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Re: Tecsun PL-606 1 kHz DSP Ultralight-- More Information
Mark Roberts
Gary,
Thanks for letting us all know about yet another little Tecsun wonder. You may have said this already, and I just missed it, but which AM audio bandwidths are available on the '606 - or is it fixed? Thanks!
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Re: Bit OT: Why nulls improve with tilting?
pianoplayer88key
I've recorded a few clips demonstrating how much of an effect tilt nulling can have, at least for my strongest local on my PL-380.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
1170-KCBQ, facing transmitter, outside - would be 77/25 on the G8 that I no longer have There's no rotate-null recording now, but I was getting 55/25 earlier this afternoon (local sunset has already happened, bringing KCBQ down to ~60/25 when facing them, so I can't record it now). 1170-KCBQ, facing transmitter, in a car - 61/25 1170-KCBQ, rotate-null, in a car - 43/25 (but maybe could have been rotate-nulled a little better) And, finally... 1170-KCBQ, tilt-null outside. RSSI/SNR often dropped to 15/00, although this was extremely difficult to achieve and maintain, as will be evidenced throughout the clips. It does seem, though, that there comes a point where even tilt-nulling can't tame a pest. This past weekend I had a few radios at my grandma's house in San Gabriel, CA (1/3 mile from 23kW 1300-KAZN and 50kW 1430-KMRB) and there was no way I could even get the background noise to come up. The two Asian-language pests (that would make it even more difficult to identify any TPs on 1296, 1305 or especially 1431 although I didn't even try this time) were reading anywhere from 83/25 to 91/25 on the G8 when facing them, and I don't think I was ever able to get below 70dBu or so. So would tilt-nulling a a local megapest at night (mine would be 760-KFMB running 77/25 to 81/25 on the G8) make it much easier to hear co-channel stations under it, or would it run the risk of at least partially nulling those too? I think I've heard a Mexican station under the local on 760 at night while tilt-nulling KFMB, and have confirmed it was actually an XE due to hearing the Mexican National Anthem (if I hear it a few more times I'll probably be able to sing/play it without the sheet music, and being within groundwave reception range of at least maybe a couple dozen or so XE stations (including one ~65/25 (G8) in the daytime, 690-XEWW, 32mi, 189°) I'm sure gives me more opportunities to learn Spanish), but I never heard any official ID.
--- In ultralightdx@..., Russ Edmunds wrote:
> > Reason 1: Most MW transmitting towers sned the signals with both vertical and horizontal components. Some have added hardware to greatly reduce the skywave component, while others have not. Therefore, the tilt is sometimes required to eliminate some of the skywave. > Â > Reason 2: Building on one above, the tilt feature is useful in nulling your locals because there is almost always some localized skywave component present. > Â > Reason 3: MW signals at distance are reflected in the ionosphere and sent back to earth. This introduces a vertical aspect to the received signal. Therefore a tilt feature could be used in some cases to 'stablize' a wek DX signal. > Â > I see no reason why most loop antennas having the tilt feature could not be used for peaking, althouhgh the more prevalent use is in nulling. > > Russ Edmunds > Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ) > [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia] > 40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id > wb2bjh@... > FM: Yamaha T-80 & Onkyo T-450RDS w/ APS9B @15' > AM: Modified Sony ICF 2010 barefoot > > --- On Wed, 11/3/10, huelbe_garcia@... huelbe_garcia@... wrote: > > > From: huelbe_garcia@... huelbe_garcia@... > Subject: [ultralightdx] Bit OT: Why nulls improve with tilting? > To: ultralightdx@... > Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2010, 10:32 PM > > > Â > > > > Hello all! > > Stephen posted a few hours ago a note on something I always wondered the reason: tilting the antenna does improve nulls of groundwaves. I can't think on an good explanation why this happens :)Â > > As all MF stations use vertical irradiators, I think no tilting would be needed to null the station completely, specially when tuning groundwaves. > > But this is not the case. Most of the time, the local stations need some tilt to null it out. Only when I hear not-so-local stations (say some 20mi/30km away), tilting is not needed anymore. > > Would you guys guide me why we need tilting on groudwave MF? > > Thanks a lot! > > Huelbe. >
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Kiwa loop for sale
David Alpert
This isn't an easy decision, but I plan to sell my Kiwa MW Air-Core Loop http://www.kiwa.us/kiwaloop.html. My proximity to 50 kW 710-KSPN's transmitter site (approximately one mile) results in overload and intermod, making it difficult to justify holding on to this otherwise amazing antenna.
