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Atmospherics (merged) (Part 3)


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Old 02-07-2012, 16:17
radioredcat
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I had SI RADIO on 20/06/12 after checking the FMSCAN power and height diagram it says (PMAX 1) so I don't know if that might be 1 KW but the polar diagram shows the power is restricted in our direction.

I had my first reception from scandinavia at lunchtime SR P1 as this morning I had Spain then Slovakia then Italy and finishing of with spain.

I went out at 13:50 and had CAD-100 in the car on 87.7 and on my return the same station is displayed on the denon.

Andy
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Old 02-07-2012, 16:26
radioredcat
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Just checking dx-sherlock I can see that everything went quiet after 14:00 so I have not missed owt.

Andy
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Old 02-07-2012, 22:09
radioredcat
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Here is my log for today.

2012-07-02
MHz UTC ITU Program + Location Details Remarks km
87.70 0926 UNID, music
87.70 0928 E Hit FM, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) PI:E200 PS:HIT_FM_ 1894 km
87.70 0931 SVK Fun Radio, Košice/Dubnķk (KE) PI:5340 PS:FUNRADIO 1750 km
87.70 1052 I Radio Capital, Pesaro/Frazione Novilara-Strada Leccia (pu) PI:5219 PS:_CAPITAL 1564 km
87.50 1107 I Radio Subasio, Sigillo/Monte Columeo (Monte Cucco) (pg) PI:53FD PS:SUBASIO_ 1600 km
87.60 1119 I Radio Maria, Borgio Verezzi/Poggio Albenga (Cava Vecchia) (sv) PI:51CC PS:R.MARIA_ 1312 km
92.20 1123 I Radio Nostalgia, Cairo Montenotte/Sant'Anna (sv) PI:536B PS:NOSTLGIA 1289 km
92.10 1125 I RAI Radio2, Monte Argentario (RAI) (gr) PI:5202 PS:__RAI___ 1605 km
87.50 1127 I Radio Maria, Vietri sul Mare/Iaconti (sa) PI:51CC PS:R.MARIA_ 1930 km
87.80 1130 I Radio Maria, Carrera di Lappano (cs) PI:51CC PS:R.MARIA_ 2135 km
87.80 1133 I RAI Radio1, Firenze/Monte Morello (RAI) (fi) PI:5201 PS:__RAI___ 1480 km
87.80 1137 I Radio Onda Libera, Castiglione/Altobrando (pg) PI:5363 PS:__ONDA__ 1590 km
87.60 1225 E COM Rądio, Montblanc/Figuerola (CAT-T) PI:EC20 PS:COMRADIO 1383 km
87.60 1235 S SR P1, Visby/Follingbo TM (go) PI:E201 PS:SR_P1___ 1396 km
87.60 1236 E SER, Mora d'Ebre (CAT-T) PI:E239 PS:__SER___ 1400 km
87.70 1300 E Cadena 100, Huesca (ARA-HU) PI:E2CE PS:CAD-100_ 1275 km


Andy
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Old 04-07-2012, 10:25
radioredcat
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Just had Antena 1 (portugal) and some time earlier Hit fm all seems quiet again and I see Dx Sherlock is down again.

Andy
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Old 04-07-2012, 11:03
radioredcat
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Dx Sherlock is back up and i have had Chaine 1 87.8 about 15 mins ago but it's all gone quiet again.

Andy
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Old 04-07-2012, 14:43
radioredcat
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Just had Chaine 1 87.8 again for the second time today and both times I have checked it with the online stream.

I have heard nothing from Skyline Fm so maybe it's a sunday job.

Andy
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Old 04-07-2012, 17:53
brumlad36
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At last, some DX! I have Morocco on 87.9Mhz from Rabat. 20kW according to FM List

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...6/100_3201.jpg

http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/...6/100_3200.jpg

Chris.
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Old 04-07-2012, 18:44
radioredcat
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I am currently receiving SNRT-INT on 90.00.

