Yes - extract from Log (I download from FMList Logbook to Excel)

06/09/2012 2109 98.40 D SWR3 Hornisgrinde/SWR bwü 80,000 612 117 pi code only O=4 X PI: D3A3

Very good tropo today - still logging - concentrating on low power stations on vert polarisation.

David

Sittingbourne

And now Hitradio FFH on 106.8 from Driedorf virtually fully-quieting.

All the French stations have gone here this morning only Oxford/Tacolneston hanging on.
Here's my log for yesterday.

All the French stations have gone here this morning only Oxford/Tacolneston
hanging on.
Here's my log for yesterday.

2012-10-23
MHz UTC ITU Program + Location Details Remarks km
88.70 1153 F France Musique, Lille/Bouvigny le Mont [62] (59) PI:F203
PS:MUSIQUE_ 502km
87.80 1216 F France Inter, Paris/Tour Eiffel (75) 623km
94.90 1514 F France Inter, Bourges/Neuvy (18) PI:F201 PS:__INTER_ 787km
91.80 1516 F France Musique, Bourges/Neuvy (18) PI:F203 PS:MUSIQUE_ 787km
96.50 1537 F France Inter, Rouen/Grand-Couronne (76) PI:F201 PS:__INTER_ 530km
105.60 1611 F France Info, Calais/Mont d'Hubert (62) PI:F206 PS:__INFO__ 417km
105.20 1656 F France Info, Lille/Bouvigny le Mont [62] (59) 502km
100.60 1915 F France Bleu Picardie, Abbeville/Limeux (80) 498km
94.00 2002 F France Culture, Rouen/Grand-Couronne (76) PI:F202 PS:_CULTURE
530km
107.90 2058 G Star Radio, Cambridge/Gog Magog (EN-CAM) 245km
99.60 2059 F France Inter, Caen/Mont Pinçon (14) 524km


Andy

Andy

A strong signal from France Inter Reims on 96.8, easily separated from local Heart on 96.7! Even Radio 1 on 98.8 was getting a beating

Some very good tropo into France with the following transmitters in:

Sens
Troyes
Amiens
Lille (good!)
Reims (earlier on, not so much now)
Mantes-sur-Joilie
Neufchâtel-en-Bray
Rouen

...and probably more.

There was me thinking that conditions had gone flat and the band appears that way but for France Inter from Rouen 96.5 all on it's own nothing on 94.0 as the other frequencies are blocked.
Also France Inter on 99.6. from Caen I presume.

Andy

It's pretty much flat here this evening. Unfortunately I didn't have time to check the band properly this morning as I overslept and everything was a bit of a mad rush. I did notice that France was still up a bit but not like last night. I'll post a few clips from the last few days when I get the chance.

A picture of the tower (and information in german) here.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender_Hornisgrinde

It started broadcasting on FM in 1951 and the concrete tower was completed in 1972.

There is a large artificial lake and hydro-power scheme nearby so it probably runs on renewable energy.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwarzenbachtalsperre (includes some pictures)

The scenery is spectacular and the local beer is good too!

Reception for October 22nd to 24th was exceptional - when I started FM DXing a year ago I did not expect to get too much tropo from 'the south' as I'm screened by the North Downs - but decided I might as well keep the loft mounted Moxon and point it southwards. 24th was really good - I've posted log below of all stations I logged - that are under 10 kw. And I didn't even bother to indiviually log the closer Belgian, Dutch and French which are my locals.

Can anyone confirm whether there is an SR 3 transmitter on 98.3. Received on 23 rd between 2300-2306 UTC/GMT. News followed by weather and then I'm sure the id was "ess ahr drei" and not "ess vee ahr drei (SWR3)" I pretty sure I wrote down the frequency correctly as I noted that there was no sign of RTBF Vivacite.

The other unidentified station was 23:12 UTC/GMT on 92.0 MHz - vertical pol. Station id "Fun Radio" - it was quite strong and I noted the language was Dutch / Flemish and it was definitely "Fun Raadio" - I only see a French station liated.

Best DX had been Ochsenkopf (791 km) near the Czech boarder - morning early evening and late evening of the 23rd, and Lyon (720 km) on the 24th.

Even in the current miserable conditions I've managed to get the following - weak but clear enough to compare and id from the web streams.

