60 and 90 meter DX !

[k9rzz]

Boy the low bands are CRANKING tonight ! African and South African signals are just plain LOUD tonight on 3.3 mhz.

Here's my loggings on the Shortwave Log Bulletin Board (http://dxworld.com/swbblog.html)

Oct21 03:46 3320khz R. Sondergrense South Africa VG S9 +10 ! - rzz
Oct21 03:44 3255khz BBC via South Africa. VG S9 English - rzz wi
Oct21 03:42 3240khz Transworld Radio - Swaziland just signed off with full Ident . VG S9 !! - k9rzz wi
Oct21 03:29 4800khz Guatemala weak SS talk and mx mixed with low het - Lesotho ?? - k9rzz wi
Oct20 22:05 11620khz All India Radio - Bangalore English VG !! - rzz
Oct20 17:38 11735khz R. Romania Int. Excellent in English. Listed in Passport for 11730 - k9rzz wi
Oct20 05:30 4960khz VOA via Sao Tome - full ID in English - S8 - rzz
Oct20 05:28 Sao Tome getting louder - rzz
Oct20 04:46 4960khz VOA via Sao Tome - fair in English. Weird digital comms here and there - k9rzz wi
Oct20 04:12 4930khz VOA via Botswana. Fair in English. some radar QRN - k9rzz wi

Radio Sondergrense on 3320khz is 20 db over S9 right now with music and talk in Dutch (some songs in English).

Check it out if you've got the chance !

 

[kb2vxa]

At this low point in the sunspot cycle the lower frequency MF and HF bands propagate better and with lower solar noise. Winter is coming to the Northern Hemisphere and the summer static crashes are all but gone so you can expect more of the same. Good DX to ya!

 

[ka3jjz]

Re 4800 - A quick check of the last few NASWA Journals suggests it might not be Lesotho, as I haven't seen any reports of it lately. The Guatemalan is actually around 4799.4 (I've logged it there, and it does vary somewhat), and it's R Buenas Nuevas. The het just might be caused by the Mexican XERTA on 4800.
Both are usually nailed by CODAR, so hearing them without that gawd awful mess is a treat.

73 Mike

[edit] By the way, if you can drag yourself out of bed just before and during dawn, you will notice many more LA and Central American stations, and if the gods are smiling your way, a few Asians just might show up there, too - some local Indians have been noted on 60 in the past, as they are in the process of migrating out of the 90 mb. Some of that music is some of the strangest stuff I've ever heard....

 

[smason]

Sigh. Nothin but s9 noise here.
Did hear some weak hams on 40m.
Just got back into SWLing after a long absense. Unfortunately I live about 1.5 miles from a (probably 50KW) AM station.
Waiting to order some toroids to build a filter to kill BCB, then maybe I'll hear something.
Also need to couple my random wire to my coax properly so my coax is actually shielded, that's another toroid....

 

[ka3jjz]

In this game, information is king. Stations - especially those in third world countries - come and go, and trying to keep up is sometimes difficult. Of course, the WRTH is useful, particularly if you are keeping up with the PDF-based updates. But these 3 sources are also worth your attention (we've mentioned 2 of these previously) - they are either updated fairly regularly, or PDF-based updates are available with the subscription;

* Latin American SW Logs

* AfricaList (PDF)

* Danish SW Club International Their Domestic Broadcasting survey, and companion Tropical Bands Monitor are pretty much considered the place to start if you are really into this style of DXing. When you purchase these, you get a userid/password to get PDF-based updates.

A side note - the DSWCI is an organization that has a long reputation in this game. They used to sell the famed Tropical Bands Survey up to a few years ago (I'm not sure when they split the 2 publications), and these Surveys are really useful in keeping an eye on what is going on worldwide on these bands. Highly recommended.

Of course, keeping an ear on World of Radio and Cumbre DX is a good way to get fairly up to the minute stuff. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the North American SW Association, which not only has its weekly Flashsheet, but it's own Yahoo group with tips flowing constantly.

If anyone would like a recent copy of the Flashsheet, please email me directly at ka3jjz@netscape.com and a copy is yours. Note that you need to be a NASWA member to get both the Flashsheet and Yahoo group (both services are free). 73 Mike

 

[Caesar]

Boy the low bands are CRANKING tonight ! African and South African signals are just plain LOUD tonight on 3.3 mhz.