The 12.75" loop rotates and tilts (with 3:1 gear reduction) for precise nulling, while the regeneration circuit's -6dB antenna bandwidth may be adjusted from 15 kHz to less than 2 kHz for razor sharp selectivity. It even has dual output amps, providing drive for two receivers simultaneously. Much has been written about this legendary high performance, long since discontinued, much sought after antenna; a Google search leads to just some of it. I bought mine new, direct from Craig Siegenthaler, in the mid-1990s for $400. I've seen them sell on eBay for as much as $795. I thought I'd post it here and see if anyone in the group is interested before listing it on eBay. Please contact me off-list with any specific questions. I'll do my best to answer, and will provide photos on request.
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Re: Puyallup, WA Ultralight TP's for 11-4
pianoplayer88key
Hi Gary...
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
I've been noticing a significant gap from the mid 1100s to the mid 1500s or so in your TP DX reports, although I occasionally see something on 1377 or near there reported. I do recall that you've said local pest 1450-KSUH blasts in at 75/25 on your barefoot PL-380. When I had reception of 774-JOUB on 10-20, I (as always) had to deal with a pest 14kHz down the dial, 760-KFMB, 7.3 miles distant at heading 320°, which runs 50kW directional (77/25 to 81/25 on the G8 depending on where I am in the house or yard) nighttime and 5kW non-directional (~66/25 to 67/25 on the G8) daytime. The clip you took out of my 30-minute recording was made after KFMB had switched to their daytime operation. I took a similar clip from about the same spot out of the original uncompressed recording and uploaded it. Here's a few clips of 774-JOUB recorded on 10-20, all aided by the Select-A-Tenna carefully nulling 760-KFMB: at 1345 on PL-380 (760-KFMB was on 5kW daytime operation), 1347 on my Panasonic RQ-SW20 (whose selectivity is probably a little better than the SRF-M37W, but not much, and I suspect the SW20 being a bit less sensitive than the M37W could probably at least almost level the playing field there), and 1340 on the PL-380 (while KFMB was on its 50kW nighttime operation). Also, it seems that the Select-A-Tenna may be possibly good enough to get something on 594kHz (maybe JOAK?), between 600-KOGO's ~64/25 signal (7.7 miles distant, heading 249°) and its ~42/00 IBOC on 588kHz. I haven't had the opportunity to check in the last couple weeks (and the last two mornings I slept right through my 1315 alarm and didn't wake up until after 1600), but the last couple times I did check for something on 594, I thought I heard some trace of a carrier (I could hear the soft mute cutting in and out a couple times), but any audio that may have been there was buried too far under the noise to be able to make it out. I hope tomorrow morning I don't sleep through the alarm (again!) ;) I've always thought your antennas were supposed to be much better than mine. Or is it possible that they're much better at high gain on a channel, but not as good at nulling a strong local on a nearby frequency in near the same direction? If it's possible to get good nulls on your strong locals, I'll be looking forward to reports of TP reception within 20kHz of your strongest locals, and if possible, sandwiched between your strongest IBOC pest's main channel audio and its IBOC carriers.) :) Or is it getting to be too late in the season for that? And once TPs start winding down, what should I try for next, if anything? Of course they will be aided by the Select-A-Tenna (or another external antenna), although I may try barefoot if signals are strong enough - I think I've heard 774-JOUB a couple times barefoot, but I wasn't recording at the time so I have no way to prove it. Interestingly, early this morning around 0800 to 0900 or so before I drifted off to snoozeland, I tuned around on the PL-380, using the SAT to try to boost a few signals, and heard some split-frequency-like hets on several frequencies, including 972 (which was a fairly strong het even barefoot), and maybe 738, 711, possibly 1053 IIRC and possibly a couple others. The audio level basically never came up well enough to push through the soft-mute threshold, though, so I don't know if I actually was getting any split-frequency stations.
