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Atmospherics (merged) (Part 3)


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Old 08-06-2016, 09:32
Pemblechook
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Es and Tropo on 144 MHz.
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Old 08-06-2016, 17:21
Jonathan1990
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Someone who works for Scarborough lifeboat told me that Humber coastguard were getting Dutch stress signals though their radios meaning they must use the same frequencies.
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Old 08-06-2016, 17:55
Pemblechook
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Marine Band is worldwide.. CH16 (156.800) is monitored continuously.
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Old 08-06-2016, 19:11
Jonathan1990
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Belgium are now taking over the band here with a station that has replaced Radio538 on 102.1 been the strongest.
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Old 08-06-2016, 19:59
beans0ntoast
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We're getting a nice bit of lift in Northamptonshire!

Kiss FM UK, on 106.4FM, is barely audible at all normally, unless I position my radio "just so", on top of my wardrobe, with the aerial fully extended and horizontal. Even then, it's not very good.

Today, tuned into 106.4FM and instantly got Kiss 106.4 DOWNSTAIRS with the aerial fully extended, and even when the aerial was only half extended.

In the car I managed to get 106.2FM, which is Heart London - this is usually only intended for the M25, so certainly not Northamptonshire!

I'll try and get a list of everything I can receive on my Eton E5 this evening on FM.
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Old 08-06-2016, 20:54
logjam
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Someone who works for Scarborough lifeboat told me that Humber coastguard were getting Dutch stress signals though their radios meaning they must use the same frequencies.
They do re-use the same frequencies. They normally space them out so they don't interfer, but during the lift multiple services from different parts of the UK and different countries were trying to use the same frequencies. For instance Thames river services where coming over on the Humber estuary VTS. Local harbour services in Dutch and Danish were swamping communications between ships. Channel 18 was unusable due to what sounded like a continuous marine information service in German. It was hard for anyone to find a free channel.

Channel 16 is the international calling channel as well as emergency, and was full of messages not relevant to the local area.

I did hear some salty, impatient comments about the situation!
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Old 08-06-2016, 21:47
beans0ntoast
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Well, that was fun, but also a bit of a chore...

All of the following being received on an Eton E5 in Northamptonshire:

Key:
CCI - Co Channel Interference
HP - aerial in Horizontal Polarization
DP - aerial in Diagonal Polarization
88.30 BBC R2
88.60 BBC R2
88.80 BBC R2
88.90 BBC R2 - CCI (best on 88.92)
89.10 BBC R2
89.30 BBC R2
89.70 BBC R2
90.10 BBC R2 - Local/Main Station for the area (from Peterborough)
90.40 BBC R3 - Slight hiss
90.50 BBC R3
90.90 BBC R3
91.10 BBC R3
91.50 BBC R3
91.70 BBC R3 - Hissy
91.90 BBC R3
92.30 BBC R3 - Local/Main Station for the area (from Peterborough)
92.70 BBC R4
92.90 BBC R4 CCI
93.00 BBC R4 CCI
93.10 BBC R4
93.30 BBC R4
93.50 BBC R4 Hissy
93.70 BBC R4
93.90 BBC R4
94.10 BBC R4 Hissy
94.50 BBC R4 - Local/Main station for the area
94.90 BBC Lincs
95.20 BBC Oxford - DP
95.70 BBC Cambridgeshire, slightly hissy
95.90 BBC, unknown location, hissy
96.30 Corby Radio
96.60 Heart Northants - Local Station For Area
96.90 Heart Bedfordshire CCI with Viking FM also on 96.9FM
97.20 Connect FM Irchester - Local Station For Area
97.40 Heart FM Thames Valley - Hissy, DP
97.60 Heart FM Luton - Hissy, DP
97.90 BBC R1
98.20 BBC R1 CCI
98.30 BBC R1
98.50 BBC R1
98.90 BBC R1
99.10 BBC R1
99.30 BBC R1
99.70 BBC R1 Local/Main Station For Area (Peterborough)
100.10 Classic FM
100.40 Classic FM, Slightly Hissy
100.50 Classic FM
100.70 Unidentified (checked and it wasn't Heart West Mids), Hissy
101.10 Classic FM, Hissy
101.50 Classic FM
101.90 Classic FM, Local/Main Station for area (Peterborough)
102.20 Lincs FM
102.40 Heart, could be Norfolk? Hissy, HP
102.60 Heart Thames Valley
102.70 Heart Peterborough, CCI
103.00 Heart Cambridge
103.30 Heart Milton Keynes
103.60 BBC Northampton Geddington
103.80 BBC 3CR, Hissy, Possible CCI
104.20 BBC Northampton, Kingsthorpe, Local Station For Area
104.50 BBC 3CR
104.90 BBC Leicester
105.20 Absolute (ex. Kerrang/Planet Rock), West Midlands
105.40 Capital Leicestershire
105.80 Capital (Yorkshire?!)
106.00 GEM 106 East Midlands
106.40 Kiss FM Mendlesham
106.60 Smooth FM East Midlands, DP
106.80 Connect FM Peterborough, Slightly Hissy
107.40 Connect FM Geddington
107.60 Banbury Sound, Very Hissy, DP
107.70 Kiss Peterborough, Hissy
107.82 Inspiration FM Northampton, Hissy, DP, CCI (should be 107.80 FM).

