetting to swap the antenna cable over from the XDR to the S2. Another six hours of nothing was recorded on what was supposed to be the peak of the April Lyrids. I am going to award myself a gold star if I foul this up three days in a row.

Three hours of daytime recording produced a few catches to make up for this, but I'm not sure this shower really lived up to it's "Major" badge. Meteor activity immediately prior to this seemed lively-ish with the antenna horizontal, so I thought I would risk flipping to vertical to see if I could bag something unusual. There were some long bursts and activity was definitely on the up, but it was all quite disappointing on the whole.

The tropo made up for my meteoric shortcomings with some good signals from Norway and Denmark.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Monday 20 April 2015

Skegness Log: 20-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 98.5 0342 FIN YLE Radio Suomi Etelä-Karjalan Radio, Joutseno (ek) 6C03 YLEEKARJ  1899km **
100.7 0552  S  SR P4, Karlskrona/Vämö-Bryggareberget TM (bl) E524  1036km **
100.7 0556 ROU SRR Radio România Cultural, Timisoara/Urseni (TM) EE01 CU__UR__  1715km
102.5 0556 ROU SRR Radio România Actualitati, Resita/Semenic (CS) EE00 RRACTUAL  1801km
103.3 0613  S  SR P4, Stockholm/Nacka TM (st) EC24 SR__4___  1292km
103.7 0633 POL PR Radio Gdansk, Gdansk/Chwaszczyno (PM) 309C SMS_603_ OSS_ZEZ_ INNYCH__   1195km
104.1 0633  D  delta radio, Bungsberg/DTAG-Turm (shs) D3E9  694km
105.0 0633 POL Radio ZET, Gdansk/Chwaszczyno (PM) 5205 RadioZET  1195km
105.5 0633 POL PR 1, Suwalki/G.Krzemianucha (PL) 3211 __DY____  1483km
106.8 0633 POL PR 4, Slupsk/Komin EC (PM) Pops, as 107.5  1102km **
107.5 0633 POL PR 4, Lebork or Wroclaw 3223 ____ng__ **
103.1 0653 POL PR Radio Koszalin, Koszalin/Gologóra (ZP) 346E  1085km

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 88.0 2021  F  Radio Classique, Calais/246, rue Mollien (62) Piano music, as web  266km
 88.2 2022  F  Radio Classique, Lille/La Pilaterie (59) Piano concerto, as 88.0  337km
 87.9 2024  F  Virgin Radio, Montreuil/le Bois-de-Sel (62) YL phone caller, as web  302km
100.4 2026  F  Radio 6, Calais/Résidence des Pélicans (62) Pops, as web  267km
100.6 2027  F  France Bleu Picardie, Abbeville/Limeux (80) YL phone caller, as web  364km
 91.1 2047  F  Skyrock, Dunkerque/Tour Emery (59) Phone in, as web  274km
 92.0 2049  F  Radio 6, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont d'Herquelingue (62) Jingle ID  288km
 92.2 2050  F  Fun Radio, Dunkerque/le Banc Vert (59) Phone in, as web  275km
 92.7 2051  F  Skyrock, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Fringhem (62) Skyrock ID in OM and YL chat. Almost 
               RDS level  289km
 91.5 2052  F  Virgin Radio, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) Phone in, as web  285km
 91.8 2107  F  Radio Uylenspiegel, Hazebrouck/Kasteel Yvonne (59) French punk rock, as web  300km
 96.5 2109  F  Skyrock, Saint-Omer/Asdoit (62) Phone in, as 106.9  295km
 93.8 2111  F  Contact, Saint-Omer/Tatinghem (62) Bangin toonz, as web  297km
 94.2 2111  F  Europe 1, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) YL political talk, as web  299km
 92.8 2115  F  NRJ, Béthune/Fresnicourt-le-Dolmen (62) Lively discussion, as web  340km
 89.2 2154  F  RTL 2, Lille/Fort de Mons-en-Barœul (59) Slow pops, as web  339km
 91.2 2155  F  Contact, Abbeville/Behen Blockhaus (80) Bangin techno, as web  358km
107.1 2216  F  Rire et Chansons, Abbeville/Huchenneville (80) French chansons, as web  359km
106.7 2217  F  Fun Radio, Hesdin/le Quesnoy-en-Artois (62) Pops and ID  334km
 87.7 2219  F  RTL, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) Oldies and OM presenter, as web  299km
 87.8 2221  F  France Bleu Nord, Lille/Wattignies (59) Patrick Swayze song, as web  335km
100.8 2223  F  Contact, Lens or Valenciennes French rap, as web  
 99.0 2226  F  Radio 6, Dunkerque/Saint-Pol-sur-Mer (59) Pops and ID  273km
 97.2 2228  F  RFM, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) Bryan Adams, as web  299km
 93.3 2229  F  Rire et Chansons, Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert (62) French comedy, as web  285km
 91.4 2231  F  Contact, Lille/Mons-en-Barœul 2 (59) Dance music, as web  338km
 89.9 2233  F  RFM, Douai/LAM (59) French pops, as 97.2  363km
 89.6 2236  F  RDL, Saint-Omer/Racquinghem (62) Back to back music, as web  306km
 87.6 2242  F  RTL, Béthune-Lens/Bouvigny-Boyeffles (62) Nostalgia (programme) ID, as 87.7  343km
 88.0 2242  F  Horizon, Béthune-Lens/Bouvigny-Boyeffles CV11 (62) UB40 song, as web  344km
102.5 2244  F  RFM, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) Eurythmics, as 97.2  266km
102.3 2245  F  NRJ, Saint-Omer/Wisques (62) Phone in, as web  299km
101.7 2246  F  Banquise FM, Isbergues/château d'eau (62) Techno music, as web  318km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Interference Bursts