--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:
> > Hello All, > > In a pretty remarkable comeback, what had been a thoroughly mediocre > band prior to 1420 suddenly came to life with a strong sunrise enhancement > from 1425-1450, boosting several Asian mainland stations up to their best > audio of the Fall Season. > The listening session started of at 1300 with the TP "big guns" at > their usual anemic level, struggling to produce much audio through the noise > and domestic splatter. Unusually, there was no mid-session propagation dive > or boost, and the same collection of Asian regulars (594, 648, 657, 738, > 747, 774, 972, 1134, 1566 and 1575) were still fading in and out with > lackluster signals right up until 1420. It appeared that another mediocre > late-season session was about to wrap up. > Suddenly, 972-HLCA faded in strongly at 1430, along with a pesky > Chinese co-channel. 738-BEL2 also rose up to be heard, with audio near its best > of the season. 639-CNR1 and 675-Vietnam soon followed, with the latter > having its strongest signal since September. Finally around 1350, the Chinese > YL speech from 936-Anhui provided that station's best signal of the season. > The Japanese NHK stations had a moderate signal boost during this period, > but it was nothing like the weird propagation surge from China. > Unfortunately it was necessary to wrap things up around 1455 when the Chinese were > still strong, so there was no chance to check the other notable Mainland > frequencies like 756, 927, 945, 981, 1035, 1377 and 1593. Maybe one of the SDR > DXers also noticed the late-session China surge from 1430-1445, when > reviewing recordings from that period this morning? > > The following were heard on a C.Crane SWP Slider model (7.5" > loopstick) and stock Tecsun PL-606 DSP model, inductively coupled to a 9' sided PVC > tuned passive loop (in the back yard). A modified ICF-2010 (30" loopstick) > was used as an SSB spotting receiver: > > 558 HLQH Daegu, S. Korea Fair-good with music at 1423, // 603 > 594 JOAK Tokyo, Japan Very good with Japanese interview 1444 > 603 HLSA Namyang, S. Korea Good with Korean music at 1424 > 639 CNR1 China Synchros Fair with male-female Chinese speech > at 1445 during sunrise enhancement; inaudible previously > 648 VOR Razdolnoye, Russia Good strength Russian music during > Japanese external program at 1419 > _http://www.mediafire.com/?agcrhiec28xv94k_ (http://www.mediafire.com/?agcrhiec28xv94k) > 657 Pyongyang BS, N. Korea Fair mumbling Korean tirades at 1418 > 675 VOV Hanoi, Vietnam Fair Vietnamese YL speech during sunrise > enhancement; best signal since Sept. > _http://www.mediafire.com/?95600b5t6yqsdu5_ (http://www.mediafire.com/?95600b5t6yqsdu5) > 738 BEL2 Penghu, Taiwan Another Chinese station boosted up by > late session surge around 1446 > _http://www.mediafire.com/?ygc4ur2afvrd9k0_ (http://www.mediafire.com/?ygc4ur2afvrd9k0) > 747 JOIB Sapporo, Japan Good Japanese talk around 1448 > 774 JOUB Akita, Japan Losing battle with KTTH splatter at 1415 > 828 JOBB Osaka, Japan Fair-good Japanese speech around 1350 > 936 Anhui, China YL speech boosted by late surge at 1450; best > audio of season (recorded on new PL-606) > _http://www.mediafire.com/?1inc1x8orhma9qn_ (http://www.mediafire.com/?1inc1x8orhma9qn) > 972 HLCA Dangjin, S. Korea Good Korean speech with CC > co-channel at 1431 _http://www.mediafire.com/?j4o84or486nyxpb_ > (http://www.mediafire.com/?j4o84or486nyxpb) > 1134 KBS3 Hwaseong, S. Korea Good with Korean speech at 1439 > during late-session surge > 1566 HLAZ Jeju, S. Korea Fair-good Japanese religious pgm 1341 > 1575 VOA Ban Rassom, Thailand Fair Asiatic language speech 1340 > > 73 and Good DX, > Gary DeBock >
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Re: What is DX !! Is it RF power or distance that make for a DX signal.
Michael Evans - Mike MBR <michaelrae65@...>
As per the title what makes for DX. Mike MBE.
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
--- In ultralightdx@..., "FurlX" <dmcqdx@...> wrote:
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Puyallup, WA Ultralight TP's for 11-4
Hello All,
In a pretty remarkable comeback, what had
been a thoroughly mediocre band prior to 1420 suddenly came to life with a
strong sunrise enhancement from 1425-1450, boosting several Asian mainland
stations up to their best audio of the Fall Season.