Here's my loggings on the Shortwave Log Bulletin Board (http://dxworld.com/swbblog.html)

Oct21 03:46 3320khz R. Sondergrense South Africa VG S9 +10 ! - rzz
Oct21 03:44 3255khz BBC via South Africa. VG S9 English - rzz wi
Oct21 03:42 3240khz Transworld Radio - Swaziland just signed off with full Ident . VG S9 !! - k9rzz wi
Oct21 03:29 4800khz Guatemala weak SS talk and mx mixed with low het - Lesotho ?? - k9rzz wi
Oct20 22:05 11620khz All India Radio - Bangalore English VG !! - rzz
Oct20 17:38 11735khz R. Romania Int. Excellent in English. Listed in Passport for 11730 - k9rzz wi
Oct20 05:30 4960khz VOA via Sao Tome - full ID in English - S8 - rzz
Oct20 05:28 Sao Tome getting louder - rzz
Oct20 04:46 4960khz VOA via Sao Tome - fair in English. Weird digital comms here and there - k9rzz wi
Oct20 04:12 4930khz VOA via Botswana. Fair in English. some radar QRN - k9rzz wi

Radio Sondergrense on 3320khz is 20 db over S9 right now with music and talk in Dutch (some songs in English).

Check it out if you've got the chance !

What kind of antenna are you using? My HF Wire is down for repair so i am missing most HF now, but hope to get it back up in the air in the next week or two before it gets cold outside..

 

[gcgrotz]

Good stuff. Check 40 meters around sunrise (east coast) for carriers on the even 5KHz, many many Chineese stations coming in this time of year. Radio Australia is 20 or 30 over S9 on 6020 most mornings up until 9am EDT.

 

[k9rzz]

What kind of antenna are you using? My HF Wire is down for repair so i am missing most HF now, but hope to get it back up in the air in the next week or two before it gets cold outside..

I have two antennas for HF:

A 75 ft random wire up 15 ft, and a 20 ft vertical mounted up 8ft on a 2x4 (guyed obviously), with 8 random length elevated radials, and fed with "window line". Separate antenna tuners on each and on a coax switch so I can flip back and forth. Interestingly, the low wire will often beat the vertical into Africa, but the vertical favors a lower angle of attack so it somewhat suppresses that annoying radar.

 

[kb2vxa]

"Waiting to order some toroids to build a filter to kill BCB, then maybe I'll hear something."

By that I suppose you mean cores for winding toroidal chokes but anyway BCB interference doesn't show up as noise, you'll actually hear the station. If that happens you may ALSO hear noise, a rushing sound if they transmit IBOC. That BTW means In Band On Carrier digital hi fi audio along with standard AM. Chances are if you don't hear the station you don't hear the hiss. If you DO have interference you need a better receiver more than a filter, it's a win-win solution as opposed to the 0.5 gluteus maximus approach.

"Also need to couple my random wire to my coax properly so my coax is actually shielded, that's another toroid."

No, it's a 9:1 un-un most often improperly called a "long wire balun". You say "ordering some toroids" which tells me you're barking up the wrong tree from the very start. You're far better off with the device you need rather than guessing at a solution so why didn't you ask? (;->)

Now I can't leave you guys without my usual dose of sarcasm. When winding toroids you can save hours of messing around with a spring clamp vise, a measured length of magnet wire and crochet hook with one of these.

 

[smason]

I didn't ask, because I'm fairly sure I know what I need, though I didn't really spell it out.

Yes, ok I have 2 issues. One a local AM station, that I'll be winding some coils using torodial cores, and adding some capacitors, to make a filter to attenuate them.

My other issue is that my hastily constructed random wire, is fed with coax, but not properly coupled, so a 9:1 un-un, also wound on a toroidial core, should increase signal, and decrease noise, especially when grounded. So I'll be ordering some cores.

 

[kb2vxa]

Sounds like a plan! Speaking of plans I hope you have proper construction instructions with manufacturer's part numbers and don't order cores willy nilly, that can flop real quick. Good luck and God speed Apollo... and don't forget your crochet hook.

Oh and please excuse my visual sarcasm, I used to get hauled into the winding department when they needed a body so I'm familiar with those machines. Thankfully most of the time they left me alone in my fun house to play with a few million dollars worth of test equipment and dreaming of wiring the hipot tester to the boss's computer keyboard. (;->)

 

[smason]

I have specific core part number and wire gage info for the filter components, even a specific brand of capacitor, though I likely won't be that anal.
I am however contemplating being lazy and ordering a commercial all in one 9:1 unun/bcb filter.
Haven't decided yet.

Oh and please excuse my visual sarcasm

Are you kidding? Your posts (while usually informative) wouldn't be anywhere near as entertaining without your sarcasm, visual or otherwise

 

[ka3jjz]

If you do decide to go commercial for your MW filter and Unum, we have specific links for those in our wiki...

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/SWL_Broadcast

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/HF_Antennas

73 Mike

 

[smason]

If you do decide to go commercial for your MW filter and Unum, we have specific links for those in our wiki...

Thanks, it's actually the Kiwa I/m looking at, found via the wiki.
If they'd answer their email I might actually but from them....