I don't think any of us escape interference issues anymore. Unless you live in an isolated environment and are careful about what electrical apparatus you run in your home or shack, I think there will always be something which masks the weakest signals. Along the way, I will add further screen grabs to demonstrate the different types of interference which plague the band here.

Today, I took a screen grab of my most persistent interference problem. I don't know what it is or where it comes from, but it pops up quite regularly, sometimes several times each hour. I haven't bothered with any thorough investigations as it is intermittent and some days doesn't seem to be as frequent. Here is a screen grab I took of this interference this morning.

Interference bursts

Wouldn't you just love some of this? What on earth could it be? It's strong enough to create noise with my strongest transmitters. I am so thankful this isn't constant.

Here's another odd one I have come across recently, as highlighted nicely in SDR Data File Analyser:

More interference

This one looks like the kind of noise my internet modem/router makes, only it isn't my router. This produces irritating whining sounds on the channel and will mask the weakest signals.

Regular random noise burst

This one is really annoying as it can be very regular. It looks like a thermostat and it is strong enough to wipe out all bu my two strongest transmitters: Belmont and Tacolneston, but it even produces a static sound with these.

My summertime interference

This is what I call my Summertime Interference, because it looks like this is a summertime only phenomenon. It's a solid block of noise which affects most of the band but, as you can see, it has a very sharp starting frequency.

Last year I observed this from approximately 200 degrees (south-south-west) between April and October. Then it stopped. It has a very precise on/off pattern, coming on for about five minutes and having a white noise sound, then becoming slightly quieter for the next five minutes and sounding raspy.

It stopped over the winter months but seems to have resurfaced in a slightly different guise. It is now about one minute 'on' and one minute 'off'. It's still the same white noise when it's 'on', but it is completely silent when 'off'. As a guess, I wonder if this might be the product of nearby solar panels charging. Living on England's sunniest coast has its disadvantages if so as solar panels are very popular here.

Rapid pulses

This one is not as bad as it looks. I can't hear it, only see it. It doesn't seem to present any great problem.


As I drive around town, monitoring continental signals, I am immediately aware of just how much interference there is all around us. It's practically non-stop. Even at my location, which is relatively quiet, I have a subtle white noisy mush in the background all the time. It's only very weak, luckily, and tends to reduce in strength overnight. It's like a living, breathing organism, waiting to surface at random. Some days it's slightly stronger.

At other times I hear random bleeps, buzzes, raspy sounds on individual frequencies, broadband bursts of white noise. All these troublesome creatures are living close by, waiting to pounce.

Having DXed in remote mobile locations I have heard how quiet the bands can be and, trust me, a town or city dwelling is never truly free from noise when you have sensitive receiving equipment of the kind we DXers use. All you need is one piece of noisy equipment, a psu, a thermostat, a light bulb, etc. and you can wave goodbye to weak signal DXing.