The listening session started of at 1300 with the
TP "big guns" at their usual anemic level, struggling to produce much audio
through the noise and domestic splatter. Unusually, there was no mid-session
propagation dive or boost, and the same collection of Asian regulars
(594, 648, 657, 738, 747, 774, 972, 1134, 1566 and 1575) were still fading in
and out with lackluster signals right up until 1420. It appeared that
another mediocre late-season session was about to wrap up.
Suddenly, 972-HLCA faded in strongly at 1430,
along with a pesky Chinese co-channel. 738-BEL2 also rose up to be heard,
with audio near its best of the season. 639-CNR1 and 675-Vietnam soon followed,
with the latter having its strongest signal since September. Finally around
1350, the Chinese YL speech from 936-Anhui provided that
station's best signal of the season. The Japanese NHK stations had a
moderate signal boost during this period, but it was nothing like the weird
propagation surge from China. Unfortunately it was necessary to wrap things
up around 1455 when the Chinese were still strong, so there was no chance
to check the other notable Mainland frequencies like 756, 927, 945, 981,
1035, 1377 and 1593. Maybe one of the SDR DXers also noticed the
late-session China surge from 1430-1445, when reviewing recordings from
that period this morning?
The following were heard on a C.Crane SWP Slider
model (7.5" loopstick) and stock Tecsun PL-606 DSP model, inductively
coupled to a 9' sided PVC tuned passive loop (in the back yard). A modified
ICF-2010 (30" loopstick) was used as an SSB spotting receiver:
558 HLQH Daegu, S. Korea Fair-good with music at
1423, // 603
594 JOAK Tokyo, Japan Very good with
Japanese interview 1444
603 HLSA Namyang, S. Korea Good with Korean music at
1424
639 CNR1 China Synchros Fair with male-female Chinese
speech
at 1445
during sunrise enhancement; inaudible previously
648 VOR Razdolnoye, Russia Good strength Russian
music during
Japanese external
program at 1419 http://www.mediafire.com/?agcrhiec28xv94k
657 Pyongyang BS, N. Korea Fair mumbling Korean tirades at
1418
675 VOV Hanoi, Vietnam Fair Vietnamese YL speech during
sunrise
enhancement; best signal
since Sept. http://www.mediafire.com/?95600b5t6yqsdu5
738 BEL2 Penghu, Taiwan Another Chinese station boosted
up by
late session surge around
1446 http://www.mediafire.com/?ygc4ur2afvrd9k0
747 JOIB Sapporo, Japan Good Japanese talk around
1448
774 JOUB Akita, Japan Losing battle with KTTH splatter at
1415
828 JOBB Osaka, Japan Fair-good Japanese speech around
1350
936 Anhui, China YL speech boosted by late surge at 1450;
best
audio of season (recorded
on new PL-606) http://www.mediafire.com/?1inc1x8orhma9qn
972 HLCA Dangjin, S. Korea Good Korean speech with
CC
co-channel at 1431 http://www.mediafire.com/?j4o84or486nyxpb
1134 KBS3 Hwaseong, S. Korea Good with Korean
speech at 1439
during late-session
surge
1566 HLAZ Jeju, S. Korea Fair-good Japanese
religious pgm 1341
1575 VOA Ban Rassom, Thailand Fair Asiatic language
speech 1340
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock
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Re: What is DX !!
FurlX <dmcqdx@...>
Ive been a DX'er since 1949!!
DX is listening to Long distant Radio Signals, either LW, MW, SW, or VHF and UHF. Ive loged over 120 Countries and got QSLS from over a 1,000 stations on SW and 103 Countries on MW with 600 QSL's received...(including several 1st Reports from NZ) DX is the Radio Term (Ham)for "Long Distance". I consider in my case Stations at least 1,500 miles or more from my QTH as DX, (even 0n the "Degen DE1125" with its whip I get many European and South American Stations) Its all down to LISTENING.
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Re: Tecsun PL-606 1 kHz DSP Ultralight-- More Information
Hi Farmerik,
Yes, the new PL-606's LW operation is set up exactly like that of the
PL-360. The LW frequencies are added to the MW frequencies, to make one
large, single band from 150-- 1610 kHz. The radio tunes in 1 kHz steps on this
"mega-band" if the tuning thumb wheel is rotated slowly, and in 9 kHz steps if
the thumb wheel is speeded up.
