More Australian MW stations have permanently switched off. This opens up more clear frequencies for Australian DXers.

I hope they switch off my local 1539 KHz Rete Italia Sydney transmitter. This channel has been blocked for years..

The following Rete Italia network MW stations have permanently closed:

657 Perth.
801 Gosford.
1575 Wollongong.
1593 Melbourne.
1611 Darwin.
1611 Devonport.
1611 Esperance.
1611 Hobart.
1611 Kalgoorlie.
1611 Launceston.
1611 Mackay.
1611 Rockhampton.
1611 Gladestone.
1620 Gold Coast.
1620 Toowoomba.
1620 Wangaratta.
1629 Albany.
1629 Mt Gambier.
1638 Canberra.

Reports indicate that new Australia car tuners no longer include AM. Only FM, and high VHF Digital.

999 KHz 2ST Nowra and 1134 2AD Armidale are planning to switch off and move to FM.

Regards,

Todd
Sydney, AU

PS: This web page list is older, hence some more stations have switched off since then. The above list has been confirmed by DXers.

https://ilglobo.com.au/news/44716/changes-to-rete-italia/

On Thu, Jan 23, 2020 at 07:25 PM, Paul Blundell wrote:

As a side note, I am a big fan of the Digitech AR-1733 which can be easily found in Jaycar stores locally.

Paul,

The Digitech AR-1733 (and the identical Japanese market Elpa ER-C57WR) are actually predecessors to the C.Crane Skywave model (which was introduced late in 2014), made by the Redsun company in China. C.Crane used it as a starting point for the completely redesigned Skywave, since Redsun had already been C.Crane's manufacturer in China for an extended period. The CC Skywave does have some improvements over these earlier Redsun-manufactured models, as explained by Mike Schuster in his excellent review posted on Amazon, which is pasted below. Mike's Skywave review was written about a month before my own Skywave review in the 2015 Ultralight Radio Shootout.

Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)

Pasted from Mike's review of the CC Skywave on Amazon (December 2014) :

I'm surprised that, after all the buzz about this radio on hobbyist websites and blogs, nobody has posted about it here. So I'm giving a quick overview as I await my second Skywave Radio (having ordered the first one directly from CCrane and decided that this one is "keeper")

This is the official update to the well-regarded CCrane shortwave portable (SWP) which is still for sale; both having been sourced from Redsun in China. It is also a re-work of an intermediate Redsun model not sold in the US, but known in Australia as the Digitech AR-1733 and in Japan as the Elpa ER-C57WR.

The radio covers MW/SW/FM and the aircraft band (omitting LW that previous models covered). It appears to use DSP (digital signal processing) technology like many newer models sourced from Tecsun in China and sold under various brands including Kaito, Grundig, etc. Such radios achieve pretty exceptional performance using a minimum of electrical components because the SiLabs DSP chip does most of the traditional RF stuff right inside. However, all have suffered from various design or performance compromises including uneven sensitivity, unwanted noises, and the implementation of the SiLab chips "soft mute function" which enraged DXers because, rather than amplifying weak MW/SW signals actually does the opposite; making them "fall off the cliff" once signal strength goes below a cutoff.

The Ccrane SWP was a more traditional PLL/superhet design that was well conceived except for an occasional annoying design flaw: a digital up/down volume adjustment in lieu of a traditional knob; it powered up too loud, had steps that were too coarse to get the volume right, and you could not lower the volume enough to make for comfortable listening through headphones. The AR-1733 which is the immediate predecessor to this model, has serious performance issues on MW.

The designers of Skywave appear to have taken all of this in; perhaps that is why the release of the radio was delayed so many times. In using it side by side with older models, all the good points stand out. Sensitivity is remarkably good, especially on MW where strong AGC action and excellent useable sensitivity gives great volume even from daytime fringe stations - comparable to larger sets like the PL-660 for instance. Volume control is once again handled using a traditional analog knob. All 5 of the SiLabs "virtual filter" bandwidth settings are implemented (6 - 4 - 3 - 2 -1 KHz) and work very well. The odd tones and artifacts of previous DSP designs are mostly gone. I cannot detect any evidence of "soft-mute" being activated. In fact, the overall "feel" and sound of the Skywave reminds one of all the best points of PLL/superhet sets of a few years back (e.g. Tecsun PL-200/Eton E100, etc). Also for me, where many radios suffer bleed-through of strong MW signals all over the place, the front-end selectivity of this radio is admirably good.

Compared to Tecsun DSP sets some differences stand out. There is no digital signal strength display, only a bar graph. The sound from the speaker is rather tinny (even with the "hidden" audio tone control set to "music"). There is no direct control over the dial light. A nice feature that the AR-1733 had (ability to lock the tuning wheel - only) is not carried over. Also many have criticized the lack of SSB capability; not an issue of size really (ages ago, the even smaller Sony ICF-SW100 implemented SSB as well as synchronous AM) but perhaps cost and the capabilities of the available DSP chips.

224 people found this helpful

 

 

toggle quoted messageShow quoted text

<<<   Right now, my inventory includes a CC Crane Skywave (Original model, non-SSB), Sony SRF-T615, Sony SRF-59, Tecsun PL-310, and a few others. Spent time looking for recent shootouts to see which models were the best performers currently available, but can't find anything recent. 