87.6 hr3 Sackpfeife 544 km
89.7 WDR3 Munster 460 km
89.8 SWR1 RP Bad Marienberg 509 km
90.6 WDR5 Teutoburger Wald 560 km
91.6 Koblenz 490km

also - off the back of the aerial
92.1 BBC R3 Wenvoe 281 km

The Main Log of low power stations received

Tropo 21/10/2012 2236 92.8 BEL RTBF Musiq' 3 Profondeville-Rivière/Sart à Soile wln-nam 10,000 308 109 peaked to full RDS O=1-4 X PI: 6353 PS:MUSIQ_3_
Tropo 22/10/2012 2112 99.7 D WDR 5 Kleve/Bresserberg nrw 2,000 373 80 slightly noisy mono - pi code received slowly O=2-3 X PI: D395
Tropo 23/10/2012 2133 103.8 G BBC 3Counties Radio Luton/Zouches Farm EN-BEF 700 104 305 interference from Lille on 103.7 O=2-3
Tropo 23/10/2012 2148 107.3 BEL VBRO Diksmuide/IJzertoren vlg-wvl 100 150 103 sharing with hr4 well separated by polarisation O=1-3
Tropo 23/10/2012 2156 89.3 F France Musique Dunkerque/Tour de Reuze 59 500 118 106 O=2
Tropo 23/10/2012 2159 91.1 F Skyrock Dunkerque/Tour Emery 59 1,000 118 106 pi code only - O=2-3 X PI: F214
Tropo 23/10/2012 2229 105.3 BEL Radio Maria Brugge vlg-wvl 100 171 94 id from web stream O=1-2
Tropo 23/10/2012 2230 105.5 BEL Topradio Staden/Stadenberg vlg-wvl 100 161 102 id from web stream O=2-3
Tropo 23/10/2012 2234 107.1 BEL Topradio Oostende/Residentie De Mast vlg-wvl 100 151 94 id from webstream O=2-3
Tropo 23/10/2012 2237 107.9 BEL VBRO Torhout vlg-wvl 100 164 99 id from web stream O=2-3
Tropo 24/10/2012 522 91.2 BEL RTBF Musiq' 3 Bruxelles/Tour des Finances brc 10,000 257 101 full RDS despite BBC R3 on 91.3 O=3-4 X PI: 6353 PS:MUSIQ_3_
Tropo 24/10/2012 1715 89.8 F France Musique Abbeville/Limeux 80 2,500 166 153 interference from BBC R2 on 90.0 O=2-3 X PI: F203
Tropo 24/10/2012 1718 90.2 F France Musique Neufchâtel-en-Bray/Croixdalle 76 5,000 179 166 O=3-4 X PI: F203
Tropo 24/10/2012 1720 90.8 F France Musique Poix-de-Picardie/Le Frier 80 200 195 153 id from content - most likely transmitter O=2
Tropo 24/10/2012 1811 92.7 F France Inter Neufchâtel-en-Bray/Croixdalle 76 5,000 179 166 co-channel interference from BBC R4 - pi code only O=2-3 X PI: F201
Tropo 24/10/2012 1816 93.1 F France Inter Abbeville/Limeux 80 2,500 166 153 O=2-3
Tropo 24/10/2012 1821 95 F France Inter Mantes-la-Jolie/Maudétour [95] 78 5,000 261 164 aircraft flutter on top of tropo O=2.5
Tropo 24/10/2012 1825 95.5 F France Bleu Nord Boulogne-sur-Mer/Mont Lambert 62 1,000 93 138 id from DJ jingle - overcoming BRFM local on 95.6 O=2
Tropo 24/10/2012 1830 96 F France Culture Neufchâtel-en-Bray/Croixdalle 76 5,000 179 166 id from web stream - received on SSE aerial O=2.5
Tropo 24/10/2012 1835 96.1 G BBC Solent 96.1 Rowridge EN-IOW 10,000 166 244 pi code O=3 X
Tropo 24/10/2012 1841 97.1 F France Musique Mantes-la-Jolie/Maudétour [95] 78 5,000 261 164 id from wewb stream O=2
Tropo 24/10/2012 1916 105.2 G Wave 105 Chillerton Down EN-IOW 10,000 165 243 pi code only - nice and clear O=3-4 X PI: C3AD
Tropo 24/10/2012 2104 100.7 F France Bleu Cotentin Cherbourg-Octeville/Digosville 50 4,000 252 221 id from web stream O=2
Tropo 24/10/2012 2207 87.9 F France Culture Parthenay/les Chateliers 79 10,000 516 189 id from web stream only on S antenna O=1.5
Tropo 24/10/2012 2218 92.8 F Alouette Pouzauges/le Chaffaud 85 10,000 510 195 id from dj jingle alouette O=2
Tropo 24/10/2012 2225 93.8 F France Inter Parthenay/les Chateliers 79 10,000 516 189 id from web stream - lot of interference from Fresh 93.9 O=2
Tropo 24/10/2012 2228 94.1 F France Inter Cherbourg-Octeville/Digosville 50 800 252 221 could be heard in the background - distinctive song - id from webstream O=1
Tropo 24/10/2012 2254 94.2 F France Culture Septeuil/le Cimetière 78 200 281 166 on SSE ant - not certain but Nantes (200deg azi) would in the null O=2-3

Ordered myself a brand new Triax FM 3 today from Tradeworks, given what happened to my other one, with the broken element. Also got my Sony ST-SB920 modified with 110k and 80k filters so hopefully should be some good DXing. I put the new antenna in for next day delivery so I'm hoping to get it on Saturday.

