Some time limits should be applied when searching for daylight DX in the AM broadcast band. In my experiments, 2.5 hours is about as close as you can get to sunrise and sunset times before the band starts to change dramatically. The sun is setting here currently at 5:43 PM. I find that by 3:30PM the characteristics of the band have shifted somewhat toward longer range DX as late afternoon approaches. Morning sunrise here is 6:42 AM, and by 9:30 AM we are back to daytime conditions again. So, for purposes of tallying daytime DX on the AM band, and adding in an extra 30 minutes for safety padding, 3 hours after sunrise and 3 hours before sunset will be the start and stop limits for my DX tests.
Several stations have been received during daylight hours in excess of 500 miles. Stay tuned.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Cross Country
Just completed a cross country trip from my home in Avon, NY to Quartzsite, Arizona, latitude 33.663N, longitude 114.229W. Total distance about 2500 road miles. I am here for the winter, probably till the end of March, 2009. I used to live in this deserted place from 1990-2002. It is literally in the desert wilds, just 18 miles east of the California line and the Colorado River. It is right on I-10, the road that connects Phoenix, AZ with Los Angeles, CA. I am 85 miles north of the Mexican border, and Mexican stations on the AM broadcast band are prolific especially at night.
I brought the Eton E1 and the Kaito 1103 and the Sony SRF-M37V ultralight for a little DXing. A couple of hundred feet of wire will provide a little extra signal juice. One good thing, there will be absolutely no noise here so that should help.
I will be reporting more. At the moment I am compiling a bandscan of the AM band during daylight hours. There are some surprises!
I brought the Eton E1 and the Kaito 1103 and the Sony SRF-M37V ultralight for a little DXing. A couple of hundred feet of wire will provide a little extra signal juice. One good thing, there will be absolutely no noise here so that should help.
I will be reporting more. At the moment I am compiling a bandscan of the AM band during daylight hours. There are some surprises!
Friday, September 19, 2008
More Loggings
Sep 9, 2008. Sat out in the yard in a lawn chair this night at 0030 UTC (2030L), with a 15 foot wire clipped to the whip antenna of the Eton E1. Tuned for carriers and found a strong one on 555 Khz. Turned out this is ZIZ Radio, Basseterre, on St. Kitts & Nevis. Audio was weak and generally undecipherable, but definitely Caribbean. Latest WRTH has the power of this staion at 10KW. Distance 1973 miles. A good haul.
http://www.zizonline.com/
Sep 18, 2008. 1800 UTC. WIEZ, 670 kHz. Lewiston, PA. Daytime station, 5.4KW. Distance 160 miles. Eton E1 with 70 ft. wire on ground and RF Systems magnetic balun.
Sep 18, 2008. 1810 UTC. CFOS, 560 kHz. Owen Sound, Ontario. 7.5KW. Distance 192 miles. Eton E1 with 70 ft. wire on ground and RF Systems magnetic balun. This station is up on Georgian Bay. Strong signal for the distance/power. Part of the path is over Lake Ontario, which helps.
Sep 18, 2008. 2045 UTC. ZIZ Radio again, 555 kHz, St. Kitts & Nevis. Weaker carrier this time, but audio was in there 90%. Recovery was best on the Eton E1 using SyncAM, DSB.
http://www.zizonline.com/
Sep 18, 2008. 1800 UTC. WIEZ, 670 kHz. Lewiston, PA. Daytime station, 5.4KW. Distance 160 miles. Eton E1 with 70 ft. wire on ground and RF Systems magnetic balun.
Sep 18, 2008. 1810 UTC. CFOS, 560 kHz. Owen Sound, Ontario. 7.5KW. Distance 192 miles. Eton E1 with 70 ft. wire on ground and RF Systems magnetic balun. This station is up on Georgian Bay. Strong signal for the distance/power. Part of the path is over Lake Ontario, which helps.
Sep 18, 2008. 2045 UTC. ZIZ Radio again, 555 kHz, St. Kitts & Nevis. Weaker carrier this time, but audio was in there 90%. Recovery was best on the Eton E1 using SyncAM, DSB.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
On The Air
It's about time I added something to this blog, wouldn't you say?
A new, or I should say "renewed", interest for me is mediumwave DXing on the AM broadcast band. With my location in Western New York on the east coast of the U.S., multitudes of stations produce near chaos on the band.
Locally too, there are 50KW (WHAM, Rochester) and a 20KW (WYSL, Avon) transmitter outlets, and they play havoc with a receiver that has any kind of serious antenna attached. The 20KW transmitter is the worst, at a distance of only 5 miles, with a pattern pointed my way.
Recently, the new sport of Ultralight Radio DXing has taken hold, and has kindled some interest with me also. This is mediumwave DXing using small, inexpensive AM portables. More info can be found on this excellent Canadian site:
http://www.dxer.ca/
I have one ultralight radio at the moment, a Sony SRF-M37V. Latest DX received here just last night (Sep. 6, UTC) was KCJJ-1630, Iowa City, Iowa, a distance of 710 miles. This is a 10/1KW station and was received at 0200 UTC while running nightime power of 1KW. Signal was good at times, they were broadcasting some local football match. This was received with no external antenna or loop assist.
A new, or I should say "renewed", interest for me is mediumwave DXing on the AM broadcast band. With my location in Western New York on the east coast of the U.S., multitudes of stations produce near chaos on the band.
Locally too, there are 50KW (WHAM, Rochester) and a 20KW (WYSL, Avon) transmitter outlets, and they play havoc with a receiver that has any kind of serious antenna attached. The 20KW transmitter is the worst, at a distance of only 5 miles, with a pattern pointed my way.
Recently, the new sport of Ultralight Radio DXing has taken hold, and has kindled some interest with me also. This is mediumwave DXing using small, inexpensive AM portables. More info can be found on this excellent Canadian site:
http://www.dxer.ca/
I have one ultralight radio at the moment, a Sony SRF-M37V. Latest DX received here just last night (Sep. 6, UTC) was KCJJ-1630, Iowa City, Iowa, a distance of 710 miles. This is a 10/1KW station and was received at 0200 UTC while running nightime power of 1KW. Signal was good at times, they were broadcasting some local football match. This was received with no external antenna or loop assist.
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