Andy
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Old 04-07-2012, 20:59
radioredcat
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SNRT was here on 90.00 for nearly an hour and HIT FM 87.7 has been in and out since about 17:00 and refuses to go away even in the car as I had been out.

There's loads of other stations but not strong enough for RDS.

Andy
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Old 04-07-2012, 21:07
DDaveBB
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I don't know when it started but when I got home from work around 17:30 the bottom end of the band had a lot of stations fading in and out and characterised by distortion making it difficult to register the pi codes. Spanish was obvious and I'm sure there was arabic in there as well.

I managed to identify four from the pi codes - my log is below (more like a twig really) - with times as per FMLIST i.e GMT

2012-07-04
MHz UTC ITU Program + Location Details Remarks km
93.00 1634 E ABC Punto Radio, Sevilla (AND-SE) PI:E1E2pi code only 1642 km
88.90 1640 E Radiolé, Arcos de la Frontera (AND-CA) PI:E278 pi code only 1704 km
91.60 1646 E Sevilla F.C. Radio, Valencina del Concepción (AND-SE) PI:E028 PS:SF partial 1639 km
93.20 1657 E M 80, San Fernando (AND-CA) PI:E230 pi code onli 1741 km

Which I don't think is bad as currently I dont have an aerial pointing due south - they were being picked up off the side of the FM5 - 50 degrees off beam.

I notice that Paul Logan in N Ireland received three stations in the Canary Islands one at 3000km - wow!

I really must think of retiring soon

David

Sittingbourne
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Old 04-07-2012, 21:26
radioredcat
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Today there has been the odd signal as I had chaine 1 twice but I noticed HIT FM at 17:00 but I have been busy so I will study my recordings for anything I have missed.

HIT FM is still here and has been for 4.5 hours but as I type this post it has faded out.

Andy
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Old 05-07-2012, 13:14
radioredcat
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Here is my log for yesterday.

2012-07-04
MHz UTC ITU Program + Location Details Remarks km
87.70 0905 POR RDP Antena 1, Serra do Mendro (bej) PI:8201 PS:ANTENA_1 1740 km
87.80 0949 ALG Chaīne 1, Mecheria (45) 2223 km
87.60 1110 POR RDS, Seixal (set) PI:8042 PS:_R_D_S__ 1725 km
87.80 1337 ALG Chaīne 1, Mecheria (45) 2223 km
87.70 1556 E Europa FM, Alcalį de Henares (MAD-M) PI:E5ED PS:EUROPAFM 1452 km
87.70 1710 E Hit FM, Jerez de la Frontera/San Cristóbal (AND-CA) PI:E200 PS:HIT_FM_ 1894 km
90.00 1740 MRC SNRT Chaīne Inter, Casablanca/Merchiche (gcb) Scrolling text (UN SYSTEME RDS OMB)** PI:1002 PS:SNRT-Int 2262 km
87.50 1838 E esRadio, Dos Hermanas/Mataquinto (AND-SE) PI:CAFA PS:esRADIO_ 1815 km

** The scrolling text on SNRT I have included for id purposes.

Andy
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Old 05-07-2012, 14:20
FmBandScan
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The Dutch stations are fading in and out of the noise.
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Old 05-07-2012, 18:23
Nick_G
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Italy on band 2 here. Was right up to 108 MHz a little earlier.

I also had an UNID station on 103.8 with news in accented French. I had the CD recorder recording the French station for about 4 minutes until it faded out. Only then did I realise that it was set to the wrong input so I have 4 minutes of silence

I hope it wasn't anything exotic.
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Old 05-07-2012, 18:27
Nick_G
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OK - looking at FMLIST I think it was Radio Vaticana Africa-Asia as Radio Vaticana was very strong on 105.0.
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Old 05-07-2012, 20:13
DDaveBB
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It had all died away by the time I got home - checked sometime later and arabic stations were coming through on the lower part of the band. so another four stations to add to the logs. Two definitively id'd from web stream and two as per remarks.