73, Gary
In a message dated 11/4/2010 9:51:28 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
farmerik@... writes:
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Re: Bit OT: Why nulls improve with tilting?
Russ Edmunds <wb2bjh@...>
--- On Wed, 11/3/10, huelbe_garcia@... wrote:
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New stations 11/3/10
edsemrad
Hi everybody,
Conditions have been fair to good the past few days. I have been camped out on frequencies which could bring in new states. Nothing new yet but in the process I did record a few regional stations for the master log. Below are my loggings: The receiver is a Tecsun PL-380 and all station ID's are recorded on a Sony recorder. The times are CDST. 10/29/10: 930 2300 WTAD Quincy IL. "On talk radio 930 Quincy" 10/31/10: 920 0605 WBAA West Lafayette IN. "This is WBAA" 11/2/10: 710 0831 WDSM Superior WI. "This is WDSM with your election day weather" 11/3/10: 1100 1830 KDRY Alamo Heights TX. "... for DRY AM 1130" 580 1851 WTCM Traverse City MI. "Weekdays at noon on news talk WTCM" 11/4/10: 790 0433 WSGW Saginaw MI. "This is WSGW 790 AM" 1140 0645 WBXR Hazel Green AL. "WBXR" The recent discussion about tilting and nulling was great. It works! I tried it on 790 kHz which has severe splatter from local WBBM. I tilted the PL-380 in the best null I could get and in popped WSGW Saginaw MI. Thanks guys! Totals now are 241 stations, 33 states, 5 Canadian provinces and 4 countries. Ed Lake Villa, IL
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Re: Bit OT: Why nulls improve with tilting?
Gary Kinsman
Hi Kevin,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
I've long wondered about this. Thanks for the explanation. So, if I'm understanding you correctly, the tilting of the Quantum Loop antennas can be used for nulling, but not for peaking, since they tilt only in the long dimension of the ferrite loop element. Regards, Gary
--- In ultralightdx@..., "dhsatyadhana" <dhsatyadhana@...> wrote:
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9KHz. steps? - FARMERIK
Rik
I know there are a few LW exceptions to the 'normal' 9 KHz steps on LW, but what about TA DX on the AM BCB frequencies? I was thinking I should print off a list of 'standard' 9 KHz. spaced frequencies, but I wanted to be sure I started looking at the most likely spots. Can any DXer in the North East tell me likely TA catches which are in English, since unfortunately I do not understand any other languages. I just set up a 500 foot BOG,Unfortunately it points SE, due to site limitations. I am getting lots of signal, so I may try a NE run of wire, but it would not be even 300 feet. So the list needs to be SE of the northern CT border near 42 degrees Latitude. - FARMERIK
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Re: Tecsun PL-606 1 kHz DSP Ultralight-- More Information
Rik
When the PL-606 tunes LW, does it tune AM BCB with it like the PL-360? [about 150-1620 KHz. in one band with 9 KHz. steps or 1 KHz. steps]-FARMERIK
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:
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Re: Oklahoma TP's 10-4-10
Hi Richard,
Sorry that no Asian signals made it to Oklahoma this morning. You may feel
like throwing one of your table receivers at me, but here on the west coast
there was a very strong sunrise enhancement around 1445 this morning, that
brought many TP signals up to vibrant levels. Of course, there have
been no TA stations to show up yet here this season, so maybe you can
consider yourself lucky to be the only ULR-DXer to have received both types of
transoceanic signals this Fall.
73, Gary
In a message dated 11/4/2010 7:12:37 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
richarda@... writes:
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Oklahoma TP's 10-4-10
bbwrwy
I listened at 1218-1300 UTC this and didn't hear a single signal from across the Pacific. It was the first quiet morning in that direction since the first week of September. The strongest signals were coming from the south and southwest.
Looking at reports, it appears we may be in for increased solar activity during the next several days. For me that means more signals from Mexico. Earlier, usually strong WGN 720 was barely audidle after about 1000 UTC. Richard Allen 36°22'51"N / 97°26'35"W (near Perry OK USA)
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MW log with Kaito KA200
Antonios Kekalos <akekalos@...>
Took delivery yesterday of a very small, Kaito KA200 ($12.99 from Amazon.com) AM/FM radio. Haven't played with FM yet, but initial results on AM, while not spectacular, are consistent with several other small radios I have. The only negative comment I can make at this time is that the tuning wheel is extremely stiff making fine adjustments very difficult. Any other KA200 owners on list? Maybe you can post your results/impressions on this radio?