Sunday 19 April 2015

Skegness Log: 19-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 88.4 0209 POL Radio Maryja, Bielsko-Biala/G.Magurka (SL) 3232  1351km **
 95.4 0434 AUT Ö2 - Radio Steiermark, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A943  1261km
 99.1 0434 AUT Antenne Steiermark, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A943  1261km
103.4 0621 POL PR Radio dla Ciebie - RDC, Siedlce/Losice (MW) 3B3B  1512km
102.7 0738  S  SR P4, Västervik/Fårhult TM (ka) E624 ___P____  1132km
103.6 0738 POL Radio RDN Malopolska, Tarnów/Lichwin (MP) 3508   1465km
104.0 0738 SRB Radio Beograd 202, Beograd/Avala (Srb) D2FA RT______  1740km
107.8 0738 POL Radio ZET, Tarnów/Lichwin (MP) 3205 ____oZ__  1465km
 89.5 1347  F  France Culture, Auxerre/Molesmes (89) F202 ____TURE. AFs 
               point to this site.  655km **
 91.7 1422  E  Radio Euskadi, Bilbao=Bilbo/Ganeta (PVA-BI) E302 EU______  1130km
 92.5 1422  E  RNE Radio Nacional, Vitoria=Gasteiz/El Castillo (PVA-VI) 
               E211 ____1___  1172km
 89.5 1532  I  RAI Radio1, Bologna/Colle Barbiano (RAI) (bo) 5201 ____I___  1256km
 90.4 1535 ALG Radio Setif, Meghriss (19) Presumed with mention of Al-Jazair. Fair 
               signal and no RDS. Arabic YL. https://youtu.be/TIumHZfd_FQ  1911km **

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Regulars omitted.

Antenna south-east, horizontal. Two recording sessions today, 12 hours total recording.

Can't say I am impressed with the April Lyrids so far. We're only a day or two from the peak.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Saturday 18 April 2015

Skegness Log: 18-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Tropospheric:
 97.2 0834 DNK DR P3, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) ID and pops  617km
 87.9 0835  D  NDR Info, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) YL talk, as web  599km
 90.2 0839 DNK DR P1, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) Danish OM, as web  644km
 92.9 0840 DNK DR P3, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) OM talk, as web  644km
 95.1 0841 DNK DR P1/DR P2, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) OM, as 90.2  617km
 96.4 0842  D  NDR Info, Aurich (nds) YL, as web  478km
 98.4 0844  D  NDR Info, Visselhövede (nds) YL, as web  620km
 98.5 0846 DNK DR P4, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) OM and YL as web  644km
 98.7 0847  D  NDR 2, Morsum (Sylt) (shs) German pops, as web  565km
 99.9 0848 DNK DR P4, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) Song from a musical, as web  617km
100.3 0848 DNK Radio 24 syv, Holstebro - Mejrup/Kalsgårdvej 11 (mjy) Danish OM, as web  644km
102.1 0851 DNK Radio 24 syv, Rangstrup/Gammel Tøndervej 28 (sdk-sjy) OM, as 100.3  617km
101.8 0858  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Aurich (nds) D210 __DLF___  478km
 96.3 0901  D  NDR 2, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) YL news, as web  599km
 94.3 0902  D  NDR Kultur, Morsum (Sylt) (shs) YL news, as web  565km
 99.4 0905  D  NDR Kultur, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) YL and OM talk, as web  599km
 97.7 0925 DNK DR P4, Ølgod/Baunshøjvej 7/Baunshøj (sdk-sjy) Danish OM and pops, as web  608km
102.5 0927 DNK Radio 24 syv, Varde/Nordenskov/Kærgårdsvej 41B (sdk-sjy) OMs talking,
               as web  607km

 92.7 1033  D  NDR Info, Morsum (Sylt) (shs) German OM on phone, as web  565km
 93.2 1033  D  NDR 2, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) Pops and ID  627km
 96.1 1038  D  NDR Kultur, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) Depressing opera, as web  627km
105.6 1047  D  delta radio, Flensburg Freienwill (shs) JIngle ID in announcements  626km
 89.6 1048  D  NDR 1 Welle Nord, Flensburg-Engelsby (shs) Light pops, as web  627km
 90.5 1057  D  NDR 1 Welle Nord, Heide/Welmbüttel (shs) ID and pops  599km
 94.0 1115  D  Radio Ostfriesland, Aurich-Haxtum (nds) Old 78 song and OM, as web  475km
 88.7 1136 DNK DR P1/DR P2, Ølgod/Baunshøjvej 7/Baunshøj (sdk-sjy) OM, as web  608km
 93.4 1139  D  Deutschlandradio Kultur, Emden (nds) German OM, as web  458km
106.8 2112  D  alster radio 106!8, Hamburg-Rahlstedt (ham) Slades Far Far Away, as web  656km
105.1 2123  D  Antenne Niedersachsen, Rosengarten-Langenrehm (nds) Jingle ID  634km
100.6 2126  D  Radio ffn, Rosengarten-Langenrehm (nds) Pops, as web  634km
 88.3 2131  D  Nordwestradio, Bremen-Walle (bre) Light pop song, as web  565km
 87.6 2132  D  NDR 2, Hamburg-Moorfleet (ham) Pops, as web  650km
107.1 2134  D  Deutschlandfunk (DLF), Bremen-Walle (bre) D210 __DLF___  565km

The tropo peaked in the morning. Conditions tried to recover mid-evening but never amounted to much. It was all a fairly half-hearted affair with mostly weak or very weak signals. Only Aurich and Bremen reached RDS levels.