Mode UTC
from UTC
to QRG ITU Station, location Details, remarks Distance
km Received by/in kW
ERP Pol
Es 1748 1749 89.40 TUN Jawhara FM, Kairouan=Al-Qayrawan (kai) presumption it was in the same direction as confirmed loggings, 1895 in Sittingbourne (G) 1 h
Es 1750 1751 88.80 ALG Radio Annaba, Mcid (41) female - sounded Arabic - this is FM Lists suggested station, 1760 in Sittingbourne (G) 50 h
Es 1754 1756 89.90 TUN Radio Zitouna FM, Sfax/El-Ghraba (sfa) id from webstream, 1990 in Sittingbourne (G) 60 h
Es 1759 1824 88.70 TUN Shems FM, Gafsa (gaf) PI:7213 PS:SHEMS_FM 1988 in Sittingbourne (G)

I've lost 87.9 as a DX frequency to the east as Radio Redsands is broadcasting during the month - although it is almost inaudible on the FM5 pointing towards Tunisia.

David

Sittingbourne
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Old 05-07-2012, 20:31
ShallowFire
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I've got only one weak Arabic on 87.6 not getting strong enough for RDS.
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Old 06-07-2012, 15:08
radioredcat
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Spain at bottom of band now HIT FM 87.7.


Andy
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Old 06-07-2012, 15:57
radioredcat
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Well it lasted 15 mins and went and I wish the rain would go as well.

Andy
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Old 07-07-2012, 12:33
smorris
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87.7 is the Radio Wimbledon RSL - it's in quite clearly with analysis of the day's play. What sort of power does this run? It must be tiny.
I went to Wimbledon yesterday and (between watching tennis) had a look to see where this might be transmitting from - I believe (although it's hard to be certain - there are aerials everywhere in and around the site) that it's coming from a monopole on the front of Centre Court. (This isn't certain - largely based on the level of interference to Shine 87.9 - it could also possibly be coming from one of the temporary mobile phone masts in the car park, although I couldn't see any obvious FM transmitting aerials on them)

I believe urban RSLs are usually allocated a maximum of 15W. The views from Centre Court over London are impressive, though, and if it weren't for Playback on 87.6 you'd probably be able to hear it across large parts of London. The view to the W/SW is blocked by Wimbledon Hill, though, so it surprises me that it's been heard in Hampshire!

The other two RSLs are ultra-low power (96.3 for Centre Court and 97.8 for Court 1), and are only patchily audible even in the grounds.
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Old 07-07-2012, 12:38
Nick_G
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I went to Wimbledon yesterday and (between watching tennis) had a look to see where this might be transmitting from - I believe (although it's hard to be certain - there are aerials everywhere in and around the site) that it's coming from a monopole on the front of Centre Court. (This isn't certain - largely based on the level of interference to Shine 87.9 - it could also possibly be coming from one of the temporary mobile phone masts in the car park, although I couldn't see any obvious FM transmitting aerials on them)

I believe urban RSLs are usually allocated a maximum of 15W. The views from Centre Court over London are impressive, though, and if it weren't for Playback on 87.6 you'd probably be able to hear it across large parts of London. The view to the W/SW is blocked by Wimbledon Hill, though, so it surprises me that it's been heard in Hampshire!

The other two RSLs are ultra-low power (96.3 for Centre Court and 97.8 for Court 1), and are only patchily audible even in the grounds.
Thanks smorris.

If it's vertical only then it's even more surprising as my FM5 is horizontal. There was an exceptionally strong enhancement towards London that evening though. To have Resonance FM in at a full 3 bars with easy RDS is unheard of.
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Old 07-07-2012, 20:15
catherine91
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Hi - I said I would listen to the radio on the plane but there was a graphic on the safety booklet telling us not to use a radio, lol!

Went to Austria with my mum and dad. I didn't fiddle with the radio as much as some of you seem to when you're on holiday , and I couldn't really tell whether there were any atmospherics going on. Certainly no British stations! The radio in our hire-car was great, though - you could listen to stations 100kHz apart.
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Old 07-07-2012, 23:49
DDaveBB
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A quiet day for reception - which gave me a chance to sort out my newly arrived addition to the radio family - another Sony SB920.