All times EDT; RX Kaito KA200 (barefoot), QTH Traverse City, MI 11.3.10, 2120, 1510, WLAC, Nashville TN, 50kw, 596mi/959km 11.3.10, 2125, 1540, KXEL, Waterloo IA, 50kw, 373mi/600km
11.3.10, 2129, 620, WTMJ, Milwaukee WI, 50kw/10kw, 166mi/267km 11.3.10, 2130, 650, WSM, Nashville TN, 50kw, 596mi/959km 11.3.10, 2131, 700, WLW, Cincinnati OH, 50kw, 392mi/630km 11.3.10, 2133, 760, WJR, Detroit MI, 50kw, 206mi/332km
11.3.10, 2137, 830, WCCO, Minneapolis MN, 50kw, 377mi/606km 11.3.10, 2141, 1030, WBZ, Boston MA, 50kw, 750mi/1207km 11.3.10, 2143, 1490, WKYW, Frankfort KY, 1kw, 455mi/732km 11.3.10, 2145, 1210, WPHT, Philadelphia PA, 50kw, 627mi/1009km
11.4.10, 0623, 670, WSCR, Chicago IL, 50kw, 227mi/365km 11.4.10, 0626, 720, WGN, Chicago IL, 50kw, 227mi/365km 11.4.10, 0628, 780, WBBM, Chicago IL, 50kw, 227mi/365km 11.4.10, 0630, 800, CKLW, Windsor ON, 50kw, 216mi/348km
11.4.10, 0630, 820, WCPT, Willow Springs IL, 5kw/1.5kw, 238mi/383km 11.4.10, 0635, 840, WHAS, Louisville KY, 50kw, 451mi/725km 11.4.10, 0636, 890, WLS, Chicago IL, 50kw, 227mi/365km 11.4.10, 0638, 950, WWJ, Detroit MI, 50kw, 206mi/332km
11.4.10, 0640, 1040, WHO, Des Moines IA, 50kw, 460mi/741km 11.4.10, 0648, 1100, WTAM, Cleveland OH, 50kw, 301mi/484km 11.4.10, 0649, 1140, WRVA, Richmond VA, 50kw, 654mi/1052km 11.4.10, 0650, 1190, WOWO, Fort Wayne IN, 50kw/9.8kw, 255mi/411km
-- Tony, N4RNI Traverse City, MI EN74dq FISTS #14949, SKCC# 7117, NAQCC# 4774, QRP ARCI 7407, SWLR-RN072, WA8050SWL Not every conspiracy is a theory-AMC's Rubicon
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Low RF power at a fair distance.
Michael Evans - Mike MBR <michaelrae65@...>
Hi Guys re my low RF power posting and those PINGS, first the pings the guys has a PC programme so no waiting he just listens to the play back and has the dates thing is his logs are long and very boring as you might imagine.
Next 250mW, I had at one time a Josee kit a ready made postage size stamp MW BC TX I put it to a 270 foot long wire between two tower blocks at 20 floors high, it was powered from a 9 volt battery and as the 9 volts want down so the frequency drifted 1.352.5 1.360 anyway I lived by a railway, re rail lines and there was a metal fence that ran many yards. I ran a live show and stupid as it was gave out a phone number, I got a call from a guy in his car at 12 miles away he said don't say where you are I am not the RI DTI GPO FCC but I am going to DFing, you {brown pants time} after a while he turned up, so where is this TX then he said over there I said on the window sill "wow" and that is what I was hearing, sure is I said and he played back a cassette tape I was impressed, all I can think is the signal was travelling around the rail lines and the fencing, those were the days, so yes 250mW can get out as long as you have height and a few railway lines and about 300 yards of fenching LOL. Mike MBR UK.
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Re: Bit OT: Why nulls improve with tilting?