My overnight meteor scatter failed as I forgot to transfer the antenna from my XDR to my S2. Ooops!

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Friday 17 April 2015

Skegness Log: 17-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 91.7 0206 POL PR 3, Czestochowa/Wreczyca (SL) 3233  1291km
 89.1 0225 CZE CRo Radiožurnál, Plzen/Krašov (PL) 232F __ZURNAL  947km
 88.6 0228 CZE CRo Vltava, Klatovy/Doubrava (PL) 232D ____TA__  984km
 89.5 0228  D  Bayern 2, Wendelstein (bay) D312 __yern__  1024km
 91.1 0228  D  SWR2, Aalen/Braunenberg (bwü) D3A2  835km **
 89.9 0247 AUT Ö2 - Radio Wien, Wien 1/Kahlenberg (wie) AC0C  1247km
 88.0 0249 POL PR 1, Krosno/Sucha Góra (PK) 3211 POLS____  1530km
 88.3 0249 POL PR 1, Opole/Chrzelice (OP) 3211 POLSKI__  1229km
 90.3 0249 POL PR 3, Opole/Chrzelice (OP) 3233 _TROJK__  1229km
 98.5 0304  D  Bayern 3, Wendelstein (bay) D313 BA______  1024km
 98.6 0331 SVK Rádio Jemné, Košice/Dubník (KE) 5354  1544km
 97.3 0332  F  France Inter, Strasbourg/TDF Nordheim (67) F201  709km
 97.7 0334 CZE Kiss Jižní Cechy, Votice/Mezivrata (ST) 2556 _KIS__JC  1069km
 94.3 0340 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Nagykanizsa/Újudvar (Zal) B201  1398km **
 97.3 0340 HRV HRT-HR 1, Psunj (sb) C201 ____HR_1  1500km
 93.5 0344 CZE Frekvence 1, Ústí nad Labem/Buková hora (US) 2205   991km
 93.9 0345  D  MDR 1 Radio Sachsen, Leipzig Wiederau (sac) D6C1 MDR___CH  843km
 94.3 0345 CZE Hitrádio Vysocina, Jihlava/Strážník I. (VY) 2A2A  1126km
 94.6 0345 CZE CRo Radiožurnál, Praha/Mahlerovy sady (PR) 232F  1031km
 97.4 0345 CZE Frekvence 1, Pardubice/Krásné (PA) 2205 F1__97,4  1127km
 97.8 0345  D  MDR 1 Radio Thüringen, Ronneburg (Gera) (thü) D5F1 ______EU  854km
 93.4 0346 CZE Frekvence 1, Jihlava/Javorice (VY) 2205 ______,4  1131km
 93.5 0346  D  WDR 2, Nordhelle (nrw) Vocal ID  553km **
 95.4 0346 AUT Ö2 - Radio Steiermark, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A902 RA______  1261km
 95.4 0346 CZE CRo Vltava, Jihlava/Javorice (VY) 232D __._____  1131km
 99.1 0346 AUT Antenne Steiermark, Graz 1/Schöckl (ste) A943 __TENN__  1261km
 99.0 0405 CZE CRo Ostrava, Valašské Mezirící/Radhošt (MO) 290D   1304km
 95.3 0447 POL RMF FM, Opole/Chrzelice (OP) IDs in promo  1229km
 97.2 0447 SVK SRo 3 Rádio Devín, Žilina/Krížava (ZA) 521B DEVIN___  1363km
 93.8 0455 POL RMF FM, Luban/Nowa Karczma (DS) 3F44  1035km
 96.0 0455 POL RMF FM, Kraków/Choragwica (MP) Pops, as 93.8  1406km
100.2 0523 POL PR 3, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) 3233  1147km
104.9 0523 POL Radio ESKA, Wroclaw/G.Sleza (DS) 3293 _W______  1147km
105.0 0558 HNG MR 3 Bartók Rádió, Kab-hegy (Ves) B202 ______K_  1405km
105.6 0639 ROU SRR Radio Resita, Resita/Semenic (CS) EE03  1801km
104.3 0647  I  Radio Subasio, Campello sul Clitunno or Città di Castello (PG) 53FD
104.1 0704 CZE Frekvence 1, Plzen/Krašov (PL) 2205  947km
105.5 0749 CZE Evropa 2, Votice/Mezivrata (ST) 2204 ____PA__  1069km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Thursday 16 April 2015