     Is there a recent shootout available somewhere? Is there a consensus on which models are the best for MW DXing? My main interest is in domestic stations. I'm five hours from the nearest beach, so TA and TP are not a high priority.    >>>

Hi Les (and Chris, and Paul),

Chris and Paul are correct in that there hasn't been any recent Ultralight Radio Shootout article like the 2015 version, for which five Ultralight models (Sangean DT-400, C.Crane Pocket, Tecsun PL-310ET, Eton Traveler III and the C.Crane Skywave basic model) were extensively tested and reviewed (posted at https://swling.com/blog/2015/03/gary-debocks-2015-ultralight-radio-shootout-review/

Of course that doesn't mean that newer Ultralight radios haven't been tested and evaluated-- this has actually been going on the whole time. Since 2015, C.Crane has come out with the Skywave SSB model, the technical secrets of which "inspired" the Chinese (to use a generous term) to develop the XHDATA D-808, a portable which seems to have become very popular worldwide because of a much lower price than the Skywave SSB. The XHDATA D-808 is a little too large to qualify for Ultralight status, but in features, quality and price it's tough to beat for someone who just wants to chase portable DX, or as a travel radio. Full details on the development, features and an effective 7.5" loopstick transplant for the XHDATA D-808 (MW or LW) are posted at https://dreamcrafts.box.com/s/5d0pi85jfptgmrj4pd0jsmaybgb6gteh
Other Ultralight radios recently introduced include the Radiwow R-108, a quality-control disappointment which apparently was a Chinese attempt to replace the American-manufactured Si4734-series DSP chips (used in the Tecsun PL-310ET, PL-380 and other models) with a cheaper Chinese substitute. This was tried before in the old Kchibo D96 series around 2009, with the same haphazard results. Seven R-108 models were tested here, but only one was free of digital chip issues.

As Chris has stated the C.Crane Skywave model (both basic and SSB) is still my preferred choice for all-out Ultralight radio DXpeditions, since it has the best combination of compact size, light weight, DSP choices and reliable performance. If the XHDATA D-808 was smaller and lighter it would deserve consideration because of its low price and similar performance, but it's just too porky to carry around when you bring extra backup models, FSL antennas and other DXpedition gear in the same hand carry luggage. If a DXer simply wants to chase domestic DX with a stock Ultralight, either the CC Skywave or Eton Traveler III would still be the pick of the crop (just like they were in 2015), in my opinion. My only caution would be to avoid doing the 7.5" loopstick transplant on the CC Skywave models-- unless you have serious professional experience, great close-in eyesight and nerves of steel.

73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)


    

Spent some time today digging through the files for this group--and found the enthusiasm for MW DXing with Ultralights to be contagious. I've been a member of this group from afar for years, and own
several of the Ultralight approved radios. But honestly, I always thought "Nice for travel but no way these things compare to my SDR's and large antennas back home." But reading through the articles today makes me think that I am very wrong. 

Time to get serious about these little gems! 

Right now, my inventory includes a CC Crane Skywave (Original model, non-SSB), Sony SRF-T615, Sony SRF-59, Tecsun PL-310, and a few others. Spent time looking for recent shootouts to see which models were the best performers currently available, but can't find anything recent. 

Is there a recent shootout available somewhere? Is there a consensus on which models are the best for MW DXing? My main interest is in domestic stations. I'm five hours from the nearest beach, so TA and TP are not a high priority. 

It's clear that the URL guys are having fun with MW DXing--and that is why I got into this hobby. To have fun. Keep it up! 

Les Rayburn, N1LF
Birmingham, AL 

Wont allow me download just stays at 0% all the time?

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

From: Paul Blundell
Sent: 22 January 2020 04:28
To: main@UltralightDX.groups.io
Subject: [UltralightDX] Software - MWDXerDB

 

The latest version of MWDxerDB is now avaiable online for download:

This version includes a remplate database and all the latest code updates as of 22/01/2020.

https://ultralightradiodxing.blogspot.com/2020/01/software-mwdxerdb.html
--
Paul - Moderator
UltralightDX

 

On Wed, Jan 22, 2020 at 07:53 PM, Paul Blundell wrote:

For the last little while I have been thinking about making a short video which explains a bit about the Ultralight radio DXing hobby, what it is and why I enjoy it so much. I have recently had some time to work on this and below is the end result.

Thanks for the great introductory video, Paul!

Of course I agree with you that our Ultralight radio DXing hobby has great potential for the future, especially since we seem to have spun off a new niche of "travel DXing," where even confirmed SDR-DXers are using modified (7.5 inch loopstick transplant) portables during international travel by air and cruise ship, simply because of the ease of chasing AM-DX with reasonable sensitivity in unfamiliar or crowded overseas environments-- without needing to set up any external antennas.

I had the thrill of doing this in Hong Kong last April, and it was a reasonable solution to the "double whammy" of nasty RFI indoors and overcrowded public areas outdoors. Fairly long range stations like 1413-BBC (Oman), 1413-Vesti FM (Moldova), 1431-Radio Sawa (Djibouti) and 1548-TWR (Moldova) were tracked down around sunrise in the downtown concrete jungle.

It's especially satisfying to welcome the strong Australian contingent to our Ultralight group, with many Oz experimenters and long range DXers making major contributions. Our Japanese contingent is also very strong, and of course the Canadian contribution to our group has been essential from the beginning. The joint international Ultralight DXpeditions on exotic ocean beaches have been some of my most thrilling hobby experiences, resulting in lifetime friendships with Japanese and Australian DXers. We have a great future ahead of us!

73, Gary DeBock (in Puyallup, WA, USA)