Kevin Schanilec
I'll try and give it a shot. The antenna pattern is shaped like a donut, like the picture at:
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
http://www.fmx.dk/projects/wing_cam/119-1935_IMG.JPG In this picture, imagine the ferrite loopstick sticking horizontally through the donut, with nulls at either end. The null zone is actually conical, meaning that you have to point the null properly in all three directions, including azimuth (elevation). Now imagine a local pest that is coming in at, say, 45 degrees above the horizon. If you left your loopstick perfectly level, as in the picture above, signals coming from 45 degrees up will still be heard quite nicely. However, if you point it upward 45 degrees, the maximum null will also be 45 degrees up, matching the elevation of the pest's signal, and therefore the null is achieved. For signals from far away, the angle of arrival is perhaps a few degrees at most above the horizon, and nulls are generally achieved with the loopstick essentially level, since the null of the loopstick is pointing more or less at the horizon Hope this helps - Kevin S Bainbridge Island, WA
--- In ultralightdx@..., "farmerik" <farmerik@...> wrote:
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Tecsun PL-606 1 kHz DSP Ultralight-- More Information
Hello All,
Tecsun's newest DSP Ultralight was taken for a
"test drive" during TP-DXing this morning here on the west coast, primarily to
check out the compact little radio's "soft mute" level, and MP3 audio recording
quality. Asian signals weren't exactly booming in, but there was a fair signal
around 1420 UTC (0720 PDT) from 738-BEL2, Taiwan's 100 kw "big gun."
The new PL-606 was inductively coupled to the 9'
PVC loop (which brought Taiwan's signal on the PL-606 up from inaudible to
fair), and 1 kHz frequency offset tuning was used to check the radio's
"soft mute" signal drop off. ULR transoceanic DXers frequently use this 1
kHz offset tuning to get further away from domestic splatter, so long as the DX
signal drop off on their ULR is not too severe (as in the case of the PL-380,
and the CFJ455K5 IF-filtered E100's and SWP's). In this morning's test, BEL2 was
tuned in on its 738 kHz frequency on the PL-606 for the first 20 seconds of this
MP3 (along with a 2 kHz heterodyne and 740-KCBS splatter), while the second 21
seconds were recorded on 737 kHz http://www.mediafire.com/?p8kkulbnnpdhp2s . Although
the 1 kHz offset tuning did remove the heterodyne and 740 splatter, it also
removed most of Taiwan's signal, a result similar to the PL-310's
"soft mute" behavior.
Further testing against both the PL-310 and
PL-380 confirmed that the PL-606's soft mute behavior is very similar to
that of the PL-310, although because the new radio's AM sensitivity is
significantly superior to that of the PL-380, even with its greater
"soft mute" drop off, the new PL-606 can usually match the PL-380's
TP-DX station signal quality when 1 kHz detuning is used.
Surprisingly, the compact PL-606 has been matching the larger PL-310
in AM sensitivity on all frequencies from 530-1700 kHz.
The lack of a direct-entry keypad on the PL-606
makes it necessary to rotate the thumb wheel multiple times in order to
shift from the low band to high band, unless stations are already stored in
memory. Another quirk (at least in my PL-606 review model) concerns
accessing the LW band. In a PL-360-style mystery system, the PL-606 lacks any
front-panel indication that it can even tune the LW band, nor does the current
user manual tell you how to access the frequencies. The method is to turn
off the radio, press the 9/10 kHz control down until "9 kHz" disappears
(and the clock comes back), then press the "MW" control down until "LW On"
disappears (and the clock comes back). Although that is the LW-band
access procedure, in the case of my review model, the radio still has
a quirk somewhere that is preventing LW reception.
The PL-606 is noticeably smaller and lighter than
either the PL-310 or PL-380, and probably shares a lot of compact circuitry
with the tiny, vertical-form PL-360. The new model can be reasonably pictured as
a horizontal form PL-360 with far superior AM sensitivity, and with all the
Si4734 DSP filtering options. That's a very effective combination of
sensitivity, selectivity and portability on the AM band-- with a pretty low
price as a bonus.
73 and Good DX,
Gary DeBock
(Photo below is also at http://www.mediafire.com/?b2biy0s21zgo5dc )
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Re: Bit OT: Why nulls improve with tilting?
Rik
I have wondered the same thing. The only thing I could think of, is that by tilting a loop antenna, you are narrowing the beam. The figure 8 pattern is as viewed from above in 2 dimensions, but it is actually a cone in each direction and by tilting, you are using a narrower section of the cone. That is just my guess. I hope some one who really knows will chime in and tell us. - FARMERIK
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--- In ultralightdx@..., "huelbe_garcia@..." <huelbe_garcia@...> wrote:
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