We have been blessed here the last 6 days with warm temps into the mid-70s... unheard of for November in Michigan.
Took advantage of the perfect WX this morning did an ultralight mini-"DXpedition" to a local park.
Loaded a field bag with the PL-600, some wire, lightweight headphones, and a notebook.
Got out my bike and peddled to the park only about 5 miles away... perfect spot to escape the neighborhood RFI.
Found a nice spot with a picnic bench and adjacent tall pine tree. Tossed about 30' of wire up into the tree
(used an old baseball with a screw-eye in it and some twine attached to get the wire up into the tree).
Stuck a knife into the ground and attached a ground wire. The antenna and ground connected to a
homemade loopstick which inductively couples to the PL-600. The key to the whole set-up is the ground...
the radio was deaf without it.
Anyway, managed to log about 25 LW NDBs as follows:
207 FD Brantford ON
239 HKF Middletown OH
253 DD Columbus OH
257 MB Saginaw MI
266 ZHM Hamilton ON
276 YEL Elliot Lake ON
278 ADG Adrian MI
332 PH Port Huron MI
332 QT Thunder Bay ON
335 ZKF Kitchener ON
338 UMP Indianapolis IN
340 YY Mont Joli QC (best DX @ 830 mi)
341 CCJ Springfield OH
350 D7 Kincardine ON
353 QG Windsor ON
362 AK Akron OH
362 SB Sudbury ON
368 ZYZ Toronto ON
372 MF Mansfield OH
376 LC Columbus OH
382 IRS Sturgis MI
397 ZHA Hamilton ON
407 IL Wilmington OH
419 RYS Grosse Ile MI
423 PCW Port Clinton OH
All in all, a pretty good catch with just a simple set-up especially considering the number
of beacons that have been decommissioned. The Quebec beacon was a real surprise to
hear during daytime.
Took advantage of the perfect WX this morning did an ultralight mini-"DXpedition" to a local park.
Loaded a field bag with the PL-600, some wire, lightweight headphones, and a notebook.
Got out my bike and peddled to the park only about 5 miles away... perfect spot to escape the neighborhood RFI.
Found a nice spot with a picnic bench and adjacent tall pine tree. Tossed about 30' of wire up into the tree
(used an old baseball with a screw-eye in it and some twine attached to get the wire up into the tree).
Stuck a knife into the ground and attached a ground wire. The antenna and ground connected to a
homemade loopstick which inductively couples to the PL-600. The key to the whole set-up is the ground...
the radio was deaf without it.
Anyway, managed to log about 25 LW NDBs as follows:
207 FD Brantford ON
239 HKF Middletown OH
253 DD Columbus OH
257 MB Saginaw MI
266 ZHM Hamilton ON
276 YEL Elliot Lake ON
278 ADG Adrian MI
332 PH Port Huron MI
332 QT Thunder Bay ON
335 ZKF Kitchener ON
338 UMP Indianapolis IN
340 YY Mont Joli QC (best DX @ 830 mi)
341 CCJ Springfield OH
350 D7 Kincardine ON
353 QG Windsor ON
362 AK Akron OH
362 SB Sudbury ON
368 ZYZ Toronto ON
372 MF Mansfield OH
376 LC Columbus OH
382 IRS Sturgis MI
397 ZHA Hamilton ON
407 IL Wilmington OH
419 RYS Grosse Ile MI
423 PCW Port Clinton OH
All in all, a pretty good catch with just a simple set-up especially considering the number
of beacons that have been decommissioned. The Quebec beacon was a real surprise to
hear during daytime.
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