Hi Jack,

Glad to hear you've sorted out the FM3, although I still think you could have repaired it.

I've only modified my Sony ST-SB920 with 3x150k and 1x110k filters. It will be interesting to hear your results, using the narrower filters. I guess you'll lose RDS when using the 80k very narrow filter.

Chris.

Hi Chris,

I do lose the RDS for most stations on narrow, yes, but still comes in on the Bilsdale stations. I have to credit oblackburn for modifying the tuner for me.

Well I look forward to a full weekend of DXing, I'm hoping one day to get BBC Suffolk on 103.9.

Nice to see your back regarding the filters I have 110's in my sony 520 and RDS comes through with no problems and you will notice a difference in selectivity.

Andy

Hey Andy,

Yeah the filters are great, when on the 80k filters I can get Garrison FM on 106.9 which is 40km away and only 25 watts! I'm glad to have the tuner back anyway, haven't been able to use it in nearly a month as it's been at OBlackburn's house while he was on vacation in Florida!

I did have a call from Tradeworks this morning however saying they had no FM3s in stock and were getting more in probably Monday or Tuesday, so won't be next week until the new one comes, however I am going to take Oliver's suggestion and turn the broken FM3 into a folded di-pole, hopefully it will improve the signal on CVFM 104.5 and Minster FM 104.7 as I especially enjoy the music on 104.7. Both broadcast in vertical.

Why not get hold of some 10mm (3/8th) ali tubing and replace the broken element. Shouldn't cost too much. I hope you will get your FM3 - but don't get your hopes up - I would predict that Tradeworks will contact their wholesaler - and find out they are not made any more.

I'm pleased you've got your modified SB920 back - I have two - one has 3 x 180 and 1 x 110 kHz as I wanted to maintain the RDS sensitivity for M-S reception. The other is effectively 4 x 150 kHz.

I had a feeling they were discontinued, if so replacing may be the only option. We will see what happens anyway. Don't know why Triax would want to stop making these antennas, they are awesome.

Hi Jack,

Probably because there's no demand for FM Band II aerials any more (it's only people like us who want them ).

Is your ST-SB920 modified with 4x80k filters, or don't you know exactly what Oliver fitted? The tuner uses the first 3 filters in "Wide" and the last filter in "Narrow" mode.

Chris.

Hi Chris, He's got 3x 110s and 1x 80 for the narrow, RDS still decodes perfectly fine in wide mode, in narrow mode, some stations do struggle. After playing around with my own SB920s with filters/sockets etc I've come to my own conclusion that that particular configuration is a happy medium between selectivity and still retaining the RDS data.

Oliver

Hi Oliver,

Thanks for letting me know the combination of filters you fitted to Jack's and your own ST-SB920 tuner.

It was with my heart in my mouth, I managed to fit (solder) SIL sockets to my ST-SB920 . In theory, I could change the filters to narrower ones.
I settled for 3x 150k & 1x 110k.
For best selectivity, I still find my Blaupunkt Casablanca CD52 (car radio) to be the best.
I guess if I change the ST-SB920 filters to the ones you fitted, the selectivity would be improved. However, the Blaupunkt auto-adjusts to widen the IF as the signal increases, so I get the best of both worlds (selectivity and RDS).

Chris.

Very odd conditions tonight. Earlier on Wrotham was below normal strength, but now it is enhanced. The Yamaha T-2 has a 'SIGNAL QUALITY' meter going from 0-80; earlier on in LOCAL mode it was sometimes dropping below 10 and staying the wrong side of 20 (around 20 is the usual reading). Now it's gone right up to 40. Readings are higher in DX mode (which is actually the narrow IF bandwidth). Perhaps it is related to tropo, as semi-locals can sometimes drop below normal when there's ducting. It's all a bit odd.

I blame it on this strange weather we've been having!

Wrotham/Oxford/Tacolneston are below normal here but Sutton Coldfield is up slightly as I can hear Distinct fm 87.5 rumbling away above the noise.

Very disappointing considering it's a sunny frosty morning.

Radio Hajj rsl 87.7 went off air yesterday only to be replaced by Redshift Radio from Cheshire but a lower level signal than Hajj was and I have to look forward to Radio Warrington from the 12 nov on 87.8.

It has been a strange year weather and dx wise.

Andy

Conditions are perking up here this evening. The Wrotham nationals are at local strength (almost full scale in LOCAL mode on the T-2) and BBC Essex was in at up to stereo levels earlier on on 95.3. Hopefully some interesting DX will develop over the next 24 hours.

Oh well, it seems to have died down now with conditions more or less normal. Hopefully it'll pick up again by morning.

I can hear the Dutch stations mainly 538 peaking up out of the noise, hopefully conditions follow the charts and things get interesting tomorrow!

Yes it's lifted up again here in the last half hour or so. It can't make it's mind up!