That concludes the very long list of radio stations I could pick up about an hour ago! I am currently listening to Kiss FM on 106.4, and even without the aerial up, the signal was fine (though it is starting to get slightly hissy now). Expecting reception to get worse overnight.
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Old 09-06-2016, 09:30
beans0ntoast
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Lift still present, though not as much as yesterday
Still getting interesting results.

Didn't check the whole band but:

If aerial VP, I can get Intobeats on 106.5

If aerial HP, I can get MK FM on 106.3

If aerial DP, I can't get either.

However, if I slightly adjust the tuner to ±0.2 MHz, I can still get Kiss on 106.4.
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Old 09-06-2016, 12:03
FmBandScan
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Had a few French stations last night up to rds levels. This afternoon the Dutch stations are showing rds and noise free stereo!
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Old 09-06-2016, 14:33
derk weasel
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now my car radio is the best and most sensitive i have so want to try get the best out of it.

now the question is- with a general wip car antenna is it better (reception wise) for the antenna to be straight vertical, straight horizontal or diagonal? if diaginal what amount of degrees should it be at?
secont thing is would size of antenna help much? would longer be better or shorter?
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Old 09-06-2016, 14:45
Pemblechook
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Fully vertical and around quarter wavelength long which is about 75 cm.
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Old 09-06-2016, 15:10
Gerry1
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Fully vertical and around quarter wavelength long which is about 75 cm.
That makes a wavelength 3 metres, which corresponds to a frequency of 100MHz.

Perhaps you were you thinking of Band II FM?

With DAB frequencies being around 200MHz, a quarter wave works out at about 37.5cm.
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Old 09-06-2016, 15:26
FmBandScan
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Well, I've never had tropo weakened by e skip before! Conditions are amazing here this afternoon
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Old 09-06-2016, 16:25
Pemblechook
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The poster doesn't say which band unless in an earlier post. ,,,around 38 cm for DAB. It won't make tremendous difference + or - quite a bit. 5/8 wavelength can be used with a bottom loading coil. http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Techn...df/8009022.pdf
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Old 09-06-2016, 18:07
-ajm-
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Just flicked through the presets in the car in Exeter, and managed to get Wave 105.
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Old 09-06-2016, 18:10
Spot
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Very strong signals on FM and DAB from Belgium and the Netherlands again this evening.
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:19
catherine91
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Yes, very strong Dutch signals on FM in my area of Norwich, but surprisingly no audio on DAB (though the station names are there).
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:21
Nick_G
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Some good tropo this morning to NE and eastern France, the SR, WDR and MDR regions of Germany, Luxembourg and Norway (NRK Petre on 91.1). I had a mystery transmitter of France Musique on 101.6 too which replaced Breeze Four Marks. There is a transmitter listed in the Vosges department 688 km away but it is vertical and only 250 watts. I find it difficult to believe that a low-powered vertical would be received so well on a horizontal beam at that distance.
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:23
Gerry1
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surprisingly no audio on DAB (though the station names are there).
Very sensibly, they're 100% DAB+ over there, which means that you won't hear anything on a plain vanilla DAB radio.
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:24
brumlad36
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Yes, very strong Dutch signals on FM in my area of Norwich, but surprisingly no audio on DAB (though the station names are there).
Hi Catherine,

It's because all the Dutch DAB services now use DAB+. Standard DAB radios will usually do as yours is doing (just show the stations names).

Chris. (Lincoln, UK).
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:26
catherine91
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Very sensibly, they're 100% DAB+ over there, which means that you won't hear anything on a plain vanilla DAB radio.
My DAB radio has DAB+. I was getting excellent signals from the Netherlands and Germany on Monday and it sounds miles better than British mono DAB.
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:36
LeeBoy19
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Yes, very strong Dutch signals on FM in my area of Norwich, but surprisingly no audio on DAB (though the station names are there).
Are you using a DAB radio capable of receiving DAB+ Catherine. I think the Dutch now pretty much use DAB+ exclusively. The stations show up on ordinary DAB but no audio. So Your radio at a guess is not DAB+ compatible.

Sorry Catherine just seen your response to another poster - not sure why no audio then.

Was very good on DAB+ a couple of days ago here in N.E.Lincolnshire. Went to sleep listening to Radio Seagull on DAB+ and got woken by Radio Seagull in the morning sadly a few hours later it was no more.
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:38
catherine91
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Old 09-06-2016, 19:51
tghe-retford
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My DAB radio has DAB+. I was getting excellent signals from the Netherlands and Germany on Monday and it sounds miles better than British mono DAB.
Interference on Block 9D from both 9D Noord-West NL and 9D Zuidwest NL? Because earlier in the week when I was able to get both, the radio could tune in to 9D but couldn't decode any audio despite it being 100% DAB+ compatible.
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Old 09-06-2016, 20:46
Jonathan1990
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For a minute tonight Denmark came in with 100% signal strength just like the transmitter was down the road and then faded on 12C.
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