Having thoroughly tested it yesterday I fitted the interface for the COM port output for RDSSpy and am now running one program with Soundcard interface and one program with com port interface. The tuners are in a nice stack with the USB/RS232 dongle fitted into an aluminium box and sandwiched between two - making a good earth connection. With the current set up - there is no additional interference - not even on the plastic cased Tecsun PL390.

At this point I have not changed the filters on this tuner - so can do a direct comparison of selectivity - and more importantly the sensitivity of the RDS.

The un-modified tuner responds noticeably better - giving full RDS on a signal that the modified Sony - with 150 KHz filters won't respond to. Both tuners set to the Narrow bandwidth.

The signal strength numbers don't compare - the un-modded Sony gives up to 10dB lower strength reading - but that may be because the filters in the unmodded Sony each have around 10dB loss - the 2 x 150KHz ones I used have a loss of only around 5dB - so the math adds up.

Selectivity is obviously not so good - so its a trade off. Maybe at a later time I'll compromise by fitting 180KHz filters to the first three positions. At the moment I'll keep the higher RDS sensitivity and see how it works on Meter-scatter - when I get the outdoor aerials fitted - that was supposed to be yesterday - but has had to be arranged for next Friday.

I've now got the 'problem' of sorting out audio feeds - at the moment I've gone the very crude route of feeding the left of one radio and the right of the other into the amplified speakers. The Yamaha feeds into the line in of the Tecsun when in use. I going to have to build an audio mixer!

Lets hope for some good DX so I can watch to different DX stations giving RDS at the same time.

David

Sittingbourne
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Old 08-07-2012, 09:58
ACL777
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Interesting. I've only had my st sb920 for a week and it's selectivity and sensitivity is exactly the same as that of my Eton 750 both of which are unmodified at present . As I want mine to perform well with full Rds for tropos I'm considering leaving it as it is and maybe just cutting the squelch although that's not a real problem.

Anyway I monitored the band all day yesterday and with the exception of a couple of 3 second bursts of meteor scatter about 3 hours apart there was absolutely nothing.. Let's hope there's an opening today.
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Old 09-07-2012, 22:32
DDaveBB
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Interesting. I've only had my st sb920 for a week and it's selectivity and sensitivity is exactly the same as that of my Eton 750 both of which are unmodified at present . As I want mine to perform well with full Rds for tropos I'm considering leaving it as it is and maybe just cutting the squelch although that's not a real problem.

Anyway I monitored the band all day yesterday and with the exception of a couple of 3 second bursts of meteor scatter about 3 hours apart there was absolutely nothing.. Let's hope there's an opening today.
There wasn't a SpE opening today either although I'm getting some tropo scatter/lift. On 101.1 Pure FM from Wavre has just come through strong enough to give the PS on one Sony. I've got France Inter from Boulogne (1kW) on the other Sony - and Sky Radio from Goes (NED) on the Yamaha TX-500 is fading in out out - strongly enough to displace Classic FM. (I reckon the wife must think I'm mad ).

If you are thinking of interfacing to RDSSpy - it is very straightforward to do so to the sound card. I cannibalised a stereo audio lead - two wires to the RDS chip and the copper shield to a nearby jumper - as per the pictures on http://www.band2dx.info/sony/sony_sb920.htm. As I posted before I use a 3.5mm chassis mounting stereo socket mounted in a convenient existing hole in the base of the tuner and a right angle stereo 3.5 mm plug will just fit into the gap left by the feet. You'll likely need a clip on ferrite 'bead' and a large ferrite ring to prevent interference going up the audio cable - Maplin is a source for these. That will give more sensitive RDS detection and you can record the data stream. It's really quite exciting to come in from work and find a whole bunch of different stations have come in on one frequency over a period.

And that bit of a tropo lift seems to be developing slightly.

Rgds

David

Sittingbourne
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