Skegness Log: 16-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 93.3 0251 HRV HRT-HR 1, Beli Manastir (os) C201 HRT-HR_1  1552km
 92.1 0324  D  Bayern 1, Brotjacklriegel (bay) D311  1021km
 93.7 0334  D  Bayern 1, Wendelstein (bay) D311 ____rn__  1024km
 96.5 0334  D  SWR3, Waldenburg (bwü) Vocal ID  786km
 98.1 0334  D  SWR3, Aalen/Braunenberg (bwü) Vocal ID  835km
 98.5 0334  D  Bayern 3, Wendelstein (bay) D313   1024km
 94.3 0350 CZE Hitrádio Vysocina, Jihlava/Strážník I. (VY) 2A2A  1126km
 97.3 0454 HRV HRT-HR 1, Psunj (sb) C201 HRT-___1  1500km
102.8 0532  D  Radio Regenbogen, Heidelberg/Königstuhl, DTAG (bwü) OM ID  717km
105.4 0736  I  Südtirol 1, Brenner=Brennero/Zirog Alm=Zirago (bz) 5F51  1052km

** Personal Skegness 'First'

Maybe there's a slight hint of the April Lyrid meteor shower. These should be active between April 16 and April 25 with a peak around April 22nd or 23rd. Regular meteor scatter transmitters were not included in the log.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Skegness Log: 15-04-15 (FM)

Band 2 Meteor Scatter:
 93.9 0356 CZE Rádio Blaník, Pardubice/Krásné (PA) 283C  1127km
 93.9 0356 HNG MR 2 Petöfi Rádió, Kab-hegy (Ves) B201  1405km
 97.4 0356 CZE Frekvence 1, Pardubice/Krásné (PA) 2205 ____97,4  1127km
101.8 0543  I  RAI Auditorium, Torino/Eremo (RAI) (to) 5205  1050km **
104.1 0543  I  Radio Subasio, Bagno a Ripoli/Poggio Incontro (fi) 53FD  1323km

Band 2 Scatter:
107.6 1355  D  Antenne Thüringen, Remda (Saalfeld) (thü) Scatter! OM promo, ID and
               correspondent. V weak.  788km

107.3 1358  D  SWR4 Baden-Württemberg, Raichberg (bwü) Jazzy schlager, as web  813km **

** Personal Skegness 'First'

A big thank you to Nick for informing me I had received Raichberg via scatter after he had seen my log on the FM List. This breaks my personal scatter distance record and I knew nothing about it! I must have gone into automatic mode, not noticing the transmitter site when I logged it. I didn't even notice the tell-tale mention of "Baden Wurttemburg" in the web stream link when I checked the web stream. My brain cell was clearly elsewhere as I had assumed this was a more regular Rheinland Pfalz transmitter. Then a phone call from Nick in the evening congratulated me for receiving Raichberg. I just responded with a surprised "Did I?". I would have spotted this later when I compiled my log anyway, but how bizarre to discover this from a phone call. So my scatter record has now shot up from 788 km up to 813 km, breaking that 800 km barrier.

Scatter was unusual today as the nearer Germans were not up to their usual strengths, so I was surprised to begin with hearing Remda doing so well on 107.6. I thought this must have been a UK station at first. Then the signal faded up sufficiently to hear a German OM talking, followed by a jingle ID and then a conversation with a male correspondent.

Good DX!

John Faulkner
Skegness, Lincolnshire (JO03dd) <3m ASL.
Blog: http://skegnessdx.blogspot.co.uk
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/g1vvp
Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/skegnessdx

Receivers:
Elad FDM-S2 (Meteor Scatter)
Sony XDR-F1HD with Konrad i2c mod. (Tropo/Scatter)

Aerials:
Körner 9.2 @ 5.5 metres agl. QTH is 3 metres asl.
Triax FM3, one metre above the ground as a phasing antenna.
Fringe Electronics 20dB & Labgear 30dB band 2 pre-amps.
HS Publications Antenna Phaser.

Software:
Elad FDM-SW2, SDR Console File Analyser & RDS Spy via VAC.
XDR-GTK v0.3.1 for the Sony XDR-F1HD

Rotator:
Yaesu G-5500 azimuth & elevation rotator, allowing antenna to be vertical, horizontal, etc.